UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.    )

Filed by the Registrant  ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  ☐

Check the appropriate box:

BIOATLA, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

April 25, 2022

To Our Stockholders:

You are cordially invited to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or the Annual Meeting, of BioAtla, Inc. on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Due to the public health impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and to support the health and well-being of our stockholders, business partners, employees and board of directors, the Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting, conducted only via live webcast on the internet at www.proxydocs.com/BCAB. There will be no physical location for the Annual Meeting. You will be able to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online, submit questions during the meeting and vote your shares electronically. In addition, although the live webcast is available only to stockholders at the time of the meeting, following completion of the Annual Meeting, a webcast replay will be posted to the Investors—Events & Presentations section of our website at www.bioatla.com.

The matters expected to be acted upon at the Annual Meeting are described in the accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and proxy statement. The Annual Meeting materials include the notice, the proxy statement, our annual report and the proxy card, each of which is enclosed.

Please use this opportunity to take part in our affairs by voting on the business to come before the Annual Meeting. You will receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, or the Notice, which we expect to mail on or about April 29, 2022, unless you have previously requested to receive our proxy materials in paper form. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 18, 2022 may vote at the Annual Meeting and any postponements or adjournments of the meeting. All stockholders are cordially invited to participate in the Annual Meeting and any postponements or adjournments of the meeting. However, to ensure your representation at the Annual Meeting, please vote as soon as possible by using the internet or telephone, as instructed in the Notice. Alternatively, you may follow the procedures outlined in the Notice to request a paper proxy card to submit your vote by mail. Returning the paper proxy card or voting electronically does NOT deprive you of your right to participate in the virtual meeting and to vote your shares for the matters acted upon at the meeting.

Your vote is important. Whether or not you expect to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting, please submit your proxy electronically via the Internet or by telephone by following the instructions in the Notice or if you asked to receive the proxy materials in paper form, please complete, sign and date the proxy card and return it in the postage paid envelope provided.

BIOATLA, INC.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

April 25, 2022

For questions regarding your stock ownership, you may contact us through our Investors/Resources/Contact IR section of our website www.bioatla.com or, if you are a registered holder, contact our transfer agent, Philadelphia Stock Transfer, Inc., by telephone at (866) 223-0448 or by email at info@philadelphiastocktransfer.com.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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BIOATLA, INC.

PROXY STATEMENT FOR THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2022

April  25, 2022

INFORMATION ABOUT SOLICITATION AND VOTING

The accompanying proxy is solicited on behalf of our board of directors of BioAtla, Inc. (“BioAtla”) for use at BioAtla’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting” or “meeting”) to be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time via live webcast on the internet at www.proxydocs.com/BCAB. References in the Proxy Statement to “we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company” or “BioAtla” refer to BioAtla, Inc.

INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS

We will mail, on or about April 29, 2022, the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, or the Notice, to our stockholders of record and beneficial owners at the close of business on April 18, 2022. On the date of mailing of the Notice, all stockholders and beneficial owners will have the ability to access all of the proxy materials on a website referred to in the Notice. These proxy materials will be available free of charge.

The Notice will identify the website where the proxy materials will be made available; the date, the time and location of the Annual Meeting; the matters to be acted upon at the meeting and our board of directors’ recommendations with regard to each matter; a toll-free telephone number, an e-mail address, and a website where stockholders can request a paper or e-mail copy of the Proxy Statement; our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, or our Annual Report, and a form of proxy relating to the Annual Meeting; information on how to access the form of proxy; and information on how to participate in the meeting and vote in person.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE MEETING

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Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

If your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, Philadelphia Stock Transfer, Inc., you are considered the stockholder of record with respect to those shares, and the Notice or these proxy materials were sent directly to you by BioAtla.

Beneficial Owner of Shares Held in Street Name: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker or Nominee

If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer, or other similar organization, then you are the “beneficial owner” of shares held in “street name,” and the Notice or these proxy materials were forwarded to you by that organization. The organization holding your account is considered the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the Annual Meeting. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to instruct that organization on how to vote the shares held in your account. In most instances, you can do this over the internet, or if you have received or requested a hard copy of the proxy statement and accompanying voting instruction form, you may mark, sign, date and mail your voting instruction form using the envelope your broker, bank or other nominee provides. The materials that were sent to you have specific instructions for how to submit your vote and the deadline for doing so. If you would like to revoke your proxy, you must follow the broker, bank or other nominee’s instructions on how to do so.

Because you are not the stockholder of record, you are required to obtain a valid proxy from the organization that holds your shares giving you the right to vote the shares at the Annual Meeting.

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Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

If you are a stockholder of record, you may:

Votes submitted by telephone or through the internet must be received prior to the start of the meeting. Submitting your proxy, whether by telephone, through the internet or by mail if you request or received a paper proxy card, will not affect your right to vote in person should you decide to attend and participate in the meeting virtually.

Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker or Other Nominee

If you are not the stockholder of record, please refer to the voting instructions provided by your nominee to direct it how to vote your shares. Your vote is important. To ensure that your vote is counted, complete and mail the voting instruction card provided by your brokerage firm, bank, or other nominee as directed by your nominee. To electronically vote in person at the meeting online, you may be required to obtain a legal proxy from your nominee. Follow the instructions from your nominee included with our proxy materials or contact your nominee to request a proxy form. You must also register in advance to attend and participate in the meeting www.proxydocs.com/BCAB.

Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to participate in the Annual Meeting, we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure that your vote is counted.

The telephone and internet voting procedures are designed to authenticate stockholders’ identities, to allow stockholders to give their voting instructions and to confirm that stockholders’ instructions have been recorded properly.

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A broker non-vote occurs when the beneficial owner of shares fails to provide the broker, bank or other nominee that holds the shares with specific instructions on how to vote on any “non-routine” matters brought to a vote at the stockholders meeting. In this situation, the broker, bank or other nominee will not vote on the “non-routine” matter. Broker non-votes are counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present and have no effect on the outcome of the matters voted upon.

Note that if you are a beneficial holder, brokers and other nominees will be entitled to vote your shares on “routine” matters without instructions from you. The only proposal that would be considered “routine” in such event is the proposal for the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 (Proposal Two). A broker or other nominee will not be entitled to vote your shares on any “non-routine” matters, absent instructions from you. “Non-routine” matters include all proposals other than Proposal Two, including Proposals One and Three. Accordingly, we encourage you to provide voting instructions to your broker or other nominee whether or not you plan to attend the meeting.

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If you are the stockholder of record, you may change your vote by:

Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee and you wish to revoke a proxy, you must contact that firm to revoke any prior voting instructions.

The meeting webcast will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. We encourage you to access the meeting prior to the start time. Online check-in will begin at 7:45 a.m., Pacific Time, and you should allow ample time to check your audio/video connections and settings. We plan to have a webcast replay which will be posted to the Investors – Events & Presentations section of our website, which is located at www.bioatla.com.

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If you choose to receive future proxy materials by email, you will receive an email next year with instructions containing a link to those materials and a link to the proxy voting site. Your election to receive proxy materials by email will remain in effect until you terminate it.

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Brokers with account holders who are BioAtla stockholders may be householding our proxy materials. A single set of proxy materials may be delivered to multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected stockholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that it will be householding communications to your address, householding will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you notify your broker or BioAtla that you no longer wish to participate in householding.

If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in householding and would prefer to receive a separate proxy statement and annual report, you may (1) notify your broker, (2) direct your written request to: Investor Relations, BioAtla, Inc., 11085 Torreyana Road, San Diego, California 92121 or (3) contact our Investor Relations department by email at investors@bioatla.com or by telephone at (858) 558-0708. Stockholders who currently receive multiple copies of the proxy statement or annual report at their address and would like to request householding of their communications should contact their broker. In addition, we will promptly deliver, upon written or oral request to the address or telephone number above, a separate copy of the annual report and proxy statement to a stockholder at a shared address to which a single copy of the documents was delivered.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that stockholders may present proposals for inclusion in our proxy statement by submitting their proposals in writing to the attention of our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive office. Our current principal executive office is located at 11085 Torreyana Road, San Diego, California 92121. In addition, stockholder proposals must comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and related SEC regulations under Rule 14a-8 regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in company-sponsored proxy materials. In order to be included in the proxy statement for our 2023 Annual Meeting, stockholder proposals must be received by our Corporate Secretary no later than December 30, 2022 and must otherwise comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act.

Requirements for Stockholder Proposals to be presented at our 2023 Annual Meeting:

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that stockholders may present proposals to be considered at an annual meeting by providing timely notice to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive office. To be timely for

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our 2023 Annual Meeting, our Corporate Secretary must receive the written notice at our principal executive office:

If we hold our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after June 16, 2023 (the one-year anniversary date of the Annual Meeting), then notice of a stockholder proposal that is not intended to be included in our proxy statement must be received by our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive office not later than the close of business on the later of (i) the 90th day prior to such annual meeting, or (ii) the tenth day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such annual meeting is first made.

A stockholder’s notice to the Corporate Secretary must set forth as to each matter the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting the information required by our amended and restated bylaws. If a stockholder who has notified BioAtla of such stockholder’s intention to present a proposal at an annual meeting does not appear to present such stockholder’s proposal at such meeting, BioAtla does not need to present the proposal for vote at such meeting.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

We have a strong commitment to good corporate governance practices. These practices provide an important framework within which our board of directors, its committees and our management can pursue our strategic objectives in order to promote the interests of our stockholders.

Corporate Governance Guidelines

Our board of directors has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines that set forth expectations for directors, director independence standards, board committee structure and functions and other policies for the governance of our company. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines are available without charge on our website, www.bioatla.com, in the website’s “Investors/Governance” section. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines are subject to modification from time to time by our board of directors pursuant to the recommendations of our nominating and corporate governance committee.

Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

Our board of directors is currently chaired by Jay M. Short, Ph.D., who also serves as our Chief Executive Officer. Our board of directors does not have a policy regarding the separation of the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors, as our board of directors believes it is in our best interest to make that determination based on our position and direction and the membership of the board of directors. Our board of directors has determined that having an employee director serve as Chairman is in the best interest of our stockholders at this time because of the efficiencies achieved in having the role of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman combined, and because the detailed knowledge of our day-to-day operations and business that the Chief Executive Officer possesses greatly enhances the decision-making processes of our board of directors as a whole. We have a governance structure in place, including independent directors, designed to ensure the powers and duties of the dual role are handled responsibly. We do not have a lead independent director.

Although our board of directors does not have a standing risk management committee, it administers this oversight function directly through the board of directors as a whole, as well as through its standing committees that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. Our board of directors oversees the management of risks inherent in the operation of our business and the implementation of our business strategies. In connection with its reviews of our operations and corporate functions, our board of directors addresses the primary risks

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associated with those operations and corporate functions. Areas of focus include economic, operational, financial (accounting, credit, investment, liquidity and tax), competitive, legal, regulatory, cybersecurity, privacy, compliance and reputational, environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) risks, and more recently, risk exposures related to COVID-19. In addition, our board of directors reviews the risks associated with our business strategies periodically throughout the year as part of its consideration of undertaking any such business strategies. The risk oversight responsibility of our board of directors and its committees is supported by our management reporting processes, which are designed to provide visibility to our board of directors and to our personnel who are responsible for risk assessment and information about the identification, assessment and management of critical risks, and our management’s risk mitigation strategies.

Each of our board committees also oversees the management of our risks that fall within the committee’s areas of responsibility. In performing this function, each committee has full access to management, as well as the ability to engage advisors. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer report to the audit committee and are responsible for identifying, evaluating and implementing risk management controls and methodologies to address any identified risks. Our audit committee is responsible for reviewing and discussing our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including guidelines and policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The audit committee also monitors compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and assists our board of directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect to risk management, including risks related to cybersecurity matters. Our nominating and corporate governance committee assesses risks related to our corporate governance practices, ESG matters, the independence of our board of directors and monitors the effectiveness of our governance guidelines. Our compensation committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk-taking.

We believe this division of responsibilities is an effective approach for addressing the risks we face and that our board leadership structure supports this approach.

Board Diversity

We believe the board is most effective when it embodies a diverse range of views, backgrounds and experience. Diversity is considered in the broadest sense, including, among other attributes, reflecting geography, age, gender, leadership, perspectives, educational background, other board experience and commitments, business and professional achievements, skills and experience in the context of the needs of the Board. While the nominating and corporate governance committee does not have a formal policy on diversity with regard to consideration of director nominees, the nominating and corporate governance committee considers diversity in its selection of nominees and endeavors to include women and minority candidates in the qualified pool from which Board candidates are chosen.

The below table provides information related to the composition of our board members and nominees. Each of the categories listed in the table has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Rule 5605(f).

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Independence of Directors

The Nasdaq listing rules generally require that a majority of the members of a listed company’s board of directors be independent. In addition, the listing rules generally require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees be independent.

In addition, audit committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A 3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. In order to be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10A 3, a member of an audit committee of a listed company may not, other than in such member’s capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of directors or any other board committee (i) accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries or (ii) be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries.

Our board of directors conducts an annual review of the independence of our directors. Our board of directors has determined that none of the nominees and members of our board of directors other than Dr. Short and Mr. Smith has a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of our nominees and the current members of our board of directors other than Dr. Short and Mr. Smith is “independent” as that term is defined under the rules of Nasdaq. Our board of directors has also determined that all members of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are independent and satisfy the relevant SEC and Nasdaq independence requirements for such committees.

Committees of Our Board of Directors

Our board of directors has established an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. The composition and responsibilities of each committee are described below. Each of these committees has a written charter approved by our board of directors. Copies of the charters for each committee are available on the Investors/Governance section of our website, which is located at www.bioatla.com. Members serve on these committees until (i) they resign from their respective committee, (ii) they no longer serve as a director or (iii) as otherwise determined by our board of directors.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee is currently composed of Mary Ann Gray, Ph.D., who is the chair of our audit committee, Guy Levy, Sylvia McBrinn, and Edward Williams. The composition of our audit committee meets the requirements for independence under current Nasdaq listing standards and SEC rules and regulations. Each member of our audit committee is financially literate. In addition, our board of directors has determined that Dr. Gray qualifies as an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of Item 407(d) of Regulation S K of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. This designation does not impose any duties, obligations or liabilities that are greater than those generally imposed on members of our audit committee and our board of directors.

As more fully described in its charter, our audit committee, has responsibility for, among other things:

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Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee is currently composed of Sylvia McBrinn, who is the chair of our compensation committee, Susan Moran, M.D., M.S.C.E. and Lawrence Steinman, M.D. The composition of our compensation committee meets the requirements for independence under current Nasdaq listing standards and SEC rules and regulations. Each member of this committee is also a non-employee director, as defined pursuant to Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.

As more fully described in its charter, our compensation committee, has responsibility for, among other things:

Our compensation committee is authorized to select, engage, compensate and terminate compensation consultants, legal counsel and such other advisors, as it sees fit, to assist in carrying out their responsibilities and functions, including the oversight of our overall compensation philosophy, compensation plans and benefits programs and our executive compensation programs and related policies. In 2021, the compensation committee retained the services of Radford, which is part of the Rewards Solutions practice at Aon plc, to provide advice

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and recommendations on competitive market practices and to evaluate our executive and non-employee director compensation programs and practices and to provide advice and ongoing assistance on our equity programs. Radford provided no other services to the Company in 2021.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our nominating and corporate governance committee is composed of Lawrence Steinman, M.D., who is the chair of our nominating and corporate governance committee, Susan Moran, M.D., M.S.C.E. and Mary Ann Gray, Ph.D. The composition of our nominating and corporate governance committee meets the requirements for independence under current Nasdaq listing standards and SEC rules and regulations.

As more fully described in its charter, our nominating and corporate governance committee, has responsibility for, among other things:

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

The members of our compensation committee during 2021 included Ms. McBrinn, Dr. Moran, Dr. Steinman and former member of our board Priyanka Belawat, Ph.D. None of the members of our compensation committee in 2021 was at any time during 2021 or at any other time one of our officers or employees, and none had or have any relationships with us that are required to be disclosed under Item 404 of Regulation S-K. During 2021, none of our executive officers served as a member of the board of directors, or as a member of the compensation or similar committee, of any entity that has one or more executive officers who served on our board of directors or compensation committee.

Board and Committee Meetings and Attendance

Our board of directors and its committees meet regularly throughout the year, and also hold special meetings and act by written consent from time to time. During 2021, our board of directors met seven times and our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee met nine, five and four times, respectively.

During 2021, each member of our board of directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate of all meetings of our board of directors and of all meetings of committees of our board of directors on which such member served that were held during the period in which such director served.

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Board Attendance at Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Our policy is to invite and encourage each member of our board of directors to be present at our annual meetings of stockholders. All of the directors who were members of our board at the time of our 2021 annual meeting of stockholders attended the annual meeting of stockholders in 2021.

Communication with Directors

Stockholders and interested parties who wish to communicate with our board of directors, non-management members of our board of directors as a group, a committee of our board of directors or a specific member of our board of directors (including our Chairman and independent directors) may do so by letters addressed to the attention of our Corporate Secretary.

All communications are reviewed by the Corporate Secretary and provided to the members of our board of directors as appropriate. Unsolicited items, sales materials, abusive, threatening or otherwise inappropriate materials and other routine items and items unrelated to the duties and responsibilities of our board of directors will not be provided to directors.

The address for these communications is:

BioAtla, Inc.

11085 Torreyana Road

San Diego, California 92121

Attn: Corporate Secretary

Code of Conduct and Whistleblower Policy

We have adopted a Company Code of Conduct and Whistleblower Policy that applies to all of the members of our board of directors, officers and employees. Our Company Code of Conduct and Whistleblower Policy is posted on the Investors/Governance/Overview section of our website, which is located at www.bioatla.com. We intend to satisfy the disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such information on our website at the location specified above.

NOMINATIONS PROCESS AND DIRECTOR QUALIFICATIONS

Nomination to the Board of Directors

Candidates for nomination to our board of directors are selected by our board of directors based on the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee in accordance with its charter, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the criteria approved by our board of directors regarding director candidate qualifications. In recommending candidates for nomination, our nominating and corporate governance committee considers candidates recommended by directors, officers, employees, stockholders and others, using the same criteria to evaluate all candidates.

Additional information regarding the process for properly submitting stockholder nominations for candidates for nomination to our board of directors is set forth below under “Requirements for Stockholder Proposals to be considered for inclusion in our proxy materials for our 2023 Annual Meeting” and “Requirements for Stockholder Proposals to be presented at our 2023 Annual Meeting.”

Director Qualifications

With the goal of developing a diverse, experienced and highly qualified board of directors, our nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for developing and recommending to our board of directors the

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desired qualifications, expertise and characteristics of members of our board of directors, including any specific minimum qualifications that the committee believes must be met by a committee-recommended nominee for membership on our board of directors and any specific qualities or skills that the committee believes are necessary for one or more of the members of our board of directors to possess.

Because the identification, evaluation and selection of qualified directors is a complex and subjective process that requires consideration of many intangible factors, and will be significantly influenced by the particular needs of our board of directors from time to time, our board of directors has not adopted a specific set of minimum qualifications, qualities or skills that are necessary for a nominee to possess, other than those that are necessary to meet U.S. legal, regulatory and Nasdaq listing requirements and the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and the charters of the committees of our board of directors. When considering nominees, our nominating and corporate governance committee may take into consideration many factors including, among other things, a candidate’s independence, integrity, diversity, skills, financial and other expertise, breadth of experience, knowledge about our business or industry and ability to devote adequate time and effort to responsibilities of our board of directors in the context of its existing composition. Our board of directors does not have a formal policy with respect to diversity and inclusion; however, it affirms the value placed on diversity within our company. Through the nomination process, our nominating and corporate governance committee seeks to promote board membership that reflects a diversity of business experience, expertise, viewpoints, personal backgrounds and other characteristics that are expected to contribute to our board of directors’ overall effectiveness. Further, our board of directors is committed to actively seeking highly qualified women and individuals from minority groups to include in the pool from which new candidates are selected. The brief biographical description of each director set forth in “Proposal One: Election of Directors” below includes the primary individual experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of each of our directors that led to the conclusion that each director should serve as a member of our board of directors at this time.

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PROPOSAL ONE: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Our board of directors currently consists of eight directors and is divided into three classes, with staggered three-year terms, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws. Directors in Class II will stand for election at the Annual Meeting. The terms of office of directors in Class III and Class I expire at our Annual Meetings of Stockholders to be held in 2023 and 2024, respectively. At the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, our board of directors proposes that each of the three Class II nominees named below be elected as a Class II director for a three-year term expiring at our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified or until such director’s earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal.

Shares represented by proxies will be voted “FOR” the election of each of the three nominees named below, unless the proxy is marked to withhold authority to so vote. If any nominee for any reason is unable to serve or for good cause will not serve, the proxies may be voted for such substitute nominee as the proxy holder might determine. Each nominee has consented to being named in this Proxy Statement and to serve if elected. Proxies may not be voted for more than three directors. Stockholders may not cumulate votes for the election of directors.

Nominees to Our Board of Directors

The nominees and their ages, occupations and lengths of service on our board of directors as of April 23, 2022 are provided in the table below and in the additional biographical descriptions set forth in the text below the table.

Mary Ann Gray, Ph.D. has been a board member of public biotechnology companies for over 15 years and has held positions of audit committee chair, compensation committee chair and lead independent director. She has served on the board of Keros Therapeutics since December 2020, Rapt Therapeutics since December 2019, Palisade Bio (formerly Seneca Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.) since April 2021 and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. since December 2018. During her career as a board member she has also served on several other boards including Dyax Corp. from November 2004 until January 2016, Juniper Pharmaceuticals from April 2016 to August 2018, Senomyx from 2010 to December 2018, Galena Biopharma from April 2016 to December 2017, TetraLogic from November 2014 to November 2016 and Acadia Pharmaceuticals from 2005 to June 2016. Dr. Gray has been President of Gray Strategic Advisors, LLC since April 2004, a biotechnology strategic planning and advisory firm. Following an early career as a research scientist, she spent time in scientific positions at biotech and pharmaceutical companies. This was followed by over 7 years as a sell-side research analyst and over 4 years as a portfolio manager at the Federated Kaufmann Fund. Dr. Gray holds a B.S. in biology from University of South Carolina, a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Vermont, and completed her post-doctoral work at Northwestern University Medical School and at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Our board of directors believes Dr. Gray’s expertise and experience in the life sciences industry, her experience as a director of other companies in our industry and her educational background provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Susan Moran, M.D., M.S.C.E. has over 20 years of industry and academic experience, successfully leading programs through IND clearance to full regulatory approval. Most recently, Dr. Moran has served as Chief

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Medical Officer of RayzeBio since July 2021. Prior to that, since March 2018, Dr. Moran was Chief Medical Officer at QED Therapeutics, an affiliate of BridgeBio Pharma, where she oversaw clinical development of infigratinib. Prior to QED, Dr. Moran was at Puma Biotechnology, Inc. from 2014 to February 2018, contributing to the approval of Nerylnx. She was Senior Medical Director until December 2016 when her role expanded to Vice President and Head of Clinical Development. Dr. Moran has played roles in the development, registration, and post-marketing support of products for breast, prostate, thyroid, bile duct, urothelial, and neuroendocrine cancer, as well as multiple sclerosis and other disorders. She is a board-certified internist and has served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Moran received her B.A. from the University of Virginia, M.D. from Duke University, and M.S. in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Our board of directors believes Dr. Moran’s expertise and experience in the life sciences industry and her educational background provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Lawrence Steinman, M.D. is a professor of neurology and neurological sciences, pediatrics and genetics at Stanford University, where he has been a professor since 1980. Dr. Steinman’s research focuses on the causes of relapses and remissions in multiple sclerosis, or MS, the molecules that serve as a constraint on brain inflammation and the search for vaccines for autoimmune diseases. To date, Dr. Steinman has developed two antigen-specific therapies, using DNA vaccines, for MS and type 1 diabetes. Specifically, research in Dr. Steinman’s laboratory led to the development of the drug Tysabri (natalizumab), which is used to treat patients with Crohn’s Disease. He has received a host of awards for his research and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Steinman served as a member of the advisory board of BioAtla, LLC from April 2016 to July 2020 and served as a scientific advisor to BioAtla, LLC from April 2014 to May 2016. Dr. Steinman also served on the board of directors of Atreca, Inc., a biotechnology company focusing on developing novel therapeutics for applications in cancer treatment from January 2012 to August 2019. Dr. Steinman received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his M.D. from Harvard University.

Our board of directors believes Dr. Steinman’s extensive scientific research and experience as a director of various biotechnology companies, combined with his world-renowned expertise in biological molecules and immunology, provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Continuing Directors

The directors who are serving for terms that end following the Annual Meeting and their ages, occupations and lengths of service on our board of directors as of April 23, 2021 are provided in the table below and in the additional biographical descriptions set forth in the text below the table.

Jay M. Short, Ph.D. cofounded BioAtla in March 2007 and has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since that time. He founded the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, a public charity, and served as its President and Chairman from its inception in October 2005 through July 2008. In 1994, Dr. Short co-founded Diversa

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Corporation (now BASF Corporation), a biotechnology company focusing on enzyme and antibody development. He served as Director and Chief Technology Officer throughout his eleven year tenure. In 1998, he was named President, then Chief Executive Officer in February 1999 and led its initial public offering in 2000. From 1994 to 2008, Dr. Short also served as a director of Invitrogen (now Thermo Fisher Scientific). From its founding until 1994, Dr. Short served as President of Stratacyte Corporation, an antibody engineering company and subsidiary of Stratagene Cloning Systems, Inc. (now Agilent Technologies, Inc.), a biotechnology company. From 1985 through 1994, he also served in various roles including as Vice President of Research & Development and Operations. In 2006, Dr. Short was shortlisted by the editors of Nature Biotechnology as a personality making the most significant contribution to biotech in the past decade. In 2001, Dr. Short received San Diego’s 2001 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was the recipient of the two first place awards granted by UCSD, Connect Innovative Product Program, for pioneering cloning of human antibodies in bacteria and transgenic genotoxicity assay systems. He has authored more than 100 peer reviewed publications and is named inventor of over 500 issued patents. Dr. Short received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and his B.A. with honors in Chemistry from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Dr. Short has also attended and received Director Certification from the UCLA Anderson School of Business.

Our board of directors believes Dr. Short’s perspective and experience as our co-founder and Chief Executive Officer and his broad experience in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry, as well as his proven management experience in our industry, provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Scott Smith has served as President of BioAtla since September 2018 and has 30 years of biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry experience. In his 10 years at Celgene, a global biopharmaceutical company, from September 2008 to April 2018, his leadership role expanded from Vice President of Global Marketing for Inflammation & Immunology, to Global Head of that division, to President of the Inflammation & Immunology Franchise to his appointment in 2017 as Celgene’s President and Chief Operating Officer. With a particular emphasis and interest in immunology, Mr. Smith drove the growth of Celgene’s Inflammation and Immunology division from 13 to more than 1,300 persons worldwide and oversaw the clinical development, global registration and commercial success of the blockbuster drug Otezla^®. Mr. Smith served in various positions at Pharmacia, a pharmaceutical company, from August 1987 until it was acquired by Pfizer in 2003. He also served in various positions including General Manager Canada, General Manager US and Vice President and Head of Global Commercial Operations from July 2003 to August 2008 at Biovail, where he was responsible for sales and marketing, creating and executing commercial and business development strategies and contributing to regulatory and clinical development strategies. Mr. Smith also serves on the board of directors of Titan Pharmaceuticals, Triumvira Immunologics and Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Smith received both his BSc degree in Chemistry and Biology and his HBSc degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Western Ontario and his Masters of International Business Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Our board of directors believes Mr. Smith’s broad experience in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry, as well as his proven management experience in our industry, provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Edward Williams has served on our board as a director since December 2021. From 2006 to January 2017, Mr. Williams served as Senior Vice President of Biopharmaceuticals at Novo Nordisk Inc., a global healthcare company, where he was responsible for the general management of Novo Nordisk’s biotechnology business and increased that sector’s revenue three-fold by achieving market leadership in all three of its therapeutic areas including orphan biotech drugs and devices. He was recognized as Global General Manager of the Year, and he served on the global boards of strategy, commercial, marketing, management and business development. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Williams was Vice President of Sales of the Respiratory and Dermatology business unit at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. Mr. Williams began his career in biopharmaceuticals in 1980 with The Upjohn Company (Pharmacia, now Pfizer) in marketing and sales roles, rising to Regional Vice President of Sales for the

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Northeast Region in 2001–2003 and National Vice president of the acquired Searle Sales Force. Since March 2020, Mr. Williams has served as Special Advisor to the CEO at Ascendis Pharma, a clinical stage and commercial biopharmaceutical company. Additionally, he served as interim US Chief Commercial Officer at Ascendis Pharma from August 2020 to May 2021. Mr. Williams also serves on the board of Catalyst Biosciences, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, and has served on Catalyst’s audit committee, compensation committee and currently serves on the governance and nominating committee. Mr. Williams’ further served on the board of directors, and several of its committees, of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Mr. Williams received his B.S. in biology and chemistry from Marshall University.

Our board of directors believes Mr. Williams’ valuable experience and insight in the pharmaceutical business provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Sylvia McBrinn has more than 30 years of executive, operational and commercial leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Ms. McBrinn currently serves in various advisory roles, including as Executive in Residence at Yale University since March 2021 and Member of the Life Science Council of Springboard Enterprises, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurial companies led by women, since 2014. Ms. McBrinn co-founded and was Chief Executive Officer of Axerion Therapeutics, Inc. (now known as ReNetX Bio, Inc.), a biotech company, from 2009 to 2012. Prior to that, from 2005 to 2008, she served as Head, U.S. Organization of Vernalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, where she built and led its U.S. commercial organization, and from 2003 to 2004, she served as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Brand Pharmaceuticals of Andrx Laboratories, Inc., where she was responsible for leading its branded product division. Ms. McBrinn also held various positions at Pharmacia Corporation, a pharmaceutical company, from 1986 until it was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in 2003, including Vice President, Global and US Marketing, Bextra (Cox-2) from 2000 to 2003, Vice President, Global and US Marketing, Neurology from 1998 to 2000 and Vice President, Marketing, U.S. Marketing Company from 1997 to 1998. Ms. McBrinn received her B.S. in Biology from DeSales University and MBA from Widener University.

Our board of directors believes Ms. McBrinn’s extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including her experience in the commercialization and marketing of biopharma products across many therapeutic areas, as well as her expertise in commercial planning, marketing development, product launch and building commercial organizations, provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Guy Levy is the founder and has served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Soleus Capital Management, L.P. since September 2017. His career spans 18 years in healthcare and life sciences. Prior to founding Soleus, Mr. Levy worked at Paulson & Co. from 2010 to September 2017, where he was most recently a partner and portfolio manager. Prior to that, Mr. Levy worked as an investment analyst at Shumway Capital and Warburg Pincus. Mr. Levy began his career at Morgan Stanley, where he worked in the mergers & acquisitions and healthcare investment banking divisions. Mr. Levy holds a B.A. from Yale University, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Our board of directors believes Mr. Levy’s expertise and experience in the life sciences industry, as well as his educational background provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers.

Director Compensation

Director Compensation Table

The following table provides information concerning compensation awarded to, earned by and paid to each person who served as a non-employee member of our board during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

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Dr. Short and Mr. Smith are not included in the table below, as they are employed as our Chief Executive Officer and President, respectively, and receive no compensation for their service as directors. The compensation received by each of Dr. Short and Mr. Smith as an employee is shown in “Executive Compensation—Summary Compensation Table” below.

Non-Employee Director Compensation Arrangements

We maintain a non-employee director compensation program which is intended to provide a total compensation package that enables us to attract and retain qualified and experienced individuals to serve as directors and to align our directors’ interests with those of our stockholders.

Our non-employee director compensation policy provides that each non-employee director will receive the following compensation for service on our board:

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We also reimburse our directors for their reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses in connection with attending meetings of our board and committees.

The non-employee director compensation program is intended to provide a total compensation package that enables us to attract and retain qualified and experienced individuals to serve as directors and to align our directors’ interests with those of our stockholders.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR ALL” NOMINEES FOR THE ELECTION OF THE THREE CLASS II DIRECTORS SET FORTH IN THIS PROPOSAL ONE.

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PROPOSAL TWO: RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Our audit committee has selected Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to perform the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 and recommends that our stockholders vote for the ratification of such selection. The ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the number of votes cast “FOR” and “AGAINST” the proposal. In the event that Ernst & Young LLP is not ratified by our stockholders, the audit committee will review its future selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm.

Ernst & Young LLP audited our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting and they will be given an opportunity to make a statement at the Annual Meeting if they desire to do so, and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees and Services

We regularly review the services and fees from our independent registered public accounting firm. These services and fees are also reviewed with our audit committee annually. The following table provides information regarding the fees billed for professional services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:

Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Our audit committee’s policy is to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm, the scope of services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm and the fees for the services to be performed. These services may include audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services. Pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or category of services and is generally subject to a specific budget. Our independent registered public accounting firm and management are required to periodically report to the audit committee regarding the extent of services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in accordance with this pre-approval, and the fees for the services performed to date.

All of the services relating to the fees described in the table above for 2021 were approved by our audit committee.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” APPROVAL OF PROPOSAL TWO.

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PROPOSAL THREE: NON-BINDING ADVISORY VOTE ON THE FREQUENCY OF FUTURE NON-BINDING ADVISORY VOTES ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

In accordance with the rules of the SEC, we are providing our stockholders with an opportunity to make a non-binding, advisory vote on the frequency of future non-binding advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers. This non-binding advisory vote must be submitted to stockholders at least once every six years.

You have four choices for voting on this proposal. You can choose whether future non-binding advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers should be conducted every “ONE YEAR,” “TWO YEARS,” or “THREE YEARS.” You may also “ABSTAIN” from voting. The frequency that receives the greatest number of votes cast by stockholders on this matter at the meeting will be deemed to be the preferred frequency option of our stockholders.

After careful consideration, our board of directors recommends that future non-binding advisory votes on compensation of our named executive officers be held every year. Our board of directors believes that an annual vote will continue to allow our stockholders the ability to frequently communicate to us their position on the executive compensation through a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation, and aligns with our practice of engaging with stockholders to obtain their input on corporate governance matters and executive compensation philosophy, policies and practices. Our Compensation Committee is responsible for our executive compensation programs and values our stockholders’ opinions. We understand that our stockholders may have different views as to what is the best approach for the Company, and we look forward to hearing from our stockholders on this proposal.

Stockholders are not voting to approve or disapprove the board of directors’ recommendation. Instead, stockholders may indicate their preference regarding the frequency of future non-binding advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers by selecting one year, two years, or three years. Stockholders that do not have a preference regarding the frequency of future advisory votes may abstain from voting on the proposal. As an advisory vote, this proposal is not binding. However, our board of directors and nominating and corporate governance committee value the opinions expressed by stockholders in their vote on this proposal and will consider the outcome of the vote when making future decisions regarding the frequency of holding future non-binding advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS TO HOLD FUTURE NON-BINDING ADVISORY VOTES ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS “EVERY YEAR”

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SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 31, 2022 by:

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes any shares over which a person exercises sole or shared voting or investment power. Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge, the persons and entities named in the table have sole voting and sole investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned by them, subject to community property laws where applicable. Shares of our common stock subject to stock options that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2022 and shares issuable upon the settlement of RSUs that will vest within 60 days of March 31, 2022 are deemed to be outstanding and to be beneficially owned by the person holding the stock options or RSUs for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of that person, but are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

Percentage ownership of our common stock is based on 35,891,284 shares of our common stock outstanding and 1,492,059 shares of Class B common stock outstanding on March 31, 2022. Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each of the individuals and entities named below is c/o BioAtla, Inc., 11085 Torreyana Road, San Diego, California 92121.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Our executive officers and their ages as of April 23, 2022 and positions with BioAtla are provided in the table below and in the additional biographical descriptions set forth in the text below the table.

Our board of directors chooses our executive officers, who then serve at the discretion of our board of directors.

Jay M. Short, Ph.D. For a brief biography of Dr. Short, please see “Proposal One: Election of Directors-Continuing Directors.”

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Scott Smith For a brief biography of Mr. Smith, please see “Proposal One: Election of Directors-Continuing Directors.”

Richard A. Waldron has served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BioAtla since November 2013. Prior to joining us, from January 2011 until his appointment at BioAtla, Mr. Waldron served as an independent consultant to biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and information technology companies, advising management in the areas of finance, strategic planning, corporate partnering and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to his time as an independent consultant, he served as Chief Financial Officer of the Protein Production Division of Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company, and predecessor of Precigen, Inc., from December 2009 to December 2010. Before Intrexon Corporation, Mr. Waldron served as the Chief Financial Officer of SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly-traded specialty pharmaceutical company, from March 2001 to April 2008. Prior to SciClone, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Genelabs, Inc., a publicly-traded biotechnology company, from June 1999 to August 2000, and as the Chief Financial Officer of GeneMedicine, Inc., a publicly-traded biotechnology company, from July 1995 to March 1999. From May 1990 to July 1995, Mr. Waldron served as a Managing Director of Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, Inc., a brokerage and investment banking firm, which merged with Dain Bosworth Inc. in 1997 and subsequently acquired to be part of RBC Capital Markets. Mr. Waldron served as a senior healthcare investment banker at Cowen & Company, LLC from 1985 to 1990. He graduated with honors from Harvard Business School, and magna cum laude from Princeton University.

Eric Sievers, M.D. has served as Chief Medical Officer of BioAtla since June 2019 and has over 25 years of clinical and translational biomedical research experience in multiple settings, including the biotechnology industry, hospital- and clinic-based clinical practice and academia. Dr. Sievers’ most recent position prior to joining us was Chief Medical Officer at Symvivo Corporation, a biotechnology company, from April 2018 to June 2019 where he continues as an advisor. He was Chief Medical Officer at Trillium Therapeutics, an immune-oncology company, from March 2015 to January 2018, where he developed clinical trial strategies and oversaw all clinical development employing a decoy receptor to block the CD47 “do not eat” signal overexpressed by cancer cells. He spent nine years at Seattle Genetics, a biotechnology company, from May 2006 to March 2015, where his leadership role expanded from Senior Medical Director to Senior Vice President of Clinical Development. At Seattle Genetics, Dr. Sievers was closely involved with the development and regulatory approval of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin), an ADC, and led the clinical team and worked closely with Takeda (Millennium) as development partner to design, initiate and enroll four randomized Phase 3 registration trials for ADCETRIS, each of which ultimately resulted in new indications approved by the FDA. Prior to his career at Seattle Genetics, Dr. Sievers was Medical Director at ZymoGenetics, a biopharmaceutical company, from 2003 to May 2006 where he designed and supervised clinical trials of recombinant human interleukin 21 and TACI-Fc5 for patients with cancer and evaluated new oncology opportunities. Before ZymoGenetics, Dr. Sievers was with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington for 12 years, from June 1992 to June 2003, where he attained the positions of Assistant Member and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, respectively, from July 1999 to June 2003. During this time, he served as the lead investigator of Phase 1 and pivotal trials that resulted in the approval of an antibody drug conjugate MYLOTARG^® indicated for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Dr. Sievers performed his pediatrics training at the University of Washington from June 1988 to July 1991. Dr. Sievers received both his medical degree and his B.A. degree from Brown University.

Christian Vasquez has served as Corporate Controller of BioAtla since November 2015, and as Vice President of Finance and Secretary of BioAtla since July 2020. Mr. Vasquez has over 20 years of finance and business experience working with both public and private companies. Prior to joining BioAtla, he spent seven years at Cricket Communications, from October 2008 to October 2015, through its acquisition by AT&T, where his leadership role expanded to Associate Director of Accounting. He began his career with KPMG in their San Diego office’s audit practice. Mr. Vasquez received his BS degree in Accountancy from San Diego State University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

This Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”) explains the strategy, design, and decision-making related to our compensation programs and practices for our principal executive officer, our principal financial officer and our three other most highly compensated executive officers, referred to collectively as our “NEOs”. This CD&A is intended to provide perspective on the information contained in the tables that follow this discussion.

For fiscal 2021, our NEOs were:

Executive Summary

Fiscal 2021 Financial and Business Highlights

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing our novel class of highly specific and selective antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumor cancer. Our conditionally active biologics (“CAB” or “CABs”) capitalize on our proprietary discoveries with respect to tumor biology, enabling us to target known and widely validated tumor antigens that have previously been difficult or impossible to target.

Since the commencement of our operations, we have focused substantially all of our resources on conducting research and development activities, including drug discovery, preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, including the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials of mecbotamab vedotin and ozuriftamab vedotin, establishing and maintaining our intellectual property portfolio, manufacturing clinical and research material through third parties, continuing to build our team, establishing product development and commercialization collaborations with third parties, raising capital, and providing general and administrative support for these operations. Since 2014, such research and development activities have exclusively related to the research, development, manufacture, and Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical testing of our CAB antibody-based product candidates and the strengthening of our proprietary CAB technology platform and pipeline. We do not have any products approved for sale, and we have not generated any revenue from product sales.

Achievement of Corporate Performance Goals in 2021

In 2021, we achieved key corporate performance goals with respect to certain clinical development milestones, research and development goals, and strategic objectives, as described in more detail in the section titled “Annual Cash Incentive Bonuses—2021 Corporate Goals.” Our key achievements in 2021 included the following:

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Looking Ahead

Our mission is to develop and commercialize innovative antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumors that are designed to bind depending on the physical and chemical properties of tumors and their microenvironment. Our CAB technology enables us to generate antibodies that bind to their targets under conditions found in the tumor, but not in healthy tissue. We believe that our proprietary technology and approach have the potential to transform cancer therapy by decreasing systemic toxicities and improving efficacy.

2021 Executive Compensation Design

Fiscal 2021 was our first full year as a publicly-traded company, and many of our compensation decisions for the last year reflect our transition from private to public ownership. Prior to going public, our historical compensation philosophy was to provide relatively low cash compensation (both base salaries and bonuses). However, in order to continue to attract high quality executives and employees, we recognized that we needed to be more competitive on cash compensation going forward. We also began using equity incentives, in the form of time-based stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) in connection with the initial public offering of our common stock in December 2020 (our “IPO”).

Highlights of key compensation decisions made during our transition include:

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Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market. Our ability to compete and succeed in our market is directly correlated to our ability to recruit, incentivize, and retain talented individuals in the areas of product development, and general and administrative functions. The market for skilled personnel in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries is very competitive. Our Compensation Committee believes that the most effective compensation program is designed to attract and reward talented individuals who possess the skills necessary to support our business objectives and create long-term value for our stockholders, expand our business, and assist in the achievement of our strategic goals.

Our Compensation Committee believes executive compensation packages provided to our executives, including the NEOs, should include both cash and stock-based compensation that achieve the following goals:

Our Compensation Committee periodically reviews our compensation program design to ensure that it is aligned with the interests of our stockholders and our business goals, and that the total compensation paid to our employees and directors is fair, reasonable and competitive. Our Compensation Committee assesses market best practices in executive compensation to continually refine our programs, which have the following key features:

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Compensation Governance Highlights

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Executive Compensation Overview

The Company’s executive compensation program consists of three primary elements: base salaries, annual cash incentives, and long-term equity awards, as described below.

How We Determine Executive Compensation

Role of the Compensation Committee and Management

The Compensation Committee makes recommendations to our board for approval regarding the compensation arrangements of our CEO and our President and approves all compensation arrangements for our

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other executive officers and NEOs. Our Compensation Committee has numerous resources upon which it relies, including input from our board, CEO and independent consultants. However, the ultimate decision-making authority rests with the Compensation Committee. These decisions are based on a careful review of performance as well as the competitive market environment.

Members of management and advisors and consultants may be invited to participate in meetings, but the Compensation Committee meets regularly in executive session. Our CEO is often present and participates in discussions regarding compensation of our other executive officers. Executives, including our CEO, are not present during deliberations regarding their own performance or compensation.

Role of Compensation Consultant

In connection with our IPO in 2020, the Compensation Committee retained the services of Radford as its independent, external compensation consultant. Radford assists the Compensation Committee in its review of executive and director compensation practices, including the market competitiveness of compensation, executive compensation design, benchmarking with industry peers and other technical considerations including tax and accounting considerations.

For 2021 compensation matters, Radford advised and assisted with the following:

The Compensation Committee regularly evaluates the services Radford provides and has final authority to engage and terminate their services. Our Compensation Committee has assessed Radford’s independence consistent with Nasdaq listing standards and has concluded that the engagement of Radford does not raise any conflict of interest.

Pay Positioning and Compensation Peers

In setting compensation, the Compensation Committee compares base salaries, annual incentive opportunities and long-term compensation for the NEOs to a peer group of similarly sized companies. A key objective of our executive compensation program is to ensure that the overall compensation packages we offer our executives are competitive with the packages offered by companies with which we compete for executive talent. The Compensation Committee consults with its independent compensation consultant to develop a peer group of companies to serve as the basis for comparing our executive compensation program to the market.

When setting fiscal 2021 compensation, our Compensation Committee considered competitive market practices when setting total pay levels. However, competitive market data is only one of several resources made available to the Compensation Committee to assist it in setting executive compensation levels. While referencing peer group compensation levels is helpful in determining market-competitive compensation for our NEOs, our Compensation Committee does not directly tie any pay elements to particular benchmarks within the peer group. Rather, peer data is one consideration, along with employee skills and experience, individual performance, scope of responsibilities, and other factors. The Compensation Committee does not use a formula to determine compensation or as a fixed target.

In developing our 2021 peer group, the Compensation Committee considered the following key qualitative and quantitative considerations:

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Following this analysis, the Compensation Committee identified the following 20 companies as our 2021 peer group:

Frequency of Say-on-Pay Vote

Under rules adopted by the SEC which permit companies to delay their initial say-on-pay votes until the third year following their IPO, we will hold our first say-on-pay vote at our next annual meeting of stockholders and on an annual basis thereafter beginning in 2023. BioAtla first became a public company in December 2020 and we have made and are continuing to make significant changes to our executive compensation program to reflect our transition from a private to a public company. Our board believes that holding the say-on-pay vote at next year’s annual meeting of stockholders will enable our stockholders to provide more meaningful feedback regarding the transition of our compensatory programs and practices and the effectiveness of our executive compensation program and related business outcomes.

Elements of Executive Compensation

The Compensation Committee has developed an executive compensation program that consists of the following primary elements:

The relative mix of these components is generally weighted more towards incentive rather than fixed compensation and towards long-term incentive compensation compared to short-term incentive compensation. We believe this relative weighting ensures that the interests of our executives are aligned with those of our stockholders.

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Base Salary

In February 2021, the Compensation Committee, after considering the market practice survey data of our peer group provided by Radford, increased the base salaries for each of our NEOs (other than Mr. Vasquez) by 3.7%. The increase in compensation of our CEO (Dr. Short) and President (Mr. Smith) was subject to the approval of our board. The Compensation Committee approved the increase in the base salary for each of the NEOs based on individual merit and performance. In addition, in February 2021, the Compensation Committee increased Mr. Vasquez’s salary from $210,000 to $250,500 based on individual merit and to better align with competitive market pay practices. Mr. Vasquez’s salary was increased from $250,500 to $263,340 as of August 2021 based on market competitiveness, and was increased from $263,340 to $301,900 as of September 2021, based on individual merit and performance.

The following table summarizes the annual base salary rates of our NEOs at fiscal year-end in 2021 compared to 2020.

Annual Cash Incentive Bonuses

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2021 Bonus Opportunities

In February 2021, based on the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, the board approved the 2021 Corporate Bonus Plan (“Bonus Plan”) and certain corporate performance goals applicable for 2021. The corporate performance goals were established by the Compensation Committee, based on its assessment of the Company’s business environment, competitive position, and performance.

The Bonus Plan provided our executives with the opportunity to earn an annual cash bonus that was paid based on the achievement of pre-determined performance goals. Under the Bonus Plan, bonus targets were expressed as a percentage of base salary, with executives potentially earning a bonus based on actual achievement versus the corporate performance goals and (for Mr. Vasquez) individual performance goals. For our NEOs (other than Mr. Vasquez), the achievement of corporate goals was weighted at 100%. For executives at the Vice President level or below (which includes Mr. Vasquez), the achievement of corporate goals was weighted at 75% and the achievement of individual performance goals was weighted at 25%. The table below sets forth the 2021 targets and weighting under the Bonus Plan for each member of our management team. These bonus targets are reviewed annually by the Compensation Committee and adjusted if deemed appropriate by the Compensation Committee. The 2021 targets remained unchanged from 2020.

The 2021 corporate performance goals consisted of certain clinical development milestones (55% weight), research and development goals (25% weight), and strategic objectives (20% weight), as described in greater detail below. The amount of annual bonus earned depended on whether the Company achieved the performance level for the applicable corporate performance goal. Each of the performance goals was measured independently of the other. Payment of cash bonuses was subject to attaining 50% threshold performance of the weighted combination of the corporate performance goals overall. Actual payouts could range from 50% to 125% of target, based on performance.

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The 2021 target annual bonus amount for each NEO was set at a percentage of the executive’s annual base salary as set forth in the table below:

2021 Corporate Goals

At the beginning of each year, the Compensation Committee recommends, and the board approves, strategic, operational and/or financial objectives for our Company for the upcoming year, as developed by our NEOs and other members of management. For 2021, bonuses were earned based on achievement against the Company’s 2021 corporate goals. In evaluating the Company’s performance for 2021, the Compensation Committee considered the Company’s achievement of three pre-determined corporate performance goals, as described in the table below.

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2021 Earned Cash Incentives

After reviewing the Company’s actual achievement against the corporate performance goals in 2021, as outlined above, the Compensation Committee determined that 2021 annual bonuses were earned at 90% of target with respect to our NEOs (other than our CEO and our President). This determination was based on the Compensation Committee’s careful consideration of the Company’s achievement of the clinical development milestones, research and development milestones, and strategic objectives for fiscal year 2021. On February 21, 2022, the Compensation Committee recommended, and on February 22, 2022, the board approved, the 2021 cash bonus amounts for our CEO and our President. On February 21, 2022, the Compensation Committee approved the 2021 cash bonus amounts for each of our other NEOs (other than Ms. Anderson Short). For Mr. Vasquez, his individual performance was also considered (with a weighting of 25%), and the Compensation Committee determined that his individual achievement would be weighted at 110%.

The annual cash bonus for each NEO was equal to (1) the applicable target annual bonus amount multiplied by (2) the percentage achievement applicable to the weighted combination of the corporate performance goals identified above as achieved by the Company in 2021 (and, in the case of Mr. Vasquez the achievement of certain individual performance goals). The annual cash incentive amounts for the NEOs for 2021 are set forth in the table below.

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Long-Term Equity Incentives

Historically, our executives have generally been awarded an initial new hire equity grant upon commencement of employment. Additional equity grants may occur periodically in order to specifically incentivize executives with respect to achieving certain corporate goals or to reward executives for exceptional performance.

In connection with our IPO, we granted equity awards to our NEOs pursuant to our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan. These grants consisted of both time-vesting RSUs and stock options. The RSUs vest over three or four years (with a one-year cliff), subject to continued service on each applicable vesting date. The stock options vest over four years (with a one-year cliff), subject to continued service on each applicable vesting date. Given the long-term nature of these awards as evidenced by the vesting periods, as well as the relatively recent grant date of these awards, the Compensation Committee determined that it was appropriate to not grant any equity awards to our executives in 2021.

Going forward, equity compensation will continue to be a key component of our executive compensation program. Our Compensation Committee has granted equity awards to our NEOs in 2022 to ensure that a significant portion of our executive compensation consists of unvested long-term incentives. We anticipate that our Compensation Committee will grant performance-based equity awards in the future to our executive officers and employees, in order to maintain a significant, long-term alignment between such individuals and our stockholders. The grant of performance-based equity awards will help ensure that a significant portion of our

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at-risk compensation is performance based. Such awards are intended to set appropriate incentives in place to promote a focus on our long-term strategic objectives.

Executive Employment Arrangements

We have entered into offer letter agreements or employment agreements with each of our NEOs, as further described below. Each of our NEOs’ employment is “at-will” and may be terminated by the Company at any time and for any reason.

Dr. Short. In March 2007, we entered into a verbal agreement with Dr. Short, which was later memorialized by an employment letter agreement. Pursuant to the employment letter agreement, beginning April 2, 2007, Dr. Short was entitled to an annual base salary of $250,000, which was increased to $609,840 in 2019, $634,233 in 2020 and $659,592 in 2021. For a description of the severance agreement that we have entered into with Dr. Short, please see the section titled “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

Mr. Smith. On August 2, 2018, we entered into an offer letter agreement with Mr. Smith, whereby Mr. Smith agreed to serve as our President. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Smith was entitled to an annual base salary of $500,000 and a target discretionary bonus amount of 50% of his base salary, which was increased to $508,750 in 2019, $529,100 in 2020 and $550,271 in 2021. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Smith also received 1,750,000 time-vesting profits interest awards and 1,750,000 performance-based profits interest awards pursuant to the profits interest plan and 1,750,000 units in BioAtla Holdings, LLC. On July 10, 2020, we completed a corporate reorganization and in connection with such corporate reorganization, all of Mr. Smith’s profits interest awards were replaced by equivalent awards in Himalaya Parent LLC. For a description of the severance agreement that we have entered into with Mr. Smith, please see the section titled “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

Mr. Waldron. On October 21, 2013, we entered into an offer letter agreement with Mr. Waldron, whereby Mr. Waldron agreed to serve as our Chief Financial Officer. Pursuant to this agreement, Mr. Waldron was entitled to an annual base salary of $200,000 and a target discretionary bonus of up to $125,000, which base salary was increased to $402,800 in 2019, $420,030 in 2020 and $435,673 in 2021. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Waldron also received time-vesting profits interest awards in a number equal to 1% of the outstanding units on Mr. Waldron’s hiring date. On July 10, 2020, we completed a corporate reorganization and in connection with such corporate reorganization, all of Mr. Waldron’s profits interest awards were replaced by equivalent awards in Himalaya Parent LLC. For a description of the severance agreement that we have entered into with Mr. Waldron, please see the section titled “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

Dr. Sievers. On June 17, 2019, we entered into an offer letter agreement with Dr. Sievers, whereby Dr. Sievers agreed to serve as our Chief Medical Officer. Pursuant to the agreement, Dr. Sievers was entitled to an annual base salary of $375,000 and a target discretionary bonus amount of 40% of his base salary, which was increased to $405,600 in 2021. Pursuant to the agreement, Dr. Sievers also received time-vesting profits interest awards in a number equal to 1.2% of the fully-diluted percentage interests of the Company under its LLC Operating Agreement. On July 10, 2020, we completed a corporate reorganization and in connection with such corporate reorganization, all of Dr. Sievers’ profits interest awards were replaced by equivalent awards in Himalaya Parent LLC.

Mr. Vasquez. On October 22, 2015, we entered into an offer letter agreement with Mr. Vasquez, whereby Mr. Vasquez agreed to serve as our Corporate Controller. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Vasquez was entitled to an annual base salary of $145,000 and a target discretionary bonus amount of 20% of his base salary, which was increased to $190,080 in 2019, $210,000 in 2020 and $301,900 in 2021. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Vasquez also received 100,000 time-vesting profits interest awards. On July 10, 2020, we completed a corporate reorganization and in connection with such corporate reorganization, all of Mr. Vasquez’s profits interest awards were replaced by equivalent awards in Himalaya Parent LLC.

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Ms. Anderson Short. On November 30, 2015, we entered into an offer letter agreement with Ms. Anderson Short, whereby Ms. Anderson Short agreed to serve as our Chief of Intellectual Property and Strategy. Pursuant to the agreement, Ms. Anderson Short was required to dedicate 75% of her time to the business and entitled to an annual base salary of $320,000, which was increased to $530,232 in 2019 and $551,441 in 2020, and a target discretionary bonus amount of 50% of her base salary. For a description of the transition agreement that we entered into with Ms. Anderson Short, please see the section titled “Other Compensation Policies and Practices—Transition Agreement with Carolyn Anderson Short.”

Other Compensation Policies and Practices

Risk Assessment of Compensation Policies and Practices

The Compensation Committee has reviewed the Company’s compensation policies and practices to assess whether they encourage employees to take inappropriate risks. After reviewing and assessing the Company’s compensation philosophy, terms and practices, including the mix of fixed and variable pay and incentive plan structures, the Compensation Committee determined that any risks arising from our compensation policies and practices for our employees are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our Company. The reasons for our Compensation Committee’s determination include the following:

Insider Trading Policy

Our NEOs, employees, and directors are subject to our insider trading policy.

Under the terms of our insider trading policy, no employees, contractors, consultants and members of our board of directors (and their respective family members and any affiliated entities, such as venture capital funds) may engage in short sales or other hedging or monetization transactions involving our securities, such as exchange funds, prepaid variable forwards, equity swaps, puts, calls, collars, forwards and other derivative instruments. In addition, such persons may not hold our securities in a margin account or pledge our securities as collateral for a loan.

Severance and Change in Control Benefits Summary

All of our current NEOs are employed at-will and may be terminated at any time, with or without formal cause. We have entered into arrangements with each of Dr. Short and Mr. Smith which provide for certain severance benefits upon a termination of employment, subject to the executive’s execution of a release agreement acceptable to us. Dr. Short is entitled to certain cash benefits and equity acceleration upon any termination of his employment, which was subject to the occurrence of a change in control (which has already been triggered). In addition, Mr. Smith is entitled to certain cash benefits upon a termination without cause under his offer letter. These severance benefits have been provided to select NEOs in order to assist us in recruiting and retaining

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talented individuals and to align the executives’ interests with the best interests of our stockholders. We believe these severance benefits are consistent with those provided by our peer group and are an essential element of our overall executive compensation package due to the competitive market for executive talent in our industry.

In addition, we have entered into a “double-trigger” severance agreement with each of Messrs. Smith and Waldron, pursuant to which each executive is entitled to certain cash benefits and accelerated vesting of equity awards in the event of a qualifying termination following a change in control, subject to the executive’s execution of a release agreement acceptable to us. These arrangements are considered “double-trigger”, as they require both a change in control as well as a qualifying termination of employment. Our Compensation Committee believes that “double- trigger” provisions preserve morale and productivity, and encourage executive retention in the event of a change in control. These provisions are considered a typical component of a competitive executive compensation program for executives among our 2021 peer group.

A description of the severance benefits provided under our executive officer arrangements is provided below under the heading “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control.”

Transition Agreement with Carolyn Anderson Short

On March 23, 2021, the Company entered into a transition agreement with Ms. Anderson Short, our Co-founder and Executive Vice President and Chief of Intellectual Property and Strategy. Pursuant to this transition agreement, Ms. Anderson Short continued in her role with the same base salary and employee benefits until her employment with the Company was terminated on May 31, 2021. Upon her separation from the Company and subject to her execution of a release of claims, Ms. Anderson Short received the following severance benefits as set forth in the transition agreement, which satisfied existing severance obligations owing to her under a legacy pre-IPO severance agreement she had entered into with the Company on July 1, 2018: (i) a lump sum payment equal to 18 months of Ms. Anderson Short’s then-current base salary, (ii) a payment at her targeted bonus rate for 2021, pro-rated to the date of her termination of employment, and (iii) full accelerated vesting of her time-vesting stock options and RSUs.

Health and Welfare Benefits

All of our current NEOs are eligible to participate in our employee benefit plans, including our medical, dental, vision, life, disability and accidental death and dismemberment insurance plans, in each case on the same basis as all of our other employees. We pay the premiums for the life, disability, accidental death and dismemberment insurance for all of our employees, including our NEOs.

Retirement Plan

We maintain a defined contribution employee retirement plan, or 401(k) plan, for our employees. Our NEOs are also eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan on the same basis as our other employees. The 401(k) plan is intended to qualify as a tax-qualified plan under Section 401(k) of the Code. The plan provides that each participant may contribute 100% of his or her eligible compensation or the statutory limit, which was $19,500 for calendar year 2021. Participants who are 50 years or older can also make “catch-up” contributions, which in calendar year 2021 may be up to an additional $6,500 above the statutory limit. We may also elect to provide for discretionary profit sharing contributions, but we did not provide any such contributions in 2021. The 401(k) plan currently does not offer the ability to invest in our securities.

Except as described above, none of our NEOs participate in or have account balances in nonqualified defined contribution plans or other nonqualified deferred compensation plans maintained by us. Our board may elect to provide our officers and other employees with nonqualified defined contribution or other nonqualified deferred compensation benefits in the future if it determines that doing so is in our best interests.

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Perquisites

Currently, we do not view perquisites or other personal benefits as a significant component of our executive compensation program. Accordingly, we do not provide significant perquisites or other personal benefits to our NEOs, except as generally made available to all our employees, or in situations where we believe it is appropriate to assist an individual in the performance of his or her duties, to make our executive officers more efficient and effective and for recruitment and retention purposes. During fiscal 2021, none of our NEOs received perquisites or other personal benefits that were, in the aggregate, $10,000 or more for each individual. In the future, we may provide perquisites or other personal benefits in limited circumstances, such as those described above. All future practices with respect to perquisites or other personal benefits will be approved and subject to periodic review by the Compensation Committee.

Accounting and Tax Considerations

The Compensation Committee considers the deductibility of executive compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code in designing, establishing and implementing our executive compensation policies and practices. Section 162(m) generally prohibits us from deducting any compensation over $1 million per taxable year paid to “covered employees” which generally includes our NEOs.

While the Compensation Committee considers the deductibility of awards as one factor in determining executive compensation, the Compensation Committee also looks at other factors in making its decisions and retains the flexibility to award compensation that it determines to be consistent with the goals of our executive compensation program even if the awards are not deductible by us for tax purposes.

In addition to considering the tax consequences, the Compensation Committee considers the accounting consequences of its decisions, including the impact of expenses being recognized in connection with equity-based awards, in determining the size and form of different equity-based awards.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of BioAtla, Inc., consisting solely of independent directors, has reviewed and discussed with management this Compensation Discussion and Analysis contained in this Proxy Statement and, based on this review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement and incorporated into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Compensation Committee:

Sylvia McBrinn, Chair

Dr. Susan Moran

Dr. Lawrence Steinman

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Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information with respect to the compensation earned or awarded by the Company to its named executive officers (“NEOs”) for each of the last three or fewer fiscal years in which they were an NEO.

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Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table

The following table presents information concerning each grant of an award made to the NEOs during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 under any cash or equity incentive plan. We did not grant any equity awards to our NEOs in the 2021 fiscal year.

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table

The following table provides information regarding each unexercised stock option or unvested stock award held by our NEOs as of December 31, 2021.

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Option Exercises and Stock Vested Table

The following table provides information regarding the number of shares of common stock acquired and the value realized pursuant to the exercise of stock options during fiscal year 2021 by each of our NEOs.

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

Current NEOs

All of our current NEOs are employed at-will and may be terminated at any time, with or without formal cause. We have entered into arrangements with each of Dr. Short and Messrs. Smith and Waldron which provide for certain severance benefits upon a termination or change in control, subject to the executive’s execution of a release agreement acceptable to us, as described below.

Dr. Short. In July 2018, we entered into a change in control severance agreement with Dr. Short which provides that, in the event his employment terminates for any reason at any time following a Change in Control (as defined in the severance agreement) then, subject to his execution of a release of claims in our favor, he will receive (i) a severance payment equal to 24 months of his then-current base salary; (ii) a pro-rated bonus payment equal to his target bonus for the year in which the termination occurred; (iii) if Dr. Short’s termination occurs prior to the date bonuses are paid for the immediately preceding year, an amount equal to his full target bonus; and (iv) accelerated vesting of any unvested time-based equity awards then held by him. The severance and bonus payments to Dr. Short are payable as a lump sum within 20 days of the effective date of his release or such later date as required under Section 409A of the Code. In 2020, an event constituting a Change in Control (as defined in the severance agreement) occurred and, accordingly, Dr. Short will be entitled to the severance benefits described above upon his termination of employment with the Company.

Mr. Smith. On August 2, 2018, we entered into an offer letter agreement with Mr. Smith, which provides that if his employment is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in the offer letter), he will be entitled to a severance payment equal to 12 months of his base salary, subject to his execution of a release of claims in our favor. In addition, in August 2018, we entered into a change in control severance agreement with Mr. Smith which provides that, in the event his employment is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in the severance agreement) or he resigns for Good Reason (as defined in the severance agreement) within the time period beginning three months before a Change in Control (as defined

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in the severance agreement) and ending 12 months after a Change in Control, then subject to his execution of a release of claims in our favor, he will receive (i) a severance payment equal to 12 months of his then-current base salary; (ii) a pro-rated bonus payment equal to his target bonus for the year in which the termination occurred; (iii) if the termination occurs prior to the date bonuses are paid for the immediately preceding year, an amount equal to his full target bonus for the prior year; and (iv) accelerated vesting of all outstanding units, shares or options and continuation of the applicable exercise period for all units, shares or options under a separate consulting agreement between the Company and Mr. Smith. The severance and bonus payments to Mr. Smith are payable as a lump sum within 20 days of the effective date of his release.

Mr. Waldron. In July 2018, we entered into a change in control severance agreement with Mr. Waldron which provides that, in the event his employment is terminated by the Company without Cause (as defined in the severance agreement) or he resigns for Good Reason (as defined in the severance agreement) within the time period beginning three months before a Change in Control (as defined in the severance agreement) and ending 12 months after a Change in Control, then subject to his execution of a release of claims in our favor, he will receive (i) a severance payment equal to 12 months of his then-current base salary; (ii) a pro-rated bonus payment equal to his target bonus for the year in which the termination occurred; (iii) if the termination occurs prior to the date bonuses are paid for the immediately preceding year, an amount equal to his full target bonus for the prior year; and (iv) accelerated vesting of all outstanding units, shares or options and continuation of the applicable exercise period for all units, shares or options under a separate consulting agreement between the Company and Mr. Waldron. The severance and bonus payments to Mr. Waldron are payable as a lump sum within 20 days of the effective date of his release.

Former NEO

Ms. Anderson Short. We entered into a transition agreement with Ms. Anderson Short which provided for certain severance benefits in exchange for a release of claims by Ms. Anderson Short, as described in the “Other Compensation Policies and Practices—Transition Agreement with Carolyn Anderson Short” of the Compensation Discussion and Analysis.

The following table summarizes the approximate value of the benefits that would be received in connection with the terminations of Dr. Short and Messrs. Smith and Waldron had each executive been terminated on December 31, 2021, the last business day of 2021 upon the following: (i) for Dr. Short, a termination of employment by him or by the Company for any reason at any time; (ii) for Mr. Smith, a termination of employment by the Company at any time without cause; and (iii) for Messrs. Smith and Waldron, a termination of employment by the Company without cause or by the executive for good reason within the time period beginning three months before a change in control and ending 12 months after a change in control (the “CIC Period”). The value of the accelerated vesting of equity awards for Dr. Short and Messrs. Smith and Waldron is based upon the closing price per share of our common stock of $19.63 on December 31, 2021.

The table also summarizes the value of benefits that were received by Ms. Anderson Short in connection with her separation from the Company on May 31, 2021. The value of the accelerated vesting of equity awards for Ms. Anderson Short is based on the closing price per share of our common stock of $43.05 on May 28, 2021, the last business day prior to May 31, 2021, the date her then-unvested equity awards (7,747 unvested options which were granted on December 15, 2020 and 138,461 unvested RSUs which were granted on December 7, 2020) accelerated in full pursuant to her transition agreement.

These benefits are in addition to benefits available generally to salaried employees. Due to the number of factors that affect the nature and amount of any benefits provided upon the events discussed below, any actual amounts paid or distributed may be different from those estimated below. Factors that could affect these amounts include the timing during the year of any such event and our valuation at that time. There can be no assurance

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that a termination or change in control would produce the same or similar results as those described below if any assumption used to prepare this information is not correct in fact.

Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and officers. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require us to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.

CEO Pay Ratio

Prior to 2022, our Company qualified as an “emerging growth company” and in accordance with Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K, we are not required to provide any pay ratio disclosure until 2023 based on the transition relief available for emerging growth companies.

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EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

We currently maintain the following equity compensation plans that provide for the issuance of shares of our common stock to our officers and other employees, directors and consultants, each of which has been approved by our stockholders: our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (“2020 Plan”) and our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”).

The following table presents information as of December 31, 2021 with respect to compensation plans under which shares of our common stock may be issued.

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

In addition to the executive officer and director compensation arrangements discussed above under “Executive Compensation” and “Proposal One: Election of Directors-Director Compensation,” respectively, since January 1, 2021, the following are the only transactions or series of similar transactions to which we were or will be a party in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and in which any director, nominee for director, executive officer, beneficial holder of more than 5% of our capital stock or any member of their immediate family or any entity affiliated with any of the foregoing persons had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than equity and other compensation, termination, change of control and other arrangements, which are described under “Executive Compensation.”

Private Placement

On September 28, 2021, we issued and sold shares of common stock at a purchase price of $28.00 per share in a private placement. In the private placement, we issued and sold (i) 267,900 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $7,501,200 to an entity affiliated with Guy Levy, a member of our board of directors and a beneficial holder of more than 5% of our capital stock, and (ii) 357,100 shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $9,998,800 to Cormorant Global Healthcare Master Fund, L.P., a beneficial holder of more than 5% of our capital stock, on the same terms as other purchasers in the private placement. The purchasers of the common stock were entitled to specified resale registration rights.

Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and officers. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require us to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.

Policies and Procedures for Transactions with Related Persons

We have adopted a written related-person transactions policy that sets forth our policies and procedures regarding the identification, review, consideration and oversight of “related-person transactions”. For purposes of our policy only, a “related-person transaction” is a transaction, arrangement or relationship (or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships) in which we and any “related person” are participants involving an amount that exceeds $120,000.

Transactions involving compensation for services provided to us as an employee, consultant or director are not considered related-person transactions under this policy. A related person is any executive officer, director or a holder of more than 5% of our common stock, including any of their immediate family members and any entity owned or controlled by such persons.

Under the policy, where a transaction has been identified as a related-person transaction, management must present information regarding the proposed related-person transaction to our audit committee (or, where review by our audit committee would be inappropriate, to another independent body of our board of directors) for review. The presentation must include a description of, among other things, the material facts, the direct and indirect interests of the related persons, the benefits of the transaction to us and whether any alternative transactions are available. To identify related-person transactions in advance, we rely on information supplied by our executive officers, directors and certain significant stockholders. In considering related-person transactions, our audit committee or another independent body of our board of directors takes into account the relevant available facts and circumstances including:

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In the event a director has an interest in the proposed transaction, the director must recuse himself or herself from the deliberations and approval.

DELINQUENT SECTION 16(A) REPORTS

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors, executive officers and any persons who own more than 10% of our common stock to file initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership with the SEC. Based solely on our review of the copies of such forms filed with the SEC and written representations from the directors and executive officers, we believe that all Section 16(a) filing requirements were timely met in the year ended December 31, 2021, with the following exceptions: a late Form 3 was filed on behalf of Mr. Williams in connection with his appointment to the board, and late Form 4 filings were made on behalf of Mr. Williams (in connection with the initial grant of shares issued to him on December 16, 2021), and each of Mr. Waldron, Dr. Sievers and Mr. Vasquez, in each case in connection with their annual grant of options, which was granted on February 21, 2022.

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REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE

The information contained in the following report of our audit committee is not considered to be “soliciting material,” “filed” or incorporated by reference in any past or future filing by us under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act unless and only to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference.

Our audit committee has reviewed and discussed with our management and Ernst & Young LLP our audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Our audit committee has also discussed with Ernst & Young LLP the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the SEC.

Our audit committee has received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from Ernst & Young LLP required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent accountant’s communications with our audit committee concerning independence, and has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP its independence from us.

Based on the review and discussions referred to above, our audit committee recommended to our board of directors that the audited consolidated financial statements be included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 for filing with the SEC.

Submitted by the Audit Committee

Mary Ann Gray, Ph.D., Chair

Guy Levy

Sylvia McBrinn

Edward Williams

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We will mail, without charge, upon written request, a copy of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, including the financial statements and list of exhibits, and any exhibit specifically requested. Requests should be sent to:

BioAtla, Inc.

11085 Torreyana Road

San Diego, California 92121

Attn: Investor Relations

Our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 is also available at www.bioatla.com under “Financials/SEC Filings” in the “Investors” section of our website.

OTHER MATTERS

Our board of directors does not presently intend to bring any other business before the Annual Meeting and, so far as is known to our board of directors, no matters are to be brought before the Annual Meeting except as specified in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders. As to any business that may arise and properly come before the Annual Meeting, however, it is intended that proxies, in the form enclosed, will be voted in respect thereof in accordance with the judgment of the persons voting such proxies.

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BioAtla, Inc.   Annual Meeting of Stockholders   For Stockholders of record as of April 18, 2022

This proxy is being solicited on behalf of the Management

The undersigned hereby appoints Jay M. Short, Ph.D. and Richard A. Waldron (the “Named Proxies”), and each or either of them, as the true and lawful attorneys of the undersigned, with full power of substitution and revocation, and authorizes them, and each of them, to vote all the shares of capital stock of BioAtla, Inc. which the undersigned is entitled to vote at said meeting and any adjournment thereof upon the matters specified and upon such other matters as may be properly brought before the meeting or any adjournment thereof, conferring authority upon such true and lawful attorneys to vote in their discretion on such other matters as may properly come before the meeting and revoking any proxy heretofore given.

THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED OR, IF NO DIRECTION IS GIVEN, SHARES WILL BE VOTED IDENTICAL TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDATION. This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein. In their discretion, the Named Proxies are authorized to vote upon such other matters that may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

You are encouraged to specify your choice by marking the appropriate box (SEE REVERSE SIDE) but you need not mark any box if you wish to vote in accordance with the Board of Directors’ recommendation. The Named Proxies cannot vote your shares unless you sign (on the reverse side) and return this card.

PLEASE BE SURE TO SIGN AND DATE THIS PROXY CARD AND MARK ON THE REVERSE SIDE

BioAtla, Inc.

Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Please make your marks like this:

 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDS A VOTE:

FOR ON PROPOSALS 1 AND 2

ONE YEAR FOR PROPOSAL 3

PROPOSAL

YOUR VOTE

MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDS

1.  Election of Class II Directors

FOR

WITHHOLD

1.01 Mary Ann Gray, Ph.D.

☐

☐

FOR

1.02 Susan Moran, M.D.

☐

☐

FOR

1.03 Lawrence Steinman, M.D.

☐

☐

FOR

FOR

AGAINST

ABSTAIN

2.  Ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of BioAtla, Inc. for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

☐

☐

☐

FOR

1YR

2YR

3YR

ABSTAIN

3   Approval on a non-binding, advisory basis, of the frequency of future votes on the compensation of the named executive officers.

☐

☐

☐

☐

1 YEAR

NOTE: Such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

  You must register to attend the meeting online and/or participate at www.proxydocs.com/BCAB

Authorized Signatures - Must be completed for your instructions to be executed.

Please sign exactly as your name(s) appears on your account. If held in joint tenancy, all persons should sign. Trustees, administrators, etc., should include title and authority. Corporations should provide full name of corporation and title of authorized officer signing the Proxy/Vote Form.