UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 31, 2016
ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware |
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000-55020 |
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46-2783806 |
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Identification No.) |
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399 Thornall Street, First Floor |
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Edison, New Jersey 08837 |
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(Address of principal executive offices) |
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Registrants telephone number, including area code: (732) 902-4000
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
o Written communication pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item 5.02 |
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On March 31, 2016, ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the Company) appointed John Cavan as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Cavan has entered into a three year employment agreement with the Company pursuant to which he will receive a base salary of $265,000 per year, an annual target bonus of up to 25% of base compensation and 100,000 incentive stock options, which vest in equal amounts over the next four years on the anniversary of the date of grant.
Previously, Mr. Cavan was a consultant with The Pine Hill Group where he was instrumental in completing several financial transactions, including initial public offerings, business combinations and strategic transactions. Prior to his role with the Pine Hill Group, he served as Chief Accounting Officer at Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. Preceding his role at Stemline, Mr. Cavan was Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has also held financial positions within the healthcare industry at AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alpharma. Mr. Cavan served in a variety of financial and operational positions early in his career during tenures with large multinational public companies, including Sony, American Express, International Specialty Products (an Ashland Company) and Nestlé U.S.A. Mr. Cavan currently serves on the Board of Directors of Vantage Health Systems. He holds a B.B.A in Accountancy from Iona College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Seton Hall University..
The foregoing summary of the employment agreement with Mr. Cavan does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the employment agreement, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 to this report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. A copy of the press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Cavan is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
10.1 Form of Executive Agreement made and entered into as of April 1, 2016 by and between John Cavan and ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
99.1 ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release dated March 31, 2016.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: March 31, 2016
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CONTRAVIR PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. |
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By: |
/s/ James Sapirstein |
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James Sapirstein |
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Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit 10.1
EXECUTIVE AGREEMENT
This Executive Agreement (the Agreement ) is made and entered into effective as of April 1, 2016 (the Effective Date ), by and between John Cavan (the Executive ) and ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company ).
R E C I T A L S
A. WHEREAS, the Company wishes to retain Executive as its Chief Financial Officer; and
B. WHEREAS, in order to provide Executive with the financial security and sufficient encouragement to become retained by the Company, the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board ) believes that it is in the best interests of the Company to provide Executive with certain engagement terms and severance benefits as set forth herein.
AGREEMENT
In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained and the engagement of Executive by the Company, the parties agree as follows:
1. Definition of Terms . The following terms referred to in this Agreement shall have the following meanings:
(a) Cause shall mean any of the following: (i) the commission of an act of fraud, embezzlement or material dishonesty which is intended to result in substantial personal enrichment of Executive in connection with Executives engagement with the Company; (ii) Executives conviction of, or plea of nolo contendere, to a crime constituting a felony (other than traffic-related offenses); (iii) Executives gross negligence that is materially injurious to the Company; (iv) a material breach of Executives proprietary information agreement that is materially injurious to the Company; or (v) Executives (1) material failure to perform his duties as an officer of the Company, and (2) failure to cure any such failure within thirty (30) days after receipt of written notice from the Company delineating the specific acts that constituted such material failure and the specific actions necessary, if any, to cure such failure.
(b) Change of Control shall mean the occurrence of any of the following events:
(i) the date on which any person (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act )) obtains beneficial ownership (as defined in Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) or a pecuniary interest in fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the Companys then outstanding securities ( Voting Stock );
(ii) the consummation of a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or similar transaction involving the Company, other than a transaction: (1) in which substantially all of the holders of the Voting Stock immediately prior to such transaction hold or receive directly or indirectly fifty percent (50%) or more of the voting stock of the resulting entity or a parent company thereof, in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the Company immediately prior to the transaction; or (2) in which the holders of the Companys capital stock immediately before such transaction will, immediately after such transaction, hold as a group on a fully diluted basis the ability to elect at least a majority of the authorized directors of the surviving entity (or a parent company); or
(iii) there is consummated a sale, lease, license or disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its subsidiaries, other than a sale, lease, license or disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its subsidiaries to an entity, fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are owned by stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the Company immediately prior to such sale, lease, license or disposition.
(c) Disability means totally and permanently disabled as defined in the Companys disability benefit plan applicable to senior executive officers as in effect on the date thereof.
(d) Good Reason shall mean without Executives express written consent any of the following: (i) a significant reduction of Executives duties, position or responsibilities relative to Executives duties, position or responsibilities in effect immediately prior to such reduction, or the removal of Executive from such position, duties or responsibilities; (ii) the relocation of Executive to a facility or a location more than twenty-five (25) miles from the
Companys then current principal location; (iii) a material breach by the Company of this Agreement or any other agreement with Executive that is not corrected within fifteen (30) days after written notice from Executive (or such earlier date that the Company has notice of such material breach); or (iv) the failure of the Company to obtain the written assumption of this Agreement by any successor contemplated in Section 11 below.
2. Duties and Scope of Position . During the Engagement Term (as defined below), Executive will serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, and assuming and discharging such responsibilities as are commensurate with Executives position. During the Engagement Term, Executive will provide services in a manner that will faithfully and diligently further the business of the Company and will devote a substantial portion of Executives business time, attention and energy thereto. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall restrict Executive from managing his investments, other business affairs and other matters or serving on civic or charitable boards or committees, provided that no such activities unduly interfere with the performance of his obligations under this Agreement, provided that Executive shall honor the non-competition and non-solicitation terms as per Section 14 below. During the Engagement Term, Executive agrees to disclose to the Company those other companies of which he is a member of the Board of Directors, an executive officer, or a consultant.
Term. The term of Executives engagement under this Agreement shall commence as of the date above (the Effective Date) and shall continue for a period of three (3) years, unless earlier terminated in accordance with Section 8 hereof. The term of Executives engagement shall be automatically renewed for successive one (1) year periods until the Executive or the Company delivers to the other party a written notice of their intent not to renew the Engagement Term, such written notice to be delivered at least sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the then-effective Engagement Term: the period commencing as of the Effective Date and ending three (3) years from the Effective Date or such later date to which the term of Executives engagement under the Agreement shall have been extended is referred to herein as the Engagement Term and the end of the Engagement Term is referred to herein as the Expiration Date.
3. Base Compensation . The Company shall pay to Executive a base compensation (the Base Compensation ) of $265,000 per year (pro-rated for any partial year), payable in equal bimonthly installments. Unless agreed by the Executive in writing, in no event shall the Base Salary decrease during the Engagement Term. In addition, each year during the term of this Agreement, Executive shall be reviewed for purposes of determining the appropriateness of increasing his Base Compensation hereunder. For purposes of the Agreement, the term Base Compensation as of any point in time shall refer to the Base Compensation as adjusted pursuant to this Section 4.
4. Target Bonus . In addition to his Base Compensation, Executive shall be given the opportunity to earn an annual bonus (the Bonus ) of up to 25% of Base Compensation. The Bonus shall be earned by Executive upon the Companys achievement of performance milestones for a fiscal year (in each case, the Target Year ) to be mutually agreed upon by the Executive and the Board or its compensation committee within 90 days after the Effective Date; provided, however, that in the event the Board or its compensation committee in good faith extends such date, such extension shall not be considered a breach of this Agreement. In the event Executive is retained by the Company for less than the full Target Year for which a Bonus is earned pursuant to this Section 5, Executive shall be entitled to receive a pro-rated Bonus for such Target Year based on the number of days Executive was retained by the Company during such Target Year divided by 365. The determinations of the Board or its compensation committee with respect to Bonuses will be final and binding.
5. Executive Benefits . Executive shall be entitled to participate in the executive benefit plans and programs of the Company, if any, on the same terms and conditions as other similarly situated Executive, to the extent that Executives position, tenure, salary, age, health and other qualifications make Executive eligible to participate in such plans. In the alternative, Executive shall receive the monetary equivalent for such Executive Benefits.
6. Stock Option Grant . 100,000 qualified stock options (the Initial Options) shall be granted to Executive under SEC rule 701 and pursuant to the Companys stock option plan upon
commencement of the Engagement Term. Such options will have an exercise price equal to fair market value per share on the date of grant and will vest annually in equal amounts over a period of four (4) years, with 25,000 shares vesting on each one-year anniversary of the date of grant. The option agreement will include (i) a Change of Control provision whereby as of immediately prior to a Change of Control of the Company, all of the stock options will vest and become fully exercisable and a termination provision whereby in the event Executives engagement is terminated voluntarily or for Cause by the Company, the unvested stock options will expire forthwith but if such engagement is terminated for any other reason (except death or Disability), the options may not be exercised at any time later than six (6) months after such termination of Executives engagement. If Executives engagement is terminated by death or disability, the options may be exercised within a period of one (1) year after such termination.
8. Termination .
(a) Termination by the Company . Subject to the obligations of the Company set forth in Section 9, the Company may terminate Executives engagement at any time and for any reason (or no reason), and with or without Cause, and without prejudice to any other right or remedy to which the Company or Executive may be entitled at law or in equity or under this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, after six (6) months from the Effective Date, in the event the Company desires to terminate the Executives engagement without Cause, the Company shall give the Executive not less than sixty (60) days advance written notice. Executives engagement shall terminate automatically in the event of his death.
(b) Termination by Executive . The Executive may terminate the Engagement Term without prior notice (1) within the first six (6) months following the Effective date or (2) upon a showing of Good Cause as defined in Section 1(d). After six (6) months from the Effective Date, the Executive may voluntarily terminate the Engagement Term upon sixty (60) days prior written notice for any reason or no reason.
(c) Termination for Death or Disability . Subject to the obligations of the Company set forth in Section 9, Executives engagement shall terminate automatically upon his death. Subject to the obligations of the Company set forth in Section 9, in the event Executive is unable to perform his duties as a result of Disability during the Engagement Term, the Company shall
have the right to terminate the engagement of Executive by providing written notice of the effective date of such termination.
9. Payments Upon Termination of Engagement .
(a) Termination for Cause, Death or Disability: Termination by Executive . In the event that Executives engagement hereunder is terminated during the Engagement Term by the Company for Cause pursuant to Section 8(a), as a result of Executives death or Disability pursuant to Section 8(c), or voluntarily by Executive, the Company shall compensate Executive (or in the case of death, Executives estate) as follows: on the date of termination the Company shall pay to the Executive, if the Executive instructs the Company in writing, a lump sum amount equal to (i) any portion of unpaid Base Compensation then due for periods prior to the effective date of termination; (ii) any Bonus earned and not yet paid through the date of termination; and (iii) within 2-1/2 months following submission of proper expense reports by Executive or Executives estate, all expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred by Executive in connection with the business of the Company prior to the date of termination.
(b) Termination From Company Without Cause or by Executive for Good Reason . In the event that Executives engagement is terminated during the Engagement Term by the Company without Cause pursuant to Section 8(a) or pursuant to Section 8(b) for Good Reason, the Company shall compensate Executive, after the Executive has been employed by the Company for six (6) continuous months, as follows:
(i) on the date of termination, the Company shall pay to the Executive, if the Executive instructs the Company in writing, a lump sum amount equal to (A) any portion of unpaid Base Compensation then due for periods prior to the effective date of termination; (B) a cash amount equal to the pro-rated Target Bonus for such year based on the number of days Executive was retained by the Company during such Target Year divided by 365; and (C) within 2-1/2 months following submission of proper expense reports by Executive, all expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred by Executive in connection with the business of the Company prior to the date of termination; and (D) provided that Executive executes a written release, of any and all claims against the Company and all related parties with respect to all matters arising out of Executives engagement by the Company, the Company shall pay the following additional compensation: a lump sum amount equal tosx (6) months of Executives Base Compensation then in effect as of the day of termination and 100% of the Executives COBRA payments for six(6) months. In the event Executives engagement is terminated
without Cause and a Change of Control of the Company occurs within six (6) months of such termination, Executive also shall be entitled to the severance benefits set forth under Section 9(c).
(c) Termination in the Context of a Change of Control . Notwithstanding anything in Section 9(a) or 9(b) to the contrary, in the event of Executives termination of engagement with the Company after six (6) months of continuous employment either (i) by the Company without Cause at any time within six (6) months prior to the consummation of a Change of Control if, prior to or as of such termination, a Change of Control transaction was Pending (as defined in Section 9(d) below) at any time during such six (6)-month period, (ii) by Executive for Good Reason at any time within twelve (12) months after the consummation of a Change of Control, or (iii) by the Company without Cause at any time within twelve (12) months after the consummation of a Change of Control, then, Executive shall be entitled to the following payments and other benefits:
(i) on the date of termination (except as specified in clause (C)), the Company shall pay to the Executive a lump sum amount equal to (A) any portion of unpaid Base Compensation then due for periods prior to the effective date of termination; (B) a cash amount equal to the pro-rated Target Bonus for such year based on the number of days Executive was retained by the Company during such Target Year divided by 365; and (C) within 2-1/2 months following submission of proper expense reports by Executive, all expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred by Executive in connection with the business of the Company prior to the date of termination;
(ii) on the date of termination the Company shall pay to the Executive, a lump sum amount equal to nine (9) months of Executives Base Compensation then in effect as of the day of termination and 100% of the Executives COBRA payments for six (6) months;
(iii) notwithstanding any provision of any stock incentive plan, stock option agreement, realization bonus, restricted stock agreement or other agreement relating to capital
stock of the Company, all of the shares that are then unvested shall immediately vest and, with respect to all options, warrants and other convertible securities of the Company beneficially held by Executive, become fully exercisable for (A) a period of six months following the date of termination only if at the time of such termination there is a Change of Control transaction pending (as defined in Section 9(d) below) or (B) if clause (A) does not apply, then such period of time set forth in the agreement evidencing the security; and
(iv) Severance benefits under this Section 9(c) and Section 9(b) above shall be mutually exclusive and severance under one such section shall not prohibit severance under the other.
(d) Definition of Pending . For purposes of Section 9(c), a Change of Control transaction shall be deemed to be Pending each time any of the following circumstances exist: (A) the Company and a third party have entered into a confidentiality agreement that has been signed by a duly-authorized officer of the Company and that is related to a potential Change of Control transaction; or (B) the Company has received a written expression of interest from a third party, including a binding or non-binding term sheet or letter of intent, related to a potential Change of Control transaction.
10. Indemnification . Employee hereby represents and warrants to the Company that Employee has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and that the execution of this agreement and the performance of Employees duties hereunder will not cause Employee to be in violation of any other agreement, judgment, order, decree, former employment relationship or other obligation to which Employee may be subject. Employee shall indemnify and defend the Company and its affiliates against all liability, cost, damage, and expense that they may incur as a result of any claim or event which is related to this Section 10.
11. Successors . Any successor to the Company (whether direct or indirect and whether by purchase, lease, merger, consolidation, liquidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the Companys business and/or assets or otherwise pursuant to a Change of Control shall assume the Companys obligations under this Agreement and agree expressly in writing to perform the Companys obligations under this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent as the Company would be required to perform such obligations in the absence of a succession. For all purposes under this Agreement, the term Company shall include any successor to the Companys business and/or assets (including any parent company to the Company), whether or not in connection with a Change of Control, which becomes bound by the terms of this Agreement by operation of law or otherwise.
12. Notices . Notices and all other communications contemplated by this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given when personally delivered (if to the Company, addressed to its Secretary at the Companys principal place of business on a non holiday weekday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; if to Executive, via personal service to his last known residence) or three business days following the date it is mailed by U.S. registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid.
13. Confidential Information . Executive recognizes and acknowledges that by reason of Executives engagement by and service to the Company before, during and, if applicable, after the Engagement Term, Executive will have access to certain confidential and proprietary information relating to the Companys business, which may include, but is not limited to, trade secrets, trade know-how, product development techniques and plans, formulas, customer lists and addresses, financing services, funding programs, cost and pricing information, marketing and sales techniques, strategy and programs, computer programs and software and financial information (collectively referred to herein as Confidential Information). Executive acknowledges that such Confidential Information is a valuable and unique asset of the Company and Executive covenants that he will not, unless expressly authorized in writing by the Company, at any time during the course of Executives engagement use any Confidential Information or divulge or disclose any Confidential Information to any person, firm or corporation except in connection with the performance of Executives duties for and on behalf of the Company and in a manner consistent with the Companys policies regarding Confidential Information. Executive also covenants that at any time after the termination of such engagement, directly or indirectly, he will not use any Confidential Information or divulge or disclose any Confidential Information to any person, firm or corporation, unless such information is in the public domain through no fault of Executive or except when required to do so by a court of law, by any governmental agency having supervisory authority over the business of the Company or by any administrative or legislative body (including a committee thereof) with apparent jurisdiction to order Executive to divulge, disclose or make accessible such information. All written Confidential Information (including, without limitation, in any computer or other electronic format) which comes into Executives possession during the course of Executives engagement shall remain the property of the Company. Unless expressly authorized in writing by the Company, Executive shall not remove any written Confidential Information from the Companys premises, except in connection with the
performance of Executives duties for and on behalf of the Company and in a manner consistent with the Companys policies regarding Confidential Information. Upon termination of Executives engagement, the Executive agrees to immediately return to the Company all written Confidential Information (including, without limitation, in any computer or other electronic format) in Executives possession. As a condition of Executives engagement with the Company and in order to protect the Companys interest in such proprietary information, the Company shall require Executives execution of a Confidentiality Agreement and Inventions Agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A , and incorporated herein by this reference.
14. Non-Competition; Non:-Solicitation .
(a) Non-Competition . The Executive hereby covenants and agrees that during the Engagement Term and so long as the Executives Engagement Term is at least six (6) months, for a period of one year following the Expiration Date, the Executive will not, without the prior written consent of the Company, directly or indirectly, on his own behalf or in the service or on behalf of others, whether or not for compensation, engage in any business activity, or have any interest in any person, firm, corporation or business, through a subsidiary or parent entity or other entity (whether as a shareholder, agent, joint venture, security holder, trustee, partner, executive, creditor lending credit or money for the purpose of establishing or operating any such business, partner or otherwise) with any Competing Business in the Covered Area. For the purpose of this Section 14(a), (i) Competing Business means any pharmaceutical, bio pharmaceutical or biotechnology company, any contract manufacturer, any research laboratory or other company or entity (whether or not organized for profit) that has, or is seeking to develop, one or more products or therapies that is related to virology and (ii) Covered Area means all geographical areas of the United States and other foreign jurisdictions where Company then has offices and/or sells its products directly or indirectly through distributors and/or other sales agents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Executive may own shares of companies whose securities are publicly traded, so long as ownership of such securities does not constitute more than one percent (1%) of the outstanding securities of any such company.
(b) Non-Solicitation . The Executive further agrees that during the Engagement Term, and for a period of one (1) year from the Expiration Date, the Executive will not divert any business of the Company and/or its affiliates or any customers or suppliers of the Company and/or the Companys and/or its affiliates business to any other person, entity or competitor, or induce or attempt to induce, directly or indirectly, any person to leave his or her employment with the Company and/or its affiliates; provided, however, that the foregoing provisions shall not apply to a general advertisement or solicitation program that is not specifically targeted at such employees.
(c) Remedies . The Executive acknowledges and agrees that his obligations provided herein are necessary and reasonable in order to protect the Company and its affiliates and their respective business and the Executive expressly agrees that monetary damages would be inadequate to compensate the Company and/or its affiliates for any breach by the Executive of his covenants and agreements set forth herein. Accordingly, the Executive agrees and acknowledges that any such violation or threatened violation of this Section 14 will cause irreparable injury to the Company and that, in addition to any other remedies that may be available, in law, in equity or otherwise, the Company and its affiliates shall be entitled to obtain injunctive relief against the threatened breach of this Section 14 or the continuation of any such breach by the Executive without the necessity of proving actual damages.
15. Engagement Relationship . Executives engagement with the Company will be at will, meaning that either Executive or the Company may terminate Executives engagement at any time and for any reason, with or without Cause or Good Reason in accordance with the Notice provisions as provided for in Section 8. Any contrary representations that may have been made to Executive are superseded by this Agreement. This is the full and complete agreement between Executive and the Company on this term. Although Executives duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Companys personnel policies and procedures, may change from time to time, the at will nature of Executives engagement may only be changed in an express written agreement signed by Executive and a duly authorized officer of the Company (other than Executive).
16. Miscellaneous Provisions .
(a) Modifications: No Waiver . No provision of this Agreement may be modified, waived or discharged unless the modification, waiver or discharge is agreed to in writing and signed by Executive and by an authorized officer of the Company (other than Executive). No waiver by either party of any breach of, or of compliance with, any condition or provision of this Agreement by the other party shall be considered a waiver of any other condition or provision or of the same condition or provision at another time.
(b) Entire Agreement. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings between the parties, oral or written. No modification, termination or attempted waiver shall be valid unless in writing, signed by the party against whom such modification, termination or waiver is sought to be enforced.
(c) Choice of Law . The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this Agreement shall be governed by the internal substantive laws, but not the conflicts of law rules, of the State of New Jersey.
(d) Severability . The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision hereof, which shall remain in full force and effect.
(e) Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts, any one of which need not contain signatures of more than one party, and may be delivered by facsimile or other electronic means, but all of which shall be deemed originals and taken together will constitute one and the same Agreement.
(f) Headings . The headings of the Articles and Sections hereof are inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute a part hereof nor to affect the meaning thereof
(g) Construction of Agreement . In the event of a conflict between the text of the Agreement and any summary, description or other information regarding the Agreement, the text of the Agreement shall control.
Exhibit 99.1
ContraVir Pharmaceuticals Appoints John Cavan as Chief Financial Officer
EDISON, N.J., March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CTRV), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies, announced today the appointment of John Cavan as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Cavan had served as the Companys interim CFO since January 2016.
As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Cavan will assume responsibility for ContraVirs financial and capital markets activities, enhancing the Companys senior management team as ContraVir seeks to capitalize on multiple strategic growth opportunities. Mr. Cavan will report to James Sapirstein, Chief Executive Officer.
James Sapirstein, Chief Executive Officer of ContraVir, commented, John is an accomplished executive with significant financial and operational expertise within the biotechnology industry, and we are pleased to have him assume this key executive role. We expect John will continue building upon the value hes brought to ContraVir, taking a lead role in supporting our growth trajectory as we seek to maximize the value of our pipeline and enhance our position within the antiviral industry.
Mr. Cavan added, ContraVir Pharmaceuticals has progressed significantly since its inception just over two years ago. Im happy to join ContraVirs strong executive team during this exciting time when both of its compounds are undergoing clinical trials and the company is poised for substantial growth.
John Cavan brings more than 20 years of financial management experience in both public and private companies. Prior to joining ContraVir as interim CFO, Mr. Cavan was a consultant with The Pine Hill Group where he was instrumental in completing several financial transactions, including initial public offerings, business combinations and strategic transactions. Prior to his role with the Pine Hill Group, he served as Chief Accounting Officer at Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. Preceding his role at Stemline, Mr. Cavan was Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. where he was instrumental in the companys initial public offering, through which Aegerion achieved a $2 billion market capitalization. He has also held financial positions within the healthcare industry at AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alpharma. Mr. Cavan served in a variety of financial and operational positions early in his career during tenures with large multinational public companies, including Sony, American Express, International Specialty Products (an Ashland Company) and Nestlé U.S.A. Mr. Cavan currently serves on the Board of Directors of Vantage Health Systems. He holds a B.B.A in Accountancy from Iona College and an M.B.A. in Finance from Seton Hall University.
About ContraVir Pharmaceuticals
ContraVir is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies with two candidates in mid-to-late stage clinical development. ContraVirs lead clinical drug, FV-100, is an orally available nucleoside analogue prodrug that is
being developed for the treatment of herpes zoster, or shingles, which is currently in Phase 3 clinical development. In addition to direct antiviral activity, FV-100 has demonstrated the potential to reduce the incidence of debilitating shingles-associated pain known as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) in a Phase 2 clinical study. ContraVirs anti-Hepatitis B program is focused on CMX157, a highly potent analog of the successful antiviral drug tenofovir for the Hepatitis B virus. CMX157s novel structure results in decreased circulating levels of tenofovir, lowering systemic exposure and thereby reducing the potential for renal and bone side effects.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as anticipate, believe, forecast, estimated and intend, among others. These forward-looking statements are based on ContraVirs current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, substantial competition; our ability to continue as a going concern; our need for additional financing; uncertainties of patent protection and litigation; uncertainties with respect to lengthy and expensive clinical trials, that results of earlier studies and trials may not be predictive of future trial results; uncertainties of government or third party payer reimbursement; limited sales and marketing efforts and dependence upon third parties; and risks related to failure to obtain FDA clearances or approvals and noncompliance with FDA regulations. As with any drug candidates under development, there are significant risks in the development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of new products. There are no guarantees that future clinical trials discussed in this press release will be completed or successful, or that any product will receive regulatory approval for any indication or prove to be commercially successful. ContraVir does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in ContraVirs Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2015, and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information, please contact:
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Josh Drumm (investors)
jdrumm@tiberend.com; (212) 375-2664
Claire Sojda (media)
csojda@tiberend.com; (212) 375-2686