UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is an emerging growth company as defined in as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter)
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers. |
On January 9, 2022, Dr. Tom Adams, a director of Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., passed away. A copy of the press release announcing Dr. Adams’s death is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K.
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Item 9.01
(d) Exhibits
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Financial Statements and Exhibits |
| 99.1 | Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release dated January 12, 2022 |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File. The cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the inline XBRL document. |
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: January 12, 2022
| HEPION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Robert Foster | |
| Robert Foster | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
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Exhibit 99.1
Hepion Pharmaceuticals Announces Death of Director, Thomas Adams
EDISON, N.J., January 13, 2022 – It is with profound sadness that Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEPA) announces the passing of Thomas Adams, Ph.D., a member of its Board of Directors. Dr. Adams died of natural causes on January 9, 2022.
A seasoned biotechnology veteran, Dr. Adams was appointed to Hepion’s Board in September 2016.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague,” said Hepion’s Chairman, Gary S. Jacob, Ph.D. “On behalf of the Company’s Board of Directors, management team and employees, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Tom’s family. Tom was a larger-than-life executive and entrepreneur, who brought his remarkable passion, experience and energy to Hepion. He will be greatly missed.”
About Hepion Pharmaceuticals
The Company's lead drug candidate, rencofilstat, is a potent inhibitor of cyclophilins, which are involved in many disease processes. Rencofilstat is currently in clinical-phase development for the treatment of NASH, with the potential to play an important role in the overall treatment of liver disease - from triggering events through to end-stage disease. Rencofilstat has been shown to reduce liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma tumor burden in experimental models of NASH, and has demonstrated antiviral activities towards HBV, HCV, and HDV through several mechanisms, in nonclinical studies. In November 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) granted Fast Track designation for rencofilstat for the treatment of NASH. That was soon followed in December 2021 by the FDA’s acceptance of Hepion’s investigational new drug (IND) application for rencofilstat for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Hepion has created a proprietary AI platform, called AI-POWR™, which stands for Artificial Intelligence - Precision Medicine; Omics (including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and lipidomics); World database access; and Response and clinical outcomes. Hepion intends to use AI-POWR™ to help identify which NASH patients will best respond to encoflistat, potentially shortening development timelines and increasing the delta between placebo and treatment groups. In addition to using AI-POWR™ to drive its ongoing NASH clinical development program, Hepion intends to use the platform to identify additional potential indications for encoflistat to expand the company's footprint in the cyclophilin inhibition therapeutic space.
For further information, please contact:
Stephen Kilmer
Hepion Pharmaceuticals Investor Relations
Direct: (646) 274-3580
skilmer@hepionpharma.com
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Cover |
Jan. 09, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cover [Abstract] | |
| Document Type | 8-K |
| Amendment Flag | false |
| Document Period End Date | Jan. 09, 2022 |
| Entity File Number | 001-36856 |
| Entity Registrant Name | Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
| Entity Central Index Key | 0001583771 |
| Entity Tax Identification Number | 46-2783806 |
| Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code | DE |
| Entity Address, Address Line One | 399 Thornall Street |
| Entity Address, Address Line Two | First Floor |
| Entity Address, City or Town | Edison |
| Entity Address, State or Province | NJ |
| Entity Address, Postal Zip Code | 08837 |
| City Area Code | 732 |
| Local Phone Number | 902-4000 |
| Written Communications | false |
| Soliciting Material | false |
| Pre-commencement Tender Offer | false |
| Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer | false |
| Title of 12(b) Security | Common Stock |
| Trading Symbol | HEPA |
| Security Exchange Name | NASDAQ |
| Entity Emerging Growth Company | false |