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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Our chief executive officer and two of our other most highly compensated executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2020 are listed below:
We refer to these executive officers as our named executive officers.
Summary Compensation Table
table presents the compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to each of our named executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, as applicable.
| Name and Principal Position | Year | Salary ($) | Bonus $ | Option Awards ($) (1) | All Other Compensation ($) (2) | Total ($) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Travis C. Mickle, Ph.D. | 2020 | 530,450 | 134,381 | 11,400 | 676,231 | |||||||||||||||||||
| President, chief executive officer and chairman of the board | 2019 | 527,875 | 825,807 | 6,492 | 1,360,174 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sven Guenther, Ph.D. | 2020 | 374,792 | 10,000 | 51,193 | 13,061 | 449,046 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Executive vice president, research and development | 2019 | 363,875 | 311,906 | 11,950 | 687,731 | |||||||||||||||||||
| R. LaDuane Clifton, CPA | 2020 | 350,200 | 51,193 | 4,894 | 406,287 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chief financial officer, secretary and treasurer | 2019 | 348,500 | 311,906 | 4,081 | 664,487 |
Narrative to Summary Compensation Table
We review compensation at least annually for all employees, including our executives. In setting executive base salaries and bonuses and granting equity
incentive awards, we consider compensation for comparable positions in the market, the historical compensation levels of our executives, individual performance as compared to our expectations and objectives, our desire to motivate our employees to
achieve short- and long-term results that are in the best interests of our stockholders, and a long-term commitment to our company. We do not target a specific competitive position or a specific mix of compensation among base salary, bonus or
long-term incentives. The Compensation Committee has historically determined our executives compensation. Our Compensation Committee typically reviews and discusses management s proposed compensation with the chief executive officer for
all executives other than the chief executive officer. Based on those discussions and its discretion, our Compensation Committee, without members of management present, discusses and ultimately approves the compensation of our executive officers.
officers base salaries are reviewed periodically by our Compensation Committee, and adjustments may be made upon the approval of the Compensation Committee.
Effective March 1, 2019, our Compensation Committee approved an increase in Dr. Mickle s,
Dr. Guenther s and Mr. Clifton annual base salaries to $530,450, $365,650, and $350,200 respectively.
Effective March 1, 2020, our
Compensation Committee approved an increase in Dr. Guenther s annual base salary to $376,620.
and Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards
Our Board and Compensation Committee may make cash bonus and non-equity incentive plan awards in their discretion. In May 2020, we awarded Dr. Guenther a cash bonus of $10,000 in connection with his product development efforts.
In February 2020, our Compensation Committee determined that no cash awards would be paid to our executive officers for their services in 2019. The
Compensation Committee has yet to make any determinations regarding the payment of cash awards to our executive officers for their services in 2020. If the Compensation Committee approves any cash awards to be paid to our executive officers, we will
report these awards pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Long-Term Incentives
Our 2014 equity incentive plan, or the 2014 Plan, authorizes us to make grants to eligible recipients of
non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options and other stock-based awards. All of our awards under this plan have been in the form of stock options.
We typically grant stock options at the start of employment to each executive and our other employees. Through December 31, 2020, we have not maintained
a policy of granting additional equity on an annual basis, but we have retained discretion to provide additional targeted grants in appropriate circumstances.
We award stock options to employees who are not officers of the Company on the date the single person non-officer
stock award subcommittee of the Compensation Committee approves the grant. If employees are officers of the Company we award stock options on the date the Compensation Committee approves the grant. We set the option exercise price as the last
reported sale price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant.
In February 2019, we granted Dr. Mickle an option to
purchase 26,250 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in equal annual installments over a period of four years. The exercise price of this option is $42.56 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share
of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. In November 2019, we granted Dr. Mickle an option to purchase 2,250 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in full and become
immediately exercisable upon the achievement of specified product development milestones. The exercise price of this option is $8.2576 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock
Market on the date of grant. In February 2020, we granted Dr. Mickle an option to purchase 26,250 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon the achievement of
specified product development milestones. The exercise price of this option is $5.984 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. All shares underlying
these options will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon a change of control of the Company or if the Dr. Mickle is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason (each as defined in Dr. Mickle s employment
agreement, discussed under Employment Arrangements and Potential Payments upon Termination of Employment herein). With respect to equity awards that vest based on the attainment of performance goals, the performance goals will be deemed
to have met as of the date of termination.
In February 2019, we granted Dr. Guenther an option to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock. The
shares subject to this option will vest in equal annual installments over a period of four years. The exercise price of this option is $42.56 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ
Stock Market on the date of grant. In November 2019, we granted Dr. Guenther an option to purchase 3,500 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon the achievement of
specified product development milestones. The exercise price of this option is $8.2576 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. In February 2020, we
granted Dr. Guenther an option to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon the achievement of specified product development milestones. The exercise
price of this option is $5.984 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. All shares underlying these options will vest in full and become immediately
exercisable upon a change of control of the Company or if the Dr. Guenther is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason (each as defined in Dr. Guenther s employment agreement, discussed under Employment Arrangements
and Potential Payments upon Termination of Employment herein). With respect to equity awards that vest based on the attainment of performance goals, the performance goals will be deemed to have met as of the date of termination.
In February 2019, we granted Mr. Clifton an option to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to these options will vest in equal
annual installments over a period of four years. The exercise price of these options are $42.56 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. In November
2019, we granted Mr. Clifton an option to purchase 2,250 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon the achievement of specified product development milestones. The
exercise price of this option is $8.2576 per share, which equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. In February 2020, we granted Mr. Clifton an option to purchase
10,000 shares of our common stock. The shares subject to this option will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon the achievement of specified product development milestones. The exercise price of this option is $5.984 per share, which
equaled the closing sale price per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market on the date of grant. All shares underlying these options will vest in full and become immediately exercisable upon a change of control of the
Company or if the Mr. Clifton is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason (each as defined in Mr. Clifton s employment agreement, discussed under Employment Arrangements and Potential Payments upon Termination of
Employment herein). With respect to equity awards that vest based on the attainment of performance goals, the performance goals will be deemed to have met as of the date of termination.
Other amounts shown in the
All Other Compensation column in the Summary Compensation Table relate to Company contributions to the 401(k) plan and premiums we paid for life and disability insurance policies on behalf of the named executive officer and tax gross-up payments.
Except for the benefits described above, we do not provide perquisites or personal benefits to our
named executive officers. We do, however, pay the premiums for medical, dental and vision insurance and provide dependent care reimbursement for all of our employees, including our named executive officers.
Outstanding Equity Awards at End of 2020
The following table provides information about outstanding stock options held by each of our named executive officers at December 31, 2020. All of these
options were granted under our stock incentive plan, or the 2007 Plan, or our 2014 Plan.
| Option Awards | ||||||||||||||||
| Name | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable | Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Unexercisable | Option Exercise Price ($) | Option Expiration Date | ||||||||||||
| Travis C. Mickle, Ph.D. | 3,333 | $ | 93.60 | 8/17/2022 | ||||||||||||
| 1,666 | $ | 93.60 | 7/30/2024 | |||||||||||||
| 13,750 | $ | 327.20 | 9/4/2025 | |||||||||||||
| 9,375 | $ | 201.92 | 2/10/2026 | |||||||||||||
| 10,546 | 3,516 | (1)(2) | $ | 56.80 | 1/26/2027 | |||||||||||
| 7,031 | 7,031 | (1)(3) | $ | 88.00 | 1/24/2028 | |||||||||||
| 6,562 | 19,688 | (1)(4) | $ | 42.56 | 2/5/2029 | |||||||||||
| 2,250 | $ | 8.2576 | 11/24/2029 | |||||||||||||
| 26,250 | (1)(5) | $ | 5.984 | 2/4/2030 | ||||||||||||
| Sven Guenther, Ph.D. | 1,250 | $ | 93.60 | 7/9/2024 | ||||||||||||
| 3,125 | $ | 327.20 | 9/3/2025 | |||||||||||||
| 3,125 | $ | 201.92 | 2/10/2026 | |||||||||||||
| 3,515 | 1,172 | (1)(2) | $ | 56.80 | 1/26/2027 | |||||||||||
| 2,343 | 2,344 | (1)(3) | $ | 88.00 | 1/24/2028 | |||||||||||
| 2,500 | 7,500 | (1)(4) | $ | 42.56 | 2/5/2029 | |||||||||||
| 3,500 | $ | 8.2576 | 11/24/2029 | |||||||||||||
| 10,000 | (1)(5) | $ | 5.984 | 2/4/2030 | ||||||||||||
| R. LaDuane Clifton, CPA | 1,333 | $ | 176.00 | 4/1/2025 | ||||||||||||
| 2,812 | $ | 292.64 | 6/25/2025 | |||||||||||||
| 937 | $ | 327.20 | 9/3/2025 | |||||||||||||
| 3,125 | $ | 201.92 | 2/10/2026 | |||||||||||||
| 3,515 | 1,172 | (1)(2) | $ | 56.80 | 1/26/2027 | |||||||||||
| 2,343 | 2,344 | (1)(3) | $ | 88.00 | 1/24/2028 | |||||||||||
| 2,500 | 7,500 | (1)(4) | $ | 42.56 | 2/5/2029 | |||||||||||
| 2,250 | $ | 8.2576 | 11/24/2029 | |||||||||||||
| 10,000 | (1)(5) | $ | 5.984 | 2/4/2030 |
Our named executive officers did not participate in, or otherwise receive any benefits under, any pension or retirement plan sponsored by us during 2020 or
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation
executive officers did not participate in, or otherwise receive any benefits under, any nonqualified deferred compensation plan sponsored by us during 2020 or 2019.
Non-Employee Director Compensation
The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned for service on our Board during 2020 by our
non-employee directors. Dr. Mickle, our president and chief executive officer, was also a director during 2020 but did not receive any additional compensation for his service as a director.
Dr. Mickle s compensation as an executive officer is set forth above under Executive Compensation Summary Compensation Table.
| Name | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | Option Awards (1) ($) | Total ($) | |||||||||
| Richard W. Pascoe | 42,188 | (2) | 5,899 | 48,087 | ||||||||
| Matthew R. Plooster | 33,750 | (3) | 5,899 | 39,649 | ||||||||
| Joseph B. Saluri | 33,750 | (4) | 5,899 | 39,649 | ||||||||
| David S. Tierney | 32,813 | (5) | 5,899 | 38,712 |
The table below shows the aggregate number of option awards outstanding for each of our non-employee directors as of December 31, 2020:
| Name | Aggregate Option Awards Outstanding (#) | |||
| Richard W. Pascoe | 7,020 | (1) | ||
| Matthew R. Plooster | 7,312 | (2) | ||
| Joseph B. Saluri | 7,020 | (1) | ||
| David S. Tierney | 7,020 | (1) |