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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 31, 2023

 

 

FIBROGEN, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

Delaware			001-36740	77-0357827
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)			(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)
409 Illinois Street
San Francisco, California				94158
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)				(Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: 415 978-1200

 

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 par value		FGEN		The Nasdaq Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

 

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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On August 31, 2023, Mark Eisner, M.D. resigned from his position as Chief Medical Officer of FibroGen, Inc. (the “Company”), effective September 8, 2023, to pursue other opportunities. Dr. Eisner will continue as an employee through the effective date of his resignation, after which time, he will serve the Company as a consultant under a consulting agreement (the “Consulting Agreement”) to provide transition services. Dr. Eisner’s resignation is voluntary and is not the result of any disagreement with the Company. The Company has commenced a search for a new Chief Medical Officer. The Company would like to thank Dr. Eisner for his service and for the many contributions he made as Chief Medical Officer and as a member of the executive team.

 

Under the Consulting Agreement, Dr. Eisner will receive $15,000 per month and his stock awards will continue to vest in accordance with the existing terms applicable to such awards. The Consulting Agreement will continue until October 11, 2023, and may be extended by mutual agreement. The preceding summary of the Consulting Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Consulting Agreement which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated by reference herein.

 

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No.		Description
10.1		Consulting Agreement, dated September 11, 2023, between FibroGen, Inc. and Mark Eisner.
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

			FIBROGEN, INC.
Date:	September 6, 2023	By:	/s/ Michael Lowenstein
			Michael Lowenstein Chief Legal Officer

 

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Exhibit 10.1

 

Consulting Agreement

This Consulting Agreement (“Agreement”) is effective as of September 11, 2023 (“Effective Date”), by and between FibroGen, Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal offices located at 409 Illinois Street, San Francisco, California 94158 and its subsidiaries (collectively “FibroGen”) and Mark Eisner, an individual residing at [PRIVATE ADDRESS] (“Consultant”).

The Parties hereby agree as follows:

 

FibroGen shall pay to Consultant within thirty (30) days of each monthly anniversary of the Effective Date; provided that Consultant shall, prior to any payment, submit a properly completed, signed and dated IRS Form W-9 to FibroGen. If travel is required to perform Services, all travel expenses must be pre-approved in writing by FibroGen and in compliance with FibroGen’s then-current travel policy, and FibroGen shall reimburse Consultant’s reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses, in accordance with such travel policy. All such invoices relating to this Agreement must be sent to.

 

Accounts Payable (L: 41317-)

FibroGen Inc.

409 Illinois Street

San Francisco, CA 94158

AP@FibroGen.com

 

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Consultant shall continue to vest in Consultant’s outstanding equity awards with the Company in accordance with the terms thereof for the term of this Agreement.

(a) Consultant shall supply all equipment and instruments required to perform the Services under this Agreement on location at FibroGen, except when such equipment (including computer, printer, record storage cabinets, telephone, Fax machine, and related information technology equipment) or supplies are unique to FibroGen, in which case FibroGen shall provide Consultant with such equipment, instruments, documentation and specifications as may be reasonably required by Consultant for the performance of Services. Such equipment, instruments, documentation and specifications shall at all times remain the property of FibroGen. Consultant shall use all such provided equipment and instruments for its intended purpose in a safe manner and in strict compliance with FibroGen’s or its vendors’ instructions and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

(b) Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, Consultant shall promptly deliver to FibroGen all equipment and instruments furnished by FibroGen hereunder, documentation and specifications, as well as all records, manuals, books, blank forms, letters, notes, notebooks, reports, data, schematics, drawings, designs, or copies of the foregoing, and all other trade secrets, property, and confidential information of FibroGen including, but not limited to, all documents that in whole or in part contain any trade secret or Confidential Information (as defined in Section 7) of FibroGen which are in Consultant’s possession or under Consultant’s control, and further including any of the above stored in electromagnetic media such as ROMs, discs, tapes or cards, and Consultant shall not retain in Consultant’s possession or control any such materials or copies or embodiments thereof without the prior express written consent of FibroGen in each instance.

(a) “Confidential Information” means information disclosed to Consultant or is generated or becomes known to Consultant as a consequence of or through performance of Services for FibroGen, and includes trade secrets and any other proprietary information relating to the business and/or field of interest of FibroGen or of any entity which controls, is controlled by, or under common control with FibroGen including, but not limited to, information relating to inventions, disclosures, processes, systems, methods, formulas, patent applications, machinery, materials, manufacturing techniques, research activities and plans, costs of production, contract forms, prices, volume of sales, promotion methods, business secrets, financial information, lists of names or classes of customers, and information of third parties to whom FibroGen owes a duty of confidentiality. For clarity, Inventions, Data, and Deliverables are deemed part of Confidential Information. Information shall not be considered Confidential Information to the extent

2

Consulting Agreement

Ref:

CONFIDENTIAL

 

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Consultant can demonstrate upon competent written proof that such information (i) is already known to the Consultant at the time of disclosure and such information was not acquired directly or indirectly from FibroGen, (ii) is in the public domain prior to or becomes part of the public domain after disclosure other than through breach of this Agreement by Consultant or unauthorized acts or omissions of Consultant; or (iii) is disclosed in good faith to Consultant by an independent third party lawfully entitled to make such disclosure.

(b) Consultant shall protect and keep all Confidential Information in strict confidence and trust and use the same standard of care used by Consultant to protect her own confidential information, but in any event, shall use at least a reasonable standard of care to protect FibroGen’s Confidential Information. Consultant may use Confidential Information solely for the purpose of providing Services under this Agreement. Consultant shall not disclose any Confidential Information to any third party without FibroGen’s prior written consent. Except to the extent required in the performance of Services for FibroGen, or as otherwise pre-approved by FibroGen in writing, Consultant will not directly, indirectly or otherwise, use, permit others to use, disseminate, disclose, lecture upon or publish articles containing any Confidential Information. The Consultant hereby agrees that for any violation of this Section 6, FibroGen shall be entitled, in addition to any other remedies it may have, to specific performance, injunctions or other appropriate orders to correct or restrain any such breach by Consultant. Upon expiration of this Agreement or termination of this Agreement, or otherwise upon the request of FibroGen, Consultant will promptly return all Confidential Information to FibroGen (including copies and embodiments thereof) in Consultant’s possession or under Consultant’s control or, if so requested by FibroGen, destroy such information (and provide certification of such destruction to FibroGen), except that one (1) secure copy thereof may be retained in her archives solely to demonstrate compliance with the terms of this Agreement. Consultant will not withhold from FibroGen any Confidential Information as a means of resolving any dispute. Consultant will not utilize Confidential Information for any purpose except to render the Services.

(a) “Inventions” means any and all intellectual property which: (i) are conceived, reduced to practice or made by Consultant for FibroGen under this Agreement, or (ii) result from Services performed by Consultant, individually or in conjunction with others, for FibroGen; or (iii) are made, conceived or reduced to practice with FibroGen’s equipment, supplies, facilities or Confidential Information. Inventions shall include, without limitation: (x) discoveries, inventions, concepts and ideas, whether patentable or not, processes, methods, formulas, compositions, techniques, articles and machines, as well as improvements thereof; and (y) trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights and know-how relating to the business and/or field of interest of FibroGen or any entity which controls, is controlled by or under common control with FibroGen. In additional consideration of the fees paid to Consultant, the parties hereby expressly agree that any and all copyrights relating to any and all works of authorship created by Consultant under this Agreement that are protectable under the copyright laws of the United States are and shall be the sole property of FibroGen.

(b) All Inventions shall be the sole and exclusive property of FibroGen.

(c) Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, Consultant hereby agrees to, without royalty or other further consideration to Consultant therefor, but at the reasonable expense of FibroGen:

3

Consulting Agreement

Ref:

CONFIDENTIAL

 

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(i) As promptly as known or possessed by Consultant, disclose to FibroGen all information with respect to any Invention conceived, reduced to practice or made by Consultant or of which Consultant becomes aware;

(ii) Assign all right, title and interest in and to any such Inventions to FibroGen. Whenever requested to do so by FibroGen, Consultant shall promptly execute assignments and other related instruments to effect the assignment of all proprietary interests in and to such Inventions to FibroGen as FibroGen shall deem reasonably necessary to apply for and obtain letters patent, trademark and/or copyright registrations of the United States and of foreign countries for said Inventions and to assign and convey to FibroGen or FibroGen’s nominee the sole and exclusive right, title and interest in and to the Inventions or any applications, patents and registrations thereon;

(iii) Whenever requested to do so by FibroGen, deliver to FibroGen evidence for interference purposes or other legal proceedings. FibroGen shall reimburse Consultant’s reasonable pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses, including travel expenses for such delivery; and

(iv) Do such other acts as may be reasonably necessary in FibroGen’s sole opinion to obtain and maintain United States and foreign letters patents, trademark and/or copyright registrations for Inventions. If Consultant should be required to perform such acts after the termination or expiration of this Agreement, FibroGen shall reimburse Consultant’s reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including travel expenses and pay Consultant at a reasonable rate for performing such other acts so long as such performance does not also include Services included in Subsection (b) above.

(d) All Data and Deliverables under this Agreement are and shall be the sole property of FibroGen.

(e) Consultant hereby (i) acknowledges and agrees that Consultant has no interests in Confidential Information, Data, Deliverables or Inventions, and (ii) covenants that she will not lien or encumber, or otherwise cause, permit or consent to the granting of a lien or encumbrance of the Confidential Information, Data,Deliverables or Inventions.

4

Consulting Agreement

Ref:

CONFIDENTIAL

 

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Consultant shall be obligated to pay any and all applicable social security taxes and federal, state and local income taxes, unemployment insurance and other charges and shall be responsible for making appropriate filings and payments to the applicable taxing authorities, including payments of all withholding and payroll taxes due on compensation received hereunder. It is Consultant’s responsibility to comply with all laws relating to workers’ compensation insurance, and it is expressly understood that FibroGen shall not provide workers’ compensation insurance for Consultant or for any of Consultant’s employees or agents. Consultant shall indemnify, defend and hold FibroGen harmless for any and all claims arising out of injury, disability, or death of Consultant and Consultant’s employees or agents resulting from the performance of the Services.

Any notice to FibroGen shall be addressed to:

FibroGen Inc.

Legal Department

409 Illinois Street

San Francisco, CA 94158

Any notice to the Consultant shall be addressed to:

Mark Eisner

[PRIVATE ADDRESS]

Either Party may change the address to which notice to it is to be addressed by notice as provided herein.

5

Consulting Agreement

Ref:

CONFIDENTIAL

 

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6

Consulting Agreement

Ref:

CONFIDENTIAL

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Consulting Agreement as of the Effective Date.

 

FibroGen, Inc.			Mark Eisner
By:			By:
Name:			Name:
Title:			Title:
Date:			Date:

7

Consulting Agreement

Ref:

CONFIDENTIAL

 

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