UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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SCHEDULE 14A
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Proxy Statement Pursuant to
Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment
No. )
Filed by the Registrant
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Filed by a Party other than the Registrant
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Check the appropriate box:
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Preliminary Proxy Statement
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Confidential, for Use of the
Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
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Definitive Proxy Statement
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Definitive Additional Materials
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Soliciting Material Under §240.14a-12
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NeuroOne
Medical Technologies Corporation
(Name of Registrant as
Specified In Its Charter)
N/A
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):
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No fee required.
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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
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Fee computed on table in exhibit required by
Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
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April 29, 2022
Dear Valued Shareholders,
We would like to extend a warm welcome to you to attend our 2022
annual meeting of stockholders, to be held at 7599 Anagram Dr.,
Eden Prairie, MN 55344, on May 31, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.
local time.
I would like to share with you our highlights from fiscal year 2021
along with what you should expect to hear from us in 2022. Our
focus remains on patients suffering from epilepsy, chronic back
pain, and Parkinson’s disease. We continue to explore other
potential applications of our technology and hope to initiate a
research institution partnership in fiscal 2022 for a new
application.
As we continue to develop our platform thin film electrode
technology, we remain confident it will represent a
transformational tool for neurosurgeons and neurologists. I
want to reiterate that it will require patience, time, and
continued resources to accomplish this goal. We remain focused on
developing our technology to be less invasive, reduce the number of
required surgeries, reduce costs, and ultimately improve patients’
lives. I mentioned in last year’s shareholder letter
NeuroOne’s interest in investigating opportunities through
potential collaborations with, or acquisitions of complementary
technologies when and if it makes sense. I believe we are on
the way to making a meaningful impact in patients’ lives and have
been encouraged by positive feedback from physicians and patients
who are excited to see our products in the market.
Highlights
from Fiscal Year 2021
• Financing — The
Company completed an equity raise in the amount of $12.5M in
January of 2021 to provide capital for a variety of objectives
including FDA submission for the Evo sEEG product family, product
development of our ablation electrode and chronic use stimulation
electrodes, infrastructure additions, and commercialization
efforts. We were pleased to welcome highly sophisticated
institutional investors as part of the financing.
• Nasdaq
Uplisting — In May 2021, the Company
successfully completed an uplisting to The Nasdaq Capital Market.
This was an exciting milestone that was made possible through the
capital raise in January as well as the conversion of all
outstanding debt in December of 2020. We believe our Nasdaq listing
will help to broaden our investor network with the potential of
attracting additional sophisticated institutional investors.
• Submission of Evo sEEG
Electrode Family to the FDA for 510(k) Clearance —
In May of 2021, we submitted
an application to the FDA for 510(k) clearance for our Evo
sEEG electrode product line. The FDA provided clearance for less
than 24 hours use with recording, monitoring, and stimulation
equipment for the recording, monitoring, and stimulation of
electrical signals at the subsurface level of the brain. We
submitted an additional 510(k) submission to the FDA in
September 2021 requesting clearance for less than 30 days
use.
• Ablation
Electrode — In September of 2021, we were excited
to announce the successful completion of feasibility testing of our
combination recording and ablation electrode performed by
Dr. Robert Gross of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. As a
reminder, the device is designed with the intention of being able
to perform both the diagnostic and ablation function using the same
device. This has the potential to reduce the number of epilepsy
surgeries required as part of the same hospitalization. As stated
previously, we believe that having both procedures performed during
the same hospital stay, without requiring removal of the sEEG
electrodes and implantation of other ablation devices would reduce
risk, hospitalization time, and cost for the patient.
• Partnership with RBC
Medical — In August of 2021, the Company announced
a partnership with RBC Medical, a hardware and software developer
and manufacturer with extensive experience with radio frequency
(RF) ablation technology. RBC Medical is developing hardware for
exclusive use with
our ablation electrode. This will allow NeuroOne to offer a
complete system for procedures using the same sEEG electrodes for
recording and ablation of brain tissue. This also allows us to
remain focused on the development of the electrode and accessories
while taking advantage of the hardware and software experience from
RBC Medical. In addition, this eliminates any potential
compatibility issues with connecting to other manufacturer’s
systems.
• Chronic Electrode
Development — In July of 2021, we initiated long
term testing for a newly designed electrode family that would be
used for treating chronic conditions associated with back pain due
to failed back surgeries, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. The
design, materials and processing of these electrodes is vastly
different from our Evo product line. Since these electrodes are
implanted for long-term use, they need
to have advanced insulation against fluid permeation and greater
durability than devices intended for less than 30 days use.
Earlier this year we announced the results of successful
long-term recording and stimulations
of these chronic electrodes with the new design. We are excited to
continue advancing the technology and manufacturing of these
devices which, if successful, opens numerous market opportunities
for this platform electrode technology.
I am proud of the progress we made in fiscal year 2021 but
realistic that much work remains to accomplish our goals. The
following are some of our goals in fiscal year 2022. We will share
news of our progress as appropriate.
Milestones
for Fiscal Year 2022 and Beyond
• Work with the FDA to
receive clearance for Evo sEEG product
family — Due to their less invasive placement,
sEEG electrodes have become the preferred method of both
neurosurgeons and patients for recording brain activity in order to
pinpoint the location(s) triggering a patient’s seizures. We
remain committed to working with the FDA to gain clearance to
commercialize this technology in the United States. Our
strategic partner Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) has an option they
can exercise to distribute this product line in addition to their
rights for distribution of the Evo cortical electrode product
family.
• Complete research and
development of ablation system, including
the sEEG electrodes — We remain
enthusiastic regarding the potential to offer a safer, less
expensive combination system using sEEG electrodes capable of
providing both recording and ablation functions. Over the past
fiscal year, we have continued to invest heavily in this program to
expedite the development. We expect to have development completed
for the electrode, hardware and software by the end of fiscal year
2022. We are targeting the first half of calendar 2023 to submit an
application to the FDA for 510(k) clearance.
• Continue development of
electrode for chronic stimulation — The Company
expects to provide further progress updates on the development of
an electrode product family capable of providing stimulation for
neurological conditions such as chronic back pain, epilepsy, and
Parkinson’s disease.. If successful, this will provide an
opportunity for NeuroOne to enter much larger developed markets
across a variety of neurological conditions. We continue to refine
both the design and manufacturing process in order to consistently
manufacture highly reproducible high-quality electrodes.
• Build a world class
management team — Each year we have bolstered our
management team by hiring key positions. In fiscal 2022, we intend
to continue to attract high quality talent in order to build a
highly effective infrastructure covering all aspects of the
business. This is an ongoing process and critical for our continued
growth.
• Support Zimmer Biomet
in future expected launch of sEEG electrode
family — We remain committed to supporting our
development and distribution partner, Zimmer Biomet, if and when
the Company receives 510(k) clearance from the FDA for less
than 30 days use. Zimmer Biomet currently has an option to
distribute the sEEG product line in addition to the Evo cortical
electrode product family. We will continue to build up inventory to
meet Zimmer Biomet’s current product forecast and remain ready to
fulfill the initial limited release quantities currently on order
from Zimmer Biomet.
• Explore expanding new
indications for chronic stimulation
electrodes — The Company is currently evaluating
new applications for using chronic stimulation electrodes to treat
emerging applications with renowned research institutions in the
United States. Due to the platform nature of the technology,
we believe there is an opportunity to license the technology for
areas that extend beyond the Company’s current priorities.
• Continue to explore
complementary technology and
partnerships — NeuroOne remains vigilant in
exploring collaborations with existing companies that have
synergistic or complementary products that could contribute
meaningful revenue. This could occur in the form of a partnership,
acquisition, or licensing of the technology to other industry
companies that value features such as the thinness and
hi-definition capabilities and/or the
ability of the device to cross the blood brain barrier.
Fiscal 2021 represented a year of great progress for the Company in
terms of development, acquisition of capital, infrastructure
development, partnerships, and our Nasdaq uplisting. We remain
undaunted in our efforts to advance our mission of developing and
commercializing advanced, minimally invasive, hi-definition thin film electrodes for patients
suffering from neurological disorders.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank you for your
continued investment and support of NeuroOne and wish you and your
family a wonderful and COVID-free
2022. We respectfully request you to vote in accordance with our
recommendations at NeuroOne’s 2022 annual meeting.
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Sincerely,
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President and Chief Executive Officer
NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation
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NOTICE OF 2022 ANNUAL
MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
WHEN
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May 31, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. local time
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WHERE
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7599 Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344*
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PURPOSE OF MEETING AND
AGENDA
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At the 2022 Annual Meeting, stockholders will vote:
1. to elect the Class II
director named in the Proxy Statement to a three-year term; and
2. to ratify the appointment of
our independent registered public accounting firm for 2022.
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WHO
CAN VOTE
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Stockholders of record at the close of business on April 18,
2022.
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VOTING
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Your
vote is very important. Please submit your proxy or voting
instructions as soon as possible, whether or not you plan to attend
the Annual Meeting.
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ADMISSION TO THE ANNUAL
MEETING
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All of our stockholders are invited to attend the Annual Meeting.
If you attend, you will need to bring valid, government-issued photo identification. The doors to the
meeting room will be closed promptly at the start of the
meeting.
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Sincerely,
David Rosa
President and Chief Executive Officer
Eden Prairie, Minnesota
April 29, 2022
NEUROONE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES
CORPORATION
PROXY STATEMENT FOR 2022
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
NEUROONE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES
CORPORATION
PROXY STATEMENT FOR THE 2022
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
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GENERAL
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ANNUAL MEETING
Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) solicits your proxy on our
behalf for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual
Meeting”) and at any postponement or adjournment of the Annual
Meeting for the purposes set forth in this proxy statement (the
“Proxy Statement”) and the accompanying Notice of 2022 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders (the “Notice”). The Annual Meeting will be
held at our principal executive offices at 7599 Anagram Dr., Eden
Prairie, MN 55344, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at
9:00 a.m. local time. This Proxy Statement is first being sent
to stockholders on or about April 29, 2022.
We currently intend to hold the Annual Meeting in person. However,
in the event we determine it is not possible or advisable to hold
the Annual Meeting in person, we will publicly announce alternative
arrangements for the Annual Meeting as promptly as practicable
before the Annual Meeting. Please monitor our website at
www.n1mtc.com for
updated information.
Unless we state otherwise or the context otherwise requires,
references in this Proxy Statement to “we,” “our,” “us”, or the
“Company” are to NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation, a
Delaware corporation.
Purpose of the Annual
Meeting
At the Annual Meeting, stockholders will act upon the proposals
described in this Proxy Statement. In addition, we will consider
any other matters that are properly presented for a vote at the
Annual Meeting. We are not aware of any other matters to be
submitted for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other
matters are properly presented for a vote at the Annual Meeting,
the persons named in the proxy, who are officers of the Company,
have the authority in their discretion to vote the shares
represented by the proxy.
Record Date;
Quorum
Only holders of record of the Company’s common stock, par value of
$0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), at the close of business on
April 18, 2022, the record date, will be entitled to vote at
the Annual Meeting. At the close of business on April 18,
2022, 16,192,318 shares of Common Stock were outstanding and
entitled to vote.
All share and per share amounts for all periods presented in this
Proxy Statement have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the
reverse stock split effected on March 31, 2021.
The holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting as of the record date must
be present, in person or by proxy duly authorized at the Annual
Meeting in order to hold the Annual Meeting and conduct business.
This presence is called a quorum. Your shares are counted as
present at the Annual Meeting if you are present and vote in person
at the Annual Meeting or if you have properly submitted a
proxy.
Voting Rights; Required
Vote
Each holder of shares of Common Stock is entitled to one vote for
each share of Common Stock held as of the close of business on
April 18, 2022, the record date. You may vote all shares owned
by you at such date, including (1) shares held directly in
your name as the stockholder of record and (2) shares held for
you as the beneficial owner in street name through a broker, bank,
trustee or other nominee. Dissenters’ rights are not applicable to
any of the matters being voted on.
Stockholder of Record:
Shares Registered in Your Name. If on
April 18, 2022, your shares were registered directly in your
name with our transfer agent, Action Stock Transfer Corporation,
then you are considered the stockholder of record with respect to
those shares. As a stockholder of record, you may vote at the
Annual Meeting, or vote in advance through the Internet, by
telephone or by mail.
Beneficial Owner: Shares
Registered in the Name of a Broker or
Nominee. If on April 18, 2022,
your shares were held in an account with a brokerage firm, bank or
other nominee, then you are the beneficial owner of the shares held
in street name. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct
your broker on how to vote the shares held in your
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account, and your broker has enclosed or provided voting
instructions for you to use in directing it on how to vote your
shares. Because the brokerage firm, bank or other nominee that
holds your shares is the stockholder of record, if you wish to
attend the Annual Meeting and vote your shares you must obtain a
valid proxy from the firm that holds your shares giving you the
right to vote the shares at the Annual Meeting.
Votes Required to Adopt
Proposals. Each director will be
elected by a plurality of the votes of shares present in person or
represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on
the election of directors. This means that the individual nominated
for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting receiving the
highest number of “FOR” votes will be elected. You may either vote
“FOR” the nominee or “WITHHOLD” your vote with respect to the
nominee. You may not cumulate votes in the election of directors.
Approval of Proposal 2 will be obtained if the holders of a
majority of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at
the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting vote
“FOR” such proposal.
A proxy submitted by a stockholder may indicate that the shares
represented by the proxy are not being voted (stockholder
withholding) with respect to a particular matter. In addition, a
broker may not be permitted to vote on shares held in street name
on a particular matter in the absence of instructions from the
beneficial owner of the stock (broker non-vote). The shares subject to a proxy which are
not being voted on a particular matter because of either
stockholder withholding or broker non-votes will count for purposes of determining the
presence of a quorum. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on Proposal 1. For
Proposal 2, abstentions, if any, will not be treated as
present and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting and thus will
have no effect on the outcome of this proposal unless you return
your annual proxy or attend the Annual Meeting and select
“ABSTAIN”. Broker non-votes, if any,
will have no effect on Proposal 2.
The Board recommends a vote “FOR” the director nominee listed in
this Proxy Statement and “FOR” the ratification of Baker Tilly US,
LLP’s appointment as our independent registered accounting
firm.
Voting Instructions; Voting
of Proxies
If you are a stockholder of record, you may:
• Vote
in person — we will provide a ballot to stockholders who
attend the Annual Meeting and wish to vote in person. Submitting a
proxy will not prevent a stockholder from attending the Annual
Meeting, revoking their earlier-submitted proxy, and voting in person.
• Vote
through the Internet — you may vote through the Internet.
To vote by Internet, you will need to use a control number provided
to you in the materials with this Proxy Statement and follow the
additional steps when prompted. The steps have been designed to
authenticate your identity, allow you to give voting instructions,
and confirm that those instructions have been recorded
properly.
• Vote
by telephone — if you received your annual meeting
materials by paper delivery, you may vote by telephone as indicated
on your enclosed proxy card or voting instruction card. To vote by
telephone, you will need to use a control number provided to you in
the materials with this Proxy Statement and follow the voting
instructions.
• Vote
by mail — complete, sign and date the accompanying proxy
card and return it as soon as possible before the Annual Meeting in
the envelope provided.
Votes submitted through the Internet or by telephone must be
received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 30, 2022.
Submitting your proxy, whether through the Internet, by telephone
or by mail, will not prevent a stockholder from attending the
Annual Meeting, revoking their earlier-submitted proxy, and voting in person. If you are
not the stockholder of record, please refer to the voting
instructions provided by your nominee to direct it on how to vote
your shares. You may either vote “FOR” the nominee to the Board, or
you may withhold your vote from the nominee. For Proposal 2,
you may vote “FOR” or “AGAINST” or “ABSTAIN” from voting. Your vote
is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting,
we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure that your vote is
counted.
All proxies will be voted in accordance with the instructions
specified on the proxy card. If you sign a physical proxy card and
return it without instructions as to how your shares should be
voted on a particular proposal at the Annual Meeting, your shares
will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our Board
stated above.
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If you do not vote and you hold your shares in street name, and
your broker does not have discretionary power to vote your shares,
your shares may constitute “broker non-votes”.
If you receive more than one proxy card, your shares are registered
in more than one name or are registered in different accounts. To
make certain all of your shares are voted, please complete, sign
and return each proxy card to ensure that all of your shares are
voted.
Expenses of Soliciting
Proxies
We will pay the expenses associated with soliciting proxies.
Following the original distribution and mailing of the solicitation
materials, we or our agents may solicit proxies by mail, electronic
mail, telephone, facsimile, by other similar means, or in person.
Our directors, officers and other employees, without additional
compensation, may solicit proxies personally or in writing, by
telephone, e-mail or otherwise.
Following the original distribution and mailing of the solicitation
materials, we will request brokers, custodians, nominees and other
record holders to forward copies of those materials to persons for
whom they hold shares and to request authority for the exercise of
proxies. In such cases, we, upon the request of the record holders,
will reimburse such holders for their reasonable expenses.
Revocability of
Proxies
A stockholder of record who has given a proxy may revoke it at any
time before the closing of the polls by the inspector of elections
at the Annual Meeting by:
• delivering
to our Secretary (by any means, including facsimile) a written
notice stating that the proxy is revoked;
• signing
and delivering a proxy bearing a later date;
• voting
again through the Internet or by telephone; or
• attending
and voting at the Annual Meeting (although attendance at the Annual
Meeting will not, by itself, revoke a proxy).
Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a
brokerage firm, bank or other nominee and you wish to revoke a
proxy, you must contact that firm to revoke or change any prior
voting instructions.
Voting Results
Voting results will be tabulated and certified by the inspector of
elections appointed for the Annual Meeting. The preliminary voting
results will be announced at the Annual Meeting. The final results
will be tallied by the inspector of elections and filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in a current report
on Form 8-K within
four business days of the Annual Meeting.
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PROPOSAL
NO. 1
ELECTION OF CLASS II DIRECTOR
Our Board is divided into three classes. Members of each class
serve staggered three-year terms. Our
Class II director will stand for election at this meeting. The
terms of office of directors in Class III and Class I do
not expire until the annual meetings of stockholders to be held in
2023 and 2024, respectively.
Director Nominees
Our Board has nominated David Rosa, age 58, for election as a
Class II director to serve for a three-year term ending at the 2025 annual meeting or
until his successor is elected and qualified. Mr. Rosa is our
President and Chief Executive Officer and a current member of our
Board, and has consented to serve if elected.
Mr. Rosa will be elected by a plurality of the votes present
in person or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and
entitled to vote. This means that the individual nominated for
election to the Board at the Annual Meeting receiving the highest
number of “FOR” votes will be elected. You may either vote “FOR”
the nominee or “WITHHOLD” your vote with respect to the nominee.
Shares represented by proxies will be voted “FOR” the election of
the Class II nominee, unless the proxy is marked to withhold
authority to so vote. If any nominee is unable or unwilling to
serve at the time of the Annual Meeting, the persons named as
proxies may vote for a substitute nominee chosen by the present
Board, or the Board will have a vacancy, which it may fill at a
later date or reduce the size of the Board. We have no reason to
believe that the nominee will be unwilling or unable to serve if
elected as a director. Additional information regarding the
directors and director nominee of the Company is set forth
below.
David Rosa
Mr. Rosa has served as the Chief Executive Officer, President
and a director of the Company since July 2017 and served as
chief executive officer and a director of NeuroOne, Inc., formerly
our wholly-owned subsidiary, from
October 2016 until December 2019, when NeuroOne, Inc.
merged with and into the Company. From November 2009 to
November 2015, Mr. Rosa served as the chief executive
officer and president of Sunshine Heart, Inc., n/k/a Nuwellis, Inc.
(Nasdaq: NUWE), a publicly-held
early-stage medical device company.
From 2008 to November 2009, Mr. Rosa served as chief
executive officer of Milksmart, Inc., a company that specializes in
medical devices for animals. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Rosa
served as the vice president of global marketing for cardiac
surgery and cardiology at St. Jude Medical, Inc. Currently, he
serves as a director on the board of directors of Biotricity Inc.
(Nasdaq: BTCY), Birestorative Therapies (Nasdaq: BRTX) and
Healthcare Triangle, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCTI). Mr. Rosa holds an MBA
from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Commerce and Engineering
from Drexel University.
Mr. Rosa’s qualifications to serve on the Board include his
senior leadership experience in the medical device industry. In
addition, his day-to-day leadership of the Company gives him critical
insights into the Company’s operations, strategy and competition,
and he facilitates the Board’s ability to perform its oversight
function. Throughout his career at the Company and his former
positions, he has demonstrated strong technical, strategic, and
operational expertise, and he possesses in-depth knowledge of the medical device industry on
a global basis.
Continuing
Directors
The following table provides information regarding the directors
who are serving for terms that end following the Annual Meeting as
of April 18, 2022:
NAME
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AGE
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TITLE
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CLASS
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Jeffrey Mathiesen
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61
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Director
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Class III
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Edward Andrle
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64
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Director
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Class III
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Paul Buckman
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66
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Director and Chairman of the Board
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Class I
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Paul Buckman
Mr. Buckman has served as Chairman of the Board since
August 2017, and served as chairman of the board of NeuroOne,
Inc., from October 2016 until December 2019.
Mr. Buckman is currently the president of Advanced Circulatory
Support for LivaNova PLC (Nasdaq: LIVN), and previously served as
President, North America and the general manager of structural
heart for LivaNova PLC beginning in April 2017. Prior to
joining LivaNova PLC, Mr. Buckman served as chief executive
officer of Conventus Orthopaedics, a Minnesota-based company specializing in peri-articular bone fracture fixation, from
September 2013 until March of 2017. Mr. Buckman was chief
executive officer of Sentreheart, Inc., a medical technology
company focused on closure of various anatomic structures, from
February 2012 to September 2013. Previously,
Mr. Buckman served as chief executive officer and chairman of
Pathway Medical Technologies, Inc., a medical device company
focused on treatment of peripheral arterial disease, from
September 2008 to February 2012; as chief executive
officer of Devax, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of drug
eluting stents, from December 2006 to September 2008; as
president of the cardiology division of St. Jude Medical, Inc., a
publicly traded diversified medical products company, from
August 2004 to December 2006; and as chairman of the
board of directors and chief executive officer of ev3, LLC, a
Minnesota-based medical device company
focused on endovascular therapies that Mr. Buckman founded and
developed into an $80 million business, from January 2001
to January 2004. Mr. Buckman has worked in the medical
device industry for over 30 years, including 10 years at
Scimed Life Systems, Inc. and Boston Scientific Corporation
(NYSE: BSX), a publicly traded medical device manufacturer,
where he held several executive positions before becoming president
of the cardiology division of Boston Scientific in
January 2000. Mr. Buckman also currently serves as a
director for Helius Medical Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:
HSDT), Ablative Solutions, Inc., ActivOrtho Inc., a privately held
company, Shoulder Innovations, Inc., a privately held company, and
as chairman of Miromatrix, Inc. He previously served as a director
of Aortica, Inc., DyaMX, Inc., Conventus Orthopaedics, Caisson
Interventional LLC, Velocimed, Inc., where he was a co-founder, EndiCor, Inc., Microvena, Inc., Sunshine
Heart, Inc., n/k/a Nuwellis, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUWE), a
publicly-held early-stage medical device company, NexGen Medical, and
Micro Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Buckman received a Master’s
degree in Business Administration and Finance and a B.A. degree in
Business Administration from Western Michigan University.
We believe that Mr. Buckman’s strong executive experience in
medical device companies provides the Company with valuable
guidance on product development and operational matters.
Jeffrey Mathiesen
Mr. Mathiesen has served as a member of the Board since
August 2017, and served as a director of NeuroOne, Inc., from
April 2017 until December 2019. Since June 2021,
Mr. Mathiesen has served as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
and Secretary of Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSDT),
a publicly traded medical device company, developing noninvasive
platform technologies focused on neurological wellness, and he
previously served on its board of directors from June 2020
through June 2021. Additionally, Mr. Mathiesen has served
as a director and Audit Committee Chair of Healthcare Triangle,
Inc. (Nasdaq: HCTI), a publicly traded provider of cloud and data
transformation platform and solutions for healthcare and life
sciences, since March 2021, as Vice Chair and Lead Independent
Director since March 2020 and as director and Audit Committee
Chair, since 2015, of Panbela Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBLA), a
publicly traded biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for
pancreatic diseases, and served as a director of eNeura, Inc., a
privately held medical technology company providing therapy for
both acute treatment and prevention of migraine, from 2018 to 2020.
Mr. Mathiesen served as advisor to the chief executive officer
of Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation, a privately held global
leader in the biosynthetic development and production of
cannabinoids and their derivatives for consumer and pharmaceutical
products, from October 2019 to December 2019, and served
as chief financial officer from March 2019 to
October 2019. In August 2020, Teewinot Life Insurance
Sciences filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the
United States Bankrupcy Code. Mr. Mathiesen previously served
as chief financial officer of Gemphire Therapeutics Inc., which was
acquired by NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRBO) in
January 2020, a publicly-held
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical
company developing therapies for patients with cardiometabolic
disorders, from 2015 to 2018, and as chief financial officer of
Sunshine Heart, Inc., n/k/a Nuwellis, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUWE), a
publicly-held early-stage medical device company, from 2011 to 2015.
Mr. Mathiesen received a B.S. in Accounting from the
University of South Dakota and is a Certified Public
Accountant.
We believe that Mr. Mathiesen brings financial insight and
leadership and a wealth of experience in capital markets to the
Board, as well as knowledge of public company accounting and
financial reporting requirements and familiarity with the life
sciences industry.
5
Edward Andrle
Mr. Andrle has served as a member of the Board since
February 2020. He is also a member of the Board of Rainbow
Medical, a medical device incubator in Israel, since August 2020.
Mr. Andrle most recently served as the general manager of
Neuromodulation of LivaNova PLC (Nasdaq: LIVN), a
publicly-traded medical device
company, from January 2018 to January 2020, and as senior
vice president of strategy and business development of LivaNova PLC
from September 2015 to January 2018. Prior to these
roles, Mr. Andrle served as vice president of business
development and strategy of Sorin S.p.A from 2010 to
September 2015, when Sorin S.p.A. was merged with Cyberonics,
Inc. to become LivaNova PLC. Prior to joining Sorin, he
co-founded three medical device
companies: Myocor Inc., TERAMED Inc. and StarFire Medical Inc. All
three companies were eventually acquired. He also held executive
positions with Boston Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: BSX) and Baxter
International, Inc. (NYSE: BAX), leading large product
portfolios in cardiovascular and dialysis. Mr. Andrle received
his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and his B.S. in
Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
We believe that Mr. Andrle’s substantial experience in medical
device companies and business development experience provides the
Company with valuable insight on product development and
strategy.
Non-Employee
Director
Compensation
On March 29, 2018, our Board approved a Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy effective
as of January 1, 2018 whereby our non-employee directors receive a mix of cash and
share-based compensation intended to
encourage non-employee directors to
continue to serve on our Board, further align the interests of the
directors and stockholders, and attract new non-employee directors with outstanding
qualifications. Directors who are employees or officers of the
Company do not receive any additional compensation for Board
service.
Pursuant to this policy, each of our non-employee directors receive an annual retainer of
$50,000, except that our non-executive
chairman receives an annual retainer of $100,000. Additionally, the
chairman and members of our Audit Committee receive an additional
annual payment of $12,500 and $5,000, respectively, and the
chairmen and members of each of our Compensation and Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committees receive an additional annual
payment of $10,000 and $4,000, respectively.
Additionally, on the date of each annual stockholder meeting of the
Company, each director automatically receives an equity award with
an aggregate value on the date of grant equal to $50,000.
Two-thirds of the equity award is
issued in the form of restricted stock units, and one-third is issued in
the form of stock options, each of which vest in twelve monthly
installments, subject to such director’s continued service.
The following table provides compensation information for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 for each non-employee member of the Board.
Name
|
|
Fees Earned
or
Paid in Cash
($)(1)
|
|
Stock
Awards
($)(2)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)(2)
|
|
Total
($)
|
Paul Buckman
|
|
112,000
|
|
33,338
|
(3)
|
|
16,666
|
(4)
|
|
162,004
|
Edward Andrle
|
|
62,000
|
|
33,338
|
(5)
|
|
16,666
|
(6)
|
|
112,004
|
Jeffrey Mathiesen
|
|
66,500
|
|
33,338
|
(7)
|
|
16,666
|
(8)
|
|
116,504
|
6
As a named executive officer of the Company, compensation paid to
Mr. Rosa for fiscal 2021 is fully reflected under “Executive
Compensation — Summary Compensation Table.”
OUR
BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION
OF
THE NOMINATED CLASS II DIRECTOR.
7
BOARD
AND COMMITTEE INFORMATION
We are committed to good corporate governance practices. These
practices provide an important framework within which our Board and
management pursue our strategic objectives for the benefit of our
stockholders.
Board Leadership
Structure
Our Board is currently chaired by Paul Buckman, who has authority,
among other things, to call and preside over meetings of our Board,
to set meeting agendas and to determine materials to be distributed
to the Board and, accordingly, has substantial ability to shape the
work of the Board. The positions of our chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer are presently separated. Separating these
positions allows our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rosa, to
focus on our day-to-day business, while allowing Mr. Buckman to
lead the Board.
Role
of the Board in Risk Oversight
Our Board does not have a standing risk management committee, but
rather administers its risk oversight function directly through the
Board as a whole. The Board’s risk oversight is administered
primarily through the following:
• review
and approval of an annual business plan;
• review
of a summary of risks and opportunities at meetings of the
Board;
• review
of business developments, business plan implementation and
financial results;
• oversight
of internal controls over financial reporting; and
• review
of employee compensation and its relationship to our business
plans.
Director
Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that the Company’s Board consist
of a majority of independent directors, as determined under the
applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq. Based upon information
requested from and provided by each proposed director concerning
his or her background, employment and affiliations, including
family relationships, the Company believes that each current member
of the Board qualifies as an “independent director” as defined
under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the
listing requirements and rules of Nasdaq, except Mr. Rosa, the
Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. These directors
include Paul Buckman, Jeffrey Mathiesen and Ed Andrle. In making
such independence determinations, the Board considers the current
and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with the Company and all
other facts and circumstances that the Board deems relevant in
determining each non-employee
director’s independence, including the participation by the
Company’s non-employee directors, or
their affiliates, in certain financing transactions and the
beneficial ownership of the Company’s Common Stock by each
non-employee director.
Structure and Operation of
the Board
Because our Common Stock is listed on Nasdaq, the Company is
subject to the Nasdaq listing requirements regarding committee
matters. The Company currently has the following committees: an
audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and
corporate governance committee.
Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee
The nominating and corporate governance committee reviews,
evaluates and seeks out candidates qualified to become Board
members. The Board includes individuals with a diversity of
experience, including scientific, business, financial and academic
backgrounds. Nominations may be submitted by directors, officers,
employees, stockholders and others for recommendation to the Board.
In fulfilling this responsibility, the Company’s nominating and
corporate governance committee also consults with the Board and the
Chief Executive Officer concerning director candidates. The
nominating and corporate governance committee’s charter is
available on our website, www.n1mtc.com, under
Investors —
Governance.
8
The responsibilities of the Company’s nominating and corporate
governance committee include the following:
• reviewing,
evaluating and seeking out candidates qualified to become members
of the Board;
• reviewing
committee structure and recommending directors for appointment to
committees;
• developing,
reevaluating (not less frequently than every three years) and
recommending the selection criteria for board and committee
membership;
• establishing
procedures to oversee evaluation of the board, its committees,
individual directors and management; and
• developing
and recommending guidelines on corporate governance.
The current members of our nominating and corporate governance
committee are Mr. Buckman, Mr. Andrle, and
Mr. Mathiesen, each of whom has been determined by the Board
to be independent under the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq
Stock Market LLC. Mr. Andrle is the chair of the
nominating and corporate governance committee.
Compensation
Committee
The compensation committee’s charter is available on our website,
www.n1mtc.com, under
Investors –
Governance. The responsibilities of the compensation
committee include the following:
• fixing
salaries of executive officers and reviewing salary plans for other
executives in senior management positions;
• reviewing
and making recommendations with respect to the compensation and
benefits for the Company’s non-employee directors, including through
equity-based plans;
• evaluating
the performance of the Company’s chief executive officer and other
senior executives and assisting the Board in developing and
evaluating potential candidates for executive positions; and
• administering
the Company’s incentive compensation, deferred compensation and
equity-based plans pursuant to the
terms of the respective plans.
The current members of the compensation committee include
Mr. Buckman, Mr. Andrle, and Mr. Mathiesen.
Mr. Buckman is the chair of the compensation committee. The
compensation committee may form and delegate authorities to
subcommittees as appropriate, including, but not limited to, a
subcommittee composed of one or more members of the Board or
officers of the Company to grant stock awards under the Company’s
equity incentive plans.
To qualify as independent to serve on the Company’s compensation
committee, the listing standards of Nasdaq require a director not
to accept any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from
the Company, other than for service on the Board, and that the
Board consider whether a director is affiliated with the Company
and, if so, whether such affiliation would impair the director’s
judgment as a member of the Company’s compensation committee. The
Board has concluded that the members of the compensation committee
meet the requirements for independence under the rules and
regulations of Nasdaq and the SEC.
Audit Committee
Matters
The audit committee reviews with management and the Company’s
independent public accountants the Company’s financial statements,
the accounting principles applied in their preparation, the scope
of the audit, any comments made by the independent accountants upon
the financial condition of the Company and its accounting controls
and procedures and such other matters as the audit committee deems
appropriate. The audit committee’s charter is available on our
website, www.n1mtc.com, under
Investors —
Governance.
The audit committee currently consists of three directors:
Mr. Buckman, Mr. Mathiesen and Mr. Andrle. The Board
has determined that each of Mr. Buckman, Mr. Mathiesen
and Mr. Andrle is “independent” under Nasdaq independence
standards. Additionally, the Board has determined that each of
Mr. Mathiesen and Mr. Buckman qualifies as an “audit
committee financial expert” as that term is defined in rules
promulgated by the SEC. The designation of an “audit committee
financial expert” does not impose upon such persons any duties,
obligations or liabilities that are
9
greater than those generally imposed on each of them as a member of
the audit committee and the Board, and such designation does not
affect the duties, obligations or liabilities of any other member
of the audit committee or the Board. Mr. Mathiesen is the
chair of the audit committee.
The functions of the audit committee include:
• Selecting
our independent auditors;
• Reviewing
the results and scope of the audit and other services provided by
our independent auditors; and
• Reviewing
and evaluating our audit and control functions.
Code of Business Conduct and
Ethics
Our Board has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that
applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including
our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and other
executive officers. We intend to disclose future amendments to
certain provisions of our code of business conduct and ethics, or
waivers of these provisions, in public filings. A copy of the code
of business conduct and ethics is available on our website,
www.n1mtc.com, under
Investors — Governance.
Hedging Policy
The Company, pursuant to the terms of its Insider Trading Policy,
prohibits all directors, officers, employees, and certain
contractors from engaging in hedging transactions including prepaid
variable forwards, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds with
respect to the Company’s securities.
Corporate Governance
Guidelines
Our Board has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines that set
forth expectations for directors, director independence standards,
Board structure and functions and other policies for the governance
of the Company.
Board Diversity Matrix (as of
April 29, 2022)
The following matrix is provided in accordance with applicable
Nasdaq listing requirements and includes all directors as of
April 29, 2022.
Total Number of
Directors
|
|
4
|
|
|
Female
|
|
Male
|
|
Non-Binary
|
|
Did Not
Disclose
Gender
|
Part I: Gender
Identity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Directors
|
|
—
|
|
4
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
Part II: Demographic
Background
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
African American or Black
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
Alaskan Native or Native American
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
Asian
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
Hispanic or Latinx
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
White
|
|
—
|
|
4
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
Two or More Races or Ethnicities
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
LGBTQ+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
Demographic Background Undisclosed
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
10
Board Meetings and
Attendance
Board Meetings in
2021
The Board meets regularly throughout the year and holds special
meetings and acts by written consent from time to time. During
fiscal year 2021, the Board held 11 meetings.
Each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of
meetings of the Board of Directors and committees on which each
served during the period of his or her service in 2021. The
independent members of the Board also meet separately to discuss
such matters as the independent directors consider appropriate. We
do not have a policy regarding attendance by directors at the
Company’s annual meetings of stockholders.
Committee Meetings in
2021
During fiscal year 2021, the audit committee held four meetings,
the compensation committee held one meeting, and the nominating and
corporate governance committee did not hold any meetings, but
approved various matters via written consent.
Communications with
Directors
Stockholders and interested parties who wish to communicate with
our Board, non-management members of
our Board as a group, or a specific member of our Board (including
our Chairman) may do so by letters addressed to the attention of
our Secretary, NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation, 7599
Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344.
All communications by letter addressed to the attention of our
Secretary will be reviewed by the Secretary and provided to the
members of the Board unless such communications are unsolicited
items, sales materials and other routine items and items unrelated
to the duties and responsibilities of the Board.
Considerations in Evaluating
Director Nominees
If a vacancy on the Board occurs or the Board increases in size,
the Board will actively seek individuals that satisfy its criteria
for membership on the Board and may rely on multiple sources for
identifying and evaluating potential nominees, including referrals
from our current directors and management.
11
AUDIT
COMMITTEE REPORT
The information contained in the following report is not considered
to be “soliciting material,” “filed” or incorporated by reference
in any past or future filing by us under the Exchange Act or
the Securities Act unless and only to the extent that we
specifically incorporate it by reference.
The audit committee has reviewed and discussed with our management
and Baker Tilly US, LLP our audited financial statements as of and
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. The audit
committee has discussed with the independent registered public
accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by the
applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (“PCAOB”) and the SEC.
The audit committee has received and reviewed the written
disclosures and the letter from Baker Tilly US, LLP required by
applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent
auditor’s communications with the audit committee concerning
independence, and has discussed with Baker Tilly US, LLP its
independence.
Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the audit
committee recommended to the Board that the audited financial
statements be included in our Company’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2021 for filing with the SEC.
Audit Committee:
Paul Buckman
Jeffrey Mathiesen
Edward Andrle
12
PROPOSAL
NO. 2
RATIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM
Baker Tilly US, LLP (“Baker Tilly”) audited our financial
statements as of and for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2021. We expect that representatives of Baker Tilly will be present
at the Annual Meeting, will be able to make a statement if they so
desire and will be available to respond to appropriate
questions.
At the Annual Meeting, the stockholders are being asked to ratify
the appointment of Baker Tilly as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021.
Our Board is submitting the selection of Baker Tilly to our
stockholders because we value our stockholders’ views on our
independent registered public accounting firm and as a matter of
good corporate governance. If this proposal does not receive the
affirmative approval of a majority of the votes present in person
or by proxy and entitled to vote on the proposal, the Board would
reconsider the appointment. Even if our stockholders ratify the
selection, our Board, in its discretion, may appoint another
independent registered public accounting firm at any time during
the year if the Board believes that such a change would be in our
best interests and the interests of our stockholders.
Change in Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm
As reported on the Company’s Current Report on
Form 8-K, dated June 24,
2021, the Audit Committee engaged Baker Tilly on June 18, 2021
as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for
the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and
dismissed BDO USA, LLP (“BDO”), the Company’s prior independent
registered public accounting firm.
BDO’s reports on the Company’s financial statements as of and for
the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 did
not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were
they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or
accounting principles, except that each of BDO’s reports contained
an explanatory paragraph expressing substantial doubt regarding the
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.. During the
fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and the
subsequent interim periods through June 18, 2021, there were
no disagreements (within the meaning of
Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) between the
Company and BDO on any matter of accounting principles or
practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or
procedure which, if not resolved to BDO’s satisfaction, would have
caused BDO to make reference thereto in its reports. During the
fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 and the
subsequent interim periods through June 18, 2021, there were
no “reportable events” within the meaning of
Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K.
During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019
and the subsequent interim periods through June 18, 2021,
neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf has consulted with
Baker Tilly regarding: (i) the application of accounting
principles to a specific transaction, either completed or proposed,
or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the
Company’s financial statements, and neither a written report nor
oral advice was provided to the Company that Baker Tilly concluded
was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a
decision as to any accounting, auditing, or financial reporting
issue; (ii) any matter that was the subject of a disagreement
(within the meaning of Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of
Regulation S-K and the related
instructions); or (iii) any reportable event (within the
meaning of Item 304(a)(1)(v) of
Regulation S-K)..
The Company requested that BDO furnish a letter addressed to the
SEC stating whether it agrees with the above statements. BDO has
furnished the letter confirming its agreement with the above
statements. A copy of BDO’s, dated June 24, 2021, is filed as
Exhibit 16 to the Company’s Form 8-K dated June 24, 2021.
13
Service Fees Paid to the
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms
The Audit Committee retained Baker Tilly and BDO to audit the
Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for
the years ended September 30, 2021 and September 30,
2020, respectively. The following table sets forth the fees that
Baker Tilly, in 2021, and BDO, in 2020, billed for their audit and
other services. The Audit Committee approved all of the services
described below in conformity with its pre-approval policies and procedures described
above.
FEE CATEGORY
|
|
FY 2021
(Baker Tilly)
|
|
FY 2020
(BDO)
|
Audit fees
|
|
$
|
134,835
|
|
$
|
251,799
|
Audit-related fees
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
Tax fees
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
All other fees
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
Total fees
|
|
$
|
134,835
|
|
$
|
251,799
|
Our Audit Committee is responsible for pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit and tax services provided by the
independent registered public accounting firm.
OUR
BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” APPROVAL OF
PROPOSAL NO. 2.
14
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our
Common Stock as of April 18, 2022 for:
• each
person, or group of affiliated persons, who is known by us to
beneficially own more than 5% of our Common Stock;
• each
of our named executive officers;
• each
of our directors; and
• all
of our current executive officers and directors as a group.
The table lists applicable percentage ownership based on 16,192,318
shares of Common Stock outstanding as of April 18, 2022.
We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the
rules of the SEC. These rules generally attribute beneficial
ownership of securities to persons who possess sole or shared
voting power or investment power with respect to those securities.
Unless otherwise indicated, the persons or entities identified in
this table have sole voting and investment power with respect to
all shares shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to
applicable community property laws. In addition, the rules include
shares of our Common Stock issuable pursuant to the exercise of
stock options and warrants that are either immediately exercisable
or exercisable within 60 days of April 18, 2022. These
shares are deemed to be outstanding and beneficially owned by the
person holding those options for the purpose of computing the
percentage ownership of that person, but they are not treated as
outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership
of any other person.
Except as otherwise noted below, the address for persons listed in
the table is c/o NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation, 7599
Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344.
Name and address of
beneficial owner
|
|
Number of
shares of
Common
Stock
beneficially
owned
|
|
Percentage
of
Common
Stock
beneficially
owned(1)
|
Greater than 5%
Stockholders:
|
|
|
|
|
|
James E. Besser(2)
c/o Manchester Management Company, LLC
2 Calle Candina, #1701
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907
|
|
1,747,651
|
|
10.8
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Directors and Named Executive
Officers:
|
|
|
|
|
|
David Rosa(3)
|
|
610,767
|
|
3.7
|
%
|
Edward Andrle(4)
|
|
27,000
|
|
*
|
|
Paul Buckman(5)
|
|
108,898
|
|
*
|
|
Jeffrey Mathiesen(6)
|
|
102,946
|
|
*
|
|
Ronald McClurg(7)
|
|
35,555
|
|
*
|
|
Steve Mertens(8)
|
|
42,836
|
|
*
|
|
All
Current Directors and Officers as a Group (7
persons)(9)
|
|
1,279,171
|
|
7.6
|
%
|
15
16
EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
The following table provides information regarding our executive
officers as of April 18, 2022:
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Position(S)
|
David Rosa
|
|
58
|
|
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
|
Ronald McClurg
|
|
63
|
|
Chief Financial Officer
|
Steve Mertens
|
|
59
|
|
Chief Technology Officer
|
Mark Christianson
|
|
55
|
|
Business Development Director, Medical Sales Liason
|
See “Proposal No. 1 — Election of Class II
Director” for biographical and other information regarding
Mr. Rosa.
Ronald McClurg
Mr. McClurg has served as Chief Financial Officer of the
Company since January 2021. Prior to joining the Company, from
October 2003 to June 2019, Mr. McClurg served as
vice president – finance and administration and chief financial
officer of Incisive Surgical, Inc., a privately-held medical device manufacturer, where he was
responsible for all aspects of the financial function, including
raising capital, financial reporting, budgeting, banking and risk
management. From 1997 to 2002, Mr. McClurg served as chief
financial officer and treasurer of Wavecrest Corporation, a
privately-held manufacturer of
electronic test instruments for the semiconductor industry. Prior
to 1997, Mr. McClurg served as chief financial officer for
several publicly-held companies,
including Video Sentry Corporation, Insignia Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ISIG), and Orthomet, Inc. Currently, he serves on the board of
governors of Biomagnetic Sciences, LLC. Mr. McClurg holds a
Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from the
University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire.
Steve Mertens
Mr. Mertens has served as Chief Technology Officer of the
Company since April 2019. From September 2018 through
April 2019, Mr. Mertens was the principal and owner of
Steve Mertens Consulting, L.L.C., where he provided new product
development engineering support and assessment services to various
clients. From November 2012 through September 2018,
Mr. Mertens served as the senior vice president of research
and development and operations at Nuvaira Inc., a privately held
lung denervation company developing minimally invasive product for
obstructive lung diseases. Prior to Nuvaira,
Mr. Mertens served as a senior vice president of research and
development for Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX),
guiding a wide range of technologies through product development
for the cardiology, electrophysiology and peripheral vascular
markets. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from
the University of Minnesota and a Master’s degree in business
administration from the University of St. Thomas. Currently, he
serves on the board of directors of the University Enterprise
Laboratories.
Mark Christianson
Mr. Christianson is a co-founder
of the Company and has served as Business Development Director and
Medical Sales Liaison of the Company since February 2019.
Previously, he served as Vice President of Business Development and
Marketing of the Company from July 2017 until
February 2019 and served as vice president of sales and
marketing of our wholly-owned
subsidiary, NeuroOne, Inc., since December 2016. From
May 2013 to December 2016 Mr. Christianson served as
North American sales manager for Cortec Corporation. From
February 2012 to May 2013 Mr. Christianson held the
position of business development executive for Robert Half
International (NYSE: RHI). From May 2009 to
February 2012, Mr. Christianson held the position of
regional sales manager for PMT Corporation. Mr. Christianson
studied accounting at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
Mr. Christianson brings 15 years of high performing
sales, sales management, and project management experience to the
NeuroOne team. In addition, he has contributed to the development
and corporate strategy of the Company given his experience in the
neurological field and his close relationships with key epilepsy
opinion leaders.
17
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation Table
for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2020
The following table shows the compensation earned or received
during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020
by each of our named executive officers (as determined pursuant to
the SEC’s disclosure requirements for executive compensation in
Item 402 of Regulation S-K).
Name and Principal
Position
|
|
Year
|
|
Salary
($)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)(1)
|
|
Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensation
($)
|
|
Total
($)
|
Dave Rosa,
|
|
2021
|
|
410,844
|
|
1,285,899
|
|
192,608
|
|
1,889,351
|
Chief Executive Officer and
President
|
|
2020
|
|
403,914
|
|
547,091
|
|
171,886
|
|
1,122,891
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ron McClurg,
|
|
2021
|
|
187,500
|
|
290,498
|
|
44,531
|
|
522,529
|
Chief Financial
Officer
|
|
2020
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steve Mertens,
|
|
2021
|
|
242,631
|
|
72,169
|
|
56,338
|
|
371,138
|
Chief Technology
Officer
|
|
2020
|
|
238,966
|
|
—
|
|
49,281
|
|
288,247
|
Narrative Disclosure to
Summary Compensation Table
The compensation program for the Company’s named executive officers
for fiscal 2021 had three components: base salary, annual cash
bonus and stock option grants.
Base
Salary. We have entered into
employment agreements or offer letters with each of our named
executive officers that establish annual base salaries, which are
reviewed periodically by our Compensation Committee in order to
compensate our named executive officers for the satisfactory
performance of duties to the Company. Annual base salaries are
intended to provide a fixed component of compensation to our named
executive officers, reflecting their skill sets, experience, roles
and responsibilities. Base salaries for our named executive
officers have generally been set at levels deemed necessary to
attract and retain individuals with superior talent.
There was a 1.3% increase for cost of living adjustments for the
Company’s named executive officers for calendar year 2021, as
compared to calendar year 2020, except for Mr. McClurg, who
joined the Company in January 2021.
Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan. In fiscal 2021, each of the
Company’s named executive officers had a target bonus, set forth as
a percentage of annual base salary. In fiscal 2021, target bonuses
for the Company’s named executive officers other than
Mr. Rosa’s were 25% of base salary. Mr. Rosa’s target
bonus was set at 50% of base salary pursuant to his employment
agreement, as described below.
In February 2021, the Board established weighted performance
targets for fiscal 2021 that it would consider in approving bonus
payments for fiscal 2021. These targets included various corporate
objectives related to uplisting the Company’s Common Stock,
regulatory submissions, certain research and development, and
commercialization milestones, and cash burn targets. In
October 2021, the Compensation Committee and the Board
determined that 95% of the performance targets had been met, and
approved the bonus payments to Messrs. Rosa, McClurg and Mertens at
95% each of their respective targets, which targets were 50%, 25%
and 25% of each of their base salaries, respectively, as discussed
above.
Equity
Grants. Our equity-based incentive awards which are mainly comprised
of stock options are designed to align our interests with those of
our employees and consultants, including our named executive
officers. Our Compensation Committee has responsibility for
granting equity-based incentive awards
to our named executive officers. Vesting of equity awards is
generally tied to continuous service with us and serves as an
additional retention measure.
18
Our executives generally are awarded an initial new hire grant upon
commencement of employment. Additional grants may occur
periodically in order to specifically incentivize executives with
respect to achieving certain corporate goals or to reward
executives for exceptional performance.
In connection with Mr. McClurg’s appointment as Chief
Financial Officer, the Board granted Mr. McClurg an option
exercisable for 60,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, with
an exercise price of $4.71. Twenty-five percent of the shares underlying the option
vest on January 1, 2022 and the remaining 75% vest in 36 equal
monthly installments thereafter.
In January 2021, the Board granted Mr. Rosa,
Mr. McClurg and Mr. Mertens options exercisable for
416,667, 46,667, and 23,334 shares, respectively, each with an
exercise price of $5.97. Twenty-five
percent of the shares underlying the option vest on
January 27, 2022 and the remaining 75% vest in 36 equal
monthly installments thereafter, except that Mr. Rosa’s
options are subject to acceleration upon achieving certain
performance milestones. On May 6, 2021, the Compensation
Committee determined that the performance criteria on 83,333 of
Mr. Rosa’s options were met resulting in the accelerated
vesting of those options on such date. As of September 30,
2021, 20% of the shares underlying Mr. Rosa’s options had
vested upon the achievement of performance milestones.
Employment Agreement and
Arrangements
We have an employment agreement with our Chief Executive Officer,
Mr. Rosa, and an offer letter for each of Mr. McClurg and
Mr. Mertens. Each of our named executive officers has also
executed our standard form of proprietary information, inventions
assignment and non-competition
agreement.
Mr. Rosa
Mr. Rosa’s employment agreement (“Amended Employment
Agreement”) was effective on August 4, 2017, continues through
the third anniversary and automatically renews for an additional
one-year period at the end of the
initial term and each anniversary thereafter, provided that
Mr. Rosa notifies the Board of such renewal at least
30 days prior to the expiration of the initial term or any
renewal terms and the Board does not notify Mr. Rosa of its
intention not to renew the Amended Employment Agreement.
The Amended Employment Agreement also entitles Mr. Rosa to,
among other benefits, the following compensation: (i) an
opportunity to participate in any stock option, performance share,
performance unit or other equity based long-term incentive compensation plan commensurate
with the terms and conditions applicable to other senior executive
officers; and (ii) participation in welfare benefit plans,
practices, policies and programs provided by the Company and its
affiliated companies (including, without limitation, medical,
prescription, dental, disability, employee life, group life,
accidental death and travel accident insurance plans and programs)
to the extent available generally or to our other senior executive
officers. Mr. Rosa is entitled to receive a target award
value, determined in accordance with the policies and practices
generally available to other senior executive officers, for an
annual cash bonus and if determined by the Board or a committee of
the Board, a long-term incentive
bonus. Mr. Rosa is entitled to retain all shares of Common
Stock he held as of the commencement date. Mr. Rosa is also
entitled to certain severance benefits.
Pursuant to the Amended Employment Agreement, regardless of the
manner in which Mr. Rosa’s service terminates, Mr. Rosa
is entitled to receive amounts earned during his term of service,
including salary and other benefits. The Company is permitted to
terminate Mr. Rosa’s employment for the following reasons:
(i) death or disability, (ii) Termination for Cause (as
defined below) or (iii) for any other reason or no reason.
Mr. Rosa is permitted Termination for Good Reason (as defined
below) of his employment. In addition, he may terminate his
employment upon written notice to the Company 30 days prior to
the effective date of such termination.
In the event of Mr. Rosa’s death during the employment period
or a termination due to his disability, his beneficiaries or legal
representatives shall be provided the sum of (i) 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
and (ii) certain other benefits provided for in the employment
agreement (the “Unconditional Entitlements”). In the event of
Mr. Rosa’s Termination for Cause by the Company or the
termination of Mr. Rosa’s employment as a result of his
resignation other than a Termination for Good Reason, Mr. Rosa
shall be provided the Unconditional Entitlements.
19
In the event of a Termination for Good Reason by Mr. Rosa or
the exercise by the Company of its termination rights to terminate
Mr. Rosa other than by Termination for Cause, death or
disability, Mr. Rosa shall be provided the Unconditional
Entitlements and, subject to his 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 provide
Mr. Rosa: (a) a severance amount equal to the aggregate
annual base salary he would have earned from the day after his
termination date through the end of the employment period and a
prorated portion of his cash bonus for the year in which the
termination date occurs, provided, however, in no event would the
severance amount be less than 12 months or more than
18 months of his annual base salary; (b) continued health
insurance coverage for 12 months following his termination
date, provided that such coverage shall cease if Mr. Rosa
becomes eligible to receive health insurance coverage from another
employer group health plan; (c) vesting of all stock options
in accordance with the stock option award documents, subject to the
same conditions that would be applicable to Mr. Rosa if he
remained employed through the end of the employment period; and
(d) continued vesting of equity awards in accordance with the
terms of the award agreements, provided, however, Mr. Rosa
would have 90 days from the termination date to exercise any
vested options (the “Conditional Benefits”).
In the event of a change in control during the employment period or
within two years after a change in control, if the Company
terminates Mr. Rosa other than due to Mr. Rosa’s death or
disability or a Termination for Cause, or Mr. Rosa effects a
Termination for Good Reason, the Company will pay to Mr. Rosa,
in a lump sum in cash within 30 days after the termination
date, the aggregate of: (i) the Unconditional Entitlements;
and (ii) the amount equal to the product of 1.5 times the sum
of (y) Mr. Rosa’s annual base salary, and (z) the
greater of the target bonus for the then current fiscal year under
the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan and 2017 Equity Incentive Plan or
any successor annual bonus plan and the average annual bonus paid
to or for the benefit of Mr. Rosa for the prior three
full years (or any shorter period during which Mr. Rosa
had been employed by the Company). In addition, the Company shall
provide Mr. Rosa the Conditional Benefits minus
Mr. Rosa’s severance amount.
Under the Amended Employment Agreement, “Termination for Cause”
means a termination of Mr. Rosa’s employment by the Company
due to (A) an act or acts of dishonesty undertaken by
Mr. Rosa and intended to result in substantial gain or
personal enrichment to Mr. Rosa at the expense of the Company,
(B) unlawful conduct or gross misconduct that is willful and
deliberate on Mr. Rosa’s part and that, in either event, is
materially injurious to the Company, (C) the conviction of
Mr. Rosa of, or Mr. Rosa’s entry of a no contest or nolo
contendere plea to, a felony, (D) breach by Mr. Rosa of
his fiduciary obligations as an officer or director of the Company,
(E) a persistent failure by Mr. Rosa to perform his
duties and responsibilities of his employment under the Amended
Employment Agreement, which failure is not remedied by
Mr. Rosa within 30 days after his receipt of written
notice from the Company of such failure, provided, however, the
Company is not obligated to provide written notice and opportunity
to cure if the action or conduct is not reasonably susceptible to
cure, or (F) material breach of any terms and conditions of
the Amended Employment Agreement, any contract or agreement between
Mr. Rosa and the Company, or of any Company policy, or of any
statutory duty he owes to the Company, which breach has not been
cured by Mr. Rosa within ten days after written notice
thereof to Mr. Rosa from the Company.
Under the Amended Employment Agreement, “Termination for Good
Reason” means a termination of Mr. Rosa’s employment by
Mr. Rosa within 30 days of the Company’s failure to cure,
in accordance with the procedures set forth below, any of the
following events: (A) a reduction in his annual base salary as
in effect immediately prior to such reduction by more than 10%
without his written consent, unless such reduction is made pursuant
to an across the board reduction applicable to all senior
executives of the Company; (B) a material reduction in his
duties, position and responsibilities as in effect immediately
prior to such reduction without his written consent; provided,
however, that a mere change in title or reporting relationship
following a Change in Control by itself will not constitute “Good
Reason” for Mr. Rosa’s resignation, and further provided that
the acquisition of the Company and subsequent conversion of the
Company to a division or unit of the acquiring entity will not by
itself result in a “reduction” of duties, position or
responsibility; or (C) a material breach of any material
provision of the Amended Employment Agreement by the Company. A
termination by Mr. Rosa shall not be treated as a Termination
for Good Reason if Mr. Rosa consented in writing to the
occurrence of the event giving rise to the claim of Termination for
Good Reason or unless Mr. Rosa shall have delivered a written
notice to the Board within 45 days of Mr. Rosa’s having
actual knowledge of the occurrence of one of such events stating
that Mr. Rosa intends to terminate his employment by
Termination for Good Reason and specifying the factual basis for
such termination, and such event, if capable of being cured, shall
not have been cured within 21 days of the receipt of such
notice.
20
Mr. McClurg
On January 1, 2021, the Company and Mr. McClurg executed
an employment offer letter (the “McClurg Offer Letter”) under
which, effective January 1, 2021, Mr. McClurg was
appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The McClurg Offer
Letter provides that Mr. McClurg is an at-will employee of the Company meaning that either
Mr. McClurg or the Company may end the employment relationship
at any time, for any reason, and with or without notice or cause.
Under the McClurg Offer Letter, the Company agreed to provide
Mr. McClurg: (a) an annual base salary in the amount of
$250,000, subject to review and adjustment based upon the Company’s
normal performance review practices; (b) an annual performance
bonus of up to 25% of Mr. McClurg’s then effective base salary
for the applicable bonus year based upon his performance and the
Company’s performance, all as determined in the sole discretion of
the Board or committee thereof; (c) the right to participate
in the benefit programs and arrangements that the Company makes
available to its employees, including paid vacation and sick leave,
contributory and non-contributory
welfare and benefit plans, disability plans, and medical, death
benefit and life insurance plans for which Mr. McClurg is
eligible under the terms of those plans; and (d) subject to
the terms of Company’s 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, a stock option
award to purchase 60,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock with
an exercise price of $4.71 per share, 25% of which will vest on
January 1, 2022, with the balance vesting in equal monthly
installments on the last day of each month over the next
thirty-six (36) months following
January 1, 2022.
Mr. Mertens
On March 6, 2019, the Company and Mr. Mertens executed an
employment offer letter (the “Mertens Offer Letter”) under which,
effective April 1, 2019, Mr. Mertens was appointed Chief
Technology Officer of the Company. The Mertens Offer letter
provides that Mr. Mertens is an at-will employee of the Company meaning that either
Mr. Mertens or the Company may end the employment relationship
at any time, for any reason, and with or without notice or cause.
Under the Mertens Offer Letter, the Company agreed to provide
Mr. Mertens: (a) an annual base salary in the amount of
$235,000, subject to applicable deductions and adjustment;
(b) an annual discretionary bonus of up to 25% percent of
Mr. Merten’s base salary based on his performance and the
Company’s performance, all as determined in the sole discretion of
the Board or committee thereof; (c) subject to the terms of
Company’s 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, a stock option award to
purchase 43,149 shares of the Company’s Common Stock with an
exercise price of $7.14 per share, 25% of which vested on
May 13, 2019, and 75% of which vest in 36 equal monthly
installments beginning on April 1, 2020; and (d) the
right to participate in the benefit programs and arrangements that
the Company makes available to its employees, including paid
vacation and sick leave, contributory and non¬contributory welfare
and benefit plans, disability plans, and medical, death benefit and
life insurance plans for which Mr. Mertens is eligible under
the terms of those plans.
Potential Payments Upon
Termination or Change in Control
David Rosa
For a discussion of payments to Mr. Rosa upon termination or
change in control under his Amended Employment Agreement, see
“Employment Agreement and
Arrangements- Mr. Rosa” above.
2017 Equity Incentive
Plan
In April 2017, the Board adopted and the stockholders approved
the 2017 Equity Incentive Plan. The 2017 Equity Incentive Plan is
designed to provide a vehicle under which a variety of
stock-based and other awards can be
granted to the Company’s employees, consultants and directors,
which align the interests of award recipients with those of our
stockholders, reinforce key goals and objectives that help drive
stockholder value, and attract, motivate and retain experienced and
highly qualified individuals who contribute to the Company’s
financial success. The Board believes that the 2017 Equity
Incentive Plan serves a critical role in attracting and retaining
high caliber employees, consultants and directors essential to our
success and in motivating these individuals to strive to meet our
goals.
Corporate
Transactions. The 2017 Equity
Incentive Plan provides that in the event of certain specified
significant corporate transactions, including: (1) a sale of
all or substantially all of our assets, (2) the sale or
disposition of more than 90% of our outstanding securities,
(3) the consummation of a merger or consolidation where we do
not survive the transaction, and (4) the consummation of a
merger or consolidation where we do survive the transaction but the
shares
21
of our Common Stock outstanding before such transaction are
converted or exchanged into other property by virtue of the
transaction, unless otherwise provided in an award agreement or
other written agreement between us and the award holder, the plan
administrator may take one or more of the following actions with
respect to such stock awards:
• arrange
for the assumption, continuation, or substitution of a stock award
by a successor corporation;
• arrange
for the assignment of any reacquisition or repurchase rights held
by us to a successor corporation;
• accelerate
the vesting, in whole or in part, of the stock award and provide
for its termination before the transaction;
• arrange
for the lapse, in whole or in part, of any reacquisition or
repurchase rights held by us;
• cancel
or arrange for the cancellation of the stock award before the
transaction in exchange for a cash payment, or no payment, as
determined by the Board; or
• make
a payment, in the form determined by our Board, equal to the
excess, if any, of the value of the property the participant would
have received on exercise of the awards before the transaction over
any exercise price payable by the participant in connection with
the exercise.
The plan administrator is not obligated to treat all stock awards
or portions of stock awards, even those that are of the same type,
in the same manner and is not obligated to treat all participants
in the same manner. In the event of a change in control, awards
granted under the 2017 Equity Incentive Plan will not receive
automatic acceleration of vesting and exercisability, although this
treatment may be provided for in an award agreement. Under the 2017
Equity Incentive Plan, a change in control is defined to include
(1) the acquisition by any person or company of more than 50%
of the combined voting power of our then outstanding stock,
(2) a merger, consolidation, or similar transaction in which
our stockholders immediately before the transaction do not own,
directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the combined voting power
of the surviving entity (or the parent of the surviving entity),
(3) a sale, lease, exclusive license, or other disposition of
all or substantially all of our assets other than to an entity more
than 50% of the combined voting power of which is owned by our
stockholders, and (4) an unapproved change in the majority of
the Board.
Outstanding Equity Awards at
Fiscal Year-End 2021
As of September 30, 2021, our named executive officers had no
outstanding stock awards. The following table sets forth
information regarding outstanding option awards held by our named
executive officers as of September 30, 2021:
NAME
|
|
GRANT
DATE
|
|
NUMBER OF
SECURITIES
UNDERLYING
UNEXERCISED
OPTIONS
EXERCISABLE
(#)
|
|
NUMBER OF
SECURITIES
UNDERLYING
UNEXERCISED
OPTIONS
UNEXERCISABLE
(#)
|
|
OPTION
EXERCISE
PRICE
($)
|
|
OPTION
EXPIRATION
DATE
|
Steven Mertens
|
|
May 13, 2019
|
|
26,968
|
(1)
|
|
16,181
|
|
7.14
|
|
May 13, 2029
|
Steven Mertens
|
|
January 27, 2021
|
|
0
|
(2)
|
|
23,334
|
|
5.97
|
|
January 27, 2031
|
David Rosa
|
|
November 5, 2019
|
|
143,797
|
(3)
|
|
22,870
|
|
6.42
|
|
November 5, 2029
|
David Rosa
|
|
January 27, 2021
|
|
83,334
|
(4)
|
|
333,333
|
|
5.97
|
|
January 27, 2031
|
Ronald McClurg
|
|
January 1, 2021
|
|
0
|
(5)
|
|
60,000
|
|
4.71
|
|
January 1, 2031
|
Ronald McClurg
|
|
January 27, 2021
|
|
0
|
(6)
|
|
46,667
|
|
5.97
|
|
January 27, 2031
|
22
Chief Executive Officer Pay
Ratio
As a “smaller reporting company”, we are not required to provide
information relating to the ratio of total compensation of our
Chief Executive Officer to the median of the annual total
compensation of all of our employees, as required by the Investor
Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010, which is
part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
23
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED-PARTY
TRANSACTIONS
The following includes a summary of transactions since
October 1, 2019 to which the Company has been a participant in
which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed the lesser of
$120,000 or 1% of the average of the Company’s total assets at year
end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any
of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than five
percent of our capital stock, or any members of their immediate
family, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.
Other than described below, there have not been, nor are there
currently any proposed, transactions or series of similar
transactions to which we have been or will be a party other than
compensation arrangements, which include equity and other
compensation, termination, change in control and other
arrangements, which are described under “Executive
Compensation” and as described below.
Indemnification
Agreements
Our Certificate of Incorporation contains provisions limiting the
liability of directors, and our bylaws provides that we indemnify
each of our directors to the fullest extent permitted under
Delaware law. Our Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws also
provide our Board with discretion to indemnify our officers and
employees when determined appropriate by the Board. In addition, we
have entered into an indemnification agreement with our directors
and our executive officers.
Lock-Up Agreements
On October 21, 2019, Wade Fredrickson, a former holder of over
5% of our Common Stock, entered into a lock-up agreement with the Company in which he agreed,
subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of the Company’s securities for a period of
18 months following the effective date of the agreement.
Policies and Procedures for
Transactions with Related Parties
To assist the Company in complying with its disclosure obligations
and to enhance the Company’s disclosure controls, the Board
approved a formal policy in January 2018 regarding related
person transactions. A “related person” is a director, officer,
nominee for director or a more than 5% stockholder (of any class of
the Company’s voting stock) since the beginning of the Company’s
last completed fiscal year, and their immediate family members. A
related person transaction as defined in the policy is any
transaction or any series of transactions in which the Company was
or is to be a participant, the amount involved exceeds $120,000,
and in which any related person had or will have a direct or
indirect material interest.
Specifically, the policy establishes a process for identifying
related persons and procedures for reviewing and approving such
related person transactions. In addition, directors and executive
officers are required to complete an annual questionnaire in
connection with the Company’s proxy statement for its annual
meeting of stockholders, which includes questions regarding related
person transactions, and such persons also are required to provide
written notice to the Company or outside legal counsel of any
updates to such information prior to the annual meeting.
The Audit Committee and/or the independent directors of the Board
review such proposed business transactions to ensure that the
Company’s involvement in such transactions is on terms comparable
to those that could be obtained in arm’s length dealings with an
unrelated third party and is in the best interests of the Company
and its stockholders.
24
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Forward-Looking
Statements
This Proxy Statement contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks
and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by the
words “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,”
“intend,” “plan,” “objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,”
“predict,” “project,” “potential,” “target,” “seek,” “contemplate,”
“continue” and “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms, or other
comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the
future. These statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially
different from the information expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. Although
we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each
forward-looking statement contained in
this Proxy Statement, we caution you that these statements are
based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us
and our expectations of the future, about which we cannot be
certain. Forward-looking statements
include statements about:
• the
timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory
clearance of our cortical strip, grid and depth electrode
technology;
• even
if our cortical strip, grid electrode and depth electrode
technology is approved for commercial sale, our ability to
successfully commercialize our technology in the
United States;
• our
ability to achieve or sustain profitability;
• our
ability to raise additional capital and to fund our operations;
• the
availability of additional capital on acceptable terms or at all as
or when needed;
• the
clinical utility of our cortical strip, grid and depth electrode
including technology under development;
• our
ability to develop additional applications of our cortical strip,
grid and depth electrode technology with the benefits we hope to
offer as compared to existing technology, or at all;
• the
results of our development and distribution relationship with
Zimmer, Inc. (“Zimmer”);
• the
performance, productivity, reliability and regulatory compliance of
our third party manufacturers of our cortical strip, grid electrode
and depth electrode technology;
• our
ability to develop future generations of our cortical strip, grid
and depth electrode technology;
• our
future development priorities;
• the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our
business;
• our
ability to obtain reimbursement coverage for our cortical strip,
grid and depth electrode technology;
• our
expectations about the willingness of healthcare providers to
recommend our cortical strip, grid and depth electrode technology
to people with epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, essential
tremors, chronic pain due to failed back surgeries and other
related neurological disorders;
• our
future commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities
and strategy;
• our
expectations regarding international opportunities for
commercializing our cortical strip, grid and depth electrode
technology under including technology under development;
• our
ability to develop our cortical strip, grid and depth electrode
technology with the benefits we hope to offer as compared to
existing technology, or at all;
• our
estimates regarding the size of, and future growth in, the market
for our technology under development; and
• our
estimates regarding our future expenses and needs for additional
financing.
25
Forward-looking statements are based
on management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and
projections about our business and the industry in which we
operate, and management’s beliefs and assumptions are not
guarantees of future performance or development and involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are in some
cases beyond our control. You should refer to the “Risk Factors”
section of our annual report on Form 10-K for a discussion of important factors that may
cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed
or implied by our forward-looking
statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that
the forward-looking statements in this
Proxy Statement will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our
forward-looking statements prove to be
inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the
significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these
statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other
person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any
specified time frame, or at all.
These forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date of this Proxy Statement. Except as required by
law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these
forward-looking statements for any
reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.
You should, however, review the factors and risks and other
information we describe in the reports we will file from time to
time with the SEC after the date of this Proxy Statement.
Stockholder Proposals to be
Presented at Next Annual Meeting
Requirements for
Stockholder Proposals to be Brought Before an Annual
Meeting. Our Amended and Restated
Bylaws provide that for stockholder nominations to our Board or
other proposals to be considered at an annual meeting, the
stockholder must give timely notice thereof in writing to the
Secretary at 7599 Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344.
To be timely for the Company’s 2023 annual meeting of stockholders,
a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to or mailed and received
by our Secretary at our principal executive offices not earlier
than the close of business on January 31, 2023 and not later
than the close of business on March 2, 2023. A stockholder’s
notice to the Secretary must set forth as to each matter the
stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting the
information required by applicable law and our bylaws. In no event
will the public announcement of an adjournment or a postponement of
our annual meeting commence a new time period for the giving of a
stockholder’s notice as provided above.
Requirements for
Stockholder Proposals to be Considered for Inclusion in our Proxy
Materials. Stockholder proposals
submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8
under the Exchange Act and intended to be presented at our
2023 annual meeting of stockholders must be received by us not
later than December 30, 2022 in order to be considered for
inclusion in our proxy materials for that meeting. A stockholder’s
notice to the Secretary must set forth as to each matter the
stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting the
information required by applicable law and our bylaws.
To comply with the universal proxy rules (once effective),
stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director
nominees other than the company’s nominees must provide notice that
sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act no later than
April 1, 2023.
“Householding” — Stockholders
Sharing the Same Address
The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries
(such as brokers) to implement a delivery procedure called
“householding.” Under this procedure, multiple stockholders who
reside at the same address may receive a single copy of our annual
report on Form 10-K and proxy
materials unless the affected stockholder has provided other
instructions. This procedure reduces printing costs and postage
fees, and helps protect the environment as well.
We expect that a number of brokers with account holders who are our
stockholders will be “householding” our annual report on
Form 10-K and proxy materials. A
single set of an annual report on Form 10-K and other proxy materials will be delivered to
multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary
instructions have been received from one or more of the affected
stockholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that
it will be “householding” communications to your address,
“householding” will continue until you are notified otherwise or
until you revoke your consent. Stockholders may revoke their
consent at any time by contacting your broker.
26
Upon written or oral request, we will undertake to promptly deliver
a separate copy of the annual report on Form 10-K and other proxy materials to any stockholder at
a shared address to which a single copy of any of those documents
was delivered. To receive a separate copy of the annual report on
Form 10-K and other proxy
materials, you may write our Chief Financial Officer at 7599
Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344, or
call 952-426-1383.
Any stockholders who share the same address and currently receive
multiple copies of our annual report on Form 10-K and other proxy materials who wish to receive
only one copy in the future can contact their bank, broker or other
holder of record to request information about “householding” or our
Chief Executive Officer at the address or telephone number listed
above.
Available
Information
We will mail without charge, upon written request, a copy of our
annual report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, including the
financial statements and list of exhibits, and any exhibit
specifically requested. Requests should be sent to Ronald McClurg,
our Chief Financial Officer, 7599 Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie,
MN 55344.
27
OTHER
MATTERS
Our Board does not presently intend to bring any other business
before the Annual Meeting and, so far as is known to the Board, no
matters are to be brought before the Annual Meeting except as
specified in the Notice of the Annual Meeting. As to any business
that may arise and properly come before the Annual Meeting,
however, it is intended that proxies, in the form enclosed, will be
voted in respect thereof in accordance with the judgment of the
persons voting such proxies.
28

NEUROONE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES
CORPORATION PROXY FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS May
31, 2022 THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON
BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The undersigned stockholder of
NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation (the “Company”) hereby
appoints David Rosa and Paul Buckman, or either of them, each with
full power of substitution, as proxies of the undersigned to vote
all shares of common stock of the Company that the undersigned is
entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the
Company to be held on Tuesday, May 31, 2022,
9:00 a.m., Central time, at 7599 Anagram Dr., Eden Prairie, MN
55344, and all adjournments or postponements thereof, and to
otherwise represent the undersigned at the annual meeting with all
the powers possessed by the undersigned if personally present at
the meeting. The undersigned revokes any proxy previously given to
vote at such meeting. The undersigned hereby instructs said proxies
or their substitutes to vote as specified on the reverse side of
this card on each of the matters specified and in accordance with
their judgment on any other matters which may properly come before
the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. This proxy,
when properly executed, will be voted as directed. IF NO DIRECTION
IS INDICATED, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR THE NOMINEE IN PROPOSAL
1 AND FOR PROPOSAL 2. CONTINUED AND TO BE MARKED, DATED AND SIGNED
ON THE OTHER SIDE PLEASE DETACH ALONG PERFORATED LINE AND MAIL IN
THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED. Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy
Materials for the Annual Meeting: The 2022 Proxy Statement and 2021
Annual Report are available at
http://www.viewproxy.com/nmtc/2022

The Board of Directors recommends
you vote FOR the following: 1. Election of Class II Director:
Nominee: 01 David Rosa For Withhold Address Change/Comments: (If
you noted any Address Changes and/or Comments above, please mark
box.) Please mark your votes like this The Board of Directors
recommends you vote FOR proposal 2. For Against Abstain NOTE: Such
other business as may properly come before the meeting or any
adjournment thereof. I plan on attending the meeting Date:
Signature Signature (if held jointly) NOTE: Please sign exactly as
your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor,
administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such.
Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If
a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or
partnership name by authorized officer. Address Change/Comments:
(If you noted any Address Changes and/or Comments above, please
mark box.) CONTROL NUMBER PLEASE DETACH ALONG PERFORATED LINE AND
MAIL IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED. SCAN TO VIEW MATERIALS & VOTE
CONTROL NUMBER PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS Please have your
11-digit control
number ready when voting by Internet or Telephone INTERNET Vote
Your Proxy on the Internet: Go to www.AALVote.com/NMTC Have your
proxy card available when you access the above website. Follow the
prompts to vote your shares. TELEPHONE Vote Your Proxy by Phone:
Call 1 (866) 804-9616 Use any
touch-tone telephone to
vote your proxy. Have your proxy card available when you call.
Follow the voting instructions to vote your shares. MAIL Vote Your
Proxy by Mail: Mark, sign, and date your proxy card, then detach
it, and return it in the postage-paid envelope
provided.