UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

 

SCHEDULE 14A

(Rule 14a-101)

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.     )

 

Filed by the Registrant x

☐ Filed by a Party other than the Registranto

Check the appropriate box:

Check the appropriate box:

x

Preliminary Proxy Statement

o

Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule14a-6(e)(2))

o

Definitive Proxy Statement

o

Definitive Additional Materials

o

Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12

WINDTREE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

WINDTREE THERAPEUTICS, 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)all boxes that apply):

x

No fee required.

o

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:

o

Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

o

Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) 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)Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules14a-6(i)(1)and0-11.

Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

(3)

Filing Party:

(4)

Date Filed:

 





 

PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT, SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 12, 2024

 

2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100

Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622

(215) 488-9300


18976

NOTICE OF ANNUAL2024SPECIAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To be held on June 21, 2016


 

To thebe Held on March 28, 2024

, 2024

Dear Stockholder:

We are pleased to invite you to attend a Special Meeting of Stockholders (the “Special Meeting”), of Windtree Therapeutics, Inc.:

The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (“Windtree”, a Delaware corporation (thethe “Company”, “we”, or “us”), which will be held virtually at 9:00 A.M., Eastern Time, on June 21, 2016, at 8:00 a.m. at the Homewood Suites, 2650 Kelly Road, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976March 28, 2024 for the following purposes:

 

1.

to approve an amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Charter”), to effect a reverse stock split of our outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share ( “Common Stock”) by a ratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25, the implementation and timing of which shall be subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors (the “Board”); and

I.                            To elect five members

2.

to approve adjournment of the Special Meeting to the extent there are insufficient votes at the Special Meeting to approve the preceding proposal or to establish a quorum.

The Special Meeting can be accessed via the Internet at: https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024. This Proxy Statement (as defined below) and enclosed proxy card are first being mailed to our Boardstockholders on or about February 23, 2024.

Details regarding admission to the Special Meeting and the business to be conducted are more fully described in the accompanying Notice of Directors (“Board”) to serve until the next Annual2024 Special Meeting of Stockholders (the “Notice”), and until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal (Proposal 1);

II.                       To ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 (Proposal 2);

III.                  To amend our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, par value $.001 per share available for issuance by the Company from 36 million to 60 million (Proposal 3);

IV.                   To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers, as disclosed in this2024 Special Meeting Proxy Statement (Proposal 4); and

To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting(the “Proxy Statement”). You are entitled to vote at our Special Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.thereof only if you were a stockholder as of February 20, 2024.

 

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 25, 2016 (“Record Date”) are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.  A complete list of those stockholders will be open to examination by any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours at the Company’s principal executive offices at 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622 for a period of 10 days prior to the meeting.

Your vote is important. You mayWhether or not you plan to virtually attend the Special Meeting, we hope you will vote by telephone, viaas soon as possible. Information about voting methods is set forth in the Internet, by mailing your properly executed proxy card or voting instruction, or in person at the Annual Meeting in accordance with the voting instructions included with this proxy statement.

accompanying Notice and Proxy Statement. If you have any questions regarding the attached proxy statement or need assistance in voting your shares of Common Stock, please contact our Vice President, Controller & Chief Accounting Officer, and Corporate Secretary, Jamie McAndrew, at (215) 488-9300, or our proxy solicitor, Morrow Sodali LLC, by telephone at via telephone, call the firm assisting us in the solicitation of proxies:Morrow at 1-800-662-5200.

 

Sincerely,

Craig E. Fraser

Chairman of the Board, President and

Chief Executive Officer


Morrow & Co., LLCPRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT, SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 12, 2024

THIS PROXY STATEMENT AND THE ENCLOSED PROXY CARD ARE

470 West Ave.FIRST BEING MAILED TO STOCKHOLDERS ON OR ABOUT FEBRUARY 23, 2024.

Stamford, CT 06902

wint20240211_pre14aimg001.jpg

1-800-662-5200

NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

Dear Stockholders:

You are invited to attend Windtree’s Special Meeting. At the Special Meeting, stockholders will vote:

1.

to approve an amendment to the Charter to effect a reverse stock split of our outstanding shares of Common Stock by a ratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25, the implementation and timing of which shall be subject to the discretion of our Board (the “Reverse Stock Split Proposal”); and

2.

to approve adjournment of the Special Meeting to the extent there are insufficient votes at the Special Meeting to approve the preceding proposal or to establish a quorum (the “Adjournment Proposal”).

Stockholders also will transact any other business that may properly come before the Special Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Special Meeting.

MEETING INFORMATION

 

Date:

March 28, 2024

Time:

9:00 A.M., Eastern Time

Location:

Via the Internet: https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024

Record Date:

You can vote if you were a stockholder of record on February 20, 2024

The Board has fixed the close of business on February 20, 2024 as the record date for the Special Meeting (the “Record Date”). Only stockholders of record on the Record Date are entitled to receive notice of the Special Meeting and to vote at the Special Meeting or at any adjournment(s) of the Special Meeting.

Your vote matters. Whether or not you plan to virtually attend the Special Meeting, please ensure that your shares are represented by voting, signing, dating and returning your proxy in the enclosed envelope, which requires no postage if mailed in the United States.

By Order of the Board of Directors

Mary B. Templeton, Esq.

Jamie McAndrew

Vice President, Controller & Chief Accounting

Officer, and Corporate Secretary

, 2024

 

Warrington, Pennsylvania

May 23, 2016

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON JUNE 21, 2016: this Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and ourMATERIALS. This Proxy Statement and 2015 Annual Reportthe proxy card are being mailed to Stockholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 areour stockholders on or about February 23, 2024. This Proxy Statement is available for viewing, printing and downloadingto stockholders at http:https://www.ezodproxy.com/www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/2016.sm2024.

 




SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]



To assist you in reviewing this meeting’s proposals, we call your attention to the following proxy summary. This is only a summary; please review this 2024 Special Meeting Proxy Statement (the “Proxy Statement”) in full.

 

Common stockSummary of Stockholder Voting Matters

 

WINDTREE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

PROPOSAL

FORMORE
INFORMATION

BOARDOFDIRECTORS
RECOMMENDATION

Item 1: Approval of an amendment to the Charter to effect a reverse stock split of our outstanding shares of Common Stock by a ratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25, the implementation and timing of which shall be subject to the discretion of our Board

Page 8

✓FOR

Item 2: Approval of adjournment of the Special Meeting to the extent there are insufficient votes at the Special Meeting to approve the preceding proposal or to establish a quorum

Page 14

✓FOR

 

PROXY STATEMENT

ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

June 21, 2016

Proxies and voting instructions in the form enclosed with thisThis Proxy Statement, are solicited bywith the Board of Directorsenclosed proxy card, is being mailed to stockholders of Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (“Windtree”, a Delaware corporation (referredthe “Company”, “we” or “us”) in connection with the solicitation by our Board of Directors (the “Board”) of proxies to as “we,” “our,” “us,” and “the Company”), with principal executive officesbe voted at 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622, for use at the Annualour Special Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual“Special Meeting”) toand at any postponements or adjournments thereof. The Special Meeting will be held on June 21, 2016,March 28, 2024, at 8:9:00 a.m.A.M., Eastern Time, via the Internet at https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024.

This Proxy Statement and the enclosed proxy card are first being mailed to our stockholders on or about February 23, 2024.


GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETING

PROXY SOLICITATION

The Company is soliciting your vote on matters that will be presented at the Homewood Suites, 2650 Kelly Road, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976,Special Meeting and at any adjournment or postponement thereof. It is expected that thisThis Proxy Statement contains information on these matters to assist you in voting your shares.

This Proxy Statement and the form of proxy will becard are being mailed to our stockholders on or about MayFebruary 23, 2016.2024. This Proxy Statement is available to stockholders at https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024.

 

What is included in these materials?STOCKHOLDERS ENTITLED TO VOTE

 

These materials includeStockholders of record, including holders of our proxy statement for the Annual Meeting and our 2015 Annual Report to Stockholders, which includes our year-end audited consolidated financial statements.

What matters will be voted on at the Annual Meeting?

Four proposals will be taken up at the meeting as well as such other business as may properly come before the meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.  The four proposals are:

1.                          To elect five members to our Board of Directors (“Board”) to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal (Proposal 1);

2.                          To ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 (Proposal 2);

3.                          To amend our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”) to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, par value $.001$0.001 per share (“Common Stock”) available for issuance by, at the Company from 36 millionclose of business on February 20, 2024 (the “Record Date”) are entitled to 60 million (Proposal 3);receive the Notice of 2024 Special Meeting of Stockholders, (the “Notice”) and to vote their shares at the Special Meeting. There were                shares of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date. Pursuant to the rights of our stockholders contained in our governing documents, each share of our Common Stock is entitled to one vote on all matters listed in this proxy statement.


VOTING METHODS

 

4.                          To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers, as disclosed in this Proxy Statement (Proposal 4); and

To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.

WhoYou may vote at the Annual Meeting?Special Meeting by delivering a proxy card in person or you may cast your vote in any of the following ways:

wint20240211_pre14aimg002.jpg
wint20240211_pre14aimg003.jpg
wint20240211_pre14aimg004.jpg

MAIL

INTERNET

ONLINE AT THE MEETING

Mailing your signed proxy card or

voter instruction card.

Using the Internet

at www.cstproxyvote.com.

You can vote at the meeting at

https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024

HOW YOUR SHARES WILL BE VOTED

 

In each case, your shares will be voted as you instruct. If you return a signed card, but do not provide voting instructions, your shares will be voted FOR each of the proposals. If you are the record holder of your shares, you may revoke or change your vote any time before the proxy is exercised. To do so, you must do one of the following:

Vote over the Internet as instructed above. Only stockholders of record of shares ofyour latest Internet vote is counted. You may not revoke or change your vote over the Internet after 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 27, 2024.

Sign a new proxy card and submit it by mail, which must be received no later than March 27, 2024. Only your latest dated proxy card will be counted.

Virtually attend the Special Meeting at https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024. Virtually attending the Special Meeting will not by itself revoke a previously granted proxy.

Give our Common Stock, par value $.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) as of April 25, 2016 (the “Record Date”) may voteCorporate Secretary written notice before or at the Annual Meeting (and any adjournments or postponements of the Annual Meeting).  As of the Record Date, 8,230,561 shares of Common Stock were outstanding and entitledmeeting that you want to vote at the meeting.revoke your proxy.

 

If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person, please bring with you a photo ID and evidence of your stock ownership as of the Record Date.  Your shares may be (i) registered directly in your name on our books and maintained by our transfer agent or (ii) held for you by a bank, advisory or brokerage firm or other financial

1



institution (individually and collectively referred to in this Proxy Statement as “broker(s)”).  If held by a broker, you will need evidence of your stock ownership as of the Record Date from the broker that holds your shares.

How can I vote my shares at the Annual Meeting?

On each matter properly brought before the Annual Meeting, stockholders will be entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held on the Record Date.  If your shares are carried on the books of our transfer agent, you can vote by telephone, via the Internet, by mailing a properly executed proxy card, or in person at the Annual Meeting.  Detailed instructions are provided on the proxy card delivered with this Proxy Statement.  If you vote by telephone, via the Internet or by mailing a proxy card, you are still welcome to attend the Annual Meeting.

What if my shares are held for me in “street name”?

Shares held by brokers on behalfyour broker, bank or other holder of beneficial owners of our Common Stock are considered to be held in “street name.”  In that case,record as a nominee or agent (i.e., the brokers or their nominees are the registered holders on our books (maintained for us by our transfer agent) and generally are required to vote shares in accordance with customer voting instructions.  Accordingly, if your shares are held in “street name,”name”), you will need to provide votingshould follow the instructions toprovided by your broker, tobank or other holder of record.

Deadline for Voting. The deadline for voting by Internet, other than by virtually attending the Special Meeting, is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on March 27, 2024. If you are a registered stockholder and virtually attend the Special Meeting, you may vote your shares.  Your broker will then vote a single proxy reflecting all voting instructions received from beneficial owners.  online during the Special Meeting.


GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETING

BROKER VOTING AND VOTES REQUIRED FOR EACH PROPOSAL

If your shares are held in “street name” anda stock brokerage account or by a bank or other holder of record, you have not received information aboutare considered the methods available“beneficial owner” of shares held in street name. The Notice has been forwarded to you by your broker, bank or other holder of record who is considered the stockholder of record of those shares. As the beneficial owner, you may direct your broker, bank or other holder of record on how to vote your shares you should ask your broker forby using the proxy card included in the materials made available or by following their instructions for voting your shares.on the Internet.

 

WhatThe following table summarizes how broker non-votes, votes withheld, and abstentions are broker “non-votes”?

If your shares are held in “street name,” a broker “non-vote” occurs when a broker does not vote on one or more proposals because you have not given specific voting instructionstreated with respect to “non-discretionary” proposals.  However, if you do not give your broker specific voting instructions with respect to “discretionary” proposals, your broker may nevertheless be permitted to vote your shares.  Under the rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market® (“Nasdaq”), the proposal to elect directors (Proposal 1) and the advisory vote on executive compensation (Proposal 4) are considered “non-discretionary” proposals.  The proposals to ratify the appointment of our auditors (Proposal 2), and to amend our Certificate of Incorporation (Proposal 3) are considered “discretionary” proposals.proposals:

 

Broker non-votes are counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum exists for the transaction of business generally at our Annual Meeting (see, “How will a quorum be established at the Annual Meeting?” below), but they will not be counted for purposes of determining the number of shares represented and voted with respect to “non-discretionary” proposals.  If you do not give your broker specific voting instructions for each of the non-discretionary proposals, your shares will not be included in the tabulation to determine if we have received the required number of votes needed to approve these very important proposals.

How will a quorum be established at the Annual Meeting?

To transact any business at the Annual Meeting, at least a majority of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting must be present in person or by proxy.  For purposes of determining whether there is a quorum, the following shares are counted as present:

·                  Shares represented by stockholders attending the Annual Meeting in person, whether or not they vote all their shares;

·                  All shares represented by validly delivered proxies which contain one or more abstentions or which have votes withheld from any nominee for director; and

·                  Shares represented by validly delivered proxies containing broker “non-votes.”

How does the Board recommend that stockholders vote their shares?

The Board recommends that you vote as follows:

·PROPOSAL

FOR”VOTES the election of the Board’s nominees for director (Proposal 1);REQUIRED

TREATMENT OF

VOTES WITHHELD,

ABSTENTIONS, AND

BROKER

NON-VOTES

BROKER
DISCRETIONARY
VOTING

·

“FOR”Proposal 1: the ratificationApproval of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 (Proposal 2);

·

“FOR” thean amendment to our Certificate of Incorporationthe Charter to increase the numbereffect a reverse stock split of our authorizedoutstanding shares of Common Stock availableby a ratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25, the implementation and timing of which shall be subject to the discretion of the Board

The votes cast for issuance from 36 million to 60 million (Proposal 3); and

2



·the amendment exceed the votes cast against the amendment

“FOR” the vote, on an advisory basis,Abstentions and broker non-votes have no effect on the compensationoutcome of our named executive officers (Proposal 4).the proposal

Yes

Proposal 2: Approval of adjournment of the Special Meeting to the extent there are insufficient votes at the Special Meeting to approve the preceding proposal or to establish a quorum

Assuming the presence of a quorum, the majority of the total votes cast

In the absence of a quorum, the majority of the votes present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote

Assuming the presence of a quorum. abstentions and broker non-votes have no effect on the outcome of the proposal

In the absence of a quorum, abstentions will have the same effect as a vote against the proposal. Broker non-votes have no effect on the outcome of the proposal

Yes

 

How are stockholder votes counted?Proposal One:

All telephone and Internet votes submitted by stockholders whoseApproval of an amendment to the Charter to effect a reverse stock split of our outstanding shares are carried directly on our books before 7:00 p.m. (EDT), June 20, 2016, and all properly executed proxies and broker instructions that are received in time to be counted at the Annual Meeting (and not properly revoked) will be counted.  Where a choice has been specified on the proxy with respect to any matter, the shares represented by the proxy will be voted in accordance with those specifications.  Where a choice has not been specified on the proxy with respect to any matter, the shares represented by the proxy will be voted in accordance with the Board’s recommendation.

In the election of directors under Proposal 1, you may vote your shares “FOR” each nominee or you may mark your vote “WITHHELD” for any one or more nominees.  The nominees for directors are electedCommon Stock by a pluralityratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25, the implementation and timing of which shall be subject to the discretion of the Board. The approval of the amendment to the Charter to effect a reverse stock split requires that the votes cast atfor amendment exceed the Annual Meeting in person or by proxy.  Therefore,votes cast against amendment.

ProposalTwo: Adjournment. Assuming the five nominees receivingpresence of a quorum, the highest number of “FOR” votes at the meeting (a plurality of votes cast) will be elected to serve as directors and will constitute our entire Board.  Shares represented by proxies received and not so marked or via telephone or Internet and not so indicated will be voted for the electionapproval of the nominees in accordance with the Board’s recommendation.  Where a stockholder proxy or vote via telephone or Internet indicates withheld authority to vote for a particular nominee or nominees, the shares will not be voted for that particular nominee or nominees.  Under Nasdaq rules, the proposal to elect directors is considered non-discretionary; therefore, broker “non-votes” are not counted as present in determining the results of Proposal 1.

For each of Proposals 2, 3, and 4, you may determine to vote “FOR,” “AGAINST,” or “ABSTAIN” from voting.  Abstentions are not included as votes cast on a proposal and therefore will not be included in the number of shares present and voting on each proposal.  Approval of Proposals 2 and 4 requires the affirmative vote by a majority of the shares voting on the proposal in person or by proxy at the meeting.  Approval of Proposal 3adjournment requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the total votes cast by the holders of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Special Meeting and entitled to vote on the proposal. In the absence of a quorum, the approval of the adjournment requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes of the shares of stock present in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting and entitled to vote.


GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETING

QUORUM AND APPROVAL

We must have a quorum to conduct business at the Special Meeting. A quorum consists of the presence at the Special Meeting either attending the meeting virtually or represented by proxy of the holders of one-third (1/3) of the votes of the shares of our stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting; therefore, if you electSpecial Meeting.  For the purpose of establishing a quorum, broker non-votes and abstentions, including brokers holding customers’ shares of record who cause abstentions to “ABSTAIN” from voting on Proposal 3, it will havebe recorded at the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the proposal.  Shares represented by proxies received and not so marked or via telephone or Internet and not so indicated will be voted for a matter in accordance with the Board’s recommendations.  For broker voting instructions, shares subject to broker “non-votes”meeting, are not considered to have been voted for non-discretionary proposals andstockholders who are not counted as present in determining whether a majority of the shares present and entitled to vote, and count toward the quorum. If there is no quorum, the holders of a majority of the votes of the shares of stock present in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting and entitled to vote, or if no stockholder entitled to vote is present, then the chairman of the meeting, as determined by our Amended and Restated By-laws (the “Bylaws”), may adjourn the Special Meeting to another date.

There was                 shares of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date. A quorum shall consist of the presence, virtually in person or by proxy, of at least                 shares of Common Stock. The approval of the Reverse Stock Split Proposal requires that the votes cast for the proposal exceed the votes cast against the proposal.

Assuming the presence of a non-discretionary matter have approved such matter.  quorum, the approval of the Adjournment Proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the total votes cast by the holders of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Special Meeting and entitled to vote on the proposal. In the absence of a quorum, the approval of the adjournment requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes of the shares of stock present in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting and entitled to vote

PROXY SOLICITATION COSTS

We believe that that Proposals 2 and 3pay the cost of soliciting proxies. Proxies will be deemed discretionary proposalssolicited on behalf of the Board by mail, telephone and Proposal 4other electronic means or in person. Directors and employees will not be deemed non-discretionary.paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. We have engaged Morrow Sodali LLC to assist with the solicitation of proxies for an estimated fee of $9,500, plus any additional expenses. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.

 

If any other matter not discussed in this Proxy Statement is presented at the Annual Meeting and upon which a vote may be properly taken, shares represented by all proxies received by the Board will be voted with respect thereto in accordance with the judgment of the persons named in the proxies.


 

SECURITYOWNERSHIPOFCERTAINHow may stockholders revoke a vote made prior to the Annual Meeting?

Stockholders may revoke a vote at any time prior to the Annual Meeting and thereafter attend and vote at the Annual Meeting.  To revoke a vote:

·                  If you voted originally by telephone or via the Internet, enter new instructions on the same voting system before 7:00 p.m. (EDT), June 20, 2016; or

·                  If you voted by giving your vote to our proxy solicitor, Morrow & Co. (“Morrow”) via telephone, call Morrow at 1-800-662-5200 before 7:00 p.m. (EDT) on June 20, 2016 and advise them that you wish to revoke or change your vote; or

·                  If your shares are registered in your name on the books of our transfer agent,

·                  Send a written notice of revocation to us, attention Corporate Secretary, which must be received prior to the close of voting at the Annual Meeting on June 21, 2016; or

·                  Attend the Annual Meeting and vote in person (or send a personal representative with an appropriate proxy); or

·                  If you hold your shares in “street name” with a broker or other similar institution,

·                  Contact the broker that delivered your Proxy Statement for instructions about how to change your vote; or

·                  If you wish to change your vote by attending the Annual Meeting, you must contact your broker for documentation — only your broker may change voting instructions with respect to shares held in “street name.”

3



COMMON STOCK OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN

BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

 

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Common Stock (i) unless otherwise noted, as of March 31, 2016,February 1, 2024 by (a) each current director and each executive officer set forth in the table below (each a “Named Executive Officer”) as of that date, (ii) as of March 31, 2016, by all directors and executive officers as a group, and (iii) as of the date noted in each related footnote, by the entitiesperson known by us to be the beneficial ownersowner of more than five percent5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. Thomas F. Miller, a formerCommon Stock, (b) each named executive officer is includedof the Company, (c) each director of the Company, and (d) all executive officers and directors as a Named Executive Officer because disclosure would have been provided in this table if he had been serving as an executive officer at December 31, 2015.group.

 

Name and Address
of Beneficial Owner (1)

 

Common
Stock

 

Common Stock
Equivalents (2)

 

Total Beneficial
Ownership

 

Percentage of Class
Beneficially
Owned (1)

 

Non-Executive Directors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John R. Leone

 

5,710

 

4,285

 

9,995

 

*

 

Joseph M. Mahady

 

671

 

4,285

 

4,956

 

*

 

Bruce A. Peacock

 

671

 

6,619

 

7,290

 

*

 

Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D. (3)

 

2,337

 

7,143

 

9,480

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Named Executive Officers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John G. Cooper (4)

 

11,420

 

70,763

 

82,183

 

*

 

Steven G. Simonson, M.D.

 

5,562

 

12,740

 

18,302

 

*

 

John A. Tattory

 

5,461

 

22,479

 

27,940

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas F. Miller, Ph.D., MBA

 

4,131

 

32,501

 

36,632

 

*

 


* Less than 1%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Officers and Directors as a group (8 persons) (5)

 

29,081

 

78,979

 

108,060

 

1.30

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5% Security Holders Name and Address

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alyeska Investment Group, L.P.(6)
77 West Wacker Drive, 7
th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601

 

620,533

 

178,571

 

799,104

 

9.50

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Broadfin Capital, LLC (7)
237 Park Avenue, Suite 900
New York, New York 10017

 

794,068

 

1,904,762

 

2,698,830

 

9.9

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAFNA Capital Management,
LLC (8)
10990 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 1400
Los Angeles, CA 90024

 

761,335

 

227,976

 

989,311

 

9.99

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deerfield Management
Company, L.P. (9)
780 3
rd Avenue, 37th Floor
New York, NY 10017

 

 

1,105,952

 

1,105,952

 

9.99

%

4



Name and Address
of Beneficial Owner (1)

 

Common
Stock

 

Common Stock
Equivalents (2)

 

Total Beneficial
Ownership

 

Percentage of Class
Beneficially
Owned (1)

 

Sabby Management, LLC
10 Mountainview Road, Ste 205
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
07458 (10)

 

524,253

 

238,096

 

762,349

 

9.00

%


(1)   Beneficial ownershipThe percentage of Common Stock outstanding is determinedbased on 8,501,864 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of February 1, 2024. For purposes of the table below, and in accordance with Rule 13d-3 underthe rules of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”Commission (the “SEC”) and includes voting and investment power with respect to shares of Common Stock.  Shares of Common Stock, and, we deem shares of Common Stock subject to options orand warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60sixty days after March 31, 2016 heldof February 1, 2024 to be outstanding and to be beneficially owned by eachthe person holding the options or group named above, are deemed outstandingwarrants for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of thethat person, or group holding any options or warrants, but arewe do not deemedtreat them as outstanding for purposesthe purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other personperson. Except as otherwise noted, each of the persons or group.  Asentities in this table has sole voting and investing power with respect to all of March 31, 2016, 8,230,561the shares of Common Stock were issued and outstanding.  Thebeneficially owned by them, subject to community property laws, where applicable. Except as otherwise noted below, the street address of each individual personbeneficial owner is c/o Windtree Therapeutics, Inc., 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622.18976.

  

SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED

   

NAME OF BENEFICIAL OWNER

 

NUMBER OF
SHARES OF
COMMON
STOCK

    

PERCENTAGE
OF COMMON
STOCK

   

5% or Greater Stockholders

            

Deerfield Entities(1)

  

608,272

     

7.15%

   

Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (2)

  

614,334

     

6.97%

   

The Lind Partners (3)

  

580,204

     

6.60%

   

Named Executive Officers and Directors

            

Daniel Geffken(4)

  

1,232

     

*

   

Robert Scott, M.D.(5)

  

850

     

*

   

Mark Strobeck, Ph.D.

  

-

     

*

   

Leslie J. Williams(5)

  

850

     

*

   

Craig E. Fraser(6)

  

28,151

     

*

   

Steven G. Simonson, M.D.(7)

  

9,624

     

*

   

Eric Curtis(8)

  

7,009

     

*

   

All executive officers and directors as a group (8 persons)

  

48,864

     

0.56%

   

*

Less than 1%

(1)

Includes 324,817 shares of common stock issued to Deerfield PDI Financing II, L.P. and 283,455 shares of common stock issued to Deerfield Private Design Fund II, L.P. for a total of 608,272 shares of common stock. Deerfield Mgmt, L.P. is the general partner of Deerfield PDI Financing II, L.P. and Deerfield Private Design Fund II, L.P. (collectively, the “Deerfield Entities”). Deerfield Management Company, L.P. is the investment manager of the Deerfield Entities. James E. Flynn is the sole member of the general partner of each of Deerfield Mgmt, L.P. and Deerfield Management Company, L.P. Each of Deerfield Mgmt, L.P., Deerfield Management Company, L.P. and Mr. James E. Flynn may be deemed to beneficially own the shares of common stock of the Company beneficially owned by the Deerfield Entities. The selling stockholder’s address is c/o Deerfield Management Company, L.P., 345 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10010.

(2)

Includes 307,167 shares of common stock and 307,167 April 2023 Warrants to purchase 307,167 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of March 14, 2024. The April 2023 Warrants are subject to a 4.99% ownership cap (or, at the election of each holder prior to the date of issuance, 9.99%). Lincoln Park Capital, LLC, or LPC, is the Managing Member of Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC, or LPC Fund. Rockledge Capital Corporation, or RCC, and Alex Noah Investors, Inc., or Alex Noah, are the Managing Members of LPC. Joshua B. Scheinfeld is the president and sole shareholder of RCC, as well as a principal of LPC. Jonathan I. Cope is the president and sole shareholder of Alex Noah, as well as a principal of LPC. As a result of the foregoing, Mr. Scheinfeld and Mr. Cope have shared voting and shared investment power over the shares of common stock held directly by LPC Fund. Pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Act and the rules thereunder, each of LPC, RCC, Mr. Scheinfeld, Alex Noah, and Mr. Cope may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the shares of Common Stock of the Issuer beneficially owned directly by LPC Fund. Pursuant to Rule 13(d)(4) of the Exchange Act, each of LPC, RCC, Mr. Scheinfeld, Alex Noah, and Mr. Cope disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares of common stock held directly by LPC Fund. The address for LPC Fund, LPC, RCC, Mr. Scheinfeld, Alex Noah, and Mr. Cope is 440 North Wells, Suite 410, Chicago, Illinois 60654.

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(3)

Includes 290,102 shares of common stock and 290,102 April 2023 Warrants to purchase 290,102 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of March 14, 2024. The April 2023 Warrants are subject to a 4.99% ownership cap (or, at the election of each holder prior to the date of issuance, 9.99%). The address for The Lind Partners, LLC is 444 Madison Avenue, Floor 41, New York, New York 10022.

(4)

Includes 141 shares of common stock, 41 May 2020 Warrants to purchase 41 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024 and options to purchase 1,050 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024. The May 2020 Warrants are subject to a 4.99% ownership cap (or, at the election of each holder prior to the date of issuance, 9.99%), except that upon at least sixty-one (61) days’ prior notice to us, each holder may increase the ownership cap after exercising such holder’s May 2020 Warrants up to 9.99% (or up to 19.99% upon prior written approval by us).

(5)

Includes 100 shares of common stock and options to purchase 750 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024.

(6)

Includes 10,901 shares of common stock, 2 Series A-1 Warrants to purchase 2 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024, 41 May 2020 Warrants to purchase 41 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024, 30 March 2021 Warrants to purchase 30 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024, and options to purchase 18,290 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024. The May 2020 Warrants are subject to a 4.99% ownership cap (or, at the election of each holder prior to the date of issuance, 9.99%), except that upon at least sixty-one (61) days’ prior notice to us, each holder may increase the ownership cap after exercising such holder’s May 2020 Warrants up to 9.99% (or up to 19.99% upon prior written approval by us).

(7)

Includes 1,137 shares of common stock, 1 Series A-1 Warrant to purchase 1 share of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024, 10 May 2020 Warrants to purchase 10 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024, 30 March 2021 Warrants to purchase 30 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024, and options to purchase 8,888 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024. The May 2020 Warrants are subject to a 4.99% ownership cap (or, at the election of each holder prior to the date of issuance, 9.99%), except that upon at least sixty-one (61) days’ prior notice to us, each holder may increase the ownership cap after exercising such holder’s May 2020 Warrants up to 9.99% (or up to 19.99% upon prior written approval by us).

(8)

Includes 811 shares of common stock and options to purchase 6,640 shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days of February 1, 2024.


ITEMS TO BE VOTED ON

ITEM1: APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER TO EFFECT A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT OF OUR OUTSTANDING SHARES OF COMMON STOCK BY A RATIO OF ANY WHOLE NUMBER BETWEEN 1-FOR-5 AND 1-FOR-25,THE IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMING OF WHICH SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD

 

(2)   Except where noted, Common Stock Equivalents includeWe are seeking stockholder approval to grant the Board discretionary authority to amend the Charter, if at all, to effect a reverse stock split of our outstanding shares of Common Stock, subject to options or warrants currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after Marchat any time before July 31, 20162024, by a ratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25 (the “Reverse Split”), provided, our Board will not select a reverse split ratio that will result in us having fewer than 500,000 publicly held by each person or group named above.shares under Nasdaq continued listing standards.

 

(3)   Total beneficial ownership shown inThe Reverse Split will not change the table includes 595 shares held by his spouse as to which Dr. Rosenthale disclaims beneficial ownership.

(4)   Mr. Cooper resigned his position effective January 31, 2016.

(5)   This information does not include securities held by Mr. Cooper and Dr. Miller, who are no longer our officers.

(6)   This information is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2016 with respect to 620,533number of authorized shares of Common Stock beneficially ownedor the relative voting power of such holders of our outstanding Common Stock. The number of authorized but unissued shares of our Common Stock will materially increase and will be available for reissuance by eachthe Company. The Reverse Split, if effected, would affect all of our stockholders uniformly.

The Board unanimously approved, and recommended seeking stockholder approval of the following persons: (i) Alyeska Investment Group, L.P., (ii) Alyeska Investment Group, LLC, (iii) Alyeska Fund 2 GP, LLC,Reverse Split, on February 12, 2024. If this Reverse Split is approved by the stockholders, the Board will have the authority, in its sole discretion, without further action by the stockholders, to effect the Reverse Split. The Board’s decision as to whether and (iv) Anand Parekh.  In addition, in July 2015, we issuedwhen to effect the Reverse Split, if approved by the stockholders, will be based on a number of factors, including prevailing market conditions, existing and expected trading prices for our Common Stock, Equivalents toactual or forecasted results of operations, and the likely effect of such persons consisting of warrants to purchase 178,571 sharesresults on the market price of our Common Stock.

 

(7)   This information is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 12, 2016 with respect to 794,068The Reverse Split will also affect our outstanding stock options, restricted stock units and shares of Common Stock, beneficially owned by each of the following persons: (i) Broadfin Capital, LLC, (ii) Broadfin Healthcare Master Fund, Ltd., and (iii) Kevin Kotler.  In addition, in connection with a July 2015 public offering, weincluding those issued Common Stock Equivalents to such persons consisting of warrants to purchase 1,904,762 shares ofunder our Common Stock, the form of which restricts the exercise or conversion of such securities to the extent that, upon exercise or conversion, the number of shares then beneficially owned by the holder and its affiliates and any other person or entities with which such holder would constitute a group under §13(d) of the Exchange Act would exceed 9.99% of the total number of shares then outstanding (the “Ownership Cap”).  Notwithstanding the number of shares reported above, the reporting person was unable to exercise such warrants to the extent that after such exercise the Ownership Cap would be exceeded.

(8)   This information is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2016 with respect to 761,335 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by each of the following persons: (i) DAFNA Capital Management, LLC, (ii) Nathan Fischel, and (iii) Fariba Ghodsian.  In addition, in connection with public offerings in February 2011 and July 2015, we issued Common Stock Equivalents to such persons consisting of warrants to purchase 227,976 shares of2020 equity incentive plans, or as inducement grants under Nasdaq rules, as well as our Common Stock, the form of which restricts the exercise or conversion of suchoutstanding warrants. Under these plans and securities, to the extent that, upon exercise or conversion, the number of shares then beneficially owned by the holder and its affiliates and any other person or entities with which such holder would constitute a group under §13(d) of the Exchange Act would exceed 9.985% or 9.99% (depending on the warrant) of the total number of shares then outstanding (the “Ownership Cap”).  Notwithstanding the number of shares reported above, the reporting person was unable to exercise such warrants to the extent that after such exercise the Ownership Cap would be exceeded.

5



(9)   This information is as of December 31, 2015 and is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2016, by (i) Deerfield Mgmt, L.P., general partner of the entities identified in clauses (iv) through (vi) with respect to securities beneficially owned by such entities, (ii) Deerfield Management Company, L.P., an investment adviser for the entities identified in clauses (iv) through (vii) with respect to securities beneficially owned by such entities, (iii) James E. Flynn, (iv) Deerfield Special Situations Fund, L.P., (v) Deerfield Special Situations International Master Fund, L.P., (vi) Deerfield Private Design Fund II, L.P., and (vii) Deerfield Private Design International II, L.P.  The Common Stock Equivalents listed above consist of warrants to purchase 1,105,952 shares of our Common Stock that contain a provision restricting the exercise or conversion of such securities to the extent that, upon exercise or conversion, the number of shares then beneficially owned by the holder and its affiliates and any other person or entities with which such holder would constitute a group under §13(d) of the Exchange Act would exceed 9.985% or 9.99% (depending on the warrant) of the total number of shares then outstanding (the “Ownership Cap”). Notwithstanding the number of shares reported, the reporting person disclaimed beneficial ownership of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants to the extent that upon such exercise the number of shares beneficially owned by all reporting persons hereunder, in the aggregate, would exceed the Ownership Cap.

(10)      This information is as of December 31, 2015 and is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 14, 2016 with respect to shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the following persons: (i) 420,744 shares beneficially owned by Sabby Healthcare Master Fund, Ltd., (ii) 103,509 shares beneficially owned by Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd., (iii) 524,253 shares beneficially owned by Sabby Management, LLC, and (iv) 524,253 shares beneficially owned by Hal Mintz.  In addition, in connection with a July 2015 public offering, we issued Common Stock Equivalents to such persons consisting of warrants to purchase 238,096 shares of our Common Stock.

PROPOSAL 1

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

At the Annual Meeting, stockholders will be asked to elect five directors.  Each director will hold office until his successor has been elected and qualified or until the director’s earlier resignation or removal from office.

The Board recommends that the five nominees named below be elected as directors.  Of the shares of Common Stock represented by all proxies received by the Board, only those proxies which include an affirmative vote “FOR” and are not marked to withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee or for all nominees will be voted (unless one or more nominees are unable to serve) for the election of the nominees named below.  If shares are held in “street name,” a broker may vote only those shares for which voting instructions have been provided.  The Board knows of no reason why any nominee should be unable or unwilling to serve, but if that should occur, proxies will be voted for the election of some other person or the size of the Board will be fixed at a lower number.

Nominees for Election to the Board of Directors

The names of the nominees for election to the Board and certain information about the nominees are set forth below.  Each of the nominees currently serves as a director.  For information concerning the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owneddeliverable upon exercise or grant must be appropriately adjusted and appropriate adjustments must be made to the purchase price per share to reflect the Reverse Split.

The Reverse Split is not being proposed in response to any effort of which we are aware to accumulate our shares of Common Stock or obtain control of the Company, nor is it a plan by each nominee, management to recommend a series of similar actions to the Board or our stockholders.

There are certain risks associated with a reverse stock split, and we cannot accurately predict or assure the Reverse Split will produce or maintain the desired results (for more information on the risks see “Common the section below entitled “Certain Risks Associated with a Reverse Stock OwnershipSplit”). The Board believes that the benefits to the Company outweigh the risks and recommends that you vote in favor of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” on page 4.granting the Board the discretionary authority to effect the Reverse Split.

 

THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE NameFOR THE APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER TO EFFECT A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT OF OUR OUTSTANDING SHARES OF COMMON STOCK BY A RATIO OF ANY WHOLE NUMBER BETWEEN 1-FOR-5 AND 1-FOR-25, THE IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMING OF WHICH SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD

Position with the Company

John R. Leone

Chairman of the Board

Craig Fraser

Director, President and Chief Executive Officer

Joseph M. Mahady

Director

Bruce A. Peacock

Director

Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D.

Director

wint20240211_pre14aimg005.jpg

 

6



John R. Leone, age 68, has served as a member of our Board of Directors since November 2012 and was elected Chairman in January 2013.  He serves as a member of the Board’s Compensation Committee and the Nomination and Governance Committee.  With over 30 years of experience, Mr. Leone has built an outstanding track record in pharmaceutical operations, commercial portfolio management, and financing life science companies.  His commercial experience includes significant domestic and international executive management roles and direct responsibilityReasons for the commercial launch of numerous pharmaceutical products.

Mr. Leone has been a Partner at Visium Asset Management, LLC, an investment platform focused on healthcare royalties and related revenues since May 2013.  Prior to joining Visium, Mr. Leone was a Partner at Paul Capital Healthcare, a private equity firm that manages one of the largest dedicated healthcare funds globally (2007 to 2013).  Previously, Mr. Leone served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Cambrex Corporation, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Commercial Operations at Aventis Pharmaceuticals.  While at Aventis, he played a key role in spearheading the successful integration of its predecessor companies, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Hoechst Marion Roussel, and had responsibility for all commercial business units, including oncology, metabolism, cardiovascular, dermatology, respiratory and anti-infective.  Mr. Leone also served on the Board of Directors at ViroPharma Incorporated from January 2006 until its acquisition in March 2014.  Mr. Leone received his B.S. degree in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and his M.B.A. from the University of Colorado.

Craig Fraser, age 51, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board effective February 1, 2016.  He brings over 25 years of experience as a leader in both product development and commercial operations and in building biopharmaceutical and device businesses for both startups and larger companies.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Fraser held executive positions at several biopharmaceutical companies, including Aegerion Pharmaceuticals as Chief Operating Officer (July 2014 to August 2015) and as President, International & Global Manufacturing and Supply (October 2011 to July 2014); as Vice President of Global Disease Areas at Pfizer (October 2009 to October 2011); and as Vice President and Global Business Manager at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (December 2007 to November 2009).  Previously, Mr. Fraser served as Vice President, Sales & Marketing and Commercial Operations and as Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing at Johnson & Johnson; and as Gastroenterology Franchise Lead, National Sales Director — Immunology and Acute Cardiovasculars, and Marketing Director — Cardiovasculars and Diagnostics at Centocor.  Mr. Fraser is a veteran of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.  Mr. Fraser does not serve on any other public company boards.  Mr. Fraser received his B.S. degree in Public Administration from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.

Joseph M. Mahady, age 63, has served as a member of our Board since January 2013.  He also serves as Chairman of the Board’s Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.  Mr. Mahady has extensive strategic and operational experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.  He has broad international commercial experience, having served in a direct leadership role in more than 30 product launches, and has a successful record of developing profitable businesses based on transformational technologies in both the U.S. and international markets.

Mr. Mahady held significant leadership positions during his 30-year career with Wyeth Corporation, including as President, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (2008 — 2009), and Senior Vice President, Wyeth Corporation (2002 — 2009), with responsibility to direct the worldwide operations of that company’s $20 billion global pharmaceutical business.  He also served as President of Global Business, where he directed all worldwide commercial operations, President of Americas and Global Business, President, North America Operations, President of Wyeth-Ayerst, as well as Vice President of Healthcare Systems and Vice President of Marketing and Sales Operations.  He retired from Wyeth in 2009.  Since his retirement, Mr. Mahady served as Chairman of Lumara Health (formerly KV Pharmaceuticals) and a member of the boards of directors of Albemarle, EKR Therapeutics and Strongbridge Biopharma.  Mr. Mahady received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and his M.B.A. in Pharmaceutical Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Bruce A. Peacock, age 64, has served as a member of our Board since September 2010.  He also serves as Chairman of the Board’s Audit Committee and is a member of the Compensation and the Nomination and Governance Committees.  Mr. Peacock brings to our Board extensive biotech and pharmaceutical experience, including financial expertise in debt, equity capital and alliance transactions.  He also has significant experience in drug development, having led the effort to gain regulatory approval for several drug candidates in the United States

7



and in other major markets worldwide.  Mr. Peacock also has had responsibility for marketing, commercial and manufacturing operations.

Mr. Peacock has served as a Venture Partner with SV Life Sciences Advisers LLC since 2006.  From August 2013 to September 2104, Mr. Peacock served as Chief Financial and Business Officer of Ophthotech Corporation, having served as Chief Business Officer since September 2010.  Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Alba Therapeutics; Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Little Clinic, a medical care services company; President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Adolor Corporation, a publicly-held biotechnology company; President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Orthovita Inc., a publicly-held orthopaedic biomaterials company; Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Cephalon Inc.; and Chief Financial Officer of Centocor Inc.  Mr. Peacock serves as Co-Chairman of the Board of Alba Therapeutics and as a member of the boards of directors of the following publicly held biopharmaceutical companies: since March 2015, AGTC Genetic Technologies Corporation; since September 2014, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and since July 2014, Ocular Therapeutix.  Since 2012, Mr. Peacock has served as a member of the board of directors of Invisible Sentinel, Inc. and, since 2015, PanOptica, Inc., both privately-owned companies.  Mr. Peacock earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Villanova University and is a certified public accountant.

Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D., age 82, has served as a member of our Board since 1998.  He also serves as Chairman of the Board’s Nomination and Governance Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee.  Dr. Rosenthale brings to our Board more than 50 years of management and executive experience in the pharmaceutical industry.  In addition, since 1998, he has served as a member of the board of directors of nine pharmaceutical companies, which provides him a broad perspective of the customs, practices and strategic priorities of pharmaceutical companies in today’s challenging competitive and financial markets.

Prior to his retirement in 1999, Dr. Rosenthale served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Allergan Ligand Retinoid Therapeutics, Inc., having joined as Vice President in 1993.  Previously, over a period of 16 years, Dr. Rosenthale served in a variety of executive positions at Johnson & Johnson, including Vice President, Drug Discovery Worldwide, at R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, and director of the divisions of pharmacology and biological research and Executive Director of Drug Discovery Research at Ortho Pharmaceutical.  Dr. Rosenthale also served in various positions with Wyeth Laboratories.  Dr. Rosenthale has served on the boards of directors of NuRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2008-2010) and Radiant Pharmaceuticals Corp. (formerly AMDL, Inc., 2000-2006).  Dr. Rosenthale received a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Hahnemann Medical College, a M.Sc. in pharmacology from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science and a B.Sc. in pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science.

Required Vote and Recommendation

The directors are elected by a plurality of the outstanding shares of our CommonReverse Stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, excluding broker non-votes.  See “How are stockholder votes counted?” at page 3.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” EACH OF THE NOMINEES SET FORTH ABOVE.


BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD

Meetings of the BoardSplit

 

The Board held four regular meetingsbelieves that effecting the Reverse Split would increase the price of our Common Stock which would, among other things, help us to:

Meet certain continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market;

Appeal to a broader range of investors to generate greater interest in the Company; and

Improve perception of our Common Stock as an investment security.

Meet Listing Requirements – Our Common Stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol WINT. On January 22, 2024, we received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), notifying us that, for the last 31 consecutive business days, the closing bid price for our Common Stock was below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (“Rule 5550(a)(2)”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were given 180 calendar days, or until July 22, 2024, to regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2). If at any time before July 22, 2024, the bid price of our Common Stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, Nasdaq will provide written confirmation to the Company that the Company has achieved compliance. If we do not regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) by July 22, 2024, we may be afforded a second 180 calendar day period to regain compliance and 17 special meetings duringintend to request such additional compliance period. Although we believe that implementing the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.  OfReverse Split is likely to lead to compliance with the nominees, all directors attended eitherRule 5550(a)(2), there can be no assurance that the closing share price after implementation of the Reverse Split will succeed in personrestoring such compliance.

8

Appeal to a Broader Range of Investors to Generate Greater Investor Interest in the Company – An increase in our stock price may make our Common Stock more attractive to investors. Brokerage firms may be reluctant to recommend lower-priced securities to their clients. Many institutional investors have policies prohibiting them from holding lower-priced stocks in their portfolios, which reduces the number of potential purchasers of our Common Stock. Investment funds may also be reluctant to invest in lower-priced stocks. Investors may also be dissuaded from purchasing lower-priced stocks because the brokerage commissions, as a percentage of the total transaction, tend to be higher for such stocks. Moreover, the analysts at many brokerage firms do not monitor the trading activity or otherwise provide coverage of lower-priced stocks. Giving the Board the ability to effect the Reverse Split, and thereby increase the price of our Common Stock, would give the Board the ability to address these issues if it is deemed necessary.

Improve the Perception of Our Common Stock as an Investment Security – The Board believes that effecting the Reverse Split is one potential means of increasing the share price of our Common Stock to improve the perception of our Common Stock as a viable investment security. Lower-priced stocks have a perception in the investment community as being risky and speculative, which may negatively impact not only the price of our Common Stock, but also our market liquidity.

Certain Risks Associated with the Reverse Split

The Reverse Split May Not Increase the Price of our Common Stock over the Long-Term – As noted above, the principal purpose of the Reverse Split is to increase the trading price of our Common Stock to meet the minimum stock price standards of Nasdaq. However, the effect of the Reverse Split on the market price of our Common Stock cannot be predicted with any certainty, and we cannot assure you that the Reverse Split will accomplish this objective for any meaningful period of time, or at all. While we expect that the reduction in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock will proportionally increase the market price of our Common Stock, we cannot assure you that the Reverse Split will increase the market price of our Common Stock by telephone at least 75%a multiple of the Reverse Split ratio, or result in any permanent or sustained increase in the market price of our Common Stock. The market price of our Common Stock may be affected by other factors which may be unrelated to the number of shares outstanding, including the Company’s business and financial performance, general market conditions, and prospects for future success.

The Reverse Split May Decrease the Liquidity of our Common Stock – The Board believes that the Reverse Split may result in an increase in the market price of our Common Stock, which could lead to increased interest in our Common Stock and possibly promote greater liquidity for our stockholders. However, the Reverse Split will also reduce the total number of meetingsoutstanding shares of Common Stock, which may lead to reduced trading and a smaller number of market makers for our Common Stock, particularly if the price per share of our Common Stock does not increase as a result of the Board and the total number of meetings of Standing Committees of the Board on which they each served during 2015.

8



We do not have a formal policy regarding director attendance at the 2016 Annual Meeting; however, it is expected that, absent good reason, our directors will be in attendance.  All of our directors attended the 2015 Annual Meeting.Reverse Split.

 

Director IndependenceThe Reverse Split May Result in Some Stockholders Owning Odd Lots That May Be More Difficult to Sell or Require Greater Transaction Costs per Share to Sell – If the Reverse Split is implemented, it will increase the number of stockholders who own “odd lots” of less than 100 shares of Common Stock. A purchase or sale of less than 100 shares of Common Stock (an “odd lot” transaction) may result in incrementally higher trading costs through certain brokers, particularly “full service” brokers.

 

The Board presently consistsTherefore, those stockholders who own fewer than 100 shares of five members, of whom Mr. Fraser also serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer.  Presently, Messrs. Leone, Mahady and Peacock and Dr. Rosenthale are “independent” directors withinCommon Stock following the meaning of the rules of the SEC and the Nasdaq listing requirements.  Each director who serves on at least two standing committees, including the Compensation Committee, the Nomination and Governance Committee and the Audit Committee, is consideredReverse Split may be required to be “independent” within the meaning of the SEC rules and the Nasdaq listing requirements.pay higher transaction costs if they sell their Common Stock.

 

Board Leadership StructureThe Reverse Split May Lead to a Decrease in our Overall Market Capitalization – The Reverse Split may be viewed negatively by the market and, consequently, could lead to a decrease in our overall market capitalization. If the per share market price of our Common Stock does not increase in proportion to the Reverse Split ratio, or following such increase does not maintain or exceed such price, then the value of our Company, as measured by our market capitalization, will be reduced. Additionally, any reduction in our market capitalization may be magnified as a result of the smaller number of total shares of Common Stock outstanding following the Reverse Split.

 

Our Board is comprisedDetermination of our President and Chief Executive Officer, who is not independent, and four independent directors.  Presently, the Board has the following standing committees: Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nomination and Governance Committee.  Each of these committees is comprised solely of independent directors.  In accordance with Nasdaq requirements, our Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risk and updates the full Board periodically.Reverse Stock Split Ratio

 

Our Board has discussed the leadership structure of the Board and believes that our leadership structure and composition is not uncommon among biotech companies of comparable size and market capitalization.  The Board believes that its leadership structure has been effective.stockholder approval of a range of potential Reverse Split ratios is in the best interests of our Company and stockholders because it is not possible to predict market conditions at the time the Reverse Split would be implemented. We believe that our current structure, under which all committee members are independent directors, isa range of Reverse Split ratios provides us with the right formmost flexibility to achieve the desired results of leadership for us at this time.  Ourthe Reverse Split. The Reverse Split ratio to be selected by our Board will continue to evaluate the leadership structure of thebe not more than 1-for-25, provided, our Board will not select a reverse split ratio that will result in light of changing circumstances and may make changes at such times as it deems appropriate.  The individual members of the Board contribute to its deliberations both in Board and committee meetings, a broad range of experience in the key areas in which we engage, including financial management, investor relations, regulatory strategy, research and development, commercial planning, and manufacturing operations.  With this breadth and depth of experience, we believe that our directors provide effective oversight of the risk management function, especially through the work of the Audit Committee.us having fewer than 500,000 publicly held shares under Nasdaq continued listing standards.

 

Committees of the Board

Audit Committee

9

 

The Audit Committeeselection of the specific Reverse Split ratio will be based on several factors, including, among other things:

our ability to maintain the listing of our Common Stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market;

the per share price of our Common Stock immediately prior to the Reverse Split;

the expected stability of the per share price of our Common Stock following the Reverse Split;

the likelihood that the Reverse Split will result in increased marketability and liquidity of our Common Stock;

prevailing market conditions;

general economic conditions in our industry; and

our market capitalization before and after the Reverse Split.

We believe that granting our Board the authority to set the ratio for the Reverse Split is essential because it allows us to take these factors into consideration and to react to changing market conditions. If the Board chooses to implement the Reverse Split, the Company will make a standing committeepublic announcement regarding the determination of the Reverse Split ratio.

Effects of the Reverse Split

If our stockholders approve the proposed Reverse Split and the Board elects to effect the Reverse Split, our issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock, for example, would decrease at a rate of approximately one (1) share of Common Stock for every five (5) shares of Common Stock currently outstanding in a 1-for-5 split. The Reverse Split would be effected simultaneously for all of our BoardCommon Stock, and currently consiststhe exchange ratio would be the same for all shares of Bruce A. Peacock (Chairman), Joseph M. MahadyCommon Stock. The Reverse Split would affect all of our stockholders uniformly and Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D.would not affect any stockholders’ percentage ownership interests in the Company. The primary purposeReverse Split would not affect the relative voting or other rights that accompany the shares of our Common Stock. Common Stock issued pursuant to the Audit Committee is to assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities relating toReverse Split would remain fully paid and non-assessable. The Reverse Split would not affect our accounting, reporting and financial practices, and our compliance with the all related legal and regulatory requirements, including oversight of:

·                  the maintenance by management of the reliability and integrity of the Company’s accounting policies, financialsecurities law reporting and disclosure practices,obligations, and tax compliance;

·                  the establishment and maintenance by management of processes to assure that an adequate system of internal control is functioning within the Company; and

·                  the establishment and maintenance by management of processes to assure compliance by the Company with all applicable laws, regulations and Company policy.

In addition, the Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things, the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the work of any registered public accounting firm engaged (including resolution of disagreements between management and the auditor regarding financial reporting), reviewing the range and cost of audit and non-audit services performed by our independent accountants, reviewing the adequacy of our systems of internal control, and reviewing all related party transactions.  In discharging its role, the Audit Committee is empowered to investigate any matter brought to its attention and has full access to all of our books, records, facilities and personnel.  The Audit Committee also has the power to retain such legal, accounting and other advisors as it deems necessary to carry out its duties.  The Audit Committee met four times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

9



The Board has adopted a written Audit Committee Charter.  The composition and responsibilities of the Audit Committee and the attributes of its members, as reflected in its Charter, are intendedwe would continue to be in accordance with applicable listing requirements of Nasdaq and the rules of the SEC for corporate audit committees.  All members of our Audit Committee are “independent” as defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules and the financial sophistication requirements of the SEC rules and Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(c)(2)(A).

Report of the Audit Committee (1)

In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with management the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015.  Management has the primary responsibility for the consolidated financial statements and the reporting process, including the systems of internal controls.  In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed with management the audited consolidated financial statements in the Company’s annual report, including a discussion of any significant changes in the selection or application of accounting principles, the reasonableness of significant judgments, and the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements.  In addition, the review and discussion with management addressed management’s assessment assubject to the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financialperiodic reporting and such other matters as are required to be discussed with the Audit Committee.  Pursuant to such dialogue, management prepared a report of its assessment of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting, identifying the framework used by management in assessing the effectiveness of such internal control.

The Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements with Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s independent auditors, who are responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of such statements with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.  This review included a discussion of the acceptability and quality of the accounting principles, the reasonableness of significant judgments and the clarity of disclosures in the financial statements and such other matters as are required to be discussed with the Audit Committee under generally accepted auditing standards, including 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, as currently in effect. In addition, the Audit Committee has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP its independence from management and the Company, has received from Ernst & Young LLP the written disclosures and the letter required by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board 3526 (Independence Discussions with Audit Committees), and has considered the compatibility of non-audit services with the auditors’ independence.

The Audit Committee discussed with Ernst & Young LLP the overall scope and plans for their audit, the results of its audit and reviews, its evaluation of the Company’s internal controls and the overall quality of the Company’s financial reporting.  The Audit Committee meetings with Ernst & Young LLP were held with and without management present.

In reliance on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors (and the Board of Directors has approved) that the audited consolidated financial statements be included for filing with the SEC in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.  The Audit Committee and the Board of Directors have also recommended the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.

Bruce A. Peacock, Chairman

Joseph M. Mahady

Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D.


(1)  The material in this report of the Audit Committee shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material,” or to be “filed” with the SEC (irrespective of any general incorporation language in any document filed with the SEC) or subject to Regulation 14Arequirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate this report by reference into a document filed with the SEC.

10



Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee of the Board is a standing committee and currently consists of Joseph M. Mahady (Chairman), John R. Leone and Bruce A. Peacock.  The Board has adopted a written Compensation Committee Charter.  The composition and responsibilities of the Compensation Committee, as reflected in its Charter, are intended to be in accordance with applicable rules of the SEC for corporate compensation committees and the listing requirements of Nasdaq.  All members of the Compensation Committee are “independent” as defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules.

The primary duties of the Compensation Committee include:

·                  review with management our compensation policies relating to executive and general compensation, including but not limited to cash bonus compensation, and equity and other incentive plans;

·                  review and discuss with management at least annually our corporate goals and objectives relating to compensation of executive officers and other senior officers;

·                  evaluate performance of the CEO and other executives and review the CEO’s recommendations of the other senior officers in light of our goals and objectives and, based on that evaluation, determine the compensation of the CEO and other executive officers;

·                  engage and meet with independent compensation consultants as it deems necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities;

·                  review and approve compensation arrangements for executive officers and other senior officers, including employment, severance and change in control agreements and any supplemental benefits;

·                  oversee key employee benefit programs, policies and plans relating to compensation and, where deemed appropriate, programs, policies and plans relating to our other employees;

·                  review, approve, and establish guidelines for the compensation of our directors; and

·                  review and discuss with management our annual report and proxy statement with respect to executive compensation matters.

The Compensation Committee has the full authority of the Board, in its place and stead, to discharge its obligations under the Compensation Committee Charter.  In its discretion, it may confer with, and consider the recommendations of, management in establishing compensation policies and in approving the amount of, and the form of compensation for executives.  The Compensation Committee may also form, and delegate its authority to, subcommittees or other committees of the Board and to management when deemed appropriate.  In addition, the Compensation Committee may retain special legal counsel, compensation or other consultants to advise it on compensation matters or as it deems appropriate.  The Compensation Committee holds meetings in conjunction with the regular meetings of the Board and has met separately and in informal executive session to ensure that our compensation policies are aligned with and support the goals of the business.  The Compensation Committee met formally four times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

Nomination and Governance Committee

The Nomination and Governance Committee currently consists of Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D. (Chairman), Bruce A. Peacock, and John R. Leone.  The Board has adopted a written Nomination and Governance Committee Charter.  The composition and responsibilities of the Nomination and Governance Committee, as reflected in its Charter, are intended to be in accordance with applicable rules of the SEC for corporate nominating committees and the listing requirements of Nasdaq.  All members of the Nomination and Governance Committee are “independent” as defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules.

The Nomination and Governance Committee has the authority to designate the nominees to stand for election as director at each annual meeting of the stockholders and to fill vacancies on the Board occurring between annual meetings.  Other duties of the Nomination and Governance Committee include:

·                  evaluate annually the composition and organization of the Board and its committees in light of applicable rules and regulations, including but not limited to the listing requirements of Nasdaq, and make recommendations to the Board;

11



·                  determine criteria for selection of members of the Board, the Chairman of the Board, and members of the committees, and ensure that our Board members as a group represent a reasonable balance of professional, business and financial expertise and personal backgrounds;

·                  evaluate and recommend to the Board a nominee to serve as Chairman of the Board, directors to serve on the committees of the Board and directors to serve as chairmen of such committees;

·                  review and evaluate annually the performance of individual Board members proposed for reelection and make recommendations to the Board regarding the appropriateness of each director’s standing for reelection, and, at such other times as are appropriate, review and evaluate the conduct of a particular Board member, and, if deemed necessary, recommend to the Board such action, including termination of membership, in accordance with any applicable code of conduct or ethics or any corporate governance principles or guidelines adopted by the Board, for cause or other reason;

·                  review, evaluate and approve all nominees for election to the Board, verify their qualifications, experience and fitness for service, assess their individual profiles against the mix of skills, strengths and expertise of current Board members, and determine their willingness to serve as a director;

·                  identify, evaluate and approve nominees for election to the Board upon the resignation, removal of directors from the Board or creation of other vacancies;

·                  identify, evaluate and approve a slate of nominees for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders;

·                  evaluate all nominees submitted by stockholders for election to the Board, determine if such submissions comply with our Amended and Restated By-Laws (“By-Laws”) and all applicable rules and regulations, and, if such candidates meet the criteria established by the Nomination and Governance Committee, in its sole discretion, approve such nominees for election at the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders; and

·                  evaluate all stockholder proposals submitted to us, determine if such submissions are in compliance with the By-Laws and all applicable rules and regulations, and recommend appropriate action on each proposal to the Board.

The Nomination and Governance Committee considers candidates for director nominees that may be identified by the committee, or proposed by directors, executive officers and stockholders (see page 28).  The Nomination and Governance Committee has in the past retained a leading global retained executive search firm to assist the Board in identifying and evaluating director candidates who could bring appropriate expertise to complement the skills of current members of the Board and provide guidance and market knowledge to our initiatives.  The committee continues to explore potential Board candidates, including those previously identified through a search firm as well as those that have been identified since by a member of the Board or management, or by third parties to members of the Board or management.  In addition, in late 2015, the Nomination and Governance Committee retained an executive search firm to assist in recruiting for us a new President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board.  Members of the committee met individually with several candidates, and held several conference calls to discuss their assessments.  Following a full assessment and background check, the committee proffered an offer to Mr. Fraser in January 2016.  Although the committee was active throughout 2015 and approved certain actions by unanimous consent, including approval of the slate of candidates to stand for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, it did not convene a formal meeting during the year.

The Nomination and Governance Committee seeks candidates for our Board who will complement the Board and provide it with diversity of expertise, experience and perspectives (functional, cultural and geographic).  In selecting nominees, the Nomination and Governance Committee assesses the independence, character, relevant expertise and experience of candidates and endeavors collectively to establish within the Board areas of core competencies, such as business judgment, management, accounting and finance, industry knowledge and leadership, strategic vision, and knowledge of domestic and international markets.  The Board also may seek nominees who are widely recognized as leaders in the fields of medicine or the biological sciences, with scientific and development (drug products and medical devices) expertise.  Additional important criteria include personal and professional ethics, integrity and values, as well as the willingness to devote sufficient time to prepare for, attend meetings, and participate effectively as a member of the Board.  Consideration is also given to whether the qualifications of a potential nominee complement and supplement the skills of existing members of the Board.

12



Availability of our Audit, Compensation and Nomination and Governance Committee Charters

A current copy of our Audit Committee Charter, Compensation Committee Charter, and the Nomination and Governance Committee Charter are available on our website at http://www.windtreetx.com.  Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto are not incorporated into this Proxy Statement.

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Each of our non-employee directors receives cash compensation for his services.  Directors who are also employees are not compensated separately for serving on the Board or any of its committees.  On June 10, 2014,  the Compensation Committee and Board approved cash compensation for non-employee directors as follows: (i) $8,750 per quarter for all directors other than the Chairman of the Board, and $15,000 per quarter for the Chairman of the Board; (ii) $3,750 per quarter for the director who served as Chairman of the Audit Committee; (iii) $2,500 per quarter for the director who served as Chairman of the Compensation Committee; (iv) $1,875 per quarter for the director who served as Chairman of the Nomination and Governance Committee; (v) $1,750 per quarter for each director who served as a non-Chairman member of the Audit Committee; (vi) $1,250 per quarter for each director who served as a non-Chairman member of the Compensation Committee; and (vii) $1,000 per quarter for each director who served as a non-Chairman member of the Nomination and Governance Committee.  In addition, in order to better align the interests of our Board with our stockholders, the Compensation Committee considers and recommends to the Board long-term equity compensation.  On August, 14, 2015, in addition to approving retainers for the following year in the amounts authorized under the June 10, 2014 resolutions, the Compensation Committee approved an award to each non-employee director of options to purchase our Common Stock and restricted stock units as set forth in the table below.  These awards, which were issued pursuant to our 2011 Plan, were approved after due consideration of the practices of other similarly situated biotechnology companies in providing equity compensation to their non-employee directors.  The compensation provided to our non-executive directors is comparable to other similarly situated companies assessed by the Board, including Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc., Bind Therapeutics, Inc., Fibrocell Science Inc., Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Medgenics Inc., Nivalis Therapeutics, Inc., Onconova Therapeutics, Inc., Tetralogic Pharmaceuticals Corp., and Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  The foregoing annual compensation amounts and equity awards will remain in effect until superseded.  The Compensation Committee plans to conduct a review of peer company director compensation practices periodically, including before considering changes to our director compensation policy and amounts in the future.

The following chart summarizes the cash and non-cash compensation paid to our non-employee directors during the year ended December 31, 2015.  To improve readability, the following columns have been removed from the table, as there is no reportable information with respect to these items: “Non-Equity Incentive Compensation” and “Change in Pension Value and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings.”

Name

 

Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash

 

Stock
Awards (1)

 

Option Awards
(2)

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John R. Leone

 

$

71,500

 

$

8,000

 

$

4,530

 

$

84,030

 

Joseph M. Mahady

 

49,500

 

8,000

 

4,530

 

62,030

 

Bruce A. Peacock

 

59,000

 

8,000

 

4,530

 

71,530

 

Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D.

 

49,500

 

8,000

 

4,530

 

62,030

 


(1) Represents the grant date fair value of the stock award, equivalent to the closing stock price on the grant date, computed in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718 “Stock Compensation” (ASC Topic 718).  On August 14, 2015, the Compensation Committee approved stock awards for each director of 1,191 restricted stock units.  All restricted stock units awarded in 2015 vest in full on the first year anniversary of the grant.

(2) Represents the grant date fair value of the stock options computed in accordance with ASC Topic 718.  The assumptions utilized are described in Note 11, “Stock Options and Stock-based Employee Compensation,” to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, which are included in the accompanying 2015 Annual Report to Stockholders.  The amounts reported in the table for stock-based compensation have not

13



been paid to, nor realized by, the director.  On August 14, 2015, the Compensation Committee approved grants for each director of options to purchase 1,071 shares with an exercise price of $6.72.  These options vest in full on the first year anniversary of the grant.  All options have a term of 10 years.amended.

 

In addition to the items includedchange in the foregoing chart, directorsnumber of shares of Common Stock outstanding, the Reverse Split would have the following effects:

Increase the Per Share Price of our Common Stock – By effectively condensing a number of pre-split shares into one share of Common Stock, the per share price of a post-split share is generally greater than the per share price of a pre-split share. The amount of the initial increase in per share price and the duration of such increase, however, is uncertain. The Board may utilize the Reverse Split as part of its plan to maintain the required minimum per share price of the Common Stock under the Nasdaq listing standards.

Increase in the Number of Shares of Common Stock Available for Future Issuance – By reducing the number of shares outstanding without reducing the number of shares of available but unissued Common Stock, the Reverse Split will increase the number of authorized but unissued shares. The Board believes the increase is appropriate for use to fund the future operations of the Company. Although the Company does not have any pending acquisitions for which shares are expected to be used, the Company may also are entitled to reimbursements for their travel, lodging and other expenses incurreduse authorized shares in connection with attendance at meetingsthe financing of the Board, Board committee meetings and related activities.

Pursuant to our charter documents, we indemnify our directors to the maximum extent permissible under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.  In addition, we have entered into indemnity agreements with our officers and directors that provide, among other things, that we will indemnify them under the circumstances and to the extent provided for therein, for expenses, damages, judgments, fines and settlements he or she may be required to pay in actions or proceedings to which he or she is or may be made a party by reason of his or her position as a director, officer, or other agent of ours, and otherwise to the fullest extent permitted under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and our Amended and Restated By-Laws (“By-Laws”). These agreements were updated and re-executed in January 2016.

PROPOSAL 2

RATIFICATION OF REGISTERED INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board, acting upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee, reappointed the firm of Ernst & Young LLP as our registered independent public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.

Although action by the stockholders in this matter is not required under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, the Board believes that it is appropriate to seek stockholder action regarding this appointment in light of the critical role played by independent auditors in maintaining the integrity of our financial controls and reporting.  If the stockholders fail to ratify the appointment, the Audit Committee and the Board will reconsider whether or not to retain that firm.  Even if the appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee may engage different independent auditors at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in our best interests and those of our stockholders.

Audit, Audit Related, Tax and Other Accountant Feesfuture acquisitions.

 

The following table presents fees for professional audit services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, fees for the review of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q during these periods and fees for other services rendered by Ernst & Young LLP during those periods:

Fee Category:

 

Fiscal 2015

 

% of Total

 

Fiscal 2014

 

% of Total

 

Audit Fees

 

$

375,000

 

77

%

$

386,000

 

71

%

Audit-Related Fees

 

75,000

 

15

%

115,000

 

21

%

Tax Fees

 

40,000

 

8

%

40,000

 

7

%

Total Fees

 

$

490,000

 

100

%

$

541,000

 

100

%

Audit Fees are fees that we paidcontains approximate information relating to Ernst & Young LLP for: the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements and the review of the consolidated financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Audit-Related Fees are fees for services related to registration statements and other offering memoranda and accounting consultation.

Tax Fees consisted of tax compliance/preparation and other tax services.  No portion of these Tax Fees is related to financial information or operational system design or implementation services.

14



The Audit Committee has considered whether the provision of all other services by Ernst & Young LLP is compatible with maintaining the independence of Ernst & Young LLP and has concluded that Ernst & Young LLP is independent.

Pre-Approval Policies

The Audit Committee pre-approves specified audit and non-audit services to be provided by our independent auditors prior to the engagement of our independent auditors.  With respect to other audit and non-audit services, the Chairman of the Audit Committee has the authority to approve any additional audit services and permissible non-audit services, provided the Chairman informs the Audit Committee of such approval at its next regularly scheduled meeting.  Our Chief Financial Officer monitors the performance of all services rendered by our independent auditors, determines whether such services are within the list of pre-approved services and informs the Audit Committee on a timely basis of any such services.

On an ongoing basis, our Chief Financial Officer, together with our independent auditor, is responsible to submit to the Audit Committee all requests for approval of services that require a specific pre-approval.  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, management reports to the Audit Committee the actual spending for such projects and services compared to the approved amounts.  The Audit Committee may delegate the ability to pre-approve audit and permitted non-audit services to a sub-committee of the Audit Committee, provided that any such pre-approvals are reported at the next Audit Committee meeting.

Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP are expected to be available at the meeting to respond to appropriate questions and will be given the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so.

Required Vote and Recommendation

The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our Common Stock, present in person or represented by proxy and votingbased on the proposal at the Annual Meeting will be required to approve this Proposal 2.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” PROPOSAL 2.


PROPOSAL 3

PROPOSAL TO AMEND OUR CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED SHARES OF COMMON STOCK

TO 60 MILLION SHARES

share information as of February 1, 2024. The Board, subject to approval of our stockholders, has authorized an amendment (the “Share Amendment”) to our Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock availablefollowing table is for issuance from 36 million to 60 million.  The additional Common Stock to be authorized by adoption of the Share Amendment would have rights identical to our currently outstanding shares of Common Stock.  The number of authorized shares of our preferred stock (“Preferred Stock”) will not be affected by the Share Amendment.illustrative purposes only.  The number of shares of our common stock may increase prior to us effecting the Reverse Split. Our Board will not select a reverse split ratio that will result in us having fewer than 500,000 publicly held shares under Nasdaq continued listing standards.

  

Current

  

After the

Reverse Split

if the

Minimum
1:5 Ratio is

Selected

  

After the

Reverse Split

if the

Maximum
1:25 Ratio is

Selected

 

Authorized common stock

  

120,000,000

   

120,000,000

   

120,000,000

 
             

Common stock issued and outstanding

  

8,501,864

   

1,700,373

   

340,075

 
             

Warrants to purchase common stock outstanding

  

4,671,783

   

934,357

   

186,872

 
             

Common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, and settlement of restricted stock units

  

424,693

   

84,939

   16,988 
             

Common stock reserved for issuance for future grants under 2011 and 2020 equity incentive plans

  

338,477

   

67,696

   

13,540

 
             

Treasury stock issued

  

1

   

1

   

1

 
             

Common stock authorized but unissued and unreserved/unallocated

  

106,063,182

   

117,212,634

   

119,442,524

 
             

Authorized Preferred Stock

  

5,000,000

   

5,000,000

   

5,000,000

 

10

Although the Reverse Split would not have any dilutive effect on our stockholders, the Reverse Split without a reduction in the number of shares authorized Preferred Stock willfor issuance would reduce the proportion of shares owned by our stockholders relative to the number of shares authorized for issuance, giving the Board an effective increase in the authorized shares available for issuance, in its discretion. The Board from time to time may deem it to be maintained at five million.in the best interests of the Company to enter into transactions and other ventures that may include the issuance of shares of our Common Stock. If the Board authorizes the issuance of additional shares subsequent to the Reverse Split, the dilution to the ownership interest of our existing stockholders may be greater than would occur had the Reverse Split not been effected.

 

Require Adjustment to Currently Outstanding Securities Exercisable or Convertible into Shares of our Common Stock – The Board has adopted, declared advisable and directed to be submitted toReverse Split would effect a reduction in the stockholders the proposed Share Amendment to amend the first paragraph of paragraph A. of Article FOURTH thereof to read in its entirety as follows:

A. Authorization.

The total number of shares of all classesCommon Stock issuable upon the exercise or conversion of our outstanding stock whichoptions, settlement of restricted stock units and exercise of our outstanding warrants in proportion to the Corporation shall have authorityreverse stock split ratio. The exercise price of outstanding options and warrants would increase, likewise in proportion to issuethe reverse stock split ratio.

Require Adjustment to the Number of Shares of Common Stock Available for Future Issuance Under our 2011 and 2020 equity incentive plans – In connection with any reverse stock split, the Board would also make a corresponding reduction in the number of shares available for future issuance under the foregoing plan so as to avoid the effect of increasing the number of authorized but unissued shares available for future issuance under such plans.

Procedure for Effecting Reverse Stock Split

If the Reverse Split is 65,000,000, consistingapproved by our stockholders, the Board, in its sole discretion, would determine whether to implement the Reverse Split, taking into consideration the factors discussed above, and, if implemented, determine the ratio of 60,000,000the Reverse Split. We would then file a Certificate of Amendment amending the Charter with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The form of the Certificate of Amendment is attached to this Proxy Statement as Appendix A and is considered a part of this Proxy Statement. Upon the filing of the Certificate of Amendment, without any further action on our part or our stockholders, the issued shares of Common Stock held by stockholders of record as of the effective date of the Reverse Split would be converted into a lesser number of shares of Common Stock calculated in accordance with the Reverse Split ratio of any whole number between 1-for-5 and 1-for-25.

 

15Effect on Beneficial Holders (i.e., Stockholders Who Hold in Street Name)



 

par value $.001 per share (the “Common Stock”),If the proposed Reverse Split is approved and 5,000,000effected, we intend to treat Common Stock held by stockholders in “street name,” through a bank, broker or other nominee, in the same manner as stockholders whose shares are registered in their own names. Banks, brokers or other nominees will be instructed to effect the Reverse Split for their customers holding Common Stock in “street name.” However, these banks, brokers or other nominees may have different procedures than registered stockholders for processing the Reverse Split. If you hold shares of preferredCommon Stock with a bank, broker or other nominee and have any questions in this regard, you are encouraged to contact your bank, broker or other nominee.

Effect on Registered Book-Entry Holders (i.e., Stockholders That are Registered on the Transfer Agents Books and Records but do not Hold Certificates)

All of our registered holders of Common Stock hold their shares electronically in book-entry form with our transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer and Trust Company. These stockholders do not have stock par value $.001 percertificates evidencing their ownership of Common Stock. They are, however, provided with a statement reflecting the number of shares registered in their accounts. If a stockholder holds registered shares in book-entry form with our transfer agent, no action needs to be taken to receive post-reverse stock split shares. If a stockholder is entitled to post-reverse stock split shares, a transaction statement will automatically be sent to the stockholder’s address of record indicating the number of shares of Common Stock held following the Reverse Split.

Fractional Shares

No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the Reverse Split. In lieu of any fractional shares, we will issue to stockholders of record who would otherwise hold a fractional share (the “Preferred Stock”).because the number of shares of Common Stock they hold of record before the Reverse Split is not evenly divisible by the Reverse Split ratio that number of shares of Common Stock as rounded up to the nearest whole share. No stockholders will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares. 

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Accounting Matters

 

The Share Amendmentpar value of our Common Stock would become effectiveremain unchanged at $0.001 per share, if the Reverse Split is effected.

The Company’s stockholders’ equity in its consolidated balance sheet would not change in total. However, the Company’s stated capital (i.e., $0.001 par value times the number of shares issued and outstanding), would be proportionately reduced based on the reduction in shares of Common Stock outstanding. Additional paid in capital would be increased by an equal amount, which would result in no overall change to the balance of stockholders’ equity.

Additionally, net income or loss per share for all periods would increase proportionately as a result of the Reverse Split since there would be a lower number of shares outstanding. We do not anticipate that any other material accounting consequences would arise as a result of the Reverse Split.

Potential Anti-Takeover Effect

Even though the proposed Reverse Split would result in an increased proportion of unissued authorized shares to issued shares, which could, under certain circumstances, have an anti-takeover effect (for example, by permitting issuances that would dilute the stock ownership of a person seeking to effect a change in the composition of the Board or contemplating a tender offer or other transaction for the combination of us with another company), the Reverse Split is not being proposed in response to any effort of which we are aware to accumulate shares of our Common Stock or obtain control of us, nor is it part of a plan by management to recommend a series of similar amendments to the Board and our stockholders.

No Appraisal Rights

Our stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rights with respect to the Reverse Split, and we will not independently provide stockholders with any such right.

Federal Income Tax Consequences of a Reverse Stock Split

The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of the reverse stock split to the Company and to stockholders that hold shares of Common Stock as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This discussion is based upon its approvalprovisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code, and U.S. administrative rulings and court decisions, all as in effect on the date hereof and all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, and differing interpretations. Changes in these authorities may cause the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the reverse stock split to vary substantially from the consequences summarized below.

This summary does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to stockholders in light of their particular circumstances or to stockholders who may be subject to special tax treatment under the Code, including, without limitation, dealers in securities, commodities or foreign currency, persons who are treated as non-U.S. persons for U.S. federal income tax purposes, certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States, insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations, banks, financial institutions, small business investment companies, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, retirement plans, persons that are partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes, persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, traders that mark-to-market their securities, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, persons who hold their shares of Common Stock as part of a hedge, straddle, conversion or other risk reduction transaction, or who acquired their shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of compensatory stock options, the vesting of previously restricted shares of stock or otherwise as compensation. If a partnership or other entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds shares of Common Stock, the tax treatment of a partner thereof will generally depend upon the status of the partner and upon the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner in a partnership holding shares of the Company’s Common Stock, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of the Reverse Split.

The Company has not sought and will not seek an opinion of counsel or a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), regarding the federal income tax consequences of the Reverse Split. The state and local tax consequences of the Reverse Split may vary as to each stockholder, depending on the jurisdiction in which such stockholder resides. This discussion should not be considered as tax or investment advice, and the tax consequences of the reverse stock split may not be the same for all stockholders. Stockholders should consult their own tax advisors to know their individual federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences.

Tax Consequences to the Company – We believe that the Reverse Split will constitute a reorganization under Section 368(a)(1)(E) of the Code. Accordingly, we should not recognize taxable income, gain or loss in connection with the Reverse Split. In addition, we do not expect the Reverse Split to affect our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards.

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Tax Consequences to Stockholders – Stockholders should not recognize any gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the Reverse Split. Each stockholder’s aggregate tax basis in the Common Stock received in the Reverse Split should equal the stockholder’s aggregate tax basis in the Common Stock exchanged in the Reverse Split. In addition, each stockholder’s holding period for the Common Stock it receives in the Reverse Split should include the stockholder’s holding period for the Common Stock exchanged in the Reverse Split.

Interests of Directors and Executive Officers

Our directors and executive officers have no substantial interests, directly or indirectly, in the matters set forth herein regarding the proposed Reverse Split except to the extent of their ownership of shares of our Common Stock.

Reservation of Right to Abandon Reverse Stock Split

At any time before July 31, 2024, we reserve the right to abandon the Reverse Split without further action by our stockholders andbefore the subsequenteffectiveness of the filing with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware of athe Certificate of Amendment to the Charter, even if the authority to effect the Reverse Split has been approved by our Certificatestockholders at the Special Meeting. By voting in favor of Incorporation.the Reverse Split, you are expressly also authorizing the Board to delay, not to proceed with, and abandon, the Reverse Split if it should so decide, in its sole discretion, that such action is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.

THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER TO EFFECT A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT OF OUR OUTSTANDING SHARES OF COMMON STOCK BY A RATIO OF ANY WHOLE NUMBER BETWEEN 1-FOR-5 AND 1-FOR-25, THE IMPLEMENTATION AND TIMING OF WHICH SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD

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Purpose of the Share AmendmentITEM2: APPROVAL OF ADJOURNMENT OF THE SPECIAL MEETING TO THE EXTENT THERE ARE INSUFFICIENT VOTES AT THE SPECIAL MEETING TO APPROVE THE PRECEDING PROPOSAL OR TO ESTABLISH A QUORUM

 

We currently anticipate that our available cash resources will be sufficient to fund our activities through the first quarter of 2017 and the planned completion of the AEROSURF® phase 2b clinical trial.  However, if we are successful with the phase 2b program, we will not have sufficient cash resources to among other things, support our operations, fund our continuing AEROSURF development activities and be in a position to pursue potential strategic alliances and other strategic opportunities.  Of the 36 million shares of Common Stock authorized for issuance under our Certificate of Incorporation, as of March 31, 2016, there are approximately 19 million shares either issued and outstanding or reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans, our 401(k) benefit plan, or upon exercise of outstanding warrants, and approximately 17 million shares available for issuance.  Based on the closing market price per share on May 11, 2016 ($2.16), under current market conditions, we expect that we might be able raise $15-$20 million from an offering of the remaining shares, which our Board believes would not be sufficient to fund our activities beyond 2017 and would cause us to limit or slow the pace of our development activities, including, potentially, preparatory work for a potential AEROSURF phase 3 clinical trial, as well as efforts to identify and pursue potential strategic transactions and other opportunities.

Since our Board believes that it is prudent to maintain a sufficient level of available capital stock to meet our foreseeable obligations and to have flexibility to respond to potential strategic opportunities, it has directed that we submit Proposal 3 to our stockholders for approval to increase the number of authorized shares of Common Stock from 36 million to 60 million.

If we are successful with our AEROSURF phase 2b clinical trial, we will need additional capital to support our operations and continue to advance our AEROSURF development activities to a potential phase 3 clinical program.  Although there can be no assurance, such activities could include engaging with the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities with respect to our regulatory strategy; development of a clinical site plan for North America, Europe and South America; arranging for the manufacture of our lyophilized KL4 surfactant; completing the development and manufacture of a sufficient number of our next-generation aerosol delivery systems (ADS) for use by clinical sites; implementing training and processes for site logistics, distribution, and supply chain; and retaining and defining the roles of clinical research organizations (CROs).  Our Board believes that developing a high degree of readiness to initiate the next key phase of AEROSURF development will also better enable us to identify and enter into a potential strategic transaction.  For this reason, it will be very important to have an adequate capital structure to provide the working capital needed to proceed.  The Share Amendment is a critical element of our strategic and business planning.

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As we execute on our corporate strategies, we may be required to issue shares (i) in connection with any potential strategic alliance or other strategic transaction, (ii) to fund our continuing AEROSURF clinical program, including potentially to execute additional unplanned activities to advance our phase 2b clinical trial, if such activities should become necessary, and to prepare for the planned phase 3 clinical program following completion of our phase 2 program, (iii) to meet our working capital needs and other capital-raising activities, (iv) to continue to issue options pursuant to our equity incentive plans, and to issue shares upon exercise of options, as needed to attract and retain key management and professional personnel, (v) to continue issuing shares in connection with our company match under our 401(k) Plan, and (vi) for general and other strategic and corporate purposes.  The issuance of additional shares may take the form of (a) alliance, licensing or collaboration agreements involving the issuance of securities pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, (b) private financings that we may seek to effect pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, or (c) public offerings.  Although there are presently no confirmed plans, arrangements or understandings with respect to any specific transaction that would result in the issuance of any of the shares of our Common Stock that would become available for issuance if the Share Amendment were approved, we continue to seek to engage in discussions with potential strategic and financial partners.

Potential Effects of the Share Amendment

The Share Amendment will not alter the current number of issued shares or change the relative rights and limitations of the shares of Common Stock.  However, because our stockholders have no preemptive rights to purchase or subscribe for any of our unissued Common Stock, the issuance of additional shares of Common Stock will reduce the current stockholders’ percentage ownership interest in the total outstanding shares of Common Stock.  In the absence of a proportionate increase in our future earnings and book value, an increase inevent that the number of our outstanding shares of Common Stock would dilute our projected future earnings per share, if any, and book value per share of all our outstanding shares of the Common Stock.  If these factors were reflected in the price per share of our Common Stock, the potential realizable value of a stockholder’s investment could be adversely affected.  An issuance of additional shares could therefore have an effect on the potential realizable value of a stockholder’s investment.

The proposed increase in the authorized number of shares of Common Stock could have other effects on our stockholders, depending uponpresent virtually or represented by proxy at the exact natureSpecial Meeting and circumstancesvoting “FOR” the adoption of any actual issuances of authorized but unissued shares.  An increasethe foregoing proposal in our outstanding shares could potentially deter takeovers, including takeovers that our Board has determined are notthis Proxy Statement is insufficient to approve such proposal or in the best interestabsence of our stockholders, in that additional shares could be issued (within the limits imposed by applicable law) in one or more transactions that could make a change in control or takeover more difficult.  For example, we could issue additional shares so as to dilute the stock ownership or voting rights of persons seeking to obtain control without our agreement.  Similarly, the issuance of additional shares to certain persons allied with our management could have the effect of making it more difficult to remove our current management by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of persons seeking to cause such removal.

If Proposal 3 is not approved,quorum, we may be unablemove to enter into transactions that requireadjourn the issuance of Common Stock, which could include strategic alliances, collaboration arrangements and other strategic transactions, or undertake additional financings without first seeking stockholder approval, a process that would require a special meeting of stockholders, is time-consuming and expensive and could impair our ability to efficiently raise capital when needed, if at all.  If our stockholders do not approve Proposal 3 by the required vote, we will not have access to the additional authorized shares of Common Stock and will likely be forced to further limit our AEROSURF development activities,Special Meeting in particular with respect to achieving readiness for our planned phase 3 clinical trial, but potentially with respect to the entire development program.  If we do not have a sufficient number of authorized sharesorder to enable us to securesolicit additional capital, we may not have sufficient cash flow and liquidity to fund our further development activities, which could significantly limit our ability to continue our operations.  Ultimately, we may be forced to curtail all of our activities and potentially could be forced to cease operations.

No appraisal rightsUnder the Delaware General Corporation Law, stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rightsproxies in connection with the filing of an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation to implement the Share Amendment and we will not independently make those rights available to our stockholders.

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Required Vote and Recommendation

The affirmative vote of at least a majorityfavor of the outstanding sharesadoption of our Common Stock eligiblesuch proposal or in the absence of a quorum. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be required to approve the Share Amendment.  Since approval requires a majority of shares outstanding, an abstention will have the effect of a vote cast against the proposal.  It is likely that, for this Proposal to be approved, we will need the affirmative vote of a substantial number of stockholders attending the Annual Meeting in person or by proxy.Special Meeting.

 

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS VOTE

“FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE SHARE AMENDMENT.For the avoidance of doubt, any proxy authorizing the adjournment of the Special Meeting shall also authorize successive adjournments thereof, at any meeting so adjourned, to the extent necessary for us to solicit additional proxies in favor of the adoption of such proposal.

 

THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE APPROVAL OF ADJOURNMENT OF THE SPECIAL MEETING TO THE EXTENT THERE ARE INSUFFICIENT VOTES AT THE SPECIAL MEETING TO APPROVE THE PRECEDING PROPOSAL OR TO ESTABLISH A QUORUM

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PROPOSAL 4

OTHER INFORMATION

 

ADVISORY VOTE ON THE COMPENSATION

OF NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and Section 14A of the Securities Exchange Act, stockholders have an opportunity to cast an advisory, non-binding vote on the compensation program for our Named Executive Officers, as described in this Proxy Statement.  This proposal, commonly known as a “Say-on-Pay” proposal, is designed to give stockholders the opportunity to endorse or not endorse our executive compensation policies and amounts paid.OTHER MATTERS

 

The Compensation Committee believes that our executive compensation program has been implemented in a manner consistent with and achievesSpecial Meeting is only called for the goals of our executive compensation philosophy as described in this Proxy Statement.

Vote Not Required for Approval.

This vote on executive compensation is advisory in nature and is not binding on, and does not overrule, any decisions of the Board, nor will it create or imply any additional fiduciary duties on the Board or directors.  In the event that a majority of the votes cast is against the executive compensation program as described in this Proxy Statement, the Compensation Committee will consider the vote when evaluating decisions on executive compensationpurposes set forth in the coming year.  Any proxy received that does not include instructions with respect to this Proposal 4 will be voted in accordance with the Board’s recommendation.  Any votes that are withheld and any broker non-votes will not be included in determining the number of votes cast.

At the 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 11, 2013, the stockholders voted and indicated, on an advisory basis, a preference to hold a “Say-on-Pay” advisory vote annually.  In line with the stockholders’ wishes,  the Board thereafter determined to hold “Say-on-Pay” advisory votes annually.  Accordingly, the next “Say-on-Pay” stockholder advisory vote following the “Say-on-Pay” vote at this 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will occur at the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, assuming that theNotice. The Board does not modify its policy onknow of any other matters to be considered by the frequency of “Say-on-Pay” voting in the interim.  Under SEC rules, we must hold an advisory vote on the preferred timing for “Say-on-Pay” stockholder votes not less than once every six years.  Accordingly, the next advisory vote on the preferred timing for “Say-on-Pay” stockholder votes, whether every one, two or three years, will be held no later thanstockholders at the Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL, ON AN
ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AS
DISCLOSED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.

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OTHER BUSINESS

The Board is not aware of any matters which will be brought before the AnnualSpecial Meeting other than those specifically set forth herein.  If any other matter properly comes before the Annual Meeting, it is intended thatmatters described in the Notice. However, the enclosed proxy confers discretionary authority on the persons named in the proxy card with respect to matters that may properly come before the Special Meeting and acting underthat are not known to the enclosedBoard at the date this Proxy Statement was printed. It is the intention of the persons named in the proxy or their substitutes willcard to vote thereon in accordance with their best judgment.judgment on any such matter.

 

INTERESTREQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN THE MATTERS TO BE VOTED UPONSTOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR NEXT YEARS ANNUAL MEETING

 

None of the nominees for election as Director, our executive officers or any associate ofStockholders intending to present a nominee or executive officer has a substantial interest, direct or indirect, by security holdings or otherwise, in any matter included in the Proposalsproposal to be acted upon atconsidered for inclusion in our proxy statement for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders must comply with the Annual Meeting.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Information about our Executive Officers, including their names and positions with us, and their ages, work history and education, arerequirements set forth in our Form 10-K/A (Amendment No. 2), which is a part of our Annual Report to Stockholders being delivered to stockholders together with this proxy statement.  Effective February 1, 2016, the Board appointed Craig Fraser to serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board.  Effective January 31, 2016, John G. Cooper, our President and Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board, resigned his positions with our Company (see, “Executive Separation Agreements,” below).  The Board approves the election of officers annually and such officers serve until the meeting of the Board following the next annual meeting of stockholders and, if applicable, until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among directors or executive officers of the Company.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other things, oversight of executive compensation.  The Compensation Committee generally considers in its discussions data and other information prepared by management, including industry-specific information, compensation paid to named executive officers at selected peer companies, surveys of contract terms in publicly available named executive officer agreements, assessments of our compensation under published voting policies of large investors and guidelines of certain proxy advisory firms, input from legal counsel and other sources.  It also considers the recommendations of management in establishing executive compensation policies and the amount and form of compensation paid to executives.  Management also may develop metrics for consideration by the Compensation Committee, including, for example, the rate at which we have issued options over recent years, the allocation of equity awards among all of our employee groups, the weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options for each executive and other data indicative of the value of long-term executive compensation.  For each Named Executive Officer other than the CEO, the CEO usually makes a recommendation based on internal management reviews and discussions.  The Compensation Committee will conduct an independent review with respect to, and is solely responsible for, approving the CEO’s compensation.  In reaching its decisions, the Compensation Committee may consider any factor that it deems relevant and may in its discretion seek the advice of counsel or retain an independent compensation consultant.  The primary factors generally considered by the Compensation Committee in determining compensation adjustments are our success in achieving our objectives and assessment of peer company pay practices.

Compensation Philosophy and Other Considerations

We are filing this Proxy Statement under scaled disclosure requirements applicable to Smaller Reporting Companies under SEC regulations.  As such, we will not provide a full Compensation Discussion and Analysis over the

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signatures of the Compensation Committee.  Instead, we are providing this summary to explain our philosophy and provide a basis for assessing our executive compensation practices.

Our industry is very competitive.  ToBylaws. Stockholder proposals must be successful, it is important that we be resourceful and adaptable, attracting the best possible talent and rewarding our executives and all employees for performance that drives value for our stockholders.  To assure that we achieve our long-term goals, we also need to conserve resources and capital and maintain flexibility with respect to all aspects of our business.  Our Compensation Committee has sought to maintain flexibility in assessing compensation, including with respect to base-salary increases, cash bonuses, long-term equity-based compensation, or other aspects of executive compensation.  The Compensation Committee’s policy is conservative and intended to allow for adjustments in the face of unplanned events, cash flow constraints and new developments.  At the same time, we seek to provide competitive total compensation packages to attract, retain, and motivate qualified executives and ensure that they are rewarded for success.

Our Compensation Committee conducts an annual assessment of “peer” companies to gain insight into current levels of executive compensation in our industry, but does not benchmark or target an individual executive’s compensation to fall within any pre-specified percentile of peer-company executive compensation.  In assessing individual officers, the Compensation Committee will generally overweight the overall performance and progress in achieving the corporate goals over individual performance metrics.  The Compensation Committee also may consider such additional factors as an individual’s overall contribution, teamwork skills and leadership qualities.  To better manage our cash outflows, the Compensation Committee also may weigh more heavily non-cash components of compensation over cash components.

To assist the Compensation Committee with executive compensation reviews, the Compensation Committee retained Arnosti Consulting Inc. (“Arnosti Consulting”) in 2014 to provide advice and lend support to the annual executive compensation review, including for our Named Executive Officers.  Arnosti Consulting provided relevant market data and other information concerning executive compensation practices in our industry, as well as advice about which companies should be considered our “peer” companies for compensation purposes.  Arnosti Consulting developed data and met with the Compensation Committee in executive session in 2014 and has continued to provide advice to the Compensation Committee in 2015.  With the assistance of Arnosti Consulting, the Compensation Committee identified the following peer group against which we were compared to assess 2015 compensation: Ambit Biosciences, Amicus Therapeutics, Anika Therapeutics, ArQule Inc., Array BioPharma, Corcept Therapeutics, Inc., Curis Inc., DepoMed Inc., Durect Corp., Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc., Insmed Inc., Macrogenics Inc., OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Osiris Therapeutics Inc., Repros Therapeutics, Inc., Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Trevena Inc., Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Xenoport Inc.

Our Named Executive Officers are paid a base salary and are eligible for an annual bonus based on a target percent of base salary and an annual equity award under our 2011 Long-Term Equity Plan.  The annual bonuses and equity awards are discretionary and awarded by the Compensation Committee, if at all, in its sole discretion.

In the first quarter of 2015, to conserve our capital resources and focus on the development of aerosolized KL4 surfactant, beginning with AEROSURF, we ceased the commercialization of SURFAXIN®, our KL4 surfactant in liquid instillate form that was approved by the FDA in 2012.  We restructured our operations, reduced our staff by approximately 50%, wound down our commercial activities in an orderly fashion, and closed down our manufacturing operations in Totowa, New Jersey.  At the same time, we sought to advance AEROSURF through planned clinical programs.  These changes required our executives and employees to rapidly adjust to new priorities and with fewer resources.  To respond to changing circumstances, the Compensation Committee focused on renewed objectives and, with the intent of retaining and motivating employees during a period of disruption and uncertainty, determined to allow for payment of up to the full target bonus amounts based on the degree to which our individual employees met personal performance goals  and we successfully achieved our corporate objectives.

In approving the annual bonus amounts for our Named Executive Officers in 2015, the Compensation Committee assessed our success in achieving the following renewed corporate objectives:

·                  Restructured and refocused our company on the development of aerosolized KL4 surfactant, beginning with AEROSURF;

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·                  Raised approximately $40 million in additional capital through a July 2015 public offering;

·                  Advanced the development work under our Collaboration Agreement with Battelle Memorial Institute through the initial stage, established a fixed-price project plan for the next two planned stages and advanced the project into stage two;

·                  Designed and executed the initial AEROSURF phase 2a clinical trial in premature infants 29 to 34 week gestational age that was designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a single exposure of aerosolized KL4 surfactant administered in three escalating (15, 30 and 45 minutes) inhaled doses, with all key objectives met;

·                  Initiated and completed in the fourth quarter of 2015 a phase 2a clinical trial in premature infants 29 to 34 week gestational age that is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of aerosolized KL4 surfactant administered in escalating (30 and 45 minutes) inhaled doses, with potential repeat doses, with top-line results announced in November 2015;

·                  Designed and initiated in the fourth quarter of 2015 a phase 2a clinical trial in premature infants 26 to 28 week gestational age that is designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of aerosolized KL4 surfactant administered in two escalating (30 and 45 minutes) doses, with potential repeat dose, which trial was initiated with enrollment ongoing at year end;

·                  Designed and initiated in the fourth quarter of 2015 a phase 2b clinical trial with a primary purpose to demonstrate evidence of efficacy on an acceptable endpoint, identify the dose regimen(s) to be used in the planned phase 3 clinical program and provide an estimate of the treatment effect (magnitude of benefit), which was announced in December; and

·                  Advanced manufacturing development of our lyophilized KL4 surfactant technology transfer between facilities at our contract manufacturing organization (CMO).

With most objectives fully delivered and certain objectives well underway, the Compensation Committee focused almost exclusively on the corporate objectives and awarded the Named Executive Officers the amounts set forth in the Summary Compensation Table below.  In recognition of Mr. Cooper’s success in advancing our efforts forward and in securing additional capital, he was awarded a year-end cash bonus of $150,000.  Dr. Simonson received a bonus based on his leadership in our: (a) designing and executing the initial AEROSURF phase 2a clinical trial in premature infants 29-34 week gestational age designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a single exposure of aerosolized KL4 surfactant administered in three escalating (15, 30 and 45 minutes) inhaled doses; (b) initiating and completing a phase 2a clinical trial in premature infants 29 to 34 week gestational age designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of aerosolized KL4 surfactant administered in escalating (30 and 45 minutes) inhaled doses, with potential repeat doses; (c) initiating a phase 2a clinical trial in premature infants 26 to 28 week gestational age designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of aerosolized KL4 surfactant administered in two escalating (30 and 45 minutes) doses, with potential repeat dose; and (d) designing and initiating a phase 2b clinical trial with a primary purpose to demonstrate evidence of efficacy on an acceptable endpoint, identify the dose regimen(s) to be used in the planned phase 3 clinical program and provide an estimate of the treatment effect.  Mr. Tattory received a bonus based on his leadership role in (i) restructuring the $30 million debt with affiliates of Deerfield Management L.P., resulting a reduction in principal, adjustment of maturity dates, and the prepayment of interest payments with equity and (ii) the successful raise of approximately $40 million in additional capital through the July 2015 public offering to fund our activities through the first quarter of 2017.  Dr. Miller received a bonus calculated in accordance with his Employment Agreement.

To assist the Compensation Committee in assessing whether to grant awards to Named Executive Officers under our 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan, management developed metrics for its consideration, including the rate at which we have issued options over recent years, the allocation of equity awards among all of our employee groups, the weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options for each executive and other data reflective of the value of the elements of long-term executive compensation.  The Compensation Committee also assessed the rates at which peer companies used equity to compensate Named Executive Officers.  Given the then-current value of outstanding option awards, the exercise prices for which were largely significantly greater than current market value, the awards granted to Named Executive Officers in 2015, as reported on the Summary Compensation Table, were intended in part to begin to restore long-term equity values and align the interests of our Named Executive Officers with our stockholders.

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SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

The following table summarizes, for the years 2015 and 2014, the compensation of (1) the individual who was serving as our principal executive officer during 2015 and (2) the two most highly-compensated executive officers (other than the principal executive officer) who were serving as executive officers on December 31, 2015 ranked by their total compensation for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, to whom we collectively refer herein as our “Named Executive Officers.”

To improve readability, the following columns have been removed from the table as there is no reportable information with respect to these items: “Stock Award,” “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” and “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings.”

Name and Principal Position

 

Year

 

Salary
($)

 

Bonus
($)

 

Option
Award
($)(1)

 

All Other
Comp.
($)(2)

 

Total
($)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John G. Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President and Chief Executive

 

2015

 

$

400,000

 

$

150,000

 

$

308,805

 

$

18,001

 

$

876,806

 

Officer (3)

 

2014

 

400,000

 

 

206,410

 

17,500

 

623,910

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steven G. Simonson, M.D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Vice President and

 

2015

 

315,000

 

100,000

 

242,633

 

18,001

 

675,634

 

Chief Development Officer

 

2014

 

186,364

 

 

163,212

 

7,387

 

356,963

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John A. Tattory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Vice President,

 

2015

 

265,850

 

77,000

 

132,345

 

10,875

 

486,070

 

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

 

2014

 

253,495

 

 

185,769

 

15,600

 

454,864

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas F. Miller, Ph.D., MBA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Senior Vice President and

 

2015

 

447,590

 

30,684

 

 

3,374

 

481,648

 

Chief Operating Officer (3)

 

2014

 

325,000

 

 

123,846

 

17,500

 

466,346

 


(1)    Represents the grant date fair value of the stock options computed in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718 “Stock Compensation” (ASC Topic 718).  The assumptions that we utilized are described in Note 11, “Stock Options and Stock-based Employee Compensation,” to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, which are included in the 2015 Annual Report.  The amounts reported in this column have not been paid to, nor realized by, the Named Executive Officer.  The Compensation Committee approved grants to Mr. Cooper, Dr. Simonson, and Mr. Tattory on March 27, 2015 for 25,000, 19,643 and 10,714 shares, respectively, each with an exercise price of $16.38.  The Compensation Committee approved grants to Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tattory and Dr. Miller on March 6, 2014 for 7,143, 6,429 and 4,286 shares, respectively, each with an exercise price of $36.12.  Dr. Simonson received a grant on May 19, 2014 upon the commencement of his employment of an option to purchase 8,571 shares with an exercise price of $23.80.  All options vest in three equal annual installments beginning with the first year anniversary of the date of grant, except that Dr. Simonson’s initial option vested 17% when issued and thereafter in three equal installments on the first three anniversaries of the date of grant.  All options have a term of 10 years.

(2)    The reported amount reflects the Company match under the Company’s 401(k) Plan.  During 2015 and 2014, as applicable, the aggregate perquisites and other personal benefits afforded to each Named Executive Officer was less than $10,000, calculated as the incremental cost of providing such benefits to each Named Executive Officer, in accordance with SEC disclosure rules.  This amount does not include the cost of medical and health benefits, as such benefits are available to all of our employees.  See also, “— Retirement Benefits,” and “— Executive Employment Agreements.”

(3)    Mr. Cooper resigned his position effective January 31, 2016.  We terminated Dr. Miller’s employment agreement with us on April 17, 2015.

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Executive Employment Agreements

On March 26, 2013, the Compensation Committee approved a form of executive employment agreement (the “Executive Agreements”) for senior executive officers, including Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tattory, and Dr. Simonson, on substantially similar terms.  These agreements had an initial term expiring on March 31, 2015.  In December 2014, we entered into amendments to the Executive Agreements to eliminate automatic acceleration of outstanding equity awards upon a change in control and to extend the term of the agreements through March 31, 2017. The following describes the key terms of the Executive Agreements as in effect on December 31, 2015.

·                  The Executive Agreements were effective April 1, 2013 for Mr. Cooper, March 21, 2014 for Mr. Tattory and December 19, 2014 for Dr. Simonson.  Beginning on April 1, 2017, the Compensation Committee or an executive may determine not to renew an agreement and provide notice of non-renewal to the other party at least 90 days prior to the expiration date.  If such notice is not provided, the term of such agreement will automatically be extended for two additional years.  The Executive Agreements include a 12-month post-employment noncompetition agreement, an 18-month non-solicitation agreement, and provide for confidentiality and the assignment to us of all intellectual property.  The base salaries for Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tattory, and Dr. Simonson were originally $400,000, $260,000, and $300,000, respectively, and, following adjustments in March 2015, $400,000, $267,800, and $320,000, respectively, on December 31, 2015.  Effective February 1, 2016, Mr. Tattory’s base salary was increased to $290,000 and Dr. Simonson’s base salary was increased to $330,000.  Each executive has a target annual bonus (“Annual Bonus Amount”), which is a percent of base salary and is awarded at the discretion of the Compensation Committee.  The Annual Bonus Amount for Mr. Cooper was 50% and for each of Mr. Tattory, and Dr. Simonson, 30%, of such individual’s base salary.

·                  Upon termination by us without Cause or by the executive for Good Reason (in each case as defined in the Executive Agreements), in addition to any amounts or benefits that are due under any of our vested plans or other policy, and on the condition that the executive enters into a separation agreement containing a final and effective plenary release of claims in a form acceptable to us, each executive will be entitled to: (i) a pro rata bonus equal to a percentage of the executive’s Annual Bonus Amount determined by dividing the total actual bonuses paid to other contract executives for the year in which the termination occurs by the aggregate of such other contract executives’ total target bonuses for that year, and further prorated for the number of days the executive was employed in the year of termination, payable at the time that other contract executives are paid bonuses with respect to the year of termination; (ii) a severance amount equal to the sum of the executive’s base salary then in effect (determined without regard to any reduction constituting Good Reason) and the Annual Bonus Amount (multiplied by 1.5 for Mr. Cooper), payable in equal installments from the date of termination to the date that is 12 months (18 months for Mr. Cooper) after the date of termination (the “Severance Period”); and (iii) all vested stock options, restricted stock grants and other similar equity awards held by the executive (“Executive Equity Awards”) shall continue to be exercisable during the Severance Period.  For Mr. Cooper, his Executive Equity Awards shall continue to vest for a period of 18 months, and be exercisable for a period of 36 months, after the date of termination.  In addition, during the Severance Period, if the executive elects to continue medical benefits through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA),no later than February 14, 2024. If we will continue to pay our costs of the executive’s and his or her dependents’ benefits as in effect on the date of termination as such benefits are provided to active employees.  If COBRA coverage is unavailable, we will reimburse the executive an amount which, after taxes, is sufficient to purchase medical and dental coverage substantially equivalent to that which the executive and his dependents were receiving immediately prior to the date of termination and that is available to comparable active employees, reduced by the amount that would be paid by comparable active employees for such coverage under our plans, and provided further, that our obligation to provide benefits will cease or be reduced to the extent that a subsequent employer provides substantially similar coverages.  All of our obligations to an executive shall cease if at any time during the Severance Period the executive engages in a material breach of the Executive Agreement and fails to cure such breach within five business days after receipt from us of notice of such breach.

·                  Upon termination in connection with a Change of Control (as defined in the Executive Agreements), in

23



addition to the benefits that arise upon a Change of Control (discussed below) and any benefits that are due to an executive under any vested plans or other policies, the executive shall be entitled to: (i) a pro rata bonus equal to the executive’s Annual Bonus Amount and prorated for the number of days the executive was employed in the year of termination, payable in a lump sum within 10 days after the date of termination; (ii) a severance amount equal to 1.5 (2.0 for Mr. Cooper) times the sum of the executive’s base salary then in effect (determined without regard to any reduction constituting Good Reason) and the Annual Bonus Amount, payable in a lump sum within 10 days after the date of termination except in certain circumstances; and (iii) all Executive Equity Awards shall accelerate and become fully vested and any restrictions under restricted stock agreements will be lifted.  In addition, if the executive elects to continue medical benefits through COBRA, for a period of 18 months (24 months for Mr. Cooper), we will continue to pay our costs of the executive’s benefits as in effect on the date of termination as such benefits are provided to active employees.  If COBRA coverage is unavailable, we will reimburse the executive an amount which, after taxes, is sufficient to purchase coverage that is substantially equivalent to the coverage available to comparable active employees on the date of termination, reduced by the amount that would be paid by comparable active employees, provided that our obligation to provide benefits shall cease or be reduced to the extent that a subsequent employer provides substantially similar coverages.  All of our obligations to an executive shall cease if at any time during the Severance Period the executive engages in a material breach of the Executive Agreement and fails to cure such breach within five business days after receipt from us of notice of such breach.  If the foregoing payments shall be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code or any interest or penalties with respect to such excise tax, they will automatically be reduced to the extent and in the manner provided in the Executive Agreements.

·                  Upon a Change of Control and assuming the executive remains employed, (i) the term of the Executive Agreements (if shorter) shall be automatically extended until the second anniversary ofchange the date of the Change2024 Annual Meeting of Control; and (ii) during the remaining term of the Executive Agreements (as extended), and provided that an executive is employed on the last day of a fiscal year ending in that period, the executive will be entitled to an annual bonus at least equal to the Annual Bonus Amount, payable no laterStockholders by more than March 15 in the next succeeding fiscal year.

We do not currently have a policy providing for recovery of discretionary cash bonus payments paid to our executive officers if the performance achievements or other facts and circumstances that informed such payments were to be restated or found not to have been as believed.  However, as a public company subject to the provisions of Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, if we are required as a result of misconduct to restate our financial results due to material non-compliance with any financial reporting requirements under federal securities laws, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer may be legally required to reimburse us for any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation they receive.

Appointment of President and Chief Executive Officer

Effective on February 1, 2016, our Board appointed Craig Fraser, 51, to serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer.  The Board also appointed Mr. Fraser to serve as a member of the Board, effective immediately.  (Mr. Fraser’s background appears in Proposal 1, above.)  At the time of his appointments, Mr. Fraser was not a related person to us and there was no transaction or other arrangement involving us under which Mr. Fraser or any of his related persons has or will have a direct or indirect material interest.  He has no family relationship with any of our other directors or executive officers.

Effective February 1, 2016, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Fraser (the “Fraser Agreement”) that included terms and conditions that are substantially similar to the terms of the Executive Agreements described above, except as follows:

·                  The Fraser Agreement is effective until terminated.  Mr. Fraser’s initial base salary is $415,000.  He will be eligible for an annual bonus with a target of 50% of base salary (the “Target Bonus”), as may be awarded at the discretion of the Compensation Committee.  In connection with his hiring, Mr. Fraser was awarded an inducement grant in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) in the form of an option to purchase 204,863 shares of our Common Stock, representing 2.5% of our outstanding shares, at an exercise price of $2.33 per share, which was the closing price on February 2, 2016 and the price next determined after

24



approval of the grant.  These options will vest in three equal installments on the next three anniversary dates of the grant, provided that Mr. Fraser remains employed with us throughout the period.  The option has a term of 10 years.  Although issued outside the Company’s 2011 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the 2011 Plan), the option is subject to terms and conditions that are generally consistent with the 2011 Plan and the form of option agreement in effect thereunder.

·                  Upon termination by us without Cause or by Mr. Fraser for Good Reason (in each case, the definitions are substantially as set forth in the Executive Agreements), subject to the terms and limitations discussed above with respect to the other contract executives and determined on the same basis, Mr. Fraser will be entitled to the following benefits: (i) a pro-rated bonus; (ii) a severance amount payable over a Severance Period of 12 months; and (iii) all of his vested equity awards will continue to be exercisable for a period of 12 months after the date of termination.  In addition, if Mr. Fraser elects COBRA, he will be entitled to a continuation of benefits during his Severance Period on the same terms as outlined above for other contract executives.

·                  Upon termination in connection with a Change of Control, subject to the terms and limitations discussed above with respect to the other contract executives (other than Mr. Cooper), Mr. Fraser will be entitled to the following benefits: (i) a pro-rated bonus; (ii) a severance amount equal to 1.5 times the sum of his base salary then in effect (determined without regard to any reduction constituting Good Reason) and his Target Bonus; and (iii) all Executive Equity Awards shall accelerate and become fully vested and any restrictions under restricted stock agreements will be lifted.  The foregoing payment will be payable in a lump sum within 1030 days after the date of termination except in certain circumstances.  In addition, if Mr. Fraser elects COBRA, he will be entitled to a continuation of benefits for 18 months on the same terms as outlined above for other contract executives.

·                  Upon a Change of Control and assuming that Mr. Fraser remains employed with us, subject to the terms and limitations discussed above with respect to the other contract executives, he will be entitled to the same benefits as will be available to the other contract executives.

Executive Separation Agreements

John G. Cooper

Effective February 1, 2016, we and John G. Cooper, our then President and Chief Executive Officer, terminated his Employment Agreement dated April 1, 2013, as amended December 29, 2014.  Under the terms of his Employment Agreement, Mr. Cooper is entitled to receive the benefits outlined above under the caption “Executive Employment Agreements” with respect to benefits in connection with a termination without Cause.  In addition, Mr. Cooper agreed to cooperate in the transition of his duties and responsibilities as may be reasonably requested by the Company, and cooperate in other matters in which his cooperation may be reasonably requested for up to 10 hours per month during the Severance Period.  The Company has agreed, with certain exceptions, to pay Mr. Cooper an hourly rate of $300 per hour for his time incurred in excess of 10 hours per month during the Severance Period.

Thomas F. Miller

Effective April 17, 2015, we terminated the Employment Agreement of Thomas F. Miller.  Under the terms of his Employment Agreement, he became entitled to receive the benefits outlined above under the caption “Executive Employment Agreements,” with respect to benefits in connection with a termination without Cause.  Dr. Miller did not receive continuation of benefits under his employment agreement as such benefits were available from his subsequent employer.

25



Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End 2015

The following table shows the number of shares covered by exercisable and unexercisable options held by the Named Executive Officers on December 31, 2015.  To improve readability, the following columns have been removed from the table as there is no reportable information with respect to these items: “Option Awards — Equity Incentive Plan Awards: No. of Securities Underlying Unexercised Unearned Options,” “Stock Awards: Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested,” and “— Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested.”

 

 

Option Awards

 

Named
Executive
Officer

 

No. of Securities
Underlying
Unexercised Options
—Exercisable

 

No. of Securities
Underlying
Unexercised Options —
Unexercisable

 

Option
Exercise
Price ($)*

 

Option
Expiration
Date

 

John G. Cooper

 

238

 

 

 

1,472.10

 

1/3/16

 

 

 

1,190

 

 

 

472.50

 

5/17/16

 

 

 

952

 

 

 

516.60

 

12/15/16

 

 

 

762

 

 

 

686.70

 

6/21/17

 

 

 

714

 

 

 

548.10

 

12/11/17

 

 

 

635

 

 

 

254.10

 

12/12/18

 

 

 

1,270

 

 

 

405.30

 

12/12/18

 

 

 

17,857

 

 

 

25.62

 

10/7/21

 

 

 

9,286

 

 

 

37.94

 

5/4/22

 

 

 

16,667

(1)

8,333

(1)

33.04

 

3/26/23

 

 

 

2,381

(1)

4,762

(1)

36.12

 

3/6/24

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

(1)

16.38

 

3/27/25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steven G. Simonson, M.D.

 

3,810

(2)

4,761

(2)

23.80

 

5/19/24

 

 

 

 

 

19,643

(1)

16.38

 

3/27/25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John A. Tattory

 

357

 

 

 

378.00

 

1/28/18

 

 

 

238

 

 

 

405.30

 

9/26/18

 

 

 

95

 

 

 

254.10

 

12/12/18

 

 

 

5,357

 

 

 

25.62

 

10/7/21

 

 

 

2,857

 

 

 

37.94

 

5/4/22

 

 

 

3,811

(1)

1,904

(1)

33.04

 

3/26/23

 

 

 

2,144

(1)

4,285

(1)

36.12

 

3/6/24

 

 

 

 

 

10,714

(1)

16.38

 

3/27/25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas F. Miller (3)

 

167

 

 

 

1,472.10

 

1/3/16

 

 

 

333

 

 

 

294.00

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

72

 

 

 

417.90

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

476

 

 

 

516.60

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

381

 

 

 

686.70

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

524

 

 

 

548.10

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

238

 

 

 

254.10

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

476

 

 

 

405.30

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

14,285

 

 

 

25.62

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

4,762

 

 

 

37.94

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

9,525

 

 

 

33.04

 

4/17/16

 

 

 

1,429

 

 

 

36.12

 

4/17/16

 


*                 Adjusted where applicable to reflect the 1-for-15 reverse stock split effective December 28, 2010 and the 1-for-14 reverse stock split effective January 22, 2016.

(1)         These options vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on the first three anniversaries of the date of grant, and expire on the tenth anniversary of the date of grant.

26



(2)         These options vest and become exercisable as follows: 1,429 on the date of grant and thereafter the remaining options in three equal installments on the first three anniversaries of the date of grant, and expire on the tenth anniversary of the date of grant.

(3)         Under his employment agreement with us, Dr. Miller’s options continued to be exercisable until the earlier of the expiration of their term or the first anniversary of the date of termination of his employment with us on April 17, 2015.

Retirement Benefits

During 2015, none of our Named Executive Officers participated in any plan that provides for the payment of retirement benefits, or benefits that will be paid primarily following retirement, other than our 401(k) savings plan (“401(k) Plan”).  Under the 401(k) Plan, eligible employees (as defined in the 401(k) Plan) may elect to make pre-tax deferrals or Roth deferrals up to the maximum amount allowed by law (which was limited for this purpose in 2015 to $18,000).  The 401(k) Plan also permits (i) rollover contributions and (ii) catch up contributions by employees age 50 and over (which was limited for this purpose in 2015 to $6,000).  Under the 401(k), we may make matching contributions, which in 2015 equaled 75% of an employee’s deferred compensation.  We have made our quarterly match in the form of shares of our Common Stock determined by reference to the lower of (i) the average closing price of shares of our Common Stock on all trading days in the applicable quarter, or (ii) the closing price of our Common Stock on the last trading day of the quarter.

Participant contributions are fully vested when made.  Employer contributions in the form of shares generally vest in full over the first three years of service (as defined in the 401(k) Plan), with 34% vesting upon the anniversary of the first year of service, 33% vesting upon2023 Annual Meeting, stockholder proposals must be received a reasonable time before we begin to make available the anniversary ofproxy materials for the second year of service, and 33% vesting upon the anniversary of the third year of service; provided, that a participant may not dispose of any shares of our Common Stock representing the employer contribution until all shares are fully vested at the end of the third year of service.  The 401(k) Plan does not permit the acquisition or holding of employer securities, other than the shares of our Common Stock credited to participant accounts to satisfy the employer match.  The 401(k) Plan contains standard provisions covering breaks2024 Annual Meeting in service, payment of expenses out of plan assets, hardship distributions, and distributions upon termination of employment, including retirement.

The 401(k) Plan is intendedorder to be a qualified plan under the rules and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service.  We act as Plan Administrator, the trustee and custodian of plan assets is The Charles Schwab Trust Company and the third party administrator is Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group.  As Plan Administrator, and with the assistance of Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group, we determine the list of funds that will be made available to participants, who then direct the investment of their participant account balances among those funds.  In addition, participants may elect to place their entire plan assets (other than shares ofconsidered for inclusion in our Common Stock from the employer match that are not vested) in a self-directed brokerage account with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

There were no reportable transactions between us and any person that is a related party to us since the beginning of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2014 through December 31, 2015, and none are currently proposed.  Any proposed transaction between us and any related party that involves an amount in excess of the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year end for the last two completed fiscal yearsproxy statement. Proposals must be submittedsent via registered, certified, or express mail (or other means that allows the stockholder to and reviewed and approveddetermine when the proposal was received by the Audit Committee ofCorporate Secretary) to the Board.  The Audit Committee will make its determination based on the particular circumstances of the proposed transaction, including whether the proposed transaction is in our best interest and does not involve an expense in excess of that which would likely be incurred in an arms’ length transaction.  In reviewing such transactions, the Audit Committee refers to our written corporate policies related to conflicts of interest and related party transactions.

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), requires our directors, officers (including a person performing a principal policy-making function) and persons who beneficially own more

27



than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities (collectively, “Reporting Persons”) to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our Common Stock and other equity securities.  Reporting Persons are required by SEC regulations to furnish us with copies of all filings they make under Section 16(a) and we are required to identify those Reporting Persons who failed to make such filings timely.  Based solely on a review of the copies of any such filings made available to us and written representations from our officers and directors, we believe that all Reporting Persons complied with the filing requirements under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act during the year ended December 31, 2015.

STOCKHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS

Stockholders and other interested parties may send general communications, including stockholder proposals, to our Board, Chairman of the Board or any individual director, in the form of a letter to our principal executive offices as follows: c/o Corporate Secretary, Windtree Therapeutics, Inc., 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622.  All communications will be reviewed byPA 18976. Proposals must contain the Corporate Secretary and, unless otherwise indicated in such communication, submitted to the Board, Chairman or individual director, as appropriate.

STOCKHOLDER NOMINATIONS

The Nomination and Governance Committeeinformation required under our Bylaws, a copy of the Board will consider any candidate timely submitted by stockholders of record at the time of any such nomination in compliance with applicable SEC rules and our By-Laws.  If the 2017 Annual Meetingwhich is held within 30 days of the anniversary of the 2016 Annual Meeting, to be considered timely, any stockholder nomination must be in compliance with the procedure set forth in our By-Laws and received no earlier than December 24, 2016 and no later than January 23, 2017 and should be sent to the Nomination and Governance Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622.  The Nomination and Governance Committee determines, in its sole discretion, whether any such candidate qualifies for candidacy under the criteria described above and in the charter of the Nomination and Governance Committee.

Stockholders’ nominations for candidates for election at the 2017 Annual Meeting must be submitted in writingavailable upon request to our Corporate Secretary, and also must comply with the SEC’s regulations regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in Company-sponsored proxy materials.

Stockholders intending to bepresent a proposal or nominate a director for election at our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders without having the proposal or nomination included in proper form,our proxy statement must includecomply with the followingrequirements set forth in our Bylaws. Our Bylaws require, among other things, that our Corporate Secretary receive the proposal or nomination no earlier than the close of business on the 150th day, and no later than the close of business on the 120th day, prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s Annual Meeting. Accordingly, for our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our Corporate Secretary must receive the proposal or nomination no earlier than March 18, 2024 and no later than the close of business on April 17, 2024. The proposal or nomination must contain the information about the proposed candidate: (i) the candidate’s name, age, business address and residence address, (ii) the candidate’s principal occupation or employment, (iii) the class or series and number of shares of our capital stock owned beneficially or of recordrequired by the candidate, (iv)Bylaws, a representation thatcopy of which is available upon request to our Corporate Secretary. If the candidatestockholder does not have, nor will not have,meet the applicable deadlines or comply with the requirements of SEC Rule 14a-4, we may exercise discretionary voting authority under proxies we solicit to vote, in accordance with our best judgment, on any undisclosed voting commitments or other arrangements with respect to such candidate’s actions as a director, (v) any other information relating to the candidate or such stockholder that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of Directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and (vi) a written consent of the candidate to being named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected.proposal.

 

Stockholders’ nominations must include the following information about the nominating stockholder: (a) the nominating stockholder’s name and record address, (b) the class or series and number of shares of our capital stock owned beneficially or of record by the nominating stockholder, (c) a description of all arrangements, material relationships, or understandings between such stockholder and each proposed candidate and any other person or persons pursuant to which the nomination is to be made by such stockholder, (d) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the candidate, (e) any option, warrant, convertible security, stock appreciation right, or similar right with an exercise or conversion privilege or a settlement payment or mechanism at a price related to any class or series of shares of our capital stock or with a value derived in whole or in part from the value of any class or series of shares of our capital stock, whether or not such instrument or right shall be subject to settlement in the underlying class or series of our capital stock or otherwise (a “Derivative Instrument”) directly or indirectly owned beneficially by such stockholder and any other direct or indirect opportunity to profit or share in any profit derived from any increase or decrease in the value of shares of the Company, (f) any proxy, contract, arrangement, understanding, or relationship pursuant to which such stockholder has a right to vote any shares of our capital stock, (g) any short interest in any security of ours (for this purpose, the stockholder shall be deemed to have a short interest in a security if such stockholder directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has the opportunity to profitSTOCKHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD

 

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or share in any profit derived from any decrease in the value of the subject security), (h) any rights to dividends on the shares of our capital stock owned beneficially by such stockholder that are separated or separable from the underlying shares, (i) any proportionate interest in shares of our capital stock or Derivative Instruments held, directly or indirectly, by a general or limited partnership in which such stockholder is a general partner or, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns an interest in a general partner, (j) any performance-related fees (other than an asset-based fee) that such stockholder is entitled to based on any increase or decrease in the value of shares of our capital stock or Derivative Instruments, if any, as of the date of such notice, including without limitation any such interests held by members of such stockholder’s immediate family sharing the same household (which information shall be supplemented by such stockholderStockholders and beneficial owner, if any, not later than 10 days after the record date for the meeting to disclose such ownership as of the record date, and (k) any other information relating to such stockholder that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connectioninterested parties may communicate with solicitations of proxies for election of Directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.  From time to time, the Board may change the process through which stockholders may recommend candidates to the Nomination and Governance Committee.  Any changes to this process will be posted on our corporate website at http://www.windtreetx.com.

STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR NEXT YEAR’S ANNUAL MEETING

Proposals of stockholders intended for inclusion in the Proxy Statement to be furnished to all stockholders entitled to vote at our next annual meeting of stockholders must be submitted inby writing in compliance with applicable SEC rules and our By-Laws to the Corporate Secretary, at our principal executive offices, 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622.  If the 2017 Annual Meeting is held within 30 days of the anniversary of the 2016 Annual Meeting, such proposals must be in compliance with our By-laws and received by us no earlier than December 23, 2016 and no later than January 22, 2017 and should be sent to the Nomination and Governance Committee, c/o Corporate Secretary, 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622.  If the date of next year’s annual meeting is moved more than 30 days before or after the anniversary date of this year’s Annual Meeting, the deadline for inclusion of proposals in our proxy statement will instead be a reasonable time before we begin to print and mail our proxy materials.  In that event, we will issue a statement designating the date by which such proposals must be received.  To avoid controversy as to the date on which we receive a proposal, it is suggested that proponents submit their proposals by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.

To be in proper form, stockholders’ proposals must include a brief description of the proposal desired to be brought before the meeting and the reasons for bringing such proposal at the meeting, as well as the following information about the proposing stockholder: (a) the proposing stockholder’s name and record address, (b) the class or series and number of shares of our capital stock owned beneficially or of record by the proposing stockholder, (c) a description of all arrangements, material relationships, or understandings between such stockholder and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with the proposal by such proposing stockholder and any material interest of such proposing stockholder in such business, (d) a representation that such proposing stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to offer the proposal, and include the information set forth in items (e) through (k) of the information required with respect to stockholder nominations of candidates for election to the Board described above under the heading “Stockholder Nominations for Candidates for Director for Next Year’s Annual Meeting,” above.

HOUSEHOLDING OF PROXY MATERIALS

The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries (e.g., brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for proxy statements and annual reports with respect to two or more stockholders sharing the same address by delivering a single proxy statement 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 will be “householding” our proxy materials.  A single proxy statement may 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 it will be “householding” communications to your address, “householding” will continue until you are notified

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otherwise or until you notify your broker or us that you no longer wish to participate in “householding.”  If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in “householding” and would prefer to receive a separate proxy statement and annual report in the future, you may (1) if your shares are held in street name, notify your broker, or (2) if your shares are carried on the books of our transfer agent, (a) direct a written request to: Investor Relations, Windtree Therapeutics, Inc., 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622PA 18976. Communications intended for a specific director or (b) contact ourdirectors should be addressed to their attention to the Corporate Secretary at (215) 488-9300.  If you currently receive multiple copiesthe address provided above. Communications received from stockholders are forwarded directly to Board members as part of the proxy statement at your addressmaterials mailed in advance of the next scheduled Board meeting following receipt of the communications. The Board has authorized the Corporate Secretary, in his discretion, to forward communications on a more expedited basis if circumstances warrant or to exclude a communication if it is illegal, unduly hostile or threatening, or similarly inappropriate. Advertisements, solicitations for periodical or other subscriptions, and would like to request “householding” of theseother similar communications you should contact your broker.  In addition, for shares carried on the books of our transfer agent, wegenerally will promptly deliver, upon written or oral requestnot be forwarded to the address or telephone number above, a separate copy of the annual report and proxy statement to stockholders at a shared address to which a single copy of the documents was delivered.directors. 

 

EXPENSES AND SOLICITATION

The cost of solicitation of proxies will be borne by us.  Proxies will be solicited principally through the mail.  We have engaged Morrow & Co., LLC to assist in administration and solicitation of proxies for the annual meeting and expect to pay Morrow & Co., LLC a fee of approximately $8,500, plus reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.  The address of Morrow is 470 West Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902.  Further solicitation of proxies from some stockholders may be made by our directors, officers and regular employees personally, by telephone, telegraph or special letter.  In addition, we may request banks, brokers and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to solicit their customers whose shares of Common Stock are registered in nominee name.  We will reimburse such persons for their reasonable out-of-pocket costs.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-KAVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS

 

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, as2022, including the financial statements and financial statement schedules, has been filed with the SEC and provides additional information about us, which is incorporated by reference herein. It is available on the internet at https://ir.windtreetx.com/filings/sec-filings and is available in paper form (other than exhibits thereto) by first class mail or other equally prompt means to stockholdersbeneficial owners of our Common Stock, without charge, at http://www.sec.gov or at http://www.windtreetx.com, or upon written request addressed to the Corporate Secretary, Windtree Therapeutics, Inc., Attn.: Investor Relations, 2600 Kelly Road, Suite 100, Warrington, Pennsylvania 18976-3622.18976. In addition, it is available to beneficial and record holders of our Common Stock at https://www.cstproxy.com/windtreetx/sm2024.

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APPENDIX A

 

Forward-Looking Statements

To the extent that statements in this Proxy Statement are not strictly historical, including statements as to business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, future collaboration agreements, the success of our product development or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The forward-looking statements contained in this Proxy Statement are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made.  Such risks and others are further described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the most recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and any amendments thereto.  Any forward-looking statement in this Proxy Statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

*              *              *

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The prompt voting of your shares will ensure a quorum and save us the expense of further solicitation.  Your cooperation in giving this matter your immediate attention is greatly appreciated.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

/s/ Mary B. Templeton

Mary B. Templeton, Esq.

Corporate Secretary

Warrington, Pennsylvania

May 23, 2016

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FORM OF CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT TO

THEAMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

WINDTREE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

 

(Pursuant to SectionSections 228 and 242 of the

General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware)

The Company was originally incorporated on November 6, 1992, under the name “Ansan, Inc.” The Company changed its name on November 25, 1997, to Discovery Laboratories, Inc. The Company changed its name again on April 15, 2016, to Windtree Therapeutics, Inc.

This Certificate of Amendment (this “Certificate of Amendment”) to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted in accordance with Sections 228 and 242 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware)

Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the provisions of the GeneralDelaware (“Delaware Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “General Corporation Law”),

DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:

1.             That the name of this corporation is Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Corporation”), and that the Corporation was originally incorporated pursuant to the General Corporation Law on November 6, 1992 under the name Ansan, Inc.

2.             That thereafter, the Stockholders duly approved the following amendment to the Corporation’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as previously amended, and the amendmentamendments set forth below shall become effective upon the filing and effectiveness pursuant to the GeneralDelaware Corporation Law of this of Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation:Company:

 

The first paragraph of1.     Article FOURTHFour of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company is hereby amended and restated to read as follows:by adding the following paragraph at the end thereof:

 

The totalUpon the filing and effectiveness (the “ThirdEffective Time”) pursuant to the Delaware Corporation Law of this Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended, each                      share(s) of the Corporation’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Third Effective Time shall automatically be combined into one (1) validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable share of Common Stock without any further action by the Corporation or the holder thereof (the “ThirdReverse Stock Split”). No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the Third Reverse Stock Split. Each certificate that immediately prior to the Third Effective Time represented shares of Common Stock (“ThirdOld Certificates”), shall thereafter represent that number of shares of all classes of stockCommon Stock into which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 65,000,000, consisting of 60,000,000 shares of Common Stock par value $.001 perrepresented by the Third Old Certificate shall have been combined. Holders who otherwise would be entitled to receive fractional share (the “Common Stock”)interests of Common Stock upon the effectiveness of the Third Reverse Stock Split shall be entitled to receive a whole share of Common Stock in lieu of any fractional share created as a result of the Third Reverse Stock Split.”

2.     This Certificate of Amendment shall become effective on       , and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”).”2024 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time.

 

3.     Except as set forth in this Certificate of Amendment, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as previously amended, remains in full force and effect.

 

[Rest of Page Left Blank]


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. has caused this Certificate of Amendment has been executedto be signed by aits duly authorized officer of the Corporation on this     [   ]th day of          June, 2016., 2024.

 

WINDTREE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

By:

Name:

Craig E. Fraser

Title:

President and Chief Executive Officer

 



[Signature Page to Certificate of Amendment]

 

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE VOTE TODAY. Vote by Internet or Telephone - Q UICK EASY IMMEDI ATE - 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week or by Mail Your phone or Internet vote authorizes the named proxies to vote your shares in the same manner as if you marked, signed and returned your proxy card. Votes submitted electronically over the Internet or by telephone must be received by 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 20, 2016. INTERNET/MOBILE – www.cstproxyvote.com Use the Internet to vote your proxy. Have your proxy card available when you access the above website. Follow the prompts to vote your shares. PHONE – 1 (866) 894-0537 Use a touch-tone telephone to vote your proxy. Have your proxy card available when you call. Follow the voting instructions to vote your shares. MAIL – Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope provided. FOLD HERE • DO NOT SEPARATE • INSERT IN ENVELOPE PROVIDED Please mark your votes like this PROXY Proposal 1 To elect Directors to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal. Proposal 2 To ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR all Nominees listed below (except as marked to the contrary below) WITHHOLD AUTHORITY to vote for all nominees listed below Proposal 3 To amend our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, par value $.001 per share available for issuance by the Company from 36 million to 60 million. FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN NOMINEES: (01) John R. Leone (02) Craig Fraser (03) Joseph M. Mahady (04) Bruce A. Peacock (05) Marvin E. Rosenthale, Ph.D. Proposal 4 To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers. FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN (INSTRUCTION: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee, strike a line through that nominee’s name in the list above.) COMPANY ID: PROXY NUMBER: ACCOUNT NUMBER: Signature Signature Date , 2016. PLEASE SIGN THIS PROXY EXACTLY AS YOUR NAME OR NAMES APPEAR ON THE BOOKS OF THE COMPANY. JOINT OWNERS SHOULD EACH SIGN PERSONALLY. ATTORNEY, EXECUTOR, ADMINISTRATOR, TRUSTEE OR GUARDIAN MUST GIVE FULL TITLE AS SUCH. IF A CORPORATION OR PARTNERSHIP, THE SIGNATURE SHOULD BE THAT OF AN AUTHORIZED PERSON WHO SHOULD STATE HIS OR HER TITLE. X PLEASE DO NOT RETURN THE PROXY CARD IF YOU ARE VOTING ELECTRONICALLY OR BY PHONE.

GRAPHIC


Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held June 21, 2016. The Proxy Statement and our 2015 Annual Report to Stockholders are available at: http://www.ezodproxy.com/windtreetx/2016 FOLD HERE • DO NOT SEPARATE • INSERT IN ENVELOPE PROVIDED PROXY Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS The undersigned, revoking all prior proxies, hereby appoints Craig Fraser, with full power of substitution, as proxy to represent and vote all shares of Common Stock, par value $.001 per share, of Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”), which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if personally present at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company to be held on June 21, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time at Homewood Suites, 2650 Kelly Road, Warrington, PA 18976, and at all adjournments or postponements thereof, upon matters set forth in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement dated May 23, 2016, a copy of which has been received by the undersigned. Each share of Common Stock is entitled to one vote. The proxies are further authorized to vote, in their discretion, upon other such business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof. Each of Items 1, 2, 3 and 4 is proposed by the Company. THIS PROXY, WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED BY THE UNDERSIGNED STOCKHOLDER(S). IF NO DIRECTION IS GIVEN, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED “FOR” THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES SET FORTH ON THE REVERSE SIDE AS DIRECTORS, “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP AS THE COMPANY’S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS, “FOR” THE AMENDMENT OF THE AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION. The undersigned hereby acknowledges receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and Annual Report of Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. PLEASE DATE, SIGN AND MAIL IN THE ENCLOSED REPLY ENVELOPE. (Continued and to be marked, dated and signed, on the other side)

GRAPHIC