United
States
Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A INFORMATION
PROXY
STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Filed by 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 Material Under Rule 14a-12 |
LANTERN
PHARMA INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name
of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment
of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
| ☐ | 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. |
April
26, 2022
Dear
Stockholder:
You
are cordially invited to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (which we refer to as the “Annual Meeting”) of Lantern
Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (which we refer to as “Lantern,” “we,” “us,” “our,”
or the “Company”), to be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
This
year’s Annual Meeting will be conducted via live audio webcast and online stockholder tools. Stockholders will be able to attend
and listen to the Annual Meeting live, submit questions and vote their shares electronically at the Annual Meeting from virtually any
location around the world.
At the Annual Meeting, you will
be asked to consider and vote upon the following proposals to: (1) elect six (6) directors to serve for the ensuing year as members of
the Board of Directors of the Company; (2) ratify the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm
for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022; and (3) approve an adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional
proxies if there are not sufficient votes in favor of the foregoing proposals. The accompanying Proxy Statement describes these matters
in more detail. We urge you to read this information carefully.
The
Board of Directors recommends a vote: FOR each of the six (6) nominees for director named in the Proxy Statement; FOR the ratification
of the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022;
and FOR an adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes in favor
of the foregoing proposals.
Whether
or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person, and regardless of the number of shares of Lantern that you own, it is important
that your shares be represented and voted at the Annual Meeting. Therefore, I urge you to vote your shares of common stock via the Internet
or by promptly marking, dating, signing, and returning a proxy card via mail. Voting over the Internet, or by written proxy, will ensure
that your shares are represented at the Annual Meeting.
On
behalf of the Board of Directors of Lantern, we thank you for your participation.
|
Sincerely, |
|
|
|
/s/ Donald J. Keyser |
|
Donald J. Keyser, |
|
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
LANTERN
PHARMA INC.
1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75201
NOTICE
OF 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON JUNE 8, 2022
The
2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (which we refer to as the “Annual Meeting”) of Lantern Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation
(which we refer to as “Lantern,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”), will
be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. This year’s meeting is a virtual stockholder meeting conducted exclusively
via a live audio webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022. Stockholders will be able to attend and listen to the
Annual Meeting live, submit questions and vote their shares electronically at the Annual Meeting from virtually any location around the
world. In order to attend and vote at the Annual Meeting, please follow the instructions in the section titled “Voting at the Meeting”
on page 3. We will consider and act on the following items of business at the Annual Meeting:
| 1. | To
elect six (6) directors to serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Company (which
we refer to as our “Board”) until the next annual meeting of stockholders and
until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The director nominees named in the
Proxy Statement for election to our Board are: Donald Jeff Keyser, Panna Sharma, Vijay Chandru,
Maria Maccecchini, Franklyn Prendergast, and David S. Silberstein; |
| 2. | To
ratify the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP as the Company’s independent registered public
accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2022; and |
| 3. | To
approve an adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies
if there are not sufficient votes in favor of the foregoing proposals. |
We
intend to mail the Proxy Materials on or about May 2, 2022 to all stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.
The
accompanying Proxy Statement describes each of these items of business in detail. Only stockholders of record at the close of business
on April 19, 2022 are entitled to receive notice of, attend and vote at the Annual Meeting or any continuation, postponement or adjournment
thereof.
All
stockholders are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting via the Internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022.
To ensure your representation at the Annual Meeting, you are urged to vote your shares of common stock via the Internet or by promptly
marking, dating, signing, and returning the proxy card via mail. Voting instructions are provided on the proxy card and included in the
accompanying Proxy Statement. Any stockholder attending the Annual Meeting may vote at the meeting even if he or she previously submitted
a proxy. If your shares of common stock are held by a bank, broker or other agent, please follow the instructions from your bank, broker
or other agent to have your shares voted.
|
/s/ Donald J. Keyser |
|
Donald J. Keyser, |
|
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
Dallas, Texas
April 26, 2022
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
LANTERN
PHARMA INC.
1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75201
PROXY
STATEMENT
FOR ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON JUNE 8, 2022
INFORMATION
ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING
General
Your
proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors (which we refer to as our “Board”) of Lantern Pharma Inc., a Delaware
corporation (which we refer to as “Lantern,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”),
for use at our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (which we refer to as the “Annual Meeting”). This year’s meeting
is a virtual stockholder meeting conducted exclusively via a live audio webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022.
The Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, or at any continuation, postponement or adjournment
thereof, for the purposes discussed in this Proxy Statement. Proxies are solicited to give all stockholders of record an opportunity
to vote on matters properly presented at the Annual Meeting.
Important
Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholders’
Meeting to Be Held Via the Internet at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022
on
Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time
The
Annual Report, Notice of Meeting, Proxy Statement and Proxy Card
are available at www.proxyvote.com
We
intend to mail this Proxy Statement, the proxy card and the Notice of Annual Meeting on or about May 2, 2022 to all stockholders of record
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting. If you would like a hard copy of the proxy materials for this Annual Meeting, or any future stockholder
meetings, mailed or emailed to you, please contact us at the above address or at our webpage http://ir.lanternpharma.com/, or
telephone us at 628-777-3153 or email us at ir@lanternpharma.com. For directions on how to attend the Annual Meeting, please telephone
us at 628-777-3153.
How
to Attend
You
are entitled to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting if you were a stockholder as of the close of business on April 19, 2022,
the record date, or hold a valid proxy for the meeting. To attend the Annual Meeting, you must access the meeting website at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022
and enter the control number set forth on your proxy card. In order to participate in the virtual meeting, including to vote, ask
questions and to view the list of registered stockholders as of the record date during the meeting, you must access the meeting website
at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022 and enter the control number that may be found on your proxy card. The meeting webcast
will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Online check-in will begin approximately 15 minutes before then and we encourage you
to allow ample time for check-in procedures.
Who
Can Vote, Outstanding Shares
Record
holders of our common stock as of the close of business on April 19, 2022, the record date for the Annual Meeting, are entitled to vote
at the Annual Meeting on all matters to be voted upon. As of the record date, there were 10,830,947 shares of our common stock outstanding,
each entitled to one vote.
Voting
of Shares
You
may vote by attending the Annual Meeting and voting at the meeting or you may vote prior to the Annual Meeting through the Internet or
by submitting a proxy. The method of voting by proxy differs for shares held as a record holder and shares held in “street name.”
If you hold your shares of common stock as a record holder, you may vote your shares over the Internet or by completing, dating and signing
the proxy card and promptly returning the proxy card via mail. If you hold your shares of common stock in street name, which means that
your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee, you will receive a notice from your broker, bank or other nominee
that includes instructions on how to vote your shares.
You
may vote your shares as follows:
| ● | To
vote in person, attend the Annual Meeting and follow the procedures set forth in “Voting
at the Meeting”, below. |
| ● | To
vote through the Internet prior to the Annual Meeting, go to www.proxyvote.com and complete
an electronic proxy card. You will be asked to provide the control number from the proxy
card or, if you hold your shares in street name, the voting instruction form delivered to
you by your broker. Your Internet vote must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on June
7, 2022 to be counted. |
| ● | To
vote prior to the Annual Meeting using the proxy card delivered to you, simply complete,
sign, and date the proxy card and return it promptly in the envelope provided. If you return
your signed proxy card to us before the Annual Meeting, we will vote your shares as you direct. |
| ● | To
vote prior to the Annual Meeting using any touch-tone telephone, dial 1-800-690-6903. Have
your proxy card or voting instruction form in hand and follow the instructions. |
YOUR
VOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT.
You
should submit your proxy even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting. If you properly give your proxy and submit it to us in time to
vote, one of the individuals named as your proxy will vote your shares as you have directed. Any stockholder attending the Annual Meeting
may vote in person even if he or she previously submitted a proxy.
All
shares entitled to vote and represented by properly submitted proxies (including those submitted electronically and in writing) received
before the polls are closed at the Annual Meeting, and not revoked or superseded, will be voted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with
the instructions indicated on those proxies. If no direction is indicated on a proxy, your shares will be voted as follows:
| ● | FOR
each of the six (6) nominees for director named in the Proxy Statement; |
| ● | FOR
the ratification of the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP as our independent registered
public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022; and |
| ● | FOR
an adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies if
there are not sufficient votes in favor of the foregoing proposals. |
With
respect to any other matter that properly comes before the Annual Meeting or any continuation, postponement or adjournment thereof, the
proxy-holders will vote as recommended by our Board, or if no recommendation is given, in their own discretion.
Revocation
of Proxy
If
you are a stockholder of record, you may revoke your proxy at any time before your proxy is voted at the Annual Meeting by taking any
of the following actions:
| ● | delivering
to our corporate secretary a signed written notice of revocation, bearing a date later than
the date of the proxy, stating that the proxy is revoked; |
| ● | signing
and delivering a new proxy card, relating to the same shares and bearing a later date than
the original proxy card; |
| ● | submitting
another proxy over the Internet (your latest Internet voting instructions are followed);
or |
| ● | attending
the Annual Meeting and voting in person, although attendance at the Annual Meeting will not,
by itself, revoke a proxy. |
Written
notices of revocation and other communications with respect to the revocation of Company proxies should be addressed to:
Lantern
Pharma Inc.
1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75201
Attention: Corporate Secretary
If
your shares are held in “street name,” you may change your vote by submitting new voting instructions to your broker, bank
or other nominee. You must contact your broker, bank or other nominee to find out how to do so. See below regarding how to vote in person
if your shares are held in street name.
Voting
at the Meeting
If you are a stockholder of
record or hold your shares of common stock in street name, you can vote at the virtual Annual Meeting by accessing the meeting website
at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/LTRN2022, entering the control number found on your proxy card or, if you hold your shares
of common stock in street name, entering the control number on the voting instruction form delivered to you by your broker and following
the instructions on the website for voting at the Annual Meeting.
Additional
information regarding the rules and procedures for participating in the Annual Meeting will be set forth in our meeting rules of conduct,
which stockholders can view during the meeting at the meeting website. We will also post a recording of the meeting on our investor relations
website, which will be available for replay following the meeting for 60 days.
Quorum
and Votes Required
The
inspector of election appointed for the Annual Meeting will tabulate votes cast by proxy or in person at the Annual Meeting. The inspector
of election will also determine whether a quorum is present. In order to constitute a quorum for the conduct of business at the Annual
Meeting, not less than a majority of the voting power of all of the shares of the stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting must be
present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting. Shares that abstain from voting on any proposal, or that are represented
by broker non-votes (as discussed below), will be treated as shares that are present and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting for purposes
of determining whether a quorum is present. If there is no quorum, the holders of a majority of the shares present at the Annual Meeting
in person or represented by proxy may adjourn the Annual Meeting to another date.
A
broker non-vote occurs when a broker, bank or other agent holding shares for a beneficial owner has not received instructions from the
beneficial owner and does not have discretionary authority to vote the shares for certain non-routine matters. Shares represented by
proxies that reflect a broker non-vote will be counted for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum. We believe that the election
of directors (Proposal 1) will be considered a non-routine matter and broker non-votes, if any, will not be counted as votes cast and
will have no effect on the result of the vote. We believe that the ratification of the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP as our independent
registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2) will be considered a routine matter on which a broker, bank or other agent will have discretionary
authority to vote, and on this basis we do not expect any broker non-votes in connection with this proposal.
Proposal
No. 1: Election of Directors. A plurality of the votes cast by the holders of shares entitled to vote in the election
of directors at the Annual Meeting is required for the election of directors. Accordingly, the six (6) director nominees receiving the
highest number of votes will be elected. Abstentions and broker non-votes are not treated as votes cast and, therefore, will not have
any effect on the outcome of the election of directors.
Proposal
No. 2: Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority
of the votes present and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is required for the ratification of the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP
as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. We believe that brokers will have
discretionary authority to vote on the ratification of our independent registered public accounting firm and, therefore, we do not expect
there to be broker non-votes resulting from the vote on Proposal No. 2. However, in the event of any broker non-votes or abstentions
in connection with Proposal No. 2, such broker non-votes and abstentions will have the effect of a vote against this proposal.
Proposal
No. 3: Approval to Adjourn the Annual Meeting. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes present
and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting is required for the approval of an adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit
additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes in favor of Proposals 1 or 2. We believe that brokers will have discretionary authority
to vote on an adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies and, therefore, we do not expect there to
be broker non-votes resulting from the vote on Proposal No. 3. However, in the event of any broker non-votes or abstentions in connection
with Proposal No. 3, such broker non-votes and abstentions will have the effect of a vote against this proposal.
We
will also consider any other business that properly comes before the Annual Meeting, or any adjournment or postponement thereof. As of
the record date, we are not aware of any other matters to be submitted for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters
are properly brought before the Annual Meeting, the persons designated as proxies will vote the shares as recommended by our Board, or
if no recommendation is given, in their own discretion.
Solicitation
of Proxies
Our
Board is soliciting proxies for the Annual Meeting from our stockholders. We will bear the entire cost of soliciting proxies from our
stockholders. In addition to the solicitation of proxies by delivery of this Proxy Statement by mail, we will request that brokers, banks
and other nominees that hold shares of our common stock, which are beneficially owned by our stockholders, forward proxy materials to
those beneficial owners and secure those beneficial owners’ voting instructions. We will reimburse those record holders for their
reasonable expenses. We do not intend to hire a proxy solicitor to assist in the solicitation of proxies. We may use several of our regular
employees, who will not be specially compensated, to solicit proxies from our stockholders, either personally or by Internet, facsimile
or special delivery letter.
Stockholder
List
A
list of stockholders eligible to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available for inspection, for any purpose germane to the Annual Meeting,
during the Annual Meeting at the meeting website and at the principal executive office of the Company during regular business hours for
a period of no less than ten (10) days prior to the Annual Meeting.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This Proxy Statement contains
“forward-looking statements” (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements are based
on our current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in
the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding actions to be taken by us. We undertake no obligation
to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking
statements should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the risk
factors in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 10, 2022 (the “2021 Annual Report”) and in our Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K.
PROPOSAL
NO. 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Board
Nominees
Our
Board currently consists of six (6) members, five (5) of whom are independent under the listing standards for independence of the NASDAQ
and Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (which we refer to as the “Exchange Act”). However,
one of our current directors, Leslie W. Kreis, Jr., has elected not to stand for reelection. Based upon the recommendation of the Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board, our Board determined to nominate the other five (5) current members of the Board and
director nominee, Maria Maccecchini, for election at the Annual Meeting.
Our
Board and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believe the following director nominees collectively have the experience,
qualifications, attributes and skills to effectively oversee the management of the Company, including a high degree of personal and professional
integrity, an ability to exercise sound business judgment on a broad range of issues, sufficient experience and background to have an
appreciation of the issues facing the Company, a willingness to devote the necessary time to Board duties, a commitment to representing
the best interests of the Company and our stockholders and a dedication to enhancing stockholder value.
Each
director elected at the Annual Meeting will serve a one (1) year term until the Company’s next annual meeting and until his or
her successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. Unless otherwise instructed, the
proxy-holders will vote the proxies received by them for the six (6) nominees named below. If any of the nominees is unable or declines
to serve as a director at the time of the Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted for any nominee designated by the present Board to
fill the vacancy. It is not presently expected that any of the nominees named below will be unable or will decline to serve as a director.
If additional persons are nominated for election as directors, the proxy-holders intend to vote all proxies received by them in a manner
to assure the election of as many of the nominees listed below as possible. In such event, the specific nominees to be voted for will
be determined by the proxy-holders.
Set
forth below are the names, ages and positions of our director nominees as of the date of this Proxy Statement:
Name |
|
Age |
|
Position |
Donald
Jeff Keyser(a),(b) |
|
69 |
|
Chairman
of the Board |
Panna
Sharma |
|
51 |
|
Chief
Executive Officer, President and Director |
Vijay
Chandru(a),(c) |
|
68 |
|
Director |
Maria
Maccecchini |
|
71 |
|
Director
Nominee |
Franklyn
Prendergast(a),(c) |
|
77 |
|
Director |
David
S. Silberstein |
|
71 |
|
Director |
| (a) | Member
of the Audit Committee of our Board. |
| (b) | Member
of the Compensation Committee of our Board. |
| (c) | Member
of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board. |
Board
Recommendation
OUR
BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” EACH OF THE SIX (6) NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR NAMED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.
Vacancies
on our Board, including any vacancy created by an increase in the size of our Board, may be filled by a majority of the directors remaining
in office (even though less than a quorum of our Board) or a sole remaining director. A director elected by our Board to fill a vacancy
will serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until such director’s successor is elected and qualified, or until
such director’s earlier retirement, resignation, disqualification, removal or death.
If
any nominee should become unavailable for election prior to the Annual Meeting, an event that currently is not anticipated by our Board,
the proxies will be voted in favor of the election of a substitute nominee or nominees proposed by our Board. Each nominee has agreed
to serve if elected and our Board has no reason to believe that any nominee will be unable to serve.
Information
about Director Nominees
Set
forth below is biographical information for each nominee and a summary of the specific qualifications, attributes, skills and experiences
which led our Board to conclude that each nominee should serve on our Board at this time. There are no family relationships among any
of the directors, director nominees or executive officers of the Company.
Donald
Jeff Keyser has served as a director since January 2018 and Chairman since November 2019. Dr. Keyser founded and has served from
2017 as director, president and chief operating officer of Renibus Therapeutics, a company developing novel therapies for the diagnosis,
treatment and prevention of kidney disease. Dr. Keyser also founded ZS Pharma and served since 2008 as a director and chief operating
officer of that company until December 2015 when it was acquired by Astra Zeneca for $2.7 Billion. Dr. Keyser was the inventor of the
Mucinex product line for Adams Respiratory Therapeutics. Dr. Keyser developed and executed the R&D and Regulatory strategy for Adams
Respiratory Therapeutics as Vice President of Development and Regulatory Affairs during his period there from 1998 to 2004. Adams Respiratory
Therapeutics was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser for $2.3 Billion. He was previously employed as Chief Compliance Officer & Vice President
Regulatory Affairs, Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Vice President Technical & Regulatory Affairs, Medeva Americas, Sr. Director Regulatory
Affairs, Marion Merrell Dow and Regulatory Principal, Abbott Laboratories. Dr. Keyser received his Pharmacy degree from Creighton University,
a Juris Doctorate from Creighton University, a MPA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a PhD in Economics from The University
of Texas at Dallas. Based on the above qualifications, the Company believes Dr. Keyser is qualified to be on the Board.
Panna
Sharma has served as our Chief Executive Officer and President since July 2018 and a director since August 2018. As Chief Executive
Officer, Mr. Sharma oversees our use of AI and genomics in developing our therapy product pipeline to innovate the rescue, revitalization
and development of precision therapeutics in oncology. From May 2010 to February 2018, Mr. Sharma served as President, Chief Executive
Officer and director of Cancer Genetics, a Nasdaq company and provider of DNA-based cancer diagnostics and services to medical institutions
throughout the world. In 2001, Mr. Sharma founded TSG Partners, a specialty advisory group combining corporate strategy and corporate
finance to create stockholder value for companies and investors in the life sciences, biotechnology and environmental sciences sectors.
Prior to TSG, Mr. Sharma served in the roles of Senior Vice President of E-Business Solutions and Chief Strategy Officer at iXL Inc.
(later merged with Scient). For the six years prior to his being at iXL Inc., Mr. Sharma helped successfully found, manage and sell or
take public two other consulting and professional services firms. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Sharma was a partner at Interactive Solutions,
Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Sharma served as a consultant to Putnam Investment Management, LLC and Bank of America Corporation. Mr. Sharma
holds a Bachelor of Science in the Philosophy of Science, Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence from Boston University. Based on
the above qualifications, the Company believes Mr. Sharma is qualified to be on the Board.
Vijay
Chandru has served as a director since October 2019. Currently, Dr. Chandru is a co-founder of OPFORD Foundation, a non-profit in
India with an open platform for orphan diseases and with a mission to support development of affordable and accessible therapeutics for
orphan diseases of which many are rare genetic disorders. He was also a co-founder of Strand Life Sciences, India’s leading precision
medicine solutions company, an offshoot of the Indian Institute of Science, which now has over 20 diagnostic laboratories and over 800
employees spread across India. He served as Executive Chairman of Strand Life Sciences from 2000 to 2018. A technology pioneer of the
World Economic Forum since 2006, he was elected President (2009-2012) of the Association of Biotech Led Enterprises (ABLE), the apex
trade body that represents the Indian biotech industry. Dr. Chandru is an academic entrepreneur whose academic career has spanned almost
four decades. After his doctoral work at MIT he was a tenured professor at Purdue University for a decade in the 1980s and at the Indian
Institute of Science in Bangalore since then. A fellow of both the academy of science and engineering, he is currently an Indian National
Academy of Engineering’s Distinguished Technologist in Bio-Engineering. Based on the above qualifications, the Company believes
Dr. Chandru is qualified to be on the Board.
Maria
L. Maccecchini is a nominee for election to our Board of Directors. Dr. Maccecchini founded Annovis Bio, Inc. , a New York Stock
Exchange listed, clinical stage, drug platform company addressing neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s
disease. She has served as President and CEO and as a director of Annovis since May 2008. Dr. Maccecchini has over 30 years of experience
in neuroscience and the workings of the brain. She was partner and director of two angel groups, Robin Hood Ventures, from 2002 to 2009,
and MidAtlantic Angel Group, from 2005 to 2009. In 1992, she founded and became chief executive officer of Symphony Pharmaceuticals/Annovis,
a biotech company, which was sold in 2001 to Transgenomic. From 1987 to 1991 she was General Manager of Bachem Bioscience, the US subsidiary
of Bachem AG, Switzerland and Head of Molecular Biology at Mallinckrodt. Dr. Maccecchini conducted post-doctoral research at Caltech
and the Roche Institute of Immunology. She earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Biocenter of Basel with a two-year visiting fellowship
at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Maccecchini serves on several boards of biotechnology companies, organizations that promote entrepreneurship,
international trade, women and charitable organizations. She has been a lecturer at Wharton Business School since 2016. Based on the
above qualifications, the Company believes Dr. Maccecchini is qualified to be on the Board.
Franklyn
Prendergast has served as a director since October 2019. Prior to his retirement on December 31, 2014, Dr. Prendergast was the Emeritus
Edmond and Marion Guggenheim Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Emeritus Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics at Mayo Medical School and the director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. From 1994 to 2006, he served
as a director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. He also previously held several other teaching positions at the Mayo Medical School from
1975 through 2014. Dr. Prendergast has served for the National Institute of Health on numerous study section review groups; as a charter
member of the Board of Advisors for the Division of Research Grants, now the Center for Scientific Review; the National Advisory General
Medical Sciences Council; and the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute. He held a Presidential Commission for
service on the National Cancer Advisory Board. Dr. Prendergast also has served in numerous other advisory roles for the National Institute
of Health and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, and he is a member of the board of directors of the
Translational Genomics Research Institute and the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI). Dr. Prendergast has served on the board
of directors of Eli Lilly & Co. since 1995 until his retirement in 2017. He also served as a director of Cancer Genetics from 2014
to 2018. He also currently serves on the board of directors for Novosteo, Inc. and Neubase Therapeutics, both private biotechnology drug
development companies. Dr. Prendergast obtained his medical degree with honors from the University of West Indies and attended Oxford
University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning an M.A. degree in physiology. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota.
Based on the above qualifications, the Company believes Dr. Prendergast is qualified to be on the Board.
David
S. Silberstein has served as a director since June 2018. Dr. Silberstein has served as chief operating officer of BioMimetix JV,
LLC since 2013. Dr. Silberstein has served as a director of Biological Mimetics, Inc. since 2016. Dr. Silberstein received his PhD in
Immunology at Columbia University and Postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School/Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Dr. Silberstein
continued for seven years at Harvard, leading a research team studying the biochemistry of inflammation. This was followed by 20 years
at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals where Dr. Silberstein had leadership roles in genomics, translational science, company-wide portfolio
management, and science support for two products through launch to aggregate sales of greater than $30 billion. Since 2013, Dr. Silberstein
has worked independently with a number of early stage biotech companies and as a consultant to investment firms. Current work includes
his role as Principal Investigator of an NCI-funded clinical trial in patients with multiple brain metastases. Based on the above qualifications,
the Company believes Dr. Silberstein is qualified to be on the Board.
CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Board
Composition
Our
Board may establish the authorized number of directors from time to time by resolution. Our Board currently consists of six (6) authorized
members. During the year ended December 31, 2021, our Board met ten (10) times and acted by unanimous written consent six (6) times.
Our Board does not have a policy regarding Board members’ attendance at meetings of our stockholders, however five members of our
Board attended our 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. During the year ended December 31, 2021, all directors attended at least 75%
of all meetings of the Board and Board committees on which they served, except for Vijay Chandru who attended 65% of such meetings.
Generally, under the listing requirements
and rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, independent directors must comprise a majority of a listed company’s board of directors. Our
Board has undertaken a review of its composition, the composition of its committees and the independence of each director. Our Board has
determined that, other than Mr. Sharma, none of our director nominees has a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent
judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each is “independent” as that term is defined under the
applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the listing requirements and rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. In making these determinations,
our Board considered the current and prior relationships that each nonemployee director nominee has with our Company and all other facts
and circumstances our Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock
by each nonemployee director nominee. Accordingly, a majority of our directors are independent, as required under applicable Nasdaq Stock
Market rules, as of the date of this Proxy Statement.
Committees
of the Board of Directors
Our
Board has established an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our Board may
establish other committees to facilitate the management of our business. The composition and functions of each committee are described
below. Members serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by our Board.
Each
of our committees operates under a written charter, copies of which are available at our investor relations website located at ir.lanternpharma.com/corporate-governance/governance-documents.
Audit
Committee
Our
Audit Committee consists of Donald Jeff Keyser, Vijay Chandru and Franklyn Prendergast, with Dr. Keyser serving as chair. The composition
of our Audit Committee meets the requirements for independence under current Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards and SEC rules and
regulations. Each member of our Audit Committee meets the financial literacy requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards
and is also a nonemployee director, as defined pursuant to Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act. Dr. Keyser is an audit committee
financial expert within the meaning of Item 407(d) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities
Act. Our Audit Committee, among other things:
| ● | selects
a qualified firm to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm to audit our
financial statements; |
| ● | discusses
the scope and results of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ● | reviews,
with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, our interim and year-end
operating results; |
| ● | develops
procedures for employees to submit concerns anonymously about questionable accounting or
audit matters; |
| ● | reviews
our policies on risk assessment and risk management; |
| ● | reviews
related-party transactions; and |
| ● | approves
(or, as permitted, pre-approves) all audit and all permissible nonaudit services, other than
de minimis nonaudit services, to be performed by the independent registered public accounting
firm. |
Our
Audit Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable rules of the SEC and the listing standards of the Nasdaq
Stock Market. During the year ended December 31, 2021, our Audit Committee met five times.
Compensation
Committee
Our
Compensation Committee currently consists of Leslie W. Kreis, Jr. and Donald Jeff Keyser, with Mr. Kreis serving as Chair. However, as
noted above, Mr. Kreis has elected not to stand for reelection and following the Annual Meeting we intend to reconstitute our Compensation
Committee. The composition of our Compensation Committee meets the requirements for independence under the Nasdaq Stock Market listing
standards and SEC rules and regulations. Each member of the Compensation Committee is also a nonemployee director, as defined pursuant
to Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act. The purpose of our Compensation Committee is to discharge the responsibilities of our
Board relating to compensation of our executive officers. Our Compensation Committee, among other things:
| ● | reviews,
approves and determines the compensation of our executive officers; |
| ● | administers
our stock and equity incentive plans; |
| ● | makes
recommendations to our Board regarding director compensation and the establishment and terms
of incentive compensation and equity plans; and |
| ● | establishes
and reviews general policies relating to compensation and benefits of our employees. |
Our
chief executive officer may, from time to time, provide input and recommendations to our Compensation Committee concerning the compensation
of our other executive officers. Our chief executive officer may also, from to time, attend Compensation Committee meetings, but he is
not present during the Committee’s deliberations regarding his own compensation. Our Compensation Committee operates under a written
charter that satisfies the applicable rules of the SEC and the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market. During the year ended December
31, 2021, our Compensation Committee met four times and acted by unanimous written consent one time.
Nominating
and Corporate Governance Committee
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Franklyn Prendergast and Vijay Chandru, with Dr. Prendergast acting as Chair.
The composition of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee meets the requirements for independence under Nasdaq Stock Market
listing standards and SEC rules and regulations and each member of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is also a nonemployee
director, as defined pursuant to Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, among
other things:
| ● | identifies,
evaluates and makes recommendations to our Board regarding nominees for election to our Board
and its committees; |
| ● | evaluates
the performance of our Board and of individual directors; |
| ● | considers
and makes recommendations to our Board regarding the composition of our Board and its committees; |
| ● | reviews
developments in corporate governance practices; |
| ● | evaluates
the adequacy of our corporate governance practices and reporting; and |
| ● | develops
and makes recommendations to our Board regarding corporate governance guidelines and matters. |
When evaluating director candidates,
our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks to ensure that our Board has the requisite skills and experience and that its
members consist of persons with appropriately complementary and independent backgrounds. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
will consider all aspects of a candidate’s qualifications in the context of Lantern’s needs, including: industry experience,
preferably at an executive level; experience in the same business sector as that of the Company; subject matter expertise and operations
experience in areas important to the Company’s growth and advancement; experience as an officer or director of a public company;
independence from management; practical business judgment; personal and professional integrity and ethics; and the ability to commit sufficient
time and attention to the activities of the Board, as well as the absence of any potential conflicts with our Company’s interests.
While we do not have a formal diversity policy, we understand the desirability of having a Board comprised of directors with diverse and
varied backgrounds, experience and opinions, and as we look to expand our Board or replace retiring Board members our Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee will place special emphasis on finding qualified candidates with diverse gender and ethnic backgrounds. However,
the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee retains the right to modify these qualifications from time to time. Candidates for director
nominees are reviewed in the context of the current composition of the Board, the operating requirements of our Company, and the long-term
interests of our stockholders.
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider for directorship candidates nominated by third parties, including stockholders.
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s consideration will take into account the comprehensive criteria for Board membership
determined by the Committee within the context of the needs of the Company at the time. At this time our Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee does not have a policy with regard to the consideration of director candidates recommended by stockholders. The Nominating
and Corporate Governance committee believes that it is in the best position to identify, review, evaluate, and select qualified candidates
for Board membership, based on the comprehensive criteria for Board membership determined by the Committee. However, pursuant
to the proxy access provisions of our bylaws, a stockholder, or group of up to 10 stockholders, that has owned continuously for at least
three years shares of our common stock representing an aggregate of at least 3% of our outstanding shares, may nominate and include in
our proxy materials director nominees constituting up to the greater of two or 20% of our Board, provided that the stockholder(s) and
nominee(s) satisfy the requirements in the proxy access provisions of our bylaws.
For a third party to suggest a
candidate, one should provide our corporate secretary, David Margrave, with the name of the candidate, together with a brief biographical
sketch and a document indicating the candidate’s willingness to serve if elected. In the case of Dr. Maccecchini, she was recommended
to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee by the lead underwriter in our initial public offering.
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable listing requirements and
rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. During the year ended December 31, 2021, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met two
times.
Board
Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight
Donald
Jeff Keyser serves as our chairman of the Board and Panna Sharma serves as our president and chief executive officer. We have neither
adopted a formal policy on whether the chairman and chief executive officer positions should be separate or combined nor do we have a
lead director. We believe that, given the small size of our Board and establishment of separate Audit, Compensation, and Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committees consisting of independent directors, our present Board structure is in the best interest of us and our
stockholders. Our Board has an active role in overseeing our areas of risk. While the full Board has overall responsibility for risk
oversight, the Board has assigned certain areas of risk primarily to designated committees, which report back to the full Board.
Process
for Stockholders to Send Communications to our Board of Directors
Because
we have always maintained open channels of communication with our stockholders, we do not have a formal policy that provides a process
for stockholders to send communications to our Board. However, if a stockholder would like to send a communication to our Board, please
address the letter to the attention of our corporate secretary, David R. Margrave, and it will be distributed to each director.
Employee,
Officer and Director Hedging
We
have adopted a policy that no director, officer, or designated employees of Lantern may engage in any short term or speculative transactions,
involving securities of the Company, unless advance approval is obtained from the Company’s compliance officer. These prohibited
speculative transactions include short sales, publicly traded options, hedging transactions, margin accounts, and pledged securities.
Compensation
Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None
of our independent directors, Donald Jeff Keyser, Vijay Chandru, Leslie W. Kreis, Jr., Franklyn Prendergast and David S. Silberstein,
is currently or has been at any time one of our officers or employees. Our Board nominee Maria Maccecchini is not currently and has not
been at any time one of our officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serves, or has served during the last year,
as a member of the board or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our Board.
We
have adopted a code of conduct for all employees, including the chief executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting
officer or controller, and/or persons performing similar functions, which is available on our investor relations website located at ir.lanternpharma.com/corporate-governance/governance-documents.
Limitation
of Liability of Directors and Indemnification of Directors and Officers
The
Delaware General Corporation Law provides that corporations may include a provision in their certificate of incorporation relieving directors
of monetary liability for breach of their fiduciary duty as directors, provided that such provision shall not eliminate or limit the
liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts
or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payment of a
dividend or unlawful stock purchase or redemption, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that directors are not liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of
their fiduciary duty as directors to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. In addition to the foregoing, our certificate of incorporation
provides that we shall indemnify directors, officers, employees or agents to the fullest extent permitted by law and we have agreed to
provide such indemnification to each of our executive officers and directors by way of written indemnification agreements.
The
above provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and in the written indemnification agreements may have the effect of
reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and may discourage or deter stockholders or management from bringing
a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise have benefited
us and our stockholders. However, we believe that the foregoing provisions are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors.
Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons
pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against
public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
PROPOSAL NO. 2
RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Audit Committee has appointed
EisnerAmper LLP (which we refer to as “Eisner”) as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December
31, 2022, and our Board has directed that management submit the appointment of Eisner as our independent registered public accounting
firm for ratification by the stockholders at the Annual Meeting. A representative of Eisner is expected to be available at the Annual
Meeting and will have an opportunity to make a statement if he or she so desires and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.
Stockholder ratification of
the selection of Eisner as our independent registered public accountants is not required by our Bylaws or otherwise. However, our Board
is submitting the appointment of Eisner to the stockholders for ratification as a matter of corporate practice. If the stockholders fail
to ratify the appointment, the Audit Committee will reconsider whether or not to retain Eisner. Even if the selection is ratified, the
Audit Committee, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accountant at any time during
the year if the Audit Committee determines that such a change would be in the Company’s and our stockholders’ best interests.
Board Recommendation
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS
A VOTE “FOR” THE RATIFICATION OF EISNERAMPER LLP
AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2022
Fees Incurred for Services by Principal Accountant
The following table sets forth
the aggregate fees billed to us for services rendered to us for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 by our independent registered
public accounting firm, EisnerAmper LLP and their affiliates.
| |
2021 | | |
2020 | |
Audit Fees(A) | |
$ | 140,465 | | |
$ | 170,560 | |
Audit – Related Fees | |
| — | | |
| — | |
Tax Fees | |
| 13,360 | | |
| 11,400 | |
| |
$ | 153,825 | | |
$ | 181,960 | |
| (A) | The audit fee consisted of fees for the audit of our financial
statements, the review of the interim financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other professional
services provided in connection with the statutory and regulatory filings or engagements and capital market financings. |
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The Audit Committee has responsibility
for selecting, appointing, evaluating, compensating, retaining and overseeing the work of the independent registered public accounting
firm. In recognition of this responsibility, the Audit Committee has established policies and procedures in its charter regarding pre-approval
of any audit and non-audit service provided to the Company by the independent registered public accounting firm and the fees and terms
thereof.
The Audit Committee considered
the compatibility of the provision of other services by its registered public accountant with the maintenance of their independence. The
Audit Committee approved all audit and tax services provided by Eisner in 2021 and 2020. Eisner did not perform any non-audit services
in 2021 or 2020, other than the tax services discussed above.
Audit Committee Report
The Audit Committee issued
the following report for inclusion in this Proxy Statement and our 2021 Annual Report:
| ● | The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited consolidated financial statements for the year
ended December 31, 2021 with management of Lantern Pharma Inc. and with Lantern Pharma Inc.’s independent registered public accounting
firm, EisnerAmper LLP. |
| ● | The Audit Committee has discussed with EisnerAmper LLP those matters required by Statement on Auditing
Standards No. 1301, “Communications with Audit Committee,” as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”). |
| ● | The Audit Committee has received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from EisnerAmper
LLP required by the PCAOB regarding EisnerAmper LLP’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning the accountant’s
independence and has discussed with EisnerAmper LLP its independence from Lantern Pharma Inc. and its management. |
Based on the review and discussions
referenced in paragraphs 1 through 3 above, the Audit Committee recommended to our Board that the audited financial statements for the
year ended December 31, 2021 be included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for that year for filing with the SEC.
|
AUDIT COMMITTEE
Donald Jeff Keyser
Vijay Chandru
Franklyn Prendergast |
PROPOSAL NO. 3
APPROVE AN ADJOURNMENT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING, IF NECESSARY,
TO SOLICIT ADDITIONAL PROXIES IF THERE ARE NOT SUFFICIENT VOTES IN FAVOR
OF PROPOSALS 1 OR 2
Introduction
As described above, our Board
has recommended the election of six (6) directors to serve for the ensuing year as members of the Board (Proposal 1), and ratification
of the appointment of EisnerAmper LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022
(Proposal 2). In furtherance of these recommendations, we are asking our stockholders to approve an adjournment of the Annual Meeting,
if necessary, to solicit additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes in favor of Proposals 1 or 2.
Proposal 3, to approve an
adjournment of the Annual Meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes in favor of Proposals
1 or 2, will require the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes present and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting with respect to
such matter.
Board Recommendation
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS
A VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF AN ADJOURNMENT OF THE ANNUAL MEETING, IF NECESSARY, TO SOLICIT ADDITIONAL PROXIES IF THERE ARE
NOT SUFFICIENT VOTES IN FAVOR OF PROPOSALS 1 OR 2.
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN
BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The following table sets forth,
as of April 15, 2022, information concerning the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock held by our directors, director nominees
and our named executive officers, our directors, director nominees and executive officers as a group, and each person known by us to be
a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock. Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of our directors,
director nominees, executive officers and beneficial owners of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock is c/o Lantern Pharma Inc.,
1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor, Dallas, Texas 75201. Each person has sole voting and investment power with respect to the
shares of our common stock, except as otherwise indicated. Beneficial ownership consists of a direct interest in the shares of common
stock, except as otherwise indicated.
As used in this section, the
term “beneficial ownership” with respect to a security is defined by Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, as consisting of sole or shared voting power (including the power to vote or direct the vote) and/or sole or shared investment
power (including the power to dispose of or direct the disposition of) with respect to the security through any contract, arrangement,
understanding, relationship or otherwise, subject to community property laws where applicable. Beneficial ownership also includes the
number of shares that a person has the right to acquire within 60 days, pursuant to the exercise of options or warrants or the conversion
of notes, debentures or other indebtedness. Two or more persons might count as beneficial owners of the same share.
There were approximately 12
holders of record of our shares of common stock as of the date of this Proxy Statement. The number of holders does not include individual
participants in security positions listings.
| |
Shares Beneficially Owned | |
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | |
Number | | |
Percent | |
Officers and Directors | |
| | |
| |
Panna Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director(2) | |
| 475,038 | | |
| 4.2 | % |
David R. Margrave, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary(3) | |
| 62,495 | | |
| * | |
Kishor G. Bhatia, Chief Scientific Officer(4) | |
| 41,661 | | |
| * | |
Leslie W. Kreis, Jr., Director(5) | |
| 1,974,933 | | |
| 18.0 | % |
Donald J. Keyser, Chairman of the Board(6) | |
| 84,746 | | |
| * | |
David S. Silberstein, Director(7) | |
| 11,546 | | |
| * | |
Vijay Chandru, Director(8) | |
| 6,449 | | |
| * | |
Franklyn Prendergast, Director(8) | |
| 6,449 | | |
| * | |
Maria Maccecchini, Director Nominee | |
| 0 | | |
| * | |
All Officers, Directors and Nominees as a group (9 people) | |
| 2,663,317 | | |
| 23.0 | % |
| |
| | | |
| | |
5% Stockholders | |
| | | |
| | |
Bios Equity Entities(9) | |
| 1,969,100 | | |
| 18.0 | % |
Biological Mimetics, Inc.(10) | |
| 958,265 | | |
| 8.9 | % |
GPGV Entities(11) | |
| 614,284 | | |
| 5.7 | % |
| * | Represents less than 1% of shares outstanding. |
| (1) | All addresses above are 1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor, Dallas, Texas 75201, unless otherwise stated. |
| (2) | Consists of 475,038 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Excludes 20,450
shares of common stock underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. |
| (3) | Consists of 62,495 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Excludes 41,905
shares of common stock underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. |
| (4) | Consists of 41,661 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Excludes 27,939
shares of common stock underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. |
| (5) | Consists of (i) 1,969,100 shares of common stock beneficially owned by Messrs. Kreis and Fletcher as described
in footnote 9, and (ii) 5,833 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Excludes 3,302 shares of common stock
underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. Mr. Kreis is the managing partner and co-founder of Bios Equity Partners,
LP and Bios Equity Partners II, LP. |
| (6) | Consists of (i) 38,987 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days, (ii) 41,927
shares of common stock, and (iii) 3,832 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants. Excludes 5,886 shares of common stock
underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. |
| (7) | Consists of 11,546 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Excludes 5,886 shares of common
stock underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. Dr. Silberstein is a director of Biological Mimetics, Inc. Dr. Silberstein
disclaims any beneficial ownership in the shares of our common stock held by Biological Mimetics, Inc. |
| (8) | Consists of 6,449 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Excludes 5,886
shares of common stock underlying options which are subject to vesting conditions. |
| (9) | Consists of (i) 564,038 shares of common stock held by Bios Fund I,
LP (“Bios Fund I”), (ii) 329,904 shares of common stock held by Bios Fund I QP, LP (“Bios Fund I QP”), (iii) 668,738
shares of common stock held by Bios Fund II QP, LP (“Bios Fund II QP”), (iv) 54,873 shares of common stock issuable to Bios
Fund II QP upon exercise of warrants, (v) 204,723 shares of common stock held by Bios Fund II, LP (“Bios Fund II”), (vi) 16,801
shares of common stock issuable to Bios Fund II upon exercise of warrants, (vii) 89,522 shares of common stock held by Bios Fund II NT,
LP (“Bios Fund II NT”), (viii) 7,347 shares of common stock issuable to Bios Fund II NT upon exercise of warrants, and (ix)
33,154 shares of common stock subject to options exercisable within 60 days by BP Directors, LP (“Bios Directors”). Excludes
2,584 shares of common stock underlying options issued to Bios Directors which are subject to vesting conditions. Bios Equity Partners,
LP (“Bios Equity I”) is the general partner of the following entities: Bios Fund I, Bios Fund I QP, and Bios Directors. Bios
Equity Partners II, LP (“Bios Equity II”) is the general partner of Bios Fund II QP, Bios Fund II, and Bios Fund II NT. Cavu
Management, LP, an entity managed and controlled by Mr. Kreis, our director, and Bios Capital Management, LP, an entity managed and controlled
by Mr. Aaron Fletcher, are the general partners of Bios Equity I and Bios Equity II. Cavu Advisors LLC, an entity that is managed and
controlled by Mr. Kreis, is the general partner of Cavu Management LP. Bios Advisors GP, LLC, an entity that is managed and controlled
by Mr. Fletcher, is the general partner of Bios Capital Management, LP. The shares owned by Bios Fund I, Bios Fund I QP, Bios Fund II,
Bios Fund II QP, Bios Fund II NT and Bios Directors (“Bios Equity Entities”) are aggregated for purposes of reporting share
ownership information. Mr. Kreis and Mr. Fletcher share voting and investment control with respect to shares held by the Bios Equity Entities.
The address for the Bios Equity Entities is 1751 River Run, Suite 400, Fort Worth, Texas 76107. |
| (10) | Consists of 958,265 shares of common stock. Address is 124 Byte Drive, Frederick, Maryland 21702. |
| (11) | Consists of (i) 313,965 shares of common stock held by GPG LPI Investment, LLC, (ii) 131,697 shares of
common stock held by Lantern 3-19 Investment, LLC, (iii) 15,805 shares of common stock issuable to Lantern 3-19 Investment, LLC upon exercise
of warrants, and (iv) 152,817 shares of common stock held by Health Wildcatters Fund II, LLC. Green Park & Golf Ventures, LLC (“GPGV
I”) is the managing member of the following entities: GPG LPI Investment, LLC and Health Wildcatters Fund II, LLC. Green Park &
Golf Ventures II, LLC (“GPGV II”) is the managing member of Lantern 3-19 Investment, LLC. GPGV I and GPGV II are managed by
Clay M. Heighten, MD, Carl D. Soderstrom and Gilbert G. Garcia II. The shares owned by Lantern 3-19 Investment, LLC, GPG LPI Investment,
LLC, and Health Wildcatters Fund II, LLC (“GPGV Entities”) are aggregated for purposes of reporting share ownership information.
Dr. Heighten and Messrs. Soderstrom and Garcia share voting and investment control with respect to the shares held by the GPGV Entities.
The address for the GPGV Entities is 5910 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1400 Dallas, Texas 75206. |
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND COMPENSATION
Executive Officers
The following sets forth information
regarding the current executive officers of the Company. Biographical information pertaining to Panna Sharma, whom is both a director
and an executive officer of the Company, may be found in the section above entitled “Proposal No. 1, Election of Directors-Information
about Director Nominees.”
Name |
|
Age |
|
Position |
Panna Sharma |
|
51 |
|
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director |
David R. Margrave |
|
62 |
|
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary |
Kishor G. Bhatia |
|
67 |
|
Chief Scientific Officer |
David R. Margrave has
served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2019 and as our Secretary since June 2018. Since January 2016, Mr. Margrave has served
as a life science consultant, providing strategic advisory and legal services to growing life science companies. From January 1995 to
December 2015, he served as an executive officer at BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a life science company focused on advancing innovative
cancer therapies. During his time at BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mr. Margrave served in various positions including service as President
and as Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel. Mr. Margrave has served as a consultant to BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since
January 2016. From April 2015 to December 2016, he also served as Senior Legal Advisor to MedCare Investment Corporation, a private investment
firm investing in the medical and healthcare services industries. Prior to joining BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mr. Margrave was
a partner at Andrews & Kurth LLP, a national law firm. Mr. Margrave serves as Chairman and a board member of the Texas Healthcare
and Bioscience Institute and as Chairman and a board member of the State of Texas Product Development & Small Business Incubator
Board. He is a past board member of the Texas Technology Transfer Association. Mr. Margrave received a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree
in Economics and in Petroleum Engineering from Stanford University, and a J.D. degree from The University of Texas School of Law.
Kishor G. Bhatia has
served as our Chief Scientific Officer since December 2019, and as our scientific consultant since January 2019. Dr. Bhatia has also served
as a scientific consultant to Reprocell, one of our collaborators, since December 2016, and served as a scientific consultant to Cancer
Genetics, Inc. from December 2016 until November 2019. Since 2006, he has been employed as an Adjunct Investigator with the National Cancer
Institute-Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. From January 2007 until July 2016, Dr. Bhatia also served as a Director-AIDS Malignancy
Program at the National Cancer Institute-Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy, and from January 2004 through January 2007, he served as a
Program Director and the Director of HIV and Cancer at the National Cancer Institute-Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. Dr. Bhatia
received a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from the University of Pune and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Mumbai
and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology in the United Kingdom and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and
a Research Assistant Professor at Georgetown University from 1985 to 1989.
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth
information concerning all forms of compensation earned by our named executive officers during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021
and 2020 for services provided to the company and its subsidiaries, which compensation exceeded $100,000.
Name and Principal Position | |
Year | | |
Salary ($) | | |
Bonus ($) | | |
Option Awards ($)(4) | | |
Total ($) | |
Panna Sharma, | |
2021 | | |
$ | 432,000 | | |
$ | 190,000 | | |
$ | - | | |
$ | 622,000 | |
Chief Executive Officer and President(1) | |
2020 | | |
$ | 384,492 | | |
$ | 366,000 | | |
$ | 843,674 | | |
$ | 1,594,166 | |
| |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
David R. Margrave, | |
2021 | | |
$ | 300,000 | | |
$ | 66,000 | | |
$ | 195,315 | | |
$ | 561,315 | |
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary(2) | |
2020 | | |
$ | 225,154 | | |
$ | 73,725 | | |
$ | 862,083 | | |
$ | 1,160,962 | |
| |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
Kishor Bhatia, Ph.D., | |
2021 | | |
$ | 127,928 | | |
$ | 24,000 | | |
$ | 130,212 | | |
$ | 282,140 | |
Chief Scientific Officer(3) | |
2020 | | |
$ | 82,385 | | |
$ | 10,501 | | |
$ | 574,722 | | |
$ | 667,608 | |
| (1) | Mr. Sharma began serving as our Chief Executive and President
on July 26, 2018 and as a director on August 29, 2018. |
| (2) | Mr. Margrave began serving as our Chief Financial Officer in
November 2019 and as our Secretary in June 2018. |
| (3) | Dr. Bhatia began serving as an employee of the company in June
2020. Dr. Bhatia provided services to the company in 2020 as a consultant prior to becoming an employee. The 2020 salary amount in the
table above includes $27,000 in compensation for consulting services paid to Dr. Bhatia in 2020. |
| (4) | For 2021, the fair value of each option granted was estimated
using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the following weighted average assumptions: term between 5.6 and 6.3 years, risk free
rate of between 1.3% and 1.4%, volatility of between 90.3% and 90.6%, and dividend yield of 0.0%. Based on these assumptions, the grant
date fair value is between $7.40 and $7.70 per option share. For 2020, the fair value of each option granted was estimated using the
Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the following weighted average assumptions: term of 7 years, risk free rate of .54%, volatility
of 83.2%, and dividend yield of 0.0%. Based on these assumptions, the grant date fair value is $11.01 per option share. . |
Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table
We have entered into written
employment agreements with the named executive officers, as described below. Each of our named executive officers has also executed our
standard form of confidential information and invention assignment agreement.
Employment Agreement with Panna Sharma
We entered into an employment
agreement with Mr. Sharma on July 23, 2018, that governs the terms of his employment with us as Chief Executive Officer and President.
During the term of the agreement, which has been extended to July 30, 2022, Mr. Sharma was initially entitled to an annual base salary
of $260,000, which was increased to $320,000 in November 2019. Mr. Sharma’s annual base salary increased to $432,000 upon completion
of our initial public offering and listing of our common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market. In January 2022, the agreement was amended
to increase Mr. Sharma’s annual base salary to $449,280, reflecting a 4% cost of living adjustment. Mr. Sharma received a cash bonus
of $366,000 for fiscal year 2020 and a cash bonus of $190,00 for fiscal year 2021. In addition, Mr. Sharma will be entitled to an annual
cash bonus equal to 25% of his annual base salary in future years, subject to the Company achieving certain operational and strategic
milestones to be mutually agreed upon by the Board and Mr. Sharma and to additional discretionary bonuses to be determined by the Compensation
Committee.
As incentive
compensation, on June 15, 2020 Mr. Sharma was granted stock options to purchase 76,628 shares of our common stock under the terms
and conditions of our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan. The exercise price for these options is $15.00 per share. One third of these
options vested 180 days after the grant date with the remaining two thirds of the options vesting in equal monthly increments over a
thirty (30) month period commencing the 181st day after the grant date.
Mr. Sharma also has the right
to participate in the health insurance, vacation and other employee benefit plans and programs generally provided by us to our executive
employees in effect from time to time.
Employment Agreement with David Margrave
We have entered into an employment
agreement with Mr. Margrave that governs the terms of his employment with us as our Chief Financial Officer. The term of the agreement
ends on July 30, 2022. From commencement of the agreement in June 2020 through December 31, 2021, Mr. Margrave received an annual base
salary of $300,000. In January 2022, the agreement was amended to increase Mr. Margrave’s annual base salary to $312,000, reflecting
a 4% cost of living adjustment. In 2020, Mr. Margrave received a signing bonus of $32,500 and also received a cash performance bonus of
$41,225. Mr. Margrave received a cash performance bonus of $66,000 in 2021. In addition, Mr. Margrave will be entitled to an annual cash
bonus equal to 10% of his annual base salary in future years, subject to the Company achieving certain operational and strategic milestones
to be mutually agreed upon by the CEO and Mr. Margrave.
As incentive compensation,
on June 15, 2020 Mr. Margrave was granted stock options to purchase 78,300 shares of our common stock under the terms and conditions of
our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan. The exercise price for these options is $15.00 per share. One third of these options vested 180 days from
the grant date, with the remaining two thirds of the options vesting in equal monthly increments over the period commencing the 181st
day after the grant date and ending 30 months thereafter (or 36 months after the grant date). As incentive compensation, on October 29,
2021 Mr. Margrave was granted stock options to purchase 26,100 shares of our common stock under the terms and conditions of our 2018 Equity
Incentive Plan. The exercise price for these options is $10.21 per share. The options vest and first become exercisable in equal monthly
increments over a 36-month period commencing November 29, 2021.
Mr. Margrave also has the
right to participate in the health insurance, vacation and other employee benefit plans and programs generally provided by us to our executive
employees in effect from time to time.
Employment Agreement with Kishor G. Bhatia, Ph.D.
We have entered into an employment
agreement with Dr. Bhatia that governs the terms of his employment with us as our Chief Scientific Officer. The term of the agreement
ends on July 30, 2022. From commencement of the agreement in June 2020 until March 4, 2021, the employment agreement provided for Dr.
Bhatia to provide a minimum of 20 hours per week as our Chief Scientific Officer and be entitled to an annual base salary of $100,000.
The employment agreement with Dr. Bhatia was amended on March 4, 2021. The amended agreement provided for Dr. Bhatia to provide a minimum
of 26.67 hours per week as our Chief Scientific Officer and be entitled to an annual base salary of $133,333. In January 2022, the agreement
was amended to increase Dr. Bhatia’s annual base salary to $138,666, reflecting a 4% cost of living adjustment. Dr. Bhatia received
a cash performance bonus of $10,501 in 2020 and a cash performance bonus of $24,000 in 2021. In addition, Dr. Bhatia will be entitled
to an annual cash bonus equal to 10% of his annual base salary in future years, subject to the Company achieving certain operational and
strategic milestones to be mutually agreed upon by the CEO and Dr. Bhatia.
As incentive compensation,
on June 15, 2020 Dr. Bhatia was granted stock options to purchase 52,200 shares of our common stock under the terms and conditions of
our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan. The exercise price for these options is $15.00 per share. One third of these options vested 180 days from
the grant date, with the remaining two thirds of the options vesting in equal monthly increments over the period commencing the 181st
day after the grant date and ending 30 months thereafter (or 36 months after the grant date). As incentive compensation, on October 29,
2021 Dr. Bhatia was granted stock options to purchase 17,400 shares of our common stock under the terms and conditions of our 2018 Equity
Incentive Plan. The exercise price for these options is $10.21 per share. The options vest and first become exercisable in equal monthly
increments over a 36-month period commencing November 29, 2021.
Potential Payments upon Termination and Change in Control
Regardless of the manner in
which our named executive officers’ services terminate, each named executive officer is entitled to receive amounts earned during
their terms of service, including unpaid salary. In addition, each named executive officer is eligible to receive certain benefits pursuant
to their employment agreement with us, as described below.
We or the named executive
officer may terminate their employment agreement upon 30 days’ notice to the other party. If the named executive officer is terminated
without cause, then the named executive officer will be entitled to severance pay in an amount equal to the greater of (i) his base salary
for the remainder of the term of the employment agreement or (ii) three months of his base salary. In addition, the named executive officer
shall be entitled to an amount equal to his annual bonus amount prorated through the date of termination, if such bonus is earned in the
calendar year of his termination. The foregoing payments are subject to the named executive officer entering into an agreement releasing
all claims against us. In addition, pursuant to the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, in the event of a change in control, as defined in the
2018 Equity Incentive Plan, all unvested securities owned by a named executive officer shall immediately vest and remain exercisable for
the full term of the option. “Cause” is defined in the named executive officers’ employment agreements to include, but
not limited to, (i) a material breach of the named executive officers’ duties as an employee or obligations under their agreement,
subject to notice and an opportunity to cure such breach, (ii) a breach or threatened breach of the restrictive covenants and confidentiality
provisions under their agreement, (iii) a refusal or failure to follow the reasonable instructions from our Board of Directors, (iv) failure
to achieve any mutually agreed and specified material operational or strategic milestones, (v) a breach of any of our rules or policies
that is likely to have a material adverse effect on us, subject to notice and an opportunity to cure the breach, (vi) a material failure,
other than by reason of disability, to perform satisfactorily to the Board on a regular basis the duties as specified therein, subject
to notice and an opportunity to cure the failure, (vii) any intentional or grossly negligent act or omission that causes or threatens
to cause a material loss to us or our business, (viii) a commission of, indictment for, or conviction or plea of nolo contender to a crime
of moral turpitude or fraud, embezzlement or similar act of dishonesty or any violation of law or rule that materially impairs or injures
us or our reputation, and (ix) any appropriation of any business opportunity belonging to us for the named executive officers’ personal
benefit or the benefits of any family member or affiliated entity.
Benefit Plans
We do not have any profit-sharing
plan or similar plans for the benefit of our officers, directors or employees. However, we may establish such plans in the future.
Perquisites, Health, Welfare and Retirement Benefits
All of our current named executive
officers are eligible to participate in our employee benefit plans, including health insurance for which we pay portions of the premiums,
in each case on the same basis as all of our other employees. We pay portions of the premiums for health insurance for all of our employees,
including our named executive officers. We generally do not provide perquisites or personal benefits to our named executive officers.
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
Our named executive officers
did not participate in, or earn any benefits under, a nonqualified deferred compensation plan sponsored by us during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2021. Our board of directors may elect to provide our officers and other employees with nonqualified defined contribution
or other nonqualified deferred compensation benefits in the future if it determines that doing so is in our best interests.
Amended and Restated 2018 Equity Incentive Plan
The 2018 Equity Incentive
Plan was adopted by the Board of Directors and approved by the stockholders on August 29, 2018, and most recently amended on August 19,
2020. The Company reserved 1,489,680 shares of common stock for issuance under the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, of which options to purchase
905,826 shares of our common stock are outstanding as of the date of this proxy statement. In addition, as of the date of this Proxy Statement,
the Board of Directors has granted a restricted stock award of 68,512 shares pursuant to the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan.
Outstanding Equity Awards at December 31, 2021
The following table sets forth
certain information concerning equity awards held by our named officers as of December 31, 2021:
|
|
Option Awards |
|
Name |
|
Award
Grant Date |
|
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
Exercisable |
|
|
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
Unexercisable |
|
|
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned
Options |
|
|
Option
Exercise
Price
($) |
|
|
Option
Expiration
Date |
|
Panna Sharma, |
|
8/29/2018 |
|
|
199,558 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
1.03 |
|
|
8/28/2028 |
|
Chief Executive Officer, and |
|
12/17/2018 |
|
|
219,302 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
1.03 |
|
|
12/16/2028 |
|
President(1)(4) |
|
6/15/2020 |
|
|
45,966 |
|
|
|
30,662 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
15.00 |
|
|
6/14/2030 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
David Margrave, |
|
6/15/2020 |
|
|
46,980 |
|
|
|
31,320 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
15.00 |
|
|
6/14/2030 |
|
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary(2)(4) |
|
10/29/2021 |
|
|
1,450 |
|
|
|
24,650 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
10.21 |
|
|
10/28/2031 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kishor Bhatia, Ph.D. |
|
6/15/2020 |
|
|
31,320 |
|
|
|
20,880 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
15.00 |
|
|
6/14/2030 |
|
Chief Scientific Officer(3)(4) |
|
10/29/2021 |
|
|
966 |
|
|
|
16,434 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
$ |
10.21 |
|
|
10/28/2031 |
|
| (1) | Mr. Sharma began serving as our Chief Executive and President
on July 26, 2018 and as a director on August 29, 2018. |
| (2) | Mr. Margrave began serving as our Chief Financial Officer in
November 2019 and as our Secretary in June 2018. |
| (3) | Dr. Bhatia began serving as our Chief Scientific Officer
in December 2019. |
| (4) | No options were exercised by the above-named individuals in
2021 or 2020. |
Director Compensation
Below is a summary of compensation
accrued or paid to our non-executive directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.
Name | |
Fees
Earned or Paid in
Cash ($) | | |
Option Awards(1) ($) | | |
Total ($) | |
Donald J. Keyser | |
$ | 17,667 | | |
$ | 24,224 | | |
$ | 41,891 | |
David S. Silberstein | |
$ | 7,667 | | |
$ | 24,224 | | |
$ | 31,891 | |
Les Kreis(2) | |
$ | 12,667 | | |
$ | 24,224 | | |
$ | 36,891 | |
Vijay Chandru | |
$ | 7,667 | | |
$ | 24,224 | | |
$ | 31,891 | |
Frank Prendergast | |
$ | 12,667 | | |
$ | 24,224 | | |
$ | 36,891 | |
| (1) | Based on an option grant to each non-executive director of options to purchase 3,200 shares of common
stock, and a fair value of $7.57 per option share. For 2021, the fair value of each option granted was estimated using the Black-Scholes
option-pricing model using the following weighted average assumptions: term of 5.77 years, risk free rate of 1.2%, volatility of 90.69%,
and dividend yield of 0.0%. Based on these assumptions, the grant date fair value is $7.57 per option share. |
| (2) | The cash payments for Mr. Kreis’ Board service and service as Compensation Committee Chair and the
option grant for Mr. Kreis’ Board service were made to BP Directors, LP. |
Effective upon the closing
of our initial public offering, our Audit Committee Chair began receiving a cash fee of $10,000 per year and our Compensation Committee
Chair and our Governance and Nominating Committee Chair began receiving a cash fee of $5,000 per year. In addition, effective November
1, 2021, each of our non-executive directors began receiving a cash fee of $46,000 per year for their Board service, $7,667 of which was
paid to each non-executive director in 2021.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In addition to the compensation
arrangements, including employment, termination of employment and change in control arrangements discussed elsewhere in this Proxy Statement,
the following is a description of each transaction since January 1, 2020 to which we were a party or will be a party, in which:
| ● | the amounts involved exceeded or will exceed the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total
assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years; and |
| ● | any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or any member
of the immediate family of, or person sharing the household with, the foregoing persons, had or will have a direct or indirect material
interest. |
In May 2021, we entered into
a Collaboration Agreement with Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. (“Actuate”), a clinical stage private biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development of compounds for use in the treatment of cancer, and inflammatory diseases leading to fibrosis. Pursuant to
the agreement, we are collaborating with Actuate on utilization of our RADR® platform to develop novel biomarker derived signatures
for use with one of Actuate’s product candidates. As part of the collaboration, we received 25,000 restricted shares of Actuate
stock, subject to meeting certain conditions of the collaboration, as well as the potential to receive additional Actuate stock if results
from the collaboration are utilized in future development efforts. Our director Mr. Kreis is also a director of Actuate. Affiliates of
Mr. Kreis hold substantial beneficial ownership interests in both the Company and Actuate.
Policies and Procedures for Related Party Transactions
Our audit committee has the
primary responsibility for reviewing and approving or disapproving “related party transactions,” which are transactions between
us and related persons in which the aggregate amount involved exceeds or may be expected to exceed the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the
average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which a related person has or will have a direct
or indirect material interest. Our policy regarding transactions between us and related persons provides that a related person is defined
as a director, executive officer, nominee for director or greater than 5% beneficial owner of our common stock, in each case since the
beginning of the most recently completed year and any of their immediate family members. Our audit committee charter provides that our
audit committee will review and approve or disapprove any related party transactions.
OTHER MATTERS
Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations for 2023 Annual
Meeting
For any proposal, other than
director nominees, to be considered for inclusion in our Proxy Statement and form of proxy for submission to the stockholders at our 2023
annual meeting pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, it must be submitted in writing and comply with the requirements
of Rule 14a-8. Such proposals must be received by the Company at its offices at 1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor, Dallas, Texas
75201 on or before January 1, 2023; provided, however, that if our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders is held before May 8, 2023 or after
July 8, 2023, then the deadline is a reasonable amount of time prior to the date we begin to print and mail our proxy statement for the
2023 annual meeting of stockholders. In addition, pursuant to the proxy access provisions of our
bylaws, a stockholder, or group of up to 10 stockholders, that has owned continuously for at least three years shares of our common stock
representing an aggregate of at least 3% of our outstanding shares, may nominate and include in our proxy materials director nominees
constituting up to the greater of two or 20% of our Board, provided that the stockholder(s) and nominee(s) satisfy the requirements in
the proxy access provisions of our bylaws. Notice of proxy access director nominees must be received not earlier than the close of business
on December 2, 2022 and not later than the close of business on January 1, 2023. Our Board will review any proposals from eligible
stockholders that it receives by the required date and will make a determination whether any such proposals will be included in our proxy
materials. Any proposal received after the required date shall be considered untimely and shall not be made a part of our proxy materials.
A stockholder who wishes
to make a proposal, including director nominees other than through proxy access, at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders without
including the proposal in our proxy statement must also notify us no later than February 6, 2023 and not earlier than January 7,
2023; provided, however, if our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders is held prior to May 8, 2023 or after August 6, 2023, then to be
timely the proposal should be received by us not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the
2023 annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of: (1) the 90th day prior to the 2023
annual meeting and (2) the close of business on the tenth day following the first date of our public disclosure of the date of the
2023 annual meeting. If a stockholder fails to give us advance notice in accordance with the foregoing, then, except as otherwise
required by law, the chair of the 2023 annual meeting shall have the power and duty to declare that any such nomination shall be
disregarded or that any such proposal shall not be transacted.
Householding of Proxy Materials
The SEC has adopted rules
that permit companies and intermediaries (such as banks and brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for proxy statements and annual
reports with respect to two or more stockholders sharing the same address by delivering a single proxy statement addressed to those stockholders.
This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially means extra convenience for stockholders and cost
savings for companies.
This year, a number of banks
and brokers with account holders who are our stockholders will be householding our proxy materials. A single proxy statement will be delivered
to multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected stockholders. Once you have
received notice from your bank or broker that it will be householding communications to your address, householding will continue until
you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in householding and would
prefer to receive a separate proxy statement and annual report, please notify your bank or broker, direct your written request to Lantern
Pharma Inc., 1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor, Dallas, Texas 75201, Attention: Investor Relations, or contact Investor Relations
by telephone at 628-777-3153; or find our materials posted online at https://ir.lanternpharma.com/. Stockholders who currently
receive multiple copies of the proxy statement at their address and would like to request householding of their communications should
contact their bank or broker.
Other Matters
We will also consider any
other business that properly comes before the Annual Meeting, or any adjournment or postponement thereof. As of the record date, we are
not aware of any other matters to be submitted for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before
the Annual Meeting, the persons designated as proxies will vote the shares they represent using their best judgment.
Incorporation by Reference
Notwithstanding anything
to the contrary set forth in any of our previous filings under the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act, which might incorporate future
filings made by us under those statutes, the preceding Audit Committee Report will not be incorporated by reference into any of those
prior filings, nor will any such report be incorporated by reference into any future filings made by us under those statutes. In addition,
information on our website, other than our Proxy Statement, notice and form of proxy, is not part of the proxy soliciting materials and
is not incorporated herein by reference.
|
By Order of the Board of Directors |
|
|
|
/s/ Donald J. Keyser |
|
Donald J. Keyser, |
|
Chairman of the Board of Directors |
Dallas, Texas
April 26, 2022
A copy of the Company’s Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 is available without charge upon written request to: Corporate Secretary, Lantern
Pharma Inc., 1920 McKinney Avenue, 7th Floor, Dallas, Texas 75201.
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