Hepion Pharmaceuticals Announces Adjournment of Annual Meeting of Stockholders
June 24 2022 - 4:15PM
Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA), a clinical mid-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on Artificial Intelligence
(“AI”)-driven therapeutic drug development for the treatment of
non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (“NASH”) and hepatocellular carcinoma
(“HCC”), announced today that its 2022 annual meeting of
stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) has been adjourned to Friday,
July 22, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time with respect to Proposal 4
(Authorized Share Increase), as described in Hepion’s definitive
proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”) on April 19, 2022 (the “Proxy Statement”).
The record date for determining stockholders
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will remain the close of
business on April 29, 2022.
During the current adjournment, Hepion will
continue to solicit votes from its stockholders with respect to
Proposal 4 set forth in the Proxy Statement.
At the time the Annual Meeting was adjourned,
proxies had been submitted by stockholders representing
approximately 60% of the shares of Hepion’s common stock
outstanding and entitled to vote, which constituted a quorum. At
the time of the Annual Meeting votes were sufficient to approve the
election of each of Dr. Gary S. Jacob, Dr. Robert Foster, John
Brancaccio, Dr. Timothy Block, Dr. Arnold Lippa and Dr. Peter
Wijngaard as a director, and to approve Proposal 2 (Appointment of
Independent Auditors). However, votes were not sufficient to
approve Proposals 3 (2022 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan) and 5
(Say-On-Pay). Votes were also not sufficient to approve Proposal 4,
which requires approval by the holders of a majority of the
outstanding shares of common stock of Hepion.
Proxies previously submitted with respect to the
Annual Meeting will be voted on Proposal 4 at the adjourned Annual
Meeting unless properly revoked, and stockholders who have
previously submitted a proxy or otherwise voted need not take any
action.
The Board of Hepion urges stockholders who have
not yet voted or who have previously voted against Proposal 4 to
vote FOR the proposal. The Board believes that the
approval of Proposal 4 is in the best interests of the stockholders
of Hepion because the availability of additional authorized shares
of common stock is required for several reasons including, but not
limited to, the additional flexibility to issue common stock for a
variety of general corporate purposes as the Board may determine to
be desirable including, without limitation, future financings,
investment opportunities, acquisitions, or other distributions and
stock splits (including splits effected through the declaration of
stock dividends).
Hepion encourages all stockholders of
record on April 29, 2022 who have not yet voted or who wish to
change their vote to do so by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 21,
2022.
About Hepion
Pharmaceuticals
The Company's lead drug candidate, rencofilstat,
is a potent inhibitor of cyclophilins, which are involved in many
disease processes. Rencofilstat is currently in clinical-phase
development for the treatment of NASH, with the potential to play
an important role in the overall treatment of liver disease - from
triggering events through to end-stage disease. Rencofilstat has
been shown to reduce liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma
tumor burden in experimental models of NASH, and has demonstrated
antiviral activities towards HBV, HCV, and HDV through several
mechanisms, in nonclinical studies. In November 2021, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (“FDA”) granted Fast Track designation for
rencofilstat for the treatment of NASH. That was soon followed in
December 2021 by the FDA’s acceptance of Hepion’s investigational
new drug (IND) application for rencofilstat for the treatment of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In June 2022, rencofilstat was
granted Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of HCC.
Hepion has created a proprietary AI platform,
called AI-POWR™, which stands for Artificial
Intelligence - Precision Medicine;
Omics (including genomics, proteomics,
metabolomics, transcriptomics, and lipidomics);
World database access; and
Response and clinical outcomes. Hepion intends to
use AI-POWR™ to help identify which NASH patients will best respond
to rencofilstat, potentially shortening development timelines and
increasing the delta between placebo and treatment groups. In
addition to using AI-POWR™ to drive its ongoing NASH clinical
development program, Hepion intends to use the platform to identify
additional potential indications for rencofilstat to expand the
company's footprint in the cyclophilin inhibition therapeutic
space.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are
forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified
by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “forecast,” “estimated,” and “intend,” among others.
These forward-looking statements are based on Hepion
Pharmaceuticals’ current expectations and actual results could
differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause
actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not
limited to, substantial competition; our ability to continue as a
going concern; our need for additional financing; uncertainties of
patent protection and litigation; risks associated with delays,
increased costs and funding shortages caused by the COVID-19
pandemic; uncertainties with respect to lengthy and expensive
clinical trials, that results of earlier studies and trials may not
be predictive of future trial results; uncertainties of government
or third party payer reimbursement; limited sales and marketing
efforts and dependence upon third parties; and risks related to
failure to obtain FDA clearances or approvals and noncompliance
with FDA regulations. As with any drug candidates under
development, there are significant risks in the development,
regulatory approval, and commercialization of new products. There
are no guarantees that future clinical trials discussed in this
press release will be completed or successful, or that any product
will receive regulatory approval for any indication or prove to be
commercially successful. Hepion Pharmaceuticals does not undertake
an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.
Investors should read the risk factors set forth in Hepion
Pharmaceuticals’ Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021,
and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
For further information, please contact:
Stephen KilmerHepion Pharmaceuticals Investor RelationsDirect:
(646) 274-3580skilmer@hepionpharma.com
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