RALEIGH – Herm Cukier, chief executive officer at BioDelivery Sciences for the past two years, has been “terminated without cause” and an interim CEO will replace him effective Monday, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing.
Jeffrey Bailey, a veteran life science executive and a member of the BDSI board, took over as CEO.
BDSI (Nasdaq: BDSI) is best known for its proprietary BioErodible MucoAdhesive (BEMA) technology.
Herm Cukier from his LinkedIn page
Cukier was removed from the CEO job and also resigned his board seat on May 9.
The company cited no reason for the change.
Cukier had led the company since longtime CEO Mark Sirgo retired.
Bailey will serve as interim CEO for up to six months and will be paid an annual base salary of $600,000 and is eligible for a $180,000 bonus when a new CEO is hired, the company said. He also received up to 200,000 stock options “to purchase,” 160,000 of which will “vest upon achievement of certain performance milestones.”
Bailey also remains a meber of the board. He served as CEO of IlluminOss Medical, a medical device firm, for the past two years.
Last week BDSI reported $38.3 million in revenue, which exceeded Wall Street analysts’ expectations of $33.19 million, and achieved earnings of 5 cents per share, 4 cents higher than analysts projected.
