Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-07-29

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (RNAC)

CEO Carsten Brunn was paid $4,329,868 in fiscal year 2025, ↓ down 40.8% from fiscal year 2024, the 44th percentile of its disclosed peer group (SEC filing 0001453687-26-000072 ↗): executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$4,329,868 ↓
Carsten Brunn total, FY2025
44th
CEO pay percentile vs peers
—
CEO-to-median pay ratio
99.01%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote

RNAC's next annual pay disclosure, estimated April 28, 2027.est. Filing ↗

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Carsten Brunn$674,000$0$973,475$2,314,320$363,960$0$4,113$4,329,868
President and Chief Executive Officer
Metin Kurtoglu163,4940775,931984,44260,4270489,7402,474,034
Former Chief Technology Officer
Christopher Jewell390,6650375,046661,814144,2000443,9822,015,707
Former Chief Scientific Officer
Blaine Davis475,8600372,460884,122205,572011,9131,949,927
Chief Financial Officer
Milos Miljkovic439,0000321,670766,422118,530011,9131,657,535
Chief Medical Officer

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY2024→2025
Carsten Brunn$4,329,868$7,314,211—↓ −2,984,343
Metin Kurtoglu2,474,0342,713,064—↓ −239,030
Christopher Jewell2,015,7071,687,754—↑ +327,953
Blaine Davis1,949,9273,971,412—↓ −2,021,485
Milos Miljkovic1,657,5351,349,018—↑ +308,517

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

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Companies that benchmark against RNAC
1 company names RNAC as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses RNAC in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named RNAC in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Carsten BrunnOption149,27419.66—
Christopher JewellRSU19,455—140,271
Christopher JewellOption47,40016.93—
Carsten BrunnRSU57,500—414,575
Blaine DavisOption77,74919.66—
Milos MiljkovicRSU19,000—136,990
Carsten BrunnRSU116,352—838,898
Blaine DavisRSU60,600—436,926
Blaine DavisRSU22,000—158,620
Christopher JewellRSU16,100—116,081
Metin KurtogluRSU16,100—116,081
Milos MiljkovicRSU13,704—98,806
Carsten BrunnOption169,10016.93—
Christopher JewellOption24,94819.66—
Blaine DavisOption64,60016.93—
Milos MiljkovicOption17,57419.66—
Milos MiljkovicOption56,00016.93—
Metin KurtogluOption3,5643.23—
Metin KurtogluOption47,40016.93—
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The company designs its executive compensation program to reward performance consistent with strategic and financial results, emphasizing variable pay over fixed pay to attract, retain, and motivate top talent. The program balances short-term and long-term incentives, with a significant portion of target total direct compensation delivered in equity awards to align executive interests with long-term stockholder value creation.

CEO STI target (% of salary)—
CEO LTI target (% of salary)—
Independent consultantCompensia
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-06-1213,659,709136,2176,033,19999.01%Passed
20252025-06-1319,701,123157,1321,72699.21%Passed
20232023-06-1663,731,5915,090,9401,074,19692.6%Passed
20222022-06-1759,419,3063,352,5862,678,80394.66%Passed
20212021-06-18—————
20202020-06-19—————

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year's compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company's computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company's computation
20262026-06-1299.01%a
20252025-06-1399.21%b
20232023-06-1692.6%c

a. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

b. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

c. Voting standard not stated in the filing.

Approval percentages are the company's own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Carrie S. CoxIndependent · Compensation · Departed during FY$82,880$44,018$103,635—$0$230,533
Patrick Zenner, M.B.AIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair)71,84844,018101,044—0216,910
Timothy C. Barabe, M.B.AIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Compensation · Nominating and Corporate Governance65,00044,018101,044—0210,062
Murat Kalayoglu, M.D., Ph.DIndependent · Departed during FY58,83644,018101,044—0203,898
Nishan de Silva, M.D., M.B.AIndependent · Audit · Compensation57,50044,018101,044—0202,562
Kemal Malik, M.B.B.SIndependent · Compensation (Chair) · Science and Technology56,30444,018101,044—0201,366
Michael Singer, M.D., Ph.DIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Science and Technology52,50044,018101,044—0197,562
Timothy A. Springer, Ph.DIndependent · Nominating and Corporate Governance · Science and Technology47,50044,018101,044—0192,562
Adrian Bot, M.D., Ph.DIndependent · Science and Technology (Chair)2,06548,082108,960—0159,107
Carsten Brunn, Ph.DEmployee director · Board Chair—————0
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$40,000
Annual equity retainer—
Per board meeting fee—
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)20,000 / 15,000 / 10,000
Stock ownership guideline—
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$494,433
Equity awards (grant-date value)$400,226
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$894,659

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc..

10b

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company's own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Cogent Biosciences2025Andrew Robbins$724,554$12,993,250$13,447,680$561,600$27,762,684
2MeiraGTx Holdings2025Alexandria Forbes840,0005,823,500——8,330,006
3Corvus Pharmaceuticals2025Richard Miller36,56606,989,00007,031,566
4Viridian Therapeutics2025Stephen Mahoney700,0001,058,0984,381,713630,0006,776,249
5Allogene Therapeutics2025David Chang724,0002,409,5372,588,329400,0106,136,093
6AnaptysBio2025Daniel Faga706,0111,592,0013,345,653465,9686,133,943
7Replimune Group2026Sushil Patel700,0003,376,0031,448,325315,0005,845,982
8Candel Therapeutics2025Paul Peter Tak743,59203,916,028396,6535,344,561
9Savara2025Matthew Pauls660,0003,870,0000297,0004,845,000
10Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.2025Carsten Brunn674,000973,4752,314,320363,9604,329,868
11Annexon2025Douglas Love670,83302,522,260371,2503,579,202
12Rocket Pharmaceuticals2025Gaurav Shah671,076806,7511,613,377403,0483,510,241
13Rezolute2025Nevan Charles Elam610,8251,767,204002,851,109
14Lineage Cell Therapeutics2025Brian Culley691,8000882,970518,9002,111,170
15MacroGenics2025Eric Risser561,56852,0001,049,386251,9002,078,854
164D Molecular Therapeutics2025David Kirn667,2520822,750560,5972,051,343
17Alector2025Arnon Rosenthal678,100422,876558,216325,4881,995,018

Each peer's compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer's figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedCompensia
4D Molecular Therapeutics140%Options 100not disclosedRadford (part of the Rewards Solutions practice at Aon plc)
Alector80%not disclosednot disclosedPearl Meyer & Partners, LLC
Allogene Therapeuticsnot disclosedOption 55 · RSU 25 · PSU 20not disclosedCompensia
AnaptysBio110%not disclosedNoAlpine Rewards
Annexon100% of target%not disclosednot disclosedAlpine Rewards
Candel Therapeuticsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedRadford, an Aon company
Cogent Biosciences135%not disclosedNoCompensia
Corvus Pharmaceuticalsnot disclosedOption 100not disclosednot disclosed
Lineage Cell Therapeuticsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedAnderson
MacroGenics85%not disclosednot disclosedAlpine Rewards, LLC
MeiraGTx Holdingsnot disclosedRSU 100not disclosedTotal Compensation Solutions
Replimune Groupnot disclosednot disclosedNoPearl Meyer
Rezolutenot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Rocket Pharmaceuticalsnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosedSemler Brossy
Savara90%RSU 100not disclosedAon
Viridian Therapeutics150%Options 75 · RSU 25not disclosedCompensia

Read from each company's Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company's filing does not state the item.

10d

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest-paid executive at Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. in fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Carsten Brunn (President and Chief Executive Officer) was the highest-paid executive at Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. in fiscal 2025, with total compensation of $4,329,868.
How does Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s chief executive pay compare to its disclosed peer group?
As disclosed, Carsten Brunn's total compensation ranked at the 44th percentile of Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s disclosed peer group.
How did shareholders vote on Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s executive compensation?
As disclosed, 99.01% of shareholders supported Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s executive compensation in the latest say-on-pay vote.
How much does Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. spend in total on board compensation for fiscal 2025?
As disclosed, Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. reported total board compensation of $894,659 for fiscal 2025.

Answers are drawn only from the figures disclosed in this brief and cited to their location in the source filing. Where a figure required for an answer is not disclosed, that is stated rather than estimated.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Carsten BrunnDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 4,329,868. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c45 · span 520739–520748
2Section 01, Metin KurtogluDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,474,034. Filing ↗machine: r16 · c45 · span 551772–551781
3Section 01, Christopher JewellDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 2,015,707. Filing ↗machine: r14 · c45 · span 544711–544720
4Section 01, Blaine DavisDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,949,927. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c45 · span 527377–527386
5Section 01, Milos MiljkovicDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Executive Compensation”. As printed: 1,657,535. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c45 · span 533987–533996
6Section 08, Carrie S. CoxDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 230,533. Filing ↗machine: span 745669–745975
7Section 08, Patrick Zenner, M.B.ADEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 216,910. Filing ↗machine: span 760148–760454
8Section 08, Timothy C. Barabe, M.B.ADEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 210,062. Filing ↗machine: span 740638–740970
9Section 08, Murat Kalayoglu, M.D., Ph.DDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 203,898. Filing ↗machine: span 750482–750788
10Section 08, Nishan de Silva, M.D., M.B.ADEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 202,562. Filing ↗machine: span 747982–748288
11Section 08, Kemal Malik, M.B.B.SDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 201,366. Filing ↗machine: span 752794–753100
12Section 08, Michael Singer, M.D., Ph.DDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 197,562. Filing ↗machine: span 755532–755838
13Section 08, Timothy A. Springer, Ph.DDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 192,562. Filing ↗machine: span 757842–758148
14Section 08, Adrian Bot, M.D., Ph.DDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 159,107. Filing ↗machine: span 743184–743490
15Section 08, Carsten Brunn, Ph.DDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
16Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-06-170001453687-26-000090Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.01% (votes for as printed: 13,659,709). Filing ↗
17Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-06-160001453687-25-000093Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 99.21% (votes for as printed: 19,701,123). Filing ↗
18Section 06, 2023 voteForm 8-K2023-06-160001453687-23-000059Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 92.6% (votes for as printed: 63,731,591). Filing ↗
19Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)Computed——Δ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
20Section 09b board cost (computed)Computed——Cash 494,433 + equity 400,226 + all other 0 = 894,659, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 894,659
21Cogent Biosciences, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-230001193125-26-173834CEO total compensation as printed in Cogent Biosciences's own proxy. As printed: 27,762,684. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c39 · span 369353–369363
22MeiraGTx Holdings, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-300001104659-26-052190CEO total compensation as printed in MeiraGTx Holdings's own proxy. As printed: 8,330,006. Filing ↗
23Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-240001104659-26-048595CEO total compensation as printed in Corvus Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 7,031,566. Filing ↗
24Viridian Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-170001193125-26-160344CEO total compensation as printed in Viridian Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 6,776,249. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c35 · span 371769–371778
25Allogene Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-300001628280-26-028948CEO total compensation as printed in Allogene Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 6,136,093. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c54 · span 451014–451023
26AnaptysBio, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-06-290001193125-26-288408CEO total compensation as printed in AnaptysBio's own proxy. As printed: 6,133,943. Filing ↗machine: span 694406–694415
27Replimune Group, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-07-290001104659-26-087650CEO total compensation as printed in Replimune Group's own proxy. As printed: 5,845,982. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c41 · span 430765–430774
28Candel Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001193125-26-191506CEO total compensation as printed in Candel Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 5,344,561. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c33 · span 520483–520492
29Savara, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-240001193125-26-177353CEO total compensation as printed in Savara's own proxy. As printed: 4,845,000. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c30 · span 340387–340396
30Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-280001453687-26-000072CEO total compensation as printed in Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 4,329,868. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c45 · span 520739–520748
31Annexon, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-270001140361-26-017085CEO total compensation as printed in Annexon's own proxy. As printed: 3,579,202. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c24 · span 356205–356214
32Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-060001140361-26-013335CEO total compensation as printed in Rocket Pharmaceuticals's own proxy. As printed: 3,510,241. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c24 · span 348766–348775
33Rezolute, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-070001104659-25-097509CEO total compensation as printed in Rezolute's own proxy. As printed: 2,851,109. Filing ↗
34Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-290001193125-26-191556CEO total compensation as printed in Lineage Cell Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 2,111,170. Filing ↗machine: span 377951–377960
35MacroGenics, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-080001125345-26-000021CEO total compensation as printed in MacroGenics's own proxy. As printed: 2,078,854. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c57 · span 494189–494198
364D Molecular Therapeutics, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-280001140361-26-017427CEO total compensation as printed in 4D Molecular Therapeutics's own proxy. As printed: 2,051,343. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c21 · span 356185–356194
37Alector, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-280001193125-26-186928CEO total compensation as printed in Alector's own proxy. As printed: 1,995,018. Filing ↗machine: span 1038665–1038674
38Section 10a, MacroGenics reciprocityDEF 14A—0001125345-26-000021MacroGenics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
39Section 10a, Viridian Therapeutics reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-160344Viridian Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
40Section 10a, AnaptysBio reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-288408AnaptysBio's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
41Section 10a, Savara reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-177353Savara's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
42Section 10a, Allogene Therapeutics reciprocityDEF 14A—0001628280-26-028948Allogene Therapeutics's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
43Section 10a, Cogent Biosciences reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-173834Cogent Biosciences's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
44Section 10a, Alector reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-186928Alector's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, Lineage Cell Therapeutics reciprocityDEF 14A—0001193125-26-191556Lineage Cell Therapeutics names Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗

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