Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. (Form: 8-K, Received: 02/22/2022 16:47:18)

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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): February 18, 2022

SIGILON THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Delaware	001-39746	47-4005543
(State or other jurisdiction	(Commission	(IRS Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)


100 Binney Street, Suite 600, Cambridge, MA	02142
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code): (617) 336-7540

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 (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐	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))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


	Trading	Name of each exchange
Title of each class	Symbol(s)	on which registered
Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share	SGTX	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 February 18, 2022, the Board of Directors of Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Josias Fantato De Pontes as the Company’s Acting Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Upon his appointment, Mr. Pontes replaced Dr. Rogerio Vivaldi, M.D., as the Company’s principal financial officer. Mr. Pontes will continue to serve as the Company’s principal accounting officer.

Mr. Pontes, age 55, previously served as the Company's Vice President, Head of Finance since November 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Pontes was Senior Director, Financial Planning and Analysis at Zafgen, Inc., a biotechnology company, from December 2017 to August 2019. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Pontes served as Senior Director, Accounting Reporting and Consolidation and Financial Planning and Analysis at Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Pontes also worked in various finance roles of increasing responsibility at Genzyme, most recently serving as the Senior Director of Finance and Controller of the Rare Diseases business unit. He holds an MBA from Ohio University and a B.A. in Accounting from the FECAP University in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

There is no family relationship between Mr. Pontes and any director or executive officer of the Company and Mr. Pontes has no direct or indirect material interest required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On February 22, 2022, the Company announced in a press release that Qing Sarah Yuan, Ph.D. is expected to join the Company as its Chief Technical Operations Officer, effective March 7, 2022. A copy of this press release is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1.

The information in Item 7.01 of this Form 8 K (including Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto) is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing by the Company, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filling.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits


Exhibit
No.		Description
99.1		Press Release Issued by Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. on February 22, 2022
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

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.

	SIGILON THERAPEUTICS, INC.

	By:	/s/ Rogerio Vivaldi Coelho, M.D.
		Rogerio Vivaldi Coelho, M.D.
		President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: February 22, 2022

Exhibit 99.1

A picture containing logo

Description automatically generated

Sigilon Therapeutics Appoints Sarah Yuan, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Operations Officer

Cambridge, MA—February 22, 2022—Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGTX), a biotechnology company that seeks to develop functional cures for chronic diseases through its Shielded Living Therapeutics™ platform, today announced the appointment of Sarah Yuan, Ph.D., as Chief Technical Operations Officer, effective March 7^th, 2022. Dr. Yuan brings more than 20 years of experience in process development, manufacturing sciences and CMC strategies from a broad range of leading biopharmaceutical companies.

“We are delighted to welcome Sarah, a biopharma veteran, to the Sigilon team,” said Rogerio Vivaldi, M.D., President and CEO of Sigilon. “Sarah has an impressive track record of spearheading innovative manufacturing processes and leading CMC activities for assets ranging from preclinical to commercial-stage. We believe Sarah’s insights will have an immediate impact as we continue to optimize our platform and work toward achieving our near-term milestones for our programs in MPS-1 and diabetes.”

Prior to joining Sigilon Therapeutics, Dr. Yuan served as Vice President of Process and Analytical Development at 2seventy bio, the oncology spinoff of bluebird bio. At 2seventy bio, she was instrumental in getting three cell therapy products approved, in addition to advancing a preclinical product through IND clearance. Previously, Dr. Yuan led the External Manufacturing Organization for the Rare Blood Disorders Franchise at Sanofi. She also served as the Head of Technical Development and Manufacturing Sciences at Bioverativ, prior to its acquisition by Sanofi. At Bioverativ, she built and developed high functioning teams responsible for overseeing external manufacturing operations, developing and executing CMC strategies, delivering manufacturing processes, analytical methods and driving life cycle management initiatives for all clinical and commercial products. Earlier in her career, Dr. Yuan held various roles with increasing responsibilities in Biogen’s Manufacturing Sciences department, led Process Development at Agenus, and spent several years developing novel resins and membranes at Millipore. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of California at Berkeley.

“I am pleased to be joining the Sigilon team at such an important stage of its development,” commented Dr. Yuan. “I have dedicated a large part of my career to advancing novel platform technologies, and I look forward to working with this highly talented team to recognize the potential of Sigilon’s Shielded Living Therapeutics™ platform and novel allogeneic cell therapies.”

About Sigilon Therapeutics

Sigilon Therapeutics seeks to develop functional cures for chronic diseases through its Shielded Living Therapeutics™ platform. Sigilon’s product candidates are non-viral engineered cell-based therapies designed to produce the crucial proteins, enzymes or other therapeutic molecules needed by patients living with chronic diseases such as lysosomal diseases and diabetes. The engineered cells are encapsulated by Sigilon’s Afibromer™ biomaterials matrix, which is designed to shield them from

immune rejection and fibrosis. Sigilon was founded by Flagship Pioneering in conjunction with Daniel Anderson, Ph.D., and Robert Langer, Sc.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “believe,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “goal,” “project,” and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various matters, including the potential impact on our platform technology and programs. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, that favorable preclinical results are not predictive of clinical trial results, the FDA or other regulators may request additional preclinical studies or clinical trials beyond those that we currently anticipate, and the risks identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021 and in any subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. Our business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.

SOURCE: Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc.

Investor Contact
Robert Windsor, Jr., J.D.

VP, Head of Investor Relations

Sigilon Therapeutics
robert.windsor@sigilon.com
617-586-3837

Media Contacts
Amy Bonanno
Solebury Trout
abonanno@soleburytrout.com
914-450-0349