Ventyx Biosciences, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, announced the appointment of Roy M. Gonzales as interim principal financial officer and interim principal accounting officer, effective today, replacing Martin D. Auster, M.D., who has stepped down from his role as Chief Financial Officer. The transition of roles was confirmed by the company's Board of Directors on Thursday.
Gonzales, 49, joined Ventyx Biosciences as Senior Vice President of Finance in April 2024 and previously held the position of Vice President of Accounting from January 2023. His extensive experience in finance includes roles at Landos Biopharma, Histogen, Invesco US, Spinal Elements, Dexcom (NASDAQ:DXCM), and Arena Pharmaceuticals. Gonzales, a Certified Public Accountant, began his career at KPMG and holds a B.S. in accounting from Old Dominion University and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
His current compensation package includes an annual base salary of $350,000 and eligibility for a discretionary annual cash bonus targeted at 30% of his annual base salary, contingent upon achieving performance objectives set by the Board or its Compensation Committee. Gonzales's compensation is unchanged following his appointment, and he remains a participant in the company's Executive Change in Control and Severance Plan.
In other recent news, Ventyx Biosciences disclosed that its Phase 2 trial of VTX958 did not meet the primary endpoint for treating Crohn's disease, though it showed a positive impact on a key secondary endpoint.
Despite this, the company does not plan to conduct further trials of VTX958 with its internal resources. The company's financial standing remains strong, holding cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaling $279.7 million as of June 30, 2024.
In analyst notes, Piper Sandler retained its Overweight rating and $21.00 shares target for Ventyx Biosciences, while Oppenheimer reduced its price target from $12.00 to $10.00 but maintained an Outperform rating. H.C. Wainwright also maintained a Neutral stance on the company.
Furthermore, Ventyx Biosciences announced promising results from preclinical studies for a potential nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment, despite a net quarterly loss of $38.6 million. The company also plans to initiate a 28-day Phase 2a proof-of-concept trial involving 70 obese patients in 2024, with topline results anticipated in 2025.
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