UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 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): December 19, 2019

 

 

Molecular Templates, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-32979   94-3409596

(State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

9301 Amberglen Blvd, Suite 100

Austin, TX 78729

(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (512) 869-1555

(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 obligations of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Common Stock, $0.001 par value   MTEM   The Nasdaq Capital Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

 

 

 


Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On December 19, 2019, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Molecular Templates, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), elected Corazon “Corsee” Dating Sanders, Ph.D. to the Board as a class II director with a term expiring at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders.

In accordance with the Director Compensation Policy (as defined below in Item 8.01), Dr. Sanders will receive a $40,000 annual cash retainer for her service on the Board. In addition, in accordance with the Director Compensation Policy, Dr. Sanders received an option to purchase 25,000 shares of Common Stock upon her election to the Board, at an exercise price of $12.69, the closing share price of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on December 19, 2019 (the “Initial Option Grant”). This Initial Option Grant vests and becomes exercisable as to 50% of the shares of Common Stock subject to such Initial Option Grant on each of the first and second anniversaries of the date of grant, subject to Dr. Sanders’s continued service as a director of the Company. Dr. Sanders is also entitled to receive an option to purchase 15,000 shares of Common Stock on the date of each annual meeting of stockholders with an exercise price equal to the closing share price of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the date of grant (the “Annual Option Grant”). Such Annual Option Grant shall vest and become exercisable on the first anniversary of the date of grant, subject to Dr. Sanders’s continued service as a director of the Company.

Also, in connection with her election to the Board, Dr. Sanders entered into an indemnification agreement (the “Indemnification Agreement”) with the Company. The Indemnification Agreement is substantially the same as the form of indemnification agreement that the Company has entered into with its other directors, a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-32979) filed with the SEC on August 7, 2017. The Indemnification Agreement provides that the Company will indemnify the relevant director, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, for certain expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by her in any action or proceeding arising out of her service as a director.

There are no arrangements or understandings between Dr. Sanders and any other person pursuant to which Dr. Sanders was elected as a director.

A copy of the press release announcing Dr. Sanders’s election is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On December 19, 2019, simultaneously with Dr. Sanders’s election to the Board, the Board approved an amendment and restatement of the Company’s Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy (as so amended, the “Director Compensation Policy”) effective as of December 19, 2019. A copy of the Director Compensation Policy is being filed with this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.1.


Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

10.1    Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy.
99.1    Press release of Molecular Templates, Inc., dated December 19, 2019.


SIGNATURES

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.

 

   

Molecular Templates, Inc.

Date: December 19, 2019

   
   

By:

  /s/ Eric E. Poma, Ph.D.
     

Name: Eric E. Poma, Ph.D.

Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

Exhibit 10.1

MOLECULAR TEMPLATES, INC.

AMENDED AND RESTATED NON-EMPLOYEE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

POLICY

ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: OCTOBER 9, 2017 AMENDED AS OF

MAY 31, 2018

FURTHER AMENDED EFFECTIVE AS OF DECEMBER 19, 2019

Each member of the board of directors (the “Board”) of Molecular Templates, Inc. (the “Company”) who is not an employee of the Company or any parent or subsidiary of the Company (each, a “Non-Employee Director”) will be eligible to receive cash and equity compensation as set forth in this Molecular Templates, Inc. Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy (this “Policy”). The cash and equity compensation described in this Policy will be paid or granted, as applicable, automatically and without further action of the Board to each Non-Employee Director who is eligible to receive such cash or equity compensation, unless such Non-Employee Director declines the receipt of such cash or equity compensation by written notice to the Company. This Amended and Restated Policy became effective on October 9, 2017 (the “Effective Date”), was amended effective as of May 31, 2018 and amended further as of December 19, 2019, and will remain in effect until it is revised or rescinded by further action of the Board. Capitalized terms not explicitly defined in this Policy but defined in the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (as may be amended from time to time, the “2018 Plan”) will have the same definitions as in the 2018 Plan.

1. CASH COMPENSATION.

(a) Annual Fees. Each Non-Employee Director will be eligible to receive the annual cash retainer fees set forth below for service as (i) a member or chairperson of the Board, as applicable, and (ii) a member or chairperson of a committee of the Board (each, a “Committee”), as applicable, and such fees shall be paid on a quarterly basis:

 

Board or Committee

  

Type of Fee

   Amount (Per Year)  

Board

   Chair Retainer Fee    $ 70,000  
   Non-Chair Member Retainer Fee    $ 40,000  

Audit Committee

   Chair Retainer Fee    $ 15,000  
   Non-Chair Member Retainer Fee    $ 7,500  

Compensation Committee

   Chair Retainer Fee    $ 10,000  
   Non-Chair Member Retainer Fee    $ 5,000  

Nominating and

   Chair Retainer Fee    $ 8,000  

Corporate Governance Committee

   Non-Chair Member Retainer Fee    $ 4,000  

(b) Expenses. Each Non-Employee Director will be entitled to reimbursement from the Company for all reasonable documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Non-Employee Director in connection with his or her attendance at Board and Committee meetings.


To the extent that any taxable reimbursements are provided to a Non-Employee Director, they will be provided in accordance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the Treasury Regulations and other guidance thereunder and any state law of similar effect, including, but not limited to, the following provisions: (i) the amount of any such expenses eligible for reimbursement during the Non-Employee Director’s taxable year may not affect the expenses eligible for reimbursement in any other taxable year; (ii) the reimbursement of an eligible expense must be made no later than the last day of the Non-Employee Director’s taxable year that immediately follows the taxable year in which the expense was incurred; and (iii) the right to any reimbursement may not be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit.

2. EQUITY COMPENSATION. The options described in this Policy will be granted under the 2018 Plan and will be subject to the terms and conditions of (i) this Policy, (ii) the 2018 Plan and (iii) the forms of option grant notices and option agreements approved by the Board for the grant of options to Non-Employee Directors.

(a) Initial Grants. Each individual who is elected or appointed for the first time after the Effective Date to be a Non-Employee Director automatically will be granted, on the date of such initial election or appointment, a non-qualified stock option to purchase 25,000 shares of Common Stock (an “Initial Option Grant”); and each individual who is a Non-Employee Director on the Effective Date will receive an Initial Option Grant on the Effective Date.

(b) Annual Grants. On the date of each annual meeting of the Company’s stockholders after the Effective Date, each individual who is then a Non-Employee Director and is expected to be continuing as a Non-Employee Director following the date of such annual meeting automatically will be granted a non-qualified stock option to purchase 15,000 shares of Common Stock (an “Annual Option Grant”), provided that such individual has served as a Non-Employee Director for at least six (6) months prior to the date of such annual meeting.

(c) Terms of Options.

(i) Exercise Price. The exercise price of each Initial Option Grant and each Annual Option Grant will be equal to 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that such option is granted.

(ii) Vesting. Subject to Section 3 below, each Initial Option Grant and each Annual Option Grant will vest and become exercisable as follows:

(A) Each Initial Option Grant will vest and become exercisable as to 50% of the shares of Common Stock subject to such Initial Option Grant on each of the first and second anniversaries of the date of grant, rounded down to the nearest whole share, provided that the Non-Employee Director is an Employee, director or Consultant of the Company or an Affiliate through such dates.


(B) Each Annual Option Grant will vest and become exercisable on the first anniversary of the date of grant, provided that the Non-Employee Director is an Employee, director or Consultant of the Company or an Affiliate through such date.

3. CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS AND EVENTS.

(a) Corporate Transaction. The provisions of this Section 3(a) (and not Paragraph 25(b) of the 2018 Plan) will apply to all outstanding Initial Option Grants and Annual Option Grants in the event of a Corporate Transaction. In the event of a Corporate Transaction while a Participant remains a Non-Employee Director, the unvested shares of Common Stock subject to each outstanding Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant held by such Participant at the time of such Corporate Transaction, will automatically vest in full so that all outstanding and unvested shares subject to each such Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant will, immediately prior to the effective date of the Corporate Transaction, become fully vested and exercisable and may be exercised for any or all of those vested shares. Immediately following the consummation of the Corporate Transaction, each unexercised Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant will terminate and cease to be outstanding, except to the extent assumed by the successor corporation (or Affiliate thereof).

Each Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant which is assumed by a successor corporation in connection with a Corporate Transaction will be appropriately adjusted immediately after such Corporate Transaction to apply to the number and class of securities which would have been issuable to the Participant as a result of the consummation of such Corporate Transaction had the Initial Option Grant or Annual Option Grant been exercised immediately prior to such Corporate Transaction. Appropriate adjustments will also be made to the exercise price payable per share under each outstanding Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant, provided that the aggregate exercise price payable for such securities will remain the same. To the extent the actual holders of the Common Stock receive cash consideration for their Common Stock in consummation of the Corporate Transaction, the successor corporation may, in connection with the assumption of the outstanding Initial Option Grants and Annual Option Grants, substitute one or more shares of its own common stock with a fair market value equivalent to the cash consideration paid per share of Common Stock in such Corporate Transaction.

(b) Change in Control. In the event of a Change in Control while a Participant remains a Non-Employee Director, the unvested shares of Common Stock subject to each outstanding Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant held by such Participant at the time of such Change in Control, will automatically vest in full so that all outstanding and unvested shares subject to each such Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant will, immediately prior to the effective date of the Change in Control, become fully vested and exercisable and may be exercised for any or all of those vested shares. Each such Initial Option Grant and Annual Option Grant will remain exercisable for such fully vested shares until the earlier of (i) the expiration date of such Initial Option Grant or Annual Option Grant or (ii) termination of the option term in connection with a Change in Control.

Exhibit 99.1

Molecular Templates Appoints Corazon Dating Sanders, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors

AUSTIN, Texas, December 19, 2019 — Molecular Templates, Inc., (Nasdaq: MTEM) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of the Company’s proprietary engineered toxin bodies (ETBs), which are differentiated, targeted, biologic therapeutics, announced today the appointment of Corazon “Corsee” Dating Sanders, Ph.D. to its board of directors, effective immediately.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Sanders join our board of directors. She brings with her a tremendous wealth of leadership experience as a senior executive at several leading global companies, including Celgene, Juno Therapeutics, and Genentech/Roche,” said Eric Poma, Ph.D., Chief Executive and Chief Scientific Officer of Molecular Templates. “Dr. Sanders had leadership roles in the development of strategies leading to clinical and commercial successes in oncology and other therapeutic areas. This expertise makes her a great addition to our board as we continue to advance our ETB platform.”

Dr. Sanders stated, “I am excited to join the Molecular Templates board. Its ETB platform is a powerful technology that has the potential to create multiple therapeutics to address unmet needs in oncology and other diseases.”

Dr. Sanders was formerly a Strategic Advisor to the Office of the Celgene Chief Medical Officer, a position she has held since March 2018. Her responsibilities have included ensuring effective integration of Juno’s Development Organization into the Celgene Organization, specifically the unique CAR T aspects, advising the label-enabling CAR T legacy Juno program (JCAR017), and advising the Chief Medical Officer and his leadership team in evolving the clinical development organization. Prior to that, she was a Member of the Juno Therapeutics Executive Committee as Executive Vice President of Development Operations, with responsibilities for strategic operations, quantitative sciences, biosample and clinical operations. Dr. Sanders was a Member of the Genentech/Roche Late Stage Portfolio Committee from 2011 to 2017, and Global Head of the Genentech/Roche Late Stage Clinical Operations from 2012 to 2017, with responsibility for leading nearly 2,500 employees, across 5 strategic and 20 local country sites, in planning and conducting global development and local clinical trials in over 70 countries. She was Global Head of the Genentech/Roche Biometrics group from 2009 to 2012, and Genentech Head of DATA (Design, Analysis, Technology & Administration) prior to the Roche acquisition. Earlier in her career, she was employed at Schering-Plough Research Institute and at Centocor Inc., primarily in statistician and biomedical operations roles. Dr. Sanders has directly contributed and/or provided oversight in developing multiple approved pharmaceutical products including Claritin®, Rituxan®, Herceptin®, TNKase®, Cathflo®, Xolair, Avastin®, Tarceva®, Lucentis®, Zelboraf®, Perjeta®, Erivedge®, Gazyva®, Kadcyla®, Alecensa®, Cotellic®, Venclexta®, Tecentriq®, Ocrevus®, Hemlibra®, and JCAR017®, a CAR T cell therapy for NHL. Dr. Sanders earned her B.S. and M.S. in statistics, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines, her M.A. and Ph.D. in statistics from the Wharton Doctoral Program at the University of Pennsylvania.


About Molecular Templates

Molecular Templates is a clinical-stage oncology company focused on the discovery and development of differentiated, targeted, biologic therapeutics. Our proprietary biologic drug platform technology, referred to as engineered toxin bodies, or ETBs, provides a differentiated mechanism of action that may address some of the limitations associated with currently available cancer therapeutics. ETBs utilize a genetically engineered form of Shiga-like Toxin A subunit, or SLTA, a ribosome inactivating bacterial protein, that can be targeted to specifically destroy cancer cells.

Investor Contact:

Adam Cutler

Chief Financial Officer

adam.cutler@mtem.com

862-204-4006

 

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Source: Molecular Templates, Inc.