Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Departure of Principal Executive Officer and Director
On January 6, 2023, Harmony Biosciences Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") announced
that John C. Jacobs is resigning as President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Company. In connection with his departure, Mr. Jacobs is also resigning from the
Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board"). Mr. Jacobs' resignation as
President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board was not due
to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's
operations, policies or practices. Mr. Jacobs' last day with the Company will be
January 20, 2023.
Appointment of Interim Principal Executive Officer
On January 6, 2023, the Board appointed Dr. Jeffrey M. Dayno, the Company's
current Chief Medical Officer, as the Company's Interim Chief Executive Officer,
effective January 6, 2023. Dr. Dayno will remain as the Company's Chief Medical
Officer while serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Jeffrey M. Dayno, age 65, has served as the Company's Chief Medical Officer
since November 2017. Dr. Dayno also served as Chief Medical Officer of Egalet
Co., now known as Zyla Life Sciences, from July 2014 to October 2017. Prior to
joining Egalet Co., Dr. Dayno served as Vice President of Global Medical Affairs
at ViroPharma, Inc., from August 2011 to January 2014, at which time it was
acquired by Shire Pharmaceuticals. From March 2016 to June 2022, Dr. Dayno
served on the board of directors of Atrin Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a private
biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Dayno has served on the board of directors of
Emalex Biosciences Inc. since October 2022. Dr. Dayno completed his residency in
neurology at Temple University Hospital then completed a fellowship in stroke
and cerebrovascular diseases at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, as
part of a National Institutes of Health program grant in stroke. Dr. Dayno has
over 10 years of experience in clinical and academic medicine and was on the
faculty at Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Dayno also has over 20 years of
experience in the pharmaceutical industry in leadership roles in companies
including Merck & Co., Inc., a public pharmaceutical company, and Cephalon Inc.,
a former public biopharmaceutical and biotechnology company, which was acquired
by Teva. Dr. Dayno was one of the founding members and served as the Chairman of
the Board of the Philadelphia Stroke Council, a non-profit organization
dedicated to patient awareness and professional education to advance the efforts
toward acute stroke treatment. Since March 2013, Dr. Dayno has been a member of
the board of visitors of Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Dayno
received a B.A. in international studies from Trinity College and an M.D. from
Temple University School of Medicine.
Dr. Dayno's compensation for his service as Interim Chief Executive Officer has
not yet been determined.
There are no family relationships between Dr. Dayno and any director or
executive officer of the Company, and he has no indirect material interest in
any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to
Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, other than those disclosed under the section
"Related Person Transactions" in the Company's definitive proxy statement for
the Company's 2022 annual meeting of stockholders filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on April 8, 2022.
Appointment of Executive Chairman
On January 6, 2023, in connection with Mr. Jacobs' resignation from the Board
and to provide additional support and oversight during this transition period,
the Board appointed Jeffrey S. Aronin, currently Chairman of the Board, as the
Company's Executive Chairman, effective January 6, 2023.
Jeffrey S. Aronin, age 55, founded Harmony and has served on the Board and as
non-executive Chairman since October 2017. In June 2017, Mr. Aronin founded
Paragon Biosciences which he leads as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Paragon Biosciences is a life science innovator that invests in, builds, and
advises a portfolio of bioscience companies. In addition to serving on our
Board, Mr. Aronin serves on the boards of other Paragon privately-held
portfolio companies, including Qlarity Imaging, LLC, which develops artificial
intelligence-enabled diagnostic tools, Castle Creek Pharma, LLC, which is
dedicated to rare genetic dermatology, Emalex Biosciences Inc., which is
dedicated to treating neurological conditions, and Skyline Biosciences, LLC,
which is dedicated to treating oncology conditions. From January 2011 to May
2017, Mr. Aronin was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marathon
Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a private research-based biopharmaceutical company that
developed drugs for rare diseases, which was subsequently acquired by PTC
Therapeutics. Prior to that, Mr. Aronin founded Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
or Ovation, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2000
to 2009. After Lundbeck A/S acquired Ovation in 2009, Mr. Aronin served as Chief
Executive Officer of Lundbeck Inc. until 2011. Since June 2008, Mr. Aronin has
served on the public board of directors of Discover Financial Services, Inc. Mr.
Aronin also currently serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations
including The Aspen Institute and MATTER, which Aronin founded to support life
science innovation. Mr. Aronin received a B.S. in marketing from Northern
Illinois University and an M.B.A. from DePaul University.
Mr. Aronin's compensation for his service as Executive Chairman has not yet been
determined.
There are no family relationships between Mr. Aronin and any director or
executive officer of the Company, and he has no indirect material interest in
any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to
Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, other than those disclosed under the section
"Related Person Transactions" in the Company's definitive proxy statement for
the Company's 2022 annual meeting of stockholders filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on April 8, 2022.
Item 7.01. Regulation FD.
On January 6, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing the
resignation of Mr. Jacobs, the appointment of Mr. Aronin as Executive Chairman
and the appointment of Dr. Dayno as Interim Chief Executive Officer. A copy of
the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report and is
incorporated herein by reference.
The information furnished under this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, shall
not be deemed "filed" for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the
liabilities of that section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by
reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, or the Exchange Act,
except as set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
Exhibit No. Description
Press release issued by the Company, dated January 6, 2023
99.1 (furnished pursuant to Item 7.01).
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL).
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