Prothena Corp Public Ltd Co DEF 14A, filed Mar 31, 2023

Prothena Corp Public Ltd Co (PRTA)

DEF 14A 2023-03-31

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Added on June 12, 2026

About this DEF 14A

Prothena Corp Public Ltd Co filed this DEF 14A on March 31, 2023.

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☒			No fee required.

☐			Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

☐			Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11

			Page
GENERAL INFORMATION			1
THE PROXY PROCESS AND SHAREHOLDER VOTING - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS AND VOTING			2
PROPOSAL NO. 1 - ELECTION OF DIRECTORS			7
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND BOARD MATTERS			13
Overview			13
Independence of Directors			13
Board Role in Risk Oversight			13
Board Leadership Structure			13
Board Committees			14
Audit Committee			15
Compensation Committee			15
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee			15
Meetings of the Board and Committees, Meeting Attendance, and Shareholder Meeting Attendance			16
Other Corporate Governance Matters			17
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION - FISCAL YEAR 2022			18
PROPOSAL NO. 2 - APPOINTMENT OF KPMG LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM			20
Fees Paid to KPMG			20
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures			21
REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS			21
PROPOSAL NO. 3 - SAY-ON-PAY VOTE			22
PROPOSAL NO. 4 - INCREASE ORDINARY SHARES AVAILABLE FOR ISSUANCE UNDER 2018 LTIP BY 2,000,000			24
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT			31

			Page
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS			33
Executive Summary: Fiscal Year 2022 Company Performance and Key Pay Decisions			33
Compensation Governance and Best Practices			36
Shareholder Approval of Executive Compensation			36
The Objective of Our Executive Compensation Programs			37
How We Determine Executive Compensation			37
Executive Compensation for Fiscal Year 2022			38
Employment and Severance Arrangements			41
REPORT OF THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS			42
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION			43
Summary Compensation Table - Fiscal Year 2022			43
Grants of Plan-Based Awards - Fiscal Year 2022			44
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End - Fiscal Year 2022			45
Options Exercised and Stock Vested - Fiscal Year 2022			46
Potential Payments and Benefits upon Termination of Employment			47
Change in Control and Severance Arrangements			48
Compensation Risk Assessment			51
Pay Ratio of CEO to Median Employee			52
Pay Versus Performance			53
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION			57
TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS AND INDEMNIFICATION			58
HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS			59
ANNUAL REPORT			59
APPENDIX A - NASDAQ BOARD DIVERSITY MATRIX			A-1
APPENDIX B - AMENDMENT TO THE PROTHENA CORPORATION PLC 2018 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN			B-1

Director	Audit Committee	Compensation Committee	Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Lars G. Ekman	—	—	—
Paula K. Cobb	—	Chair	—
Richard T. Collier	X	—	Chair
Shane M. Cooke	Chair	—	—
K. Anders O. Härfstrand	X	—	X
Helen S. Kim	—	—	—
Gene G. Kinney	—	—	—
Oleg Nodelman	—	X	X
Sanjiv K. Patel	—	X	—
Dennis J. Selkoe	—	—	—

Committee	Chair	Other Member
Audit Committee	$20,000	$9,000
Compensation Committee	15,000	6,000
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee	10,000	5,000

				By Order of the Board of Directors

				Michael J. Malecek Company Secretary March 31, 2023


	7.			Why did I receive a notice in the mail regarding the internet availability of proxy materials instead of a full set of proxy materials?


	9.			What if I return a proxy card but do not make specific choices?


	11.			What does it mean if I receive more than one set of materials?


	13.			When are shareholder proposals and nominations due for next year's annual meeting?


	15.			How can I find out the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting?

Name	Fees Earned or Paid in Cash⁽¹⁾ ($)	Option Awards⁽²⁾ ($)	All Other Compensation⁽³⁾ ($)	Total ($)
Lars G. Ekman	90,000	274,392	—	364,392
Paula K. Cobb	75,000	274,392	—	349,392
Richard T. Collier	79,000	274,392	—	353,392
Shane M. Cooke	80,000	274,392	—	354,392
K. Anders O. Härfstrand	74,000	274,392	—	348,392
Christopher S. Henney⁽⁴⁾	28,151	—	—	28,151
Helen S. Kim⁽⁵⁾	20,384	592,374	—	612,758
Oleg Nodelman⁽⁶⁾	—	—	—	—
Sanjiv K. Patel	66,000	274,392	—	340,392
Dennis J. Selkoe	60,000	274,392	10,625	345,017

	Name			Outstanding Option Awards (Shares)
	Lars G. Ekman			117,378
	Paula K. Cobb			82,500
	Richard T. Collier			106,544
	Shane M. Cooke			106,544
	K. Anders O. Härfstrand			107,614
	Christopher S. Henney			18,903
	Helen S. Kim			30,000
	Oleg Nodelman			—
	Sanjiv K. Patel			45,000
	Dennis J. Selkoe			90,044

	Year Ended December 31,
	2022	2021
Audit Fees⁽¹⁾	$1,214,817	$1,043,267
Audit-Related Fees	—	—
Tax Fees⁽²⁾	171,366	168,092
All Other Fees	—	—
Total Fees	$1,386,183	$1,211,359

Name and Position	Number of Shares Underlying Option Grants (#)	Weighted Average Exercise Price of Options ($)
Gene G. Kinney, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Director	2,164,700	21.31
Tran B. Nguyen, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer	856,837	20.84
Hideki Garren, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer	383,000	30.09
Brandon S. Smith, Chief Operating Officer	454,000	24.24
Carol D. Karp, Chief Regulatory Officer	555,394	22.60
All current executive officers as a group	5,744,386	22.22
All current directors who are not executive officers as a group	671,290	18.87
Helen S. Kim, Director and director nominee	30,000	27.57
Oleg Nodelman, Director and director nominee	—	—
Dennis J. Selkoe, Director and director nominee	101,544	18.33
Each associate of any such executive officer, director or director nominee	—	—
Each other person who received or is to receive 5 percent of such options, warrants or rights	—	—
All employees, including all current officers who are not executive officers, as a group	6,934,107	26.37


	2.			What am I being asked to vote on?


	3.			How do I vote?


	4.			Who counts the votes?


	5.			How are votes counted?

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner	Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership⁽¹⁾
5% Shareholders:	Shares	Shares Acquirable Within 60 Days⁽²⁾	Total Shares Deemed Beneficially Owned	Percent of Outstanding Shares⁽³⁾
Entities Associated with EcoR1 Capital, LLC⁽⁴⁾ 357 Tehama Street, #3 San Francisco, CA 94103, USA	11,584,280	—	11,584,280	22.0%
Entities Associated with Fidelity Investments⁽⁵⁾ 245 Summer Street Boston, MA 02210, USA	5,264,847	—	5,264,847	10.0%
BlackRock, Inc.⁽⁶⁾ 55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055, USA	3,485,068	—	3,485,068	6.6%
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.⁽⁷⁾ 100 E Pratt St. Baltimore, Maryland, 21202, USA	3,205,903	—	3,205,903	6.1%
Avidity Partners Management LP⁽⁸⁾ 2828 N Harwood Street, Suite 1220 Dallas, Texas, 75201 USA	2,953,000	—	2,953,000	5.6%

Directors and Named Executive Officers:
Lars G. Ekman	243	86,544	86,787	*
Paula K. Cobb	—	67,500	67,500	*
Richard T. Collier	1,219	86,544	87,763	*
Shane M. Cooke	—	86,544	86,544	*
K. Anders O. Härfstrand	—	92,614	92,614	*
Helen S. Kim	—	—	—	*
Oleg Nodelman⁽⁹⁾	11,584,280	—	11,584,280	22.0%
Sanjiv K. Patel	—	10,000	10,000	*
Dennis J. Selkoe⁽¹⁰⁾	4,208	75,044	79,252	*
Gene G. Kinney	12,793	1,671,365	1,684,158	3.1%
Tran B. Nguyen	3,200	743,253	746,453	1.4%
Hideki Garren	—	126,999	126,999	*
Brandon S. Smith	—	255,019	255,019	*
Carol D. Karp	—	376,934	376,934	*
All 17 directors and executive officers as a group	11,605,943	4,481,561	16,087,504	28.2%


	Alector Allakos AnaptysBio Arcus Biosciences Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. Celldex Therapeutics			Cortexyme Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Cytokinetics Denali Therapeutics Intra-Cellular Therapies Iovance Biotherapeutics Karuna Therapeutics			Kodiak Sciences Kura Oncology Mersana Therapeutics NGM Biopharmaceuticals Protagonist Therapeutics Replimune Group Turning Point Therapeutics

Objective	Weighting	Result
Progress R&D portfolio to achieve primary 2022 milestones:	90%
For Birtamimab, achieve an enrollment goal; implement the Board-aligned engagement plan; and execute on external communications plans to support AFFIRM-AL.	20%	Largely Met
For PRX005, complete the SAD portion and the first cohort of the MAD portion of the Phase 1 study; and communicate Phase 1 SAD results externally.	15%	Largely Met
For PRX012, submit IND in Q1 2022; achieve first in human dosing in first half 2022; and execute external communication plan to support scientific engagement and product candidate positioning.	45%	Exceeded
For discovery, initiate IND enabling studies for two programs; complete in vivo proof of concept studies for two targets; and execute on external communication plan for the discovery portfolio.	10%	Largely Met
Meet cash burn guidance range and optimize shareholder base:	10%
Meet publicly-disclosed cash burn guidance range	2.5%	Met
Optimize shareholder base by galvanizing at least one institutional investor (existing or new) to take a > 10% ownership stake; or galvanizing at least two institutional investors (existing or new) to take a > 5% ownership stake; or galvanizing at least five institutional investors (existing or new) to take a >1% ownership stake.	7.5%	Exceeded

Name and Principal Position	Year	Salary ($)	Bonus ($)	Option Awards⁽¹⁾ ($)	Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation⁽²⁾ ($)	All Other Compensation⁽³⁾ ($)	Total ($)
Gene G. Kinney, Ph.D. President and Chief Executive Officer	2022	600,521	—	5,705,925	414,359	15,250	6,736,055
	2021	573,250	—	3,900,675	429,938	14,500	4,918,363
	2020	554,292	—	2,526,450	332,575	14,250	3,427,567
Tran B. Nguyen Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer	2022	480,389	—	1,940,015	267,216	15,250	2,702,870
	2021	458,574	—	1,310,627	272,278	14,500	2,055,979
	2020	443,415	—	884,258	221,708	14,250	1,563,631
Hideki Garren, M.D., Ph.D. Chief Medical Officer	2022	510,417	—	1,940,015	283,919	15,250	2,749,601
Hideki Garren, M.D., Ph.D. Chief Medical Officer	2021	364,044	50,000⁽⁴⁾	4,319,200	290,938	14,500	5,038,682
Brandon S. Smith Chief Operating Officer	2022	476,250	—	1,940,015	264,914	15,250	2,696,429
	2021	420,667	—	2,113,654	213,176	14,500	2,761,997
	2020	333,333	100,000⁽⁵⁾	1,843,368	133,333	14,250	2,424,284
Carol D. Karp Chief Regulatory Officer	2022	472,154	—	1,940,015	210,108	15,250	2,637,527
	2021	450,713	—	873,751	214,089	14,500	1,553,053
	2020	435,814	—	589,505	174,326	14,250	1,213,895

			Estimated Future Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards⁽²⁾			All Other Option Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Options⁽³⁾ (#)	Exercise or Base Price of Option Awards ($/sh)	Grant Date Fair Value of Option Awards⁽⁴⁾ ($)
Name	Grant Date	Approval Date⁽¹⁾	Threshold ($)	Target ($)	Maximum ($)		Exercise or Base Price of Option Awards ($/sh)	Grant Date Fair Value of Option Awards⁽⁴⁾ ($)
Gene G. Kinney	2/23/2022					250,000	32.45	5,705,925
Gene G. Kinney			217,917	363,195	544,793
Tran B. Nguyen	2/23/2022	2/18/2022				85,000	32.45	1,940,015
Tran B. Nguyen			108,952	242,116	363,174
Hideki Garren	2/23/2022	2/18/2022				85,000	32.45	1,940,015
Hideki Garren			115,763	257,250	385,875
Brandon S. Smith	2/23/2022	2/18/2022				85,000	32.45	1,940,015
Brandon S. Smith			108,338	240,750	361,125
Carol D. Karp	2/23/2022	2/18/2022				85,000	32.45	1,940,015
Carol D. Karp			85,668	190,372	285,559

	Option Awards⁽¹⁾
Name	Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable	Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable	Option Exercise Price ($)	Option Expiration Date
Gene G. Kinney	45,000	—	29.81	02/04/2024
	620,000	—	15.04	06/21/2028
	234,791	10,209⁽²⁾	13.53	02/27/2029
	141,666	58,334⁽³⁾	12.15	02/25/2030
	50,000	—	12.15	02/25/2030
	59,090	—	22.85	03/11/2025
	40,625	—	22.85	02/24/2026
	25,125	—	22.85	09/01/2026
	16,759	—	22.85	11/02/2026
	62,500	—	22.85	02/22/2027
	140,601	—	22.85	02/21/2028
	114,583	135,417⁽⁴⁾	22.60	02/25/2031
	—	250,000⁽⁵⁾	32.45	02/23/2032
Tran B. Nguyen	30,000	—	6.73	04/01/2023
	45,000	—	29.81	02/04/2024
	250,000	—	15.04	06/21/2028
	91,041	3,959⁽²⁾	13.53	02/27/2029
	74,375	30,625⁽³⁾	12.15	02/25/2030
	50,000	—	22.85	03/11/2025
	40,625	—	22.85	02/24/2026
	39,062	—	22.85	02/22/2027
	60,150	—	22.85	02/21/2028
	38,500	45,500⁽⁴⁾	22.60	02/25/2031
	—	85,000⁽⁵⁾	32.45	02/23/2032
Hideki Garren	76,166	145,834⁽⁶⁾	24.90	04/05/2031
Hideki Garren	—	85,000⁽⁵⁾	32.45	02/23/2032
Brandon S. Smith	165,000	75,000⁽⁷⁾	11.12	03/02/2030
	25,666	30,334⁽⁴⁾	22.60	02/25/2031
	7,812	17,188⁽⁸⁾	70.81	09/29/2031
	—	85,000⁽⁵⁾	32.45	02/23/2032

Name	Number of Shares Acquired on Exercise (#)	Value Realized on Exercise ($)⁽²⁾
Gene G. Kinney	99,074	2,913,246
Tran B. Nguyen	120,000	3,844,286
Hideki Garren	28,000	526,095
Brandon S. Smith	—	—
Carol D. Karp	—	—

		Termination by Company⁽¹⁾			Termination by Executive⁽¹⁾
Name	Nature of Payment or Benefit	For Cause	Due to a Business Condition	For Any Other Reason	Due to Voluntary Resignation	For Good Reason	Due to Death or Disability	Termination Following Change in Control⁽²⁾
Gene G. Kinney	Cash Severance⁽³⁾	—	756,656	756,656	—	756,656	756,656	1,210,650
	Cash Bonus⁽³⁾	—	363,195	363,195	—	363,195	363,195	726,390
	Accelerated Options⁽⁴⁾	—	11,067,107	11,067,107	—	11,067,107	15,331,280	15,331,280
	COBRA Coverage⁽⁵⁾	—	37,327	37,327	—	37,327	37,327	37,327
	Career Assistance⁽⁶⁾	—	15,000	15,000	—	15,000	15,000	15,000
	Total	$—	$12,239,285	$12,239,285	$—	$12,239,285	$16,503,458	$17,320,647
Tran B. Nguyen	Cash Severance⁽³⁾	—	484,232	—	—	484,232	—	726,348
	Cash Bonus⁽³⁾	—	242,116	—	—	242,116	—	363,174
	Accelerated Options⁽⁴⁾	—	3,321,272	—	—	3,321,272	5,734,102	5,734,102
	COBRA Coverage⁽⁵⁾	—	21,956	—	—	21,956	—	32,934
	Career Assistance⁽⁶⁾	—	15,000	—	—	15,000	—	15,000
	Total	$—	$4,084,576	$—	$—	$4,084,576	$5,734,102	$6,871,558
Hideki Garren	Cash Severance⁽³⁾	—	514,500	—	—	514,500	—	771,750
	Cash Bonus⁽³⁾	—	257,250	—	—	257,250	—	385,875
	Accelerated Options⁽⁴⁾	—	3,292,407	—	—	3,292,407	7,518,232	7,518,232
	COBRA Coverage⁽⁵⁾	—	35,080	—	—	35,080	—	52,620
	Career Assistance⁽⁶⁾	—	15,000	—	—	15,000	—	15,000
	Total	$—	$4,114,237	$—	$—	$4,114,237	$7,518,232	$8,743,477
Brandon S. Smith	Cash Severance⁽³⁾	—	481,500	—	—	481,500	—	722,250
	Cash Bonus⁽³⁾	—	240,750	—	—	240,750	—	361,125
	Accelerated Options⁽⁴⁾	—	4,557,932	—	—	4,557,932	7,189,825	7,189,825
	COBRA Coverage⁽⁵⁾	—	35,080	—	—	35,080	—	52,620
	Career Assistance⁽⁶⁾	—	15,000	—	—	15,000	—	15,000
	Total	$—	$5,330,262	$—	$—	$5,330,262	$7,189,825	$8,340,820
Carol D. Karp	Cash Severance⁽³⁾	—	475,931	—	—	475,931	—	713,897
	Cash Bonus⁽³⁾	—	190,372	—	—	190,372	—	285,559
	Accelerated Options⁽⁴⁾	—	2,549,247	—	—	2,549,247	4,584,497	4,584,497
	COBRA Coverage⁽⁵⁾	—	24,885	—	—	24,885	—	37,328
	Career Assistance⁽⁶⁾	—	15,000	—	—	15,000	—	15,000
	Total	$—	$3,255,435	$—	$—	$3,255,435	$4,584,497	$5,636,281

					Value of Initial Fixed $100 Investment Based on:⁽⁵⁾
Year⁽¹⁾	Summary Compensation Table Total for PEO⁽²⁾ ($)	Compensation Actually Paid to PEO⁽³⁾ ($)	Average Summary Compensation Table Total for Non-PEO Named Executive Officers⁽²⁾ ($)	Average Compensation Actually Paid to Non-PEO Named Executive Officers⁽⁴⁾ ($)	Total Shareholder Return ($)	Peer Group Total Shareholder Return⁽⁶⁾ ($)	Net Income (Loss) ($)	Company Selected Measure ⁽⁷⁾
2022	6,736,055	7,400,610	2,696,607	4,104,503	$380.61	$111.27	(116,949,000)
2021⁽⁸⁾	4,918,363	41,144,072	2,852,428	12,625,320	$312.07	$124.89	66,975,000
2020	3,427,567	62,288	1,594,891	866,852	$75.87	$125.69	(111,144,000)

		Average Other Named Executive Officers^(a)
		2022	2021	2020
	Summary Compensation Table - Total Compensation^(b)	2,696,607	2,852,428	1,594,891
-	Grant Date Fair Value of Option Awards and Stock Awards Granted in Fiscal Year^(c)	(1,940,015)	(2,154,308)	(976,659)
+	Fair Value at Fiscal Year-End of Outstanding and Unvested Option Awards and Stock Awards Granted in Fiscal Year^(d)	4,157,531	7,328,264	963,292
+	Change in Fair Value of Outstanding and Unvested Option Awards and Stock Awards Granted in Prior Fiscal Years^(e)	1,099,351	2,776,040	(398,568)
+	Fair Value at Vesting of Option Awards and Stock Awards Granted in Fiscal Year That Vested During Fiscal Year^(f)	—	—	—
+	Change in Fair Value as of Vesting Date of Option Awards and Stock Awards Granted in Prior Fiscal Years For Which Applicable Vesting Conditions Were Satisfied During Fiscal Year^(g)	(1,908,971)	1,869,973	(316,104)
-	Fair Value as of Prior Fiscal Year-End of Option Awards and Stock Awards Granted in Prior Fiscal Years That Failed to Meet Applicable Vesting Conditions During Fiscal Year^(h)	—	(47,077)	—
=	Compensation Actually Paid	4,104,503	12,625,320	866,852

	(a)	(b)	(c)
Plan Category	Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights	Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights	Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))⁽¹⁾
Equity Compensation Plans Approved by Shareholders⁽²⁾	8,285,123	$22.46	3,034,093
Equity Compensation Plans Not Approved by Shareholders⁽³⁾	1,217,875	27.45	70,000
Total	9,502,998	$23.10	3,104,093

Board Diversity Matrix (As of March 31, 2023)
Total Number of Directors	10
	Female	Male	Non-Binary	Did not Disclose Gender
Part 1: Gender Identity
Directors	2	8	0	0
Part II: Demographic Background
African American or Black	0	0	0	0
Alaskan Native or Native American	0	0	0	0
Asian	1	1	0	0
Hispanic or Latinx	0	0	0	0
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	0	0	0	0
White	1	7	0	0
Two or More Races or Ethnicities	0	0	0	0
LGBTQ+	1
Did Not Disclose Demographic Background	0