ACHAOGEN, INC. (NASDAQ:AKAO) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain OfficersItem 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Resignation of Director
On July 11, 2017, Alan B. Colowick, Ph.D., submitted his resignation as an independent director of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Achaogen, Inc. (the “Company”) and as a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee of the Board, effective at the close of business on July 31, 2017. Dr. Colowick is planning to focus on his new role as a partner at Sofinnova Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Appointment of Director
On July 11, 2017, the Board appointed Karen Bernstein, Ph.D., effective immediately, to serve as a member of the Board. Dr. Bernstein was appointed as a Class I director, with an initial term expiring at the Company’s 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, filling a vacancy. In connection with the appointment, the Board also increased the size of the Board from nine directors to ten directors, effective immediately until the close of business on July 31, 2017. Dr. Bernstein was also elected to serve as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board (the “Nominating Committee”). The Board has determined that Dr. Bernstein is independent as defined in Listing Rule 5605 of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC for purposes of serving on the Nominating Committee.
Dr. Bernstein will receive cash and equity compensation as provided in the Company’s Non-Employee Director Compensation Program. to this program, upon appointment to the Board, Dr. Bernstein received an option under the Company’s 2014 Equity Incentive Award Plan to purchase 20,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with an exercise price of $22.93 per share, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of appointment. The option will vest and become exercisable as to 1/36th of the shares subject to the option each month following July 11, 2017, subject to Dr. Bernstein’s continued service to the Company through each applicable vesting date. The Company expects to enter into the Company’s standard director indemnification agreement with Dr. Bernstein.
About ACHAOGEN, INC. (NASDAQ:AKAO)
Achaogen, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of antibacterials to treat multi-drug resistant (MDR) gram-negative infections. The Company is developing plazomicin, its lead product candidate, for the treatment of serious bacterial infections due to MDR Enterobacteriaceae, including carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Plazomicin is an aminoglycoside designed to overcome clinically relevant aminoglycoside resistance mechanisms. In addition, its research and development pipeline includes two programs that specifically target Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter baumannii infections: a program to discover and develop small molecule inhibitors of LpxC, which is an enzyme essential for the synthesis of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, and a therapeutic antibody program. Its development plan for plazomicin includes over two Phase III clinical trials.
