ADIAL PHARMACEUTICALS INC

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth the information as to compensation paid to or earned by our executive officers during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 whose total compensation did exceed $100,000. The persons listed in the following table are referred to herein as the “named executive officers.”

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End (December 31, 2023)

The following table provides information about the number of outstanding equity awards held by each of our named executive officers as of December 31, 2023:

On March 25, 2024, the Compensation Committee awarded Messrs. Claiborne and Truluck options to purchase 60,000 and 25,000 shares of common stock, respectively at an exercise price of $1.35 per share issued on March 25, 2024.

Clawback Policy

The Board has adopted a clawback policy which allows us to recover performance-based compensation, whether cash or equity, from a current or former executive officer in the event of an Accounting Restatement. The clawback policy defines an Accounting Restatement as an accounting restatement of our financial statements due to our material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement under the securities laws. Under such policy, we may recoup incentive-based compensation previously received by an executive officer that exceeds the amount of incentive-based compensation that otherwise would have been received had it been determined based on the restated amounts in the Accounting Restatement.

The Board has the sole discretion to determine the form and timing of the recovery, which may include repayment, forfeiture and/or an adjustment to future performance-based compensation payouts or awards. The remedies under the clawback policy are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any legal and equitable claims available to the Company. The clawback policy is annexed to this Annual Report on Form 10-K as an exhibit.

Employment Agreements and Consulting Agreement

Employment Agreements

We are currently a party to employment agreements with each of Messrs. Claiborne and Truluck.

In connection with the appointment of Mr. Claiborne as Chief Operating Officer of the Company, we and Mr. Claiborne entered into a three-year employment agreement (the “Claiborne Employment Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Claiborne Employment Agreement, Mr. Claiborne received an annual base salary of $304,000, had a target bonus opportunity equal to 40% of his base salary and devoted no less than 80% of his business time to the affairs of the Company. On August 22, 2022, Mr. Claiborne was appointed Chief Executive Officer by the Board of Directors, at which time his employment agreement was amended to increase his annual base salary to $450,000 and Mr. Claiborne agreed to devote substantially all his business time to the affairs of the Company. On execution of this agreement, Mr. Claiborne was also granted one million shares of common stock, said shares vesting monthly over a three year period. Mr. Claiborne’s annual salary is subject to increase at the discretion of the Board. The Board may, in its discretion, pay a portion of Mr. Claiborne’s annual bonus in the form of cash or equity or equity-based awards (or any combination thereof). Mr. Claiborne is also subject to certain restrictive covenants, including a non-competition (applicable during employment and for 24 months thereafter), customer non-solicitation and employee and independent contractor non-solicitation (each applicable during employment and for 12 months thereafter), as well as confidentiality (applicable during employment and 7 years thereafter) and non-disparagement restrictions (applicable during employment and at all times thereafter).

Effective upon the closing of the initial public offering, we entered into a three -year employment agreement with Joseph Truluck to serve as our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer (the “Truluck EA”), which agreement was amended on February 12, 2021 to extend the term of the agreement to March 31, 2026. Under the Truluck EA, Mr. Truluck devotes no less than 50% of his business time to the affairs of our company, which was increased to 75% on February 12, 2021. Pursuant to the terms of the Truluck EA, as amended on March 10, 2019 to increase his salary to $150,000 per annum and further amended on March 3, 2020 to increase his salary to ($170,000 per annum) and further amended on February 23, 2022, he receives an annual salary of $270,000 and has a target bonus opportunity equal 25% of his salary. Mr. Truluck’s annual salary is subject to increase at the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may, in its discretion, pay a portion of Mr. Truluck’s annual bonus in the form of equity or equity -based compensation. Mr. Truluck is also subject to certain restrictive covenants, including a non -competition (applicable during employment and for 24 months thereafter), customer non -solicitation and employee and independent contractor non -solicitation (each applicable during employment and for 12 months thereafter), as well as confidentiality (applicable during employment and 7 years thereafter) and non -disparagement restrictions (applicable during employment and at all times thereafter).

In the event that Mr. Claiborne’s or Mr. Truluck’s (each an “Executive”) employment is terminated by us other than for Cause, or upon his resignation for Good Reason (as such terms are defined in the Employment Agreement), the Executive will be entitled to any unpaid bonus earned in the year prior to the termination, a pro -rata portion of the bonus earned during the year of termination, continuation of base salary for 12 months in the case of Mr. Claiborne, or 6 months in the case of Mr. Truluck.

In the event that the Executive’s employment is terminated due to his death or Disability, the Executive (or his estate) will be entitled to any unpaid bonus earned in the year prior to the termination, a pro-rata portion of the bonus earned during the year of termination, 12 months of COBRA premium reimbursement and accelerated vesting of (a) all equity awards received in payment of base salary or an annual bonus and (b) with respect to any other equity award, the greater of the portion of the unvested equity award that would have become vested within 12 months after the termination date had no termination occurred and the portion of the unvested equity award that is subject to accelerated vesting (if any) upon such termination under the applicable equity plan or award agreement (with performance goals deemed earned at not less than target performance, and with any equity award that is in the form of a stock option or stock appreciation right to remain outstanding and exercisable for 12 months following the termination date or, if longer, such period as provided under the applicable equity plan or award agreement (but in no event beyond the expiration date of the applicable option or stock appreciation right).

All severance payments to the Executives will be subject to the execution and non-revocation of a release of claims by the Executive or his estate, as applicable.

For purpose of each of the Claiborne EA and Truluck EA, “Good Reason” is defined as the occurrence of any of the following events without the respective Executive’s consent: (i) a material reduction in the Executive’s duties, responsibilities or authority; (ii) a reduction of the Executive’s base salary; (iii) failure or refusal of a successor to us to either materially assume our obligations under the employment agreement or enter into a new employment agreement with the Executive on terms that are materially similar to those provided under this Agreement, in any case, in the event of a Change of Control; (iv) relocation of the Executive’s primary work location that results in an increase in the Executive’s one -way driving distance by more than twenty -five (25) miles from the Executive’s then -current principal residence; or (v) a material breach of the employment agreement by us.

For purposes of the Claiborne EA and Truluck EA, “Cause” is defined as that the Executive shall have engaged in any of the following acts or that any of the following events shall have occurred, all as determined by the board of directors in its sole and absolute discretion: (i) conviction for, or entering of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere (or its equivalent under any applicable legal system) with respect to (A) a felony or (B) any crime involving moral turpitude; (ii) commission of fraud, misrepresentation, embezzlement or theft against any person; (iii) engaging in any intentional activity that injures or would reasonably be expected to injure (monetarily or otherwise), in any material respect, the reputation, the business or a business relationship of the Company or any of its affiliates; (iv) gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of the Executive’s duties to us or its affiliates under this Agreement, or willful refusal or failure to carry out the lawful instructions of the board of directors that are consistent with the Executive’s title and position; (v) violation of any fiduciary duty owed to us or any of its affiliates; or (vi) breach of any restrictive covenant (as defined) or material breach or violation of any other provision of the employment agreement, of a written policy or code of conduct of our company or any of our affiliates (as in effect from time to time) or any other agreement between the Executive and we or any of our affiliates. Except when such acts constituting Cause which, by their nature, cannot reasonably be expected to be cured, the Executive will have twenty (20) days following the delivery of written notice by the Company of its intention to terminate the Executive’s employment for Cause within which to cure any acts constituting Cause. Following such twenty (20) day cure period, and if the reason stated in the notice is not cured, the Executive shall be given five (5) business days prior written notice to appear (with or without counsel) before the full Board for the opportunity to present information regarding his views on the alleged Cause event. After we provide the original notice of our intent to terminate Executive’s employment for Cause, we may suspend the Executive, with pay, from all his duties and responsibilities and prevent him from accessing our or our affiliates premises or contacting any of our personal or any of our affiliates until a final determination on the hearing is made. The Executive will not be terminated for Cause until a majority of the independent directors approve such termination following the hearing.

For the purposes of each of the Claiborne EA and Truluck EA, “Change of Control” is defined as: (i) the accumulation over a twelve (12) month period, whether directly or indirectly, by any individual, entity or group of our securities representing over fifty (50%) percent of the total voting power of all our then outstanding voting securities; (ii) a merger or consolidation of us in which our voting securities immediately prior to the merger or consolidation do not represent, or are not converted into securities that represent, a majority of the voting power of all voting securities of the surviving entity immediately after the merger or consolidation; (iii) a sale of substantially all of our assets; or (iv) during any period of twelve (12) consecutive months, our current directors, together with any new director whose election by the board of directors or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the directors then still in office, cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the board of directors.

Effective upon the closing of our initial public offering, we entered into a five-year employment agreement with William B. Stilley to serve as our Chief Executive Officer, which agreement was amended on February 12, 2021 to extend the term of the agreement to March 31, 2026 (the “Stilley EA”). Under the Stilley EA, as amended on March 10, 2019 to increase his salary to $400,000 and further amended on February 12, 2021 and March 17, 2021, Mr. Stilley received an annual salary of $410,000 and had a target bonus opportunity equal to 40% of his salary. Mr. Stilley’s annual salary was subject to increase at the discretion of our board of directors. On August 22, 2022, Mr. Stilley was appointed by the Board to be Chief Executive Officer of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Purnovate, Inc. At this time, his employment agreement was amended to make his annual salary equal to $260,000, which was to be increased to $430,000 at such time as Purnovate’s cash on hand is equal to three million dollars or more. Our board of directors could, in its discretion, pay a portion of Mr. Stilley’s annual bonus in the form of equity or equity-based compensation, provided that commencing with the year following the year in which a Change of Control (as defined in the Stilley EA) occurs, Mr. Stilley’s annual bonus was paid in cash. Mr. Stilley is also subject to certain restrictive covenants, including a non-competition (applicable during employment and for 24 months thereafter), customer non-solicitation and employee and independent contractor non -solicitation (each applicable during employment and for 12 months thereafter), as well as confidentiality (applicable during employment and 7 years thereafter) and non-disparagement restrictions (applicable during employment and at all times thereafter). On January 27, 2023, we entered into an amendment to the Stilley EA, as amended, that (i) deleted the provision of the employment agreement that provided that the termination by Mr. Stilley of his employment on or before February 22, 2023 shall be deemed to be a termination by him for good reason and (ii) added a provision to the employment agreement providing that Mr. Stilley will not serve on a full time basis for us and may provide services to other businesses including Adovate. Effective May16, 2023, the Stilley EA was assumed by Adovate, LLC on exercise of Adovate’s option to purchase the business of Purnovate, Inc., leaving the Company with no obligations under the agreement. Mr. Stilley remained a member of the Board. On September 18, 2023, Mr. Stilley notified us of his decision to resign, effective at such date, from his position as a member of the Board and any other executive positions with us and our subsidiaries.

Consulting Agreements

On March 24, 2019, we entered into a three-year consulting agreement with Bankole Johnson. Dr. Johnson’s consulting agreement with us (the “Johnson Consulting Agreement”) provides that Dr. Johnson will serve as our Chief Medical Officer and devote 75% of his working time to our business and affairs and will receive: (i) an annual fee of $375,000 a year; (ii) a signing bonus of $250,000 (which he received); and (iii) an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock. The shares of common stock underlying the option award vests pro rata on a monthly basis over a thirty-six month period. The options are exercisable for a period of ten years from the date of grant and have an exercise price of $3.01 per share. On March 22, 2022, the agreement was extended for an additional three year term, to expire on March 21, 2025 and to be terminable by either party for any reason on 30 days notice. On September 8, 2022, the agreement was further amended to increase the annual fee due Dr. Johnson to $435,000 and to grant Dr. a number of bonuses in cash and equity, contingent on achieving certain milestones.

The Johnson Consulting Agreement may be terminated by us upon Dr. Johnson’s death, upon thirty days’ notice for a material breach of the Consulting Agreement by Dr. Johnson that can be cured, after notice of breach and failure to cure; upon notice for a breach of the Consulting Agreement by Dr. Johnson that cannot be cured; upon thirty days’ notice for any other cause.

On March 15, 2023, we entered into a nine month consulting agreement with Tony Goodman (the “Goodman Consulting Agreement”), one of our directors. Pursuant to the terms of the Goodman Consulting Agreement, Mr. Goodman is to receive a cash payment of $22,000 per month and will receive a grant of 100,000 shares of Common Stock upon consummation of a partnering transaction if such transaction is consummated prior to December 31, 2024. On January 18, 2024, Mr. Goodman was appointed as our Chief Operating Officer. In such capacity, he will be paid compensation of $25,000 per month and will devote no less than 75% of his business time to performing this role.

Indemnification Agreements

We entered into agreements with each Executive and each director under which we will be required to indemnify them against expenses, judgments, damages, liabilities, losses, penalties, excise taxes, fines and amounts paid in settlement and other amounts actually and reasonably incurred in connection with an actual or threatened proceeding if any of them may be made a party because the Executive or director is or was one of our Executives. We will be obligated to pay these amounts only if the executive or director acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to our best interests. With respect to any criminal proceeding, we will be obligated to pay these amounts only if the Executive or director had no reasonable cause to believe his/her conduct was unlawful. The indemnification agreements also set forth procedures that will apply in the event of a claim for indemnification.

Director Compensation

Director Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information regarding the compensation earned for service on our board of directors by our non-employee directors during the year ended December 31, 2023. Mr. Claiborne also served on our board of directors and received compensation as a result. The compensation for Mr. Claiborne as an executive officer and Director is set forth above under “—Summary Compensation Table.”

On March 25, 2024, directors were awarded options as follows, each option with an exercise price of $1.35 per share, each award vesting over a period of three years:

Directors receive cash compensation for their service as directors, including service as members of each committee on which they serve.

On June 30, 2017, the board of directors approved a plan for the annual cash compensation of directors, which plan was amended on February 12, 2021 with respect to directors’ compensation, which plan remained in effect in 2023: