UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

 

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.    )

 

Filed by the Registrantþx

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant¨

 

Check the appropriate box:

Check the appropriate box:
¨xPreliminary Proxy Statement

¨Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

þ¨Definitive Proxy Statement

¨Definitive Additional Materials

¨Soliciting Material Pursuant tounder §240.14a-12

 

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

 

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
þxNo fee required.
¨Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

 

(1)Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
(2)Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:
(3)Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
(4)Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
(5)Total fee paid:

¨Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

¨Check box if any part of the fee is offset as providedFee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2)Rules 14a6(i)(1) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

(1)Amount Previously Paid:
(2)Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
(3)Filing Party:
(4)Date Filed:0-11

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer

 

August 30, 2019_______________, 2023

 

Dear Fellow Stockholder:

 

YouWe are cordially invitedwriting to attendseek written consent from you and the 2019 Annual Meeting (the “Meeting”)other holders of Stockholdersa majority of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”),our outstanding shares of Common Stock, in lieu of holding a special meeting of our stockholders, to be held at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Friday, September 27, 2019, at the Company office facility’s meeting room at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Rockville, Maryland 20850.

An important aspect of the Meeting is the stockholder vote on corporate business items. I urge you to exercise your rights asauthorize and approve a stockholder to vote and participate in this process. Stockholders are being asked to consider and vote upon: (i) the election of six directors of the Company, (ii) a non-binding advisory resolution approving named executive officer compensation, (iii) the approval of anproposed amendment to the Company’sour Certificate of Incorporation to increaseeffect a reverse split in the authorized capital stocknumber of outstanding shares of our Common Stock in the range of 1-for-70 to 1-for-100, as determined by our Board of Directors at a later date.

As further described below, the purpose of the Company by 50,000,000 shares,proposed reverse stock split is to reduce the number of holders of record of our Common Stock to below 500 persons so that we become eligible to indefinitely suspend our obligation to file periodic reports, such as Forms 10-K, 10-Q and (iv)8-K, and proxy and consent solicitation statements, such as this one, with the ratification of the appointment of CohnReznick LLP, as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019.U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

TheOur Board of Directors has determined that approvalfixed June 12, 2023 as the record date for holders of the mattersour Common Stock who will be entitled to be considered at the Meetingparticipate in this consent solicitation and provide consents. This Notice of Consent Solicitation is in the best interests ofbeing issued by the Company and its stockholders.For the reasons set forth in the Proxy Statement, the Board unanimously recommends that you vote “FOR” eachis intended to be mailed on or about ________________, 2023 to all holders of our Common Stock as of the Boardrecord date. We are not holding a special meeting of Directors’ nominees as directors specified understockholders in connection with the Proposal 1, “FOR”described herein. The Consent Solicitation Statement on the non-binding advisory resolution approving named executive officer compensation specified under Proposal 2, “FOR”following pages describes the amendmentmatters presented to the Certificate to increase the authorized shares specified under Proposal 3, and “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm specified under Proposal 4.stockholders herein.

 

I encourageThe Board requests that you to attend the Meeting in person. Whether or not you plan to attend,please vote your shares and sign, date and return your Consent included as Annex A to the proxy mailed to you, or vote overConsent Solicitation Statement in the enclosed envelope (or via telephone or the InternetInternet) as instructed in these materialssoon as promptly as possible, but preferably not later than July 31, 2023.. This will save the Company additional expense in soliciting proxies and will ensure that your shares are represented at the Meeting.

Your Board of Directors and management are committed to the success of the Company and the enhancement of the value of your investment. I want to express my appreciation for your confidence and support.

 

Very truly yours,

 
Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board

 

Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Chairman of the Board

 

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. | 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, MD 20850
PHONE 301.208.9191 | FAX 301.208.9194 | WEB www.regenerx.com

 

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470

Rockville, Maryland 20850

(301) 208-9191

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held On Friday, September 27, 2019

Dear Stockholder:

You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). The Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, September 27, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. local time in the meeting room of the Company’s office facility at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Rockville, Maryland 20850, for the following purposes:

1.To elect the Board’s six nominees for director to serve until the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their successors are elected and qualified.
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2.To consider and vote upon a non-binding advisory resolution regarding named executive officer compensation.
3.To consider and vote upon the amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation to increase the authorized capital stock of the Company by 50,000,000 shares.
4.To ratify the selection by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of CohnReznick LLP (“CohnReznick”) as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2019.
5.To conduct any other business properly brought before the Annual Meeting.

These items of business are more fully described in the Proxy Statement accompanying this Notice.

The record date for the Annual Meeting is July 29, 2019. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on that date may vote at the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

By Order of the Board of Directors
 
Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board

Rockville, Maryland

August 30, 2019

You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting in person. Whether or not you expect to attend the meeting, please complete, date, sign and return the proxy that we may mail to you, or vote over the telephone or the Internet as instructed in these materials, as promptly as possible in order to ensure your representation at the meeting. Even if you have voted by proxy, you may still vote in person if you attend the meeting. Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee and you wish to vote at the meeting, you must obtain a proxy issued in your name from that record holder.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE
ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2019:

The Proxy Statement and Fiscal 2018 Annual Report to Stockholders are
available at:http://www.proxyvote.com

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXY MATERIALS AND VOTING1
Why did I receive in the mail a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials instead of a full set of proxy materials?1
Why did I receive a full set of proxy materials in the mail instead of a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials?1
How do I attend the Annual Meeting?1
Who can vote at the Annual Meeting?2
What am I voting on?2
What if another matter is properly brought before the meeting?2
How do I vote?2
How many votes do I have?3
What if I return a proxy card or otherwise vote but do not make specific choices?3
Who is paying for this proxy solicitation?3
What does it mean if I receive more than one Notice?4
Can I change my vote after submitting my proxy or revoke my proxy?4
When are stockholder proposals due for next year’s annual meeting?4
How are votes counted?4
What are “broker non-votes”?4
How many votes are needed to approve each proposal?5
What is the quorum requirement?5
How can I find out the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting?5
PROPOSAL 1 - ELECTION OF DIRECTORS5
Nominees6
Vote Required8
INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE8
Independence of the Board of Directors8
Board Leadership Structure9
Role of the Board in Risk Oversight9
Meetings of the Board of Directors9
Information Regarding Committees of the Board of Directors9
Audit Committee10
Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Director10
Compensation Committee11
Compensation Committee Processes and Procedures11
Nominating and Corporate Governance12
Nominations for Election to the Board12
Stockholder Communications with the Board of Directors12
Code of Ethics13
PROPOSAL 2 - APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION13
Vote Required13
PROPOSAL 3 – AMENDMENT TO RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO EFFECT AUTHORIZED SHARE INCREASE14
Purpose of Authorized Share Increase14
Interests of our Executive Officers and Directors in the Authorized Share Increase15
Effective Date of the Authorized Share Increase15
Absence of Appraisal Rights15
PROPOSAL 4 - RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM15

Principal Accountant Fees and Services16
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures16
Vote Required16
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT17
SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE18
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION19
Summary Compensation Table for Fiscal 201819
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End for Fiscal 201820
Post-Employment Compensation20
Equity Compensation Plan Information21
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION21
Director Compensation Table for Fiscal 201822
Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans22
TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS23
HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS24
FORM 10-K INFORMATION24
OTHER MATTERS24
PROXY CARD
ANNEX A

 

 

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470

Rockville, Maryland 20850

(301) 208-9191

 

PROXY STATEMENTNOTICE OF CONSENT SOLICITATION

FOR THE 2019 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

September 27, 2019Dear Stockholder:

 

We hereby notify you that we are seeking the written consents of stockholders holding a majority of our outstanding Common Stock as of June 12, 2023, acting in lieu of a special meeting of stockholders, to authorize and approve the following proposal:

To amend our Certificate of Incorporation, in its current form, to effect a reverse split in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock in the range of 1-for-70 to 1-for-100, as determined by our Board of Directors at a later date.

Subject to the final decision of the Board of Directors to proceed, we intend to file a Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State to effectuate the proposed reverse stock split immediately upon receipt of properly executed required consents from the holders of a majority of our outstanding Common Stock.

Our Board of Directors has fixed June 12, 2023 as the record date for holders of our Common Stock who will be entitled to participate in this consent solicitation and provide consents. This Notice of Consent Solicitation is being issued by the Company and is intended to be mailed on or about ________________, 2023 to all holders of our Common Stock as of the record date. We are not holding a special meeting of stockholders in connection with the Proposal described herein. The Consent Solicitation Statement on the following pages describes the matters presented to stockholders herein.

The Board requests that you sign, date and return your Consent included as Annex A to the Consent Solicitation Statement in the enclosed envelope (or via telephone or the Internet) as soon as possible, but preferably not later than July 31, 2023.

By Order of the Board of Directors

 

Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Chairman of the Board

Rockville, Maryland

___________, 2023

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Subject to Completion, June 23, 2023

CONSENT SOLICITATION STATEMENT

This Consent Solicitation Statement is being furnished to stockholders holding the outstanding shares of Common Stock of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation, as of the June 12, 2023, record date fixed by our Board of Directors in connection with the solicitation by the Board of Directors of written consents from our stockholders. We are soliciting the consents in lieu of a special meeting of the stockholders to approve the following proposal:

To amend our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended to date, to effect a reverse split in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock in the range of 1-for-70 to 1-for-100, as determined by our Board of Directors at a later date.

Approval of this proposal requires the written consents of the holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of Common Stock.  There are no rights of appraisal or similar rights of dissenters with respect to the proposed reverse stock split.

Subject to the final approval of our Board of Directors to proceed, we intend to file a Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State to effectuate the proposed reverse stock split immediately upon receipt of properly executed required consents from the holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. A copy of the form of written consent to be executed by stockholders is annexed to this Consent Solicitation Statement as Annex A. A form of the amendment to be filed with the Delaware Secretary of State to implement the reverse stock split is included as Annex B to this Consent Solicitation Statement.

Under Section 228 of the Delaware General Corporations Law (“DGCL”), and in accordance with Article II, Section 2.10 of our Bylaws, any action required or permitted by the DGCL to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, are signed by the holders of outstanding stock having at least the voting power that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted.

We are sending this Consent Solicitation Statement to all of the holders of our Common Stock as of June 12, 2023, the record date. As of such date, (a) 149,096,610 shares of our Common Stock are issued and outstanding. Only stockholders of record of our Common Stock as of the record date will be entitled to submit written consents for such number of shares then held on the Proposal that is the subject of this Consent Solicitation. Consents signed by at least the holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of Common Stock are required in order to approve the Proposal set forth herein. To be counted towards the consents required for approval of the reverse stock split described herein, we must receive your consent before we otherwise receive consents from stockholders who together hold of a majority of our outstanding Common Stock. Accordingly, we would prefer to receive your consent by July 31, 2023. Under the DGCL, the failure to timely deliver a written consent will have the same effect as a vote against, or a withholding of consent for, the Proposal set forth herein.

In order to register your consent to the matters set forth herein, please return your signed and dated written consent in the enclosed envelope. You may also register your consent by telephone or the Internet by following the instructions on Annex A.

Subject to the final approval of our Board of Directors, we intend immediately following our receipt of executed written consents from the requisite number of our stockholders to effectuate the reverse stock split by filing the amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State.

You may revoke your written consent at any time prior to the time that we have received a sufficient number of consents to approve the Proposal set forth herein. A revocation may be in any written form validly signed and dated by you, as long as it clearly states that the consent previously given is no longer effective. The revocation should be sent to us at RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, Maryland 20850, Attention: Mr. J.J. Finkelstein.

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We will not file the amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation in the event that we fail to receive properly executed written consents from the requisite number of stockholders approving the proposed reverse stock split described herein.

We will pay the costs of soliciting these consents. In addition to soliciting consents by mail, our officers, directors and other regular employees, without additional compensation, may solicit consents personally, by facsimile, by e-mail or by other appropriate means. Banks, brokers, fiduciaries and other custodians and nominees who forward written consents soliciting materials to their principals will be reimbursed for their customary and reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

Our executive offices are located at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470 Rockville, Maryland 20850 and our telephone number there is (301) 208-9191.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THESE PROXYCONSENT SOLICITATION MATERIALS

AND VOTINGPROVIDING CONSENTS

 

The Board of Directors of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) is soliciting your proxy to vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) to be held in the basement meeting room of the Company’s office facility at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Rockville, Maryland 20850 on Friday, September 27, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. local time, including at any adjournments or postponements of the Annual Meeting. You are invited to attend the Annual Meeting to vote on the proposals described in this proxy statement. However, you do not need to attend the meeting to vote your shares. Instead, you may simply complete, sign and return the enclosed proxy card, if you received paper copies of the proxy materials, or follow the instructions below to submit your proxy over the telephone or the Internet.

Why did I receive in the mail a Notice of Internet Availability of ProxyConsent Solicitation Materials instead of a full set of proxyconsent solicitation materials?

 

We are pleased to take advantage of the SEC rule that allows companies to furnish their proxy and consent solicitation materials over the Internet. Accordingly, we have sent to our beneficial owners a Notice of Internet Availability of ProxyConsent Solicitation Materials. Instructions on how to access the proxyconsent solicitation materials over the Internet or to request a paper copy may be found in the Notice. Our stockholders may request to receive proxyconsent solicitation materials in printed form by mail or electronically on an ongoing basis. A stockholder’s election to receive proxyconsent solicitation materials by mail or electronically by email will remain in effect until the stockholder terminates its election.

 

Why did I receive a full set of proxyconsent solicitation materials in the mail instead of a Notice of Internet Availability of ProxyConsent Solicitation Materials?

 

We are providing paper copies of the proxyconsent solicitation materials instead of a Notice to our stockholders of record. If you are a beneficial owner or stockholder of record who received a paper copy of the proxyconsent solicitation materials, and you would like to reduce the environmental impact and the costs incurred by us in mailing proxyconsent solicitation materials, you may elect to receive all future proxy and consent solicitation materials electronically via email or the Internet.

 

You can choose to receive our future proxy and consent solicitation materials electronically by visiting http://www.proxyvote.com. Your choice to receive proxy and consent solicitation materials electronically will remain in effect until you instruct us otherwise by following the instructions contained in your Notice and visiting http://www.proxyvote.com, sending an electronic mail message to sendmaterial@proxyvote.com, or calling 1-800-579-1639.

 

The SEC has enacted rules that permit us to make available to stockholders electronic versions of the proxyconsent solicitation materials even if the stockholder has not previously elected to receive the materials in this manner. We have chosen this option in connection with the Annual Meetingthis consent solicitation for a proposed reverse stock split with respect to our beneficial owners and stockholders of record.

 

We intend to mail the Notice on or about August 30, 2019_____________, 2023 to all stockholders of record that would be entitled to vote atas of June 12, 2023, the Annual Meeting.

How do I attend the Annual Meeting?

The Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, September 27, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. local time at the Company office facility’s basement meeting room at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Directions to the Company’s office facility may be found at: http://www.regenerx.com/wt/page/contact_us.Information on how to vote in person at the Annual Meeting is discussed below.

record date set by our Board of Directors.

 

 1-5- 

 

 

Who can vote at the Annual Meeting?provide consents?

 

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on July 29, 2019June 12, 2023, the record date set by our Board of Directors, will be entitled to vote atprovide a consent to the Annual Meeting.proposed reverse stock split. On this record date, there were 131,506494149,096,610 shares of common stockCommon Stock outstanding and entitled to vote.provide consents.

Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

 

If, on July 29, 2019,June 12, 2023, your shares were registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust, then you are a stockholder of record. As a stockholder of record, you may vote in person atdirectly provide your consent to the meetingproposed reverse stock split by signing, dating and returning the enclosed consent form on Annex A, or vote by proxy. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to fill out and return a proxy card or vote by proxymay provide your consent over the Internet or by telephone orin accordance with the instructions on the Internet as instructed below to ensure your vote is counted.Annex A.

 

Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker or Bank

 

If on July 29, 2019,June 12, 2023, your shares were held, not in your name, but rather in an account at a brokerage firm, bank, dealer or other similar organization, then you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” and the Notice is being forwarded to you by that organization. The organization holding your account is considered to be the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the Annual Meeting.providing a consent on your behalf. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker or other agent regarding how to voteprovide your consent with respect to the shares in your account. You are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting. However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not voteprovide your shares in person atconsent directly to the meeting unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other agent.Company.

 

What am I votingbeing asked to provide a consent on?

 

There are four matters scheduledis only one matter for a vote:

Election of six directors;

To consider and vote upon named executive officer compensation on a non-binding and advisory basis;

To consider amending the Company’swe seek your consent, which is to approve an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to increaseeffect a reverse stock split at a ratio of not less than 1-for-70 and not greater than 1-for-100, with the Company’s authorized capital stock by 50,000,000 shares;exact ratio and

Ratification effective time of the selection of CohnReznick LLP (CohnReznick)reverse stock split to be determined by our Audit Committee as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019

What if another matter is properly brought before the meeting?

The Board of Directors knowsat any time after receiving the requisite number of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the intentionconsents from stockholders of the persons namedCompany.

Will there be a stockholder meeting to consider the reverse stock split proposal as set forth in this Consent Solicitation Statement?

No. We will not hold a meeting of stockholders. We are incorporated in the accompanying proxy to vote on those matters inState of Delaware. In accordance with their best judgment.Section 228 of the Delaware General Corporation Law and Article II, Section 2.10 of our Bylaws, our stockholders are permitted to take action without a meeting if the votes represented by consents in writing, that would be necessary to authorize or approve the proposed reverse stock split set forth in this Consent Solicitation Statement, represent at least a majority of our outstanding Common Stock.

 

How do I vote?provide a consent?

 

You may either voteconsent “For” all the nominees to the Boardproposed reverse stock split proposal or you may “Withhold” your voteconsent for any nominee you specify. For each of the other matters to be voted on, you may vote “For” or “Against”it or abstain from voting.providing any consent. The procedures for votingproviding a consent are fairly simple:

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Stockholder of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name

 

If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote in person atthere are three ways to provide your consent:

n  by Telephone—You can provide your consent by telephone by calling 1-800-690-6903 and following the Annual Meeting, voteinstructions on Annex A to this Consent Solicitation Statement;

n  by proxyInternet—You can provide your consent over the telephone, voteInternet at www.proxyvote.com by proxyfollowing the instructions on the Internet Notice or voteon Annex A hereto; or

n  by proxy using a proxy card thatMail—You can provide your consent by mail by signing, dating and mailing the consent form, which you may request as set forth above or that we may deliver at a later time. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to votehave received by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. You may still attend the meeting and vote in person even if you have already voted by proxy.mail.

 

To vote in person, come to the Annual Meeting and we will give you a ballot when you arrive.
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To vote using the proxy card, simply complete, sign

Telephone and date the proxy card that may be delivered and return it promptly in the envelope provided. If you return your signed proxy card to us before the Annual Meeting, we will vote your shares as you direct.

To vote over the telephone, dial the number indicated on your proxy card using a touch-tone phone and follow the recorded instructions. YouInternet consent facilities for stockholders of record will be asked to provide the company numberavailable 24 hours a day and control numberwill close after we receive consents from the Notice. Your vote must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on September 26, 2019,holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of Common Stock, or sooner if we determine to be counted.

abandon or delay further solicitation of consents.

To vote on the Internet, please follow the directions as instructed on the proxy card you received. You will be asked to provide the company number and control number from the Notice. Your vote must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on September 26, 2019 to be counted.

 

Beneficial Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of Broker or Bank

 

If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your broker, bank or other agent, you should have received a Notice containing voting instructions from that organization rather than from us.us on how to provide your consent. Simply follow the voting instructions in the Notice to ensure that your voteconsent is counted. To vote in person at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank, or other agent. Follow the instructions from your broker or bank included with these proxy materials, or contact your broker or bank to request a proxy form.

 

WeCan I provide a consent with respect to my shares by filling out and returning the Notice of Internet proxy votingAvailability of Consent Solicitation Materials?

No. The Notice identifies the item that is the subject of the consent solicitation, but you cannot provide your consent by marking the Notice and returning it. If you would like a paper consent form, you should follow the instructions in the Notice. The paper consent form you receive will also provide instructions as to allowhow to provide your consent via the Internet or telephone. Alternatively, you can mark the paper consent form with how you would like to voteprovide your consent with respect to your shares, online, with procedures designed to ensuresign the authenticityform and correctness of your proxy vote instructions.return it in the envelope provided.

 

How many votes do I have?

 

On each matter to be voted upon by written consent, you have one vote for each share of common stockCommon Stock you owned on July 29, 2019.the record date, June 12, 2023.

 

What if I return a proxy cardconsent form or otherwise voteprovide a consent but do not make a specific choices?choice?

 

If you return a signed and dated proxy cardconsent form or otherwise voteprovide a consent without marking voting selections,your selection, you will be treated as having provided consent with respect to all of your shares will be voted, as applicable, “FOR” the electionreverse stock split proposal. However, if you are the beneficial owner of all six nominees for director, “FOR”your shares through a broker or bank and provide no instructions to them about how to provide your consent, they will not have the advisory resolutiondiscretion to provide a consent on named executive officer compensation, “FOR” the approvalyour behalf and your failure to provide instructions will constitute a withholding or rejection of the amendmentconsent to the Certificate of Incorporation to increase the Company’s authorized shares by 50,000,000 shares, and “FOR” the ratification of the selection of CohnReznick as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019. If any other matter is properly presented at the meeting, your proxyholder (the individual named on the proxy card) will vote your shares using his best judgment.proposal herein.

 

Who is paying for this proxyconsent solicitation?

 

We will pay for the entire cost of soliciting proxies.consents from stockholders. In addition to these proxyconsent solicitation materials, our directors and employees may also solicit proxiesconsents in person, by telephone or by other means of communication. Directors and employees will not be paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies.consents. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxyconsent solicitation materials to beneficial owners.

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What does it mean if I receive more than one Notice?

 

If you receive more than one Notice, your shares may be registered in more than one name or in different accounts. Please follow the voting instructions oneach Notice to ensure that you provide a consent with respect to all of your shares are voted.shares.

 

Can I change my voteconsent after submitting my proxyconsent form or revoke my proxy?consent?

 

Yes. You can revoke your proxyconsent at any time before we receive consents, including yours, from the final vote at the meeting.holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of Common Stock. If you are the record holder of your shares, you may revoke your proxyconsent in any one of the following ways:

 

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You may submit another properly completed proxy cardconsent form with a later date.

 

You may grant a subsequent proxyconsent by telephone or on the Internet.

 

You may send a timely written notice that you are revoking your proxyconsent to the Company’s SecretaryCEO, JJ Finkelstein, at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, Maryland 20850.

 

You may attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person. Simply attending the meeting will not, by itself, revoke your proxy.

Your most current proxy cardconsent form or telephone or Internet proxyconsent is the one that is counted.

 

If your shares are held by your broker or bank as a nominee or agent, you shouldmust follow the instructions provided by your broker or bank.

 

When are stockholder proposals due for next year’s annual meeting?

To be considered for inclusion in next year’s proxy materials, your proposal must be submitted in writing by April 1, 2020, to the Company’s Secretary at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, Maryland 20850. A stockholder proposal will need to comply with the SEC regulations under Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in company-sponsored proxy materials. Although our Board of Directors will consider stockholder proposals, we reserve the right to omit from our proxy statement, or to vote against, stockholder proposals that we are not required to include under the Exchange Act, including Rule 14a-8. If you wish to bring a matter before the stockholders at next year’s annual meeting outside of our proxy materials and you do not notify us before April 1, 2020 for all proxies we receive, the proxyholders will have discretionary authority to vote on the matter, including discretionary authority to vote in opposition to the matter. If you wish to nominate a director for election at next year’s annual meeting, any such nomination shall be made by notice, in writing, to the Company’s Secretary not less than 14 days, nor more than 50 days, prior to the meeting. You are also advised to review our bylaws, which contain additional requirements about advance notice of director nominations.

How are votesconsents counted?

 

VotesConsents will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for the meeting.Company and its legal counsel.

 

What are “broker non-votes”?

 

Broker non-votes occur when a beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” does not give instructions to the broker or nominee holding the shares as to how to vote (or in situations like our case, on how to provide, or withhold, consent) on matters deemed “non-routine.” Generally, if shares are held in street name, the beneficial owner of the shares is entitled to give voting instructions regarding the consent to the broker or nominee holding the shares. If the beneficial owner does not provide voting instructions, the broker or nominee can still vote (or provide a consent for) the shares with respect to matters that are considered to be “routine,” but not with respect to “non-routine” matters. Proposals No. 1, 2Our reverse stock split proposal is “non-routine” and 3 are consideredthus a broker cannot provide a consent on your behalf without your instructions. Accordingly, your failure to be “non-routine.” Proposal No. 4,provide instructions will constitute a withholding or rejection of consent to the vote to ratify the selection for our independent registered public accounting firm, is considered to be “routine.”

proposal herein.

 

4

How many votesconsents are needed to approve eachthe reverse stock split proposal?

 

For Proposal 1, the election of directors, the six nominees receiving the most “FOR” votes will be elected.

Proposal 2, regarding named executive officer compensation, is an advisory vote, which means that the vote is not binding on the Company, our Board of Directors, or the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. To the extent there is any significant vote against our named executive officer compensation as disclosed in this proxy statement, the Compensation Committee will evaluate whether any actions are necessary to address the concerns of stockholders.

Proposal 3, the approvalApproval of the amendment to the Company’sour Certificate of Incorporation required to increaseeffect the authorized capitalproposed reverse stock by 50,000,000 shares,split must receive “FOR” votesconsents from the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares present and entitled to vote either in person or by proxy.of Common Stock. If you “ABSTAIN” from voting,providing a consent, it will have the same effect as an “Against” vote. Brokera withholding or rejection of consent to the proposal herein. Similarly, broker non-votes will have no effect.

Proposal 4, the ratification of the appointment of CohnReznick as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2019, must receive “FOR” votes from the holders of a majority of shares present and entitled to vote either in person or by proxy. If you “ABSTAIN” from voting, it will have the same legal effect as an “Against” vote.

What isa withholding or rejection of consent to the quorum requirement?proposal herein.

 

A quorum of stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present if stockholders holding at least a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote are present at the meeting in person or represented by proxy. On the record date, there were 131,506,494 shares outstanding and entitled to vote. Thus, the holders of 65,753,248 shares must be present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting to have a quorum.

Your shares will be counted towards the quorum only if you submit a valid proxy (or one is submitted on your behalf by your broker, bank or other nominee) or if you vote in person at the meeting. Abstentions and broker non- votes will be counted towards the quorum requirement. If there is no quorum, the holders of a majority of shares present at the meeting in person or represented by proxy may adjourn the meeting to another date.

How can I find out the results of the voting at the Annual Meeting?consent solicitation?

 

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the Annual Meeting. In addition, final votingFinal consent results will be published in a Current Report on Form 8-K, which we will file within four business days after receiving the Annual Meeting.requisite number of consents.

 

THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT PROPOSAL 1

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

 

The Company’sGeneral

We are asking stockholders to adopt and approve a proposed amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to effect the proposed reverse stock split. Our Board of Directors currently consists of six directors. Eachhas unanimously approved and declared advisable the proposed amendment and recommends that our stockholders adopt and approve it. The following description of the six continuing directorsproposed amendment is a summary and is subject to its full text, which is attached to this Consent Solicitation Statement as Annex B.

If stockholders approve this proposal, the Board of Directors plans to cause the amendment to be electedfiled promptly with the Delaware Secretary of State and qualified will hold office untileffect the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his successor is elected and qualified, or, if sooner, untilreverse stock split. The reverse stock split could become effective as soon as the director’s death, resignation or removal. Eachbusiness day immediately following our receipt of the nominees listed below is currently a directorrequisite number of stockholder consents. The Board of Directors also may determine in its discretion not to effect the reverse stock split and not to file the amendment, such as if we receive an influx of capital into the Company, who was previously elected bywhich we currently do not expect. No further action on the stockholders. It ispart of stockholders will be required to either implement or abandon the Company’s policy to encourage nominees for directors to attend the Annual Meeting. reverse stock split.

 

 5-8- 

 

 

The proposed amendment, if effected, will effect a reverse stock split of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock at a reverse stock split ratio in the range of 1-for-70to 1-for-100, as determined by our Board of Directors at a later date. As of June 12, 2023, the record date for our consent solicitation, 149,096,610 shares of our Common Stock were issued and outstanding. Based on such number of shares of our Common Stock issued and outstanding, immediately following the effectiveness of the reverse stock split (and without giving any effect to the payment of cash in lieu of fractional shares), we will have, depending on the reverse stock split ratio selected by our Board of Directors, issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock as illustrated in the table under the caption “—Effects of the Reverse Stock Split — Effect on Shares of Common Stock.” The proposed amendment will not result in a reduction of the total number of shares of our Common Stock that we are electedauthorized to issue by a pluralitycorresponding ratio, and, as a result, the number of authorized shares of Common Stock available for issuance will increase. See “—Effects of the votesReverse Stock Split —Effect on Shares of Common Stock” for the number of shares of Common Stock authorized but not outstanding or reserved that will remain available for issuance immediately following the effectiveness of the reverse stock split. All holders of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors. The six nominees receiving the highest number of affirmative votesour Common Stock will be elected. Shares representedaffected proportionately by executed proxiesthe reverse stock split.

We will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the electionissue any fractional shares of the five nominees named below. If any nominee becomes unavailable for electionCommon Stock as a result of an unexpected occurrence, your shares maythe reverse stock split. Instead, any stockholder who would have been entitled to receive a fractional share as a result of the reverse stock split will receive cash payments in lieu of such fractional shares. Each common stockholder will hold the same percentage of the outstanding Common Stock immediately following the reverse stock split as that stockholder did immediately prior to the reverse stock split, except to the extent that the reverse stock split results in stockholders receiving cash in lieu of fractional shares. The par value of our common stock will continue to be voted$0.001 per share (see “—Effects of the Reverse Stock Split — Reduction in Stated Capital”).

Reasons for the electionReverse Stock Split

As previously reported in our Report on Form 10-Q, at March 31, 2023, we had only $101,557 of cash remaining. Those funds have been further depleted since that date. However, in June 2023, we raised $175,000 of capital pursuant to the offer and sale of convertible promissory notes to three of our board members and a substitute nominee proposed by the Company. Each person nominated for election has agreedconsultant. We continue to serve if elected. The Company’s management has no reasonattempt to raise additional capital to continue our business operations. We now believe that any nominee will be unablecurtailment of our operations and ceasing of our SEC public reporting, temporarily or permanently, is imminently required, as the new funds are merely adequate to serve.finance our professional and other fees associated with this consent solicitation statement.

 

NomineesUnder the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and its rules and regulations, our lack of capital does not constitute an excuse for failing to file periodic reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. However, we expect to run out of resources to pay for the ongoing legal, accounting and other professional assistance we require to prepare and file these reports. Given our current situation, the only way to properly terminate or suspend our legal obligations to continue to file these SEC reports is to take action to reduce the number of holders of record of our Common Stock to below 500 persons, which would then make us eligible to file a Form 15 with the SEC to terminate or suspend our reporting obligations. As of June 12, 2023, the record date we have set, we had 591 holders of record of our Common Stock.

 

The following is a brief biography of each nominee for director and a discussion of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each nominee that led the Board to recommend that person as a nominee for director, as of the date ofIn this proxy statement. Ages are as of August 21, 2019.

We seek to assemble a board that, as a whole, possesses the appropriate balance of professional and industry knowledge, financial expertise and high-level management experience necessary to oversee and direct our business. To that end, our Board intends to maintain membership of directors who complement and strengthen the skills of other members and who also exhibit integrity, collegiality, sound business judgment and other qualities that we view as critical to effective functioning of the Board. The brief biographies below include information, as of the date of this proxy statement, regarding the specific and particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each director or nominee that led the Board to believe that the director should serve on the Board.

Name Age Principal Occupation/Position Held Director
since
      
Allan L. Goldstein 81 Former Chairman, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Scientific Advisor of the Company 1982
       
J.J. Finkelstein 67 President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company 2002
       
Joseph C. McNay 85 Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Principal, Essex Investment Management Company 1987
       
Mauro Bove 64 Business Development consultant to emerging pharmaceutical companies in Asia, including Lee’s Pharmaceuticals 2004
       
R. Don Elsey 66 CFO of Lyra Therapeutics, a private therapeutic company 2010
       
Alessandro Noseda 61 CSO of Leadiant Biosciences S.p.A. 2019

Dr. Goldsteinhas served as the Chairman oflight, our Board of Directors andhas determined that it is appropriate to combine our Chief Scientific Officer since he founded our company in 1982. Dr. Goldstein is Emeritus Professor & former Chairmanshares of the DepartmentCommon Stock within a range of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Goldstein is a recognized expert in the field of immunology and protein chemistry, having authored over 450 scientific articles in professional journals. He is also the inventor on over 25 issued and/or pending patents in biochemistry, immunology, cardiology, cancer and wound healing. Dr. Goldstein discovered several important compounds, including Tα1, which is marketed worldwide, and Tß4, which is the basis for RegeneRx’s clinical program. Dr. Goldstein served on the Board of Trustees of the Sabin Vaccine Institute from 20001-for-70 to 2012 and on1-for-100, as determined by the Board of Directors at a later date, in order to reduce the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding to a level where, after cashing out fractional shares held by our stockholders, we would have fewer than 500 stockholders of record.

If we do not receive the Richard B.requisite consents from our stockholders to effect the proposed reverse stock split, we nevertheless anticipate ceasing to file any further SEC reports due to lack of capital to fund their preparation and Lynne V. Cheney Cardiovascular Institute from 2006 to 2012. Dr. Goldstein has also done pioneering work in the area of medical education, developing distance learning programs for the internet entitled “Frontiers in Medicine,” a medical education series that Dr. Goldstein developed. The Board believes that Dr. Goldstein’s scientific expertise, industry background and prior experience as our founder all position himfiling. However, we would still be legally obliged to make an effective contributionsuch filings, which could subject us to sanctions by the medicalSEC for failure to comply with its rules and scientific understandingregulations. Hence, we believe the better course of action for us and our stockholders is to properly terminate or suspend our reporting obligations by reducing the Board, which the committee believesnumber of stockholders of record to be particularly important as we continue our Tß4 development efforts.

fewer than 500 persons.

 

 6-9- 

 

 

In many cases, companies conduct reverse stock splits with the intention, absent other factors, to increase the per share trading price of its stock. In our case, however, we expect that – regardless of whether we receive stockholder approval to proceed with the reverse stock split – our inability to pay for continued SEC filings and the continued listing fees for the OTC marketplace will likely lead to ultimate delisting of our Common Stock from the OTC marketplace, which we expect to adversely affect the price of our Common Stock and the ability of stockholders to buy and sell our shares.

Mr. Finkelstein has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of

Of course, our Board of Directors since 2002. Mr. Finkelstein also served asreserves the right to select the timing of the reverse stock split, or to abandon it, including if we are able to raise significant additional capital to continue our Chief Executive Officer from 1984business operations. However, we do not currently foresee raising a requisite amount of additional capital in a timely fashion.

Certain Risks and Potential Disadvantages Associated with the Reverse Stock Split

In addition to 1989the potential described above for our stock price to further decline and as the Vice Chairmanability of our stockholders to trade their shares to be adversely impacted, the reverse stock split has further risks and potential disadvantages associated with it.

Stockholders with only fractional shares will be forced out of our company.

As of June 12, 2023, the record date our Board of Directors has set for determining the stockholders eligible to provide consents with respect to the reverse stock split proposal, we had 591 stockholders of record and many additional stockholders who own our Common Stock in “street name” through a broker-dealer or otherwise. If effected, the reverse stock split will reduce not only the number of our record holders of Common Stock, but will also cause the beneficial ownership of “street name” holders with fewer shares than the reverse split ratio to be reduced to a fractional amount, which would then be redeemed back for cash.

For example, if the reverse split ratio was 1-for-100 shares, a stockholder of record or a beneficial “street name” holder with 99 or fewer shares would have such stockholder’s interest reduced to a fraction of a share and would be cashed out., This effect would then preclude any such investors from 1989holding our Common Stock for future growth, if any, and as further discussed below, may trigger a taxable event to 1991. Mr. Finkelstein has workedstockholders on the redemption of their equity with us.

The proposed reverse stock split will likely decrease the liquidity of our Common Stock and result in higher transaction costs.

The liquidity of our Common Stock likely may be negatively impacted by the reverse stock split, given the reduced number of shares that would be outstanding after the reverse stock split, particularly if the per share trading price does not increase as a result of the reverse stock split. In addition, if the reverse stock split is implemented, it will increase the number of our stockholders who own “odd lots” of fewer than 100 shares of Common Stock. Brokerage commission and other costs of transactions in odd lots are generally higher than the costs of transactions of more than 100 shares of Common Stock.

Potential Anti-Takeover Effect

The reverse stock split would result in an executive officerincreased proportion of unissued authorized shares to issued shares, which could have possible anti-takeover effects and consultantcould be used by us to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or to delay or prevent changes in our control or management (for example, by permitting issuances that would dilute the stock ownership of a person seeking to effect a change in the bioscience industry for the past 37 years, including serving from 1989 to 1996 as chief executive officer of Cryomedical Sciences, Inc., a publicly-traded medical device company. Mr. Finkelstein has significant experience in developing early-stage companies. He has been responsible for the regulatory approval and marketing of several medical devices in the U.S. and abroad. Mr. Finkelstein has previously served on the executive committeecomposition of the Board of Directors or contemplating a tender offer or other transaction for the combination of us with another company). These authorized but unissued shares could (within the limits imposed by applicable law) be issued in one or more transactions that could make a change of control of us more difficult, and therefore more unlikely, or used to resist or frustrate a third-party transaction that is favored by a majority of the Technology Council of Maryland and MdBio, Inc. and was formerly the chair of MdBio Foundation, all of which are non-profit entities that support bioscience development and education in the State of Maryland. Mr. Finkelstein received a business degree in finance from the University of Texas. The Board believes that Mr. Finkelstein’s history and long tenure as our Chief Executive Officer positions him to contribute to the Board his extensive knowledge of our company and to provide Board continuity. In addition, the Board believes that his experience at prior companies has provided him with operational and industry expertise, as well as leadership skills that are important to the Board.

Mr. McNayhas served as a member ofindependent stockholders. For example, without further stockholder approval, our Board of Directors since 2002. He is currently Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Principalcould (within the limits imposed by applicable law) strategically sell shares of Essex Investment Management Company, LLC, positions he has held since 1976 when he founded Essex. He has direct portfolio management responsibilitiesCommon Stock in a private transaction to purchasers who would oppose a takeover or favor our then current Board of Directors, or the shares could be available for potential issuance pursuant to a varietyshareholder rights plan. The additional authorized shares could be used to discourage persons from attempting to gain control of funds and on behalfus by diluting the voting power of private clients. He is also a membershares then outstanding or increasing the voting power of the firm’s Management Board. Prior to founding Essex, Mr. McNay was Executive Vice President and Director of Endowment Management & Research Corp. from 1967. Prior topersons that Mr. McNay was Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager at the Massachusetts Company. Currently he is serving as Trustee of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, member of the Children’s Hospital Investment Committee and is onwould support the Board of Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He received his A.B. degree from Yale University and his M.B.A. degreeDirectors in finance froma potential takeover situation, including by preventing or delaying a proposed business combination that is opposed by the Wharton SchoolBoard of Directors although perceived to be desirable by some stockholders. The issuance of additional shares to certain persons allied with our management could have the Universityeffect of Pennsylvania. The Board believes that Mr. McNay’s extensive financial experience is valuablemaking it more difficult to remove our current management by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of persons seeking to cause such removal. Despite these possible anti-takeover effects, our reverse stock split proposal has been prompted by business and also positions himfinancial considerations and not by the threat of any hostile takeover attempt or any effort of which we are aware to contributeaccumulate our stock or to the audit committee’s understandingobtain control of financial matters.

Mr. Bovehas served asour company by means of a member ofmerger, tender offer, solicitation in opposition to management or otherwise (nor is our Board of Directors since 2004 and has more than 30 yearscurrently aware of business and management experience withinany such attempts directed at us). Nevertheless, stockholders should be aware that approval of this proposal could facilitate future efforts by us to deter or prevent changes in our control, including transactions in which the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Bove is currently based in Hong Kong and in Europe, serving asstockholders might otherwise receive a consultant to emerging pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Previously, Mr. Bove ledpremium for more than 20 years the Corporate & Business Development of Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.p.A., formerly the holding company of Sigma-Tau Group, a leading international pharmaceutical company (Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.p.A. - now Essetifin S.p.a. - and its affiliates are collectively our largest stockholder). Mr. Bove, who resigned this role with Sigma-Tau on March 31, 2014, has also held a number of senior positions in business, licensing and corporate development within Sigma-Tau Group. Mr. Bove obtained his law degree at the University of Parma, Italy, in 1980. In 1985, he attended the Academy of American and International Laws at the International and Comparative Law Center, Dallas, Texas. The Board believes that Mr. Bove’s extensive business and management experience within the pharmaceutical industry allows him to recognize and advise the Board with respect to recent industry developments.their shares over then current market prices.

 

Mr. Elseyhas served as a member of our Board of Directors since September 2010. Currently Mr. Elsey serves as CFO of Lyra Therapeutics, a private company pioneering a new therapeutic approach to treat debilitating ear, nose and throat diseases. Previously Mr. Elsey served as CFO of Senseonics, Inc., from February 2015 to February 2019, a medical device company focused on continuous glucose monitoring. From May 2014 until February 2015 Mr. Elsey served as chief financial officer of Regado Biosciences, a public, late-stage clinical development biopharmaceutical company. From December 2012 to February 2014 Mr. Elsey served as chief financial officer of LifeCell, Inc., a privately held regenerative medicine company. From June 2005 to December 2012, he served in numerous finance capacities, most recently as senior vice president and chief financial officer, at Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a publicly held biopharmaceutical company. He served as the director of finance and administration at IGEN International, Inc., a publicly held biotechnology company, and its successor BioVeris Corporation, from April 2000 to June 2005. Prior to joining IGEN, Mr. Elsey served as director of finance at Applera, a genomics and sequencing company, and in several finance positions at International Business Machines, Inc. He received an M.B.A. in finance and a B.A. in economics from Michigan State University. Mr. Elsey is a certified management accountant. The Board believes that Mr. Elsey’s experience as chief financial officer of a public company is particularly valuable to our business in that it positions him to contribute to our board’s and audit committee’s understanding of financial matters.

 7-10- 

 

 

Dr. Nosedais the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Leadiant Biosciences S.p.A. and provides scientific and medical know-how to coordinate and manage the scientific and development programs at a global level as well as to evaluate new opportunities for the Leadiant Group. Since September 2018 he is also Chief Medical Officer of Leadiant Biosciences, Inc. After graduating as a Medical Doctor in 1984 at the University of Milan, and following a Post Doctorate at Bowman Gray School of medicine (USA), he joined the pharma industry in 1988 where he held different managerial positions within the R&D and Marketing organizations of multinational companies. He has acquired a significant experience in R&D (through the whole development process, from research to interaction with Health Authorities for MA submission or HTA assessment) and strategic/business operations. He joined sigma-tau in 1998 as Director of Scientific Office and Strategic Alliances within the Corporate R&D organization. In this position he managed key R&D projects and contributed to the finalization of important partnerships (e.g. with Novartis, Debiopharm etc.) and to the advancement of product development (from research to product registration). He has been partEffective Time

The effective time of the management Teamreverse stock split (the “Effective Time”), if approved by stockholders and implemented by us, will be the date and time set forth in the Certificate of Amendment that is filed with the Delaware Secretary of State. We currently expect to make such filing promptly following receipt of the requisite number of consents from our stockholders to approve the amendment. The Effective Time could occur as soon as the business day immediately following receipt of the requisite consents. However, the exact timing of the filing of the amendment will be determined by our Board of Directors of biotech companies ofbased on its evaluation as to when such action will be the sigma-tau Group, as Thule Therapeutics, Metheresis Translational Researchmost advantageous to us and Rostaquo. He has also been Chief Executive Officer of Leadiant Biosciences SA (formerly sigma-tau Research Switzerland) from 2007 to 2017, a position which he held in parallel with his former positions in sigma-tau (1988-2014) and later in Leadiant where he acted as Chief Medical Officer (2014-2017) before becoming the CSO. Under his management this company developed and advanced a proprietary technology and he guided the Company through the process to obtain the authorization by the Swiss Health Authorities to import and release medicinal products, as well as the Orpha Drug Designations and registration of new products (e.g. Chenodeoxycholic Acid or CDCA). He worked in several therapeutic (and diagnostic) areas, but mostly in high unmet medical need specialty areas as cancer, immune-oncology and rare diseases.

VOTE REQUIRED

The Board recommends that you vote “FOR” each of the nominees to the Board set forth in this Proposal 1. Under our Bylaws, the election of each nominee requires the affirmative vote of a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election of directors at the Annual Meeting at which a quorum is present.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Independence of the Board of Directors

Although our common stock is no longer listed on the NYSE MKT exchange, we have determined the independence of our directors using the NYSE MKT definitions of independence. Under NYSE MKT listing standards, a majority of the members of a listed company’s board of directors must qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively determined by the Board. Our Board consults with counsel to ensure that its determinations are consistent with relevant securities and other laws and regulations regarding the definition of “independent,” including those set forth in pertinent listing standards of the NYSE MKT, as they may be modified from time to time.

Consistent with these considerations, after review of all relevant identified transactions or relationships between each director, or any of his family members, and our company, our senior management and our independent auditors, our Board has determined that the following three directors are independent directors within the meaning of the applicable NYSE MKT listing standards: Mr. Elsey, Mr. Bove, Dr. Noseda and Mr. McNay. In making this determination, the Board found that none of these directors had a material or other disqualifying relationship with us. Mr. Finkelstein, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Goldstein our Chief Scientific Advisor, are not independent by virtue of their employment with us.

In determining the independence of Mr. Bove, the board of directors took into account the significant ownership of our common stock by Sigma-Tau and its affiliates and our License Agreement with Lee’s Pharmaceuticals. The board of directors does not believe that any of the transactions with Lee’s or Sigma-Tau and its affiliates described in this report has interfered or would reasonably be expected to interfere with Mr. Bove’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out his responsibilities as a director of our company.

8

Board Leadership Structure

The Board has a chairman, Dr. Goldstein, who has authority, among other things, to call and preside over Board meetings, to set meeting agendas and to determine materials to be distributed to the Board. Accordingly, the Chairman has substantial ability to shape the work of the Board. We believe that separation of the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer reinforces the independence of the Board in its oversight of our business and affairs. In addition, we believe that having a separate Chairman creates an environment that is more conducive to objective evaluation and oversight of management’s performance, increasing management accountability and improving the ability of the Board to monitor whether management’s actions are in our best interests and those of our stockholders.

 

Role of the Board in Risk Oversight

One of the Board’s key functions is informed oversight of our risk management process. The Board does not have a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through the Board as a whole, as well as through various Board standing committees that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. Our audit committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken. Our compensation committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk- taking.

Meetings of the Board of Directors

The Board met 10 times during our 2018 fiscal year.

Information Regarding Committees of the Board of Directors

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, the Board maintained two standing committees: an Audit Committee and a Compensation Committee. The Board does not have a standing nominating and corporate governance committee. Rather, the independent members of the full Board perform the functions of a nominating and corporate governance committee.

The following table provides membership and meeting information for fiscal 2018 for each of the Board’s standing committees:

Name Audit  Compensation 
R. Don Elsey  X   X*
Joseph McNay  X*  X 
Mauro Bove      X 
Alessandro Noseda      X 
Total meetings in fiscal 2018  4   1 

*Committee Chairperson

Below is a description of each committee of the Board. Each of the committees has authority to engage legal counsel or other experts or consultants as it deems appropriate to carry out its responsibilities. The Board has determined that each member of each committee meets the applicable NYSE MKT rules and regulations regarding “independence” and that each member is free of any relationship that would impair his individual exercise of independent judgment with regard to the Company

9

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee consists of Mr. McNay and Mr. Elsey, with Mr. McNay acting as the Chairman of the committee. The Audit Committee meets no less than quarterly with management and our independent registered public accounting firm, both jointly and separately, has sole authority to engage and terminate the engagement of our independent registered public accounting firm, and reviews our financial reporting process on behalf of the Board. The Audit Committee met four times during the 2018 fiscal year. The Audit Committee operates under a formal written charter available on our website at www.regenerx.com.

Each member of the Audit Committee is an independent director determined in accordance with Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. Furthermore, the Board has determined that Mr. McNay and Mr. Elsey qualify as “audit committee financial experts” as defined under SEC rules.

The Audit Committee pre-approves all audit and non-audit engagement fees, and terms and services. On an ongoing basis, management communicates specific projects and categories of services for which advance approval of the Audit Committee is required. The Audit Committee reviews these requests and advises management and the independent auditors if the Audit Committee pre-approves the engagement of the independent auditors for such projects and services. On a periodic basis, the independent auditors report to the Audit Committee the actual spending for such projects and services compared to the approved amounts.

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

The following report of the Audit Committee shall not be deemed to be filed with the SEC or incorporated by reference in any previous or future documents filed by the Company with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates the reference in any such document.

The Audit Committee reviews the Company’s financial reporting process on behalf of the Board. Management has the primary responsibility for the financial statements and the reporting process. The Company’s independent registered public accountant is responsible for performing an independent audit of the Company’s financial statements and expressing an opinion on the conformity of the audited financial statements to generally accepted accounting principles.

The members of the Audit Committee have reviewed and discussed with management the Company’s audited financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. The members of the Audit Committee have discussed with CohnReznick, the Company’s independent auditor, the matters required to be discussed by the statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended (AICPA, Professional Standards, Vol. 1, AU section 380), as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T. The members of the Audit Committee have received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding communications with the audit committee concerning independence, and the members of the Audit Committee have discussed with CohnReznick their independence from management and the Company. The members of the Audit Committee have considered whether the provision of services by CohnReznick referred to above not related to the audit of the financial statements and the reviews of the interim financial statements included in the Company’s Forms 10-Q are compatible with maintaining CohnReznick’s independence, and have determined that they are compatible and do not impact CohnReznick’s independence.

Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the audited financial statements referred to above should be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K accompanying this Proxy Statement and filed with the SEC for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

Mr. Joseph McNay, Chairman
Mr. R. Don Elsey

10

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee consists of Mr. McNay, Mr. Elsey, and Mr. Bove with Mr. Elsey acting as the Chairman of the committee The Compensation Committee met once during the 2018 fiscal year. The Compensation Committee has adopted a written charter that is available to stockholders on our website at www.regenerx.com.

The Compensation Committee of the Board acts on behalf of the Board to review, adopt and oversee our compensation strategy, policies, plans and programs, including:

establishment of corporate and individual performance objectives relevant to the compensation of our chief executive officer, other executive officers and Board members;

evaluation of performance in light of these stated objectives;

review and approval of the compensation and other terms of employment or service, including severance and change-in-control arrangements, of our Chief Executive Officer and the other executive officers; and

administration of our equity compensation plans and other similar plan and programs.

Compensation Committee Processes and Procedures

Typically, the Compensation Committee meets at least two times annually and with greater frequency if necessary. The agenda for each meeting is usually developed by the Chairman of the Compensation Committee, in consultation with certain executive officers, including the Chief Financial Officer. The Compensation Committee meets regularly in executive session. However, from time to time, various members of management and other employees as well as outside advisors or consultants may be invited by the Compensation Committee to make presentations, to provide financial or other background information or advice or to otherwise participate in Compensation Committee meetings. The Chief Executive Officer may not participate in, or be present during, any deliberations or determinations of the Compensation Committee regarding his compensation or individual performance objectives. The charter of the Compensation Committee grants the Compensation Committee authority to obtain, at the expense of the Company, advice and assistance from internal and external legal, accounting or other advisors and consultants and other external resources that the Compensation Committee considers necessary or appropriate in the performance of its duties. In particular, the Compensation Committee has the authority to retain compensation consultants to assist in its evaluation of executive and director compensation, including the authority to approve the consultant’s reasonable fees and other retention terms.

Historically, the Compensation Committee has made most of the significant adjustments to annual compensation, determined bonus and equity awards and established new performance objectives at one or more meetings held during the first half of the year. Generally, the Compensation Committee’s process comprises two related elements: the determination of compensation levels and the establishment of performance objectives for the current year. For executives other than the Chief Executive Officer, the Compensation Committee solicits and considers evaluations and recommendations submitted to the Compensation Committee by the Chief Executive Officer. In the case of the Chief Executive Officer, the evaluation of his performance is conducted by the Compensation Committee, which determines any adjustments to his compensation as well as awards to be granted. For all executives and directors, as part of its deliberations, the Compensation Committee may review and consider, as appropriate, materials such as financial reports and projections, operational data, tax and accounting information, tally sheets that set forth the total compensation that may become payable to executives in various hypothetical scenarios, executive and director stock ownership information, company stock performance data and analyses of historical executive compensation levels and current Company-wide compensation levels.

11

Nominating and Corporate Governance

The Board does not have a standing nominating and corporate governance committee. Instead, the independent members of the Board, currently consisting of Messrs. Elsey, McNay, Noseda, and Bove, are responsible for performing key nominating and corporate governance activities on behalf of the Board, including identifying, reviewing and evaluating candidates to serve as directors of the Company, reviewing and evaluating incumbent directors, selecting candidates for election to the Board, making recommendations to the Board regarding the membership of the committees of the Board, assessing the performance of management and developing and maintaining a set of corporate governance principles for the Company.

In identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the Board considers whether the candidate has the highest ethical standards and integrity and sufficient education, experience and skills necessary to understand and wisely act upon the complex issues that arise in managing a publicly held company. The Board also believes that it is essential that the Board members represent diverse viewpoints. To the extent the Board does not have sufficient information to evaluate a candidate the Board may send a questionnaire to the candidate for completion with sufficient time for Board consideration. The Board will annually assess the qualifications, expertise, performance and willingness to serve of existing directors. If, at thisany time or at any other time during the year the Board determines a need to add a new director with specific qualifications or to fill a vacancy on the Board, a director designated by the Board will then initiate the search, seeking input from other directors and senior management, and will also consider any nominees previously submitted by stockholders. After identifying an initial slate of candidates satisfying the qualifications set forth above, the Board will then prioritize the candidates and determine if other directors or senior management have relationships with the preferred candidates and can initiate contacts. To the extent feasible, all of the members of the Board will interview the prospective candidates. Evaluations and recommendations of the interviewers will be submitted to the whole Board for final evaluation. The Board will meet to consider such information and to select candidates for appointment to the Board at the Annual Meeting. The independent members of the Board nominated the six directors set forth in Proposal 1 for election at the 2019 Annual Meeting.

Nominations for Election to the Board

While the Board will consider nominees recommended by stockholders, the Board has not actively solicited such nominations. The Board does not intend to alter the manner in which it evaluates candidates based on whether or not the candidate was recommended by a stockholder. Pursuant to the Company’s bylaws, nominations for election as directors by stockholders at a meeting of stockholders called for the election of directors must be made in writing and delivered to the Company’s Secretary not less than fourteen days nor more than fifty days prior to the date of the meeting. If, however, notice of the meeting is given to stockholders less than twenty-one days prior to the meeting, the nominations must be received by the close of business on the seventh day following the day on which notice of the meeting was mailed to stockholders. Each such notice shall set forth, with respect to each nominee, (i) his or her name, age, business address and, if known, residence address, (ii) his or her principal occupation or employment, and (iii)       the number of shares of stock of the Company beneficially owned by the nominee. As of the date of this proxy statement, the Company has not received any such nominations from stockholders in connection with the Annual Meeting.

Stockholder Communications with the Board of Directors

The Company has established procedures for its security holders to communicate directly with the Board on a confidential basis. Security holders who wish to communicate with the Board or with a particular director may send a letter to the Secretary of the Company at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, Maryland 20850. The mailing envelope must contain a clear notation indicating that the enclosed letter is a “Security Holder-Board Communication” or “Security Holder-Director Communication.” All such letters must identify the author as a security holder and clearly state whether the intended recipients are all members of the Board or specified individual directors. The Secretary will make copies of all such letters and circulate them to the directors addressed. If a security holder wishes the communication to be confidential, such security holder must clearly indicate on the envelope that the communication is “confidential.” The Secretary will then forward such communication, unopened, to the individual indicated.

12

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a corporate code of conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, as well as a separate code of ethics that applies specifically to our principal executive officer and principal financial officer. The corporate code of conduct and ethics and the code of ethics for our principal executive and financial officers are available on our corporate website at www.regenerx.com. If we make any substantive amendments to the corporate code of conduct and ethics or the code of ethics for our principal executive and financial officers, or grant any waivers from a provision of these codes to any executive officer or director, we will promptly disclose the nature of the amendment or waiver on our website.

PROPOSAL 2

APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Section 14A of the Exchange Act require that we provide our stockholders with the opportunity to vote to approve, on a nonbinding, advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement in accordance with the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC.

We seek to closely align the interests of our named executive officers with the interests of our stockholders. We have designed our compensation program to reward our named executive officers for their individual performance and contributions to our overall business objectives.

The vote on this resolution is not intended to address any specific element of compensation. Instead, the vote relates to the overall compensation of our named executive officers, as described in this Proxy Statement in accordance with the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC.

Accordingly, we ask our stockholders to vote on the following resolution at the Annual Meeting:

“RESOLVED, that the Company’s stockholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the named executive officers, as disclosed in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the summary compensation table and the other related tables and disclosure.”

While the Board, and especially the Compensation Committee, intend to carefully consider the results of the voting on this proposal when making future decisions regarding executive compensation, the vote is not binding on the Company, the Compensation Committee or the Board and is advisory in nature. To the extent there is any significant vote against the compensation of our named executive officers in this Proposal 2, the Compensation Committee will evaluate what actions may be necessary to address our stockholders’ concerns.

VOTE REQUIRED

The Board recommends that you vote “FOR” the non-binding advisory resolution approving the compensation of our named executive officers, as disclosed in this proxy statement. Under applicable Delaware law, this proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares present and entitled to vote. This vote is advisory and is not binding on the Company, the Board or the Compensation Committee.

13

PROPOSAL 3

AMENDMENT TO RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION TO EFFECT AUTHORIZED SHARE INCREASE

By a written action in lieu of a meeting executed on July 28, 2019, our Board of Directors approved a resolution authorizing and recommending that our stockholders approve an amendment to the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended to date (the “Certificate of Amendment”) to (A) increase the number of authorized shares of capital stock from 201,000,000 shares to 251,000,000 shares, adding 50,000,000 authorized shares of Common Stock (being referred to as the “Authorized Share Increase”). The Authorized Shares Increase will become effective upon filing of the Certificate of Amendment with the Delaware Secretary of State. The formState, notwithstanding stockholder approval, and without further action by the stockholders, the Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, determines to delay the filing of the Certificate of Amendment is attached asAnnex A to this Information Statement.or abandon the reverse stock split, the reverse stock split may be delayed or abandoned.

 

Purpose of Authorized Share IncreaseFractional Shares

 

Stockholders will not receive fractional shares of Common Stock in connection with the reverse stock split. Instead, the transfer agent will aggregate all fractional shares belonging to stockholders (whether of record or holding their shares in “street name”) and sell them as soon as practicable after the Effective Time at the then-prevailing prices on the open market, on behalf of those stockholders of record who would otherwise be entitled to receive a fractional share as a result of the reverse stock split. We expect that the transfer agent will conduct the requisite sales in an orderly fashion at a reasonable pace and that it may take several days to sell all of the aggregated fractional shares of our Common Stock. After the transfer agent’s completion of such sales, stockholders who would have been entitled to a fractional share will instead receive a cash payment in an amount equal to their respective pro rata portion of the total proceeds of that sale, net of any brokerage costs incurred to sell such stock.

Stockholders will not be entitled to receive interest for the period of time between the Effective Time and the date payment is made for their fractional share interest. You should also be aware that, under the escheat laws of certain jurisdictions, sums due for fractional interests that are not timely claimed after the funds are made available may be required to be paid to the designated agent for each such jurisdiction. Thereafter, stockholders otherwise entitled to receive such funds may have to obtain the funds directly from the state to which they were paid.

If you believe that you may not hold sufficient shares of our Common Stock at the Effective Time to receive at least one share in the reverse stock split and you want to continue to hold our Common Stock after the reverse stock split, you may do so by either:

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•    purchasing a sufficient number of shares of our Common Stock; or

•    if you have shares of our Common Stock in more than one account, consolidating your accounts;

in each case, so that you hold a number of shares of our Common Stock in your account prior to the reverse stock split that would entitle you to receive at least one share of Common Stock in the reverse stock split. Shares of our Common Stock held in registered form and shares of our Common Stock held in “street name” (that is, through a broker, bank or other holder of record) for the same stockholder will be considered held in separate accounts and will not be aggregated when effecting the reverse stock split.

Effects of the Reverse Stock Split

General

After the effective date of the reverse stock split, if implemented by the Board of Directors, each stockholder will own a reduced number of shares of Common Stock. The principal effect of the reverse stock split will be to proportionately decrease the number of outstanding shares of our Common Stock based on the reverse stock split ratio selected by our Board hasof Directors.

Voting rights and other rights of the holders of our Common Stock will not be affected by the reverse stock split, other than as a result of the treatment of fractional shares as described above. For example, a holder of 2% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock immediately prior to the effectiveness of the reverse stock split will generally continue to hold 2% (assuming there is no impact as a result of the payment of cash in lieu of issuing fractional shares) of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock after the reverse stock split. The number of stockholders of record will be affected by the reverse stock split to the extent any are cashed out as a result of holding fractional shares. If approved and implemented, the Authorized Share Increase, which wouldreverse stock split may result in some stockholders owning “odd lots” of less than 100 shares of our Common Stock. Odd lot shares may be more difficult to sell, and brokerage commissions and other costs of transactions in odd lots are generally somewhat higher than the costs of transactions in “round lots” of even multiples of 100 shares. Our Board of Directors believes, however, that these potential effects are outweighed by the benefits of the reverse stock split in allowing us to terminate or suspend our SEC reporting obligations.

Because the proposed amendment does not result in a reduction in the total number of shares of Common Stock that we are authorized to issue, the implementation of the reverse stock split will have the effect of increasing the number of authorized shares of capital stock from 201,000,000 shares to 251,000,000 shares, adding 50,000,000available authorized shares of Common Stock.

In addition to the 131,506,494 shares outstanding on the date of this Proxy Statement, we have reserved:

·9,921,250 shares of Common Stock for the issuance upon exercise of currently outstanding options granted under our stock option plan;

·3,610,130 shares of Common Stock for issuance upon exercise of options which may be granted under our stock option plan;

·10,420,594 shares of Common Stock for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants currently held by investors;

·10,833,333 shares of Common Stock for issuance upon conversion of convertible promissory notes currently held by investors;

Therefore, as of the date of this Proxy Statement, we only have 33,708,199 shares of Common Stock authorized and available for future issuance or reservation.

If the Authorized Share Increase is approved, we will have 83,708,199 shares of Common Stock authorized and available for issuance or reservation.

Other Plans

Although at present we have no definitive plans to issue any additional shares of capital stock, we desire to have more shares available to provide additional flexibility to use our capital stock for business and financial purposes The resulting increase in such availability in the future. The additional shares may be used for various purposes without further stockholder approval. Other purposes of future issuances of capital stock may include raising capital, establishing strategic relationships or making acquisitions.

Rights of Common Stock

The additional common stock to be authorized by the Authorized Share Increase would have rights identical to the currently outstanding Common Stock. The Authorized Share Increase and any issuance of additional Common Stock will not affect the rights of the holders of our Common Stock, except for the effects incidental to increasing the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding, such as dilutioncould have a number of effects on our stockholders depending upon the earnings per shareexact nature and voting rightscircumstances of theany actual issuances of authorized but unissued shares. Because holders of Common Stock. Shares of our Common Stock are not entitledhave no preemptive rights to preemptive rights.purchase or subscribe for any of our unissued Common Stock, the future issuance of additional shares of authorized Common Stock that will become newly available as a result of the implementation of the reverse stock split will reduce the current stockholders’ percentage ownership interest in the total outstanding shares of our Common Stock.

Effect on Shares of Common Stock

The following table contains approximate information, based on share information as of June 12, 2023, relating to our outstanding Common Stock based on reverse stock split ratios within the proposed range and information regarding our authorized shares assuming that the proposal is approved and the reverse stock split is implemented:

 

 14-12-

Reverse Split 

No. of Shares

of Common

Stock
Issued and

Outstanding

Prior
to Reverse
Stock Split

 

No. of Shares

of Common

Stock Issued

and

Outstanding

After Reverse

Stock Split

 

No. of Shares

of Common

Stock Authorized

for Issuance

Prior to Reverse

Stock Split

 

No. of Shares

of Common

Stock

Authorized for

Issuance After

Reverse Stock

Split

         
1-for-70 149,096,610 2,129,951 300,000,000 300,000,000
         
1-for-80 149,096,610 1,861,707 300,000,000 300,000,000
         
1-for-90 149,096,610 1,656,629 300,000,000 300,000,000
         
1-for-100 149,096,610 1,490,966 300,000,000 300,000,000

After the effective date of the reverse stock split that our Board of Directors elects to implement, our Common Stock would have a new committee on uniform securities identification procedures, or CUSIP number, a number used to identify our Common Stock.

Effect on Par Value

The proposed amendments to our Certificate of Incorporation will not affect the par value of our common stock, which will remain at $0.001.

Reduction in Stated Capital

As a result of the reverse stock split, upon the Effective Time, the stated capital on our balance sheet attributable to our Common Stock, which consists of the par value per share of our Common Stock multiplied by the aggregate number of shares of our Common Stock issued and outstanding, will be reduced in proportion to the size of the reverse stock split, subject to a minor adjustment in respect of the treatment of fractional shares, and the additional paid-in capital account will be credited with the amount by which the stated capital is reduced. Our stockholders’ equity, in the aggregate, will remain unchanged.

Effect on Our Stock Plans and Outstanding Warrants

At March 31, 2023, we had 12,860,000 shares subject to stock options outstanding under our stock incentive plan and an additional 25,287,738 shares subject to warrants currently outstanding. If the reverse stock split is effected, we expect the number of shares available for issuance under the stock plan, as well as the number of shares subject to any outstanding award under the stock plan or number of shares subject to an outstanding warrant, and the exercise price, grant price or purchase price relating to any such award under the stock plan or outstanding warrant, will be proportionately adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split. We will also determine the treatment of fractional shares subject to stock options under the stock plan or subject to outstanding warrants and will effect any other changes necessary, desirable or appropriate to give effect to the reverse stock split, including any applicable technical, conforming changes to our stock plan or the warrants.

Specifically, we expect to adjust the number of shares subject to awards under the stock plan, and the number of shares subject to outstanding warrants, in each case to equal the product of the number of shares subject to the applicable award or warrant immediately prior to the reverse stock split multiplied by the reverse stock split ratio (rounded to the nearest whole share (in the case of stock options or warrants, down to the nearest whole share)) and that the exercise price of any stock option or warrant will be adjusted to equal the quotient of the number of shares subject to the applicable stock option or warrant immediately prior to the reverse stock split divided by the reverse stock split ratio (rounded up to the nearest whole cent).

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InterestsShares Held in Book-Entry and Through a Broker, Bank, or Other Holder of Record

If you hold registered shares of our Executive OfficersCommon Stock in a book-entry form, you do not need to take any action to receive your post-reverse stock split shares of our Common Stock in registered book-entry form or your cash payment in lieu of fractional shares, if applicable. If you are entitled to post-reverse stock split shares of our Common Stock, a transaction statement will automatically be sent to your address of record as soon as practicable after the Effective Time indicating the number of shares of our Common Stock you hold. In addition, if you are entitled to a payment of cash in lieu of fractional shares, a check will be mailed to you at your registered address as soon as practicable after the Effective Time. By signing and Directorscashing this check, you will warrant that you owned the shares of our Common Stock for which you received a cash payment.

At the Effective Time, we intend to treat stockholders holding shares of our Common Stock in “street name” (that is, through a broker, bank or other holder of record) in the Authorized Share Increasesame manner as registered stockholders whose shares of our Common Stock are registered in their names. Brokers, banks or other holders of record will be instructed to effect the reverse stock split for their beneficial holders holding shares of our Common Stock in “street name”; however, these brokers, banks or other holders of record may apply their own specific procedures for processing the reverse stock split. If you hold your shares of our Common Stock with a broker, bank or other holder of record, and you have any questions in this regard, we encourage you to contact your holder of record.

 

No director or executive officer, or any affiliate thereof, or any other person has any interest, direct, or indirect, by securing holdings or otherwise, in the Proposal that is not shared by a majority of the stockholders of the Company.Consents Required

 

Effective Date of the Authorized Share Increase

The Authorized Share Increase will become effective immediately upon filing the Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The proposed Certificate of Amendment is attached asAnnex A hereto. We will determine when such filing will occur, butUnder Delaware law, we anticipate filing the Certificate of Amendment on or about October 1, 2019, after the date of the Annual Meeting.

Absence of Appraisal Rights

The approval by the Approving Stockholders of the Proposal does not provide any stockholder any right to dissent and obtain appraisal of or payment for such Stockholder’s shares under the Delaware General Corporation Law or our Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws.

PROPOSAL 4

RATIFICATION OF SELECTION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Audit Committee of the Board has selected CohnReznick LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, and has further directed that management submit the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm for ratification by the stockholders at the Annual Meeting. CohnReznick, as its predecessor Reznick Group, P.C., has audited the Company’s financial statements since 2000. Representatives of CohnReznick are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting. They will have an opportunity to make a statement if they so desire and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Neither the Company’s Bylaws nor other governing documents or law require stockholder ratification of the selection of CohnReznick as the Company’s independent auditors. However, the Audit Committee is submitting the selection of CohnReznick to the stockholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate practice. If the stockholders fail to ratify the selection, the Audit Committee will reconsider whether or not to retain that firm. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee in its discretion may direct the appointment of different independent auditors at any time during the year if they determine that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.

The affirmative vote ofconsents from the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitledof Common Stock to vote atapprove the Annual Meeting will be required to ratifyreverse stock split. Because our proposal requires a majority of the selection of CohnReznick. Abstentions will be counted toward the tabulation of votes cast on proposals presentedoutstanding shares, an abstention with respect to the stockholders andreverse stock split Proposal or a “broker non-vote” will have the same effect as negative votes. Broker non-votes are counted towards a quorum butvote AGAINST or a withholding of consent from the proposal.

No Appraisal Rights

Under the Delaware law, stockholders are not countedentitled to dissenters’ rights or appraisal rights with respect to the reverse stock split described in this proposal, and we will not independently provide our stockholders with any such rights.

Interest of Certain Persons in Matters to Be Acted Upon

No officer or director has any substantial interest, direct or indirect, by security holdings or otherwise, in the reverse stock split that is not shared by all of our other stockholders.

Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Reverse Stock Split

The following discussion is a general summary of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of the reverse stock split that may be relevant to holders of our Common Stock that hold such stock as a capital asset for any purposeU.S. federal income tax purposes (generally, property held for investment). This summary is based upon the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative rulings and judicial decisions as of the date hereof, all of which may change, possibly with retroactive effect, resulting in determining whether this matter has been approved.U.S. federal income tax consequences that may differ from those discussed below.

 

This discussion applies only to holders that are U.S. Holders (as defined below) and does not address all aspects of federal income taxation that may be relevant to such holders in light of their particular circumstances or to holders that may be subject to special tax rules, including: (i) holders subject to the alternative minimum tax; (ii) banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions; (iii) tax-exempt organizations; (iv) dealers in securities or commodities; (v) regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts; (vi) partnerships (or other flow-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes and their partners or members); (vii) traders in securities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities holdings; (viii) U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar; (ix) persons holding our Common Stock as a position in a hedging transaction, “straddle,” “conversion transaction” or other risk reduction transaction; (x) persons who acquire shares of our Common Stock in connection with employment or other performance of services; or (xi) U.S. expatriates. If a partnership (including any entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of our Common Stock, the tax treatment of a holder that is a partner in the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership.

 15-14- 

 

 

Principal Accountant FeesWe have not sought, and Serviceswill not seek, an opinion of counsel or a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the reverse stock split and there can be no assurance that the IRS will not challenge the statements and conclusions set forth below or a court would not sustain any such challenge. The following summary does not address any U.S. state or local or any foreign tax consequences, any estate, gift or other non-U.S. federal income tax consequences, or the Medicare tax on net investment income.

EACH HOLDER OF COMMON STOCK SHOULD CONSULT SUCH HOLDER’S TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT TO SUCH HOLDER.

For purposes of the discussion below, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of shares of our Common Stock that for U.S. federal income tax purposes is: (1) an individual citizen or resident of the United States; (2) a corporation (including any entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state or political subdivision thereof; (3) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or (4) a trust, if (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (ii) the trust has a valid election in effect to be treated as a U.S. person.

 

The following table representsreverse stock split is intended to be treated as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. Holder generally should not recognize gain or loss upon the reverse stock split, except with respect to cash received in lieu of a fractional share of our Common Stock, as discussed below. A U.S. Holder’s aggregate fees billed to us for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 by CohnReznick LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm. All such fees described below were approved by the audit committee.

  2018  2017 
Audit fees $73,000  $84,000 
Tax fees(1) $23,000  $55,000 
Total Fees $96,000  $137,000 

(1)Tax fees include the preparation of our corporate federal and state income tax returns.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

Our audit committee has adopted a policy and procedures for the pre-approval of audit and non-audit services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm, CohnReznick LLP. The policy generally pre-approves specified servicestax basis in the defined categoriesshares of audit services, audit-related services, and tax services up to specified amounts. Pre-approval may also be given as part of the audit committee’s approval of the scope of the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm or on an individual explicit case-by-case basis before the independent registered public accounting firm is engaged to provide each service. On a periodic basis, the independent registered public accounting firm reportsour Common Stock received pursuant to the audit committee onreverse stock split should equal the status of actual costs for approved services against the approved amounts.

The audit committee has determined that the rendering of the services other than audit services by CohnReznick LLP is compatible with maintaining that firm’s independence.

VOTE REQUIRED

The Board recommends that you vote “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of CohnReznick LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019. Under applicable Delaware law, this proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majorityaggregate tax basis of the shares presentof our Common Stock surrendered (excluding any portion of such basis that is allocated to any fractional share of our Common Stock), and entitledsuch U.S. Holder’s holding period in the shares of our Common Stock received should include the holding period in the shares of our Common Stock surrendered. Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code provide detailed rules for allocating the tax basis and holding period of the shares of our Common Stock surrendered to vote.the shares of our Common Stock received pursuant to the reverse stock split. Holders of shares of our Common Stock acquired on different dates and at different prices should consult their tax advisors regarding the allocation of the tax basis and holding period of such shares.

A U.S. Holder that receives cash in lieu of a fractional share of our Common Stock pursuant to the reverse stock split should generally recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount of cash received and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the shares of our Common Stock surrendered that is allocated to such fractional share. Such capital gain or loss should generally be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our Common Stock surrendered exceeded one year at the Effective Time.

 

 16-15- 

 

 

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

 

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the ownership of our common stock as of July 29, 2019June 15, 2023 by (i) each director; (ii) each of the named executive officers;officer; (iii) all currently serving executive officers and directors as a group; and (iv) all those known by us to be beneficial owners of more than five percent of our common stock. The address for all directors and executive officers is c/o RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, MD 20850.

 

 Beneficial Ownership(1)  Beneficial Ownership(1) 
Beneficial Owner Number of Shares  Percent of Total  Number of Shares  Percent of Total 
      
5% Stockholders:             
Entities affiliated previously affiliated with Essetifin
S.p.A., Via Sudafrica, 20, Rome, Italy 00144
  49,572,413(2)  33.9%  55,271,189(2)  33.0%
GtreeBNT Co., Ltd.
22nd FL, Parkview Tower, 248 Jungjail-ro, Bundang- gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 463-863, Republic of Korea
  19,583,333(3)  14.9%
GtreeBNT Co., Ltd. 22nd FL, Parkview Tower, 248 Jungjail-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 463-863, Republic of Korea  19,583,333(3)  13.1%
                
Named Executive Officers and Directors:                
J.J. Finkelstein  3,602,574(4)  2.7%  4,538,795(4)  3.0%
Allan L. Goldstein  3,025,710(5)  2.3%  3,602,569(5)  2.4%
Joseph C. McNay  7,564,955(6)  5.7%  8,221,206(6)  5.4%
Mauro Bove  839,583(7)  *   1,339,554(7)  * 
R. Don Elsey  853,623(8)  *   1,509,872(8)  1.0%
Alessandro Noseda  50,000(9)  *   820,000(9)  * 
All directors and executive officers as a group (6 persons)  15,936,445(10)  11.6%  20,031,996(10)  12.5%

 

*       Less than one percent.

*Less than one percent.

 

(1)This table is based upon information supplied by officers, directors and principal stockholders. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property laws where applicable, we believe thateach of the stockholders named in this table has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated as beneficially owned. Applicable percentages are based on 131,506,494 shares of common stock outstanding on July 29, 2019, adjusted as required by rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

(1)  This table is based upon information supplied by officers, directors and principal stockholders. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property laws where applicable, we believe that each of the stockholders named in this table has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated as beneficially owned. Applicable percentages are based on 149,096,610 shares of common stock outstanding on June 15, 2023, adjusted as required by rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

 

(2)Consists of 34,989,080 shares of common stock held of record held by Essetifin S.p.A. (f/k/a Sigma-Tau Finanziaria, S.p.A.) (“Essetifin”), 8,333,333 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of a convertible promissory note and 6,250,000 upon the exercise of warrants. In each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019. Paolo Cavazza and members of his family directly and indirectly own 38% of Essetifin. The beneficial ownership of Essetifin and its affiliates is derived from the Schedule 13D/A filed by Essetifin on May 16, 2019.

(2)  Consists of 2,625,000 shares of common stock held of record held by Aptafin S.p.A. and 1,125,000 upon the exercise of warrants, 34,989,080 shares of common stock held of record held by Essetifin S.p.A. (f/k/a Sigma-Tau Finanziaria, S.p.A.) (“Essetifin”), 9,446,920 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of a convertible promissory note and 7,085,189 upon the exercise of warrants, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2022. Paolo Cavazza and members of his family directly and indirectly own 38% of Essetifin. The beneficial ownership of Essetifin and its affiliates is derived from the Schedule 13D/A25 filed by Essetifin on July 2, 2021.

 

(3)Consists of 19,583,333 shares of common stock held of record by GtreeBNT which were acquired in two equity purchases in March 2014 and August 2014. The beneficial ownership of GtreeBNT is derived from its Schedule 13D/A filed on April 1, 2015.

(3)  Consists of 19,583,333 shares of common stock held of record by GtreeBNT which were acquired in two equity purchases in March 2014 and August 2014. The beneficial ownership of GtreeBNT is derived from its Schedule 13D/A filed on April 1, 2015.

 

(4)Consists of 1,637,991 shares of common stock held of record by Mr. Finkelstein, 208,333 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 156,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 1,600,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

(4)  Consists of 1,769,241 shares of common stock held of record by Mr. Finkelstein, 236,174 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 233,174 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 2,300,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

 

(5)  Consists of 1,601,543 shares of common stock held of record by Dr. Goldstein, 55,586 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 135,440 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 1,810,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

 17

(5)Consists of 1,712,793 shares of common stock held of record by Dr. Goldstein, 41,667 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 31,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 1,240,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

(6)Consists of 6,524,122 shares of common stock held of record by Mr. McNay, 208,333 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 156,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 676,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

(7)Consists of 83,333 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 62,500 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 693,750 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

(8)Consists of 104,456 shares of common stock held of record, 41,667 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 31,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 676,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

(9)Consists of 50,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

(10)Consists of 9,979,362 shares of common stock held of record, 583,333 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 427,500 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 4,936,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of July 29, 2019.

SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s directors and executive officers, and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities, to file with the SEC initial reports of their ownership of our equity securities and reports of any subsequent changes in that ownership. Specific due dates for these reports have been established by the SEC and the Company is required to disclose any late filings or failures to file. Officers, directors and greater than 10% stockholders are required by SEC regulation to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. To the knowledge of the Company, based solely on its review of the copies of such reports furnished to the Company, and written representations that no other reports were required, the Company believes that during the past fiscal year its officers, directors and greater than ten percent beneficial owners complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements.

18-16- 

 

 

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION(6)  Consists of 6,524,122 shares of common stock held of record by Mr. McNay, 208,334 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 156,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 1,332,500 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

 

Summary Compensation Table(7)  Consists of 111,174 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 83,380 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 1,145,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

(8)  Consists of 104,456 shares of common stock held of record, 41,666 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 31,250 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 1,332,500 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

(9)  Consists of 820,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

(10) Consists of 9,999,362 shares of common stock held of record, 652,934 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of convertible promissory notes, 639,700 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants and 8,740,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, in each case exercisable within 60 days of June 15, 2023.

CONSENT RECOMMENDATION

 

The following table shows, forBoard of Directors recommends that you provide your consent “FOR” the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018reverse stock split proposal.

OTHER MATTERS

Where to Find Additional Information

At present, we are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and 2017, compensation awardedin accordance therewith, we file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC. Such information may be accessed electronically by means of the SEC’s home page on the Internet at www.sec.gov. We are an electronic filer, and the SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains the reports and other information we file electronically. Our website address is www.regenerx.com. Please note that our website address is provided as an inactive textual reference only. We make available free of charge, through our website, our annual report on Form 10-K, as amended, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or paidfurnished to the SEC. The information provided on or earned by,accessible through our chief executive officer who was our only named executive officers for fiscal 2018. For purposeswebsite is not part of this report,Consent Solicitation Statement. As noted above, we sometimes referanticipate ceasing to our chief executive officer as our named executive officer.

Name and Principal  Salary(1) Bonus  Option
Awards(2)
  All Other
Compensation(3)
  Total 
Position Year ($)  ($)  ($)  ($)  ($) 
J.J. Finkelstein, President and 2018  102,399      38,809   3,360   144,568 
Chief Executive Officer 2017  150,000      30,973   3,360   184.333 

(1)Mr. Finkelstein reduced his 2018 salary from $150,000 to $125,000 in March 2018. Additionally, he forwent his October, November and December 2018 salary due to the limited cash held by RegeneRx.
(2)The 2018 & 2017 amounts reflect the aggregate total grant date fair values (computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 or ASC Topic 505)
(3)The 2018 & 2017 amount reflects payment of life insurance premiums for Mr. Finkelstein in the amount of $3,360

Employment Agreementfile reports with Mr. Finkelstein

We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Finkelstein on April 16, 2014 for him to serve as our president and chief executive officer. Mr. Finkelstein’s employment agreement has an initial three-year term, which is automatically renewed for additional one-year periods unless either we or Mr. Finkelstein elect not to renew it. Mr. Finkelstein’s annual base salary was $125,000, which was increased to $150,000 on January 1, 2015. Mr. Finkelstein’s salary may not be adjusted downward without his written consent, except in a circumstance which is partthe SEC regardless of a general reduction or other concessionary arrangement affecting all employees or affecting senior executive officers. Mr. Finkelstein is also eligible to receive an annual bonus in an amount established bywhether stockholders approve the Board and is entitled to participate in and receive all standard employee benefits and to participate in all of our applicable incentive plans, includingreverse stock option, stock, bonus, savings and retirement plans. We also provide him with $1 million in life insurance.split proposal.

 

Mr. Finkelstein is eligible to receive options to purchase common stock under our equity incentive plans. The decision to grant any such options and the termsCost of such options are within the discretion of our Board or the compensation committee thereof. All vested options are exercisable for a period of time following any termination of Mr. Finkelstein’s employment as may be set forth in the applicable benefit plan or in any option agreement between Mr. Finkelstein and us.Consent Solicitation

 

We are paying the expenses of this solicitation. We will also make arrangements with brokerage houses and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to forward consent solicitation materials to beneficial owners of stock held as of the Record Date by such persons, and we will reimburse such persons for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in forwarding such consent solicitation materials. In the event that Mr. Finkelstein’s employment is terminatedaddition to solicitation by us without “cause”mail, our directors, officers and other employees may solicit consents in person or by Mr. Finkelstein for “good reason,” each as defined in his employment agreement, subject to Mr. Finkelstein’s entering into and not revoking a release of claims in a form acceptable to us, Mr. Finkelstein will be entitled to receive (i) a lump sum payment in an amount equal to one-half of his then annual base salary if within the first anniversary date of this Agreement;telephone, facsimile, email or (ii) a lump sum payment in an amount equal to three-fourths of his then annual base salary if within the first anniversary date and second anniversary date of this Agreement; or (iii) a lump sum payment in an amount equal to his then annual base salary if any time after the second anniversary date of this Agreement, less all federal and state withholdings. In the event of a “change in control,” as defined in his employment agreement and Mr. Finkelstein is involuntarily terminated within 12 months after a change in control event or within 12 months after a change in control event he resigns his employment for “good reason”, then the Company shall (i) pay Mr. Finkelstein, in a lump sum cash payment, an amount equal to his annual base salary in effect on the date of his termination from employment, less any applicable federal and state taxes and withholdings. In addition, in each instance Mr. Finkelstein would also be eligible to receive (i) any earned bonus and accrued vacation pay, and (ii) to the extent that he is eligible for and participates in a Company sponsored health insurance plan the Company shall pay or reimburse Executive for the amount of any insurance premiums for a twelve-month period, but these payments shall be limited to the amount of the premiums being paid by the Company for Executive’s coverage or the amount being reimbursed for insurance premiums immediately prior to the date of his termination from employment.

In addition, if Mr. Finkelstein’s employment is terminated without “cause,” or if there is a “change in control” event, in each case as defined in either the applicable benefit plan or in Mr. Finkelstein’s employment agreement, then the unvested portion of Mr. Finkelstein’s outstanding options would accelerate in full.other similar means.

 

 19-17- 

 

 

Outstanding Equity Awards at December 31, 2018ANNEX A

ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT

OF THE STOCKHOLDERS OF

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

This written consent is solicited by the Board of Directors of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. The undersigned hereby revokes any consent or consents heretofore given. 

 

The following table shows certain information regarding outstanding equity awards at December 31, 2018 forundersigned, being a stockholder of RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), as of June 12, 2023, acknowledges receipt of the named executive officer, allNotice of which wereConsent Solicitation dated _______________, 2023 and Consent Solicitation Statement (collectively, the “Consent Solicitation Statement”) and hereby consents (by checking the FOR box) or withholds consent (by checking the AGAINST or ABSTAIN box) to the approval of the proposed reverse stock options granted under our Amended and Restated 2000 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan or our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan.split:

  

Number of Shares

Underlying

Unexercised Options

(#)

  

Number of Shares

Underlying Unexercised

Options (#)

  

Option Exercise

Price

  Option   
Name Exercisable  Unexercisable  ($)  Expiration Date Note 
               
Mr. Finkelstein  114,748      0.57  4/10/2019    
   150,000   50,000   0.64  3/17/2023  (1)
   62,500   187,500   0.21  7/16/2028  (2)
   500,000      0.14  1/24/2019    
   35,000      0.16  4/4/2019    
   500,000      0.21  3/25/2021    
   500,000      0.36  6/30/2022    
   75,000   75,000   0.28  9/1/2027  (2)

  

¨CONSENT(1)¨ CONSENT WITHHELDThese options vest in equal installments upon grant and on the first three anniversaries of the grant date. In each case these options were granted seven years prior to the listed expiration dates.¨ ABSTAIN
(“FOR”)(2) (‘”AGAINST”)These options vest in equal installments upon grant and on the first three anniversaries of the grant date. In each case these options were granted ten years prior to the listed expiration dates.

  

Post-Employment CompensationBy signing and returning this Action by Written Consent form, the undersigned stockholder will be deemed to have voted all shares of capital stock owned by the undersigned in the manner directed above with respect to the proposed issuance. If the undersigned stockholder signs and returns this consent but does not check a box, the undersigned will be deemed to have consented FOR approval of the proposal.

 

We do not maintain any plans providing for paymentPlease execute this written consent as your name appears hereon. When shares are held by joint tenants, both should sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If a corporation, please sign in full corporate name by the president or other benefits at, following,authorized officer. If a partnership, please sign in partnership name by an authorized person.

Signature [Please sign within the box] Date

Signature [Please sign within the box]     Date

You can provide your consent over the Internet or in connection with retirement other than a 401(k) plan which was available to all employees through 2011. The Company did not make any plan contributions in 2017 or 2018. In addition, we do not maintain any non-qualified deferred compensation plans.by telephone.

 

[to be added for definitive documentation]

 20-18- 

 

 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2018 about the securities authorized for issuance to our employees, directors and other eligible participants under our equity compensation plans, consisting of the Amended and Restated 2000 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan.

Plan Category Number of
Securities to be
issued upon exercise
of outstanding
options, warrants
and rights
(a)
  Weighted-average
exercise equity
price of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights
(b)
  Number of securities
remaining available
for future issuance
under compensation
plans (excluding
securities reflected in
column (a))
(c)
 
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders  9,044,825   0.28   3,395,000 
             
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders         
             
Total  9,044,825   0.28   3,395,000 

Director Compensation

The following table sets forth certain information for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 with respect to the compensation of our directors. Mr. Finkelstein’s compensation is disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table above, and he does not receive any additional compensation for his service as a director. Dr. Goldstein is an employee of our company and his compensation as an employee is set forth in the table below. He does not receive any additional compensation for his service as a director.

The Company had in effect a non-employee director compensation policy which was suspended in November 2011 by our Board of Directors elected to help the company preserve capital and consistent with this, certain fees accrued in 2011 were forfeited and no retainer or meeting fees were paid to non-employee directors in 2018 or 2017.

In 2018, each independent director was granted options to purchase 200,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.21 per share, which vests in four segments pursuant to each director’s continued service. In 2017, each independent director was granted options to purchase 125,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price per share of $0.28. These option grants vests in four segments pursuant to each director’s continued service. These option grants were the only compensation received by non-employee directors in 2018 and 2017.

We also reimburse directors for expenses incurred in attending meetings of the board and other events attended on our behalf and at our request.

21

Director Compensation for Fiscal 2018

  Fees Earned          
  or Paid  Option  All Other    
  in Cash  Awards  Compensation  Total 
Name ($)(1)  ($)  ($)  ($) 
             
Allan Goldstein, Ph.D.     38,809   90,000(2)  128,809 
R. Don Elsey     31,047      31,047 
Joseph McNay     31,047      31,047 
Mauro Bove     31,047      31,047 

(1)Options held by each Board member as of December 31, 2018, are as follows:

Allan Goldstein, Ph.D.1,706,942
R. Don Elsey795,000
Joseph McNay803,024
Mauro Bove832,155

(2)In addition to being Chairman of our Board of Directors, Dr. Goldstein also serves as our Chief Science Officer. In this capacity, Dr. Goldstein received cash compensation of $90,000 in 2018. In 2018 Dr. Goldstein was also granted options to purchase 250,000 shares of common stock.

We entered into an employment agreement with Dr. Goldstein on April 16, 2014 for him to serve as our Chief Science Officer. Dr. Goldstein’s employment agreement had an initial one-year term, which has been and will be automatically renewed for additional one-year periods unless either we or Mr. Goldstein elect not to renew it. Dr. Goldstein’s annual base salary was $75,000 and was increased to $90,000 on January 1, 2015. Dr. Goldstein’s salary may not be adjusted downward without his written consent, except in a circumstance which is part of a general reduction or other concessionary arrangement affecting all employees or affecting senior executive officers. Dr. Goldstein is also eligible to receive an annual bonus in an amount established by the Board and is entitled to participate in and receive all standard employee benefits and to participate in all of our applicable incentive plans, including stock option, stock, bonus, savings and retirement plans.

Dr. Goldstein is eligible to receive options to purchase common stock under our equity incentive plans. The decision to grant any such options and the terms of such options are within the discretion of our Board or the compensation committee thereof. All vested options are exercisable for a period of time following any termination of Dr. Goldstein’s employment as may be set forth in the applicable benefit plan or in any option agreement between Dr. Goldstein and us.

We also reimburse directors for expenses incurred in attending meetings of the board and other events attended on our behalf and at our request.

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

Our directors and executive officers may adopt written plans, known as Rule 10b5-1 plans, in which they will contract with a broker to buy or sell shares of our common stock on a periodic basis. Under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, a broker executes trades pursuant to parameters established by the director or officer when entering into the plan, without further direction from the director or officer. The director or officer may amend or terminate the plan in some circumstances. Our directors and executive officers may also buy or sell additional shares outside of a Rule 10b5-1 plan when they are not in possession of material, nonpublic information.

22

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Related Party Transactions

Described below are transactions and series of similar transactions that have occurred during fiscal 2018 to which we were a party or are a party in which:

the amounts involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000; and
a director, executive officer, beneficial owner of more than five percent of any class of our voting securities or any member of their immediate family had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

GtreeBNT

In August 2017, the Company and GtreeBNT reached an agreement to expand the territorial definition of the RGN-137 License Agreement in Japan in exchange for a series of payments, two of which were received in 2017 with the remaining two were received in 2018. Under the amendment the Territory was expanded to include Europe, Canada, South Korea, Australia and Japan.

U.S. Joint Venture

On January 28, 2015, we announced that we had entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with GtreeBNT a shareholder of the Company. ReGenTree, LLC was created under the Agreement and is jointly owned by us and GtreeBNT. ReGenTree intends to commercialize RGN-259 for treatment of dry eye and neurotrophic keratopathy, an orphan indication in the United States. GtreeBNT will be responsible for funding all product development and commercialization efforts and holds a majority interest in ReGenTree that varies depending on development milestones achieved and eventual commercialization path, if successful. In conjunction with the Joint Venture Agreement, we also entered into a royalty-bearing license with ReGenTree pursuant to which we granted to ReGenTree the right to develop and exclusively commercialize RGN-259 in the United States. We received a total of $1 million in two tranches under the terms of the License Agreement. The first tranche of $500,000 was received in March 2015 and a second in the amount of $500,000, was received in September 2015. On April 6, 2016, we received $250,000 from ReGenTree and executed an amendment to the license agreement on April 28, 2016. Under the amendment, the territorial rights were expanded to include Canada.

Our initial ownership interest in ReGenTree was 49% and has been reduced to 38.5% after filing of the final clinical study report with the FDA for the Phase 3 trial for Dry Eye Syndrome completed in 2017. Based on when, and if, ReGenTree achieves certain additional development milestones in the U.S. with RGN-259, our equity ownership may be incrementally reduced to between 38.5% and 25%, with 25% being the final equity ownership upon FDA approval of an NDA for Dry Eye Syndrome in the U.S. In addition to our equity ownership, RegeneRx retains a royalty on net sales that varies between single and low double digits, depending on whether commercial sales are made by ReGenTree or a licensee. In the event ReGenTree is acquired, or a change of control occurs following achievement of an NDA, RegeneRx shall be entitled to a minimum of 40% of all proceeds paid or payable and will forgo any future royalties.

In September 2015, ReGenTree began a Phase 2/3 clinical trial in patients with dry eye syndrome (“DES”) and a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with neurotrophic keratopathy (“NK”), both in the U.S. In May 2016, we reported the results of the 317-patient Phase 2/3 trial (ARISE-1). The FDA approved ReGenTree’s Phase 3 protocol for DES in late summer 2016 and we initiated a second Phase 3 trial (ARISE-2) that was completed in approximately 600 patients, the results of which have been reported elsewhere in this document.

The NK trial (SEER-1), a smaller study in an orphan population, has enrolled seventeen patients thus far, and has several additional patients being screened, with a goal of forty-six. In 2018, ReGenTree disclosed that 7 of 17 patients enrolled SEER-1 have completely healed. While these preliminary observations are encouraging, it should be noted that the patients and treating physicians remain masked while the trial is on-going, so it is not known whether the healed patients are in the RGN-259 group, placebo group, or distributed among both. It is not known when this study will be completed.

23

HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS

The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries (e.g., brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for Notices of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or other Annual Meeting materials with respect to two or more stockholders sharing the same address by delivering a single Notice of Internet Availability or other Annual Meeting materials addressed to those stockholders. This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially means extra convenience for stockholders and cost savings for companies.

This year, a number of brokers with account holders who are stockholders of the Company will be “householding” the Company’s proxy materials. A single Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials will be delivered to multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected stockholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that they will be “householding” communications to your address, “householding” will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in “householding” and would prefer to receive a separate Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, please notify your broker. Direct your written request to the Company’s Secretary at 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 470, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Stockholders who currently receive multiple copies of the Notices of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials at their addresses and would like to request “householding” of their communications should contact their brokers.

FORM 10-K INFORMATION

A COPY OF THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2018 (WITHOUT EXHIBITS), ACCOMPANIES THIS NOTICE OF MEETING AND PROXY STATEMENT. NO PART OF THE ANNUAL REPORT IS INCORPORATED HEREIN AND NO PART THEREOF IS TO BE CONSIDERED PROXY SOLICITING MATERIAL. THE COMPANY WILL FURNISH WITHOUT CHARGE TO EACH PERSON WHOSE PROXY IS BEING SOLICITED, UPON WRITTEN REQUEST OF ANY SUCH PERSON, ANY EXHIBIT DESCRIBED IN THE LIST ACCOMPANYING THE FORM 10-K, UPON THE PAYMENT, IN ADVANCE, OF REASONABLE FEES RELATED TO THE COMPANY’S FURNISHING SUCH EXHIBIT(S). REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF SUCH EXHIBIT(S) SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE COMPANY’S SECRETARY AT 15245 SHADY GROVE ROAD, SUITE 470, ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850.

OTHER MATTERS

The Board knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote on such matters in accordance with their best judgment.

By Order of the Board of Directors
 
Allan L. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board

Rockville, Maryland

August 30, 2019

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REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. 15245 SHADY GROVE ROAD, SUITE 470 ROCKVILLE, MD 20850 Investor Address Line 11 OF 2 1 1 Investor Address Line 2 Investor Address Line 3 Investor Address Line 4 Investor Address Line 5 1234 ANYWHERE STREET ANY CITY, ON A1A 1A1 VOTE BY INTERNET - www.proxyvote.com Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information. Vote by 11:59 P.M. ET on 09/26/2019. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF FUTURE PROXY MATERIALS If you would like to reduce the costs incurred by our company in mailing proxy materials, you can consent to receiving all future proxy statements, proxy cards and annual reports electronically via e-mail or the Internet. To sign up for electronic delivery, please follow the instructions above to vote using the Internet and, when prompted, indicate that you agree to receive or access proxy materials electronically in future years. VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903 Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions. Vote by 11:59 P.M. ET on 09/26/2019. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions. VOTE BY MAIL Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.NAME THE COMPANY NAME INC. - COMMON THE COMPANY NAME INC. - CLASS A THE COMPANY NAME INC. - CLASSANNEX B THE COMPANY NAME INC. - CLASS C THE COMPANY NAME INC. - CLASS D THE COMPANY NAME INC. - CLASS E THE COMPANY NAME INC. - CLASS F THE COMPANY NAME INC. - 401 K CONTROL # 0000000000000000SHARES 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 123,456,789,012.12345 PAGE1 OF 2TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS:KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDSDETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLYTHIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED. The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following:1. Election of Directors Nominees 01 Allan L. Goldstein 02 J.J. Finkelstein 03 Joseph C. McNay 04 Mauro Bove06 Alessandro Noseda For Withhold For All All All Except To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “For All Except” and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below.05 R. Don Elsey The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR proposals 2, 3 and 4.2 To approve, on a non-binding basis, named executive officer compensation. 3 To approve amendment to certificate to increase authorized shares by 50,000,000. 4 Proposal to ratify the appointment of Cohn Reznick LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for fiscal year 2019. NOTE: Such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof. For Against Abstain Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer. For address change/comments, mark here. (see reverse for instructions)Please indicate if you plan to attend this meeting HOUSEHOLDING ELECTION - Please indicate if you consent to receive certain future investor communications in a single package per household Yes No0000428089 1 R1.0.1.18Investor Address Line 1Investor Address Line 2Investor Address Line 3 Investor Address Line 4Investor Address Line 5John Sample1234 ANYWHERE STREETANY CITY, ON A1A 1A1Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX] Date JOB #Signature (Joint Owners) Date SHARES CUSIP # SEQUENCE #

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting: The Notice & Proxy Statement and Form 10-K are available at www.proxyvote.comREGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. Annual Meeting of Shareholders September 27, 2019 11:00 AM This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors The shareholder(s) hereby appoint(s) J.J. Finkelstein, as proxy, with the power to appoint his substitute, and hereby authorizes them to represent and to vote, as designated on the reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of Common stock of REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. that the shareholder(s) is/are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of shareholder(s) to be held at 11:00 AM, EDT on September 27, 2019 at the 15245 Shady Grove Road Rockville, MD 20850, and any adjournment or postponement thereof. This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein. If no such direction is made, this proxy will be voted in accordance with the Board of Directors’ recommendations. Address change/comments:0000428089_2 R1.0.1.18(If you noted any Address Changes and/or Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.) Continued and to be signed on reverse side

Annex A

 

CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT OFTO THE

AMENDED AND RESTATED

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION OF

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

 

* * * * *

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtuethe laws of the State of Delaware (the “Corporation”), pursuant to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “Corporation”DGCL), does hereby certifies that:certify as follows:

 

FIRST:The name1.    That Article 4 of the Corporation is RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

SECOND:The original name of the Corporation is Alpha 1 Biomedicals, Inc. and the date of filing the originalRestated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, withas amended, is further amended by adding the Secretaryfollowing paragraph at the end of StateArticle 4:

“Upon the effectiveness of the StateCertificate of Delaware was May 13, 1982.

THIRD:TheAmendment to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, adding this paragraph to Article 4 thereof (the “Effective Time”), each ______ shares of the Corporation’s Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall automatically be combined into one (1) validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable share of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, without any further action by the Corporation or the holder thereof, the exact ratio within the ___ to ___ range to be determined by the Board of Directors of the Corporation acting in accordance withprior to the provisionsEffective Time, subject to the treatment of Sections 141 and 242 offractional share interests as described below (such combination, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, adopted resolutions amending its Restated Certificate of Incorporation as follows:

Article 4Reverse Stock Split”). No fractional shares shall be amendedissued at the Effective Time and, restatedin lieu thereof, the Corporation’s transfer agent shall aggregate all fractional shares held by stockholders of record and sell them as soon as practicable after the Effective Time at the then-prevailing prices on the open market, on behalf of those stockholders of record who would otherwise be entitled to readreceive a fractional share, and after the transfer agent’s completion of such sale, stockholders shall receive a cash payment (without interest or deduction) from the transfer agent in its entirety as follows:

“4.Authorized Capital Stock. The total number of shares of capital stock which the Corporation shall have the authorityan amount equal to issue is Two Hundred and Fifty One Million (251,000,000) shares divided into two classes of which One Million (1,000,000)their respective pro rata shares of the par valuetotal net proceeds of $.001 per share shall be designated Preferred Stockthat sale (after applicable brokerage commissions and Two Hundredfees) and, Fifty Million (250,000,000)where shares are held in certificated form, upon the surrender of the stockholder’s Old Certificates (as defined below). Each certificate that immediately prior to the Effective Time represented shares of Common Stock (“Old Certificates”) shall thereafter represent that number of whole shares of Common Stock into which the par valueshares of $.001 perCommon Stock represented by the Old Certificate shall have been combined, subject to the treatment of fractional share shall be designated Common Stock.interests as described above.

 

FOURTH:That thereafter, pursuant to a resolution of2.    On ____________, 2023, the Board of Directors at the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation determined that was duly called and held upon notice in accordance with Section 222each ___* shares of the General Corporation LawCorporation's Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall automatically be combined into one (1) validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable share of Delaware of the Company, by the holders of outstanding stock of the Corporation having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to approve this Certificate of Amendment at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voting.Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share.

 

FIFTH:This Certificate of Amendment3.    The foregoing amendment has been duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 242 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.DGCL.

 

4.    This Certificate of Amendment shall become effective at _____ Eastern time on __________, 2023.

* To be based on a reverse stock split ratio of between 1:___ and 1:___, as determined by the Board of Directors.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. has caused this Certificate of Amendment to be signedAmended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation has been executed by its President and attested to by its Secretarya duly authorized officer of the Corporation on this ___ day of October, 2019.________, 2023.

 

 RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
   
 By: 
 J.J. Finkelstein, President

 

ATTEST:

 

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