UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers
On March 1, 2024, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Mr. Marshall H. Woodworth, age 66, as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, effective as of March 1, 2024.
From October 27, 2023 through February 29, 2024, Mr. Woodworth served as Acting Chief Financial Officer of the Company pursuant to an engagement agreement between the Company and WhiteCap Search Holdings, LLC, dated February 3, 2023. From October 27, 2023 through February 29, 2024, Mr. Woodworth received his compensation and benefits from WhiteCap Search Holdings, LLC. On March 1, 2024, in connection with the appointment of Mr. Woodworth as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, the Company terminated the engagement agreement with WhiteCap Search Holdings, LLC.
From May 2017 through May 2023, Mr. Woodworth served as the Chief Financial Officer of Nevakar Inc. and its respective subsidiaries (Nevakar Injectables Inc. and Vyluma Inc.), where Mr. Woodworth was responsible for the accounting, financing, legal and human resources functions. From October 2015 through October 2016, Mr. Woodworth served as the Chief Financial Officer of Braeburn Pharmaceuticals Inc., where Mr. Woodworth led and coordinated the accounting, finance and treasury functions. From May 2014 to July 2015, Mr. Woodworth served as the Chief Financial Officer of Aerocrine AB, where Mr. Woodworth had responsibility for directing and coordinating the accounting and finance, FRS (Swedish SEC) reporting, investor relations, human resources and legal aspects of the company. From January 2010 through February 2014, Mr. Woodworth served as Chief Financial Officer of Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: FURX), where Mr. Woodworth led a multi-disciplinary team and managed accounting, finance, SEC reporting, financial planning, analysis and reporting, and treasury functions. Mr. Woodworth received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Indiana University.
On March 1, 2024, the Company and Mr. Woodworth entered into an employment agreement (the “Employment Agreement”). The Employment Agreement has an initial term (the “Initial Term”) of two (2) years beginning on March 1, 2024 and automatically renews for an additional one year period at the end of the Initial Term and each anniversary thereafter (a “Renewal Term”) provided that at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term the Board does not notify Mr. Woodworth of its intention not to renew.
The Employment Agreement entitles Mr. Woodworth to an annual base salary of $380,000, reviewed annually. Mr. Woodworth is also eligible for annual incentive compensation targeted at 40% of his base salary. Pursuant to the terms of the Employment Agreement, Mr. Woodworth was granted, effective as of Mr. Woodworth’s first day of employment with the Company (the “Grant Date”), a restricted stock unit award for 33,496 shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to the terms of a RSU grant notice and form award agreement (the “RSU Award”) under the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”). The RSU Award vests as follows: (i) 30% of the shares underlying the RSU Award on the first anniversary of the Grant Date; (ii) 30% of the shares underlying the RSU Award on the second anniversary of the Grant Date; and (iii) the remaining shares subject to the RSU Award, shall vest and become exercisable in equal monthly installments on the last day of each full month over the twelve (12) months following the second anniversary of Grant Date. If during the period while Mr. Woodworth is employed by the Company, the Company consummates a Change in Control (as defined in the Employment Agreement) and the RSU Award is not assumed, continued or substituted by the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or the surviving or acquiring corporation’s parent company) in such Change in Control in the manner contemplated by the 2022 Plan, then 100% of the unvested portion of the RSU Award shall fully vest immediately prior to the effectiveness of such Change in Control.
In the event of Mr. Woodworth’s death during the employment period or a termination due to disability, Mr. Woodworth or his beneficiaries or legal representatives shall be entitled to receive any annual base salary earned, but unpaid, for services rendered to the Company on or prior to the date on which the employment period ends, unreimbursed expenses and certain other benefits provided for in the Employment Agreement (the “Unconditional Entitlements”). In the event of termination for cause by the Company or the termination of employment as a result of resignation without good reason, Mr. Woodworth shall be provided the Unconditional Entitlements.
In the event of a resignation by Mr. Woodworth for good reason or the exercise by the Company of its right to terminate Mr. Woodworth other than for cause, death or disability, Mr. Woodworth will receive the Unconditional Entitlements and, subject to Mr. Woodworth signing and delivering to the Company and not revoking a general release of claims in favor of the Company and certain related parties, the Company shall pay a severance amount to Mr. Woodworth equal to twenty-
five percent (25%) of Mr. Woodworth’s then-current annual base salary (the “Severance Amount”) and pay for Mr. Woodworth’s continued health insurance coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (known as COBRA) for a period of three (3) months (the “Conditional Benefits”).
In the event of a resignation by Mr. Woodworth for good reason or the exercise by the Company of its right to terminate Mr. Woodworth other than for cause, death or disability, in each case, within twelve (12) months following or three (3) months prior to the effective date of a Change in Control, Mr. Woodworth will receive the following: (i) the Unconditional Entitlements and the Conditional Benefits less the Severance Amount; (ii) an amount equal to the product of 0.50 times the sum of Mr. Woodworth’s annual base salary and target annual cash bonus, less the Non-Compete Amount as defined in the Employment Agreement (if applicable); and (iii) accelerated vesting of all equity awards that were assumed, continued or substituted by the surviving or acquiring corporation in the Change in Control and remain subject to time-based vesting conditions, if any.
In addition to the Employment Agreement, Mr. Woodworth entered into an Employee Proprietary Information and Invention Assignment Agreement that applies during the term of Mr. Woodworth employment and thereafter. In connection with the Company entering into the Employment Agreement with Mr. Woodworth, the Company also entered into its standard form of indemnification agreement for directors and officers with Mr. Woodworth, a copy of which was previously filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Form 8-K filed on December 31, 2019, and is incorporated herein by reference, with Mr. Woodworth. Pursuant to the terms of the indemnification agreement, the Company may be required, among other things, to indemnify Mr. Woodworth for some expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred in any action or proceeding arising out of his service to as an executive officer of the Company.
Except as described above, there are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Woodworth and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Woodworth was named as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer, and Principal Accounting Officer. Mr. Woodworth does not have any family relationship with any of the Company’s directors or executive officers or any persons nominated or chosen by the Company to be a director or executive officer. Mr. Woodworth does not have any direct or indirect material interest in any transaction or proposed transaction required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
The foregoing description of the Employment Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Employment Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and the form of RSU Award Grant Notice and Award Agreement under the 2022 Plan, which was previously filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 22, 2022, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7.01.Regulation FD Disclosure
On March 4, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Woodworth as Chief Executive Officer and President. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated into this Item 7.01 by reference.
The information in this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K and Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto is intended to be furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Item 9.01.Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit |
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10.1 | ||
99.1 | Press release issued by NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on March 4, 2024, furnished herewith. | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within Inline XBRL document). |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| NEUROBO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | ||
Date: March 4, 2024 | By: | /s/ Hyung Heon Kim | |
Hyung Heon Kim | |||
President and Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit 10.1
Employment Agreement
THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) by and between NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Marshall H. Woodworth (the “Executive”) is entered into by the Company and the Executive and made effective as of March 1, 2024 (the “Effective Date”).
Recitals
Whereas, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and the Company’s stockholders to employ the Executive commencing on the Effective Date;
Whereas, the Company and the Executive desire to enter into this Agreement to embody the terms of the Executive’s continued relationship with the Company following the Effective Date; and
Whereas, this Agreement shall represent the entire understanding and agreement between the parties with respect to the Executive’s employment with the Company.
Agreement
Now, Therefore, in consideration of the foregoing, and for other good and valuable consideration, including the respective covenants and agreements set forth below, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
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The foregoing provisions of this Section 3(e)(iii)(A) and (B) shall not apply to any payments or benefits that are excluded from the definition of “nonqualified deferred compensation” under Section 409A, including, without limitation, payments excluded from the definition of “nonqualified deferred compensation” on account of being separation pay due to an involuntary separation from service under Treasury Regulation 1.409A-1(b)(9)(iii) or on account of being a “short-term deferral” under Treasury Regulation 1.409A-1(b)(4).
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Notwithstanding the foregoing definition, the term Change in Control will not include: (i) a sale of assets, merger or other transaction effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company; moreover, in the case of any payment or benefit that constitutes nonqualified deferred compensation under Section 409A, if necessary in order to ensure that the Executive does not incur liability for additional tax under Section 409A, a transaction (or series of related transactions) shall constitute a Change in Control only if, in addition to satisfying the foregoing definition, such transaction (or series of related transactions) also satisfies the definition of a “change in control event” under Treasury Regulation 1.409A-3(i)(5); or (ii) a Change in Control triggered as a result the exercise or conversion of the Company’s securities outstanding as of the Effective Date.
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Exhibit 10.1
In Witness Whereof, the Company and the Executive have executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.
The Executive: /s/ Marshall H. Woodworth Marshall H. Woodworth | The Company: By: /s/ Hyung Heon Kim Name: Hyung Heon Kim Title: President and CEO |
Signature Page to
Employment Agreement
Exhibit 99.1
NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals Appoints Seasoned Life Science Executive
Marshall Woodworth as Chief Financial Officer
CAMBRIDGE March 4, 2024 – NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRBO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on transforming cardiometabolic diseases of cardiometabolic diseases, today announced the appointment of Marshall Woodworth as Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, effective March 1, 2024, following his tenure as Acting Chief Financial Officer since October 27, 2023.
“Marshall’s decades of experience as a Chief Financial Officer for a variety of pharmaceutical and medical device companies makes him an obvious choice to appoint as a permanent Chief Financial Officer following his tenure in the acting role for the last few months,” stated Hyung Heon Kim, President and Chief Executive Officer of NeuroBo. “We look forward to continuing to leverage Marshall’s operational and transactional experience as we advance the clinical development of our two, next generation cardiometabolic assets that address the metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and obesity markets, DA-1241 and DA-1726. I am confident that Marshall will continue to play a pivotal role in our company's success, providing strategic guidance crucial to achieving our multiple, near-term, value creating milestones.”
Mr. Woodworth added, “I look forward to continuing my role on NeuroBo’s executive team as we continue to advance toward our clinical milestones including reporting the full data from our Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating DA-1241 for the treatment of MASH in the second half of this year. Following the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of our Investigational New Drug (IND) application, I also eagerly anticipate the initiation of our phase 1 clinical trial during the first half of this year, investigating the safety and tolerability of DA-1726 in obesity. I am thoroughly optimistic about NeuroBo’s future and committed to contributing to its success.”
Prior to joining NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, from May 2017 through May 2023, Mr. Woodworth served as the Chief Financial Officer at Nevakar, Inc., where he was responsible for the accounting, financing, legal and human resources functions. Prior to that, Mr. Woodworth served as the Chief Financial Officer of Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led and coordinated the accounting, finance and treasury functions. Earlier, Mr. Woodworth served as the Chief Financial Officer at Aerocrine AB, and, before that, held the position of Chief Financial Officer at Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Mr. Woodworth earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering and geology from the University of Maryland as well as Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University Bloomington.
About NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals
NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on transforming cardiometabolic diseases. The company is currently developing DA-1241 for the treatment of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), and is developing DA-1726 for the treatment of obesity. DA-1241 is a novel G-protein-coupled receptor 119 (GPR119) agonist that promotes the release of key gut peptides GLP-1, GIP, and PYY. In preclinical studies, DA-1241 demonstrated a positive effect on liver inflammation, lipid metabolism, weight loss, and glucose
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metabolism, reducing hepatic steatosis, hepatic inflammation, and liver fibrosis, while also improving glucose control. DA-1726 is a novel oxyntomodulin (OXM) analogue that functions as a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) and glucagon receptor (GCGR) dual agonist. OXM is a naturally-occurring gut hormone that activates GLP1R and GCGR, thereby decreasing food intake while increasing energy expenditure, thus potentially resulting in superior body weight loss compared to selective GLP1R agonists.
For more information, please visit www.neurobopharma.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “seeks”, “approximately”, “intends”, “projects,” “plans”, “estimates” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this release, including, without limitation, those risks associated with NeuroBo’s ability to execute on its commercial strategy; the timeline for regulatory submissions; ability to obtain regulatory approval through the development steps of NeuroBo’s current and future product candidates, the ability to realize the benefits of the license agreement with Dong-A ST Co. Ltd., including the impact on future financial and operating results of NeuroBo; the cooperation of our contract manufacturers, clinical study partners and others involved in the development of NeuroBo’s current and future product candidates; potential negative interactions between our product candidates and any other products with which they are combined for treatment; NeuroBo’s ability to initiate and complete clinical trials on a timely basis; our ability to recruit subjects for its clinical trials; whether NeuroBo receives results from NeuroBo’s clinical trials that are consistent with the results of pre-clinical and previous clinical trials; impact of costs related to the license agreement, known and unknown, including costs of any litigation or regulatory actions relating to the license agreement; effects of changes in applicable laws or regulations; effects of changes to NeuroBo’s stock price on the terms of the license agreement and any future fundraising; and other risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made. NeuroBo does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contacts:
NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals
Marshall H. Woodworth
Interim Chief Financial Officer
+1-857-299-1033
marshall.woodworth@neurobopharma.com
Rx Communications Group
Michael Miller
+1-917-633-6086
mmiller@rxir.com
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