Pharmos Announces Shareholder Approval of All Proxy Proposals at Regularly Scheduled Annual General Meeting
Iselin NJ, September 21, 2005 – Pharmos Corporation (Nasdaq: PARS) announced today results of the Company’s Annual Meeting of the Stockholders held yesterday beginning at 11:00 AM ET at the Hilton New York in midtown Manhattan.
During the meeting, a quorum was established with votes represented by proxy or meeting attendees amounting to 81% of the 19 million shares outstanding and eligible to be voted, and the vote was undertaken in compliance with the Company’s bylaws and all applicable securities laws. In addition, Haim Aviv, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Pharmos, provided an update on the Company’s strategy and the status of its clinical programs and pipeline to shareholders present at the meeting. A copy of the presentation has been posted to the Company’s website at http://www.pharmoscorp.com.
The proposals voted on included the following: 1) to elect two Class II directors to serve a three year term until the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders; 2) to increase the number of authorized shares to 60,000,000; 3) to amend the Company’s 2000 Stock Option Plan; and 4) to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC as the Company’s auditors.
The initial vote tabulation demonstrated that all proposals and directors up for election or reelection passed with substantial majorities. Pharmos believes that the results as determined by the initial tabulation will be certified by the Company’s independent certifier of elections within a time frame and subject to conditions consistent with applicable U.S. proxy and securities rules and regulations.
“We are pleased to have achieved strong investor support for critical operational and administrative functions as measured by today’s robust vote,” said Dr. Aviv. “Pharmos continues to build and leverage its unique expertise with synthetic cannabinoid compounds and the remainder of its product portfolio and is working diligently to move forward with its clinical plan.”
Pharmos discovers and develops novel therapeutics to treat pain, central nervous system indications, and inflammatory disorders. The Company’s core proprietary technology platform focuses on discovery and development of synthetic cannabinoid compounds. Cannabinor, the lead CB2-selective receptor agonist candidate is undergoing Phase I safety studies and, if successful, will enter Phase II testing in pain indications around year-end or early 2006. From the dextrocannabinoid family, the neuroprotective drug candidate dexanabinol completed a Phase IIa trial as a preventive agent against post-surgical cognitive impairment. Other compounds from Pharmos’ proprietary synthetic cannabinoid library are in pre-clinical studies targeting pain, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other disorders. The Company’s NanoEmulsion drug delivery system is in clinical-stage development for topical application of analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents.
Statements made in this press release related to the business outlook and future financial performance of the Company, to the prospective market penetration of its drug products, to the development and commercialization of the Company’s pipeline products and to the Company’s expectations in connection with any future event, condition, performance or other matter, are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. Additional economic, competitive, governmental, technological, marketing and other factors identified in Pharmos’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect such results.