Burleson女士自2019年7月起擔任董事會成員。Burleson女士自2007年起擔任醫療研發機構TGen首席運營官,並自2009年起擔任風險投資公司TGen Health Ventures, LLC的總裁。她還擔任生命科學行業的銀行家和投資者顧問。加入TGen之前,Burleson女士曾於1997年至2007年在Lovelace Health System企業擔任首席財務官,1993年至1997年擔任Lovelace Scientific Resources總裁,以及1990年至1993年在KPMG擔任高級合夥人。Burleson女士獲得了安德森學院(Robert O. Anderson School)的工商管理學士學位。
自2019年7月起,Hanish先生擔任董事會成員。Hanish先生曾在藥品公司Eli Lilly and Company擔任各種管理職務,包括副總裁兼首席會計官。在加入Eli Lilly and Company之前,Hanish先生曾在埃森·揚會計事務所(目前爲安永)從1970年至1984年擔任多個職位,包括1979年至1984年間的印第安納波利斯辦事處的稅務董事。Hanish先生還擔任Deloitte和Touche LLP(一家專業服務公司)審計質量審查委員會的成員,任期爲2013年至2023年。此外,自2012年9月以來,Hanish先生一直擔任奧麥羅製藥公司(納斯達克:OMER)董事會成員,並擔任其審計委員會主席。從2007年至2010年,Hanish先生擔任財務高管國際公司報告委員會主席,並曾是其證券交易委員會和公開公司會計監督委員會("PCAOB")分委員會的成員。2016年,Hanish先生被授予財務高管國際名人堂的稱號。從2004年至2008年,以及2011年和2012年,Hanish先生是PCAOB的常設諮詢小組成員,這是一個非營利性的審計監督組織。自2010年以來,Hanish先生一直在辛辛那提大學商學院的工商業務顧問委員會任職,並最近獲得了該校商學院頒發的傑出服務獎。Hanish先生在辛辛那提大學取得了會計學士學位,並是印第安納州和俄亥俄州的註冊會計師。
2020年4月24日,我們與致富金融(臨時代碼)和首席財務官Mark J. Rosenblum簽訂了一份執行僱傭協議(以下簡稱「Rosenblum協議」)。根據Rosenblum協議,Rosen先生最初的年薪爲26.5萬美元。Rosen先生也有資格參加我們所有提供給高管的福利計劃、額外福利和其他可能不時提供給高管的計劃。在2021年12月,Rosen先生的基本工資提高至30萬美元,該提高於2022年1月1日生效。在2022年11月,Rosen先生的基本工資增加至33萬美元,該提高於2023年1月1日生效。 2024年2月20日,我們與Rosenblum協議進行了修訂,以提供給Rosen先生按照該協議第5(c)(i)款所應享有的任何離職補償權利,可以選擇分期平均分配或一次性支付。
(3)Represents (i) 2,731 shares of common stock and (ii) 1,623 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024.
(4)Includes (i) 340 shares of common stock, (ii) 345 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024, and (iii) 21 warrants to purchase shares of common stock.
(5)Includes (i) 412 shares of common stock, (ii) 345 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024, and (iii) 21 warrants to purchase shares common stock.
(6)Includes (i) 368 shares of common stock, (ii) 315 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024.
(7)Includes (i) 215 shares of common stock and (ii) 345 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024.
(8)Includes (i) 180 shares of common stock, (ii) 345 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of April 21, 2022, and (iii) 43 warrants to purchase shares of common stock.
(9)Includes (i) 357 shares of common stock, (ii) 345 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024, and (iii) 43 warrants to purchase shares of common stock.
(10)Includes (i) 10,745 shares of common stock, (ii)9,007 shares of common stock subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of October 25, 2024, and (iii) 138 warrants to purchase shares of common stock that are held by our executive officers and directors as a group.
32
CERTAIN RELATED-PERSON TRANSACTIONS
The following includes a summary of transactions since January 1, 2022 to which we have been a party, in which the amount involved in the transaction exceeded the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any of our directors, executive officers or, to our knowledge, beneficial owners of more than 5% of our capital stock or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than equity and other compensation, termination, change of control, and other arrangements, which are described under “Executive Compensation.”
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and our stockholders. A stockholder’s investment may decline in value to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Policies and Procedures for Transactions with Related Persons
including any of their immediate family members and affiliates, including entities owned or controlled by such persons.
Under the policy, the related person in question or, in the case of transactions with a holder of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, an officer with knowledge of the proposed transaction, must present information regarding the proposed related person transaction to our Audit Committee (or, where review by our Audit Committee would be inappropriate, to another independent body of our Board) for review. To identify related person transactions in advance, we rely on information supplied by our executive officers, directors, and certain significant stockholders. In considering related person transactions, our Audit Committee considers the relevant available facts and circumstances, which may include, but not limited to:
•the risks, costs, and benefits to us;
•the impact on a director’s independence in the event the related person is a director, immediate family member of a director or an entity with which a director is affiliated;
•the terms of the transaction;
•the availability of other sources for comparable services or products; and
•the terms available to or from, as the case may be, unrelated third parties.
Our Audit Committee will approve only those transactions that it determines are fair to us and in our best interests.
34
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
The following report of the Audit Committee does not constitute soliciting material and shall not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any other filing by the Company under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any such filing.
The Audit Committee is a committee of the Board comprised solely of independent directors as required by the listing standards of Nasdaq and rules and regulations of the SEC. The Audit Committee provides assistance to the Board in fulfilling its legal and fiduciary obligations in matters involving the Company’s accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions by approving the services performed by the Company’s independent registered public accountants and reviewing their reports regarding the Company’s accounting practices and systems of internal accounting controls as set forth in a written charter adopted by the Board, which is available on the Company’s website at http://www.salariuspharma.com. The composition and responsibilities of the Audit Committee, as reflected in its charter, are intended to be in accordance with applicable requirements. The Audit Committee reviews and assesses the adequacy of its charter and the Audit Committee’s performance on an annual basis.
The Audit Committee has discussed with management the procedures for selection of consultants and fully considered whether those services provided by the independent registered public accountants are compatible with maintaining such accountants’ independence. The Audit Committee has discussed with the Company’s management and its independent registered public accountants, with and without management present, their evaluations of the Company’s internal accounting controls and the overall quality of the Company’s financial reporting.
In reliance on the reviews and discussions with management and the independent registered public accountants referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board, and the Board has approved, the inclusion of the audited financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, for filing with the SEC.
In addition, the Audit Committee has selected Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to audit our books, records and accounts and our subsidiaries for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
Respectfully submitted,
Mr. Arnold C. Hanish, Chair
Ms. Tess Burleson
Mr. Jonathan Lieber
35
PROPOSAL 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Directors and Nominees
Our Board consists of seven (7) directors which are divided into three classes: Class I, Class II, and Class III. Each class has a three-year term.
Our Board, upon the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, has nominated Tess Burleson and Paul Lammers as nominees for election as Class III directors at the Annual Meeting. If elected at the Annual Meeting, these directors would serve until the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2027 or until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified or until such individual’s earlier resignation, removal, death or incapacity. If any nominee is unable or declines to serve as director at the time of the Annual Meeting, an event not now anticipated, proxies will be voted for any nominee designated by our Board to fill the vacancy.
Biographical information and the attributes, skills and experience of each nominee that led our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Board to determine that such nominee should serve as a director are discussed in the “Directors and Executive Officers” section of this proxy statement and is incorporated into this section by reference.
Required Vote
Directors are elected by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the capital stock and entitled to vote present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting. Further, if the majority of the votes cast for a director are marked “AGAINST” or “ABSTAIN” then notwithstanding the valid election of such director, the Bylaws stipulate that such director will voluntarily tender his or her resignation for consideration by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our Board will determine whether to accept the resignation of such director, taking into account the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF TESS BURLESON AND PAUL LAMMBER AS CLASS III DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY.
36
PROPOSAL 2
NON-BINDING ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The Dodd-Frank Act requires that we provide our stockholders with the opportunity to vote to approve, on a nonbinding, advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this proxy statement in accordance with the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC.
Our executive compensation programs are designed to reward our named executive officers for the achievement of short-term and long-term strategic and operational goals, while at the same time avoiding the encouragement of unnecessary or excessive risk taking. Stockholders are encouraged to read the Executive Compensation section of this proxy statement for a more detailed discussion of how our compensation programs reflect our objectives.
We are asking our stockholders to indicate their support for our named executive officer compensation as described in this proxy statement. This proposal, commonly known as a “say-on-pay” proposal, gives our stockholders the opportunity to express their views on our named executive officers’ compensation. This vote is advisory, which means that the vote on executive compensation is not binding on us, our Board or the Compensation Committee. This vote is not intended to address any specific item of compensation, but rather the vote relates to the compensation of our named executive officers as a whole, as described in this proxy statement in accordance with the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC. Accordingly, we will ask our stockholders to vote for the following resolution at the Annual Meeting:
“RESOLVED, that the Company’s stockholders approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed in the Company’s proxy statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC, including the Summary Compensation Table and the other related tables and disclosure.”
Required Vote
Approval of the compensation of our named executive officers on a non-binding advisory basis requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the capital stock entitled to vote and present in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting. An abstention has the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” Proposal 2. Broker non-votes will have no effect.
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL, ON A NON-BINDING ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS.
37
PROPOSAL 3
RATIFICATION OF THE SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTING FIRM
Our Audit Committee, which is composed entirely of non-employee independent directors, has selected Ernst & Young LLP as independent accountants to audit our books, records, and accounts and our subsidiaries for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. Our Board has endorsed this appointment. Ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP by stockholders is not required by law. However, as a matter of good corporate practice, such selection is being submitted to the stockholders for ratification at the Annual Meeting. If the stockholders do not ratify the selection, our Board and the Audit Committee will reconsider whether or not to retain Ernst & Young LLP, but may retain Ernst & Young LLP. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may change the appointment at any time during the year if it determines that such change would be in our best interests the best interests of our stockholders. Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting. They will have an opportunity to make a statement, if they desire to do so, and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Current Independent Registered Public Account Firm Fees
The following table presents fees from professional audit services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, for the audit of our annual financial statements (including services performed for Flex Pharma) for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, and fees billed for other services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP during those period as set forth below:
Years Ended December 31,
Services Provided
2023
2022
Audit fees (1)
$235,000
$234,000
Audit-related fees (2)
-
-
Tax fees (3)
-
-
All other fees (4)
$63,000
$66,000
Total
$298,000
$300,000
(1) Consists of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements and services provided in connection with our registration statements.
(2) Represents the aggregate fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of the Company’s consolidated financial statements that are not reported under “audit fees.”
(3) Consists of fees billed for tax compliance, tax advice, tax planning and tax return preparation.
(4) Consists of fees billed for services, other than those described above under Audit fees and Tax fees.
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures