DEF 14A

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) will be held on May 8, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Central Time. The Annual Meeting will be held in a virtual meeting format at http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2. You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person.

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To approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Coya Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Incentive Plan”) to increase the number of the shares of common stock authorized for issuance thereunder by 750,000 shares to 2,571,070 shares; and;

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on March 22, 2024 (the “Record Date”) are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof.

All stockholders are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting. Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we urge you to vote by following the instructions in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you previously received and to submit your proxy over the Internet or by mail in order to ensure the presence of a quorum. You may change or revoke your proxy at any time before it is voted at the meeting, unless the proxy states it is irrevocable and was coupled with an interest sufficient in law to support an irrevocable power.

If your shares are held in “street name” by your bank, broker or other nominee, your bank, broker or other nominee will be unable to vote your shares without instructions from you. You should instruct your bank, broker or other nominee to vote your shares in accordance with the procedures provided by your bank, broker or other nominee.

IMPORTANT NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 8, 2024

Our proxy materials including our Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting, our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as amended, and proxy card are available on the Internet at www.envisionreports.com/COYA. Under Securities and Exchange Commission rules, we are providing access to our proxy materials by notifying you of the availability of our proxy materials on the Internet.

This proxy statement contains information related to the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) to be held on May 8, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time, or at such other time and place to which the Annual Meeting may be adjourned or postponed. The Annual Meeting will be a virtual meeting via live webcast on the Internet. You will be able to attend our Annual Meeting, vote and submit your questions during the meeting by visiting http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2. You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person.

The enclosed proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”). The proxy materials relating to the Annual Meeting are being mailed to stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting on or about March 28, 2024. A list of record holders of the Company’s common stock entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available for examination by any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the Annual Meeting, at our principal offices at 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, Texas 77057, during normal business hours for ten days prior to the Annual Meeting (the “Stockholder List”).

Important Notice of Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 8, 2024.

Our proxy materials including our Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting and our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as amended, are available on the Internet at www.envisionreports.com/COYA. Under Securities and Exchange Commission rules, we are providing access to our proxy materials by notifying you of the availability of our proxy materials on the Internet.

Our Board is soliciting your proxy to vote at the Annual Meeting of stockholders to be held virtually via live webcast on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Central Time and any adjournments or postponements of the meeting. We refer to this meeting as the “Annual Meeting.” This proxy statement summarizes the purposes of the Annual Meeting and the information you need to know to vote at the Annual Meeting.

We have made available to you on the Internet or have sent you this proxy statement, the proxy card and a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as amended, because you owned shares of our common stock on March 22, 2024 (the “Record Date”).

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To elect Dr. Anabella Villalobos and Dr. Dov Goldstein to serve as directors until the 2027 annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified (“Proposal 1”);

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To approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Coya Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Incentive Plan”), in substantially the form attached to the accompanying Proxy Statement as Annex A, to increase the maximum aggregate number of shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001, per share (“Common Stock”) which shall be reserved for issuance under the 2021 Incentive Plan to 2,571,070 shares (the “Overall Share Limit”) (“Proposal 2”);

Our Board believes that the election of Dr. Villalobos and Dr. Goldstein, the amendment to our 2021 Incentive Plan to increase the number of the shares of common stock authorized for issuance thereunder, and the appointment of Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2024 are advisable and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders and recommends that you vote FOR Proposal 1, FOR Proposal 2, and FOR Proposal 3. If you are a stockholder of record and you return a properly executed proxy card or vote by proxy over the Internet but do not mark the boxes showing how you wish to vote, your shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of the Board, as set forth above. With respect to any other matter that properly comes before the Annual Meeting, the proxy holders will vote as recommended by the Board or, if no recommendation is given, at their own discretion.

This year’s Annual Meeting will be held in a virtual meeting format only. The virtual format provides the opportunity for participation by a broader group of our stockholders, while reducing costs associated with planning, holding and arranging logistics for in-person meeting proceedings. Hosting a virtual meeting enables increased stockholder attendance and participation because stockholders can participate equally from any location around the world, at little to no cost. Hosting a virtual meeting also reduces the environmental impact of our Annual Meeting. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting online by visiting http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2. You also will be able to vote your shares electronically during the Annual Meeting by following the instructions above.

Why did I receive a notice in the mail regarding the Internet availability of the proxy materials instead of a paper copy of the proxy materials?

In accordance with rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we have elected to furnish to our stockholders this Proxy Statement and our 2023 Annual Report, as amended, by providing access to these documents on the Internet rather than mailing printed copies. Accordingly, a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) is being mailed to our stockholders of record and beneficial owners which will direct stockholders to a website where they can access our proxy materials and view instructions on how to vote online or by telephone. If you would prefer to receive a paper copy of our proxy materials, please follow the instructions included in the Notice.

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date, March 22, 2024, are entitled to receive notice of the Annual Meeting and to vote the shares of common stock that they held on that date at the Annual Meeting, or any postponement or adjournment of the Annual Meeting. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on each matter to be voted upon.

All stockholders as of the Record Date, or their duly appointed proxies, may attend the Annual Meeting. Attendance shall solely be via the Internet at http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2 using the instructions provided on the Notice or your proxy card.

We intend to answer questions submitted during the meeting that are pertinent to the Company and the items being brought for stockholder vote at the Annual Meeting, as time permits, and in accordance with the Rules of Conduct for the Annual Meeting. To promote fairness, efficiently use the Company’s resources and ensure all stockholder questions are able to be addressed, we will respond to no more than one question from a single stockholder. Questions and answers will be grouped by topic and substantially similar questions will be grouped and answered once. We have retained our transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (“Computershare”), to host our virtual annual meeting and to distribute, receive, count and tabulate proxies.

The presence at the Annual Meeting, in person or by proxy, of the holders of one-third of the voting power of the shares of our capital stock issued and outstanding on the Record Date will constitute a quorum for our meeting. Signed proxies received but not voted will be included in the calculation of the number of shares considered to be present at the meeting. Pursuant to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, abstentions will be counted for the purpose of determining whether a quorum is present. If brokers have, and exercise, discretionary authority on at least one item on the agenda for the Annual Meeting, uninstructed shares for which broker non-votes occur will constitute voting power present for the discretionary matter and will therefore count towards the quorum.

For registered stockholders: If on the record date your shares were registered directly in your name with Computershare, then you are a stockholder of record (also known as a “record holder”). Stockholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date will be able to attend the Annual Meeting, vote, and submit questions during the Annual Meeting by visiting http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2 at the meeting date and time. We encourage you to access the meeting prior to the start time. Online access will begin at 11:45 a.m., Central Time. To access the Annual Meeting, you will need the 15-digit control number located in the shaded bar on the proxy card.

For beneficial owners: If on the record date your shares were not registered directly in your name with Computershare but instead held by an intermediary, such as a bank, broker or other nominee, then you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name.” The organization holding your account is considered to be the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the Annual Meeting. As a beneficial owner, you must register in advance to attend the Annual Meeting, vote and submit questions. To register in advance you will need to obtain a legal proxy from the bank, broker or other nominee that holds your shares giving you the right to vote the shares. Once you have received a legal proxy form from your bank, broker or other nominee, forward the email with your name and the legal proxy attached or send a separate email with your name and legal proxy attached labeled “Legal Proxy” in the subject line to Computershare, at legalproxy@computershare.com. Requests for registration must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., Central Time, on April 26, 2024. You will then receive a confirmation of your registration, with a control number, by email from Computershare. At the time of the meeting, go to http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2 and enter your control number. If you do not have your control number you may attend as a guest (non-stockholder) by going to http://www.meetnow.global/M2L2QA2 and entering the requested information. Please note that guest access is in listen-only mode and you will not have the ability to ask questions or vote during the Annual Meeting.

No. It is not necessary for you to attend the virtual Annual Meeting in order to vote your shares. You may vote by telephone, through the Internet or by mail, as described in more detail below.

Stockholder of record (shares registered in your name). If you are a stockholder of record, you may authorize a proxy to vote on your behalf at the Annual Meeting in any of the following ways:

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By Telephone or via the Internet. You can submit a proxy to vote your shares by telephone or via the Internet by following the instructions on the enclosed proxy card. Proxies submitted by telephone or via the Internet must be received by 11:59 p.m., Central Time, on the day before the Annual Meeting. Have your proxy card in hand as you will be prompted to enter your control number.

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By Mail. You can submit a proxy to vote your shares by mail if you received a printed proxy card by completing, signing, dating and promptly returning your proxy card in the postage-prepaid envelope provided with the materials. Proxies submitted by mail must be received by the close of business on May 7, 2024 in order to ensure that your vote is counted. If the envelope is missing, please mail your completed proxy card to Proxy Services, c/o Computershare Investor Services, PO Box 43101, Providence Rhode Island, 02940-5067.

To facilitate timely receipt of your proxy, we encourage you to vote via the Internet or telephone following the instructions on the enclosed proxy card promptly. If you are submitting your proxy by telephone or through the Internet, your voting instructions must be received by 11:59 p.m., Central Time on the day before the Annual Meeting.

Submitting your proxy by mail, by telephone or through the Internet will not prevent you from casting your vote at the Annual Meeting. You are encouraged to submit a proxy by mail, by telephone or through the Internet even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting via the virtual meeting website to ensure that your shares are represented at the Annual Meeting.

If you return your signed proxy card, but do not mark the boxes showing how you wish to vote, your shares will be voted (1) “FOR” the election of Dr. Anabella Villalobos and Dr. Dov Goldstein as a Class II directors, (2) “FOR” the amendment to our 2021 Incentive Plan to increase the number of the shares of common stock authorized for issuance thereunder and (3) “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2024, in accordance with the proxy holders’ best judgment as to any other business that properly comes before the Annual Meeting.

Beneficial owner (shares registered in the name of bank, broker or other nominee). If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your bank, broker or other nominee, you should have received voting instructions from that organization rather than from us. Simply complete and mail the voting instruction form to ensure that your vote is counted. Alternatively, you may vote by telephone or over the Internet as instructed by your bank, broker or other nominee. Follow the instructions from your broker, bank or other nominee included with this proxy statement, or contact your bank, broker or other nominee to request a proxy form.

Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting live via the Internet, we encourage you to vote in advance by Internet, telephone, or mail so that your vote will be counted if you later decide not to attend the Annual Meeting live via the Internet.

If you give us your proxy, you may change or revoke it at any time before the Annual Meeting, unless the proxy states it is irrevocable and was coupled with an interest sufficient in law to support an irrevocable power. You may change or revoke your proxy in any one of the following ways:

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Delivering a signed written notice of revocation stating that the proxy is revoked and bearing a date later than the date of the proxy to the Company’s Secretary at Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, Texas 77057.

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Attending the Annual Meeting via the virtual meeting website and voting at the meeting by following the internet voting instructions on your proxy card. However, simply attending the Annual Meeting without voting will not revoke or change your proxy.

If you voted by completing, signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card, you should retain a copy of the voter control number found on the proxy card in the event that you later decide to revoke your proxy or change your vote by telephone or through the Internet.

What is the difference between holding shares as a stockholder of record and as a beneficial owner?

Many of our stockholders hold their shares of common stock through a stockbroker, bank, or other nominee rather than directly in their own name. As summarized below, there are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially.

If your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, Computershare, you are considered, with respect to those shares, the stockholder of record. As the stockholder of record, you have the right to directly grant your voting proxy or to vote in person at the Annual Meeting.

If your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other nominee, you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by your broker, bank or nominee which is considered, with respect to those shares, the stockholder of record. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker as to how to vote and are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting. However, because you are not the stockholder of record, you may not vote these shares at the Annual Meeting unless you obtain a signed proxy from the record holder giving you the right to vote the shares. If you do not provide the stockholder of record with voting instructions or otherwise obtain a signed proxy from the record holder giving you the right to vote the shares, broker non-votes may occur for the shares that you beneficially own. The effect of broker non-votes is more specifically described in “What vote is required to approve each proposal?” below.

The holders of one-third of the voting power of the shares of our capital stock issued and outstanding on the Record Date must be present, in person or by proxy, at the Annual Meeting in order to have the required quorum for the transaction of business. Pursuant to Delaware corporate law, abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted for the purpose of determining whether a quorum is present.

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Proposal 1 (Election of Directors): Our directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, which means that the nominee for director who receives the most votes will be elected. You may vote either FOR the nominee or WITHHOLD your vote from the nominee. Votes that are withheld will not be included in the vote tally for the election of the directors. Banks, brokers, or other nominees do not have discretionary authority to vote on this matter. As a result, abstentions and “broker non-votes” if any, will not affect the outcome of the vote on Proposal 1.

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Proposal 2 (Plan Amendment Proposal): A majority of the votes cast affirmatively by the holders of all of the outstanding shares of our capital stock present or represented at the Annual Meeting is required to approve Proposal 2. Accordingly, abstentions or broker non-votes, if any, will not have any effect on the outcome of Proposal 2 and broker non-votes, if any, will have no effect on Proposal 2.

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Proposal 3 (Ratify Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm): A majority of the votes cast affirmatively by the holders of all of the outstanding shares of our capital stock present or represented at the Annual Meeting is required to approve Proposal 3. Proposal 3 is generally considered to be a “routine” matter which means that banks, brokers, or other nominees will have discretionary authority to vote on this matter, and accordingly, no broker non-votes will occur on Proposal 3. Abstentions, if any, will not affect the outcome of the vote on Proposal 3. We are not required to obtain the approval of our stockholders to select our independent registered public accounting firm. However, if our stockholders do not ratify the appointment of Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. as our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2024, the Audit Committee of our Board will reconsider its appointment.

Under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, holders of the Common Stock will not have any dissenters’ rights of appraisal in connection with any of the matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting.

Banks, brokers, and other agents acting as nominees are permitted to use discretionary voting authority to vote for proposals that are deemed “routine” by the New York Stock Exchange, which means that they can submit a proxy or cast a ballot on behalf of stockholders who do not provide a specific voting instruction. Brokers, banks, or other nominees are not permitted to use discretionary voting authority to vote for proposals that are deemed ”non-routine” by the New York Stock Exchange. The determination of which proposals are deemed “routine” versus “non-routine” may not be made by the New York Stock Exchange until after the date on which this proxy statement has been mailed to you. As such, it is important that you provide voting instructions to your bank, broker, or other nominee as to how to vote your shares, if you wish to ensure that your shares are present and voted at the Annual Meeting on all matters and if you wish to direct the voting of your shares on “routine” matters.

When there is at least one “routine” matter to be considered at a meeting, a “broker non-vote” occurs when a proposal is deemed ”non-routine” and a nominee holding shares for a beneficial owner does not have discretionary voting authority with respect to the “non-routine” matter being considered and has not received instructions from the beneficial owner.

The election of directors (Proposal 1) and the Plan Amendment Proposal (Proposal 2) are generally considered to be “non-routine” matters and brokers, banks, or other nominees are not permitted to vote on these matters if the broker, bank, or other nominee has not received instructions from the beneficial owner. Accordingly, it is particularly important that beneficial owners instruct their brokers, banks, or other nominees how they wish to vote their shares on Proposal 1 and Proposal 2. The proposal to approve the ratification of our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 3) is generally considered to be a “routine” matter, hence, a broker, bank or other nominee will have discretionary authority to vote on Proposal 3 even if it does not receive instructions from the beneficial owner. However, if Proposal 3 is deemed by the New York Stock Exchange to be a “non-routine” matter, brokers will not be permitted to vote on Proposal 3 if the broker has not received instructions from the beneficial owner. Accordingly, it is particularly important that beneficial owners instruct their brokers how they wish to vote their shares.

A representative from our transfer agent, Computershare, will serve as inspector of election at the Annual Meeting and will tabulate and certify the votes.

We will publish final voting results of the Annual Meeting in a Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days after the Annual Meeting.

We are soliciting this proxy on behalf of our Board and will pay all expenses associated therewith. Some of our officers, directors and other employees also may, but without compensation other than their regular compensation, solicit proxies by further mailing or personal conversations, or by telephone, facsimile, or other electronic means.

We will also, upon request, reimburse brokers and other persons holding stock in their names, or in the names of nominees, for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for forwarding proxy materials to the beneficial owners of the capital stock and to obtain proxies.

This Proxy Statement contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of our management with respect to, among other things, our operations, our business strategy and plans, our objectives and initiatives, our financial performance, and our industry. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believe(s),” “expect(s),” “potential,” “continue(s),” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “seek(s),” “predict(s),” “intend(s),” “trends,” “plan(s),” “estimate(s),” “anticipates,” “projection,” “will likely result” and or the negative version of these words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking nature, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Such forward-looking statements are based upon various estimates and assumptions, as well as information known to us as of the date hereof and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements and you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as amended, and our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, which are available on our investor relations website at https://ir.coyatherapeutics.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

PROPOSAL 1: TO ELECT ONE CLASS I DIRECTOR TO SERVE UNTIL THE 2026 ANNUAL MEETING AND UNTIL THEIR SUCCESSORS HAVE BEEN DULY ELECTED AND QUALIFIED

Our Board is divided into three classes: Class I, Class II, and Class III, with each class serving a three-year term. Vacancies on the Board may be filled only by persons elected by a majority of the remaining directors. A director elected by the Board to fill a vacancy in a class, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, shall serve for the remainder of the full term of that class and until the director’s successor is duly elected and qualified.

Our Board is currently composed of seven directors. Vacancies on the Board may be filled only by persons elected by a majority of the remaining directors. A director elected by the Board to fill a vacancy, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, shall hold office for the remainder of the full term of the director for which the vacancy was created or occurred and until such director’s successor shall have been duly elected and qualified or until the director’s earlier resignation, death, or removal.

The nominees listed below are currently two of our directors. If elected at the Annual Meeting, the nominees would serve until our 2027 Annual Meeting and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified, or, if sooner, until their earlier resignation, death, or removal.

Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be treated as a vote for or against any particular director nominee and will not affect the outcome of the election. Stockholders may not vote, or submit a proxy, for a greater number of nominees than the one nominee named below. The director nominee receiving the highest number of affirmative votes will be elected. Shares represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the election of the director nominee named below. If any director nominee becomes unavailable for election as a result of an unexpected occurrence, shares that would have been voted for that nominee will instead be voted for the election of a substitute nominee proposed by our Board. The person nominated for election has agreed to serve if elected. Our management has no reason to believe that the nominee will be unable to serve.

The following table sets forth the name, age, position and tenure of our Class II directors who are up for re-election at the Annual Meeting for a term expiring at the 2027 Annual Meeting:

The following includes a brief biography of the nominees standing for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting, based on information furnished to us by each director nominee, with the biography including information regarding the experiences, qualifications, attributes, or skills that caused the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board to determine that the nominee should serve as a member of our Board.

Dr. Villalobos has been a director since May 2021. As head of Biotherapeutics and Medicinal Sciences at Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq:BIIB) (“Biogen”), Dr. Villalobos is responsible for the delivery of high-quality, differentiated drug candidates that advance through the clinic to become transformative medicines. Additionally, she has built a new gene therapy unit, setting the initial direction of effort including hiring the first team. Prior to Biogen, Dr. Villalobos was at Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”) (NYSE:PFE) for 28 years where she most recently served as Vice President of Medicinal Synthesis Technologies and Neuroscience Medicinal Chemistry. As the leader of several medicinal chemistry groups throughout her tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Villalobos’ teams delivered more than 30 candidates which showed increased survival to the clinic. Dr. Villalobos obtained her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Panama and her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas where she was a Fulbright-Hayes fellow. She was

a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University in synthetic organic chemistry for two years. Dr. Villalobos was chosen as a director due to her keen insight into drug development, particularly in neuroscience. We believe Dr. Villalobos’ counsel and strategic guidance with respect to our product candidate pipeline and research and clinical programs will be vital to our success.

Dr. Goldstein has been a director since March 2021. Dr. Goldstein brings over 25 years of strategic financial and operational experience within the healthcare sector. He currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of BioAge Labs, a position he has held since November 2021. Prior to that, from 2020-2021, he served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Indapta Therapeutics. From 2018-2020, he was Chief Executive Officer of RIGImmune, Inc. Prior to that he served as the Chief Financial Officer at Schrödinger, Inc. (Nasdaq:SDGR) from 2017 to 2018. Dr. Goldstein held various leadership roles at Aisling Capital, a private investment firm, from 2006 to 2017, serving as its Managing Partner from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Goldstein served as the Chief Financial Officer of Loxo Oncology, Inc. between 2014 and 2015. From 2000 to 2005, Dr. Goldstein served as Chief Financial Officer of Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Vicuron”), raising over $250 million in equity financings, facilitating company partnership transactions and participating in the M&A process when Vicuron was acquired by Pfizer for $1.9 billion. Prior to joining Vicuron, he was Director of Venture Analysis at HealthCare Ventures LLC. Dr. Goldstein currently serves on the board of directors of NeuBase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:NBSE) and Gain Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:GANX) where he serves on each company’s audit committee as audit committee chair. He previously served as a director for ADMA Biologics Inc (Nasdaq:ADMA), Loxo Oncology(Nasdaq:LOXO), Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:ESPR), Durata Therapeutics, Inc.,(Nasdaq:DRTX) Cempra, Pharmaceuticals Inc.(Nasdaq: CEMP) and a number of private companies. He received a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from Stanford University, an MBA from Columbia Business School and an M.D. from Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Goldstein was chosen as a director due to his extensive financial experience in the biotechnology capital markets, as an investor and as a CFO. We believe Dr. Goldstein’s background in medicine, venture capital and biotechnology operations will help guide us in our work as a public clinical stage biotechnology company.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF THE CLASS I DIRECTOR NOMINEE.

The following table sets forth the name, age, position, and tenure of the directors who are serving for terms that end at dates following the Annual Meeting.

The following biographical descriptions set forth certain information with respect to directors who are serving for terms that end following the Annual Meeting, based on information furnished to Coya by each director.

Dr. Berman has been Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer since he co-founded the Company in 2020. Dr. Berman has over 18 years of entrepreneurial and industry experience working at the interplay of science and business. Dr. Berman gained corporate experience with increasing responsibilities and positions as a Medical Science Liaison at AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) where he spent April 2013 to June 2020 launching Venetoclax in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and later, supporting numerous solid tumor assets. He also served in leadership roles at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NYSE:NVS) (“Novartis”) from June 2003 to January 2006 and later Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) where he was the scientific point of contact between the company and key opinion leaders for development and initiation of collaborations, clinical trials and investigator-initiated trials. Dr. Berman began his career at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the technology transfer division where he was responsible for assessing the market, patent, and scientific merits of numerous oncology-based technology platforms in order to ascertain their commercial viability He received a Bachelor in Biology from the University of Michigan and a Masters and Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Pharmacology from Weill Cornell Medical School. Dr. Berman was chosen as a director due to his unique combination of business acumen and scientific credibility and his ability to assess, quantify, and bridge both disciplines.

Dr. Lee has been a director since June 2021. Dr. Lee is currently the Chief Technical Officer at Prime Medicine, Inc., a position she has held since October 2021. From November 2019 to July 2021, Dr. Lee led teams responsible for the development of new cell therapy processes and technologies, manufacturing cell therapy products, designing new facilities, and building the global supply chain at Bristol Myer Squibb (NYSE:BMY) (“BMS”). Previously, from November 2017 to April 2018, she served as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations at Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by BMS via Celgene Corporation. Prior to Juno Therapeutics, Inc., from January 2010 to November 2017, Dr. Lee served as Senior Vice President, and then as Head of Global Technical Development at F. Hoffman-La Roche (“Roche”) (dual roles at Roche and Genetech). She was responsible for developing and delivering all clinical stage products in Roche’s global pipeline, as well as technology transfers and technical support for all commercial products. She was at Genetech as VP of Process R&D from 2005 until 2010. Prior to Genetech, from June 1989 to September 2005, she was at Merck & Co., Inc. (MYSE:MRK), where she led and developed new vaccines and technologies in research and development, and then was responsible as VP for process engineering and technical operations at 10 chemical sites around the world. Over the course of her career, she has contributed to the development of hundreds of new investigational drugs, and the licensure and commercialization of 25 new vaccines and medicines, with the most recent being two new CAR-T cell products for blood cancers. Dr. Lee has authored over 40 scientific publications and holds several patents. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences. She serves on the board of directors for American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Alliance of Regenerative Medicine, and JW (Cayman) Therapeutics Co. Ltd. (since 2020). She earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a masters and Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering with a concentration in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. Dr. Lee was chosen as a director due to her thought leadership in cell therapy and biologics. She is an accomplished biotech executive with extensive experience and accomplishments in vaccines, biologics, small molecules and cell therapy development and manufacturing and she will guide us on all matters related to manufacturing and CMC.

Dr. Garren has been a director since June 2021. Dr. Garren has 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, spanning all aspects of novel drug development from discovery, to early-stage clinical trials, to late-stage clinical trials, to commercialization. Since April 2021, Dr. Garren has served as the Chief Medical Officer for Prothena Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRTA), a late-stage clinical company with expertise in protein dysregulation, focusing on rare peripheral amyloid and neurodegenerative diseases. From 2013 to 2020, he served as VP, Global Head of Neuroimmunology for Roche & Genentech Inc., where he led the teams that conducted the Ocrevus® Phase III trials for multiple sclerosis and Enspryng™ Phase III trials for the rare disease neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. Prior to Roche, between 2011 and 2013, Dr. Garren held the role of Executive Director, Translational Medicine Expert in Neuroscience with Novartis. Dr. Garren also served as Co-Founder, Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of Bayhill Therapeutics, Inc., a company he started in 2002 based on a technology platform he co-invented while at Stanford University. He served as adjunct clinical faculty in the Department of Neurology at Stanford University from 1997 to 2009. Dr. Garren earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology and his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of California Los Angeles. Dr. Garren was chosen as a director due to his expertise in neuroimmunology and clinical development. Dr. Garren will provide valuable guidance on the design and structure of clinical trials that we plan to conduct.

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. has been a director since November 2023. Mr. Ross was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence as the 39th Secretary of Commerce on February 28, 2017. Secretary Ross was the principal voice of business in the Trump Administration, ensuring that U.S. entrepreneurs and businesses have the tools they need to create jobs and economic opportunity.

Secretary Ross is the former Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of WL Ross & Co. LLC and has over 55 years of investment banking and private equity experience. He has restructured over $400 billion of assets in the airline, apparel, auto parts, banking, beverage, chemical, credit card, electric utility, food service, furniture, gypsum, homebuilding, insurance, marine transport, mortgage origination and servicing, oil and gas, railcar manufacturing and leasing, real estate, restaurant, shipyard, steel, textile and trucking industries. Secretary Ross has been chairman or lead director of more than 100 companies operating in more than 20 different countries.

Named by Bloomberg Markets as one of the 50 most influential people in global finance, Secretary Ross is the only person elected to both the Private Equity Hall of Fame and the Turnaround Management Hall of Fame. He previously served as privatization adviser to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund. President Kim Dae-jung awarded Secretary Ross a medal for helping South Korea during its financial crisis and, in November 2014, the Emperor of Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star.

As a philanthropist, Secretary Ross has served as Chairman of the Japan Society, Trustee of the Brookings Institution and Chairman of its Economic Studies Council, International Counsel Member of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Trustee of the Blenheim Foundation, President of the American Friends of the Rene Magritte Museum in Brussels and Director of the Palm Beach Civic Association. He also was an Advisory Board Member of Yale University School of Management.

Secretary Ross received his undergraduate degree in English literature from Yale University, and graduated with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Dieter Weinand has been a member of our Board since August 2023. From November 2018 to March 2020, Mr. Weinand served as Executive Vice President, Primary Care of Sanofi S.A. He previously served as President and CEO, Pharmaceutical Division at Bayer AG from July 2014 to November 2018. From 2013 to 2014, Mr. Weinand was President, Global Commercialization at Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and from 2010 to 2013 Mr. Weinand was President, Primary Care and Asia-Pacific Region at Pfizer Inc. From 2001 to 2010, Mr. Weinand served as President, Senior Vice President, and Vice President of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Prior to joining Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Mr. Weinand was Senior Vice President at F.H. Faulding, Inc. from 2000 to 2001, Managing Director, Director, Vice President, and Senior Director at Warner-Lambert Company, which was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in 2000, during the period from 1994 to 2000, Vice President at Pharmos Corporation during 1994, and Director, Area Business Operations Coordinator, and International Product Manager at Lederle International during the period from 1990 to 1994. Mr. Weinand currently serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of Replimune Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:REPL), as a director at Reunion Neuroscience, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, and was previously a member the board of directors of Bayer AG, from 2013 to 2014, and HealthPrize Technologies LLC, from 2014 to 2018. Mr. Weinand was a director and member of the compensation committee and chair of the audit committee of Filed Trip Health Ltd. from October 2019 to July 2022. Mr. Weinand received a M.S. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Long Island University and a B.A. in Biology from Concordia College. We believe Mr. Weinand is qualified to serve on our Board because of his extensive leadership experience, his experience serving on the boards of biotechnology companies and his experience in management roles at life sciences companies.

Our Board consists of seven members. Our directors hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified or until the earlier of their resignation or removal.

In accordance with the terms of our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”) and Amended and Restated Bylaws (“Bylaws”), our Board is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with each class serving staggered three-year terms. Upon the expiration of the term of a class of directors, directors in that class will be eligible to be elected for a new three-year term at the annual meeting of stockholders in the year in which their term expires. Our directors are divided among the three classes as follows:

We expect that any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the total number of directors. The division of our Board into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control.

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of our Board. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws also provide that our directors may be removed only for cause, and that any vacancy on our Board, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our Board, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director.

We have no formal policy regarding board diversity. Our priority in selection of board members is identification of members who will further the interests of our stockholders through his or her established record of professional accomplishment, the ability to contribute positively to the collaborative culture among board members, knowledge of our business and understanding of the competitive landscape.

The following Board Diversity Matrix presents our Board diversity statistics in accordance with Nasdaq Rule 5606. The information is based on our directors’ self-reporting and reflects compliance with the objectives of Nasdaq Rule 5605(f)(3) by having at least one director who identifies as female and at least one director who identifies as a member of an Underrepresented Minority or LGBTQ+ (as defined by Nasdaq Rules). As we pursue future Board recruitment efforts, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will continue to seek candidates who can contribute to the diversity of views and perspectives of the Board. This includes seeking out individuals of diverse ethnicities, a balance in terms of gender, and individuals with diverse perspectives informed by other personal and professional experiences.

Our prior year Board Diversity Matrix is disclosed in our Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on May 19, 2023.

Our Board met five times and acted by unanimous written consent nine times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Audit Committee met five times and acted by unanimous written consent zero times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Compensation Committee met one time and acted by unanimous written consent two times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met two times and acted by unanimous written consent one time during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Each of our directors serving during fiscal year 2023 attended at least 75% of the meetings of the Board.

We do not have a formal policy regarding attendance by members of the Board at our annual meeting of stockholders, but directors are encouraged to attend.

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC requires a majority of a listed company’s board of directors to be comprised of independent directors. In addition, the rules require that each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees be independent under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Audit committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and compensation committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10C-1 under the Exchange Act. Under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, among other things, in the opinion of the listed company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director.

In order to be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act, a member of an audit committee of a listed company may not, other than in his or her capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of directors, or any other board committee, accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries or otherwise be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries. In order to be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10C-1, the board must consider, for each member of a compensation committee of a listed company, all factors specifically relevant to determining whether a director has a relationship to such company which is material to that director’s ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a compensation committee member, including, but not limited to: (1) the source of compensation of the director, including any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee paid by such company to the director; and (2) whether the director is affiliated with the company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.

Our Board undertook a review of its composition, the composition of its committees and the independence of each director. Based upon information requested from and provided by each director concerning his or her background, employment and affiliations, including family relationships, our Board has determined that Dr. Hideki Garren, Dr. Dov Goldstein, Dr. Ann Lee, Dr. Anabella Villalobos, Dieter Weinand and Wilbur L. Ross do not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of these directors is “independent” as that term is defined under the Rules of Nasdaq and the SEC.

Our Board has established an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our Board may establish other committees to facilitate the management of our business. The composition and functions of each committee are described below. Members serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by our Board. Each of these committees operate under a charter that has been approved by our Board, which is available on our website at https://ir.coyatherapeutics.com/.

Our Audit Committee consists of Dr. Dov Goldstein, Dr. Hideki Garren, Dieter Weinand and Dr. Ann Lee, with Dr. Dov Goldstein serving as the Chairperson of the Audit Committee. Our Board has determined that the three directors that serve on our Audit Committee are independent within the meaning of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. In addition, our Board has determined that Dr. Dov Goldstein qualifies as an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of SEC regulations and The Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. Our Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things:

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reviewing and overseeing all transactions between us and a related person for which review or oversight is required by applicable law or that are required to be disclosed in our financial statements or SEC filings, and developing policies and procedures for the committee’s review, approval and/or ratification of such transactions;

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establishing procedures for the receipt, retention, and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters and the confidential, anonymous submission by our employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and

The SEC rules and the Nasdaq rules require us to have one independent audit committee member upon the listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq, a majority of independent directors within 90 days of the effective date of the registration statement, and all independent audit committee members within one year of the effective date of the registration statement. Dr. Dov Goldstein, Dr. Hideki Garren, Dieter Weinand and Dr. Ann Lee each qualify as an independent director under the corporate governance standards of the Nasdaq and the independence requirements of Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

Our Compensation Committee consists of Dr. Dov Goldstein, Dr. Anabella Villalobos and Dr. Ann Lee, with Dr. Anabella Villalobos serving as the Chairperson of the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee is responsible for, among other things:

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developing and periodically reviewing compensation policies and practices applicable to executive officers, including the criteria upon which executive compensation is based, the specific relationship of corporate performance to executive compensation and the composition in terms of base salary, deferred compensation and incentive or equity-based compensation and other benefits;

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reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of those goals and objectives, and, either as a committee or together with the other independent directors (as directed by our Board), determining and approving our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation level based on such evaluation;

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reviewing and approving, or making recommendations to our Board with respect to, the compensation of our other executive officers, including annual base salary, bonus and equity-based incentives, and other benefits;

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reviewing and approving any employment agreements, severance arrangements, change-in-control arrangements or special or supplemental employee benefits, and any material amendments to any of the foregoing, applicable to executive officers (provided that the Board shall also possess the authority to review and approve any such agreements, arrangements, benefits and amendments);

In discharging its responsibilities, the Compensation Committee works with our Chief Executive Officer, who assists the Compensation Committee by providing information on corporate and individual performance, perspectives on performance issues and recommendations on compensation matters.

The Compensation Committee, to the extent permitted under applicable law, the rules promulgated under the Exchange Act and the SEC, and the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, may form and delegate authority to subcommittees.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Dr. Dov Goldstein, Dr. Anabella Villalobos, Dieter Weinand and Dr. Hideki Garren, with Dr. Hideki Garren serving as the Chairperson of the Compensation Committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things:

None of our executive officers serves as a member of the Board or Compensation Committee (or other committee performing equivalent functions) of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board or Compensation Committee.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for recommending candidates to serve on our Board and its committees. In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate to serve on the Board or its committees or for inclusion in the Board’s slate of recommended director nominees for election at an annual meeting of stockholders, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may take into account many factors, including: personal and professional integrity, ethics and values; experience in corporate management, such as serving as an officer or former officer of a publicly held company; strong finance experience; relevant social policy concerns; experience relevant to the Company’s industry; experience as a board member of another publicly held company; relevant academic expertise or other proficiency in an area of the Company’s operations; diversity of expertise and experience in substantive matters pertaining to the Company’s business relative to other Board members; diversity of background and perspective, including, but not limited to, with respect to age, gender, race and ethnicity; practical and mature business judgment, including, but not limited to, the ability to make independent analytical inquiries; and any other relevant qualifications, attributes or skills In determining whether to recommend a director for re-election, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may also consider the director’s past attendance at meetings and participation in and contributions to the activities of the Board.

We do not have a formal policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying director nominees. The Board evaluates each individual in the context of the Board as a whole, with the objective of assembling a group that can best perpetuate the success of the business and represent stockholder interests through the exercise of sound judgment using its diversity of experience in these various areas.

In identifying prospective director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may seek referrals from other members of the Board, management, stockholders, and other sources, including third party recommendations. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also may, but need not, retain a search firm in order to assist it in identifying candidates to serve as directors of the Company. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee uses the same criteria for evaluating candidates regardless of the source of the referral or recommendation. When considering director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks individuals with backgrounds and qualities that, when combined with those of our incumbent directors, provide a blend of skills and experience to further enhance the Board’s effectiveness. In connection with its annual recommendation of a slate of nominees, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also may assess the contributions of those directors recommended for re-election in the context of the Board evaluation process and other perceived needs of the Board.

The director nominees to be elected at the Annual Meeting were evaluated in accordance with our standard review process for director candidates in connection with their initial appointment and their nomination for election at the Annual Meeting. When considering whether the directors and nominee have the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, taken as a whole, to enable the Board to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of our business and structure, the Board focused primarily on the information discussed in each of the member’s biographical information set forth above. We believe that our directors provide an appropriate mix of experience and skills relevant to the size and nature of our business. This process resulted in the Board’s nomination of the incumbent directors named in this Proxy Statement and proposed for election by you at the Annual Meeting.

Stockholders may recommend individuals to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee for consideration as potential director candidates by submitting their names and background to the Secretary of the Company at the address set forth below under “Stockholder Communications” in accordance with the provisions set forth in our Bylaws. All such recommendations will be forwarded to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, which will review and only consider such recommendations if appropriate biographical and other information is provided, including, but not limited to, the items listed below, on a timely basis. All security holder recommendations for director candidates must be received by the Company in the timeframe(s) set forth under the heading “Stockholder Proposals” below. Stockholders who wish to recommend a candidate for nomination should contact our Secretary in writing and provide the following information:

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a representation that the stockholder is a record holder of the Company’s securities entitled to vote at the meeting upon such nomination and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to propose such nomination;

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the consent of the proposed director candidate to be named in the proxy statement relating to the Company’s annual meeting of stockholders and to serve as a director if elected at such annual meeting.

Assuming that appropriate information is provided for candidates recommended by stockholders, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate those candidates by following substantially the same process, and applying substantially the same criteria, as for candidates submitted by members of the Board or other persons, as described above and as set forth in its written charter.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman positions are held by Dr. Howard Berman. Dr. Berman currently beneficially owns approximately 7.0% of the voting power of our common stock (including shares beneficially owned by Bertex LLC, a limited liability company of which Dr. Berman is managing member). Periodically, our Board assesses these roles and the Board leadership structure to ensure the interests of the Company and our stockholders are best served. Our Board has determined that its current leadership structure is appropriate. Dr. Berman, as one of our founders and as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, has extensive knowledge of all aspects of Coya, our business and risks. However, our Board continues to periodically review our leadership structure and may make such changes in the future as it deems appropriate.

Risk is inherent to every business, and how well a business manages risk can ultimately determine its success. We face a number of risks, including risks relating to our financial condition, development and commercialization activities, operations, strategic direction and intellectual property. Management is responsible for the day-to-day management of risks we face, while our Board, as a whole and through its committees, has responsibility for the oversight of risk management. In its risk oversight role, our Board has the responsibility to satisfy itself that the risk management processes designed and implemented by management are adequate and functioning as designed.

The role of the Board in overseeing the management of our risks is conducted primarily through committees of the Board, as disclosed in the descriptions of each of the committees above and in the charters of each of the committees. The full Board (or the appropriate Board committee in the case of risks that are under the purview of a particular committee) discusses with management our major risk exposures, their potential impact on us, and the steps we take to manage them. When a committee is responsible for evaluating and overseeing the management of a particular risk or risks, the chairman of the relevant committee reports on the discussion to the full Board during the committee reports portion of the next Board meeting. This enables the Board and its committees to coordinate the risk oversight role, particularly with respect to risk interrelationships.

The Audit Committee is responsible for discussing the Company’s policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which the Company’s exposure to financial risk is handled. In accordance with those policies, our Board and the Board committees have an active role in overseeing management of the Company’s risks. Our Board regularly reviews information regarding the Company’s credit, liquidity and operations, as well as the risks associated with each. The Compensation Committee oversees the management of risks relating to the Company’s executive compensation plans and arrangements. The Audit Committee oversees financial and cybersecurity risks. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee manages risks associated with the independence of our Board and potential conflicts of interest.

The Board evaluates its performance and the performance of its committees and individual directors on an annual basis through an evaluation process administered by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Board discusses each evaluation to determine what, if any, actions should be taken to improve the effectiveness of the Board or any committee thereof or of the directors.

Our Board will give appropriate attention to written communications that are submitted by stockholders and will respond if and as appropriate. Absent unusual circumstances or as contemplated by committee charters, and subject to advice from legal counsel, the Secretary of Coya is primarily responsible for monitoring communications from stockholders and for providing copies or summaries of such communications to the Board as he considers appropriate.

Communications from stockholders will be forwarded to all directors if they relate to important substantive matters or if they include suggestions or comments that the Secretary considers to be important for the Board to know. Communication relating to corporate governance and corporate strategy are more likely to be forwarded to the Board than communications regarding personal grievances, ordinary business matters, and matters as to which the Company tends to receive repetitive or duplicative communications.

Stockholders who wish to send communications to the Board should address such communications to: The Board of Directors, Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St. Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057, Attention: Secretary.

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our officers, directors, and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer, and controller, or persons performing similar functions, which is posted on our website at www.coyatherapeutics.com.

Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is a “code of ethics,” as defined in Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K. We will make any legally required disclosures regarding amendments to, or waivers of, provisions of our code of ethics on our website. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference and is not part of this proxy statement.

Under the terms of our insider trading policy, we prohibit each officer, director, and employee, and each of their family members and controlled entities, from engaging in certain forms of hedging or monetization transactions. Such transactions include those, such as zero-cost collars and forward sale contracts, that would allow them to lock in much of the value of their stock holdings, often in exchange for all or part of the potential for upside appreciation in the stock, and to continue to own the covered securities but without the full risks and rewards of ownership.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our current directors and executive officers. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified. We also intend to enter into indemnification agreements with our future directors and executive officers.

There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), requires officers and directors of the Company and persons who beneficially own more than ten percent (10%) of the Common Stock outstanding to file initial statements of beneficial ownership of Common Stock (Form 3) and statements of changes in beneficial ownership of Common Stock (Forms 4 or 5) with the SEC. Officers, directors and greater than 10% stockholders are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all such forms they file.

On March 5, 2024, Dr. Ann Lee, a director, filed a late Form 4 reporting a purchase of our Common Stock made on August 22, 2023 by her spouse’s IRA. Based solely upon review of Forms 3, 4 and 5 (and amendments thereto) filed electronically with the SEC by our executive officers and directors owning more than 10% of our common stock and upon any written representations received from the executive officers and directors, other than as described above, to the Company’s knowledge the Company believes that all other Section 16(a) filing requirements were met timely in fiscal year 2023.

The following table sets forth the names, ages and positions of our executive officers.

Each executive officer serves at the discretion of our Board and holds office until his or her successor is duly appointed or until his or her earlier resignation or removal. The following is a summary of our executive officers’ business experience.

Dr. Berman has been Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer since he co-founded the Company in 2020. For Dr. Berman’s biography, please see the section above entitled “Class III Directors Continuing in Office until the 2025 Annual Meeting.”

Mr. Snyder has been our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer since March 2022. Prior to joining Coya, Mr. Snyder served as the Chief Financial Officer of DisperSol Technologies, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Austhera BioSciences, Inc., from September 2020 to February 2022. Prior to joining DisperSol/Austhera, from July 2014 to September 2020, Mr. Snyder was the Chief Financial Officer of Exicure, Inc. (Nasdaq: XCUR), a company developing nucleic acid therapeutics. From May 2008 to July 2014, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Cellular Dynamics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICEL), a company developing ipsc-based stem cell tools and primary cell therapeutics. From 2007-2008, Mr. Snyder served as Senior Vice President of Finance, Site Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Roche NimbleGen, Inc. Prior to 2007, Mr. Snyder was Chief Financial Officer of companies in real estate, software, and manufacturing. Early in his career Mr. Snyder worked for financial and real estate investor Sam Zell. He received his Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Ottawa University and his M.B.A. with high honors from the Harvard Business School, where he was designated a George Fisher Baker Scholar.

Dr. Grossman has been our President and Chief Medical Officer since July 2023. Dr. Grossman brings over 20 years of drug development expertise having held senior executive leadership positions in large and small pharmaceutical companies leading the development and FDA approval of numerous drugs addressing significant unmet medical needs particularly across CNS disorders. He has close relationships with thought leaders worldwide and has negotiated directly with the FDA and Global Health Authorities for approval of many drugs across therapeutic areas. Dr. Grossman held executive positions at Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY), and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Before joining Coya, Dr. Grossman was Chief Medical Officer and Head of Translational Medicine at Empyrean Neuroscience from 2022 to 2023, s Chief Medical Officer at Mesoblast, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESO) from August 2019 to February 2022, developing allogeneic cellular therapies for inflammatory diseases, and President and Chief Medical Officer at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (BSE; 532296), a $1.5 Billion per annum global pharmaceutical company based in India from 2018 to 2019, overseeing development of the entire pipeline including generics, complex generics including 505(b)(2) candidates, and next-generation biologics (including bi-specific antibodies). Dr. Grossman is Board-Certified in Psychiatry and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was a Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has held several academic appointments and authored numerous scientific publication.

The following table shows the compensation earned by each of our named executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2023. Our compensation packages for the named executive officers consist primarily of base salary, annual cash bonus and a stock option grant.

(1)

In accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the stock option awards granted during 2022 and 2023 computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. Assumptions used to calculate the option awards are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as amended.

(4)

Dr. Hepner joined us in November 2021 and resigned as Chief Medical Officer in July 2023. Subsequent to his resignation as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hepner continued as an employee of the Company. Salary for 2023 includes salary paid for his services as both Chief Medical Officer until July 2023, and salary paid as an employee through December 2023.

Dr. Berman serves as our Chief Executive Officer pursuant to an Executive Employment Agreement, dated December 15, 2020, as amended (the “Berman Employment Agreement”). Pursuant to the Berman Employment Agreement, Dr. Berman is entitled to a base salary of $580,000 per year, subject to periodic review in accordance with our procedures for adjusting salaries for similarly situated employees, and may be adjusted in the sole discretion of the Company.

Dr. Berman is eligible to receive an annual bonus, targeted at 50% of base salary, upon the achievement of objectives to be determined by the Company. Dr. Berman is also entitled to an allowance of $500 a month for the use of a car. Dr. Berman is entitled to participate in all employee benefit plans and programs available to our employees.

The Berman Employment Agreement has an initial term of two years and will automatically renew for one year terms after the initial term has elapsed, unless either party terminates the agreement upon 30 days’ notice from the end of the initial or extended term. If we terminate the agreement for Cause (as defined in the Berman Employment Agreement), all of our obligations will cease. If we terminate the agreement without Cause, and Dr. Berman is not terminated due to death or Disability (as defined in the Berman Employment Agreement), Dr. Berman will continue to receive his base salary for 12 months, subject to Dr. Berman’s execution of a severance and general release agreement for our benefit.

Mr. Snyder serves as our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer pursuant to an Executive Employment Agreement, dated March 14, 2022 (the “Snyder Employment Agreement”). Pursuant to the Snyder Employment Agreement, Mr. Snyder is entitled to a base salary of $425,000 per year, subject to periodic review in accordance with our procedures for adjusting salaries for similarly situated employees, and may be adjusted in our sole discretion.

Mr. Snyder is eligible to receive an annual bonus, targeted at 40% of base salary, upon the achievement of objectives to be determined by the Company. In connection with the execution of the Snyder Employment Agreement, Mr. Snyder received an option grant exercisable for 87,788 shares of our common stock. Mr. Snyder is entitled to participate in all employee benefit plans and programs available to our employees.

The Snyder Employment Agreement has an initial term of two years and will automatically renew for one year terms after the initial term has elapsed, unless either party terminates the agreement upon 30 days’ notice from the end of the initial or extended term. If we terminate the agreement for Cause (as defined in the Snyder Employment Agreement), all obligations of the Company will cease. If we terminate the agreement without Cause, and Mr. Snyder is not terminated due to death or Disability (as defined in the Snyder Employment Agreement), Mr. Snyder will continue to receive his base salary for nine months, subject to Mr. Snyder’s execution of a severance and general release agreement for our benefit.

On July 3, 2023, we appointed Dr. Fred Grossman President and Chief Medical Officer, effective July 17, 2023. Pursuant to an Executive Employment Agreement, dated July 3, 2023, as amended and restated (the “Grossman Employment Agreement”), Dr. Grossman serves as our Chief Medical Officer and (i) receives a base salary of $479,000 per year, (ii) is eligible for an annual bonus, targeted at 40% of base salary, based on the performance of the Company as measured against the Company’s predetermined performance plan and Dr. Grossman’s individual performance during the fiscal year for which the annual bonus will be paid, and (iii) received two option grants, one on July 17, 2023 (the “Start Date”) and one in January 2024, each exercisable for an aggregate of 74,069 shares of our common stock. Dr. Grossman must remain employed with the Company through the end of the applicable calendar year to be eligible to receive his annual bonus, provided that if the Company terminates Dr. Grossman without Cause (as defined in the Grossman Employment Agreement) or Dr. Grossman resigns for Good Reason (as defined in the Grossman Employment Agreement) on or before the day his annual bonus is paid, Dr. Grossman will still receive his full annual bonus, and Dr. Grossman will be eligible to receive additional equity awards from time-to-time in the Company’s sole discretion. Dr. Grossman is entitled to participate in all employee benefit plans and programs available to the Company’s employees. All option grants will be made pursuant to the terms of the Coya Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan.

The Grossman Employment Agreement has an initial term of two years and will automatically renew for one year terms after the initial term has elapsed, unless either party terminates the agreement upon 30 days’ notice from the end of the initial or extended term. In connection with his entry into the Grossman Employment Agreement, Dr. Grossman entered into a customary Non-Disclosure Invention Assignment Agreement with the Company.

Other than as described above in “Employment Agreements with Named Executive Officers,” we have no plans, agreements or arrangements that provide for payment to our named executive officers in connection with termination of employment. We have no plans, agreements or arrangements that provide for payment to our named executive officers in connection with a change in our control.

We currently provide broad-based health and welfare benefits that are available to all of our employees, including our named executive officers, including medical, dental, and vision insurance.

The following table sets forth information regarding unexercised options, stock that has not vested and equity incentive awards held by each of the named executive officers outstanding as of December 31, 2023:

(4)

Subject to continuous service, 24,689 of the shares subject to the option will vest on July 17, 2024, and the remaining shares will vest in equal monthly installments over a period of 24 months commencing thereafter.

(3)

In accordance with SEC rules, this column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the stock option awards granted during 2023. These amounts have been computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. Assumptions used in the calculation of this amount are described in the notes to our financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. This amount does not reflect the actual economic value that will be realized by the Directors upon the vesting of the stock options, the exercise of the stock options, or the sale of the common stock underlying such stock options.

(4)

As of December 31, 2023, each of Dr. Dov Goldstein, Dr. Ann Lee, Dr. Anabella Villalobos and Dr. Hideki Garren held stock options exercisable for an aggregate of 17,557 shares of common stock, and Mr. Dieter Weinand held stock options exercisable for an aggregate of 10,000 shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2023, Mr. Ross did not hold any stock options.

During fiscal year 2023, Howard Berman, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, served as a member of our Board and received no additional compensation for his services as a member of our Board. See the section titled “Executive Compensation” for more information about Dr. Berman’s compensation for fiscal year 2023. It is our policy to reimburse non-employee members of our Board for reasonable travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of our Board and committees of our Board.

Our Board has adopted a non-employee director compensation policy that is designed to enable us to attract and retain, on a long-term basis, highly qualified non-employee directors. Pursuant to this policy our Board members will each receive $40,000 per year ($60,000 for Chairman of the Board, so long as that position is held by a non-employee director). Any compensation to be paid under this policy may be made in stock options, at the Board’s discretion.

The chair and non-chair members of the Board’s three standing committees are entitled to the following additional annual cash fees:

Our Board has also adopted an equity compensation policy pursuant to which Board members shall automatically be granted stock options to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock upon joining the Board, and on January 1 of each year, each then serving non-employee director shall be automatically granted stock options to purchase 5,000 shares of our common stock. These stock options shall fully vest upon the anniversary of their granting, have a term of ten years and shall have an exercise price equal to 100% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of grant. All options to be granted under this policy will be granted pursuant to our 2021 Incentive Plan.

Our Board and management believe that the effective use of stock-based long-term incentive compensation is vital to our ability to achieve strong performance in the future. Accordingly, on January 25, 2021, the Board adopted the 2021 Incentive Plan, which our stockholders approved on February 5, 2021.

On November 17, 2022, our Board amended and restated the 2021 Incentive Plan, which was then approved by our stockholders to:

•

Increase the number of shares of the Company’s common stock authorized to be issued under the 2021 Incentive Plan to 1,141,251, all of which are available for grant as Incentive Stock Options (as described below);

The 2021 Incentive Plan is intended to enable us to secure and retain the types of employees, consultants and directors who will contribute to our long-range success, and provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company by aligning their interests with those of our stockholders. Awards that may be granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan include: (a) Incentive Stock Options (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended); (b) Nonstatutory Stock Options (Incentive Stock Options and Nonstatutory Stock Options together referred to as “Options”); (c) Stock Appreciation Rights; (d) Restricted Stock Awards; (e) Restricted Stock Unit Awards (f) Performance Awards (payable in shares or cash); and (g) Other Awards (all as defined in the 2021 Incentive Plan, and collectively, “Awards”).

The 2021 Incentive Plan reserves 1,141,251 shares of our common stock for the grant of Awards, all of which may be granted as Incentive Stock Options. Pursuant to the 2021 Incentive Plan’s “evergreen” feature, the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance automatically increases on the first day of each fiscal year commencing with January 1, 2023 and on the first day of each fiscal year thereafter until the date the 2021 Incentive Plan expires, by an amount equal to four percent (4%) of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding on the last day of the preceding fiscal year, unless the Board determines before an annual increase takes effect that no increase will be made or a lesser increase.

As of March 22, 2024, awards have been granted and remain outstanding with respect to 1,698,730 shares of our common stock. All such awards have been granted as Options.

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2023 with respect to shares of our common stock that may be issued pursuant to our equity compensation plan:

(2)

In accordance with the “evergreen” provision in the 2021 Incentive Plan, an additional 576,213 shares of our common stock were automatically made available for issuance on the first day of 2024, which represents 4% of the number of fully-diluted shares outstanding on December 31, 2023. These shares are excluded from the shares disclosed in the table.

The undersigned members of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) submit this report in connection with the committee’s review of the financial reports for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 as follows:

The Audit Committee has discussed with representatives of Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P., the independent registered public accounting firm, the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) and the Commission.

The Audit Committee has discussed with Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P., the independent registered public accounting firm, the auditors’ independence from management and the Company has received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent auditors required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

In addition, the Audit Committee considered whether the provision of non-audit services by Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. is compatible with maintaining its independence. 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 financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as amended, for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

* The foregoing report of the Audit Committee is not to be deemed “soliciting material” or deemed to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (irrespective of any general incorporation language in any document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) or subject to Regulation 14A 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 it by reference into a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 22, 2024 by:

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares of common stock as to which the individual or entity has sole or shared voting power or investment power. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by an individual or entity and the percentage ownership of that person, shares of common stock subject to options or warrants held by such person that are currently exercisable or will become exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024 are considered outstanding, although these shares are not considered outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Percentage ownership is based on 14,602,172 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of March 22, 2024, plus any shares issuable upon exercise of options or warrants that are exercisable with 60 days of March 22, 2024 held by such person.

Unless noted otherwise, the address of all listed stockholder is 5850 San Felipe St. Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057. Each of the stockholders listed has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares beneficially owned by the stockholder unless noted otherwise, subject to community property laws where applicable.

(1)

Howard Berman, our Chief Executive Officer and director, is the managing director of Bertex LLC. Due to Dr. Berman’s controlling relationship with Bertex LLC, he may be deemed to have sole voting and dispositive control over the shares of our common stock owned by Bertex LLC. As a result, Dr. Berman may be deemed to beneficially own the shares of our common stock held by Bertex LLC.

(2)

Includes (i) 10,000 shares of our common stock owned directly by Dr. Berman, (ii) 939,338 shares of our common stock owned by Bertex LLC, of which Dr. Berman is the managing director, and (iii) options exercisable for 79,972 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024. Excludes (i) warrants exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock that are not exercisable due to beneficial ownership limitations contained in the warrants, and (ii) options exercisable for 274,708 shares of our common stock that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(3)

Includes (i) 7,000 shares of common stock, (ii) options exercisable for 114,942 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024, and (iii) warrants exercisable for 3,500 shares of our common stock. Excludes options exercisable for 87,846 shares of our common stock owned by Mr. Snyder that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(4)

Includes options exercisable for 6,818 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024. Excludes options exercisable for 67,251 shares of our common stock that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(5)

Includes (i) 2,000 shares of our common stock, (ii) options exercisable for 17,557 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024, and (iii) warrants exercisable for 1,000 shares of our common stock. Excludes options exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock owned by Dr. Garren that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(6)

Includes (i) 10,000 shares of our common stock, (ii) options exercisable for 17,557 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024, and (iii) warrants exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock. Excludes options exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock owned that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(7)

Includes (i) 17,479 shares of our common stock, and (ii) options exercisable for 17,557 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024. Excludes options exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(8)

Includes (i) 10,000 shares of our common stock, (ii) options exercisable for 17,557 shares of our common stock that are exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024, and (iii) warrants exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock. Excludes options exercisable for 5,000 shares of our common stock that are not exercisable within 60 days of March 22, 2024.

(11)

Based upon information contained in a Schedule 13G filed by AIGH Capital Management, LLC (“AIGH CM”), AIGH Investment Partners, L.C.C. (“AIGH IP”) and Mr. Orin Hirschman on February 7, 2024. Includes shares of our common stock held by AIGH Investment Partners, L.P. (“AIGH LP”), WVP Emerging Manger Onshore Fund, LLC – AIGH Series (“WVP”) and AIGH Investment Partners, LLC (“AIGH LLC”). Excludes warrants to purchase up to 280,000 shares of our common stock due to beneficial ownership limitations on exercise. Mr. Hirschman is the managing member of AIGH CM, which is an advisor or sub-advisor with respect to the securities held by AIGH LP and WVP, and president of AIGH LLC. Mr. Hirschman has voting and investment control over the securities indirectly held by AIGH CM and directly by AIGH LP and AIGH LLC. The principal office and business address of AIGH CM, AIGH IP, and Mr. Hirschman is 6006 Berkeley Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209.

(12)

Based upon information contained in a Schedule 13G filed by Greenlight Capital, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Greenlight Inc.”), DME Capital Management, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“DME CM”), DME Advisors, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“DME Advisors”), and DME Advisors GP, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“DME GP” and together with Greenlight Inc., DME CM and DME Advisors, “Greenlight”), and Mr. David Einhorn, the principal of Greenlight on February 14, 2024. Mr. Einhorn may be deemed to have indirect investment and/or voting power as the principal of Greenlight and other affiliated entities. DME GP is the general partner of DME CM and DME Advisors. Includes warrants to purchase up to 5,000 shares of our common stock. The principal business office of each of Greenlight is 140 East 45th Street, 24th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

Our policy is to enter into transactions with related parties on terms that, on the whole, are no more favorable, or no less favorable, than those available from unaffiliated third parties. The following is a description of transactions since January 1, 2022 to which we have been a participant in which the amount involved exceeded or

will exceed $120,000 and in which any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of our voting securities, or any members of their immediate family, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than compensation arrangements.

In connection with a financing in December 2020, we entered into a non-exclusive strategic advisory agreement with Allele Capital Partners LLC (“Allele”), a strategic advisory and investment firm, at $10,000 per month. A former owner of more than 5% of our capital stock is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Allele. The agreement with Allele terminated in December 2022.

In April 2022, we issued approximately $10.5 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible promissory notes. In connection with this offering, we paid to Allele, the placement agent in this issuance, a cash fee of 7% of the gross proceeds raised in the offering, or approximately $0.7 million. Upon the automatic conversion of the notes upon the completion of our IPO in January 2023, we issued warrants exercisable for 182,407 shares of our common stock to Allele as additional placement agent compensations.

Our Board has adopted a written related-party transaction policy that sets forth the policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of transactions involving the Company and “related persons.” For the purposes of this policy, “related persons” will include our executive officers, directors, director nominees, and their immediate family members, and stockholders owning five percent or more of our outstanding common stock and their immediate family members.

The policy covers, with certain exceptions set forth in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, any transaction, arrangement, or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements, or relationships in which we were or are to be a participant, where the amount involved exceeds $100,000 and a related person has or will have a direct or indirect material interest, including, without limitation, purchases of goods or services by or from the related person or entities in which the related person has a material interest, indebtedness, guarantees of indebtedness, and employment by us of a related person. In reviewing and approving any such transactions, our Audit Committee is tasked to consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to (i) whether the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in an arm’s length transaction with an unrelated party; (ii) the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction; (iii) the benefits to the Company; (iv) the impact on a director’s independence in the event the related person is a director, an immediately family member of a director or an entity in which a director is a partner, stockholder or executive officer; (v) the availability of other sources for comparable products or services; (vi) the terms of the transaction; and (vii) the terms available to unrelated third parties.

All related-party transactions may only be consummated if our Audit Committee has approved or ratified such transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. Any member of the Audit Committee who is a related person with respect to a transaction under review will not be permitted to participate in the deliberations or vote respecting approval or ratification of the transaction. However, such director may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Audit Committee that considers the transaction.

All of the transactions described in this section occurred prior to the adoption of this policy.

PROPOSAL 2: APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE 2021 INCENTIVE PLAN TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SHARES RESERVED FOR ISSUANCE THEREUNDER TO 2,571,070

The general purpose of the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended, the “2021 Incentive Plan”) is to provide a means whereby our eligible employees, officers, non-employee directors and other individual service providers (including consultants, advisors and prospective employees, officers, non-employee directors, consultants and advisors) develop a sense of proprietorship and personal involvement in the development and the financial success of our Company and to encourage them to devote their best efforts to the business of our Company, thereby advancing the interests of our Company and our stockholders. We, by means of the 2021 Incentive Plan, seek to retain the services of these eligible persons and to provide incentives for these persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of our Company.

Our Board believes that the granting of stock options, restricted stock awards and similar kinds of equity-based compensation promotes continuity of management and increases incentive and personal interest in the welfare of our Company by those who are primarily responsible for shaping and carrying out our long-term plans and securing our growth and financial success. On March 19, 2024, the Compensation Committee approved an amendment to increase the number of shares authorized for issuance under the 2021 Incentive Plan to 2,571,070 shares (the “Plan Amendment”). Upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, the Board directed that the Plan Amendment be submitted to the stockholders for approval at the Annual Meeting. A copy of the Plan Amendment is attached as Annex A.

If our stockholders do not approve this proposal, we will continue to operate the 2021 Incentive Plan under its current provisions.

Our Board unanimously recommends that you vote FOR the Plan Amendment Proposal, including for the following reasons:

•

Our future success as a company depends on our continued ability to attract, recruit, motivate and retain high-quality talent. Being able to continue to provide equity-based incentives is critical to achieving this success as we compete for talent in an industry in which equity compensation is market practice and is expected by existing personnel and prospective candidates. Equity awards are intended to motivate high performance levels and to align the interests of our employees, non-employee directors and consultants with those of our stockholders by giving such individuals an equity stake in our Company and by providing a means of recognizing such individuals’ contributions to our success. Our Board and management believe equity awards are necessary to remain competitive in our industry and are essential in a competitive labor market and industry to attracting, recruiting, motivating and retaining the highly qualified employees who help us meet our goals.

•

The current number of shares remaining available for grant under the 2021 Incentive Plan is insufficient in light of our existing compensation structure and strategy. The additional share authorization being sought is necessary to help ensure we have a sufficient number of shares authorized, reserved for issuance, and available to appropriately compensate our employees, non-employee directors and consultants in 2024, and to issue appropriate awards going forward, under the 2021 Incentive Plan.

•

In determining the number of additional shares to be reserved for issued under the 2021 Incentive Plan, the Board reviewed market, industry and compensation peer group practices and data. The Board determined that the 2021 Incentive Plan does not provide sufficient share authorization to appropriately compensate our employees, non-employee directors and consultants for a duration comparable to that of the equity incentive plans of similarly situated companies. We believe the Plan Amendment Proposal will remedy this by both meeting our specific needs and positioning us to be in line with the equity incentive plan share authorization levels at similarly situated companies.

Stockholders are being asked to approve the Plan Amendment Proposal to satisfy 2021 Incentive Plan and the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC requirements and to qualify certain stock options authorized under the Amended Plan for treatment as incentive stock options (“ISOs”) under Section 422 of the Code.

The Plan Amendment increases the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan from 1,821,070 to 2,571,070.

As of December 31, 2023, there were 24,746 shares of Common Stock available for future issuance under the 2021 Incentive Plan. The Compensation Committee believes this amount is insufficient for us to be able to attract, recruit, motivate and retain employees, non-employee directors and consultants or to appropriately compensate these individuals in 2024, and to issue appropriate awards going forward, under the 2021 Incentive Plan.

In the event that stockholders do not approve the Plan Amendment Proposal, the number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2021 Incentive Plan will not increase. Awards will continue to be made under the 2021 Incentive Plan to the limited extent that there are available shares of Common Stock to do so.

On January 25, 2021 our Board adopted the Coya Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, which our stockholders approved on February 5, 2021. On November 17, 2022, our Board of Directors amended and restated the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, which was then approved by our stockholders.

The following is a summary of the material features of the 2021 Incentive Plan and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the 2021 Incentive Plan. Capitalized terms used in this summary and not otherwise defined shall have the meaning set forth in the 2021 Incentive Plan.

The 2021 Incentive Plan is intended to enable us to secure and retain the types of employees, consultants and directors who will contribute to our long-range success, and provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company by aligning their interests with those of our stockholders. Awards that may be granted under the Amended and Restated Plan include: (a) Incentive Stock Options (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended); (b) Nonstatutory Stock Options (Incentive Stock Options and Nonstatutory Stock Options together referred to as “Options”); (c) Stock Appreciation Rights (“SARs”); (d) Restricted Stock Awards; (e) Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) Awards (f) Performance Awards (payable in shares or cash); and (g) Other Awards (all as defined in the 2021 Incentive Plan, and collectively, “Awards”).

The 2021 Incentive Plan initially reserved 1,141,251 shares of our common stock for the grant of Awards. As of January 1, 2024, the 2021 Incentive Plan reserved 1,821,070 shares of our common stock, reflecting the automatic increases as of January 1, 2023 and January 1, 2024 provided by the “evergreen” provision of the 2021 Incentive Plan. All Awards may be granted as Incentive Stock Options. Pursuant to the 2021 Incentive Plan’s “evergreen” feature, the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance will automatically increase on the first day of each fiscal year commencing with January 1, 2023 and on the first day of each fiscal year thereafter until the date the 2021 Incentive Plan expires, by an amount equal to four percent (4%) of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding on the last day of the preceding fiscal year, unless the Board determines before an annual increase takes effect that no increase will be made or a lesser increase.

Shares subject to Awards that are forfeited, or expire, as well as shares subject to Awards that are settled in cash, and shares that are reacquired by the Company in satisfaction of tax withholding obligations or as consideration for the exercise or purchase price of an Award, are added back to the shares reserved for issuance under the Plan and may be subject to new Awards under the 2021 Incentive Plan.

The 2021 Incentive Plan is administered by our Board, or in the Board’s sole discretion, by a committee appointed by the Board (the Board or such committee being referred to as the “plan administrator”). The plan administrator has full authority to establish rules and regulations for the administration of the 2021 Incentive Plan,

including to determine (i) the persons to whom and the time or times at which Awards may be granted; to determine the type and number of Awards to be granted; (ii) the number of shares of common stock to which an Award may relate; and (iii) the terms, conditions, restrictions and performance criteria of Awards. The plan administrator has authority to modify (reprice) the purchase price or the exercise price of any outstanding Award. Such repricings may be implemented without stockholder approval. The Board may, to the extent permitted by law, delegate to one or more officers the authority to grant Options and SARs to employees who are not officers.

The following describes the types of Awards that may be made under the 2021 Incentive Plan. The 2021 Incentive Plan also contains provisions with respect to payment of exercise prices, vesting and expiration of Awards, transferability of Awards, and various other terms, conditions, and limitations, as further described in the 2021 Incentive Plan.

Stock Options. Nonstatutory Stock Options may be granted to our employees, consultants and directors, while Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to our employees. The exercise price of all Options granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan will be determined by the plan administrator. With limited exceptions, the exercise price per share of any Option may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date. The maximum term of all stock options granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan will be determined by the plan administrator, but may not exceed ten years. However, the exercise price for Incentive Stock Options granted to any stockholder who is designated to be a “Ten Percent Shareholder” under the 2021 Incentive Plan must be at least 110% of the fair market value of the common stock on the date of the grant and such Options must expire no later than five years after the grant date. Each Option will vest and become exercisable at such time and subject to such terms and conditions as determined by the plan administrator in the applicable individual stock option agreement. To the extent that the aggregate fair market value (determined at the time of grant) of common stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any option holder during any calendar year exceeds $100,000, the options or portions thereof which exceed such limit shall be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options.

An Option may be granted with a right to exercise it before it becomes exercisable (referred to as an early exercise right). If exercised early, the shares of common stock acquired may be subject to a repurchase right in favor of the Company.

Unless the applicable stock option agreement provides otherwise, in the event of an optionee’s termination of employment or service, stock options will be treated as follows: (i) if the termination is for any reason other than for cause, disability or death, vested options generally will remain exercisable until three months after termination and then expire, (ii) if the termination is on account of the optionee’s disability or death, vested options generally will remain exercisable until one year after termination and will then expire and (iii) if the termination is for cause, all options, whether vested or unvested, will expire as of the date of such termination. Unless the applicable stock option agreement provides otherwise, any options that were not vested and exercisable on the date of any termination of employment or service for any reason will expire as of the date of such termination.

SARs. A SAR granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan entitles its holder to receive, at the time of exercise, an amount per share equal to the excess of the fair market value (at the date of exercise) of a share of our common stock over the base price of the SAR. With limited exceptions, each SAR will be granted with a base price that is not less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of our common stock on the grant date. The maximum term of SARs granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan will be determined by the plan administrator, but may not exceed ten years. The plan administrator may determine to settle the exercise of a SAR in shares of common stock, cash or any combination thereof.

Restricted Stock and RSUs. Restricted stock and RSUs may be granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan. RSUs may be settled in shares of common stock or cash, in the discretion of the plan administrator. The plan administrator will determine the purchase price, vesting schedule and performance objectives, if any, applicable to the grant of restricted stock and RSUs. If the restrictions, performance objectives or other conditions determined by the plan administrator are not satisfied, the restricted stock and RSUs will be forfeited. Subject to the provisions of the 2021 Incentive Plan and applicable individual award agreements, the plan administrator has the sole discretion to provide for the lapse of restrictions in installments or the acceleration or waiver of restrictions (in whole or part) under certain circumstances, including the attainment of certain performance goals, a participant’s termination of

employment or service or a participant’s death or disability. The rights of restricted stock and RSU holders upon a termination of employment or service will be set forth in individual award agreements.

Recipients of restricted stock will generally have all of the rights of a stockholder during the restricted period, including the right to vote and, to the extent specifically provided in an agreement award, receive dividends declared with respect to such stock (provided that dividends will only be paid out upon vesting of the shares to which they are attributable unless the award agreement provides otherwise). During the restricted period, participants with RSUs will generally not have any rights of a stockholder, but may be credited with dividend equivalent rights if the applicable individual award agreement so provides. Dividend equivalent amounts with respect to restricted stock or RSUs will be subject to the same restrictions, conditions and risks of forfeiture as the underlying restricted stock or RSU.

Performance Awards. Performance Awards under the 2021 Incentive Plan may be payable in shares of common stock and/or cash, contingent on the attainment during the applicable performance period of certain performance goals, as determined by the plan administrator and set forth in an individual’s award agreement.

Other Awards. Other forms of Awards valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, shares of our common stock may be granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan. The plan administrator will determine the terms and conditions of such other awards, including the number of shares of common stock to be granted pursuant to such other awards, the manner in which such other awards will be settled (e.g., in shares of common stock or cash), and the conditions to the vesting and payment of such other awards.

Equitable Adjustments. In the event of a merger, consolidation, reclassification, recapitalization, spin-off, spin-out, repurchase, reorganization, special or extraordinary dividend or other extraordinary distribution (whether in the form of shares of common stock, cash or other property), combination, exchange of shares, or other change in corporate structure affecting the shares of common stock, an equitable substitution or proportionate adjustment shall be made, at the sole discretion of the plan administrator, in (i) the aggregate number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2021 Incentive Plan, (ii) the kind and number of securities subject to, and the exercise price or base price of, any outstanding Options and SARs granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan, and (iii) the kind, number and purchase price of shares of common stock, or the amount of cash or amount or type of property, subject to outstanding Restricted Stock Awards, RSU Awards, Performance Awards and Other Awards granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan.

Change in Control. In accordance with the 2021 Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of any individual award agreement, the Board may, among other things, take one or more of the following actions in connection with a Change in Control (as defined in the 2021 Incentive Plan): (i) arrange for the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation to assume or continue Awards, (ii) cause any or all outstanding Awards to become vested and, if applicable, allow the holder of an Option or SAR to exercise such Option or SAR prior to the Change in Control and forfeit such Option or SAR if not exercised before the Change in Control, (iii) cancel an Award, to the extent not vested or not exercised prior to the Change in Control, in exchange for such cash consideration, if any, as the Board considers appropriate; or (iv) terminate an Award at or immediately prior to the closing of the Change in Control in exchange for a payment, in such form as may be determined by the Board, equal to the excess, if any, of the value of the property the participant would have received on the exercise of the Award immediately prior to the Change in Control, over any exercise price.

Tax Withholding. Each recipient of an Award will be required to make arrangements satisfactory to the plan administrator regarding payment of the amount of applicable taxes required by law to be withheld with respect to any Award granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan. With the approval of the plan administrator, an individual may satisfy the foregoing requirement by either electing to have us withhold from delivery of shares of common stock, cash or other property, as applicable, or by delivering already owned unrestricted shares of common stock, in each case, having a value not exceeding the applicable taxes to be withheld and applied to the tax obligations. We may also use any other method of obtaining the necessary payment or proceeds, as permitted by law, to satisfy our withholding obligation with respect to any award.

Clawback Rights. All Awards granted under the 2021 Incentive Plan are subject to recoupment in accordance with any clawback policy that the Company adopts pursuant to listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which the Company’s securities are listed or as is otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law. In addition, the Board may impose such other clawback, recovery or recoupment provisions as the Board deems appropriate.

Amendment and Termination. The 2021 Incentive Plan provides the Board with authority to amend, alter or terminate the 2021 Incentive Plan, but no such action may materially impair the rights of any participant with respect to outstanding Awards without the participant’s consent. Stockholder approval of any such action will be obtained if required to comply with applicable law or regulation.

Plan Term. The 2021 Incentive Plan will terminate on the tenth anniversary of the date the Board adopted the 2021 Incentive Plan (although awards granted before that time will remain outstanding in accordance with their terms).

The affirmative vote of the holders of shares of Common Stock having a majority in voting power of the votes cast by the holders of all of the shares of Common Stock present or represented at the Annual Meeting is required to approve this Proposal 2. As a result, abstentions, broker non-votes, if any, and any other failure to submit a proxy or vote in person at the meeting, will not affect the outcome of the vote of this Proposal 2.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO OUR 2021 INCENTIVE PLAN TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SHARES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE THEREUNDER TO 2,571,070 SHARES.

OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2024

The Audit Committee has reappointed Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. as our independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 and has further directed that management submit their selection of independent registered public accounting firm for ratification by our stockholders at the Annual Meeting. Neither the accounting firm nor any of its members has any direct or indirect financial interest in or any connection with us in any capacity other than as public registered accounting firm.

The following table summarizes the fees paid for professional services rendered by Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P, or Weaver, our independent registered public accounting firm, for each of the last two fiscal years.

(1)

Consists of fees rendered in connection with the audit of our financial statements, review of registration statements, review of the interim financial statements and services normally provided in connection with regulatory filings. Included in 2022 Audit fees is an aggregate of $0.1 million of fees billed in connection with our IPO, which closed in January 2023. Included in 2023 audit fees is an aggregate of approximately $33,000 fees billed in connection with the IPO and other registration statements.

In our fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, there were no other professional services provided by Weaver that would have required our Audit Committee to consider their compatibility with maintaining the independence of Weaver.

Audit Committee Policy on Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Our Audit Committee has established a policy governing our use of the services of our independent registered public accounting firm. Under this policy, our Audit Committee is required to pre-approve all audit and non-audit services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm in order to ensure that the provision of such services does not impair the public accountants’ independence. All fees paid to Weaver for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 were pre-approved by our Board and/or Audit Committee.

Representatives of Weaver and Tidwell, L.L.P. will be present at the Annual Meeting and will have an opportunity to make a statement if they so desire and will be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

A majority of the votes cast affirmatively by the holders of all of the outstanding shares of our capital stock present or represented at the Annual Meeting is required to approve this Proposal 3. Abstentions, if any, will not affect the outcome of the vote on this Proposal 3.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS VOTE FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM.

Any stockholder proposals submitted for inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy for our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in reliance on Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended must be received by us no later than November 28, 2024 in order to be considered for inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy. Such proposal must also comply with the requirements as to form and substance established by the SEC if such proposals are to be included in the proxy statement and form of proxy. Any such proposal shall be mailed to: Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057, Attn.: Secretary.

Director Nominations and Other Business to be Brought Before the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Our Bylaws state that a stockholder must provide timely written notice of any nominations of persons for election to our Board or any other proposal to be brought before the meeting together with supporting documentation as well as be present at such meeting, either in person or by a representative. For our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, a stockholder’s notice shall be timely received by us at our principal executive office no later than February 7, 2025 and no earlier than January 8, 2025; provided, however, that in the event that the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or more than seventy (70) days after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder must be so delivered not earlier than the close of business on the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made by the Company. Proxies solicited by our Board will confer discretionary voting authority with respect to these nominations or proposals, subject to the SEC’s rules and regulations governing the exercise of this authority. Any such nomination or proposal shall be mailed to: Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057, Attn.: Secretary.

Further, if you intend to nominate a director and solicit proxies in support of such director nominee(s) at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, you must also provide the notice and additional information required by Rule 14a-19 to: Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057, Attn.: Secretary, no later than March 19, 2025. This deadline under Rule 14a-19 does not supersede any of the timing requirements for advance notice under our Bylaws. The supplemental notice and information required under Rule 14a-19 is in addition to the applicable advance notice requirements under our Bylaws as described in this section and it shall not extend any such deadline set forth under our Bylaws.

Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K (including audited financial statements), as amended, filed with the SEC may be obtained without charge by writing to Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057, Attn.: Secretary. A request for a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K must set forth a good-faith representation that the requesting party was either a holder of record or a beneficial owner of our common stock on March 22, 2024. Exhibits to the Form 10-K, as amended, will be mailed upon similar request and payment of specified fees to cover the costs of copying and mailing such materials.

Our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and certain other related financial and business information are contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, which is being made available to our stockholders along with this proxy statement, but which is not deemed a part of the proxy soliciting material.

Some banks, brokers, and other nominee record holders may be participating in the practice of “householding” proxy statements. This means that only one copy of this Proxy Statement may have been sent to multiple stockholders in the same household. We will promptly deliver a separate copy of this Proxy Statement to any stockholder upon written or oral request to: Coya Therapeutics, Inc., 5850 San Felipe St., Suite 500, Houston, TX 77057, Attn.: Secretary, or by phone at (800) 587-8170 or email at IR@coyatherapeutics.com. Any stockholder who wants to receive a separate copy of this Proxy Statement, or of our proxy statements or annual reports in the future, or any stockholder who is receiving multiple copies and would like to receive only one copy per household, should contact the stockholder’s bank, broker, or other nominee record holder, or the stockholder may contact us at the address and phone number above.

As of the date of this proxy statement, the Board does not intend to present at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders any matters other than those described herein and does not presently know of any matters that will be presented by other parties. If any other matter requiring a vote of the stockholders should come before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the proxy to vote with respect to any such matter in accordance with the recommendation of the Board or, in the absence of such a recommendation, in accordance with the best judgment of the proxy holder.

This First Amendment (the “Amendment”) to the Coya Therapeutics, Inc. Amended and Restated 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) of Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”), is made as of _____, 20___. All capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment shall have the meanings assigned to such terms in the Plan.

WHEREAS, Section 2(a) of the Plan grants to the Board the power delegate administration of the Plan to a Committee of the Board and the Board has delegated the administration of the Plan to the Compensation Committee of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”);

WHEREAS, the Compensation Committee desires to increase the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan from 1,821,070 to 2,571,070, subject to approval by the Company’s stockholders.

NOW, THEREFORE, be it effective as of the date of approval by the Company’s stockholders, the Plan is hereby amended as follows:

1. Amendment to Section 3. Section 3(a) of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its entirety, to read as follows:

(a)

Share Reserve. Subject to Section 3(b) below and Section 9(a) (relating to Capitalization Adjustments), the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Awards shall be 2,571,070 shares (the “Share Reserve”). For clarity, the Share Reserve is a limitation on the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the Plan. Accordingly, the Share Reserve does not limit the granting of Awards except as provided in Section 7(a).

2. This Amendment shall be subject to approval by the stockholders of the Company within 12 months after the date this Amendment is adopted. Such stockholder approval shall be obtained in the manner and to the degree required under applicable laws. Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, exercise of any Option granted for shares of Common Stock in excess of those remaining available for grant under the Plan in the absence of such Amendment before the Company has obtained stockholder approval of this Amendment in accordance with this Section 2 shall be conditioned upon obtaining such stockholder approval of this Amendment in accordance with this Section 2.

3. Except as set forth herein, the Plan shall remain in full force and effect without modification.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned officer hereby certifies that the foregoing amendment to the Plan was duly adopted and approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board.


☐	Preliminary Proxy Statement
☐	Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
☒	Definitive Proxy Statement
☐	Definitive Additional Materials
☐	Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12


☒	No fee required
☐	Fee paid previously with preliminary materials
☐	Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11


Name	Age	Position(s)	Serving in Position Since
Howard Berman, Ph.D	50	Chief Executive Officer, Director	2020
David Snyder, M.B.A.	63	Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer	2022
Fred Grossman, D.O, FAPA	62	President, Chief Medical Officer	2023


Name and Principal Position	Year	Salary ($)		Bonus ($)		Option Awards ($) (1)		Total ($)
Howard Berman	2023	$	580,000	$	253,750		483,450	$	1,317,200
Chief Executive Officer	2022	$	412,500	$	185,625		—	$	598,125
David Snyder (2)	2023	$	425,000	$	185,938	$	336,950	$	947,888
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer	2022	$	279,775	$	111,910	$	216,836	$	608,521
Fred Grossman (3)	2023	$	227,000	$	113,500	$	251,982	$	592,482
President, Chief Medical Officer	2022		—		—		—		—
Adrian Hepner (4)	2023	$	285,208	$	—	$	336,950	$	622,158
Former President, Chief Medical Officer	2022	$	424,999	$	194,792	$	106,662	$	726,453


		Option Awards
Name	Grant Date	Number of securities underlying unexercised options (#) exercisable			Number of securities underlying unexercised options (#) unexercisable		Equity incentive plan awards: Number of securities underlying unexercised unearned options (#)		Option exercise price ($)		Option expiration date
Howard Berman	2/27/2023		45,833	(1)		119,167		—		3.85	2/27/2033
Chief Executive Officer								—
David Snyder	06/28/2022		51,209	(2)		36,579		—		3.48	06/28/2032
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer	02/27/2023		31,944	(1)		83,056		—		3.85	02/27/2033
Fred Grossman (3)	7/17/2023		—	(4)		74,069		—		4.25	7/17/2033
President, Chief Medical Officer								—
Adrian Hepner (5)	10/31/2021		44,027			—		—		1.09	10/31/2031
Former President, Chief Medical Officer	06/28/2022		21,947	(6)		21,947		—		3.48	06/28/2032
	02/27/2023		31,944	(1)		83,056		—		3.85	02/27/2033



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE MEETING			1
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS			7
PROPOSAL 1			8
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE			13
Composition of the Board of Directors			13
Board Diversity			13
Board of Director Meetings			14
Director Independence			14
Board Committees			15
Director Nominations Process			17
Stockholder Nominations for Directorships			18
Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight			18
Evaluations of the Board of Directors			19
Stockholder Communications			19
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics			19
Anti-Hedging Policy			20
Limitation of Directors Liability and Indemnification			20
Family Relationships			20
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports			20
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS			21
Management			21
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION			22
Summary Compensation Table			22
Employment Agreements with Named Executive Officers			22
Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control			23
Employee Benefits Plans			23
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End			24
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION			25
Director Compensation Table			25
Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy			25
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION			26
The Amended and Restated Coya Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan			26
REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE			28
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT			29
TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PERSONS			30
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS			31
PROPOSAL 2			32
PROPOSAL 3			37
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS			39
ANNUAL REPORT			39
HOUSEHOLDING OF ANNUAL MEETING MATERIALS			40
OTHER MATTERS			41


Name	Age	Position(s)	Served as an Officer or Director Since
Anabella Villalobos, Ph.D.	65	Director	2021
Dov Goldstein, M.D., M.B.A.	56	Director	2021


Name	Age	Position(s)	Served as an Officer or Director Since	Term Will Continue Until Annual Meeting Held In
Howard Berman, Ph.D	50	Chief Executive Officer, Director	2020	2025
Ann Lee, Ph.D.	62	Director	2021	2025
Dr. Hideki Garren, M.D., Ph.D.	60	Director	2021	2026
Wilbur Ross	86	Director	2023	2026
Dieter Weinand	63	Director	2023	2026


Name	Fees Earned Paid in Cash (1)		Stock Awards (2)		Stock Option Awards (3)(4)			Total
Dr. Hideki Garren, M.D., Ph.D.	$	55,000	$	—	$	—		$	55,000
Dov Goldstein, Ph.D.		63,750		—		—			63,750
Ann Lee, Ph.D.		52,500		—		—			52,500
Wilbur Ross (5)		—		—		—			—
Anabella Villalobos, Ph.D.		53,750		—		—			53,750
Dieter Weinand (6)		17,084		—		27,080	(6)		44,164


	Chair Fee		Non-Chair Member Fee
Audit Committee	$	15,000	$	7,500
Compensation Committee	$	10,000	$	5,000
Nominating and Governance Committee	$	7,500	$	3,750


Plan category	Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (a)		Weighted average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b)		Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) (c) (2)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders (1)		1,134,145	$	3.24		24,746
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders		—		—		—
Total		1,134,145	$	3.24		24,746


Name of Beneficial Owners	Number of Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned		Percent of Class
Named Executive Officers and Directors:
Howard Berman (1)(2)		1,029,310		7.0	%
David Snyder (3)		125,442	*
Fred Grossman (4)		6,818	*
Hideki Garren (5)		20,557	*
Dov Goldstein (6)		32,557	*
Ann Lee (7)		40,036	*
Anabella Villalobos (8)		32,557	*
Wilbur L. Ross (9)		165,016		1.1
Dieter Weinand (10)		—		—
All executive officers and directors as a group (7 persons)		1,452,293		9.8	%
5% Stockholders
Bertex LLC (1)(2)		939,338		6.4	%
Orin Hirschman (11)		1,164,372		8.1	%
David Einhorn (12)		1,274,026		8.8	%


Fee Category	2023		2022
Audit fees (1)	$	326,019	$	359,340
Audit related fees		—		—
Tax fees (2)		10,210		9,770
All other fees		—		—
Total	$	336,229	$	369,110