EUPRAXIA PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Mar 20, 2025.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
The yearly report of certain Canadian companies, filed under a joint US and Canadian system. It is the main yearly account these companies give US investors, largely as filed in Canada.
FY2024 · Filed Mar 20, 2025
Use the contents to explore the available documents and sections.
Contents
EX-99.1 · Audit Committee
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is comprised of John Montalbano (Chair), Simon Pimstone and Paul Geyer, each of whom is “independent” and “financially literate” pursuant to NI 52-110.
The Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its obligations relating to the integrity of the internal financial controls and financial reporting of the Company. The external auditors of the Company report directly to the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s principal responsibilities include (i) recommending the external auditor to be nominated for the purpose of providing audit, review or attest services for the Company, (ii) recommending the compensation of the external auditor, (iii) overseeing the work of the external auditor in performing audit, review or attest services for the Company, (iv) reviewing the Company’s financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis and annual and interim earnings press releases before the Company publicly discloses this information, and (v) establishing procedures for addressing complaints or concerns regarding accounting, internal control or auditing matters.
A copy of the Audit Committee’s charter is attached as Schedule “A” to this AIF.
Relevant Education and Experience
Each member of the Audit Committee has adequate education and experience that is relevant to their performance as an Audit Committee member and, in particular, the requisite education and experience that have provided the member with:
| (a) | an understanding of the accounting principles used by the Company to prepare its financial statements and the ability to assess the general application of those principles in connection with estimates, accruals and reserves; |
| (b) | experience preparing, auditing, analyzing or evaluating financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the Company’s financial statements or experience actively supervising individuals engaged in such activities; and |
| (c) | an understanding of internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. |
John Montalbano, CFA, Director
John retired as CEO of RBC Global Asset Management in 2015, at which point the company managed $370 billion in assets, placing it among the 50 largest asset managers worldwide. John currently serves as Director and Audit Chair for the following organizations: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, AbCellera Inc. (Nasdaq), and Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals (TSX). He also serves as Director for Manulife and Chairs White Crane Capital, a Vancouver-based hedge fund.
John’s past volunteer roles have included Chair of the UBC Board of Governors, Chair of St. Paul’s Foundation, Chair of The Vancouver Police Foundation, Killam Trusts Trustee, co-Founder of Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation, Chair of the Vancouver Public Library Capital Campaign and Director/Chair Investments for the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. He serves as a Director for the Rideau Hall Foundation and Windmill Microlending.
John holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation, a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Honours from the University of British Columbia, and an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Simon Pimstone, MD, PhD, FRCPC (Chair), Chairman of the Board
Dr. Simon Pimstone is a founder andnon-executive Board Chair at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Xenon”), a publicly traded Canadian biotechnology company (Nasdaq: XENE). Xenon is engaged in discovering and developing novel pharmaceuticals targeting neurological diseases with a key focus on ion channels.
Dr Pimstone is also a founder and CEO of XYON Health Inc., a privately held Canadian company delivering innovative healthcare solutions for men and women with hair loss.
Dr. Pimstone received his MD from the University of Cape Town (MBChB, 1991) and is an internal medicine specialist (FRCPC, UBC, 2001). Prior to his specialization, he trained as a clinical research fellow with the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia and obtained his PhD in cardiovascular genetics through the University of Amsterdam (1998).
Dr. Pimstone also serves as a consultant physician at the UBC Medical and Cardiology Clinic at UBC Hospital in Vancouver.
Dr. Pimstone has served on numerousnon-profit boards including BIOTECanada, LifeSciences BC, the Center for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Providence Healthcare and numerous life sciences company boards including Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals and Alpha9 Oncology.
Dr. Pimstone has received a number of awards and is widely published.
Paul Geyer, P.Eng. RIT., Director
Mr. Geyer is a Medtech Entrepreneur, angel investor and venture capitalist, and has sat on the Boards of several companies. Over the past 30 years Mr. Geyer founded or led three companies through their growth phase, in one case to exit and in another to a public company. These companies have grown to employ more than 350 people.
Mr. Geyer is currently the CEO of Discovery Parks and Nimbus Synergies, a venture capital investment program focused on growing BC Digital Health companies that operate in the intersection between health, life sciences, and technology. He is an active mentor and angel investor in medical technology companies.
In 1991 he founded Mitroflow, a tissue heart valve company. Mr. Geyer grew the company from nine employees to more than 125 employees, selling in 1999 for more than $50 million. In 2001, Mr. Geyer founded Medical Ventures (Neovasc) where he is on the board and held the position of CEO until June 2008 and was responsible for raising over $40 million in equity financing and overseeing the acquisition of three other companies.
From 2009 to 2017, Mr. Geyer was the first CEO of LightIntegra Technology which developed the ThromboLux, a point of care device to determine platelet quality for blood transfusions.
Since 2008, Mr. Geyer has focused on assisting entrepreneurs to build successful businesses, as a mentor or board member, and as a Fellow of Creative Destruction Labs. He has also worked on building the local community through his involvement as a board member of BCTech, LifeSciences BC, and Science World, Vancouver General Hospital & UBC Hospital Foundation, and Junior Achievement BC along with a number ofnon-profit community-based organizations. He also participates in a range of philanthropic endeavours.
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The Audit Committee has the authority and responsibility forpre-approval of allnon-audit services to be provided to the Company or its subsidiary entities by the external auditors or the external auditors of the Company’s subsidiary entities unless suchpre-approval is otherwise appropriately delegated or if appropriate specific policies and procedures for the engagement ofnon-audit services have been adopted by the Audit Committee.
External Auditor Service Fees by Category
The aggregate fees billed by the Company’s external auditors in the last two fiscal years for audit fees are set out in the table below. In the table, “Audit Fees” are fees billed by the Company’s external auditor for services provided in auditing the Company’s annual financial statements and include the fees for interim review of the financial statements each quarter and fees associated with the preparation of consent letters. “Audit-Related Fees” are fees not included in audit fees that are billed by the external auditor for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit and review of the Company’s financial statements. “Tax Fees” are fees billed by the external auditor for professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning. “All Other Fees” are fees billed by the external auditor for products and services not included in the foregoing categories. All fees are “as billed” on a cash basis by the Company. All amounts in the table are expressed in Canadian dollars.
| Financial Year Ending | Audit Fees | Audit Related Fees | Tax Fees(1) | All Other Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2024 | $280,280 | $- | $103,316 | $- |
| December 31, 2023 | $408,200(2) | $- | $11,700 | $- |
Notes:
| (1) | Tax Fees related to the preparation of income tax returns for the Company and its subsidiaries, and fees related to the preparation of the Company’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development claims. |
| (2) | Includes fees related to the reaudit of the 2021/2022 financial statements as a result of appointment of KPMG LLP as auditor. |
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.