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): April 15, 2021

IKENA ONCOLOGY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Ikena Oncology, Inc.

645 Summer Street, Suite 101

Boston, Massachusetts 02210

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(857) 273-8343

(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:

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

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 April 15, 2021, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Ikena Oncology, Inc. (the “Company”) unanimously appointed Dr. Maria Koehler to fill a newly created vacancy on the Board resulting from an increase in the size of the Board from six (6) to seven (7) directors. Upon her appointment, Dr. Koehler became a member of the slate of Class I directors with terms expiring at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company. The Board has determined that Dr. Koehler qualifies as an independent director and is qualified to serve under the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the listing rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. For her service on the Board, Dr. Koehler will receive the same compensation as other non-employee directors, as described in the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering, dated March 25, 2021. Dr. Koehler has also entered into the Company’s standard form of indemnification agreement.

There are no arrangements or understandings between Dr. Koehler and any other persons pursuant to which she was elected as a director of the Company. There are no family relationships between Dr. Koehler and any director or executive officer of the Company, and she has no direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Dr. Koehler is qualified to serve on the Board based on her leadership experience in oncology drug development at various companies biopharmaceutical companies.

A copy of the Company’s press release announcing the appointment of Dr. Koehler is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

SIGNATURE

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.

Exhibit 99.1

Ikena Oncology Appoints Dr. Maria Koehler to its Board of Directors

Boston, MA – April 15, 2021 – Ikena Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKNA) (“Ikena”), a targeted oncology company focused on developing cancer therapies targeting key signaling pathways that drive the formation and spread of cancer, today announced the appointment of Maria Koehler, M.D., Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Koehler is a board-certified hematologist and oncologist with more than 20 years of pharmaceutical and biotech oncology experience in clinical development, including senior roles at Pfizer where she led the development of Ibrance^® (palbociclib) and contributed to the strategic direction of the oncology portfolio.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Maria to our Board of Directors at this important next stage of Ikena’s evolution,” said Mark Manfredi, President & Chief Executive Officer of Ikena. “Maria is a highly accomplished biopharmaceutical veteran. During her distinguished career, she has led the development of numerous oncology drugs from early- to late-stage clinical investigation, through to commercialization. Her leadership and strategic expertise will be invaluable as we advance IK-930, our lead targeted oncology candidate, into clinical development, followed thereafter by our other pipeline programs targeting cancers with high unmet need.”

“It is a privilege to join Ikena’s Board of Directors during such an exciting period of growth following the Company’s recent IPO, and as Ikena advances IK-930 towards clinical development during the second half of 2021,” said Dr. Koehler. “I look forward to working alongside Ikena’s current Board members and executive management to advance Ikena’s innovative drug candidates through clinical development and toward commercialization where they can truly benefit patients.”

Dr. Koehler brings deep experience in both early drug development and bringing new drugs to global markets, having developed strategies for product candidates at all stages of development. Dr. Koehler currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Repare Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RPTX), where she leads clinical strategy and oversees all operations. Dr. Koehler joined Repare from Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BCYC) where she was Chief Medical Officer. Prior to Bicycle, she was Vice President of Strategy, Innovation and Collaborations for the Oncology Business Unit at Pfizer. Prior to Pfizer, she served in leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline and at AstraZeneca. She is board certified in hematology and oncology. She began her career as a practicing physician and served as the clinical director of Bone Marrow Transplantation at University Hospital in Pittsburgh as well as the director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program and associate professor at St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Koehler received her M.D. and Ph.D. from the Silesian Medical School in Poland and has co-authored over 150 publications, book chapters, and patents.

About Ikena Oncology

Ikena Oncology is a targeted oncology company focused on developing cancer therapies targeting key signaling pathways that drive the formation and spread of cancer. Ikena is advancing five programs that include four product candidates in either clinical development or IND-enabling studies: IK-930, a TEAD inhibitor targeting the Hippo signaling pathway; an ERK5 inhibitor program targeting the KRAS signaling pathway; IK-175, an AHR antagonist; IK-412, a kynurenine-degrading enzyme; and IK-007, an EP4 receptor antagonist. Ikena has entered into a global strategic collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for its IK-175 and IK-412 programs. To learn more visit www.ikenaoncology.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the timing and advancement of our targeted oncology programs; our expectations regarding the therapeutic benefit of our targeted oncology programs; expectations regarding our new director; our ability to efficiently discover and develop product candidates; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates; the implementation of our business model, and strategic plans for our business and product candidates. The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties related to the timing and advancement of our targeted oncology programs; our expectations regarding the therapeutic benefit of our targeted oncology programs; expectations regarding our new director; our ability to efficiently discover and develop product candidates; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates; the implementation of our business model, and strategic plans for our business and product candidates, and other risks identified in our SEC filings, including our Registration Statement on Form S-1, and subsequent filings with the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. We explicitly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Media Contact:

Liza Sullivan

Argot Partners

617-340-6073

liza@argotpartners.com

Investor Contact:

Sam Martin

Argot Partners

646-233-4302

sam@argotpartners.com