Hepion Pharmaceuticals reports annual meeting results

Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC Markets:OTC:HEPA), a biopharmaceutical company trading at $0.06 per share with a market capitalization of $0.66 million, announced the outcomes of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on Thursday. According to InvestingPro data, the company’s stock has experienced significant volatility, falling nearly 100% over the past six months. The meeting saw the election of four director nominees, the ratification of the company’s independent auditors, and votes on reverse stock split and executive compensation. These decisions come at a crucial time for Hepion, which maintains a current ratio of 6.75, indicating strong short-term liquidity despite challenging market conditions.

A total of 10,927,282 shares were present or represented at the meeting, which included common stock and shares issuable upon conversion of Series A Preferred Stock. The director nominees elected were John P. Brancaccio, Timothy Block, Kaouthar Lbiati, and Michael Purcell. The results for each nominee varied, with Brancaccio receiving 188,144 votes for and 315,628 withheld, while the others had similar distributions with a significant number of broker non-votes.

The appointment of Grassi & Co., CPAs, P.C as independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, was ratified with 4,755,685 votes for, 1,166,314 against, and 42,466 abstained.

A proposal to amend the Certificate of Incorporation to effect a reverse stock split at a ratio between 1-for-5 and 1-for-20 was not approved, with 2,251,227 votes for and 3,696,326 against.

Lastly, the advisory vote on the compensation of the company’s named executive officers, commonly known as "say-on-pay," resulted in 162,156 votes for and 337,190 against, with 4,426 abstentions and a large number of broker non-votes.

The results reflect shareholder participation and decisions on key governance and financial matters for the company. The information is based on a press release statement. InvestingPro analysis reveals that while Hepion holds more cash than debt on its balance sheet, the company faces profitability challenges with negative earnings forecasts for the current year. Discover 13 additional key insights about Hepion’s financial health and market performance with an InvestingPro subscription.

In other recent news, Hepion Pharmaceuticals is facing delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market due to noncompliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share. The company received a notice indicating that its shares will be suspended from trading, and it anticipates transitioning to the OTC Markets Group. In an effort to address these challenges, Hepion has enacted a one-for-fifty reverse stock split to boost its stock price and comply with Nasdaq’s requirements. This corporate action, approved by stockholders, reduces the number of outstanding shares significantly.

Additionally, Hepion Pharmaceuticals has announced a strategic pivot by entering a licensing agreement with New Day Diagnostics LLC. This agreement allows Hepion to expand into the diagnostics market, focusing on tests for diseases such as celiac disease, respiratory illnesses, and hepatocellular carcinoma. These tests are CE marked, making them eligible for sale in Europe, and target a market projected to exceed $15 billion. Hepion’s Executive Chairman expressed optimism about generating near-term revenue through this partnership in the European Union.

The company has also wound down its ASCEND-NASH clinical trial, which had been evaluating its primary asset, Rencofilstat. Despite these strategic moves, Hepion has not provided an update on its plans following the potential delisting, and investors are encouraged to review the risk factors outlined in the company’s SEC filings.

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