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
Filed
by the Registrant ☒
Filed
by a Party other than the Registrant ☐
Check
the appropriate box:
☐ |
Preliminary
Proxy Statement |
☐ |
Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2)) |
☒ |
Definitive
Proxy Statement |
☐ |
Definitive
Additional Materials |
☐ |
Soliciting
Materials Pursuant to §240.14a-12 |
MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
N/A
(Names of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
Payment
of Filing Fee (check the appropriate box):
☒ |
No
fee required |
☐ |
Fee
paid previously with preliminary materials |
☐ |
Fee
computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange
Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11 |

855
N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601
Baltimore, MD 21205
(856) 848-8698
October
26, 2022
To
the Stockholders of MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:
You
are cordially invited to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(the “Company”), to be conducted in a virtual format only via live
audio webcast at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Wednesday, December
14, 2022, at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYMD2022.
To
provide access to our stockholders regardless of geographic
location and assist in protecting the health and well-being of our
stockholders and employees, this year’s Annual Meeting will be
conducted in a virtual format only. Stockholders will not be able
to attend the Annual Meeting in person; however, stockholders of
record will be able to participate, vote electronically and submit
questions during the live webcast of the Annual Meeting by visiting
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYMD2022 and entering the
16-digit control number found on your Notice of Internet
Availability or on the enclosed proxy card or voting form (if you
requested paper proxy materials). If you encounter any difficulties
accessing the virtual Annual Meeting, please call the technical
support number available on the virtual meeting page on the morning
of the Annual Meeting.
Your
vote is very important, regardless of the number of shares of our
voting securities that you own. Whether or not you expect to be
present at the Annual Meeting, after receiving the Notice of
Internet Availability or proxy materials, please vote as promptly
as possible to ensure your representation and the presence of a
quorum at the Annual Meeting. As an alternative to voting during
the Annual Meeting, you may vote via the Internet or telephone or,
if you requested paper proxy materials, by signing, dating, and
returning the proxy card that is mailed. If your shares are held in
the name of a broker, trust, bank or other nominee, and you receive
these materials through your broker or through another
intermediary, please complete and return the materials in
accordance with the instructions provided to you by such broker or
other intermediary or contact your broker directly in order to
obtain a proxy issued to you by your nominee holder to attend the
meeting and vote in person. Failure to do so may result in your
shares not being eligible to be voted by proxy at the Annual
Meeting.
On
behalf of the Board of Directors, I urge you to submit your vote as
soon as possible, even if you currently plan to attend the meeting
in person.
Thank
you for your support of our company. I look forward to seeing you
at the virtual Annual Meeting.
|
By
Order of the Board, |
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/s/
Joshua Silverman |
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Joshua
Silverman |
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Chairman
of the Board of Directors |
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October
26, 2022 |
Important Notice Regarding The Availability Of Proxy Materials
For The STOCKholder Meeting To Be Held On Wednesday, December 14,
2022:
Our
official Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy
Statement are available at: www.proxyvote.com.

MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
855 N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601
Baltimore, MD 21205
(856) 848-8698
Notice
of 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be Held on December 14, 2022
The
2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a New Jersey corporation (the “Company”),
will be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, on Wednesday, December 14,
2022, in a virtual format only via live audio website at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYMD2022. We will consider
and act on the following items of business at the Annual
Meeting:
1. |
Election
of six (6) directors to hold office for a one year term and until
their successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier
incapacity, removal or resignation; |
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2. |
Ratification
of the appointment of Morison Cogen LLP as the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2022; and |
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3. |
Such
other matters as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any
adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof. |
Stockholders
are referred to the Proxy Statement for more detailed information
with respect to the matters to be considered at the Annual Meeting.
After careful consideration, the Board of Directors recommends a
vote “FOR” Proposals 1 and 2.
To
provide access to our stockholders regardless of geographic
location and assist in protecting the health and well-being of our
stockholders and employees, this year’s Annual Meeting will be
conducted in a virtual format only. Stockholders will not be able
to attend the Annual Meeting in person; however, stockholders of
record will be able to participate, vote electronically and submit
questions during the live webcast of the Annual Meeting by visiting
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYMD2022 and entering the
16-digit control number found on your Notice of Internet
Availability or on the enclosed proxy card or voting form (if you
requested paper proxy materials). If you encounter any difficulties
accessing the virtual Annual Meeting, please call the technical
support number available on the virtual meeting page on the morning
of the Annual Meeting.
The
Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on October 18,
2022, as the record date (the “Record Date”) for the Annual
Meeting. Only holders of record of shares of our common stock and
Series D Preferred Stock on the Record Date are entitled to receive
notice of the Annual Meeting and to vote at the Annual Meeting or
at any postponement(s) or adjournment(s) of the Annual Meeting. A
complete list of registered stockholders entitled to vote at the
Annual Meeting will be available for examination during normal
business hours for ten (10) calendar days before the Annual Meeting
at our address above. To the extent office access is impracticable,
you may email Karen Smith of Advantage Proxy, Inc., our proxy
solicitor, at ksmith@advantageproxy.com for alternative
arrangements to examine the stockholder list. The email should
state the purpose of the request and provide proof of ownership of
our voting securities as of the Record Date. The stockholder list
will also be available online during the Annual Meeting.
YOUR
VOTE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPANY’S AFFAIRS ARE
IMPORTANT.
If
your shares are registered in your name, even if you plan to
attend the Annual Meeting or any postponement or adjournment of the
Annual Meeting in person, we request that you vote your shares
electronically via the Internet (or by completing, dating, signing
and mailing the enclosed proxy card if you requested paper proxy
materials) in accordance with the instructions set out in the form
of proxy card and in the Proxy Statement to ensure that your shares
will be represented at the Annual Meeting.
If
your shares are held in the name of a broker, trust, bank or other
nominee, and you receive these materials through your broker or
through another intermediary, please complete and return the
materials in accordance with the instructions provided to you by
such broker or other intermediary or contact your broker directly
in order to obtain a proxy issued to you by your nominee holder to
attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. Failure to do so may
result in your shares not being eligible to be voted by proxy at
the Annual Meeting.
|
By
Order of the Board, |
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/s/
Chris Chapman |
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Chris
Chapman, M.D. |
|
Chief
Medical Officer and President |
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October
26, 2022 |
Table
Of Contents
MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
855
N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601
Baltimore, MD 21205
(856) 848-8698
Proxy
Statement
for
2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
To
be Held on December 14, 2022
Unless
the context otherwise requires, references in this Proxy Statement
to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” or “MyMD” refer to MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, and its
consolidated subsidiaries as a whole. In addition, unless the
context otherwise requires, references to “stockholders” are to the
holders of our voting securities, which consist of our common
stock, no par value (the “Common Stock”), and our Series D
Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series D Preferred Stock”)
entitled to vote at the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders of the
Company (the “Annual Meeting”).
Your
proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) on
behalf of MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to be voted at the Annual
Meeting to be held on December 14, 2022, at the time and platform
and for the purposes set forth in the accompanying Notice of Annual
Meeting of Stockholders (the “Notice”) and at any adjournment(s) or
postponement(s) of the Annual Meeting. To provide access to our
stockholders regardless of geographic location and assist in
protecting the health and well-being of our stockholders and
employees, this year’s Annual Meeting will be conducted in a
virtual format only i. Stockholders will not be able to attend the
Annual Meeting in person; however, stockholders of record will be
able to participate, vote electronically and submit questions
during the live webcast of the Annual Meeting. We will mail to most
of our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy
Materials containing instructions on how to access our Proxy
Statement and the Form 10-K and vote electronically via the
Internet. This notice will also contain instructions on how to
receive a paper copy of the proxy materials. All stockholders who
are not sent a notice, or who otherwise request, will be sent a
paper copy of the proxy materials by mail or an electronic copy of
the proxy materials by email. See “About the Annual Meeting”
beginning on page 2 for more information.
The
executive offices of the Company are located at, and the mailing
address of the Company is 855 N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601,
Baltimore, MD 21205.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY
MATERIALS
FOR THE STOCKHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON December 14,
2022:
As
permitted by the “Notice and Access” rules of the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we are making this Proxy
Statement, the proxy card and our 2021 Annual Report, which
includes our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021 available to stockholders electronically via the
Internet at the following website:
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYMD2022. The Notice of
Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice of Internet
Availability”), this Proxy Statement and the accompanying proxy
card or voting instruction card, including an Internet link to our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2021, are expected to be made
available to stockholders on or about October 26, 2022. If you
received a Notice of Internet Availability by mail, you will not
receive a printed copy of the proxy materials in the mail unless
you request a copy. If you received a Notice of Internet
Availability by mail and would like to receive a printed copy of
our proxy materials, you should follow the instructions for
requesting such materials included in the Notice of Internet
Availability.
Additionally,
you can find a copy of our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which
includes our financial statements, for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021 on the SEC’s website, at www.sec.gov, or
in the “SEC Filings” section of the “Investors” section of our
website at www.mymd.com.
About the Annual Meeting
What
is a proxy?
A
proxy is another person that you legally designate to vote your
stock. If you designate someone as your proxy in a written
document, that document is also called a “proxy” or a “proxy card.”
If you are a “street name” holder, you must obtain a proxy from
your broker or nominee in order to vote your shares in person at
the Annual Meeting.
What
is a proxy statement?
A
proxy statement is a document that regulations of the SEC require
that we give to you when we ask you to sign a proxy card to vote
your stock at the Annual Meeting.
Why
did I receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials
instead of paper copies of the proxy materials?
We
are using the SEC’s Notice and Access model, which allows us to
deliver proxy materials over the Internet as the primary means of
furnishing proxy materials. We believe Notice and Access provides
stockholders with a convenient method to access the proxy materials
and vote, while allowing us to conserve natural resources and
reduce the costs of printing and distributing the proxy materials.
The Notice of Internet Availability is not a proxy card and cannot
be used to vote your shares. If you received a Notice of Internet
Availability this year, you will not receive paper copies of the
proxy materials unless you request the materials by following the
instructions on the Notice of Internet Availability.
What
is “householding” and how does it affect me?
With
respect to eligible stockholders who share a single address, we may
send only one Notice of Internet Availability or Proxy Statement to
that address unless we receive instructions to the contrary from
any stockholder at that address. This practice, known as
“householding,” is designed to reduce our printing and postage
costs. However, if a stockholder of record residing at such address
wishes to receive a separate Notice of Internet Availability or
Proxy Statement in the future, he or she may contact MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., by sending an email to
privard@mymd.com, Attn: General Counsel, or calling (856)
848-8698 and asking for Mr. Rivard. Eligible stockholders of record
receiving multiple copies of our Notice or Proxy Statement can
request householding by contacting us in the same manner.
Stockholders who own shares through a bank, broker or other
intermediary can request householding by contacting the
intermediary.
We
hereby undertake to deliver promptly, upon written or oral request,
a copy of the Notice of Internet Availability or Proxy Statement to
a stockholder at a shared address to which a single copy of the
document was delivered. Requests should be directed to the address
or phone number set forth above.
What
is the purpose of the Annual Meeting?
At
our Annual Meeting, stockholders will act upon the matters outlined
in the Notice, which include the following:
(1) |
Election
of six (6) directors to serve as directors on our Board of
Directors to serve until our 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or
until successors have been duly elected and qualified (“Proposal
1”). |
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(2) |
Ratification
of the appointment of Morison Cogen LLP as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the 2022 fiscal year
(“Proposal 2”). |
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(3) |
Such
other business as may arise and that may properly be conducted at
the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement
thereof. |
What
should I do if I receive more than one set of voting
materials?
You
may receive more than one set of voting materials, including
multiple copies of our Notice of Internet Availability or Proxy
Statement and multiple proxy cards or voting instruction cards. For
example, if you hold your shares in more than one brokerage
account, you will receive a separate voting instruction card for
each brokerage account in which you hold shares. Similarly, if you
are a stockholder of record and hold shares in a brokerage account,
you may receive a Notice of Internet Availability or Proxy
Statement for shares held in your name and a voting instruction
card for shares held in “street name.” Please follow the separate
voting instructions that you received for your shares of Common
Stock held in each of your different accounts to ensure that all of
your shares are voted.
What
is the record date and what does it mean?
The
record date to determine the stockholders entitled to notice of and
to vote at the Annual Meeting is the close of business on October
18, 2022 (the “Record Date”). The Record Date is established by the
Board as required by New Jersey law. On the Record Date, 39,470,009
shares of Common Stock were issued and outstanding. On the Record
Date, 72,992 shares of Series D Preferred Stock were issued and
outstanding, and, pursuant to the terms of the Series D Preferred
Stock as set forth in the certificate of designation for the Series
D Preferred Stock, the holder of Series D Preferred Stock is
entitled to 36,496 votes on the proposals described in this Proxy
Statement. See “What are the voting rights of the stockholders?”
below.
Who
is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting?
Holders
of Common Stock and the Series D Preferred Stock at the close of
business on the Record Date may vote at the Annual
Meeting.
What
are the voting rights of the stockholders?
The
Company has two outstanding classes of voting stock entitled to
vote at the Annual Meeting, Common Stock and Series D Preferred
Stock. Each holder of Common Stock is entitled to one vote per
share of Common Stock on all matters to be acted upon at the Annual
Meeting. Each holder of Series D Preferred Stock is entitled to the
number of votes equal to the number of whole shares of Common Stock
into which the shares of Series D Preferred Stock held by such
holder are then convertible with respect to any and all matters
presented to the stockholders for their action or consideration.
Holders of the Series D Preferred Stock vote together with the
holders of Common Stock as a single class, except as provided by
law and except as set forth in the respective certificates of
designation for the Series D Preferred Stock. Holders of our Common
Stock and Series D Preferred Stock will vote together as a single
class on all matters described in this Proxy Statement.
What
constitutes a quorum for the Annual Meeting?
The
holders of the shares entitled to cast a majority of the votes at a
meeting of stockholders shall constitute a quorum at such meeting.
If a quorum is not present or represented at the Annual Meeting,
then the Chairman at the meeting may adjourn the meeting from time
to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting,
until a quorum is present or represented.
What
is the difference between a stockholder of record and a “street
name” holder?
If
your shares are registered directly in your name with Action Stock
Transfer, LLC, the Company’s stock transfer agent, you are
considered the stockholder of record with respect to those shares.
The Notice of Internet Availability has been sent directly to you
by the Company.
If
your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or
other nominee, the nominee is considered the record holder of those
shares. You are considered the beneficial owner of these shares,
and your shares are held in “street name.” The Notice of Internet
Availability or Proxy Statement and voting instruction card have
been forwarded to you by your nominee. As the beneficial owner, you
have the right to direct your nominee concerning how to vote your
shares by using the voting instructions the nominee included in the
mailing or by following such nominee’s instructions for
voting.
What
is a broker non-vote?
Broker
non-votes occur when shares are held indirectly through a broker,
bank or other intermediary on behalf of a beneficial owner
(referred to as held in “street name”) and the broker submits a
proxy but does not vote for a matter because the broker has not
received voting instructions from the beneficial owner and (i) the
broker does not have discretionary voting authority on the matter
or (ii) the broker chooses not to vote on a matter for which it has
discretionary voting authority. Under the rules of the New York
Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) that govern how brokers may vote shares
for which they have not received voting instructions from the
beneficial owner, brokers are permitted to exercise discretionary
voting authority only on “routine” matters when voting instructions
have not been timely received from a beneficial owner. Proposal 2
is considered a “routine matter.” Therefore, if you do not provide
voting instructions to your broker regarding such proposal, your
broker will be permitted to exercise discretionary voting authority
to vote your shares on such proposal. In the absence of specific
instructions from you, your broker does not have discretionary
authority to vote your shares with respect to Proposal
1.
How
do I vote my shares?
If
you are a record holder, you may vote your shares at the Annual
Meeting in person or by proxy.
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You
may submit your proxy on the Internet or by phone. Stockholders
may vote via the Internet at www.proxyvote.com or by phone
(as per instructions on the Notice of Internet Availability or
proxy card), 24 hours per day and seven days per week. You will
need the control number included on your Notice of Internet
Availability or proxy card (if you requested paper materials) or on
the voting instruction form. Votes submitted via the Internet or
phone must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday,
December 13, 2022. |
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You
may submit your proxy by mail. Stockholders may vote by signing
and dating the proxy card or voting instruction form and mailing it
in the enclosed prepaid and addressed envelope. If you mark your
choices on the card or voting instruction form, your shares will be
voted as you instruct.
Please
note that if you received a Notice of Internet Availability, you
cannot vote by marking the Notice of Internet Availability and
returning it. The Notice of Internet Availability provides
instructions on how to vote by Internet and how to request paper
copies of the proxy materials.
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You
may vote during the Annual Meeting. Instructions on how
to vote while participating in the Annual Meeting via live webcast
are posted at
www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/MYMD2022. |
The
proxy is fairly simple to complete, with specific instructions on
the electronic ballot, telephone or card. By completing and
submitting it, you will direct the designated person (known as a
“proxy”) to vote your stock at the Annual Meeting in accordance
with your instructions. The Board has appointed Chris Chapman, M.D.
to serve as the proxy for the Annual Meeting.
Your
proxy will be valid only if you complete and return it before the
Annual Meeting. If you properly complete and transmit your proxy
but do not provide voting instructions with respect to a proposal,
then the designated proxies will vote your shares “FOR” for
Proposals 1 and 2. We do not anticipate that any other matters will
come before the Annual Meeting, but if any other matters properly
come before the meeting, then the designated proxies will vote your
shares in accordance with applicable law and their
judgment.
If
you hold your shares in “street name,” your bank, broker or other
nominee should provide to you a request for voting instructions
along with the Company’s proxy solicitation materials. By
completing the voting instruction card, you may direct your nominee
how to vote your shares. If you partially complete the voting
instruction but fail to complete one or more of the voting
instructions, then your nominee may be unable to vote your shares
with respect to the proposal as to which you provided no voting
instructions. See “What is a broker non-vote?” Alternatively, if
you want to vote your shares during the Annual Meeting, you must
contact your nominee directly in order to obtain a proxy issued to
you by your nominee holder. Note that a broker letter that
identifies you as a stockholder is not the same as a nominee-issued
proxy.
What
if I have technical difficulties or trouble accessing the Annual
Meeting?
We
will have technicians ready to assist you with any technical
difficulties you may have in accessing the Annual Meeting. If you
encounter any difficulties accessing the virtual meeting during the
check-in or meeting time, please call the technical support number
that will be posted on the virtual meeting log in page.
Who
counts the votes?
All
votes will be tabulated by Ian Rhodes, the inspector of election
appointed for the Annual Meeting. Each proposal will be tabulated
separately.
Can I
vote my shares at the Annual Meeting?
Yes.
If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote your shares at the
Annual Meeting by submitting your vote electronically during the
Annual Meeting.
If
you hold your shares in “street name,” you may vote your shares at
the Annual Meeting only if you obtain a proxy issued by your bank,
broker or other nominee giving you the right to vote the
shares.
Even
if you currently plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we recommend
that you submit your proxy as described above so that your votes
will be counted if you later decide not to attend the Annual
Meeting or are unable to attend.
What
are my choices when voting?
Proposal
1:
When
you cast your vote on Proposal 1, you may vote for all director
nominees or you may withhold your vote as to one or more director
nominees.
Proposal
2:
When
you cast your vote on Proposal 2, you may vote for the proposal,
vote against the proposal or abstain from voting on the
proposal.
What
are the Board’s recommendations on how I should vote my
shares?
The
Board recommends that you vote your shares “FOR” Proposal 1
and “FOR” Proposal 2.
What
if I do not specify how I want my shares voted?
If
you are a record holder who returns a completed proxy that does not
specify how you want to vote your shares on one or more proposals,
the proxy will vote your shares for each proposal as to which you
provide no voting instructions, and such shares will be voted
“FOR” Proposal 1 and “FOR” Proposal 2.
If
you are a “street name” holder and do not provide voting
instructions on one or more proposals, your bank, broker or other
nominee will be unable to vote those shares with respect to
Proposal 1 but will be able to vote those shares with respect to
Proposal 2. See “What is a broker non-vote?”
Can I
change my vote?
Yes.
If you are a record holder, you may revoke your proxy at any time
by any of the following means:
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Attending
the Annual Meeting and voting at the Annual Meeting. Your
attendance at the Annual Meeting will not by itself revoke a proxy.
You must vote your shares by submitting your vote by accessing the
voting link at the Annual Meeting to revoke your proxy. |
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Completing
and submitting a new valid proxy bearing a later date by Internet,
telephone or mail. |
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Giving
written notice of revocation to the Company addressed to Ian
Rhodes, at the Company’s address above, which notice must be
received before 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on December 12,
2022. |
If
you are a “street name” holder, your bank, broker or other nominee
should provide instructions explaining how you may change or revoke
your voting instructions.
What
votes are required to approve each proposal?
Assuming
the presence of a quorum, approval of Proposal 1 will require the
affirmative vote of the holders of a plurality of the votes cast
for the election of the directors, i.e., the six director nominees
who receive the most votes will be elected. Assuming the presence
of a quorum, approval of Proposal 2 will require the affirmative
vote of a majority of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting by the
holders of shares entitled to vote on Proposal 2.
How
are abstentions and broker non-votes treated?
Any
stockholder who is present at the Annual Meeting, either in person
or by proxy, who abstains from voting will still be counted for
purposes of determining whether a quorum exists for the meeting. If
you hold your shares in “street name” and you do not instruct your
bank, broker or other nominee how to vote, your shares will be
included in the determination of the number of shares present at
the Annual Meeting for determining a quorum at the meeting but may
constitute broker non-votes, resulting in no votes being cast on
your behalf with respect to certain proposals. See “What is a
broker non-vote?”
An
abstention or failure to instruct your broker how to vote with
respect to Proposal 1 will not be counted as an affirmative or
negative vote in the election of directors and will have no effect
on the outcome of the vote with respect to Proposal 1. An
abstention to Proposal 2 will likewise not be counted as an
affirmative or negative vote against the proposal and will have no
effect on the outcome of the vote on such proposals. If you do not
give your broker specific instructions on how to vote your shares
with respect to Proposal 2, your broker may vote your shares at its
discretion, and therefore, broker non-votes are not applicable to
Proposal 2.
Do I
have any dissenters’ or appraisal rights with respect to any of the
matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting?
No.
None of our stockholders has any dissenters’ or appraisal rights
with respect to the matters to be voted on at the Annual
Meeting.
What
are the solicitation expenses and who pays the cost of this proxy
solicitation?
Our
Board is asking for your proxy and we will pay all of the costs of
asking for stockholder proxies. We will reimburse brokerage houses
and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses for forwarding solicitation material to the
beneficial owners of Common Stock and collecting voting
instructions. We may use officers and employees of the Company to
ask for proxies, as described below. In addition, we have retained
Advantage Proxy, Inc. (“Advantage”) to assist in the solicitation
of proxies for a fee of $10,000 plus customary expenses.
Is
this Proxy Statement the only way that proxies are being
solicited?
No.
In addition to the solicitation of proxies by use of the mail,
officers and employees of the Company, as well as Advantage, the
proxy solicitation firm hired by the Company, may solicit the
return of proxies, either by mail, telephone, telecopy, e-mail or
through personal contact. These officers and employees will not
receive additional compensation for their efforts but will be
reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. The fees of Advantage as
well as the reimbursement of expenses of Advantage will be borne by
us. Brokerage houses and other custodians, nominees and
fiduciaries, in connection with shares of the Common Stock
registered in their names, will be requested to forward
solicitation material to the beneficial owners of shares of Common
Stock.
Are
there any other matters to be acted upon at the Annual
Meeting?
Management
does not intend to present any business at the Annual Meeting for a
vote other than the matters set forth in the Notice of Internet
Availability and has no information that others will do so. If
other matters requiring a vote of the stockholders properly come
before the Annual Meeting, it is the intention of the person named
in the form of proxy to vote the shares represented by the proxies
held by them in accordance with applicable law and their judgment
on such matters.
Where
can I find voting results?
We
expect to publish the voting results in a current report on Form
8-K, which we expect to file with the SEC within four business days
after the Annual Meeting.
Who
can help answer my questions?
The
information provided above in this “Question and Answer” format is
for your convenience only and is merely a summary of the
information contained in this Proxy Statement. We urge you to
carefully read this entire Proxy Statement, including the documents
we refer to in this Proxy Statement. If you have any questions, or
need additional materials, please feel free to contact the firm
assisting us in the solicitation of proxies, Advantage. Banks and
brokers and stockholders may call Advantage at
1-877-870-8565.
Proposal 1: Election of
Directors
Nominees
for Election
The
Board is currently comprised of six directors. Our Board, upon the
recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee, has nominated the following six individuals to serve as
directors (collectively, the “Company Nominees”):
Name |
|
Age |
Chris
Chapman, M.D. |
|
70 |
Craig
Eagle, M.D. |
|
54 |
Christopher
C. Schreiber |
|
58 |
Joshua
Silverman |
|
53 |
Jude
Uzonwanne |
|
48 |
Bill
J. White |
|
62 |
Our
board has fixed the size of the Board to be seven directors.
Currently there is a vacancy created upon the passing of Robert C.
Schroeder on September 1, 2021. As of October 26, 2022, our board
has not nominated anyone to fill the vacancy.
If
elected, these nominees will serve until our 2023 annual meeting of
stockholders or until their successors are elected and qualified or
until their earlier incapacity, removal or resignation. Our Board
believes that all of our current directors, who are the six Company
Nominees, possess personal and professional integrity, good
judgment, a high level of ability and business acumen.
If a
quorum is present, the Company Nominees will be elected by a
plurality of the votes cast for the election of the directors.
Abstentions and broker non-votes have no effect on the vote. The
six Company Nominees receiving the highest number of affirmative
votes will be elected directors of the Company. Shares of voting
stock represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority
to do so is not withheld, for the election of the six nominees
named above. Should any Company Nominee become unable or unwilling
to accept nomination or election, the proxy holders may vote the
proxies for the election, in his or her stead, of any other person
the Board may nominate or designate. Each Company Nominee has
agreed to serve, if elected, and the Board has no reason to believe
that any Company Nominee will be unable to serve.
The
biographies of the Company Nominees are as follows:
Chris
Chapman, M.D. has been our director since April 16, 2021 and
currently serves as our President and Chief Medical Officer. Dr.
Chapman previously served as President and Chief Medical Officer of
MyMD Pharmaceuticals (Florida), Inc., a Florida corporation
previously known as MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“MyMD Florida”)
effective as of November 1, 2020. Prior to joining MYMD Florida and
since 1999, Dr. Chapman has also served as the Chief Executive
Officer of Chapman Pharmaceutical Consulting, Inc., a consulting
organization that provides support to pharmaceutical and biotech
companies in North America, Europe, Japan, India and Africa on
issues such as product safety, pharmacovigilance, medical devices,
clinical trials and regulatory issues. In addition, from 2003-2004,
Dr. Chapman served as the Associate Director of Drug Safety,
Pharmacovigilance, and Clinical Operations for Organon
Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the supervision of
four fellow M.D.s and 10 drug safety specialists. Prior to his time
at Organon, Dr. Chapman served as Director, Medical Affairs, Drug
Safety and Medical Writing Departments at Quintiles (currently
known as IQVIA), from 1995-2003, where he grew the division from no
employees to forty employees, including eight board certified
physicians, four RNs, two pharmacists, eight medical writers and
supporting staff. Dr. Chapman has also served on the board of
directors of Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (f/k/a Star
Scientific, Inc.) from 2007-2016, including as a member of the
Audit Committee from 2007-2014, chairperson of the Compensation
Committee from 2007-2014, and chairperson of the Executive Search
Committee from 2007 to 2014. Dr. Chapman is an experienced
executive and global medical expert and has extensive experience in
providing monitoring and oversight for ongoing clinical trials
including both adult and pediatric subjects. Dr. Chapman is also
the founder of the Chapman Pharmaceutical Health Foundation, an IRS
Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to solicit
public funds and to support healthcare needs such as AIDS,
diabetes, hypertension, lupus, sickle cell anemia, malaria and
tuberculosis, which was organized in 2006. Dr. Chapman is a
graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Cambridge, Massachusetts
for financial management in 2020. Dr. Chapman received his M.D.
degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1987, and
completed his internship in Internal Medicine, a residency in
Anesthesiology and a fellowship in Cardiovascular and Obstetric
Anesthesiology at Georgetown. Dr. Chapman’s qualifications to sit
on the Board include his extensive experience and leadership roles
within the pharmaceutical industry.
Craig
Eagle, M.D. has been our director since April 16, 2021. Dr.
Eagle is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Guardant Health,
Inc. since 2021. Previously, Dr. Eagle was Vice President of
Oncology for Genentech, where he oversaw the medical programs
across Genentech’s oncology portfolio. Prior to his current role,
Dr. Eagle worked in several positions at Pfizer from 2009 to 2019,
including as the oncology business lead in the United Kingdom and
Canada, the global lead for Oncology Strategic Alliances and
Partnerships based in New York, and as the head of the Oncology
Therapeutic Area Global Medical and Outcomes Group, including the
U.S. oncology medical business. Through his multiple roles at
Pfizer, Dr. Eagle delivered significant business growth and was
involved in multiple strategic acquisitions and divestitures. In
addition, while at Pfizer, Dr. Eagle oversaw extensive oncology
clinical trial programs, multiple regulatory and payer approvals
across Pfizer’s oncology portfolio, health outcomes assessments and
scientific collaborations with key global research organizations
like the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the European
Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and led
worldwide development of several compounds including celecoxib,
aromasin, irinotecan, dalteparin and ozagomicin. Dr. Eagle
currently serves as a member of the board of directors and chair of
the Science and Policy Committee of Pierian Biosciences, a
privately held life sciences company. Dr. Eagle attended Medical
School at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and
received his general internist training at Royal North Shore
Hospital in Sydney. He completed his hemato-oncology and laboratory
hematology training at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and
was granted Fellowship in the Royal Australasian College of
Physicians (FRACP) and the Royal College of Pathologists
Australasia (FRCPA). After his training, Dr. Eagle performed basic
research at the Royal Prince of Wales hospital to develop a new
monoclonal antibody to inhibit platelets before moving into the
pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Eagle’s qualifications to sit on the
Board include his long and successful career in the international
pharmaceutical industry, his senior executive experience in areas
such as business growth, strategic alliances and mergers and
acquisition transactions, his experience as a member of both public
and private company boards in the healthcare and life science
industries, and his wealth of oncology experience, including
leading and participating in scientific research, regulatory,
pricing & re-imbursement negotiations for compounds in
therapeutic areas.
Christopher
C. Schreiber has been our director since August 8, 2017 and he
previously at various times as our Chief Executive Officer,
President, and Executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Schreiber
combines over 30 years of experience in the securities industry. As
the Managing Director of Capital Markets at Taglich Brothers, Inc.,
Mr. Schreiber builds upon his extensive background in capital
markets, deal structures, and syndications. Prior to his time at
Taglich Brothers, Inc., he was a member of the board of directors
of Paulson Investment Company, a 40-year-old full service
investment banking firm. In addition, Mr. Schreiber serves as a
director and partner of Long Island Express North, an elite
lacrosse training organization for teams and individuals. He also
volunteers on the board of directors for Fox Lane Youth Lacrosse, a
community youth program. Mr. Schreiber is a graduate of Johns
Hopkins University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in
Political Science. Mr. Schreiber’s qualifications to sit on the
Board include his financial expertise and his experience with the
Company.
Joshua
Silverman has been our director since September 6, 2018 and
currently serves as Chairman of the Board. Prior to the completion
of the Merger, Mr. Silverman was also the lead independent
director. Mr. Silverman currently serves as the managing member of
Parkfield Funding LLC. Mr. Silverman was the co-founder, and a
principal and managing partner of Iroquois Capital Management, LLC
(“Iroquois”), an investment advisory firm. Since its inception in
2003 until July 2016, Mr. Silverman served as co-chief investment
officer of Iroquois. While at Iroquois, he designed and executed
complex transactions, structuring and negotiating investments in
both public and private companies and has often been called upon by
the companies solve inefficiencies as they relate to corporate
structure, cash flow, and management. From 2000 to 2003, Mr.
Silverman served as co-chief investment officer of Vertical
Ventures, LLC, a merchant bank. Prior to forming Iroquois, Mr.
Silverman was a director of Joele Frank, a boutique consulting firm
specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Previously, Mr. Silverman
served as assistant press secretary to the president of the United
States. Mr. Silverman currently serves as a director of Ayro Inc.,
Pharmacyte, Inc., Synaptogenix, Inc. and Petros Pharmaceutical,
Inc., all of which are public companies. He previously served as a
director of National Holdings Corporation from July 2014 through
August 2016 and as a director of Marker Therapeutics, Inc. from
August 2016 until October 2018. Mr. Silverman received his B.A.
from Lehigh University in 1992. Mr. Silverman’s qualifications to
sit on the Board include his experience as an investment banker,
management consultant and as a director of numerous public
companies.
Jude
Uzonwanne has been our director since April 16, 2021. Mr.
Uzonwanne is currently the Chief Business Officer for 54gene, Inc.,
a US based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new
genomic based drugs. Prior to 54gene, he was a Principal with ZS
Associates, Inc., a consulting and professional services firm
focusing on consulting, software and technology that provides
services for clients in the private equity, healthcare, and
technology industries, a position he has held since January 2021.
Prior to joining ZS Associates, Mr. Uzonwanne was a Principal at
IQVIA, Inc. from 2018 to 2020, where he served as the head of the
firm’s US Financial Investors Consulting practice and as management
consulting lead for IQVIA’s service to a top-6 global
pharmaceutical company and select emerging biopharmaceutical
companies. Prior to joining IQVIA, Mr. Uzonwanne served as Vice
President (Associate Partner) at EY-Parthenon LLP from 2016 to
2018, where he managed teams advising corporate and private equity
investors on a range of commercial due diligence targets in
healthcare strategies and advised clients on growth accelerating
strategies and investments. Prior to this role, Mr. Uzonwanne has
worked for several other companies including Bain & Company,
Dalberg Global Development Advisers, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, and Monitor Group. Since 2019, Mr. Uzonwanne has served
as a member of the board of directors of Bonita Foods, a privately
held emerging market specialty food and snacks company. Mr.
Uzonwanne is a graduate of Swarthmore College (double Honors B.A in
Economics and Political Science). Mr. Uzonwanne’s qualifications to
sit on the Board include his experience as a corporate strategy and
transaction services adviser in the healthcare markets
globally.
Bill
J. White has been our director since August 8, 2017. Mr. White
has more than 30 years of experience in financial management,
operations and business development. He currently serves as chief
financial officer, treasurer and secretary of Intellicheck, Inc., a
technology company listed on the NYSE MKT. Prior to working at
Intellicheck, Inc., he served 11 years as the chief financial
officer, secretary and treasurer of FocusMicro, Inc. (“FM”). As
co-founder of FM, Mr. White played an integral role in growing the
business from the company’s inception to over $36 million in annual
revenue in a five-year period. Mr. White has broad domestic and
international experience including managing rapid and significant
growth, import/export, implementing tough cost management
initiatives, exploiting new growth opportunities, merger and
acquisitions, strategic planning, resource allocation, tax
compliance and organization development. Prior to co-founding FM,
he served 15 years in various financial leadership positions in the
government sector. Mr. White started his career in Public
Accounting. Mr. White holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business
Administration from Washington State University and is a Certified
Fraud Examiner. Mr. White was selected to serve on the Board in
part because of his significant financial and accounting experience
with public companies.
Family
Relationships
There
are no family relationships between any of our officers or
directors.
Required
Vote and Board Recommendation
If a
quorum is present and voting, the six Company Nominees receiving
the highest number of votes will be elected as
directors.
The
Board recommends that you vote “FOR” each Company
Nominee. |
Corporate Governance
MyMD,
with the oversight of the Board and its committees, operates within
a comprehensive plan of corporate governance for the purpose of
defining independence, assigning responsibilities, setting high
standards of professional and personal conduct and assuring
compliance with such responsibilities and standards. We regularly
monitor developments in the area of corporate
governance.
Corporate Governance
Reforms
On
May 28, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of
New Jersey approved that certain Amended Stipulation and Agreement
of Settlement, dated October 1, 2019 (the “Settlement”) among the
settling parties in connection with a consolidated shareholder
derivative action, Case No.: 2:18-cv-15992. Pursuant to the
Settlement, effective as of July 21, 2020, we made various
modifications to our corporate governance and business ethics
practices as further discussed below.
Code of Business Ethics and Conduct
and Whistleblower Policy
We
have adopted a Code of Business Ethics and Conduct, which applies
to our Board, our executive officers and our employees, outlines
the broad principles of ethical business conduct we adopted,
covering subject areas such as, compliance with applicable laws and
regulations, handling of books and records, public disclosure
reporting, insider trading, conflicts of interest, competition and
fair dealing, and other violations. Our Code of Business Ethics and
Conduct is available on our website at www.mymd.com in the
“Corporate Governance” section found under the “Investors” tab.
Pursuant to the Settlement, we conduct a review of our Code of
Business Ethics and Conduct on an annual basis and to monitor
compliance. We intend to disclose any amendments to, or waivers
from, our Code of Business Ethics and Conduct at the same website
address provided above.
In
addition, pursuant to the Settlement, we adopted a Whistleblower
Policy to encourage employees, officers and directors to bring
forward ethical and legal violations. We have disclosed a copy of
the Whistleblower Policy, and intend to disclose any amendments to
the Whistleblower Policy, at the same website address provided
above.
Pursuant
to the Settlement, we formed a Risk and Disclosure Committee, which
is served by the members of the Audit Committee, which reviews our
ethics and risk program and internal controls over compliance and
identifies and recommends to the Board any changes that it deemed
necessary. The Risk and Disclosure Committee also monitors
compliance with our Code of Business Ethics and Conduct, reviews
and evaluates our public disclosures and disclosure controls and
procedures and handles any whistleblower complaints.
Board Composition and
Committees
Our
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the
“Charter”), and our Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”) provide
that our Board will consist of a number of directors to be
determined from time to time solely by resolution of the Board,
which is currently set at seven directors. Vacancies or newly
created directorships resulting from an increase in the authorized
number of directors elected by all of the stockholders having the
right to vote as a single class may be filled by a majority of the
directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole
remaining director.
Board
Diversity
We
have no formal policy regarding Board diversity. Our Board believes
that each director should have a basic understanding of the
principal operational and financial objectives and plans and
strategies of the Company, our results of operations and financial
condition and relative standing in relation to our competitors. We
take into consideration the overall composition and diversity of
the Board and areas of expertise that director nominees may be able
to offer, including business experience, knowledge, abilities and
customer relationships. Generally, we will strive to assemble a
Board that brings to us a variety of perspectives and skills
derived from business and professional experience as we may deem
are in our and our stockholders’ best interests. In doing so, we
will also consider candidates with appropriate non-business
backgrounds.
Director Independence
We
are currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market and therefore
rely on the definition of independence set forth in the Nasdaq
Listing Rules (“Nasdaq Rules”). Under the Nasdaq Rules, a director
will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion
of our Board, that person does not have a relationship that would
interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out
the responsibilities of a director. Based upon information
requested from and provided by each director concerning his
background, employment, share ownership, and affiliations with
other board members, shareholders, business, contractor and family
relationships, as well as the amount of the compensation we pay to
each director, we have determined that Mr. Silverman, Mr. White,
Dr. Eagle, and Mr. Uzonwanne have no material relationships with us
that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment and
are “independent directors” as that term is defined in the Nasdaq
Listing Rules.
Pursuant
to the Settlement, we also adopted amendments to our Bylaws to
require that at least 50% of the Board qualify as “independent
directors” under the Nasdaq Rules and that the Chairman of the
Board be an independent director. We are currently in compliance
with these requirements.
Board Committees, Meetings and
Attendance
During
2021, the Board met in person and telephonically 6 times and also
acted by unanimous written consent. We expect our directors to
attend Board meetings, meetings of any committees and subcommittees
on which they serve, and each annual meeting of stockholders,
either in person or by teleconference. During 2021, each director
attended at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the total number of
meetings held by the Board and Board committees of which such
director was a member, except that Mr. Uzonwanne attended less than
75% of the total aggregate number of meetings of the Board and of
the committees on which he served during the period when he was a
member of the Board and of such committees. All six of the
directors then in office attended our 2021 annual meeting of
stockholders. Pursuant to the Settlement, we adopted amendments to
our Bylaws to require at least until July 21, 2024 (i) attendance
of each member of the Board at our annual meeting of shareholders
in person, absent extraordinary circumstances and (ii) no less than
four (4) executive session per year among independent directors
following each Board meeting.
The
Board delegates various responsibilities and authority to different
Board committees. Committees regularly report on their activities
and actions to the full Board. Currently, the Board has established
an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee and a Risk and Disclosure Committee.
Committee assignments are re-evaluated annually. Each of these
committees operates under a charter that has been approved by our
Board. The current charter of each of these committees is available
on our website at www.mymd.com in the “Corporate Governance”
section under “Investors.” Pursuant to the Settlement, we adopted
several amendments to the committee charters. We disclosed these
amendments and intend to disclose any future amendments to the
charters of these committees at the same website address provided
above.
As of
October 18, 2021, the following table sets forth the membership of
each of the Board committees listed above.
Name |
|
Audit
Committee |
|
Compensation
Committee |
|
Nomination
Corporate
Governance
Committee |
|
Risk and
Disclosure
Committee |
Chris Chapman, M.D. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Craig Eagle, M.D. |
|
|
|
Member |
|
|
|
|
Christopher C. Schreiber |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joshua Silverman |
|
Member |
|
Chair |
|
Member |
|
Member |
Jude Uzonwanne |
|
Member |
|
Member |
|
Chair |
|
Member |
Bill J. White |
|
Chair |
|
|
|
Member |
|
Chair |
Audit
Committee
Our
Audit Committee is responsible for, among other matters:
|
● |
monitoring
the integrity of our financial reporting process, including
critical accounting policies and estimates, and systems of internal
controls regarding finance, accounting, legal and regulatory
compliance; |
|
|
|
|
● |
monitoring
the independence and performance of our independent auditors and
our accounting personnel; |
|
|
|
|
● |
providing
an avenue of communication among the independent auditors,
management, our accounting personnel, and the Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
appointing
and providing oversight for the independent auditors engaged to
perform the audit of the financial statements; |
|
|
|
|
● |
discussing
the scope of the independent auditors’ examination; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
the financial statements and the independent auditors’
report; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
areas of potential significant financial risk and exposure to us,
to the extent that there are any, and assess the steps management
has taken to monitor such risks; |
|
|
|
|
● |
monitoring
compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; |
|
|
|
|
● |
soliciting
recommendations from the independent auditors regarding internal
controls and other matters; |
|
|
|
|
● |
making
recommendations to the Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
resolving
any disagreements between management and the auditors regarding
financial reporting; |
|
|
|
|
● |
preparing
the report required by Item 407(d) of Regulation S-K, as required
by the rules of the SEC; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
issues regarding accounting principles and financial statement
presentation (including any significant changes in our selection or
application of accounting principles); and |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
the effectiveness of any special accounting steps adopted in light
of identified significant and/or material control
deficiencies. |
Our
Audit Committee is composed of Bill J. White (Chair), Joshua
Silverman, and Jude Uzonwanne. Our Board has determined that each
of the current members of the Audit Committee is independent in
accordance with Nasdaq Rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Our Board
has also reviewed the education, experience and other
qualifications of each member of the Audit Committee. Based upon
that review, our Board has determined that Mr. White qualifies as
an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined by the rules of
the SEC. The Audit Committee met 4 times during 2021.
Compensation
Committee
Our
Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other
matters:
|
● |
reviewing
and approving on an annual basis goals and objectives relevant to
our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief
Executive Officer’s performance in light of those goals and
objectives, and determining the compensation of our Chief Executive
Officer based on this evaluation or recommending such goals,
objectives and compensation of our Chief Executive Officer’s to the
Board for its approval; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
and approving on an annual basis the compensation of our executive
officers other than our Chief Executive Officer; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
on an annual basis the fees and equity compensation paid to the
Company’s non-employee directors for service on the Board and Board
committees and recommending any changes to the Board as
necessary; |
|
|
|
|
● |
selecting,
retaining and terminating any compensation consultant to be used by
the Compensation Committee or us to assist in the evaluation of the
compensation of non-employee directors, the Chief Executive Officer
or the other executive officers and approving such compensation
consultant’s fees and other retention terms, and overseeing the
work of such compensation consultant; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing,
approving and, when appropriate, making recommendations to the
Board for approval, incentive-compensation programs and
equity-based plans and the adoption of or material changes in
material employee benefit, bonus, severance and other compensation
plans; |
|
● |
reviewing
and approving and, when appropriate, recommending to the Board for
approval, any employment agreements and change in control
agreements for each of our executive officers and any other
officers recommended by the Chief Executive Officer or the Board
which includes the ability to adopt, amend and terminate such
agreements, arrangements or plans; |
|
|
|
|
● |
determining
and approving the options and other equity-based compensation to be
granted to executive officers, including the Chief Executive
Officer, and non-employee directors; and |
|
|
|
|
● |
in
conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer, determining the
issuance of options and other equity-based compensation under the
Company’s incentive compensation and other stock-based plans to all
other officers and employees. |
Our
Compensation Committee is composed of Joshua Silverman (Chair),
Craig Eagle, M.D., and Jude Uzonwanne. Our Board has determined
that each of the current members of the Compensation Committee is
independent in accordance with Nasdaq Rules. The Compensation
Committee may delegate the determination with respect to persons
other than officers to the Chief Executive Officer but will approve
the aggregate amount granted to all employees and all new hire
grants. The Compensation Committee held no meetings in 2021 but
acted several times by unanimous written consent. The Compensation
Committee did not engage any consultants in determining or
recommending the amount or form of executive and director
compensation during 2021.
Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for,
among other matters:
|
● |
overseeing
the administration of our Code of Business Ethics and Conduct and
related policies; |
|
|
|
|
● |
leading
the search for and recommending individuals qualified to become
members of the Board, and selecting director nominees to be
presented for election by the shareholders at each annual
meeting; |
|
|
|
|
● |
ensuring,
in cooperation with the Compensation Committee, that no agreements
or arrangements are made with directors or relatives of directors
for providing professional or consulting services to us or our
affiliate or individual officer or one of their affiliated, without
appropriate review and evaluation for conflicts of
interest; |
|
|
|
|
● |
ensuring
that Board members do not serve on more than six other for-profit
public company boards that have a class of securities registered
under the Exchange Act in addition to the Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
the Board’s committee structure and to recommend to the Board for
its approval; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
recommendations received from shareholders for persons to be
considered for nomination to the Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
monitoring
compliance with our corporate governance guidelines; |
|
|
|
|
● |
developing
and implementing an annual self-evaluation of the Board, both
individually and as a Board, and of its committees; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
and recommending changes to procedures whereby shareholders may
communicate with the Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
assessing
the independence of directors annually and report to the Board;
and |
|
|
|
|
● |
recommending
to the Board for its approval, the leadership structure of the
Board, including whether the Board should have an executive or
non-executive Chairman, whether the roles of Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer should combine, and whether a Lead Director of
the Board should be appointed; provided that such structure shall
be subject to the bylaws of the Company then in effect. |
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is composed of Jude
Uzonwanne (Chair), Bill J. White, and Joshua Silverman. Each of the
current appointed Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
members is “independent” within the meaning of the Nasdaq Rules.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held no meetings
in 2021 but acted several times by unanimous written
consent.
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee evaluates each
director on an annual basis in accordance with the Company’s
Director Evaluation Policy, which was implemented pursuant to the
Settlement. The policy calls for each director to fill out a Skills
Matrix form identifying relevant skills that her or she possesses,
along with a brief explanation of the basis for each skill claimed.
The director is then interviewed by a member of the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee in order to discuss:
|
● |
the
director’s strengths and contributions to the Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
any
gaps in the director’s skills an performance; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
director’s thoughts of the Board’s performance over the past year;
and |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
evaluator’s recommendations for how the director can
improve. |
The
evaluator then fills out a Director Evaluation Scorecard based on
the interview, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee reviews the Director Evaluation Scorecards along with the
Skills Matrices and reports its findings to the Board. The Director
Evaluation Policy, as well as the most recent Skills Matrix and the
Scorecard form, are available on our website at www.mymd.com
in the “About Us” section under “Team.” Based on the latest
evaluation, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee did
not identify any issues that merited reporting to or action by the
Board.
Risk
and Disclosure Committee
Our
Risk and Disclosure Committee is responsible for, among other
matters:
|
● |
reviewing
the effectiveness of our Code of Ethics annually, including our
ethics and risk program, and recommending to the Board any changes
to our policies and internal controls as necessary; |
|
|
|
|
● |
monitoring
compliance with our Code of Ethics, and specifically reviewing and
evaluating our public disclosures and annually reviewing and
evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures; |
|
|
|
|
● |
reviewing
and approving any waivers of provisions of the Code of
Ethics; |
|
|
|
|
● |
addressing
any whistleblower complaints and ensuring that all whistleblower
complaints are appropriately reviewed by the Risk and Disclosure
Committee and that any appropriate remedial action if necessary is
taken based on the results of its review; and |
|
|
|
|
● |
ensuring
that non-retaliation policies are instituted and strictly complied
with in order to protect any Company employee who reports a
whistleblower complaint. |
Our
Risk and Disclosure Committee is composed of Bill J. White (Chair),
Joshua Silverman and Jude Uzonwanne. Our Board has determined that
each of the current members of the Risk and Disclosure Committee is
independent in accordance with Nasdaq Rules. The Risk and
Disclosure Committee held no meetings during 2021.
Director Nominations
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers all
qualified candidates identified by members of the Board, by senior
management and by stockholders. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee follows the same process and uses the same
criteria for evaluating candidates proposed by stockholders,
members of the Board and members of senior management. We did not
pay fees to any third party to assist in the process of identifying
or evaluating director candidates during 2021.
Our
Charter and Bylaws contain provisions that address the process by
which a stockholder may nominate an individual to stand for
election to the Board at our Annual Meeting. Any stockholder
recommendations for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee should include the candidate’s name,
biographical information, information regarding any relationships
between the candidate and the Company within the last three years,
a description of all arrangements between the candidate and the
recommending stockholder and any other person pursuant to which the
candidate is being recommended, a written indication of the
candidate’s willingness to serve on the Board, any other
information required to be provided under securities laws and
regulations, and a written indication to provide such other
information as the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
may reasonably request. Stockholder recommendations to the Board
should be sent to:
MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
855 N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601
Baltimore, MD 21205
Attention: General Counsel
Such
nomination must satisfy the notice, information and consent
requirements set forth in our Charter and Bylaws and must be
received by us prior to the date set forth under “Submission of
Future Stockholder Proposals” below.
In
evaluating director nominees, the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee considers the following factors:
|
● |
the
appropriate size and diversity of our Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
our
needs with respect to the particular knowledge, skills and
experience of nominees, including experience in corporate finance,
technology, business, administration and sales, in light of the
prevailing business conditions and the knowledge, skills and
experience already possessed by other members of the
Board; |
|
|
|
|
● |
experience
with accounting rules and practices, and whether such a person
qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” pursuant to SEC
rules; and |
|
|
|
|
● |
balancing
continuity of our Board with periodic injection of fresh
perspectives provided by new Board members. |
Our
Board believes that each director should have a basic understanding
of our principal operational and financial objectives and plans and
strategies, our results of operations and financial condition and
our relative standing in relation to our competitors.
In
identifying director nominees, the Board will first evaluate the
current members of the Board willing to continue in service.
Current members of the Board with skills and experience that are
relevant to our business and who are willing to continue in service
will be considered for re-nomination.
If
any member of the Board does not wish to continue in service or if
the Board decides not to re-nominate a member for re-election, the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will seek to identify
new candidates for the Board. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee shall then initially evaluate a prospective
nominee on the basis of his or her resume and other background
information that has been made available to the committee. A member
of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will contact
for further review those candidates who the committee believes are
qualified, who may fulfill a specific board need and who would
otherwise best make a contribution to the Board. If, after further
discussions with the candidate, and other further review and
consideration as necessary, the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee believes that it has identified a qualified candidate, it
will make a recommendation to the Board.
Board Leadership Structure and Role
in Risk Oversight
Our
Board currently consists of six directors. Pursuant to the
Settlement, we adopted amendments to our Bylaws to separate the
roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer prior to
November 28, 2020. The Settlement required that by November 28,
2020, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
positions be occupied by different individuals, and that the
Chairman of the Board position be held by an independent director.
Furthermore, the role of the Chairman of the Board will be rotated
among the independent directors every five 5 years. Currently, Josh
Silverman, an independent director, serves as the Chairman of the
Board, and Christopher C. Chapman performs the role of principal
executive officer, serving as our President and Chief Medical
Officer.
Our
Audit Committee has primarily been responsible for overseeing the
Company’s risk management processes on behalf of the full Board.
The Audit Committee receives reports from management concerning the
Company’s assessment of risks. In addition, the Audit Committee
reports regularly to the full Board, which also considers the
Company’s risk profile. The Audit Committee and the full Board
focus on the most significant risks facing the Company and the
Company’s general risk management strategy. In addition, as part of
its oversight of our Company’s executive compensation program, the
Compensation Committee considers the impact of such program, and
the incentives created by the compensation awards that it
administers, on our Company’s risk profile. In addition, the
Compensation Committee reviews all of our compensation policies and
procedures, including the incentives that they create and factors
that may reduce the likelihood of excessive risk taking, to
determine whether they present a significant risk to our Company.
The Compensation Committee has determined that, for all employees,
our compensation programs do not encourage excessive risk and
instead encourage behaviors that support sustainable value
creation.
We
also established a Risk and Disclosure Committee, which is
primarily responsible for overseeing the Company’s ethics and risk
program and internal controls over compliance. In addition, the
Risk and Disclosure Committee reports to the full Board, which also
considers the Company’s risk profile.
We
are continuing to review our established controls and procedures
that involve cybersecurity matters to determine any other material
impacts to our financial results, operations, and/or reputation to
insure such incidents are immediately reported by management to the
Board, or individual members or committees thereof, as appropriate,
in accordance with our escalation framework and insure we have
established procedures to ensure that management responsible for
overseeing the effectiveness of disclosure controls is informed in
a timely manner of known cybersecurity risks and incidents that may
materially impact our operations and that timely public disclosure
is made as appropriate.
Communications with
Directors
Stockholders
and other interested parties may send correspondence by mail to the
full Board or to individual directors. Stockholders should address
such correspondence to the Board or the relevant Board members in
care of: MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 855 N. Wolfe Street, Suite
601, Baltimore, MD 21205, Attention: General Counsel.
All
such correspondence will be compiled by our General Counsel and
forwarded as appropriate. In general, correspondence relating to
corporate governance issues, long-term corporate strategy or
similar substantive matters will be forwarded to the Board, one of
the committees of the Board, or a member thereof for review.
Correspondence relating to the ordinary course of business affairs,
personal grievances, and matters as to which we tend to receive
repetitive or duplicative communications are usually more
appropriately addressed by the officers or their designees and will
be forwarded to such persons accordingly. If the amount of
correspondence received through the foregoing process becomes
excessive, our Board may consider approving a process for review,
organization and screening of the correspondence by our General
Counsel or another appropriate person.
Involvement in Certain Legal
Proceedings
There
have been no material legal proceedings that would require
disclosure under the federal securities laws that are material to
an evaluation of the ability or integrity of our directors or
executive officers, or in which any director, officer, nominee or
principal stockholder, or any affiliate thereof, is a party adverse
to us or has a material interest adverse to us.
Anti-Hedging
and Anti-Pledging Policies
We do
not have any policy governing the ability of employees (including
officers) or directors of the registrant, or any of their
designees, to purchase financial instruments or otherwise engage in
transactions that hedge or offset, or are designed to hedge or
offset, any decrease in the market value of the Company’s equity
securities that may have been granted to such employee or director
as part of their compensation or that may be otherwise held,
directly or indirectly, by such employee or director.
Director Compensation
Effective
as of 4:05 pm Eastern Time on April 16, 2021, we filed an amendment
to our Charter to effect a reverse stock split (the “Reverse
Split”) of the issued and outstanding shares of our Common Stock,
at a ratio of one share for two shares. Unless otherwise provided,
all share amounts in this Proxy Statement as of a date or for
periods that precede the Reverse Split have been adjusted to give
effect to the Reverse Split.
Director
Compensation Table
The
following table presents the total compensation for each person who
served as a member of our Board during 2021 for services to the
Company, except for Dr. Chapman and Mr. Schreiber, whose
compensation is reported under the Summary Compensation Table.
Other than as set forth in the table and described more fully
below, we did not pay any compensation, reimburse any expense of,
make any equity awards or non-equity awards to, or pay any other
compensation to any of the other members of our Board during
2021.
Name |
|
Fees earned
or paid in
cash ($) |
|
|
Stock Awards
($) (1) |
|
|
Total
($) |
|
Josh Silverman (2) |
|
|
216,000 |
|
|
|
4,854,000 |
|
|
|
5,070,000 |
|
Bill J. White (3) |
|
|
96,000 |
|
|
|
1,213,500 |
|
|
|
1,309,500 |
|
Robert Schroeder (4) |
|
|
64,000 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
64,000 |
|
Craig Eagle, M.D (5) |
|
|
67,736 |
|
|
|
1,213,500 |
|
|
|
1,281,236 |
|
Jude Uzonwanne (6) |
|
|
67,736 |
|
|
|
1,213,500 |
|
|
|
1,281,236 |
|
(1) |
In
accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate fair
value of stock awards granted during the fiscal year ended December
31, 2021, computed as of their respective grant dates in accordance
with Financial Accounting Standard Board Accounting Standards
Codification (“FASB ASC”) Topic 718 for share-based compensation
transactions. |
|
|
(2) |
As of
December 31, 2021, Mr. Silverman had 673,776 outstanding restricted
stock units (“RSUs”). |
|
|
(3) |
As of
December 31, 2021, Mr. White had 223,776 outstanding
RSUs. |
|
|
(4) |
Mr.
Schroeder passed away on September 1, 2021. As of December 31,
2021, Mr. Schroeder (or his heirs or devisees) had 29,837
outstanding RSUs. |
|
|
(5) |
Dr.
Eagle was appointed to the Board on April 16, 2021. As of December
31, 2021, Dr. Eagle had 150,000 outstanding RSUs. |
|
|
(6) |
Mr.
Uzonwanne was appointed to the Board on April 16, 2021. As of
December 31, 2021, Mr. Uzonwanne had 150,000 outstanding
RSUs. |
Narrative Disclosure to Director
Compensation Table
As
approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board on March 29,
2019, beginning in April 2019, each serving director who is not
also holding a position as an executive officer is paid $8,000 per
month. On or around May 2020, the Compensation Committee of the
Board approved payments to Mr. Silverman of $18,000 per month,
beginning in May 2020. All director fees were paid on a monthly
basis. There was no other compensation for directors during the
year ended December 31, 2021.
On
September 11, 2020, the Compensation Committee of the Board
approved the grant of 131,750 RSUs to Mr. Schreiber, 109,500 RSUs
to each of Mr. Silverman and Mr. White; and 43,930 RSUs to Mr.
Schroeder. The RSUs were granted under the 2018 Stock Incentive
Plan (as amended, the “2018 Plan”), with 50% to vest on the first
anniversary of the date of grant, and the remaining 50% to vest on
the second anniversary of the date of grant, provided that the RSUs
shall vest immediately upon the occurrence of (i) a change in
control, provided that the grantee is employed or providing
services to us and our affiliates on the closing date of such
change in control, (ii) the grantee’s termination of employment or
services to us and our affiliates by reason of death or disability,
or (iii) the grantee’s termination of employment or services to us
without cause. At our election, the vested RSUs may be settled for
cash. On April 16, 2021, concurrently with the closing of the
merger (the “Merger”) by and between XYZ Merger Sub Inc., a Florida
corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and MyMD
Pharmaceuticals (Florida), Inc., a Florida corporation formerly
known as MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“MyMD Florida”), pursuant to
the terms of the RSU agreements between the Company and the four
directors listed above, the 394,680 RSUs granted on September 11,
2020 under the 2018 Plan that remained unvested accelerated and
vested in full.
On
November 23, 2020, we retained Taglich Brothers on a non-exclusive
basis as a consultant to render consulting services, assist with
review, and analysis of, financial planning and budgeting matters
of the Company for a term of 12 months. Pursuant to the Consulting
Agreement with Taglich Brothers, we agreed to pay Taglich Brothers
$10,000 per month.
Mr.
Schreiber is the managing director of capital markets at Taglich
Brothers. This agreement was terminated without penalty effective
August 31, 2021. Mr. Schroeder was the vice president of investment
banking at Taglich Brothers until his death on September 1,
2021.
On
October 14, 2021, the Compensation Committee of the Board
authorized the issuance of 2,795,000 RSUs with a fair market value
of $8.09 per RSU to the directors and key employees of the Company.
These RSUs will vest in thirds when certain market capitalization
milestones are met and maintained for twenty consecutive trading
sessions. Upon achievement of a vesting milestone, the expenses
related to the vested RSUs will be recorded at the fair market
value of Common Stock on the date of vesting.
Stock Ownership of Certain Beneficial
Owners and Management
The
following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial
ownership of our voting securities as of October 18, 2022 by (i)
each person known to us to beneficially own five percent (5%) or
more of any class of our voting securities; (ii) each of our named
executive officers and directors; and (iii) all of our directors
and executive officers as a group. The percentages of voting
securities beneficially owned are reported on the basis of
regulations of the SEC governing the determination of beneficial
ownership of securities. Under the rules of the SEC, a person is
deemed to be a beneficial owner of a security if that person has or
shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or to direct
the voting of the security, or investment power, which includes the
power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of the security.
Except as indicated in the footnotes to this table, to our
knowledge and subject to community property laws where applicable,
each beneficial owner named in the table below has sole voting and
sole investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned
and each person’s address is c/o MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 855 N.
Wolfe Street, Suite 601, Baltimore, MD 21205. Percentage of Common
Stock ownership is based on 39,470,009 shares of Common Stock
issued and outstanding as of October 18, 2022. Percentage of Series
D Preferred Stock ownership is based on 72,992 shares of Series D
Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of October 18,
2022.
The
number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the
principal stockholders and the percentage of shares outstanding, as
set forth below, take into account certain limitations on the
exercise of warrants to purchase Common Stock.
Beneficial
ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC.
For the purpose of calculating the number of shares beneficially
owned by a stockholder and the percentage ownership of that
stockholder, shares of Common Stock subject to options or warrants
that are currently exercisable or exercisable within sixty (60)
days of October 18, 2022 by that stockholder are deemed
outstanding.
Name |
|
Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned (1) |
|
|
Percentage of Class |
|
|
Number of Shares of Series D Preferred Stock Beneficially
Owned |
|
|
Percentage of Class |
|
|
Total Voting Power |
|
5% Beneficial
Owner |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Iroquois Capital
Management LLC (2) |
|
|
1,418,665 |
|
|
|
4.99
|
% |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
4.99
|
% |
Richard Abbe / Iroquois Capital
Investment Group LLC (2) |
|
|
2,327,987 |
|
|
|
6.84
|
% |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
6.83
|
% |
Caroline Williams / Starwood Trust
(3) |
|
|
5,020,182 |
|
|
|
12.32 |
% |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
12.31
|
% |
Premas Biotech PVT Ltd. (4) |
|
|
103,782 |
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
72,992 |
|
|
|
100 |
% |
|
|
* |
|
Samuel Duffey (5) |
|
|
2,241,812 |
|
|
|
5.65
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
5.65
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Named Executive
Officers and Directors |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joshua Silverman (6) |
|
|
88,776 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Bill J White (7) |
|
|
73,776 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Craig Eagle, M.D. (8) |
|
|
482,375 |
|
|
|
1.21 |
% |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
1.21 |
% |
Jude Uzonwanne (9) |
|
|
115,770 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Christopher C Schreiber (10) |
|
|
88,238 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Christopher Chapman, M.D. (11) |
|
|
289,425 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Adam Kaplin, M.D., PhD (12) |
|
|
154,360 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
Paul Rivard (13) |
|
|
169,360 |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
* |
|
All current executive officers and
Directors as a group (9 persons) |
|
|
1,462,080 |
|
|
|
3.57 |
% |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
* |
|
|
|
3.57
|
% |
*
Less than 1%.
|
(1) |
Shares
of Common Stock beneficially owned and the respective percentages
of beneficial ownership of Common Stock assume the exercise of all
options and other securities convertible into Common Stock
beneficially owned by such person or entity currently exercisable
or exercisable within 60 days of October 18, 2022, except as
otherwise noted. Shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of stock
options and other securities convertible into Common Stock
exercisable within 60 days are deemed outstanding and held by the
holder of such options or other securities for computing the
percentage of outstanding Common Stock beneficially owned by such
person but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage
of outstanding Common Stock beneficially owned by any other person.
Percentage of Common Stock ownership is based on 39,470,009 shares
of Common Stock issued and outstanding as of October 18,
2022. |
|
(2) |
This
information is based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on
February 22, 2022 by Iroquois Capital Management, LLC (“Iroquois
Capital”) and on information available to the Company. The
principal business office is 125 Park Avenue, 25th Floor, New York,
NY 10017. Iroquois Capital is the investment advisor for Iroquois
Master Fund, Ltd. (“IMF”). As directors of IMF, Kimberly Page and
Richard Abbe make voting and investment decisions on behalf of IMF.
As a result of the foregoing, Ms. Page and Mr. Abbe may be deemed
to have beneficial ownership (as determined under Section 13(d) of
the Exchange Act) of the securities held by Iroquois Capital and
IMF. The shares and percentages included in the table report the
number of shares and percentages of beneficial ownership,
respectively, that would be issuable after giving effect to the
9.99% beneficial ownership blocker included in the Pre-Funded
Warrants and the warrants (or the 4.99% beneficial ownership
blocker in the case of warrants issued in the registered direct
offering that closed on August 17, 2022 (the “August 2022
Offering”)).
IMF
owns 613,307 shares of Common Stock (including 352,941 shares
issued to IMF in the August 2022 Offering), Pre-Funded
Warrants to purchase 385,135 shares of Common Stock (all of which
are subject to a 9.99% beneficial ownership blocker) and warrants
to purchase 773,164 shares of Common Stock (352,941 shares of which
underly warrants issued to IMF in the August 2022 Offering,
which are subject to a 4.99% beneficial ownership blocker, and the
remainder of which are subject to a 9.99% beneficial ownership
blocker).
Mr.
Abbe has voting control and investment discretion over securities
held by Iroquois Capital Investment Group LLC (“ICIG”). As such,
Mr. Abbe may be deemed to be the beneficial owner (as determined
under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) of the securities held by
ICIG. ICIG owns 2,153,536 shares of Common Stock (including 235,294
shares issued to ICIG in the August 2022 Offering), Pre-Funded
Warrants to purchase 135,135 shares of Common Stock (all of which
are subject to a 9.99% beneficial ownership blocker) and warrants
to purchase 659,039 shares of Common Stock (235,294 shares of which
underly warrants issued to ICIG in the August 2022 Offering,
which are subject to a 4.99% beneficial ownership blocker, and the
remainder of which are subject to a 9.99% beneficial ownership
blocker). In addition, by virtue of his position as a custodian or
trustee of certain Accounts (The Samantha Abbe Irrevocable Trust,
The Talia Abbe Irrevocable Trust and The Bennett Abbe Irrevocable
Trust), Mr. Abbe may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of the
115,770 shares of Common Stock held in aggregate by such Accounts.
In addition, by virtue of his position as trustee of the Abbe
Berman Foundation, Mr. Abbe may be deemed to be the beneficial
owner of the 49,110 shares of Common Stock held by the Abbe Berman
Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
(3) |
This
information is based on a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on April
16, 2021 by Caroline Williams, Individually and as Trustee of the
Starwood Trust (“Trust”). The Schedule 13D reports shared voting
power for 3,747,210 shares of Common Stock and shared dispositive
power for 3,747,210 shares of Common Stock. The Common Stock is
held directly by the Trust. As trustee of the Trust, Ms. Williams
makes voting and investment decisions on behalf of the Trust. As a
result of the foregoing, Ms. Williams may be deemed to have
beneficial ownership (as determined under Section 13(d) of the
Exchange) of the securities held by The Starwood Trust. The
principal business address of The Starwood Trust is 324 South Hyde
Park Avenue, Suite 350, Tampa, Florida 33606. The Trust owns
2,471,479 shares of Common Stock and options to purchase 1,275,731
shares of Common Stock.
Ms.
Williams individually owns 1,272,972 shares of Common Stock as such
is deemed to have beneficial ownership.
|
|
|
|
|
(4) |
On
March 23, 2020, Premas Biotech PVT., Ltd received 103,782 shares of
Common Stock and 72,992 shares of Series D Convertible Preferred
Stock as partial compensation for their rights to
Cystron. |
|
|
|
|
|
Prabuddha
Kundu has sole voting and dispositive power over the securities
held for this account. |
|
(5) |
This
information is based on a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on
September 8, 2022 by Samuel Duffey, individually and as trustee of
the Rachel Jean Williams 2021 Irrevocable Trust (“RJW Trust”). The
Schedule 13D reports that Mr. Duffey holds sole voting and
dispositive power over 968,841 shares of Common Stock, which
includes (i) 775,891 shares of Common Stock and (ii) 192,950 shares
of Common Stock that may be acquired by Mr. Duffey pursuant to
options. Mr. Duffey holds shared voting and dispositive power with
respect to 1,272,971 shares of Common Stock that are held by the
Trust as its sole trustee.
The
principal business address of Mr. Duffey is 8771 Grey Oaks Ave.,
Sarasota, Florida 34238.
|
|
|
|
|
(6) |
Represents
(i) 15,000 shares of Common Stock by Mr. Silverman and (ii) 73,776
RSU awards to Mr. Silverman that are vested or scheduled to vest
within 60 days of the Record Date. |
|
|
|
|
(7) |
Represents
73,776 RSU awards to Mr. White that are vested or scheduled to vest
within 60 days of the Record Date. |
|
|
|
|
(8) |
Dr.
Eagle individually owns 482,375 shares of Common Stock issuable
upon the exercise of options which vested immediately upon grant
and expire April 16, 2023. |
|
|
|
|
(9) |
Represents
115,770 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of
options held by Mr. Uzonwanne exercisable within 60 days of the
Record Date. |
|
|
|
|
(10) |
Represents
88,238 RSU awards to Mr. Schreiber that are vested or scheduled to
vest within 60 days of the Record Date. |
|
|
|
|
(11) |
Dr.
Chapman individually owns 289,425 shares of Common Stock issuable
upon the exercise of options which vested immediately upon grant
and expire on April 23, 2023. |
|
|
|
|
(12) |
Dr.
Kaplin individually owns 154,360 shares of Common Stock issuable
upon the exercise of options which options vested immediately upon
grant and expire April 16, 2023. |
|
|
|
|
(13) |
Mr.
Rivard individually owns 15,000 shares of Common Stock and 77,180
shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options which
fully vested upon grant and expire on April 16, 2023. The Paul
& Jennifer Rivard Revocable Living Trust (the “Rivard Trust”)
owns 77,180 shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of
options which fully vested upon grant and expire on April 16, 2023.
Mr. Rivard makes voting and investment decisions on behalf of the
Rivard Trust. As a result of the foregoing, Mr. Rivard may be
deemed to have beneficial ownership (as determined under Section
13(d) of the Exchange Act) of securities held by the Rivard
Trust. |
Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions
Transactions
with related persons are governed by our Code of Business Ethics
and Conduct, which applies to all of our employees, as well as each
of our directors and certain persons performing services for us.
This code covers a wide range of potential activities, including,
among others, conflicts of interest, self-dealing and related party
transactions. Waiver of the policies set forth in this code will
only be permitted when circumstances warrant. Such waivers for
directors and executive officers, or that provide a benefit to a
director or executive officer, may be made only by the Board, as a
whole, or the Audit Committee and must be promptly disclosed as
required by applicable law or regulation. Absent such a review and
approval process in conformity with the applicable guidelines
relating to the particular transaction under consideration, such
arrangements are not permitted. All related party transactions for
which disclosure is required to be provided herein were approved in
accordance with our Code of Business Ethics and Conduct and
Whistleblower Policy.
Other
than compensation agreements and other arrangements which are
described under “Executive Compensation” herein, since January 1,
2020, there has not been, and there is not currently proposed, any
transaction or series of similar transactions to which we were or
will be a party in which the amount involved exceeded or will
exceed the lesser of $120,000 or the average of our total assets at
year-end for the last two completed fiscal years and in which any
director, executive officer, holder of 5% or more of any class of
our capital stock, or any member of their immediate family had or
will have a direct or indirect material interest.
On
November 11, 2020, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase
Agreement (the “Private Placement SPA”) with certain institutional
and accredited investors (the “SPA Purchasers”), including IMF and
its affiliate, ICIG, Intracoastal Capital, LLC (“Intracoastal”) and
Mainfield Enterprises Inc. (“Mainfield”), pursuant to which the
Company agreed to issue and sell to the SPA Purchasers certain
securities in a private placement (the “Private Placement”). In
connection with the Private Placement, IMF and ICIG received an
aggregate of 1,040,540 shares of Common Stock (520,270 after giving
effect to the Reverse Split), 1,040,540 pre-funded warrants to
purchase shares of Common Stock (520,270 after giving effect to the
Reverse Split) and warrants to purchase 2,081,020 shares of Common
Stock (1,040,510 after giving effect to the Reverse Split);
Intracoastal received 729,729 shares of Common Stock(364,865 after
giving effect to the Reverse Split), and warrants to purchase
729,729 shares of Common Stock (364,865 after giving effect to the
Reverse Split), and Mainfield received 1,081,081 shares of Common
Stock (540,541 after giving effect to the Reverse Split), and
warrants to purchase 1,081,081 shares of Common Stock (540,541
after giving effect to the Reverse Split).
Related
Party Transactions of MyMD Florida
On
November 11, 2020, in connection with the merger (the “Merger”) by
and between XYZ Merger Sub Inc., a Florida corporation and wholly
owned subsidiary of the Company, and MyMD Pharmaceuticals
(Florida), Inc., a Florida corporation formerly known as MyMD
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“MyMD Florida”), MyMD Florida entered into
the Supera Asset Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which MyMD Florida
agreed to acquire from Supera substantially all of the assets
(including all rights to Supera-1R) and certain obligations of
Supera in consideration of the issuance to Supera of an aggregate
of 33,937,909 shares of MyMD Florida common stock. After giving
effect to the exchange ratio used to calculate consideration for
shares of MyMD Florida following the Merger (the “Exchange Ratio”)
and the Reverse Split, such shares of MyMD Florida common stock are
equivalent to 13,096,639 shares of the Company’s Common Stock.
Supera is owned principally by The Starwood Trust, a trust for
which MyMD Florida’s founder Jonnie R. Williams, Sr. was the
settlor/grantor; Mr. Williams did not have voting or investment
power of the MyMD Florida shares held by the trust. Supera is a
Florida corporation that was incorporated in September 2018 by Mr.
Williams and The Starwood Trust to develop and commercialize
Supera-1R, and in December 2018, Mr. Williams assigned his rights
and intellectual property relating to Supera-1R to Supera. As
partial consideration for such assignment, Supera has granted to
SRQ Patent Holdings II, a royalty with respect to product sales and
other consideration arising from the assigned intellectual
property.
On
November 11, 2020, Supera entered into an Amended and Restated
Confirmatory Patent Assignment and Royalty Agreement, with SRQ
Patent Holdings II under which Supera (or its successor) is
obligated to pay to SRQ Patent Holdings II (or its designees)
certain royalties on product sales or other revenue received on
products that incorporate or are covered by the intellectual
property that was assigned to Supera by Mr. Williams. The royalty
is equal to 8% of the net sales price on products sales and,
without duplication, 8% of milestone revenue or sublicense
compensation. This agreement was assumed by MyMD Florida in
connection with the Supera Purchase and remained in place following
the Merger. SRQ Patent Holdings II is an affiliate of Mr.
Williams.
On
November 11, 2020 MyMD Florida entered into an Amended and Restated
Confirmatory Patent Assignment and Royalty Agreement with SRQ
Patent Holdings under which MyMD Florida (or its successor) would
be obligated to pay to SRQ Patent Holdings (or other designees)
certain royalties on product sales or other revenue received on
products that incorporate or are covered by the intellectual
property that was assigned to MyMD Florida by SRQ Patent Holdings.
The royalty is equal to 8% of the net sales price on product sales
and, without duplication, 8% of milestone revenue or sublicense
compensation. This agreement remained in place following the
Merger. SRQ Patent Holdings is an affiliate of Mr.
Williams.
On
November 11, 2020, MyMD Florida, The Starwood Trust and Mr.
Williams agreed to cancel options to purchase an aggregate of
31,300,000 of MyMD Florida common stock and terminate the
underlying stock option award agreements. After giving effect to
the Exchange Ratio and the Reverse Split, such options to purchase
MyMD Florida common stock are equivalent to options to purchase
12,078,670 shares of the Company’s Common Stock.
Upon
the completion of the Merger, all amounts due and owing with
respect to the line of credit established between MyMD Florida and
The Starwood Trust were paid off in full. The Starwood Trust is a
trust for which Mr. Williams was the settlor/grantor; Mr. Williams
did not have voting or investment power of the MyMD Florida shares
held by the trust.
Delinquent Section 16(a)
Reports
Section
16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and officers, and
persons who own more than ten percent of our Common Stock, to file
with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in
ownership of our common stock.
Based
solely upon a review of copies of Section 16(a) reports and
representations received by us from reporting persons, and without
conducting any independent investigation of our own, in fiscal year
2021, all Forms 3, 4 and 5 were timely filed with the SEC by such
reporting persons with the following exceptions: following the
Merger, Dr. Chapman, Dr. Kaplin, Mr. Schreiber, Mr. Uzonwanne, and
Dr. Eagle filed Form 4’s on April 21, 2021 disclosing the receipt
of shares issued in connection with the Merger closing on April 16,
2021.
Executive Compensation
Executive Officers
The
following table sets forth the names, ages and positions of our
executive officers as of October 18, 2022:
Name |
|
Age |
|
Position
with the Company |
Chris
Chapman, M.D. |
|
70 |
|
President
and Chief Medical Officer |
Adam
Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D. |
|
56 |
|
Chief
Scientific Officer |
Paul
Rivard, Esq. |
|
52 |
|
Executive
Vice President of Operations and General Counsel |
Ian
Rhodes |
|
50 |
|
Chief
Financial Officer |
Please
see biography of Dr. Chapman on page 7 of this Proxy
Statement.
Adam
Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D. has been our Chief Scientific Officer since
April 16, 2021. He previously served as Chief Scientific Officer of
MYMD Florida effective as of December 18, 2020. Prior to joining
MYMD Florida, Dr. Kaplin has served in a number of positions at
John Hopkins University, including Principal Neuro-Psychiatric
Consultant to the Johns Hopkins Multiple Sclerosis Center of
Excellence, Director of the Johns Hopkins Ketamine Clinic and the
Departments of Psychiatry & Neurology at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, positions he has held at various
times from 2002 to present. In addition, since 2019, Dr. Kaplin has
served as Adjunct Faculty at the George Mason University Department
of Global and Community Health. Dr. Kaplin has also served as
Co-Founder of numerous healthcare related startups, including, from
2018 to present, REWARD Pathways Inc., a company devoted to
addiction treatment development focused on a combined eHealth and
medicine approach to curing addiction, and from 2016 to present,
Hollinger Kaplin Benjamin & Bond, an eHealth software
development company. Dr. Kaplin’s research focuses on the
investigation of the biological basis of immune mediated depression
and cognitive impairment by using multiple sclerosis as the model.
Dr. Kaplin has also been active for over a decade in the
development and application of health information technology to
mental health, combining this work with providing neuropsychiatric
consultation and ongoing care of patients with multiple sclerosis
spectrum disorders. Dr. Kaplin’s original research has been
published over 40 times in several different publications, and he
has authored or co-authored numerous review articles and textbooks.
Dr. Kaplin received his B.S. in Biology from Yale University,
graduating cum laude in 1988, and received his M.D. and Ph.D. from
the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996.
Paul
Rivard, Esq. has been our Executive Vice President of
Operations and General Counsel since April 16, 2021. He previously
served as Executive Vice President of Operations and General
Counsel of MYMD Florida effective as of September 21, 2020. Prior
to joining MYMD Florida, Mr. Rivard was a principal shareholder of
Banner Witcoff, a national law firm specializing in intellectual
property law, from 2003–2020, and in that capacity also served as
Chair of the firm’s Prosecution Policies and Procedures Committee,
developing and refining internal procedures, workflow, and
docketing practices to improve efficiencies and mitigate risk.
Before becoming a principal shareholder, Mr. Rivard was an
associate at Banner Witcoff from 1998–2002. In addition, prior to
his time at Banner Witcoff, Mr. Rivard served as a patent examiner
for the United States Patent and Trademark Office from 1992–1998.
Mr. Rivard brings more than 20 years of experience as intellectual
property counsel for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100
companies in the life sciences, chemical and consumer product
industries, including primary outside intellectual property counsel
for MYMD Florida from 2014–2020. Since May 2022, Mr. Rivard
has also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of
MIRA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company developing a
synthetic cannabinoid analog for treating chronic pain and anxiety,
and from November 2021 until May 2022 served as President of that
company. Mr. Rivard received his Juris Doctor from Catholic
University of America’s Columbus School of Law, graduating cum
laude in 1998, and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson
University in 1992.
Ian
Rhodes has been our Interim Chief Financial Officer since
February 1, 2021. Mr. Rhodes joined Brio Financial Group (“Brio”)
in January 2021. From March 2020 to December 2020, Mr. Rhodes
served as the Interim CFO of Roadway Moving and Storage. From
November 2018 to July 2019, he served as Interim CFO of Greyston
Bakery and Foundation. From December 2016 to September 2018, Mr.
Rhodes served as President, CEO and Director of GlyEco, Inc., and
served as CFO of GlyEco, Inc. from February 2016 to December 2016.
From May 2014 to January 2016, he served as CFO of Calmare
Therapeutics. Mr. Rhodes began his career at
PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he worked for 15 years. Mr. Rhodes
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with
a concentration in Accounting from Seton Hall University and is a
licensed CPA in New York.
Summary Compensation Table
The
following table summarizes information regarding the compensation
awarded to, earned by or paid to, (i) the individuals who served as
our principal executive officer during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021, (ii) our two most highly compensated executive
officers, other than individuals who served as our principal
executive officer, who were serving as executive officers, as
determined in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated
by the SEC, as of December 31, 2021, with compensation during
fiscal 2021 of $100,000 or more, and (iii) up to two additional
individuals for whom disclosure would have been provided pursuant
to clause (ii) but for the fact that such individuals were not
serving as executive officers on December 31, 2021 (the individuals
falling within categories (i), (ii) and (iii) are collectively
referred to as the “named executive officers”). Our named executive
officers for 2021 were as follows:
|
● |
Chris
Chapman, M.D., President and Chief Medical Officer |
|
● |
Christopher
C. Schreiber, Former President and Chief Executive
Officer |
|
● |
Adam
Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer |
|
● |
Paul
Rivard, Esq., Executive Vice President of Operations and General
Counsel |
Name and
Principal Position |
|
Year |
|
|
Salary |
|
|
Bonus |
|
|
Stock
Awards (1) |
|
|
Option
Awards (2) |
|
|
All Other
Compensation |
|
|
Total |
|
Christopher Chapman, M.D.
(3) |
|
|
2021 |
|
|
$ |
165,000 |
|
|
$ |
121,540 |
|
|
$ |
4,854,000 |
(7) |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
5,140,540 |
|
President, Chief
Medical Officer |
|
|
2020 |
|
|
|
27,500 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
270,000 |
(12) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
297,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adam Kaplin, M.D., PhD (4) |
|
|
2021 |
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
|
|
126,724 |
|
|
|
4,854,000 |
(8) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
5,230,724 |
|
Chief Scientific
Officer |
|
|
2020 |
|
|
|
20,833 |
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
240,000 |
(13) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
360,833 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christopher Schreiber (5) |
|
|
2021 |
|
|
|
300,000 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,213,500 |
(9) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,513,500 |
|
Former President
and Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
2020 |
|
|
|
300,000 |
|
|
|
150,000 |
|
|
|
590,240 |
(10) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
57,618 |
|
|
|
1,097,858 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paul Rivard, Esq., (6) |
|
|
2021 |
|
|
|
165,000 |
|
|
|
60,000 |
|
|
|
1,618,000 |
(11) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,843,000 |
|
Executive Vice
President of Operations and General Counsel |
|
|
2020 |
|
|
|
55,000 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
120,000 |
(14) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
175,000 |
|
(1) |
In
accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate fair
value of stock awards granted during the fiscal years ended
December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, computed as of their
respective grant dates in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 for
share-based compensation transactions. |
|
|
(2) |
In
accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate fair
value of option awards granted during the fiscal years ended
December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, computed as of their
respective grant dates in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 for
share-based compensation transactions. |
|
|
(3) |
Dr.
Chapman was appointed President and Chief Medical Officer of MyMD
effective April 16, 2021. Prior to the Merger, Dr. Chapman served
as the President and Chief Medical Officer of MyMD Florida
effective November 1, 2020. |
|
|
(4) |
Dr.
Kaplin was appointed Chief Scientific Officer of MyMD effective
April 16, 2021. Prior to the Merger, Dr. Kaplin served as Chief
Scientific Officer of MyMD Florida effective December 18,
2020. |
|
|
(5) |
On
January 24, 2020, Mr. Schreiber entered into an employment
agreement, under which he would receive an annual salary of
$300,000. On November 20, 2020, Mr. Schreiber resigned from his
position as Executive Chairman of the Board and was appointed as
the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Schreiber continued to
serve in his position as President of the Company and his
employment agreement with the Company remained in effect. Effective
April 16, 2021, Mr. Schreiber resigned his position as the
Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. |
(6) |
On
April 16, 2021, Mr. Rivard entered into an employment agreement,
under which he would receive an annual salary of $165,000. Prior to
the Merger, Mr. Rivard served as Executive Vice President of
Operations and General Counsel of MyMD Florida effective September
21, 2020. |
|
|
(7) |
On
October 14, 2021, the Company granted each director RSUs, and Dr.
Chapman was granted 600,000 RSUs. |
|
|
(8) |
On
October 14, 2021, the Company granted Dr. Kaplin 600,000
RSUs. |
|
|
(9) |
On
October 14, 2021, the Company granted each director RSUs, and Mr.
Schreiber was granted 150,000 RSUs. |
|
|
(10) |
On
September 11, 2020, the Company granted each director RSUs, and Mr.
Schreiber was granted 109,750 RSUs. |
|
|
(11) |
On
October 14, 2021, the Company granted Mr. Rivard 200,000
RSUs. |
|
|
(12) |
Consists
of (i) a discretionary grant of options to purchase 200,000 shares
of MyMD Florida common stock at an exercise price of $2.59 per
share made to Dr. Chapman on August 2, 2020 and (ii) a grant of
options to purchase 250,000 shares of MyMD Florida common stock at
an exercise price of $2.59 per share made to Dr. Chapman on
November 1, 2020 in connection with his appointment as President
and Chief Medical Officer of MyMD Florida. All such options vested
immediately upon grant and had an aggregate fair value on the date
of grant of $270,000. After giving effect to the Exchange Ratio and
the Reverse Split, such MyMD Florida options became options to
purchase 173,655 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of
$2.59. |
|
|
(13) |
Consists
of a grant of options to purchase 400,000 shares of MyMD Florida
common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share made to Dr.
Kaplin on December 18, 2020 in connection with his appointment as
Chief Scientific Officer. All such options vested immediately upon
grant and had an aggregate fair value on the date of grant of
$240,000. After giving effect to the Exchange Ratio and the Reverse
Split, such MyMD Florida options became options to purchase 154,360
shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $2.59. |
|
|
(14) |
Consists
of a grant of options to purchase 200,000 shares of MyMD Florida
common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share made to Mr.
Rivard on August 21, 2020. All such options vested immediately upon
grant and had an aggregate fair value on the date of grant of
$120,000. After giving effect to the Exchange Ratio and the Reverse
Split, such MyMD Florida options became options to purchase 77,180
shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $2.59. |
Narrative Disclosure to Summary
Compensation Table
We
have entered into employment agreements with each of our Named
Executive Officers, which are discussed in more detail
below.
Employment
of Chris Chapman, M.D.
Pre-Merger
Employment Agreement
Effective
November 1, 2020, MyMD Florida and Dr. Chapman entered into an
employment agreement, which was subsequently amended by that
certain First Amendment to Employment Agreement, dated December 18,
2020, that certain Second Amendment to Employment Agreement dated
January 8, 2021, and that certain Third Amendment to Employment
Agreement dated February 11, 2021 (such agreement, as amended, the
“Chapman Employment Agreement”), pursuant to which Dr. Chapman was
appointed President and Chief Medical Officer of MyMD Florida.
Under the Chapman Employment Agreement, Dr. Chapman is entitled to
an annual base salary of $165,000, payable monthly. Dr. Chapman is
also eligible to receive bonus compensation in the form of lump-sum
cash payments made within 30 days following the completion of
certain specified “Bonus Events” (as defined in the Chapman
Employment Agreement). The aggregate amount of bonus compensation
payable to Dr. Chapman upon achievement of all specified Bonus
Events is $800,000. In addition, Dr. Chapman is eligible to receive
additional bonus compensation in connection with his annual
performance, determined in the sole discretion of MyMD Florida’s
board of directors. Pursuant to and on the effective date of the
Chapman Employment Agreement, Dr. Chapman was also granted options
to purchase 250,000 shares of MyMD Florida common stock, at an
exercise price of $1.00 per share. After giving effect to the
Exchange Ratio and the Reverse Split, such MyMD Florida options
became options to purchase 96,475 shares of the Company’s Common
Stock at an exercise price of $2.59. Such options all vested
immediately upon grant. The options had an original term of lasting
until the earlier of (i) ten years from the date of grant or (ii)
the second-year anniversary of the effective date of a
“Reorganization Event” as defined in the MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Amended and Restated 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended, the
“MyMD Florida Incentive Plan”) (the practical effect of which makes
the term of such options expire on the second-year anniversary of
the effective date of the Merger, which occurred on April 16,
2021). MyMD Florida also agreed to provide and cover the cost of
health insurance and disability policies for Dr. Chapman during the
term of employment under the Chapman Employment
Agreement.
Dr.
Chapman’s employment with MyMD Florida pursuant to the Chapman
Employment Agreement commenced as of the effective date of the
Chapman Employment Agreement and was to continue for a period of
two years, unless earlier terminated by either party, with such
termination effective upon the provision of written notice to the
other party. In the event of termination of Dr. Chapman’s
employment with MyMD Florida for cause, MyMD Florida was to pay to
Dr. Chapman his monthly base salary for a period of three months
following the date that notice of termination of employment is
provided, which would be the full extent of MyMD Florida’s
obligations with respect to severance payments to Dr. Chapman under
the Chapman Employment Agreement.
The
Chapman Employment Agreement also contained certain standard
confidentiality, work for hire and assignment of inventions
provisions.
On
August 2, 2020, Dr. Chapman received a discretionary grant of
options to purchase 200,000 shares of MyMD Florida common stock, at
an exercise price of $1.00 per share. All such options vested
immediately upon grant. The options had an original term of ten
years from the date of grant, subject to certain events described
in the applicable award agreement, including Dr. Chapman’s, death,
disability, retirement or an “Event of Cause” (as defined in the
applicable award agreement). In connection with the Agreement and
Plan of Merger and Reorganization entered into by the parties to
the Merger (as amended, the “Merger Agreement”), certain terms of
such options were amended. After giving effect to the Exchange
Ratio and the Reverse Split, such MyMD Florida options became
options to purchase 77,180 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at
an exercise price of $2.59.
Post-Merger
Employment Agreement
Immediately
following the effective time of the Merger, the Board appointed Dr.
Chapman to the offices of President and Chief Medical Officer on
the terms of the Chapman Employment Agreement.
On
November 24, 2021, the Company and Dr. Chapman entered into a
Fourth Amendment to Employment Agreement. This agreement provided
that certain performance criteria applicable to Dr. Chapman’s bonus
compensation under the Chapman Employment Agreement would be waived
and deemed to have been achieved, and that Dr. Chapman would be
entitled to a bonus payment of $100,000 as a result.
Employment
of Christopher C. Schreiber
On
January 24, 2020, the Board independently reviewed and approved
entering into an executive chairman agreement with Christopher C.
Schreiber (the “Executive Chairman Agreement”). Pursuant to the
Executive Chairman Agreement, Mr. Schreiber would continue to serve
as the Executive Chairman of the Board as long as he was a member
of the Board, or until termination of the Executive Chairman
Agreement (as described below) or upon his earlier death,
incapacity, removal, or resignation. Pursuant to the Executive
Chairman Agreement, Mr. Schreiber was entitled to receive: (i) an
annual base salary of $300,000, payable monthly in equal
installments, paid retroactively as of November 1, 2019 (it being
agreed that such fee would be inclusive of any fees associated with
Mr. Schreiber’s services as both a director of our Company and in
the capacity of Executive Chairman), (ii) employee benefits
including health insurance, dental insurance, basic life and
accidental death and dismemberment insurance, long and short term
disability insurance and participation in our 401(k) Plan, (iii)
annual or other bonuses in cash and/or in securities of our company
and/or otherwise, which bonuses, if any, shall be awarded in the
complete discretion of the Board or a designated committee thereof
and (iv) reimbursements for pre-approved reasonable
business-related expenses incurred in good faith in the performance
of Mr. Schreiber’s duties for us.
The
Executive Chairman Agreement established an “at will” employment
relationship pursuant to which Mr. Schreiber served as Executive
Chairman. We had the right to terminate the Executive Chairman
Agreement for any reason or no reason, and Mr. Schreiber had the
right to voluntarily resign for any reason or no reason with sixty
(60) days’ notice. The Executive Chairman Agreement also provided
that Mr. Schreiber may not compete against us or solicit our
employees or customers for a period of one (1) year after
termination of the Executive Chairman Agreement or his association
with us for any reason. On November 20, 2020, Mr. Schreiber
resigned from his position as Executive Chairman of the Board and
was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer, effective November
20, 2020, with Mr. Schreiber to continue serving as our principal
executive officer and president. Mr. Schreiber’s Executive Chairman
Agreement remained in effect, except for the title of his position,
until on April 15, 2021. Mr. Schreiber tendered his resignation
from his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Company,
effective April 16, 2021, upon closing of the Merger. Since that
date, Mr. Schreiber has served as a special advisor to the Company
and received an annual base salary and employee benefits consistent
with the terms of the Executive Chairman Agreement.
Employment
of Adam Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D.
Pre-Merger
Employment Agreement
Effective
December 18, 2020, MyMD Florida and Dr. Kaplin entered into an
employment agreement, which was subsequently amended by that
certain First Amendment to Employment Agreement, dated February 11,
2021 (such agreement, as amended, the “Kaplin Employment
Agreement”), pursuant to which Dr. Kaplin was appointed Chief
Scientific Officer of MyMD Florida. Under the Kaplin Employment
Agreement, Dr. Kaplin is entitled to an annual base salary of
$250,000, payable monthly. Dr. Kaplin is also eligible to receive
bonus compensation in the form of lump-sum cash payments made
within 30 days following the completion of certain specified “Bonus
Events” (as defined in the Kaplin Employment Agreement). The
aggregate amount of bonus compensation payable to Dr. Kaplin upon
achievement of all specified Bonus Events is $800,000. In addition,
Dr. Kaplin is eligible to receive additional bonus compensation in
connection with his annual performance, determined in the sole
discretion of MyMD Florida’s board of directors. On the effective
date of the Kaplin Employment Agreement, Dr. Kaplin received a
signing bonus in the form of a lump-sum cash payment in the amount
of $100,000 and was also granted options to purchase 400,000 shares
of MyMD Florida common stock, at an exercise price of $1.00 per
share. After giving effect to the Exchange Ratio and the Reverse
Split, such MyMD Florida options became options to purchase 154,360
shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $2.59.
Such options all vested immediately upon grant. The options had an
original term of lasting until the earlier of (i) ten years from
the date of grant or (ii) the second-year anniversary of the
effective date of a “Reorganization Event” as defined in the MyMD
Florida Incentive Plan (the practical effect of which makes the
term of such options expire on the second-year anniversary of the
effective date of the Merger, which occurred on April 16, 2021).
MyMD Florida also agreed to provide and cover the cost of health
insurance and disability policies for Dr. Kaplin during the term of
employment under the Kaplin Employment Agreement.
Dr.
Kaplin’s employment with MyMD Florida pursuant to the Kaplin
Employment Agreement commenced on December 18, 2020 and was to
continue for a term of two years unless earlier terminated by
either party, with such termination effective upon the provision of
written notice to the other party. In the event of termination of
Dr. Kaplin’s employment with MyMD Florida for cause, MyMD Florida
was to pay to Dr. Kaplin his monthly base salary for a period of
three months following the date that notice of termination of
employment is provided, which would be the full extent of MyMD
Florida’s obligations with respect to severance payments to Dr.
Kaplin under the Kaplin Employment Agreement.
The
Kaplin Employment Agreement also contained certain standard
confidentiality, work for hire and assignment of inventions
provisions.
Post-Merger
Employment Agreement
Immediately
following the effective time of the Merger, the Board appointed Dr.
Kaplin to the office of Chief Scientific Officer on the terms of
the Kaplin Employment Agreement.
On
November 24, 2021, the Company and Dr. Kaplin entered into a Second
Amendment to Employment Agreement. This agreement provided that
certain performance criteria applicable to Dr. Kaplin’s bonus
compensation under the Kaplin Employment Agreement would be waived
and deemed to have been achieved, and that Dr. Kaplin would be
entitled to a bonus payment of $100,000 as a result.
Employment
of Paul Rivard, Esq.
Pre-Merger
Employment Agreement
Effective
September 21, 2020, MyMD Florida and Mr. Rivard entered into an
employment agreement (such agreement, as amended, the “Rivard
Employment Agreement”), pursuant to which Mr. Rivard was appointed
Executive Vice President of Operations and General Counsel of MyMD
Florida. Under the Rivard Employment Agreement, Mr. Rivard is
entitled to an annual base salary of $165,000, payable monthly. Mr.
Rivard is also eligible to receive bonus compensation in the form
of lump-sum cash payments made within 30 days following the
completion of certain specified “Bonus Events” (as defined in the
Rivard Employment Agreement). The aggregate amount of bonus
compensation payable to Mr. Rivard upon achievement of all
specified Bonus Events is $160,000. In addition, Mr. Rivard is
eligible to receive additional bonus compensation in connection
with his annual performance, determined in the sole discretion of
MyMD Florida’s board of directors. On the effective date of the
Rivard Employment Agreement, Mr. Rivard was granted options to
purchase 200,000 shares of MyMD Florida common stock, at an
exercise price of $1.00 per share. After giving effect to the
Exchange Ratio and the Reverse Split, such MyMD Florida options
became options to purchase 77,180 shares of the Company’s Common
Stock at an exercise price of $2.59. Such options all vested
immediately upon grant. The options had an original term of lasting
until the earlier of (i) ten years from the date of grant or (ii)
the second-year anniversary of the effective date of a
“Reorganization Event” as defined in the MyMD Florida Incentive
Plan (the practical effect of which makes the term of such options
expire on the second-year anniversary of the effective date of the
Merger, which occurred on April 16, 2021). MyMD Florida also agreed
to provide and cover the cost of health insurance and disability
policies for Mr. Rivard during the term of employment under the
Rivard Employment Agreement.
Mr.
Rivard’s employment with MyMD Florida pursuant to the Rivard
Employment Agreement commenced on September 21, 2020 and was to
continue until terminated by either party, with such termination
effective upon the provision of written notice to the other party.
In the event of termination of Mr. Rivard employment with MyMD
Florida, MyMD Florida was to pay to Mr. Rivard his monthly base
salary for a period of three months following the date that notice
of termination of employment is provided.
The
Rivard Employment Agreement also contained certain standard
confidentiality, work for hire and assignment of inventions
provisions.
Post-Merger
Employment Agreement
Immediately
following the effective time of the Merger, the Board appointed Mr.
Rivard to the office of Executive Vice President of Operations and
General Counsel on the terms of the Rivard Employment
Agreement.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal
Year-End
The
following table sets forth information concerning the outstanding
equity awards that have been previously awarded to each of our
named executive officers and which remained outstanding as of
December 31, 2021:
|
|
Option Awards |
|
|
Stock Awards |
|
Named
Executive
Officer
|
|
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
exercisable |
|
|
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
unexercisable |
|
|
Option
exercise
price |
|
|
Option
expiration
date(1) |
|
|
Number of
shares or
units of
stock that
have not
vested |
|
|
Market
value
of
shares or
units
of
stock
that
have
not
vested
|
|
Christopher Chapman,
M.D. |
|
|
38,590 |
(3) |
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
2.59 |
|
|
|
4/16/2023 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
President, Chief
Medical Officer |
|
|
77,180 |
(4) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2.59 |
|
|
|
4/16/2023 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
77,180 |
(5) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2.59 |
|
|
|
4/16/2023 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
96,475 |
(6) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2.59 |
|
|
|
4/16/2023 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
600,000 |
(2) |
|
|
4,854,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adam Kaplin, M.D., PhD |
|
|
154,360 |
(7) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2.59 |
|
|
|
4/16/2023 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Chief Scientific
Officer |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
600,000 |
(2) |
|
|
4,854,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christopher Schreiber |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
150,000 |
(2) |
|
|
1,213,500 |
|
Former President
and Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paul Rivard, Esq |
|
|
77,180 |
(8) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2.59 |
|
|
|
4/16/2023 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Executive Vice
President of Operations and General Counsel |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
200,000 |
(2) |
|
|
1,618,000 |
|
|
(1) |
All
such options vested immediately upon grant. The options had an
original term of lasting until the earlier of (i) ten years from
the date of grant or (ii) the second-year anniversary of the
effective date of a “Reorganization Event” as defined in the MyMD
Florida Incentive Plan (the practical effect of which makes the
term of such options expire on the second-year anniversary of the
effective date of the Merger, which occurred on April 16,
2021). |
|
|
|
|
(2) |
Granted
on October 14, 2021. These RSUs vest at various times based upon
the market capitalization of the Company. |
|
|
|
|
(3) |
Granted
on December 3, 2018. |
|
|
|
|
(4) |
Granted
on December 31, 2019. |
|
|
|
|
(5) |
Granted
on August 3, 2020. |
|
|
|
|
(6) |
Granted
on October 26, 2020. |
|
|
|
|
(7) |
Granted
on December 18, 2020. |
|
|
|
|
(8) |
Granted
on August 21, 2020. |
Equity Compensation Plans
2021
Equity Incentive Plan
Pursuant
to the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, the
Company adopted the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”),
which was approved by the Company’s stockholders on April 15, 2021.
The 2021 Plan provides for the granting of incentive stock options,
nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted
stock, restricted stock units, performance awards, and other awards
which may be granted singly, in combination or in tandem, and which
may be paid in cash or shares of Common Stock. At the effective
time of the Merger, the number of shares of Common Stock that were
reserved for issuance pursuant to awards under the 2021 Plan was
7,228,184 shares. As of October 18, 2022, 4,078,977 shares remain
available for issuance under the 2021 Plan.
Purpose.
The purpose of the 2021 Plan is to enable the Company to remain
competitive and innovative in its ability to attract and retain the
services of key employees, key contractors, and non-employee
directors of the Company or any of its subsidiaries. The 2021 Plan
provides for the granting of incentive stock options, nonqualified
stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock,
restricted stock units, performance awards, and other awards, which
may be granted singly, in combination, or in tandem, and which may
be paid in cash or shares of the Company’s Common Stock. The 2021
Plan is expected to provide flexibility to the Company’s
compensation methods in order to adapt the compensation of key
employees, key contractors, and non-employee directors to a
changing business environment, after giving due consideration to
competitive conditions and the impact of applicable tax
laws.
Effective
Date and Expiration. The 2021 Plan was approved by the
Company’s Board of Directors on March 18, 2021 (the “Plan Effective
Date”) and approved by the Company’s stockholders on April 15,
2021. The 2021 Plan will terminate on the tenth anniversary of the
Plan Effective Date, unless sooner terminated by the Company’s
Board of Directors. No awards may be made under the 2021 Plan after
its termination date, but awards made prior to the termination date
may extend beyond that date in accordance with their
terms.
Share
Authorization. At the effective time of the Merger, the number
of shares of Common Stock that were reserved for issuance pursuant
to awards under the 2021 Plan was 7,228,184 shares, 100% of which
may be delivered as incentive stock options. Shares to be issued
may be made available from authorized but unissued shares of the
Company’s Common Stock, shares held by the Company in its treasury,
or shares purchased by the Company on the open market or otherwise.
During the term of the 2021 Plan, the Company will at all times
reserve and keep enough shares available to satisfy the
requirements of the 2021 Plan. If an award under the 2021 Plan is
cancelled, forfeited, or expires, in whole or in part, the shares
subject to such forfeited, expired, or cancelled award may again be
awarded under the 2021 Plan. Awards that may be satisfied either by
the issuance of Common Stock or by cash or other consideration
shall be counted against the maximum number of shares that may be
issued under the 2021 Plan only during the period that the award is
outstanding or to the extent the award is ultimately satisfied by
the issuance of shares. An award will not reduce the number of
shares that may be issued pursuant to the 2021 Plan if the
settlement of the award will not require the issuance of shares,
as, for example, a stock appreciation right that can be satisfied
only by the payment of cash. Shares of Common Stock that are
otherwise deliverable pursuant to an award under the 2021 Plan that
are withheld in payment of the option price of an option or for
payment of applicable employment taxes and/or withholding
obligations resulting from the award shall be treated as delivered
to the award recipient and shall be counted against the maximum
number of shares of our Common Stock that may be issued under the
2021 Plan. Only shares forfeited back to the Company or cancelled
on account of termination, expiration, or lapse of an award shall
again be available for grant of incentive stock options under the
2021 Plan but shall not increase the maximum number of shares
described above as the maximum number of shares of the Company’s
Common Stock that may be delivered pursuant to incentive stock
options.
Administration.
The 2021 Plan is administered by the compensation committee of the
Board or such other committee of the board as is designated by it
to administer the 2021 Plan (the “2021 Plan Administration
Committee”). If necessary to satisfy the requirements of Rule 16b-3
promulgated under the Exchange Act, membership on the 2021 Plan
Administration Committee shall be limited to those members of the
Board who are “non-employee directors” as defined in Rule 16b-3
promulgated under the Exchange Act. At any time there is no 2021
Plan Administration Committee to administer the 2021 Plan, any
reference to the 2021 Plan Administration Committee is a reference
to the Board.
The
2021 Plan Administration Committee will determine the persons to
whom awards are to be made; determine the type, size, and terms of
awards; interpret the 2021 Plan; establish and revise rules and
regulations relating to the 2021 Plan as well as any sub-plans for
awards to be made to eligible award recipients who are not resident
in the United States; establish performance goals for awards and
certify the extent of their achievement; and make any other
determinations that it believes are necessary for the
administration of the 2021 Plan. The 2021 Plan Administration
Committee may delegate certain of its duties to one or more of the
Company’s officers as provided in the 2021 Plan. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, to the extent necessary to satisfy the requirements
of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, any function
relating to an award recipient subject to the reporting
requirements of Section 16 of the Exchange Act shall be performed
solely by the 2021 Plan Administration Committee.
Upon
the adoption of the 2021 Plan, awards granted under the 2018 Plan
remained in full force and effect under the terms and conditions of
the 2018 Plan and in accordance with each award’s respective
terms.
Eligibility.
Employees (including any employee who is also a director or an
officer), contractors, and non-employee directors of the Company or
any of its subsidiaries, whose judgment, initiative, and efforts
contributed to or may be expected to contribute to the Company’s
successful performance, are eligible to participate in the 2021
Plan. As of the Record Date, the Company had 8 employees, 0
contractors, and 5 non-employee directors who would be eligible for
awards under the 2021 Plan.
Stock
Options. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee may grant
either incentive stock options (“ISOs”) qualifying under Section
422 of the Code, or nonqualified stock options, provided that only
employees of the Company and its subsidiaries (excluding
subsidiaries that are not corporations) are eligible to receive
ISOs. Stock options may not be granted with an option price less
than 100% of the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on
the date the stock option is granted. If an ISO is granted to an
employee who owns or is deemed to own more than 10% of the combined
voting power of all classes of the Company’s stock (or of any
parent or subsidiary), the option price shall be at least 110% of
the fair market value of a share of Common Stock on the date of
grant. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee will determine the
terms of each stock option at the time of grant, including, without
limitation, the methods by or forms in which shares will be
delivered to participants or registered in their names. The maximum
term of each option, the times at which each option will be
exercisable, and provisions requiring forfeiture of unexercised
options at or following termination of employment or service
generally are fixed by the 2021 Plan Administration Committee,
except that the 2021 Plan Administration Committee may not grant
stock options with a term exceeding 10 years or, in the case of an
ISO granted to an employee who owns or is deemed to own more than
10% of the combined voting power of all classes of our stock (or of
any parent or subsidiary), a term exceeding five years.
Recipients
of stock options may pay the option price (i) in cash, check, bank
draft, or money order payable to the order of the Company; (ii) by
delivering to the Company shares of the Company’s Common Stock
(including restricted stock) already owned by the participant
having a fair market value equal to the aggregate option price and
that the participant has not acquired from the Company within six
months prior to the exercise date; (iii) by delivering to the
Company or its designated agent an executed irrevocable option
exercise form, together with irrevocable instructions from the
participant to a broker or dealer, reasonably acceptable to the
Company, to sell certain of the shares purchased upon the exercise
of the option or to pledge such shares to the broker as collateral
for a loan from the broker and to deliver to the Company the amount
of sale or loan proceeds necessary to pay the purchase price; (iv)
by requesting that Company withhold the number of shares otherwise
deliverable upon exercise of the stock option by the number of
shares having an aggregate fair market value equal to the aggregate
option price at the time of exercise (i.e., a cashless net
exercise); and (v) by any other form of valid consideration that is
acceptable to the 2021 Plan Administration Committee in its sole
discretion. No dividends or dividend equivalent rights may be paid
or granted with respect to any stock options granted under the 2021
Plan.
Stock
Appreciation Rights. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee is
authorized to grant stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) as a
stand-alone award, or freestanding SARs, or in conjunction with
options granted under the 2021 Plan, or tandem SARs. SARs entitle a
participant to receive an amount equal to the excess of the fair
market value of a share of Common Stock on the date of exercise
over the fair market value of a share of our Common Stock on the
date of grant. The exercise price of a SAR cannot be less than 100%
of the fair market value of a share of the Company’s Common Stock
on the date of grant. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee will
determine the terms of each SAR at the time of the grant,
including, without limitation, the methods by or forms in which
shares will be delivered to participants or registered in their
names. The maximum term of each SAR, the times at which each SAR
will be exercisable, and provisions requiring forfeiture of
unexercised SARs at or following termination of employment or
service generally are fixed by the 2021 Plan Administration
Committee, except that no freestanding SAR may have a term
exceeding 10 years and no tandem SAR may have a term exceeding the
term of the option granted in conjunction with the tandem SAR.
Distributions to the recipient may be made in Common Stock, cash,
or a combination of both as determined by the 2021 Plan
Administration Committee. No dividends or dividend equivalent
rights may be paid or granted with respect to any SARs granted
under the 2021 Plan.
Restricted
Stock and RSUs. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee is
authorized to grant restricted stock and RSUs. Restricted stock
consists of shares of our Common Stock that may not be sold,
assigned, transferred, pledged, hypothecated, encumbered, or
otherwise disposed of, and that may be forfeited in the event of
certain terminations of employment or service, prior to the end of
a restricted period as specified by the 2021 Plan Administration
Committee. RSUs are the right to receive shares of Common Stock at
a future date in accordance with the terms of such grant upon the
attainment of certain conditions specified by the 2021 Plan
Administration Committee, which include a substantial risk of
forfeiture and restrictions on their sale or other transfer by the
participant. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee determines the
eligible participants to whom, and the time or times at which,
grants of restricted stock or RSUs will be made; the number of
shares or units to be granted; the price to be paid, if any; the
time or times within which the shares covered by such grants will
be subject to forfeiture; the time or times at which the
restrictions will terminate; and all other terms and conditions of
the grants. Restrictions or conditions could include, but are not
limited to, the attainment of performance goals (as described
below), continuous service with the Company, the passage of time,
or other restrictions and conditions. Except as otherwise provided
in the 2021 Plan or the applicable award agreement, a participant
shall have, with respect to shares of restricted stock, all of the
rights of a shareholder of the Company holding the class of Common
Stock that is the subject of the restricted stock, including, if
applicable, the right to vote the Common Stock and the right to
receive any dividends thereon, provided that (i) any dividends with
respect to such a restricted stock award may be withheld by the
Company for the participant’s account until such award is vested,
subject to such terms as determined by the 2021 Plan Administration
Committee, and (ii) any dividends so withheld by the Company and
attributable to any particular restricted stock award shall be
distributed to such participant in cash or, at the discretion of
the 2021 Plan Administration Committee, in shares of the Company’s
Common Stock having a fair market value equal to the amount of such
dividends, if applicable, upon vesting of the award. If, however,
such restricted stock award is forfeited, the participant’s rights
as to such dividends will also be forfeited.
Performance
Awards. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee may grant
performance awards payable at the end of a specified performance
period in cash, shares of Common Stock, units, or other rights
based upon, payable in, or otherwise related to the Company’s
Common Stock. Payment will be contingent upon achieving
pre-established performance goals (as discussed below) by the end
of the applicable performance period. The 2021 Plan Administration
Committee will determine the length of the performance period, the
maximum payment value of an award, and the minimum performance
goals required before payment will be made, so long as such
provisions are not inconsistent with the terms of the 2021 Plan
and, to the extent an award is subject to Section 409A of the Code,
are in compliance with the applicable requirements of Section 409A
of the Code and any applicable regulations or guidance. In certain
circumstances, the 2021 Plan Administration Committee may, in its
discretion, determine that the amount payable with respect to
certain performance awards will be reduced from the maximum amount
of any potential awards. If the 2021 Plan Administration Committee
determines, in its sole discretion, that the established
performance measures or objectives are no longer suitable because
of a change in the Company’s business, operations, corporate
structure, or for other reasons that the 2021 Plan Administration
Committee deems satisfactory, the 2021 Plan Administration
Committee may modify the performance measures or objectives and/or
the performance period.
Performance
Goals. Awards of restricted stock, restricted stock units,
performance awards, and other awards under the 2021 Plan may be
made subject to the attainment of performance goals relating to one
or more business criteria which shall consist of one or more or any
combination of the following criteria (“Performance Criteria”):
cash (cash flow, cash generation or other cash measures); cost;
revenues; sales; ratio of debt to debt plus equity; net borrowing,
credit quality or debt ratings; profit before tax; economic profit;
earnings before interest and taxes; earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization; gross margin; earnings per
share (whether on a pre-tax, after-tax, operational or other
basis); operating earnings; capital expenditures; improvements in
capital structure; expenses (expense management, expense ratio,
expense efficiency ratios, expense levels or other expense
measures); economic value added; ratio of operating earnings to
capital spending or any other operating ratios; free cash flow;
profit (net profit, gross profit, operating profit, economic
profit, profit margin or other corporate profit measures); net
income (before or after taxes, operating income or other income
measures); net sales; net asset value per share; business expansion
or consolidation (the accomplishment of mergers, acquisitions,
dispositions, public offerings or similar extraordinary business
transactions); sales growth; price of the Company’s Common Stock;
return measures (including, without limitation, return on assets,
capital, equity, investments or sales, and cash flow return on
assets, capital, equity, or sales); market share; inventory levels,
inventory management, inventory turn or shrinkage; stock price or
performance; internal rate of return or increase in net present
value; working capital targets relating to inventory and/or
accounts receivable; service or product delivery or quality;
customer satisfaction; employee retention; safety standards;
productivity measures; cost reduction measures; strategic plan
development and implementation; or total return to shareholders.
Any Performance Criteria may be used to measure our performance as
a whole or of any of our business units and may be measured
relative to a peer group or index. Any Performance Criteria may
include or exclude (i) events that are of an unusual nature or
indicate infrequency of occurrence, (ii) gains or losses on the
disposition of a business; (iii) changes in tax or accounting
regulations or laws; (iv) the effect of a merger or acquisition, as
identified in the Company’s quarterly and annual earnings releases;
or (v) other similar occurrences. In all other respects,
Performance Criteria shall be calculated in accordance with the
Company’s financial statements, under generally accepted accounting
principles, or under a methodology established by the 2021 Plan
Administration Committee prior to the issuance of an award, which
is consistently applied and identified in the Company’s audited
financial statements, including in footnotes, or the Compensation
Discussion and Analysis sections of the Company’s annual report and
definitive proxy statement, as applicable.
Other
Awards. The 2021 Plan Administration Committee may grant other
forms of awards, based upon, payable in, or that otherwise relate
to, in whole or in part, shares of the Company’s Common Stock, if
the 2021 Plan Administration Committee determines that such other
form of award is consistent with the purpose and restrictions of
the 2021 Plan. The terms and conditions of such other form of award
shall be specified in the grant. Such other awards may be granted
for no cash consideration, for such minimum consideration as may be
required by applicable law, or for such other consideration as may
be specified in the grant.
Vesting,
Forfeiture and Recoupment, Assignment. The 2021 Plan
Administration Committee, in its sole discretion, may determine
that an award will be immediately vested, in whole or in part, or
that all or any portion may not be vested until a date, or dates,
subsequent to its date of grant, or until the occurrence of one or
more specified events, subject in any case to the terms of the 2021
Plan. If the 2021 Plan Administration Committee imposes conditions
upon vesting, then, subsequent to the date of grant, the 2021 Plan
Administration Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate
the date on which all or any portion of the award may be
vested.
The
2021 Plan Administration Committee may impose on any award at the
time of grant or thereafter, such additional terms and conditions
as the 2021 Plan Administration Committee determines, including
terms requiring forfeiture of awards in the event of a
participant’s termination of employment or service. The 2021 Plan
Administration Committee will specify the circumstances on which
performance awards may be forfeited in the event of a termination
of service by a participant prior to the end of a performance
period or settlement of awards. Except as otherwise determined by
the 2021 Plan Administration Committee, restricted stock will be
forfeited upon a participant’s termination of employment or service
during the applicable restriction period. In addition, the Company
may recoup all or any portion of any shares or cash paid to a
participant in connection with any award in the event of a
restatement of the Company’s financial statements as set forth in
the Company’s clawback policy, if any, as such policy may be
approved or modified by the Board from time to time.
Awards
granted under the 2021 Plan generally are not assignable or
transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and
distribution, except that the 2021 Plan Administration Committee
may, in its discretion and pursuant to the terms of an award
agreement, permit transfers of nonqualified stock options or SARs
to (i) the spouse (or former spouse), children, or grandchildren of
the participant (“Immediate Family Members”); (ii) a trust or
trusts for the exclusive benefit of such Immediate Family Members;
(iii) a partnership in which the only partners are (a) such
Immediate Family Members and/or (b) entities which are controlled
by the participant and/or his or her Immediate Family Members; (iv)
an entity exempt from federal income tax pursuant to Section
501(c)(3) of the Code or any successor provision; or (v) a split
interest trust or pooled income fund described in Section
2522(c)(2) of the Code or any successor provision, provided that
(x) there shall be no consideration for any such transfer, (y) the
applicable award agreement pursuant to which such nonqualified
stock options or SARs are granted must be approved by the 2021 Plan
Administration Committee and must expressly provide for such
transferability, and (z) subsequent transfers of transferred
nonqualified stock options or SARs shall be prohibited except those
by will or the laws of descent and distribution.
Adjustments
Upon Changes in Capitalization. In the event that any dividend
or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, shares of the
Company’s Common Stock, other securities or other property),
recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, rights
offering, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up,
spin-off, split-off, combination, subdivision, repurchase, or
exchange of shares of Common Stock or other securities of the
Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to purchase shares of
Common Stock or other securities of the Company, or other similar
corporate transaction or event affects the fair value of an award,
then the 2021 Plan Administration Committee shall adjust any or all
of the following so that the fair value of the award immediately
after the transaction or event is equal to the fair value of the
award immediately prior to the transaction or event: (i) the number
of shares and type of common stock (or the securities or property)
which thereafter may be made the subject of awards; (ii) the number
of shares and type of common stock (or other securities or
property) subject to outstanding awards; (iii) the number of shares
and type of common stock (or other securities or property)
specified as the annual per-participant limit under the 2021 Plan;
(iv) the option price of each outstanding stock option; (v) the
amount, if any, the Company pays for forfeited shares in accordance
with the terms of the 2021 Plan; and (vi) the number of or exercise
price of shares then subject to outstanding SARs previously granted
and unexercised under the 2021 Plan, to the end that the same
proportion of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of Common
Stock in each instance shall remain subject to exercise at the same
aggregate exercise price; provided, however, that the number of
shares of common stock (or other securities or property) subject to
any award shall always be a whole number. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, no such adjustment shall be made or authorized to the
extent that such adjustment would cause the 2021 Plan or any stock
option to violate Section 422 of the Code or Section 409A of the
Code. All such adjustments must be made in accordance with the
rules of any securities exchange, stock market, or stock quotation
system to which the Company is subject.
Amendment
or Discontinuance of the 2021 Plan. The Board may, at any time
and from time to time, without the consent of participants, alter,
amend, revise, suspend, or discontinue the 2021 Plan in whole or in
part; provided, however, that (i) no amendment that requires
shareholder approval in order for the 2021 Plan and any awards
under the 2021 Plan to continue to comply with Sections 421 and 422
of the Code (including any successors to such sections or other
applicable law) or any applicable requirements of any securities
exchange or inter-dealer quotation system on which our stock is
listed or traded, shall be effective unless such amendment is
approved by the requisite vote of our shareholders entitled to vote
on the amendment; and (ii) unless required by law, no action by the
Board regarding amendment or discontinuance of the 2021 Plan may
adversely affect any rights of any participants or obligations of
the Company to any participants with respect to any outstanding
awards under the 2021 Plan without the consent of the affected
participant.
No
Repricing of Stock Options or SARs. The 2021 Plan
Administration Committee may not, without the approval of our
shareholders, “reprice” any stock options or SARs. For purposes of
the 2021 Plan, “reprice” means any of the following or any other
action that has the same effect: (i) amending a stock option or SAR
to reduce its option price or exercise price, respectively; (ii)
canceling a stock option or SAR at a time when its option price or
exercise price, respectively, exceeds the fair market value of a
share of our Common Stock in exchange for cash or a stock option,
SAR, award of restricted stock, or other equity award with an
option price or exercise price that is less than the option price
or exercise price of the original stock option or SAR; or (iii)
taking any other action that is treated as a repricing under
generally accepted accounting principles.
MyMD
Florida Pre-Merger Plan
In
2016, pre-Merger MyMD Florida adopted the MyMD Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. Amended and Restated 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016
Plan”). The MyMD Florida Incentive Plan provided for the issuance
of up to 50,000,000 shares of pre-Merger MyMD Florida common
stock.
Pursuant
to the Merger Agreement, effective as of the effective time of the
Merger, the Company assumed pre-Merger MyMD Florida’s Second
Amendment to Amended and Restated 2016 Stock Incentive Plan
(collectively with the 2016 Plan, the “MyMD Florida Incentive
Plan”), assuming all of pre-Merger MyMD Florida’s rights and
obligations with respect to the options issued thereunder (except
that the term of the option will be amended to expire on the
second-year anniversary of the effective time of closing). The
assumed pre-Merger MyMD Florida’s options became a number of shares
of the Company’s common stock equal to the product of (a) the
number of shares of MyMD Florida common stock subject to such
option, multiplied by (b) the Exchange Ratio and rounding the
resulting number down to the nearest whole share of the Company’s
Common Stock, at an exercise price per share of the Company’s
Common Stock equal to the quotient of (i) the exercise price per
share of MyMD Florida common stock subject to such option
immediately prior to the effective time of the merger divided by
(ii) the Exchange Ratio and rounding the resulting exercise price
up to the nearest whole cent, and then subsequently adjusted for
the reverse stock split of the MyMD Florida common stock. Upon the
closing of the Merger, the Company assumed all of pre-Merger MyMD
Florida’s rights and obligations under pre-Merger MyMD Florida
stock options that were outstanding immediately prior to the
effective time of the Merger, and no additional awards can be
issued under the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan. As of October 18,
2022, options to purchase 4,188,315 shares of the Company’s Common
Stock have been issued pursuant to the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan,
of which options to purchase 4,176,737 shares remain
outstanding.
The
MyMD Florida Incentive Plan authorized the grant of incentive stock
options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock, restricted
stock units, and other stock-based awards, or a combination of the
foregoing. MyMD Florida granted only incentive stock options and
non-qualified stock options under the plan.
Authorized
Shares. A total of 50,000,000 shares of MyMD Florida common
stock were authorized for the grant of awards under the MyMD
Florida Incentive Plan.
Plan
Administration. The MyMD Florida Incentive Plan was
administered by the MyMD Florida board of directors. The MyMD
Florida board had the authority to grant awards under the plan and
to adopt, amend, and repeal such administrative rules, guidelines,
and practices relating to the plan as it deemed advisable. The MyMD
Florida board had the authority to determine the persons to whom
and the dates on which awards will be granted, the number of shares
of common stock to be subject to each award, the time or times
during the term of each award within which all or a portion of such
award may be exercised, the exercise price, the type of
consideration to be paid, and the other terms and provisions of
each award, which need not be identical. The MyMD Florida board had
the power to construe and interpret the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan
and awards granted under it. All decisions, determinations and
interpretations by the MyMD Florida board regarding the plan were
to be final, binding and conclusive on all participants or other
persons claiming rights under the plan or any award.
Options.
Options granted under the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan could (i)
either be “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section
422 of the Code, or “nonqualified stock options,” and (ii) become
vested upon such conditions as were determined by the MyMD Florida
board. Such vesting could be based on continued service to MyMD
Florida over a certain period, the occurrence of certain
performance milestones, or other criteria as determined by the MyMD
Florida board. Options granted under the MyMD Florida Incentive
Plan could be subject to different vesting terms. Options could not
have an exercise price per share of less than 100% of the fair
market value of a share of MyMD Florida common stock on the date of
grant or a term longer than 10 years. To the extent provided by the
terms of an option, a participant could satisfy any federal, state
or local tax withholding obligation relating to the exercise of
such option by a cash payment upon exercise, by authorizing MyMD
Florida to withhold a portion of the stock otherwise issuable to
the participant upon exercise, or by such other method as may be
set forth in the option agreement or authorized by the MyMD Florida
board. The treatment of options under the MyMD Florida Incentive
Plan upon a participant’s termination of employment with or service
to MyMD Florida was set forth in the applicable award agreement,
which typically provided that the options would terminate 24 months
after a termination of employment or service. In connection with
the Merger Agreement, on November 10, 2020, MyMD Florida amended
each of the option grant award agreements noted above to, among
other things, revise the term of exercisability of such option to
expire on the earlier of (i) the 10th anniversary of the date of
grant or (ii) the second anniversary of the effective date of a
“Reorganization Event” as defined in the MyMD Florida Incentive
Plan. Accordingly, the term of each such option was amended to
expire on the second anniversary of the effective date of the
Merger. Incentive stock options are not transferable except by will
or by the laws of descent and distribution. Non-qualified stock
options are transferable to certain permitted transferees (as
provided in the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan) to the extent included
in the option award agreement.
Restricted
Stock and RSUs. Subject to certain limitations, the MyMD
Florida board was authorized to grant awards of restricted stock
and RSUs, which are rights to receive shares of MyMD Florida common
stock or cash, as determined by the MyMD Florida board and as set
forth in the applicable award agreement, upon the settlement of the
RSUs at the end of a specified time. The MyMD Florida board could
impose any restrictions or conditions upon the vesting of
restricted stock or RSU awards, or that would provide for a delay
in the settlement of an RSU award after it vests, that the
committee deemed appropriate and in accordance with the
requirements of Section 409A of the Code. Dividend equivalents
could be credited in respect of shares covered by a restricted
stock or a RSU award, as determined by the MyMD Florida board. At
the discretion of the MyMD Florida board, such dividend equivalents
could be converted into additional shares covered by restricted
stock or RSUs, as applicable. If a restricted stock or RSU award
recipient’s employment or service relationship with MyMD Florida
terminated, any unvested portion of the restricted stock or RSU
award would be forfeited, unless the participant’s award agreement
provided otherwise. Restricted stock and RSU awards are generally
not transferable except (i) by will or by the laws of descent and
distribution or (ii) to certain permitted transferees, to the
extent provided in the award agreement.
Other
Stock-Based Awards. The MyMD Florida Incentive Plan authorized
the grant of other awards that are valued in whole or in part by
reference to, or are otherwise based on, shares of MyMD Florida
common stock or other property, including awards entitling
recipients to receive shares of MyMD Florida common stock to be
delivered in the future.
Certain
Adjustments; Reorganization Events. In connection with any
stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend, dividend in
property other than cash, recapitalization, share combination,
share reclassification, spin-off, or other similar change in
capitalization or event, the MyMD Florida board would equitably
adjust the type(s), class(es) and number of shares of stock subject
to the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan, and any outstanding awards
would also be appropriately adjusted as to the type(s), class(es),
number of shares and exercise price per share of common stock
subject to such awards.
In
the event of a “Reorganization Event” (as defined in the MyMD
Florida Incentive Plan) such as certain mergers or consolidations,
the MyMD Florida board could take any one or more of the following
actions as to all or any (or any portion of) outstanding awards on
such terms as the board determines: (i) provide that awards will be
assumed, or substantially equivalent awards will be substituted, by
the acquiring or succeeding corporation (or an affiliate thereof),
(ii) upon written notice to a participant, provide that all of the
participant’s unexercised awards will terminate immediately prior
to the consummation of such Reorganization Event unless exercised
by the participant (to the extent then exercisable) within a
specified period following the date of such notice, (iii) provide
that outstanding awards shall become exercisable, realizable, or
deliverable, or restrictions applicable to an award shall lapse, in
whole or in part prior to or upon such Reorganization Event, (iv)
in the event of a Reorganization Event under the terms of which
holders of MyMD Florida common stock will receive upon consummation
thereof a cash payment for each share surrendered in the
Reorganization Event, make or provide for a cash payment to
participants with respect to each award held by a participant equal
to (A) the number of shares of MyMD Florida common stock subject to
the vested portion of the award (after giving effect to any
acceleration of vesting that occurs upon or immediately prior to
such Reorganization Event) multiplied by (B) the excess, if any, of
(I) the acquisition price in the Reorganization Event over (II) the
exercise price of such award and any applicable tax withholdings,
in exchange for the termination of such award, (v) provide that, in
connection with a liquidation or dissolution of MyMD Florida,
awards shall convey into the right to receive liquidation proceeds
(if applicable, net of the exercise price thereof and any
applicable tax withholdings) and (vi) any combination of the
foregoing. In taking any of above actions, the MyMD Florida board
would not be obligated by the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan to treat
all awards of the same type identically.
Amendment,
Termination. The MyMD Florida board could amend, alter,
suspend, discontinue, or terminate the MyMD Florida Incentive Plan,
provided that no such amendment would adversely affect the rights
of any participant without the participant’s consent. The MyMD
Florida Incentive Plan will terminate in 2026, unless earlier
terminated earlier by the Company.
Company
Pre-Merger Plans
On
January 23, 2014, we adopted the 2013 Stock Incentive Plan (“2013
Plan”). The 2013 Plan was amended by our Board on January 9, 2015
and September 30, 2016, and such amendments were ratified by
stockholders on December 7, 2018. The 2013 Plan provides for the
issuance of up to 2,162 shares of Common Stock, and as of October
18, 2022, 756 shares of Common Stock remain available for grants
under the 2013 Plan.
On
August 7, 2017, the stockholders approved, and the Company adopted
the 2017 Stock Incentive Plan (“2017 Plan”). The 2017 Plan provides
for the issuance of up to 3,516 shares of Common Stock. The purpose
of the 2017 Plan is to provide additional incentive to those of our
officers, employees, consultants and non-employee directors and our
parents, subsidiaries and affiliates whose contributions are
essential to the growth and success of our business. As of October
18, 2022, grants of restricted stock and options to purchase
totaling 1,536 shares of Common Stock have been issued pursuant to
the 2017 Plan and 1,980 shares of Common Stock remain available for
grants under the 2017 Plan. The 2017 Plan provides for the issuance
of shares of Common Stock through the grant of non-qualified
options, incentive options, restricted stock and unrestricted stock
to directors, officers, consultants, attorneys, advisors and
employees.
On
December 7, 2018, the stockholders approved, and we adopted the
2018 Plan and on August 27, 2020, the stockholders approved, and we
adopted an amendment to the plan to increase the number of shares
of Common Stock available for issuance pursuant to awards under the
2018 Plan by an additional 521,000 shares. The 2018 Plan, as
amended, provides for the issuance of up to 560,063 shares of
Common Stock. The purpose of the 2018 Plan is to provide additional
incentive to those of our officers, employees, consultants and
non-employee directors and to promote the success of our business.
As of October 18, 2022, grants of RSUs to purchase 263,026 shares
of Common Stock had been issued pursuant to the 2018 Plan, and
296,035 shares of Common Stock remained available for issuance. The
2018 Plan provides for the issuance of shares of Common Stock
through the grant of options, restricted stock, stock appreciation
rights, other stock-based awards, performance compensation awards
to directors, officers, consultants, advisors and employees. In
addition, the 2018 Plan provides the Compensation Committee of the
Board with discretion to accelerate the vesting and exercisability
of outstanding awards upon the occurrence of a change of control
(as defined in the 2018 Plan).
On
March 29, 2019, the Compensation Committee of the Board approved
the grant of 2,601 RSUs to Mr. Schreiber. Each RSU had a grant date
fair value of $46.56 which was amortized on a straight-line basis
over the vesting period into administrative expenses within our
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Loss. Such RSUs were
granted under the 2018 Plan, and vested on January 1,
2020.
On
September 11, 2020, the Compensation Committee of our Board
approved the grant of 131,750 RSUs to Mr. Schreiber. Each RSU had a
grant date fair value of $4.48 which was amortized on a
straight-line basis over the vesting period into administrative
expenses within our Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Loss.
Such RSUs were granted under the 2018 Plan, with 50% to vest on the
first anniversary of the date of grant, and the remaining 50% to
vest on the second anniversary of the date of grant, provided that
the RSUs would vest immediately upon the occurrence of (i) a change
in control, provided that Mr. Schreiber is employed or providing
services to us and our affiliates on the closing date of such
change in control, (ii) Mr. Schreiber’s termination of employment
or services to us and our affiliates by reason of death or
disability, or (iii) Mr. Schreiber’s termination of employment or
services by us without cause. At our election, the vested RSUs may
be settled for cash. The RSUs accelerated and vested in full upon
the closing of the Merger on April 16, 2021.
Equity Compensation Plan
Information
The
following table provides information regarding the number of
securities to be issued under the Equity Compensation Plans as of
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021:
Plan Category |
|
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding
options, warrants and rights (a) |
|
|
Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options (b) |
|
|
Securities
remaining available for future issuance under equity
compensation
plans (excluding securities
reflected
in column (a))
(c)
|
|
Equity compensation plans
approved by security holders (1) |
|
|
6,983,315 |
|
|
$ |
4.79 |
|
|
|
4,732,960 |
|
Equity compensation plans not approved
by security holders |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
Total |
|
|
6,983,315 |
|
|
$ |
4.79 |
|
|
|
4,732,960 |
|
(1)
Represents shares available for issuance under the Equity
Compensation Plans.
Audit Committee Matters
Audit Committee Report
The
Audit Committee assists the Board in its general oversight of the
Company’s financial reporting processes. The Audit Committee
Charter describes in greater detail the full responsibilities of
the Audit Committee. During each fiscal year, the Audit Committee
reviews the Company’s financial statements, management reports,
internal control over financial reporting and audit matters. In
connection with these reviews, the Audit Committee expects to meet
with management and independent public accountants at least six
times each fiscal year. The Audit Committee schedules its meetings
with a view to ensuring that it devotes appropriate attention to
all of its tasks. These meetings include, whenever appropriate,
executive sessions in which the Audit Committee meets separately
with the independent public accountants, financial management
personnel and legal counsel.
As
part of its review of audit matters, the Audit Committee supervises
the relationship between the Company and its independent registered
public accountants, including: having direct responsibility for
their appointment, compensation and retention; reviewing the scope
of their audit services; approving audit and non-audit services;
and confirming the independence of the independent public
accountants. Together with senior members of the Company’s
financial management team, the Audit Committee reviewed the overall
audit scope and plans of the independent public accountants, the
results of external audit examinations, and evaluations by
management of the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting and the quality of the Company’s financial
reporting.
In
addition, the Audit Committee reviewed key initiatives and programs
aimed at designing and maintaining an effective internal and
disclosure control structure. As part of this process, the Audit
Committee continued to monitor the scope and adequacy of the steps
taken to maintain the effectiveness of internal procedures and
controls.
In
performing all of these functions, the Audit Committee acts in an
oversight capacity. The Audit Committee reviews and discusses the
quarterly and annual consolidated financial statements with
management, and the Company’s independent public accountants prior
to their issuance. In its oversight role, the Audit Committee
relies on the work and assurances of the Company’s management,
which is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate
internal control over financial reporting, preparing the financial
statements and other reports and maintaining policies relating to
legal and regulatory compliance, ethics and conflicts of interest.
Morison Cogen LLP is responsible for performing an independent
audit of the consolidated financial statements and expressing an
opinion on the conformity of those financial statements with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the
Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and related
footnotes for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the independent
auditor’s report on those financial statements, with management and
with our independent auditor, Morison Cogen LLP.
The
Audit Committee has reviewed with the independent public
accountants the matters required to be discussed by the applicable
requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and
the SEC including a discussion with management and the independent
public accountants of the quality (and not merely the
acceptability) of the Company’s accounting principles, the
reasonableness of significant estimates and judgments and the
disclosures in the Company’s financial statements. In addition, the
Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with Morison Cogen LLP
matters related to its independence, including a review of audit
and non-audit fees and the written disclosures in the letter from
Morison Cogen LLP to the Audit Committee required by applicable
requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
regarding the independent public accountant’s communication with
the Audit Committee concerning independence. The Audit Committee
concluded that Morison Cogen LLP is independent from the Company
and its management.
Taking
all these reviews and discussions into account, the Audit Committee
recommended to the Board that the audited financial statements be
included in MyMD’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2021,
that was filed with the SEC.
|
AUDIT
COMMITTEE |
|
|
|
Bill
J White, Chairman
Joshua
Silverman
Jude
Uzonwanne
|
The
Report of the Audit Committee set forth in this Proxy Statement
shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed”
with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Exchange
Act or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act. In
addition, it shall not be deemed incorporated by reference by any
statement that incorporates this Proxy Statement by reference into
any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the
Exchange Act, except to the extent that the Company specifically
incorporates this information by reference.
Fees to Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm
The
following is a summary of the fees billed to us by Morison Cogen
LLP for professional services rendered in the years ended December
31, 2021 and 2020:
Type of Service |
|
2021 |
|
|
2020 |
|
Audit Fees |
|
$ |
121,500 |
|
|
$ |
76,000 |
|
Audit-Related Fees |
|
|
179,187 |
|
|
|
43,550 |
|
Tax Fees |
|
|
26,000 |
|
|
|
17,200 |
|
All Other
Fees |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Total |
|
$ |
326,687 |
|
|
$ |
136,750 |
|
Audit
Fees. This category includes the audit of our annual
consolidated financial statements, reviews of our financial
statements included in our Form 10-Qs and services that are
normally provided by our independent registered public accounting
firm in connection with its engagements for those years. This
category also includes advice on audit and accounting matters that
arose during, or as a result of, the audit or the review of our
interim financial statements.
Audit-Related
Fees. This category consists of assurance and related services
by our independent registered public accounting firm that are
reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our
financial statements and are not reported above under “Audit Fees.”
The services for the fees disclosed under this category include
consents regarding equity issuances.
Tax
Fees. This category typically consists of professional services
rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm for
tax compliance and tax advice.
All
Other Fees. This category includes aggregate fees billed in
each of the last two fiscal years for products and services
provided by the Morison Cogen LLP, other than the services reported
in the categories above.
Pre-Approval Policies and
Procedures
Under
the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures, the
Audit Committee is required to pre-approve all fees paid to, and
all services performed by, our independent registered public
accounting firm. At the beginning of each year, the Audit Committee
pre-approves the proposed services, including the nature, type and
scope of services contemplated and the related fees to be rendered
by our independent registered public accounting firm during the
year. In addition, Audit Committee pre-approval is also required
for those engagements that may arise during the course of the year
that are outside the scope of the initial services and fees
pre-approved by the Audit Committee.
All
of the services rendered by Morison Cogen LLP in 2021 were
pre-approved by the Audit Committee.
Proposal 2: Ratification of the
Appointment of Morison Cogen LLP as our Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm for the 2022 Fiscal Year
The
Audit Committee of the Board has selected Morison Cogen LLP as our
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2022, and the Board has directed that
management submit the selection of independent registered public
accountants for ratification by the stockholders at the Annual
Meeting.
Stockholder
ratification of the selection of Morison Cogen LLP as our
independent registered public accounting firm is not required by
our Bylaws or otherwise. However, the Board is submitting the
selection of Morison Cogen LLP to the stockholders for ratification
as a matter of good corporate practice. If the stockholders fail to
ratify the selection, the Audit Committee will reconsider whether
or not to retain Morison Cogen LLP. Even if the selection is
ratified, the Audit Committee, at its discretion, may direct the
appointment of a different independent registered public accounting
firm at any time during the year if it determines that such a
change would be in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders.
Required
Vote and Board Recommendation
If a
quorum is present and voting, the affirmative vote of a majority of
the votes cast at the Annual Meeting by the holders of shares
entitled to vote on this proposal is required to ratify the
appointment of Morison Cogen LLP as our independent registered
public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31,
2022.
The
Board recommends that you vote “FOR” the ratification of
Morison Cogen LLP as our independent registered public accounting
firm for the 2022 fiscal year. |
Morison
Cogen LLP Representatives at Annual Meeting
Representatives
of Morison Cogen LLP are not expected to be present at the Annual
Meeting.
Other Matters
The
Board knows of no other business to be brought before the Annual
Meeting. If, however, any other business should properly come
before the Annual Meeting, the persons named in the accompanying
proxy will vote the proxy in accordance with applicable law and as
they may deem appropriate in their discretion, unless directed by
the proxy to do otherwise.
Stockholder
Proposals
Pursuant
to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 14a-8”), a stockholder
who intends to present a proposal at our next annual meeting of
stockholders (the “2023 Annual Meeting”) and who wishes the
proposal to be included in the proxy statement and form of proxy
for that meeting must submit the proposal in writing no later than
the close of business on June 28, 2023 to our headquarters at 855
N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601, Baltimore, MD 21205, Attention: General
Counsel. However, pursuant to Rule 14a-8, if the 2023 Annual
Meeting is held on a date that is before November 14, 2023 or after
January 13, 2024, then a stockholder proposal submitted for
inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy for the 2023
Annual Meeting must be received by us a reasonable time before we
begin to print and mail our proxy statement for the 2023 Annual
Meeting.
Stockholders
wishing to submit proposals to be presented directly at the 2023
Annual Meeting instead of by inclusion in next year’s proxy
statement must follow the notice procedures set forth in our
Bylaws. Pursuant to our Bylaws, notice of a nomination or proposal
must be delivered to at our headquarters at 855 N. Wolfe Street,
Suite 601, Baltimore, MD 21205, Attention: General Counsel, not
less than 60 days and not more than 90 days prior to the
anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting, or if
the date of the annual meeting is advanced more than 30 days prior
to or delayed by more than 30 days after the anniversary of the
preceding year’s annual meeting, to be timely, notice by the
stockholder must be so received not later than the close of
business on the 10th day following the day on which notice of the
date of the annual meeting was mailed or public disclosure of the
date of the annual meeting is first given or made (which for this
purpose shall include any and all filings of the Company made on
the EDGAR system of the SEC or any similar public database
maintained by the SEC), whichever first occurs. Accordingly, for
our 2023 Annual Meeting, notice of a nomination or proposal must be
delivered to us no later than October 15, 2023 and no earlier than
September 15, 2023; provided, however, if and only if the 2023
Annual Meeting is not scheduled to be held between November 14,
2023 and January 13, 2024, to be timely, notice must be received
not later than the close of business on the 10th day following the
day on which notice of the date of the annual meeting was mailed or
public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting is first given
or made. Nominations and proposals also must satisfy other
requirements set forth in the Charter and the Bylaws. As discussed
above, to be eligible for inclusion in our proxy materials,
stockholder proposals must also comply with the requirements of
Rule 14a-8. If a stockholder fails to comply with the foregoing
notice provision or with certain additional procedural requirements
under SEC rules, the Company will have authority to vote shares
under proxies we solicit when and if the nomination or proposal is
raised at the annual meeting of stockholders and, to the extent
permitted by law, on any other business that may properly come
before the annual meeting of stockholders and any adjournments or
postponements. The Chairman of the Board may refuse to acknowledge
the introduction of any stockholder proposal not made in compliance
with the foregoing procedures.
For
the 2023 Annual Meeting, we will be required pursuant to new Rule
14a-19 under the Exchange Act to include on our proxy card all
nominees for director for whom we have received notice under the
rule, which must be received no later than 60 calendar days prior
to the anniversary of the Annual Meeting. For any such director
nominee to be included on our proxy card for next year’s annual
meeting, notice must be received no later than October 16, 2023.
Please note that the notice requirement under Rule 14a-19 is in
addition to the applicable notice requirements under the advance
notice provisions of our Bylaws described above.
A
copy of our 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K is available without
charge (except for exhibits, which are available upon payment of a
reasonable fee) upon written request to MyMD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
855 N. Wolfe Street, Suite 601, Baltimore, MD 21205, Attention:
General Counsel
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