UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) January 13, 2020 (January 7, 2020)
Twist Bioscience Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 001-38720 | 46-205888 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I. R. S. Employer Identification No.) |
681 Gateway Boulevard
South San Francisco, CA 94080
(Address of principal executive offices, including ZIP code)
(800) 719-0671
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
| Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Common Stock | TWST | The Nasdaq Global Select Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒
| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On January 13, Twist Bioscience Corporation (the “Company”) announced that Patrick Weiss was appointed by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) as the Company’s new Chief Operating Officer, effective as of the close of business on January 7, 2020 (the “Effective Time”) and will replace William Banyai, Ph.D. in such capacity. Concurrently, the Company also announced that Dr. Banyai was appointed as Senior Vice President of Advanced Development and General Manager of Data Storage as of the Effective Time and will no longer serve as Chief Operating Officer as of the Effective Time. Dr. Banyai will continue to serve as a director on the board of directors of the Company.
Mr. Weiss, age 49, previously served and the Company’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development, General Manager of Data Storage from October 2018 to January 2020 and as the Company’s Vice President of Operations from January 2014 to September 2018. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Weiss served as an outside consultant to various technology companies between April 2010 and December 2013. Mr. Weiss also served as Chief Executive Officer of Operon Biotechnologies, Inc. from June 2004 to March 2010. Mr. Weiss holds an M.Sc. in Chemistry from E.T.H. Zurich.
There are no family relationships between Mr. Weiss and any director or officer of the Company and he has no direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: January 13, 2020 | Twist Bioscience Corporation | |||||
| /s/ Mark Daniels | ||||||
| Mark Daniels | ||||||
| Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Chief | ||||||
Exhibit 99.1
Twist Bioscience Promotes Patrick Weiss to Chief Operating Officer Setting
Stage for Future Growth
— Bill Banyai, Ph.D., to Lead DNA Data Storage and Technology Development —
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – January 13, 2020 – Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, today announced the promotion of Patrick Weiss to chief operating officer and the appointment of Bill Banyai, Ph.D., as senior vice president of advanced development and general manager of data storage. Both executive appointments support Twist’s drive for commercial growth.
“Patrick has built the operational infrastructure at Twist from the beginning, transforming a complex manufacturing process into a robust commercial platform,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience. “Patrick’s prior experience leading a DNA synthesis company and driving toward profitability will be integral as we manufacture additional products and continue to expand our commercial reach into the future.”
Dr. Banyai is a co-founder and director of the company and together with Bill Peck, Ph.D., chief technology officer of Twist Bioscience, developed the silicon-based DNA synthesis platform, including both the software and hardware infrastructure. He led the integration of Genome Compiler, a company Twist acquired in April 2016, and has been responsible for all facilities expansion. He will maintain his board seat.
“Bill has been instrumental in building and operationalizing our silicon-based DNA synthesis platform as well as supporting the growth of the company,” continued Dr. Leproust. “We are thrilled to have Bill commit to lead our commercialization efforts in DNA data storage full time, employing his passion to develop practical solutions to complex engineering problems.”
About Twist Bioscience Corporation
Twist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products, including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist makes products for use across many industries including healthcare, industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.
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CONTACTS:
Investor Contact:
Argot Partners
Maeve Conneighton
212-600-1902
maeve@argotpartners.com
Media Contact:
Angela Bitting
925- 202-6211
media@twistbioscience.com