Vaxcyte Appoints Whitney Jones as Chief People Officer

-- Ms. Jones Joins Vaxcyte With Over 20 Years of Experience Leading People and Culture Strategies Across Multiple Industries --

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaxcyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCVX), a clinical-stage vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases, today announced the appointment of Whitney Jones as Chief People Officer. Ms. Jones will lead Vaxcyte’s human resources strategy and operations, including people and culture, talent acquisition and management, learning and development, total rewards and employee engagement.

“At Vaxcyte, we are proud to cultivate a culture that values collaboration, innovation and a shared commitment to our mission,” said Grant Pickering, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Vaxcyte. “We have built an extraordinary team, and we recognize that our success is intricately tied to the strength and well-being of our people. Whitney’s role as our Chief People Officer will be instrumental in championing our people-first approach and ensuring that our workforce continues to grow and thrive.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Whitney to Vaxcyte as our first Chief People Officer,” said Andrew Guggenhime, President and Chief Financial Officer of Vaxcyte. “She’s an accomplished leader with an impressive background of successfully leading people strategies for fast-growth and established companies across a breadth of industries. Whitney will play an important role in maintaining our strong company culture and supporting our organizational growth strategies as we scale the Company to advance our pipeline of novel vaccine candidates, including our lead pneumococcal conjugate vaccine franchise programs, VAX-24 and VAX-31.”

“I’m delighted to join Vaxcyte, a mission-driven company working to address serious bacterial infections to protect every child born and every adult at risk across the globe,” said Ms. Jones. “It’s a time of incredible growth for the Company and I’m honored to work alongside such a talented team as we work to realize Vaxcyte’s long-term vision. I look forward to fostering the well-established dynamic and vibrant culture as we continue to scale and prepare for the anticipated global commercialization of potentially life-saving vaccines.”

About Ms. Jones
Ms. Jones is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience spanning biotech, healthcare diagnostics, financial technology and retail with extensive expertise in human resources strategy and operations. Ms. Jones joins Vaxcyte from Sangamo Therapeutics where she served as Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, overseeing people and culture, talent and acquisition, learning and development and human resources operations. Prior to joining Sangamo in 2020, Ms. Jones was the Chief People Officer at LendingClub, a marketplace lending company, where she was responsible for all aspects of the Company’s people strategy. Earlier in her career, Ms. Jones served as the Global Head of Human Resources at Novartis Diagnostics and from 2000-2013 held roles of increasing responsibility in human resources at Gap, Inc. Ms. Jones earned her Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in French from the University of Vermont.

About Vaxcyte
Vaxcyte is a vaccine innovation company engineering high-fidelity vaccines to protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases. The Company is developing broad-spectrum conjugate and novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent, broad-spectrum, carrier-sparing PCV being developed for the prevention of IPD and is proceeding to Phase 3. VAX-31, the Company’s next-generation 31-valent PCV, is the broadest-spectrum PCV candidate in the clinic today.

Vaxcyte is re-engineering the way highly complex vaccines are made through modern synthetic techniques, including advanced chemistry and the XpressCF™ cell-free protein synthesis platform, exclusively licensed from Sutro Biopharma, Inc. Unlike conventional cell-based approaches, the Company’s system for producing difficult-to-make proteins and antigens is intended to accelerate its ability to efficiently create and deliver high-fidelity vaccines with enhanced immunological benefits. Vaxcyte’s pipeline also includes VAX-A1, a prophylactic vaccine candidate designed to prevent Group A Strep infections; VAX-PG, a therapeutic vaccine candidate designed to slow or stop the progression of periodontal disease; and VAX-GI, a vaccine program designed to prevent Shigella. Vaxcyte is driven to eradicate or treat invasive bacterial infections, which have serious and costly health consequences when left unchecked. For more information, visit www.vaxcyte.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the potential benefits of VAX-24 and VAX-31, including breadth of coverage and clinical potential; the potential of Vaxcyte’s carrier-sparing, cell-free platform technology; the anticipated global commercialization of Vaxcyte’s potentially life-saving vaccines; and other statements that are not historical fact. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “on track,” “potential,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes and are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on Vaxcyte’s current expectations and actual results and timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks related to Vaxcyte’s product development programs, including development timelines, success and timing of chemistry, manufacturing and controls and related manufacturing activities, potential delays or inability to obtain and maintain required regulatory approvals for its vaccine candidates, and the risks and uncertainties inherent with preclinical and clinical development processes; the success, cost and timing of all development activities and clinical trials; and sufficiency of cash and other funding to support Vaxcyte’s development programs and other operating expenses. These and other risks are described more fully in Vaxcyte’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, without limitation, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 6, 2023 or in other documents Vaxcyte subsequently files with or furnishes to the SEC. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made and are based on management’s assumptions and estimates as of such date, and readers should not rely upon the information in this press release as current or accurate after its publication date. Vaxcyte undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations. Readers should not rely upon the information in this press release as current or accurate after its publication date.

Contacts:

Janet Graesser, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
Vaxcyte, Inc.
917-685-8799
media@vaxcyte.com

Jennifer Zibuda, Senior Director, Investor Relations
Vaxcyte, Inc.
860-729-8902
investors@vaxcyte.com