UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On April 25, 2022, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of MeiraGTx Holdings plc (the “Company”), upon the recommendation of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, appointed Debra Yu, M.D. to the Board as a Class II director, effective immediately, with a term that expires at the Company’s 2023 annual meeting of shareholders and until her successor is duly elected and qualified. Dr. Yu was recommended as a potential candidate for election to our Board by the Company’s senior management and the Company’s largest shareholder, Perceptive Advisors, LLC.
Dr. Yu will be eligible to receive compensation for her service as a member of the Board pursuant to the terms of the Company’s Non-Employee Director Compensation Program previously filed with the SEC and as such terms have been described in the Company’s public disclosure. It is not currently known on which, if any, committee of the Board Dr. Yu may serve.
Dr. Yu currently serves as a member of the board of directors of ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corp V.
Dr. Yu has served as President and Chief Strategy Officer of LianBio since September 2021, and previously served as LianBio’s President and Chief Business Officer from October 2019 until September 2021. From August 2016 to September 2019, Dr. Yu served as Managing Director and Head of Cross Border Healthcare Investment Banking at China Renaissance Securities (U.S.), a brokerage firm. Prior to that, she was Managing Director of Labrador Advisors, LLC, where she advised numerous cross-border partnerships and licensing transactions from May 2009 to June 2016. Earlier in her career, she held senior positions in corporate and business development, where she advised numerous cross-border partnerships and licensing transactions, including at Pfizer in its Worldwide Business Development organization. Dr. Yu also previously served as a partner at two life science focused venture capital firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Yu received a bachelor’s degree with high honors in molecular biology from Princeton University and earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School.
We expect that Dr. Yu will enter into the Company’s standard form of indemnification agreement for its directors and officers. Dr. Yu was not selected as a director pursuant to any arrangement or understanding between her and any other person. There are no related party transactions between the Company and Dr. Yu.
Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
On April 27, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointment of Debra Yu, M.D. to the Board, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
The information in this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K (including Exhibit 99.1) shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, nor shall it be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
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Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
Exhibit No. |
| Description |
99.1 | Press release of MeiraGTx Holdings plc, dated April 27, 2022. | |
104 | Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). |
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: April 27, 2022 | ||
MEIRAGTX HOLDINGS PLC | ||
By: | /s/ Richard Giroux | |
Name: | Richard Giroux | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer | |
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Exhibit 99.1
MeiraGTx Appoints Debra Yu, MD to Board of Directors
LONDON and NEW YORK, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MeiraGTx Holdings plc (NASDAQ:MGTX), a vertically integrated, clinical stage gene therapy company, today announced the appointment of Dr. Debra Yu to its Board of Directors.
Dr. Yu currently serves as President and Chief Strategy Officer of LianBio, and previously served as LianBio’s President and Chief Business Officer. Dr. Yu has more than 30 years of healthcare industry experience in business development, alliance management, investment banking and capital markets. She has held senior positions at Pfizer in its Worldwide Business Development organization and Labrador Advisors, LLC, where she advised numerous partnerships and licensing transactions. Dr. Yu also previously served as a partner at two life science focused venture capital firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Yu received a bachelor’s degree with high honors in molecular biology from Princeton University and earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Yu to our board,” said Alexandria Forbes, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of MeiraGTx. “Her decades of business development and industry experience will bring a valuable perspective to the board as we continue to grow our company.”
About MeiraGTx
MeiraGTx (Nasdaq: MGTX) is a vertically integrated, clinical stage gene therapy company with six programs in clinical development and a broad pipeline of preclinical and research programs. MeiraGTx has core capabilities in viral vector design and optimization and gene therapy manufacturing, and a transformative gene regulation platform technology which allows tight, dose responsive control of gene expression by oral small molecules with dynamic range that can exceed 5000-fold. Led by an experienced management team, MeiraGTx has taken a portfolio approach by licensing, acquiring, and developing technologies that give depth across both product candidates and indications. MeiraGTx’s initial focus is on three distinct areas of unmet medical need: ocular, including inherited retinal diseases and large degenerative ocular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and severe forms of xerostomia. Though initially focusing on the eye, central nervous system, and salivary gland, MeiraGTx plans to expand its focus to develop additional gene therapy treatments for patients suffering from a range of serious diseases.
For more information, please visit www.meiragtx.com.
Contacts | |
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Investors: | |
MeiraGTx | |
Investors@meiragtx.com | |
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Media: | |
Jason Braco, Ph.D. | |
LifeSci Communications | |
jbraco@lifescicomms.com | |