Minerva Neurosciences, Inc 10-K/A, filed Apr 21, 2025
Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NERV)
About this 10-K/A
Minerva Neurosciences, Inc filed this 10-K/A on April 21, 2025, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
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ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) |
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
The |
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||
| Auditor Firm PCAOB ID: |
Auditor Name: |
Auditor Location: |
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MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC.
FORM 10-K/A
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| 1 | ||||||||
| ITEM 10. |
1 | |||||||
| ITEM 11. |
Executive Compensation | 5 | ||||||
| ITEM 12. |
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
12 | ||||||
| ITEM 13. |
Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions, and Director Independence |
15 | ||||||
| ITEM 14. |
18 | |||||||
| 19 | ||||||||
| ITEM 15. |
19 | |||||||
| 23 | ||||||||
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PART III
| ITEM 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance |
Information About Our Directors and Executive Officers.
Board of Directors
The table below sets forth our executive officers and directors as of March 31, 2025. We have also included below a summary of the business experience of each of our directors, including a discussion of the qualifications, attributes and skills that led our Board of Directors (the “Board”) to the conclusion that each of our directors should serve as a director of Minerva.
| Name | Age | Term Expires | Position | |||||||
| Dr. Remy Luthringer |
64 | 2027 | Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors | |||||||
| Hans Peter Hasler(1)(2)(3) |
69 | 2027 | Director | |||||||
| Dr. David Kupfer(1)(2)(3) |
84 | 2026 | Director | |||||||
| Dr. Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode(2) |
62 | 2025 | Director | |||||||
| Jan van Heek(1) |
75 | 2026 | Director | |||||||
| (1) | Member of the Audit Committee. Mr. van Heek serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. |
| (2) | Member of the Compensation Committee. Dr. Laghrissi-Thode serves as Chair of the Compensation Committee. |
| (3) | Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Dr. Kupfer serves as Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. |
Dr. Remy Luthringer has provided services to us since July 2010, first as a consultant and then as an employee beginning in May 2014. Dr. Luthringer was named our President and Chief Executive Officer in November 2014, and served as President until December 2017. He has served on our Board since November 2014. Dr. Luthringer previously served as an advisor to Medicxi Ventures, formerly Index Ventures Life Sciences, and before that served as an advisor to Index Ventures and as Chief Medical Officer to Index Life VI, a biotechnology fund raised by Index Ventures. Dr. Luthringer also serves on the board of directors of a number of private companies. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Neurosciences from University Louis Pasteur (France). Our Board believes that Dr. Luthringer should serve on our Board due to his extensive knowledge of our business as well as his corporate vision and operational knowledge, which provide strategic guidance to our Board.
Hans Peter Hasler has served on our Board since December 2017. Until 2020, Mr. Hasler served as the Chief Executive Officer of Vicarius Pharma AG, a privately held company that provided strategic options to non-European bio-pharma companies bringing late-stage assets to the European market. He is also Senior Advisor at SBTech Global Advisory. His prior experience includes Elan Corporation, where he was Chief Operating Officer, and Biogen, Inc., where his positions included Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Neurology and International. Previously, Mr. Hasler was at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director of Wyeth Group Germany and General Manager, Wyeth-Lederle Switzerland, Austria and ECE. Mr. Hasler has served as Chairman of the Board of HBM Healthcare Investments AG, a SIX Swiss Exchange listed company, since 2009. Mr. Hasler has served as the Chairman of Shield Therapeutics, an AIM-listed specialty-pharma company, since September 2018, and as a Director of Gain Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company, since March 2021. Mr. Hasler holds a Federal Swiss Commercial Diploma and a Marketing Manager Certificate from the Swiss Institute of Business Economy SIB, Zurich, Switzerland. Our Board believes Mr. Hasler’s experience helping bring late-stage assets to market, as well as his overall experience in the biotech industry in positions of leadership qualifies him to serve as a member of our Board.
Dr. David Kupfer has served on our Board since November 2015. Dr. Kupfer is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he chaired that department for 26 years. He also chaired the American Psychiatric Association Task Force for the development of the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (“DSM-5”), which defines the criteria for the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders. Dr. Kupfer received his M.D. from Yale University in 1965. Our Board believes that Dr. Kupfer’s extensive experience in the field of psychiatry qualifies him to serve on our Board.
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Dr. Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode has served on our Board since May 2015. Dr. Laghrissi-Thode has held positions of leadership at AstraZeneca, Roche and Novartis in a broad range of therapeutic areas, including central nervous system, cardiovascular, metabolic disease and genito-urinary health. She is currently Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of DalCor Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining DalCor, Dr. Laghrissi-Thode served as U.S. Vice President for the renal-cardio therapy area at AstraZeneca, Head of the South San Francisco site, and the chief executive officer of ZS Pharma, Inc. She was formerly vice president of the global cardiovascular and metabolism therapy area at AstraZeneca. Dr. Laghrissi-Thode holds an M.D. from the University of Tours School of Medicine in France, is board certified in psychiatry and was an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Our Board believes that Dr. Laghrissi-Thode’s extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and field of psychiatry qualifies her to serve on our Board.
Jan van Heek has served on our Board since July 2014. Mr. van Heek advises biotechnology and other healthcare companies in commercial strategy development, financing, and business development. He was previously a partner at BioPoint Group, a biotech consulting company. Prior to establishing BioPoint in 2009, Mr. van Heek spent over 18 years at Genzyme Corporation, a Sanofi pharmaceutical company, including as an Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to the chief executive officer. Mr. van Heek also previously served as a board member and chairman of the Audit Committee of Amarin Corporation, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company from 2010 to 2023. He was also a board member and chairman of the Audit Committee of ViaCell Corporation, a public company, from 2002 until it was sold to Perkin Elmer Corporation in 2007. He received an M.B.A. from St. Gallen University in Switzerland and an executive degree from Stanford Business School. Our Board believes that Mr. van Heek’s experience in the biotechnology industry and his executive experience, specifically his experience in executive officer positions at other companies in the biotechnology industry, as well as his service on other boards of directors, qualifies him to serve as a member of our Board.
Executive Officers
The table below sets forth information about our executive officers, including their ages as of March 31, 2025. We have also included below a brief summary of the business experience of each of our executive officers.
| Name | Age | Position | ||||
| Dr. Remy Luthringer |
64 | Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||||
| Geoffrey Race |
64 | President | ||||
| Frederick Ahlholm |
59 | SVP, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary | ||||
Dr. Remy Luthringer has served as our Chief Executive Officer since November 2014. Information regarding Dr. Luthringer can be found under the caption “Board of Directors” above.
Geoffrey Race has provided services to us since July 2010, first as a consultant and then as an employee beginning in May 2014. Mr. Race most recently held the positions of the Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, from May 2014 to October 2021, and Chief Business Officer from January 2016 to October 2021. Prior to joining us, Mr. Race served as the Chief Executive Officer and acting Chief Financial Officer of Funxional Therapeutics Ltd., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company which was spun out of Cambridge University, UK, from June 2010 to November 2013. Mr. Race is currently a member of the board of directors of Huq Industries Ltd. Mr. Race is also a founder and director of Cyber Industries Ltd., a UK-based private company developing software for building management systems. He was a director of Sensyne Health plc and of F-star Therapeutics Ltd. Mr. Race is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants and earned his M.B.A. from Durham University Business School (UK).
Frederick Ahlholm has provided services to us since January 2014, first as a consultant and then as an employee beginning in June 2014. Mr. Ahlholm most recently held the positions of the Company’s Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer from July 2014 to October 2021, and Senior Vice President of Finance from May 2015 to October 2021. Prior to joining us, Mr. Ahlholm served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer for Amarin Corporation, a commercial stage life science company. Mr. Ahlholm has over 20 years of experience leading the finance organization at publicly-traded life science companies. He began his career at Ernst & Young, is a CPA and earned his BA in Business Administration at the University of Notre Dame.
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Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee of the Board was established by the Board in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act to oversee the Company’s corporate accounting and financial reporting processes and audits of its financial statements. For this purpose, the Audit Committee performs several functions. The Audit Committee, among other things, evaluates the performance of and assesses the qualifications of the independent registered public accounting firm; determines and approves the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm; determines whether to retain or terminate the existing independent registered public accounting firm or to appoint and engage a new independent registered public accounting firm; reviews and approves the retention of the independent registered public accounting firm to perform any proposed permissible non-audit services; monitors the rotation of partners of the independent registered public accounting firm on the Company’s audit engagement team as required by law; reviews and approves or rejects transactions between the Company and any related persons; confers with management regarding the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting; establishes procedures, as required under applicable law, for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and the confidential and anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and meets to review the Company’s annual audited consolidated financial statements and quarterly unaudited consolidated financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm.
The Audit Committee is currently composed of three directors: Mr. van Heek (Chair), Mr. Hasler and Dr. Kupfer. The Board has adopted a written Audit Committee charter that is available on the Company’s website at http://ir.minervaneurosciences.com/corporate-governance.
The Board reviews the Nasdaq listing standards definition of independence for Audit Committee members on an annual basis and has determined that Dr. Kupfer and Messrs. Hasler and van Heek are independent (as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) of the Nasdaq listing standards).
The Board has also determined that Mr. van Heek qualifies as an “audit committee financial experts,” as defined in applicable SEC rules. The Board made a qualitative assessment of Mr. van Heek’s level of knowledge and experience based on a number of factors, including his formal education and experience serving on audit committees for public reporting companies. The Board has also determined that each of the Audit Committee members is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Code of Ethics”), which applies to all officers, directors and employees. The Code of Ethics is available on our website at http://ir.minervaneurosciences.com/corporate-governance. Any amendments to the Code of Ethics, or any waivers of its requirements, are expected to be disclosed on our website to the extent required by applicable rules and exchange requirements, including in order to satisfy Item 5.05 of Form 8-K. The reference to our website address here and elsewhere in this proxy statement does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website.
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Insider Trading Policy
We have adopted an insider trading policy governing the purchase, sale and/or other dispositions of our securities by our directors, officers and employees (the “Insider Trading Policy”). A copy of the Insider Trading Policy is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. In addition, it is the Company’s practice to comply with the applicable laws and regulations relating to insider trading.
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| ITEM 11. | Executive Compensation |
Executive Compensation
Summary Compensation Table
The following table shows for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the compensation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and two other most highly compensated executive officers as of December 31, 2024 (collectively, our “named executive officers”).
| NAME AND PRINCIPAL POSITION |
YEARS | SALARY ($) |
BONUS ($) |
OPTION AWARDS ($)(1) |
ALL OTHER COMPENSATION ($) |
TOTAL ($) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dr. Remy Luthringer |
2024 | 649,064 | 356,985 | (2) | 197,400 | 6,535 | (3) | 1,209,984 | ||||||||||||||||
| Chief Executive Officer |
2023 | 624,100 | 644,419 | 560,511 | 6,130 | 1,835,160 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Geoffrey Race |
2024 | 492,018 | 246,009 | (2) | 178,600 | 3,103 | (3) | 919,730 | ||||||||||||||||
| President |
2023 | 473,094 | 437,064 | 485,739 | 3,144 | 1,399,041 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Frederick Ahlholm |
2024 | 449,513 | 202,281 | (2) | 89,300 | 13,062 | (4) | 754,156 | ||||||||||||||||
| SVP, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary |
2023 | 432,224 | 281,256 | 239,103 | 12,537 | 965,120 | ||||||||||||||||||
| (1) | In accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the option awards granted during 2024 computed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 for stock-based compensation transactions (“ASC 718”). Assumptions used in valuing options are described in Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2025. The aggregate grant date fair value does not take into account any estimated forfeitures related to service-vesting conditions. These amounts do not reflect the actual economic value that will be realized by the named executive officers upon the vesting or exercise of the stock options, or the sale of the common stock underlying such stock options. |
| (2) | Represents the annual bonus paid in December 2024 and January 2025, which was 100% of the officer’s annual target bonus for 2024. |
| (3) | Represents life insurance premiums paid in 2024 by the Company. |
| (4) | Represents $12,075 paid in 2024 by the Company in 401(k) contributions and $987 paid in 2024 by the Company for life insurance premiums. |
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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table shows for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, certain information regarding outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end for the named executive officers.
| Option Awards | Stock Awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable |
Option Exercise Price ($) |
Option Expiration Date |
Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of shares or units of stock that have not vested (#) |
Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market value of shares or units of stock that have not vested ($) |
||||||||||||||||||
| Dr. Remy Luthringer |
25,000 | — | 28.00 | 10/12/2030 | 88,076 | (5) | 195,705 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 43,400 | (1) | 19,725 | 6.33 | 2/15/2032 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 22,500 | (2) | 22,500 | 3.11 | 12/12/2032 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 25,113 | (3) | 75,337 | 6.41 | 10/3/2033 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| — | 105,000 | (4) | 2.12 | 12/4/2034 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Geoffrey Race |
17,500 | — | 28.00 | 10/12/2030 | 46,987 | (5) | 104,405 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 17,190 | (1) | 7,810 | 6.33 | 2/15/2032 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 19,000 | (2) | 19,000 | 3.11 | 12/12/2032 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 21,763 | (3) | 65,287 | 6.41 | 10/3/2033 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| — | 95,000 | (4) | 2.12 | 12/4/2034 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| Frederick Ahlholm |
10,625 | — | 28.00 | 10/12/2030 | 19,843 | (5) | 44,091 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 15,470 | (1) | 7,030 | 6.33 | 2/15/2032 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13,000 | (2) | 13,000 | 3.11 | 12/12/2032 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10,713 | (3) | 32,137 | 6.41 | 10/3/2033 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| — | 47,500 | (4) | 2.12 | 12/4/2034 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| (1) | 25% of the shares subject to the option vested and became exercisable on February 16, 2023 and the balance of the shares vest and become exercisable in a series of twelve equal quarterly installments upon the executive officer’s completion of each quarter of service over the three-year period thereafter. |
| (2) | 25% of the shares subject to the option vested and became exercisable on December 13, 2023 and the balance of the shares vest and become exercisable in a series of twelve equal quarterly installments upon the executive officer’s completion of each quarter of service over the three-year period thereafter. |
| (3) | 25% of the shares subject to the option vested and became exercisable on October 4, 2024 and the balance of the shares vest and become exercisable in a series of twelve equal quarterly installments upon the executive officer’s completion of each quarter of service over the three-year period thereafter. |
| (4) | 25% of the shares subject to the option will vest and become exercisable on December 5, 2025 and the balance of the shares vest and become exercisable in a series of twelve equal quarterly installments upon the executive officer’s completion of each quarter of service over the three-year period thereafter. |
| (5) | Consists of performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) granted pursuant to our tender offer in August 2021, which vest as follows: (i) 50% of the PRSUs vest upon FDA acceptance of a new drug application for roluperidone, provided that such acceptance is not “over protest” and occurs within three years after the grant date, and (ii) the remaining unvested PRSUs vest upon roluperidone receiving FDA marketing approval, provided that such approval occurs within five years after the grant date, subject, in either case, to the grantee’s continued service through the applicable milestone. The first milestone was achieved on April 28, 2023, and as a result 88,077, 46,987 and 19,843 of the PRSUs vested with respect to each of Dr. Luthringer, Mr. Race and Mr. Ahlholm. The number of PRSUs in the table above represents the remaining PRSUs that vest upon achievement of the second milestone. |
| (6) | The Company’s stock price, trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NERV”, was $2.222 as of December 31, 2024. |
Arrangements with Our Executive Officers
Each of our named executive officers is party to a written employment agreement with us.
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Dr. Remy Luthringer
We entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Dr. Luthringer through our wholly owned subsidiary, Mind-NRG SARL, on August 1, 2016, as amended by that certain First Amendment to the Employment Agreement with Dr. Luthringer effective as of December 13, 2022, and as amended by that certain Second Amendment to the Employment Agreement with Dr. Luthringer effective as of March 6, 2023, which sets forth the current terms of his employment with us. Dr. Luthringer’s principal place of work is the main office of the Company in Geneva, Switzerland.
Effective January 1, 2024, Dr. Luthringer was entitled to an annual base salary of $649,064. Dr. Luthringer is also eligible for a discretionary bonus payment for each calendar year of up to 55% of his base salary. Dr. Luthringer is also eligible to participate in the Company’s employee benefit, welfare and other plans generally available to the other similarly situated employees of the Company, as may be maintained by the Company from time to time, and he is eligible for equity awards under the Company’s equity incentive plans, subject to the Company’s discretion.
Pursuant to Dr. Luthringer’s employment agreement, he or the Company may terminate his employment upon six months’ written notice, or immediately if there are “valid reasons” under Swiss law.
If Dr. Luthringer’s employment with us ends due to his death, his beneficiaries or estate will be entitled to (1) payment of any earned but unpaid base salary; (2) two months of base salary; (3) payment of any vacation time earned but not used; (4) pro rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus; and (5) payment of any amounts accrued and payable under the terms of any of our benefit plans.
If Dr. Luthringer’s employment with us ends due to his disability or we terminate his employment for “cause,” he will be entitled to (1) payment of his base salary during the six-month written notice period; (2) payment of any earned but unpaid base salary; (3) payment of any vacation time earned but not used; and (4) payment of any amounts accrued and payable under the terms of any of our benefit plans.
If Dr. Luthringer’s employment with us ends without “cause” and not by reason of disability, or he resigns for “good reason,” he will be entitled to (1) payment of his base salary during the six-month written notice period; (2) payment of any earned but unpaid base salary; (3) payment of any vacation time earned but not used; (4) payment of any amounts accrued and payable under the terms of any of our benefit plans; (5) continued payment of his base salary for 12 months following his termination; (6) pro rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus; and (7) vesting of his outstanding equity awards as if he had completed an additional six months of continuous employment.
If Dr. Luthringer’s employment with us or our successor ends due to his resignation for “good reason” or his termination by us or our successor without “cause,” in each case within 12 months immediately following a change in control of the Company, Dr. Luthringer will be entitled to (1) payment of his base salary during the six-month written notice period; (2) payment of any earned but unpaid base salary; (3) payment of any vacation time earned but not used; (4) payment of any amounts accrued and payable under the terms of any of our benefit plans; (5) continued payment of his base salary for 18 months, following his termination (6) 100% of his target annual performance bonus for the year in which the termination occurs; and (7) vesting in full of all of his outstanding equity awards.
Dr. Luthringer’s severance benefits are conditioned, among other things, on a satisfactory release of claims in favor of the Company and his compliance with post-termination obligations under his employment agreement.
For purposes of Dr. Luthringer’s employment agreement, Dr. Luthringer may end his employment by resignation for “good reason” if, without his written consent, there is (1) a material diminution in the nature or scope of his responsibilities, duties or authority; (2) a material reduction in his base salary; (3) relocation of his principal work location more than 50 miles from the location of his principal work location as of immediately prior to such relocation; or (4) our material breach of his employment agreement.
Further, for purposes of Dr. Luthringer’s employment agreement, we may terminate him for “cause” if he (1) is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; (2) commits an act of fraud or embezzlement against us or our affiliates; (3) materially breaches his employment agreement and fails to cure such breach within 30 days;
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(4) materially violates any of our written policies and fails to cure such violation within 30 days; (5) materially fails or materially refuses to substantially perform his duties (other than by reason of a physical or mental impairment) or to implement the lawful written directives of our board of directors that are consistent with his position, and such material failure or material refusal continues for 30 days following written notice from the Company; (6) willfully engages in conduct or willfully omits to take any action, resulting in material injury to us or our affiliates, monetarily or otherwise (including with respect to our ability to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations); or (7) materially breaches his fiduciary duties as our officer or as a member of our board of directors.
Geoffrey Race
We entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Mr. Race through our wholly owned subsidiary, Mind-NRG SARL, on August 1, 2016, which sets forth the current terms of his employment with us, as amended by that certain First Amendment to Employment Agreement dated October 11, 2021. Mr. Race’s principal place of work is Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Effective January 1, 2024, Mr. Race was entitled to an annual base salary of $492,018. Mr. Race is also eligible for a discretionary annual bonus payment for each calendar year of up to 50% of his base salary. Mr. Race is also eligible to participate in the Company’s employee benefit, welfare and other plans generally available to the other similarly situated employees of the Company, as may be maintained by the Company from time to time, and he is eligible for equity awards under the Company’s equity incentive plans, subject to the Company’s discretion.
Pursuant to Mr. Race’s employment agreement, he or the Company may terminate his employment upon 12-month written notice. The Company may also, in its sole and absolute discretion, immediately terminate Mr. Race’s employment, provided Mr. Race receives payment of his salary during the 12-month written notice period in lieu of notice and with pro rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus.
If Mr. Race’s employment with us ends due to his death, his beneficiaries and/or estate will be entitled to, among other accrued obligations, a payment of a pro rata portion of his annual performance bonus.
If Mr. Race’s employment with us ends due to his termination by us other than for “cause,” he will be entitled to (1) payment of his salary during the 12-month written notice period; (2) pro rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus; and (3) vesting of his outstanding equity awards as if he had completed an additional 12 months of continuous employment.
If Mr. Race’s employment with us or our successor ends due to his resignation for “good reason” or his termination by us or our successor without “cause” (and not due to death) within 12 months immediately following a change in control of the Company, Mr. Race will be entitled to (1) payment of his salary during the 12-month written notice period; (2) pro rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus; (3) payment equal to 12 months’ base salary; (4) 100% of his target annual performance bonus for the year in which the termination occurs; and (5) vesting in full of all of his outstanding equity awards.
Mr. Race’s benefits are conditioned, among other things, on a satisfactory release of claims in favor of the Company and his compliance with post-termination obligations under his employment agreement.
For purposes of Mr. Race’s employment agreement, Mr. Race may end his employment by resignation for “good reason” if, without his written consent, there is (1) a material diminution in the nature or scope of his responsibilities, duties or authority; (2) a material reduction in his base salary; (3) relocation of his principal work location more than 50 miles from the location of his principal work location as of immediately prior to such relocation; or (4) our material breach of his employment agreement.
Further, for purposes of Mr. Race’s employment agreement, we may terminate him for “cause” if he (1) commits any act of gross misconduct; (2) commits any material or persistent breach of the terms of his employment agreement, including any willful neglect or refusal to carry out any of his duties or to comply with any reasonable and lawful instructions from our board; (3) materially violates any of our written policies and fails to cure such violation within thirty (30) days following written notice from us; (4) commits an act of fraud or embezzlement against us or our
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affiliates; (5) willfully engages in conduct or willfully omits to take any action, resulting in material injury to us or our affiliates, monetarily or otherwise (including with respect to our or our affiliates’ ability to comply with our or their legal or regulatory obligations); (6) materially breaches his fiduciary duties as our officer or as a member of our board of directors; (7) is convicted of any criminal offense (other than an offense under the Road Traffic Acts for which a penalty of imprisonment cannot be imposed); (8) commits any act which constitutes an offense under the Bribery Act 2010 whether done for our benefit or not; (9) has a bankruptcy order made against him or enters into a voluntary arrangement with his creditors; or (10) is prohibited by law from holding office in the Company or any other company or is disqualified or disbarred from membership of, or be subject to any serious disciplinary sanction by any professional or other body, which undermines the confidence of the board of directors in his continued employment with the Company.
Frederick Ahlholm
We entered into an Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Mr. Ahlholm on October 11, 2021, which replaced and superseded the May 30, 2014 and the August 1, 2016 offer letters between Mr. Ahlholm and us. Mr. Ahlholm’s principal place of work is Waltham, Massachusetts. Effective as of the Amended and Restated Agreement, Mr. Ahlholm was entitled to an annual base salary of $400,000, which increased to $449,513 effective January 1, 2024. Mr. Ahlholm is also eligible to receive a discretionary bonus payment for each calendar year that ends during his employment of up to 45% of his base salary for that calendar year. Mr. Ahlholm is also eligible to participate in the Company’s employee benefit, welfare and other plans generally available to the other similarly situated employees of the Company, and is eligible for equity awards under the Company’s equity incentive plans, subject to the Company’s discretion.
Pursuant to Mr. Ahlholm’s employment agreement, if his employment with us ends due to his death, his beneficiaries or estate will be entitled to (1) payment of any earned but unpaid base salary; (2) payment of any vacation time earned but not used; (3) pro-rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus; and (4) payment of any amounts accrued and payable under the terms of any of our benefit plans.
If Mr. Ahlholm’s employment with us ends due to his disability or we terminate his employment for “cause,” he will be entitled to (1) payment of any earned but unpaid base salary; (2) payment of any vacation time earned but not used; and (3) payment of any amounts accrued and payable under the terms of any of our benefit plans.
If Mr. Ahlholm’s employment with us ends due to his termination by us without “cause,” he will be entitled to (1) payment of his salary for 9 months; (2) payment of his COBRA premiums, less the amount charged to active employees for health coverage, for up to 9 months; (3) pro-rata payment of his discretionary annual bonus; (4) vesting of his outstanding equity awards as to that number of the then-unvested underlying shares of common stock that would have vested over the 9-month period following the end of Mr. Ahlholm’s employment; and (5) for a period of nine (9) months immediately following termination , waiver of the obligation that Mr. Ahlholm remain in service, such that Mr. Ahlholm’s PRSUs would remain eligible to vest based solely on satisfaction of the applicable performance milestones prior to the expiration of such 9-month period.
If Mr. Ahlholm’s employment with us or our successor ends due to his resignation for “good reason” or his termination by us or our successor without “cause,” within 12 months immediately following a change in control of the Company, Mr. Ahlholm will be entitled to (1) payment of his salary for 12 months; (2) payment of his COBRA premiums, less the amount charged to active employees for health coverage, for up to 12 months; (3) 100% of his discretionary bonus for the year in which the termination occurs; and (4) vesting of his outstanding equity awards as to all then-unvested underlying shares of common stock (including with respect to all outstanding unvested options and any unvested PRSUs).
Mr. Ahlholm’s benefits are conditioned, among other things, on a satisfactory release of claims in favor of the Company and his compliance with post-termination obligations under his employment agreement.
For purposes of Mr. Ahlholm’s employment agreement, Mr. Ahlholm may end his employment by resignation for “good reason” if, without his written consent, there is (1) a material diminution in the nature or scope of his responsibilities, duties or authority (provided, however, that a requirement that Mr. Ahlholm act as officer, director or in any other corporate function within the group shall not constitute good reason); (2) a material reduction in his base salary; (3) relocation of his principal work location more than 50 miles from the location of his principal work location as of immediately prior to such relocation; or (4) our material breach of his employment agreement.
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Further, for purposes of Mr. Ahlholm’s employment agreement, we may terminate him for “cause” if he (1) is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; (2) commits an act of fraud or embezzlement against us or our affiliates; (3) uses or discloses without authorization confidential information or trade secrets of the Company for his benefit or materially breaches a written agreement between him and the Company; (4) materially violates any of our written policies and fails to cure such violation within 30 days; (5) materially fails or materially refuses to substantially perform his duties (other than by reason of a physical or mental impairment) or to implement the lawful written directives of our board of directors that are consistent with his position, and such material failure or material refusal continues for 30 days following written notice from the Company; (6) willfully engages in conduct or willfully omits to take any action, resulting in material injury to us or our affiliates, monetarily or otherwise (including with respect to our ability to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations); or (7) materially breaches his fiduciary duties as our officer or as a member of our board of directors.
Confidentiality and Assignment Agreements
Each of the employment agreements with our named executive officers contains provisions with respect to confidential information and assignment of inventions. Among other things, each agreement requires each named executive officer to refrain from disclosing any of our proprietary information received during the course of employment or service with us, and to assign to us any inventions conceived or developed during the course of employment or service with us.
Payments Upon a Change in Control
In addition to payments and benefits under their employment agreements described above, pursuant to the terms of our Amended and Restated 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, if one or more of the awards granted to our named executive officers are not assumed or otherwise continued in effect by the successor corporation in the event of a change in control, such awards automatically accelerate and vest in full immediately prior to the change in control (assuming such officer remains in continuous service as of immediately prior to such change in control).
Director Compensation
Director Compensation Table
The following table presents the total compensation for each person, other than our Chief Executive Officer, who served as a member of our Board during 2024. Other than as set forth in the table and described more fully below, we did not pay any compensation, reimburse any expense of, make any equity awards or non-equity awards to, or pay any other compensation to any of the non-employee members of our Board in 2024.
| Name | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) |
Option Awards(1)(2) ($) |
Total ($) |
|||||||||
| Hans Peter Hasler |
52,500 | 23,125 | 75,625 | |||||||||
| Jeryl Hilleman(3) |
37,500 | — | 37,500 | |||||||||
| Dr. David Kupfer |
60,875 | 23,125 | 84,000 | |||||||||
| Dr. Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode |
47,000 | 23,125 | 70,125 | |||||||||
| Jan van Heek |
44,375 | 23,125 | 67,500 | |||||||||
| (1) | In accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the option awards granted during 2024 computed in accordance with ASC 718. The assumptions we used in valuing the option awards are described in Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2024 (as amended by Form 10-K/A). The aggregate grant date fair value does not take into account any estimated forfeitures related to service-vesting conditions. These amounts do not reflect the actual economic value that will be realized by a director upon the vesting of the stock options, the exercise of the stock options or the sale of the common stock underlying such stock options. Pursuant to our non-employee director compensation policy as then in effect, each of our non-employee directors was granted an option to purchase 12,500 shares of our common stock on December 5, 2024 at an exercise price of $2.12 per share. |
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| (2) | As of December 31, 2024, the aggregate number of shares subject to outstanding equity awards held by our non-employee directors who served on our Board during 2024 was: |
| Name | Stock Options |
|||
| Hans Peter Hasler |
42,500 | |||
| Jeryl Hilleman(3) |
— | |||
| Dr. David Kupfer |
43,749 | |||
| Dr. Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode |
43,749 | |||
| Jan van Heek |
41,561 | |||
| (3) | Ms. Hilleman resigned from the Board effective August 6, 2024. |
Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy
Our Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan, as adopted by our Board, became effective April 1, 2018 and was amended on November 29,2023. Under the terms of the current plan, each non-employee director is eligible to receive an annual cash retainer of $40,000. The Lead Independent Director is eligible to receive an additional annual cash retainer of $10,000. The chairpersons of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are each eligible to receive additional annual cash retainers of $15,000, $12,250 and $9,500, respectively. Other members of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are eligible to receive additional annual cash retainers of $9,000, $6,000 and $5,000, respectively.
Under the terms of the current plan, each newly elected non-employee member of the Board is also eligible to receive a one-time grant of an option to purchase 5,000 shares of common stock promptly following election or appointment to the Board (“New Director Welcome Options”). The New Director Welcome Options vest quarterly over three years, provided that the applicable non-employee director is, as of such vesting date, a non-employee director of the Company.
In addition, each non-employee director is eligible to receive an annual option grant to purchase 12,500 shares of common stock per year (“New Annual Grants”). The New Annual Grants vest in equal quarterly installments over one year, provided that the applicable non-employee director is, as of such vesting date, a non-employee director of the Company.
Our Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan was further amended on December 5, 2024, which became effective on January 1, 2025. Under the terms of the plan, as most recently amended, each non-employee director is eligible to receive an annual cash retainer of $40,000. The Lead Independent Director is eligible to receive an additional annual cash retainer of $20,000. The chairpersons of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are each eligible to receive additional annual cash retainers of $18,000, $12,250 and $9,500, respectively. Other members of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are eligible to receive additional annual cash retainers of $9,000, $6,000 and $5,000, respectively. The New Director Welcome Options have been increased to 9,500 shares of the Company’s common stock and the New Annual Grants have been decreased to 4,750 shares of the Company’s common stock.
Clawback Policy
In November 2023, our Board adopted a written compensation recovery policy in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and applicable Nasdaq rules, a copy of which is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
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Policies and Practices Related to the Grant of Certain Equity Awards Close in Time to the Release of Material Nonpublic Information
From time to time, we grant stock options to employees, including the named executive officers. Also, non-employee directors receive automatic grants of initial and annual stock option awards, at the time of a director’s initial appointment or election to the Board and at the time of each annual meeting of the Company’s stockholders, respectively, pursuant to our Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Plan, as further described under the heading “—Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy” above. We do not otherwise maintain any written policies on the timing of awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, or similar instruments with option-like features. Neither our Board nor our Compensation Committee takes material non-public information (“MNPI”) about the Company into account when determining the timing of equity awards, nor do we time the disclosure of MNPI for the purpose of impacting the value of executive compensation.
| ITEM 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
The following table sets forth certain information regarding the ownership of the Company’s common stock as of March 31, 2025 by: (i) each director; (ii) each named executive officer; (iii) all executive officers and directors of the Company as a group; and (iv) all those known by the Company to be beneficial owners of more than five percent of its common stock.
Beneficial ownership of securities is determined according to the rules of the SEC and generally means, with respect to a security, that a person or entity possesses sole or shared voting or investment power of such security, including options and warrants that are currently exercisable or will be exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. Options to purchase shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025 are deemed to be beneficially owned by the person holding these options for the purpose of computing percentage ownership of that person, but they are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing any other person’s ownership percentage.
This table is based upon information supplied by officers, directors and principal stockholders and Schedules 13G or 13D filed with the SEC. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property laws where applicable, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our common stock beneficially owned by them. Applicable percentages are based on 6,993,406 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2025, adjusted as required by rules promulgated by the SEC.
| Name of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned |
Percentage of Ownership |
||||||
| Named Executive Officers and Directors: |
||||||||
| Dr. Remy Luthringer(2) |
313,868 | 4.4 | % | |||||
| Geoffrey Race(3) |
136,154 | 1.9 | % | |||||
| Frederick Ahlholm(4) |
73,035 | 1.0 | % | |||||
| Dr. Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode(5) |
34,374 | * | ||||||
| Dr. David Kupfer(6) |
58,310 | * | ||||||
| Hans Peter Hasler(7) |
34,375 | * | ||||||
| Jan van Heek(8) |
33,791 | * | ||||||
| All current executive officers and directors as a group (7 persons)(10) |
683,907 | 9.2 | % | |||||
| Greater than 5% Stockholders: |
||||||||
| Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (11) |
1,428,708 | 19.99 | % | |||||
| Funds affiliated with Federated Hermes, Inc.(12) |
1,351,275 | 19.3 | % | |||||
| * | Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1% of our outstanding common stock. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the address of each of those listed in the table is c/o Minerva Neurosciences, Inc., 1500 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. |
| (2) | Consists of (a) 115,825 shares of common stock beneficially owned by Wint2felden Holding SA, a company wholly owned by Dr. Luthringer; (b) 68,994 shares of common stock owned by Dr. Luthringer himself, and (c) options to purchase 129,049 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (3) | Consists of (a) 51,324 shares of common stock and (b) options to purchase 84,830 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
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| (4) | Consists of (a) 17,518 shares of common stock and (b) options to purchase 55,517 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (5) | Consists of options to purchase 34,374 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (6) | Consists of (a) 23,936 shares of common stock and (b) options to purchase 34,374 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (7) | Consists of (a) 1,250 shares of common stock and (b) options to purchase 33,125 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (8) | Consists of (a) 2,542 shares of common stock and (b) options to purchase 31,249 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (9) | Consists of (a) 281,389 shares of common stock and (b) options to purchase 402,518 shares of common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025. |
| (10) | This information is based partially on the information reported on the Schedule 13D filed by Boehringer AG (“BI GP”) and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH on July 7, 2023. The amount reported consists of (i) 1,275,000 shares of our common stock and (ii) 153,708 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of pre-funded warrants. The shares underlying the following pre-funded warrants are excluded from the amount reported above as beneficially owned because they are subject to limitations on exercisability if such exercise would result in Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH beneficially owning more than 19.99% of our outstanding common stock: 71,517 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of pre-funded warrants. Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG, the General Partner of which is BI GP. BI GP and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH may each be deemed to have shared voting and dispositive power over all of the securities held by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH. The address of each of BI GP and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH is Binger Straße 173, 55216 Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. |
| (11) | This information is based partially on the information reported on the Schedule 13G/A filed by Federated Hermes, Inc. (the “Federated Hermes Parent”) on January 18, 2024. The amount reported consists of (i) 605,000 shares of our common stock held by Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap Fund, a portfolio of Federated Hermes Equity Funds (“Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap Fund”); (ii) 725,000 shares of our common stock held by Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund, a portfolio of Federated Hermes Equity Funds (“Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund”); and (iii) 21,275 shares of our common stock held by Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund II, a portfolio of Federated Hermes Insurance Series (“Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund II” and together with Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap Fund and Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund, the “Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds”). In addition to the foregoing shares, as of December 31, 2024, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap Fund, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund and Federated Hermes Kaufmann Fund II held pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 350,350 shares of our common stock, which are excluded from the amount reported above as beneficially owned because they are subject to limitations on exercisability if such exercise would result in Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, in the aggregate, beneficially owning more than 14.99% of our outstanding common stock. The Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds are managed by Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania and subadvised by Federated Global Investment Management Corp., which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of FII Holdings, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Federated Hermes Parent. All of the Federated Hermes Parent’s outstanding voting stock is held in the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust for which Thomas R. Donahue, Ann C. Donahue and J. Christopher Donahue, who are collectively referred to as Federated Trustees, act as trustees. The Federated Hermes Parent’s subsidiaries have the power to direct the vote and disposition of the securities held by the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds. The business address of each Federated Trustee is 4000 Ericsson Drive, Warrendale, PA 15086-7561. The address of each of the Federated Hermes Parent and the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds is Federated Investors Tower, 1011 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. |
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Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The following table provides certain information with respect to all of the Company’s equity compensation plans in effect as of December 31, 2024.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
| Plan Category | Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, stock appreciation rights, stock awards and restricted stock units (a)(1) |
Weighted- average exercise price of outstanding options, stock appreciation rights, stock awards and restricted stock units(2) |
Number of securities remaining available for issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) |
|||||||||
| Equity compensation plans approved by security holders |
1,715,443 | $ | 8.34 | 32,361 | ||||||||
| Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders |
— | — | — | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| Total |
1,715,443 | $ | 8.34 | 32,361 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| (1) | Consists of 1,487,234 shares subject to outstanding options and 228,209 shares subject to outstanding performance-based restricted stock unit awards. |
| (2) | The weighted-average exercise price does not reflect the shares of our common stock that will be issued in connection with the settlement of performance-based restricted stock unit awards, which have no exercise price. |
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| ITEM 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions, and Director Independence |
Policies and Procedures Regarding Transactions with Related Persons
We have adopted a related person transaction policy that sets forth our procedures for the identification, review, consideration, and approval or ratification of related person transactions. For purposes of our policy only, a related person transaction is a transaction, arrangement, or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we and any related person are, were, or will be participants in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000. Transactions involving compensation for services provided to us as an employee or director are not covered by this policy. A related person is any executive officer, director, or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, including any of their immediate family members and any entity owned or controlled by such persons.
Under the policy, if a transaction has been identified as a related person transaction, including any transaction that was not a related person transaction when originally consummated, or any transaction that was not initially identified as a related person transaction prior to consummation, our management must present information regarding the related person transaction to our Audit Committee, or, if Audit Committee approval would be inappropriate, to another independent body of our Board, for review, consideration, and approval or ratification. The presentation must include a description of, among other things, the material facts, the interests, direct and indirect, of the related persons, the benefits to us of the transaction and whether the transaction is on terms that are comparable to the terms available to or from, as the case may be, an unrelated third party, or to or from employees generally. Under the policy, we will collect information that we deem reasonably necessary from each director, executive officer and, to the extent feasible, significant stockholder to enable us to identify any existing or potential related person transactions and to effectuate the terms of the policy. In addition, under our Code of Ethics, our employees and directors have an affirmative responsibility to disclose any transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest.
In considering related person transactions, our Audit Committee, or other independent body of our Board, will take into account the relevant available facts and circumstances including, but not limited to:
| • | the risks, costs, and benefits to us; |
| • | the impact on a director’s independence in the event that the related person is a director, immediate family member of a director or an entity with which a director is affiliated; |
| • | the availability of other sources for comparable services or products; and |
| • | the terms available to or from, as the case may be, unrelated third parties, or to or from employees generally. |
The policy requires that, in determining whether to approve, ratify, or reject a related person transaction, our Audit Committee, or other independent body of our Board, must consider, in light of known circumstances, whether the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent with, our best interests and those of our stockholders, as our Audit Committee, or other independent body of our Board, determines in the good faith exercise of its discretion.
All of the transactions described below under “Certain Related Person Transactions” were approved by the Audit Committee in accordance with our related person transaction policy.
Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions
Other than compensation arrangements for our directors and executive officers, which are described elsewhere in this Amendment to Annual Report on Form 10-K, below is a description of transactions since January 1, 2023 to which the Company was a party or will be a party, in which:
| • | the amounts involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000 (or, if less, 1% of the average of our total assets at December 31, 2024 and 2023, as applicable); and |
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| • | any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of the company’s capital stock, or any member of the immediate family of, or person sharing the household with, the foregoing persons, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest. |
2023 Private Placement
On June 27, 2023, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) with the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (collectively, the “Investors”), pursuant to which we agreed to issue and sell to the Investors in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) (i) an aggregate of 1,425,000 shares of our common stock, at a purchase price of $10.00 per share, and (ii) in lieu of additional shares of our common stock, pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 575,575 shares of common stock, at a purchase price of $9.99 per pre-funded warrant. The price per pre-funded warrant represents the price of $10.00 per share sold in the Private Placement, minus the $0.01 per share exercise price of each such pre-funded warrant. The pre-funded warrants are exercisable at any time after their original issuance and will not expire until exercised in full. The Private Placement closed on June 30, 2023, as a result of which we received aggregate net proceeds of approximately $19.6 million after deducting offering expenses of approximately $0.4 million payable by us.
Pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-273686), which was declared effective by the SEC on August 9, 2023, covering the resale of the Registrable Securities (as such term is defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement). We have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to keep such registration statement effective until the earlier of (i) the third anniversary of the effective date of the initial registration statement covering the Registrable Securities; (ii) the date all Shares and all shares of common stock underlying the pre-funded warrants may be sold under Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, without being subject to any volume, manner of sale or publicly available information requirements; or (iii) immediately prior to the closing of a Change of Control (as such term is defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement).
Immediately prior to the closing of the Private Placement, the Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds were the beneficial owners of, in the aggregate, more than 5% of our capital stock. Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH became a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our capital stock through the Private Placement. For more information regarding the Investors’ beneficial ownership, see “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” above.
Pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement, in connection with the Private Placement, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH has the right to designate an observer to attend, subject to certain exceptions, meetings of the Board and its committees, until the earlier of (i) the occurrence of a Change of Control and (ii) the date that it and its affiliates collectively hold less than 10% of our common stock (which shall be calculated by including in the amount of common stock held by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and its affiliates any shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of any portion of the pre-funded warrant issued to such Investor and not yet exercised). Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH designated a board observer on August 29, 2023.
Arrangement with PPRS Research, Inc.
Dr. Jay B. Saoud, the Company’s former Senior Vice President, Head of Research and Development, provides part-time consulting services to PPRS Research, Inc., where he serves as Head of Biometrics, Pharmacokinetics, and Medical Writing. In 2023 and 2024, the Company paid PPRS Research, Inc. approximately $2.1 million and $2.1 million, respectively, for program and project management services, including research and development services and coordination with investigators and contract research organizations.
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Transition, Separation, and Consulting Agreement with Dr. Jay B. Saoud
Dr. Saoud resigned from the position of Senior Vice President, Head of Research and Development, effective September 15, 2021. In connection with his resignation, Dr. Saoud and the Company entered into a Transition, Separation, and Consulting Agreement, as amended by that certain First Amendment effective July 1, 2022, that certain Second Amendment effective January 1, 2023, that certain Third Amendment effective July 1, 2023, that certain Fourth Amendment effective August 4, 2023, that certain Fifth Amendment effective April 1, 2024, that certain Sixth Amendment effective January 1, 2025, and that certain Seventh Amendment effective April 1, 2025, pursuant to which Dr. Saoud continued providing services as a consultant to the Company from September 15, 2021. Dr. Saoud’s consulting services will end on April 30, 2025, subject to termination or renewal. Effective as of January 1, 2023 and through March 15, 2023, Dr. Saoud was entitled to receive $24,000 for up to fifteen hours of consulting services per week for a four-week period. Effective March 16, 2023 and through March 31, 2024, Dr. Saoud was entitled to receive $27,000 for up to fifteen hours of consulting services per week for a four-week period. Effective April 1, 2024 and through December 31, 2024, Dr. Saoud was entitled to receive $30,000 for up to fifteen hours of consulting services per week for a four-week period. In the event that Dr. Saoud performed more than fifteen hours of consulting services per week, the Company paid Dr. Saoud $550 per hour for the period from April 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024. Effective January 1, 2025 and through March 31, 2025, Dr. Saoud was entitled to receive $30,000 for up to fifteen hours of consulting services per week for a four-week period. In the event that Dr. Saoud performed more than fifteen hours of consulting services per week, the Company paid Dr. Saoud $550 per hour for the period from January 1, 2025 through March 31, 2025. Effective April 1, 2025 and through April 30, 2025, Dr. Saoud will be entitled to receive $30,000 for up to fifteen hours of consulting services per week for a four-week period. In the event that Dr. Saoud performs more than fifteen hours of consulting services per week, the Company will pay Dr. Saoud $550 per hour for the period from April 1, 2025 through April 30, 2025.
In 2023 and 2024, the Company paid Dr. Saoud approximately $541,000 and $529,000, respectively, for consulting services.
Compensation Arrangements and Equity Awards for Executive Officers and Directors
We have employment arrangements with our executive officers that, among other things, provide for certain change in control benefits, as well as severance benefits for executive officers. For a description of these agreements with our named executive officers, see “Executive Compensation.”
We have granted stock options and performance-based restricted stock units to our executive officers and our directors. For a description of these equity awards to our named executive officers and directors, see “Item 11. Executive Compensation.”
Indemnification Agreements for Executive Officers and Directors
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and certain of our executive officers. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals and, in certain cases, affiliates of such individuals, to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Director Independence
Under the Nasdaq listing standards, a majority of the members of our Board must qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively determined by our Board.
Based on information provided by each director concerning his or her background, employment and affiliations, the Board has determined that none of our directors, other than Dr. Luthringer, has any relationships that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director, and affirmatively determined that each of our directors, other than Dr. Luthringer, is “independent” as that term is defined under the Nasdaq listing standards. In making these determinations, the Board considered the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our Board deemed relevant
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in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of securities of our company by each non-employee director and the transactions described in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions.” The Board also determined that each member of our Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees satisfies the independence standards for such committees established by the SEC and the Nasdaq listing standards, as applicable.
| ITEM 14. | Principal Accounting Fees and Services |
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The following table presents the aggregate fees billed to the Company for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, by Deloitte & Touche LLP, the Company’s principal accountant.
| Fiscal Year | ||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Audit fees(1) |
$ | 473,300 | $ | 616,360 | ||||
| Audit-related fees |
$ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Tax fees |
$ | — | $ | — | ||||
| All other fees |
$ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Total fees |
$ | 473,300 | $ | 616,360 | ||||
| (1) | For both fiscal years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, audit fees represent fees for audit services rendered in connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements, as well as fees associated with reviews of documents filed with the SEC, our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly consolidated financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, audit fees also include those associated with the filing of a registration statements on Form S-3 and the delivery of related consents. |
All services described above were pre-approved by the Audit Committee.
In connection with the audit of the 2025 consolidated financial statements, the Company entered into an engagement agreement with Deloitte & Touche LLP that sets forth the terms by which Deloitte & Touche LLP will perform audit services for the Company.
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The Audit Committee has adopted a policy and procedures for the pre-approval of audit and non-audit services rendered by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP. The policy generally pre-approves specified services in the defined categories of audit services, audit-related services, and tax services up to specified amounts. Pre-approval may also be given as part of the Audit Committee’s approval of the scope of the engagement of the independent auditor, or on an individual, explicit, case-by-case basis before the independent auditor is engaged to provide each service. The pre-approval of services may be delegated to one or more of the Audit Committee’s members, but the decision must be reported to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.
The Audit Committee has determined that the rendering of services other than audit services by Deloitte & Touche LLP is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.
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PART IV
| ITEM 15. | Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules |
(a)(1) Financial Statements
No financial statement or supplemental data are filed with this Amendment to Annual Report on Form 10-K. See Index to Financial Statements and Supplemental Data of the Original 10-K.
(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedule
All schedules are omitted for the reason that they are not required or the information is otherwise supplied in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in the Original 10-K.
(a)(3) Exhibits
The exhibits required to be filed as part of this report are listed in the Exhibit List attached hereto and are incorporated herein by reference.
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| † | Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. |
| * | Confidential treatment has been granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission as to certain portions of this document. |
| ** | These certifications are being furnished solely to accompany this annual report pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, and are not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the registrant, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing. |
The agreements and other documents filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not intended to provide factual information or other disclosure other than with respect to the terms of the agreements or other documents themselves, and you should not rely on them for that purpose. In particular, any representations and warranties made by us in these agreements or other documents were made solely within the specific context of the relevant agreement or document and may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| MINERVA NEUROSCIENCES, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Remy Luthringer, Ph.D. | |
| Remy Luthringer, Ph.D. Executive Chairman and | ||
| Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
Date: April 21, 2025
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature |
Title |
Date | ||
| /s/ Remy Luthringer, Ph.D. Remy Luthringer, Ph.D. |
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
April 21, 2025 | ||
| /s/ Frederick Ahlholm Frederick Ahlholm |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
April 21, 2025 | ||
| /s/ Geoffrey Race Geoffrey Race |
President | April 21, 2025 | ||
| * Hans Peter Hasler |
Member of the Board of Directors | April 21, 2025 | ||
| * David Kupfer, M.D. |
Member of the Board of Directors | April 21, 2025 | ||
| * Fouzia Laghrissi-Thode, M.D. |
Member of the Board of Directors | April 21, 2025 | ||
| * Jan van Heek |
Member of the Board of Directors | April 21, 2025 | ||
| * By: | /s/ Frederick Ahlholm | |
| Frederick Ahlholm | ||
| Attorney-in-fact |
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Exhibit 10.12
AMENDED AND RESTATED NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION PLAN
Approved: March 7, 2018
Effective: April 1, 2018
Last approved on December 5, 2024, effective as of January 1, 2025 (the “Effective Date”)
Cash Compensation
Effective as of the Effective Date, each non-employee member of the board of directors (the “Board”) of Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (the “Company”) will receive an annual cash retainer as summarized below. The Lead Independent Director, chairpersons of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and members of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will receive additional annual cash retainers as indicated below (in each, in addition to, and not in substitution of, the basic annual cash retainer).
| • | Annual retainer for all non-employee directors – $40,000 |
| • | Additional annual retainer for Lead Independent Director – $20,000 |
| • | Additional annual retainers for committee chairs: |
| • | $18,000 Audit |
| • | $12,250 Compensation |
| • | $9,500 Nominating and Governance |
| • | Committee member annual retainers: |
| • | $9,000 Audit |
| • | $6,000 Compensation |
| • | $5,000 Nominating and Governance |
| • | Retainers are paid on a quarterly basis. |
Equity Compensation
Effective as of the Effective Date, each newly elected non-employee director, on the date thereof (or, if such date is not a market trading day, the first market trading day thereafter), will be automatically (and without further action by the Board or the Compensation Committee thereof) granted an option to purchase 9,500 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Director Welcome Options”). The Director Welcome Options will vest quarterly over three years, provided that the applicable non-employee director is, as of each such vesting date, then a non-employee director of the Company.
In addition, on the date of each annual stockholder meeting of the Company held after the Effective Date, each non-employee director who continues to serve as a non-employee director will be automatically (and without further action by the Board or the Compensation Committee thereof) granted an option to purchase 4,750 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Annual Grant”). The Annual Grant will vest in equal quarterly installments over one year following the grant date, provided that the applicable non-employee director is, as of each such vesting date, then a non-employee director of the Company.
The equity compensation set forth above will be granted under the Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. Amended and Restated 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended from time to time, the “Plan”), and will be documented on the applicable form of stock option agreement most recently approved for use by the Board (or a duly authorized committee thereof) for non-employee directors. All stock options granted hereunder will be nonstatutory stock options, with an exercise price per share equal to 100% of the Fair Market Value (as defined in the Plan) of the underlying common stock on the date of grant, and a term of ten years from the date of grant (subject to earlier termination in connection with a termination of service as provided in the Plan).
Other
Non-employee directors are also reimbursed for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board or of any committee thereof.
Exhibit 31.3
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Remy Luthringer, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.; and |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report. |
Date: April 21, 2025
| /s/ Remy Luthringer, Ph.D. |
| Remy Luthringer, Ph.D. |
| Executive Chairman and |
| Chief Executive Officer |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.4
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Frederick Ahlholm, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Minerva Neurosciences, Inc.; and |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report. |
Date: April 21, 2025
| By: | /s/ Frederick Ahlholm | |
| Frederick Ahlholm | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial Officer) |