UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.           )

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

 

XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the annual meeting (the “Meeting”) of the shareholders of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Xenon” or the “Corporation”) will be held virtually via live webcast on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. (PDT) at https://web.lumiagm.com/254509977 for the following purposes:

The accompanying Proxy Statement and Management Information Circular provides additional information as to the matters to be dealt with at the Meeting and is deemed to form a part of this Notice. The holders of the Common Shares of record at the close of business on April 5, 2022 (the “Record Date”) are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Meeting.

Xenon will hold the Meeting in a virtual only format, which will be conducted online via live webcast. Registered shareholders will be able to attend, participate and vote at the Meeting online at https://web.lumiagm.com/254509977. If you hold your Common Shares in a brokerage account, you are not a registered shareholder. Non-registered shareholders who have not duly appointed themselves as proxyholders will be able to attend the Meeting as guests, but guests will not be able to participate or vote at the Meeting.

A shareholder who wishes to appoint a person other than the management nominees identified on the applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable, to represent him, her or it at the Meeting may do so by inserting such person’s name in the blank space provided in the applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable, and following the instructions for submitting such form of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable. This must be completed prior to registering such proxyholder, which is an additional step to be completed once you have submitted your applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form. If you wish that a person other than the management nominees identified on the applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form attend and participate at the Meeting as your proxy and vote your Common Shares, including, if you are a non-registered shareholder and wish to appoint yourself as proxyholder to attend, participate and vote at the Meeting, you MUST register such proxyholder after having submitted your applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable, identifying such proxyholder. Failure to register the proxyholder will result in the proxyholder not receiving a control number to participate in the Meeting (a “Control Number”). Without a Control Number, proxyholders will not be able to participate or vote at the Meeting. To register a proxyholder, shareholders MUST provide American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC their proxyholder’s contact information by email to proxy@amstock.com, so that American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC may provide the proxyholder with a Control Number via email.

Proxies for Common Shares to be used at the Meeting must be received by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, not later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 30, 2022 (or, if the Meeting is adjourned, not later than 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, preceding the time of such adjourned Meeting). Proxies may be submitted by one of the following alternative methods:

By Internet: http://www.voteproxy.com and follow the on-screen instructions or scan the QR code provided on the form of proxy;

 

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By Telephone: 1-800-PROXIES (1-800-776-9437) (toll-free in the United States and Canada) or 1-718-921-8500 and enter the 11 digit Control Number printed on the form of proxy;

By Email: Complete, date and sign your proxy and email a scanned copy to proxy@amstock.com;

By Fax: Complete, date and sign your proxy and fax a copy to 718-765-8730; or

By Mail: Complete, date and sign your proxy and mail a copy to American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, at 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219, United States.

DATED at Burnaby, British Columbia this 28^th day of April, 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

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XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

PROXY STATEMENT AND

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION CIRCULAR

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

to be held on Wednesday, June 1, 2022

GENERAL PROXY INFORMATION

Information in this Proxy Statement and Management Information Circular (this “Circular”) is provided as of April 5, 2022 (the “Record Date”), unless otherwise indicated. In this Circular, “we,” “us,” “our,” “Xenon” and the “Corporation” refers to Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. All references in this Circular to “$” or “USD$” are to U.S. dollars and all references to “CAD$” are to Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated. “Xenon” and the Xenon logo are trademarks of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. They are registered in the United States and used or registered in various other jurisdictions. The Corporation’s principal office is located at 200 – 3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

We previously qualified as a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and have been permitted to rely, and have relied, on the reduced disclosure requirements available to smaller reporting companies, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. Our ability to rely on the reduced disclosure requirements available to smaller reporting companies will cease after the filing of this Circular.

Solicitation of Proxies

This Circular is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the board of directors (the “Board”) and management of the Corporation for use at the annual meeting (the “Meeting”) of shareholders of the Corporation to be held virtually via live webcast on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. (PDT). The cost of solicitation will be borne by the Corporation. This Circular, the accompanying notice and the enclosed forms of proxy are expected to first be mailed to shareholders on or about Thursday, April 28, 2022.

Management expects that proxies will be solicited primarily by mail. Employees and directors of Xenon may also solicit proxies personally or by telephone. If you hold common shares of the Corporation (the “Common Shares”) in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee, please see the section of this Circular captioned “Beneficial Shareholders” below.

Virtual-only Meeting

Xenon intends to hold the Meeting virtually via live webcast on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. (PDT) at https://web.lumiagm.com/254509977.

Xenon will hold the Meeting in a virtual only format, which will be conducted via live audio webcast. Our Meeting this year will be purely functional in format to comply with the relevant legal requirements and there will be no corporate presentation. Registered shareholders will be able to attend, participate and vote at the Meeting online at https://web.lumiagm.com/254509977. If you hold your Common Shares in a brokerage account, you are not a registered shareholder. Non-registered shareholders who have not duly appointed themselves as proxyholder will not be able to participate or vote at the Meeting.

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A shareholder who wishes to appoint a person other than the management nominees identified on the applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable, to represent him, her or it at the Meeting may do so by inserting such person’s name in the blank space provided in the applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable, and following the instructions for submitting such form of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable. This must be completed prior to registering such proxyholder, which is an additional step to be completed once you have submitted your applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form. If you wish that a person other than the management nominees identified on the applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form attend and participate at the Meeting as your proxy and vote your Common Shares, including, if you are a non-registered shareholder and wish to appoint yourself as proxyholder to attend, participate and vote at the Meeting, you MUST register such proxyholder after having submitted your applicable form(s) of proxy or voting instruction form, as applicable, identifying such proxyholder. Failure to register the proxyholder will result in the proxyholder not receiving a control number to participate in the Meeting (“Control Number”). Without a Control Number, proxyholders will not be able to participate or vote at the Meeting. To register a proxyholder, shareholders MUST provide American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC their proxyholder’s contact information by email to proxy@amstock.com, so that American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC may provide the proxyholder with a Control Number via email.

Appointment of Proxyholders

The persons named in the accompanying forms of proxy are officers of the Corporation.

A shareholder has the right to appoint a person or company who will login to the Meeting and act for the shareholder and on that shareholder’s behalf at the Meeting other than the persons designated in the enclosed forms of proxy. A shareholder wishing to exercise this right should strike out the names now designated in the enclosed forms of proxy and insert the name of the desired person or company in the blank space provided. The desired person need not be a shareholder of the Corporation.

Only a registered shareholder at the close of business on April 5, 2022 will be entitled to vote, or grant proxies to vote, his, her or its Common Shares at the Meeting.

If your Common Shares are registered in your name, then you are a registered shareholder. However, if, like most shareholders, you keep your Common Shares in a brokerage account, then you are a beneficial shareholder. The process for voting is different for registered shareholders and beneficial shareholders. Registered shareholders and beneficial shareholders should carefully read the instructions herein if they wish to vote their Common Shares at the Meeting.

Shareholders who wish to appoint a third-party proxyholder to virtually attend, participate or vote at the Meeting as their proxy and vote their Common Shares MUST submit their proxy (or proxies) or voting instruction form, as applicable, appointing such third-party proxyholder AND register the third-party proxyholder, as described below. Registering your proxyholder is an additional step to be completed AFTER you have submitted your proxy or voting instruction form. Failure to register the proxyholder will result in the proxyholder not receiving a Control Number.

Step 1: Submit your proxy or voting instruction form: To appoint a third-party proxyholder, insert such person’s name in the blank space provided in the form of proxy or voting instruction form (if permitted) and follow the instructions for submitting such form of proxy or voting instruction form. This must be completed prior to registering such proxyholder, which is an additional step to be completed once you have submitted your form of proxy or voting instruction form. If you are a beneficial shareholder located in the United States, you must also provide American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC with a duly completed legal proxy if you wish to attend, participate or vote at the Meeting or, if permitted, appoint a third party as your proxyholder.

Step 2: Register your proxyholder: To register a proxyholder, shareholders MUST provide American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC their proxyholder’s contact information by email to proxy@amstock.com by May 24, 2022, so that American Stock Transfer & Trust Company LLC may provide the proxyholder with a Control Number via email. Without a Control Number, proxyholders will be able to listen to the Meeting, but they will not be able to participate or vote at the Meeting.

If you are a beneficial shareholder and wish to virtually attend, participate or vote at the Meeting, you have to insert your own name in the space provided on the voting instruction form sent to you by your broker or other intermediary, follow all of the applicable instructions provided by your broker or other intermediary AND register yourself as your proxyholder, as described above. By doing so, you are instructing your broker or other intermediary to appoint you as proxyholder. It is important that you comply with the signature and return instructions provided by your broker or other intermediary. Please also see further instructions below under the heading “Attending and Participating at the Meeting.” Non-registered shareholders who have not duly appointed themselves as proxyholder may attend the Meeting by clicking “I am a guest” and completing the online form. Such persons can listen to the Meeting but are not able to participate or vote at the Meeting.

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If you are a beneficial shareholder located in the United States and wish to attend, participate or vote at the Meeting or, if permitted, appoint a third party as your proxyholder, in addition to the steps described above and below under “Attending and Participating at the Meeting,” you must obtain a valid legal proxy from your broker or other intermediary. Follow the instructions from your broker or other intermediary included with the legal proxy form and the voting instruction form sent to you, or contact your intermediary to request a legal proxy form or a legal proxy if you have not received one. After obtaining a valid legal proxy from your intermediary, you must then submit such legal proxy to American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC at proxy@amstock.com.

To vote your Common Shares, your proxyholder must virtually attend the Meeting. Regardless of who you appoint as your proxyholder, you can either instruct that appointee how you want to vote or you can let your appointee decide for you.  You can do this by completing the applicable form(s) of proxy.  In order to be valid, you must return the completed form of proxy to our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, not later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 30, 2022 (or, if the Meeting is adjourned, not later than 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, preceding the time of such adjourned Meeting).

Attending and Participating at the Meeting

The Corporation is holding the Meeting in a virtual only format, which will be conducted via live audio webcast. Shareholders will not be able to attend the Meeting in person. In order to participate or vote at the Meeting, shareholders must have a valid Control Number.

If the persons designated in the enclosed forms of proxy are appointed as proxy holders and no choice is specified by the shareholder, the Common Shares represented by such proxy will be voted FOR the matters described herein. The forms of proxy confer discretionary authority upon the persons named therein with respect to amendments or variations to matters identified in the accompanying Notice of Meeting and to other matters which may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. If any matters which are not now known should properly come before the Meeting, persons named in the forms of proxy will vote on such matters in accordance with their best judgment. At the time of printing this Circular, management of the Corporation is not aware of any amendment, variation or other matters which are to come before the Meeting other than those matters identified in the accompanying Notice of Meeting.

Voting by proxy will not prevent you from voting online at the Meeting if you attend the virtual Meeting but will ensure that your vote will be counted if you are unable to attend.

Validity of Proxy

Proxies for Common Shares to be used at the Meeting must be received by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, in accordance with the instructions contained in the accompanying form of proxy for Common Shares, not later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 30, 2022 (or, if the Meeting is adjourned, not later than 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, preceding the time of such adjourned Meeting). A proxy form will not be valid unless completed and deposited in accordance with the instructions set out in the enclosed form of proxy for Common Shares.

Revocation of Proxies

A registered shareholder executing the accompanying form of proxy has the power to revoke it at any time before it is exercised. The revocation of a proxy by a registered shareholder may be effected by the registered shareholder either (a) attending the Meeting and voting online, or (b) giving written notice of the revocation executed by the registered shareholder in the same manner as provided for the deposit of the instrument of proxy. To be effective for Common Shares, the written notice of revocation must be deposited with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, in the manner for the deposit of proxies for Common Shares set forth herein and in the accompanying form of proxy for Common Shares or at the registered office of the Corporation at any time not later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 30, 2022 (or, if the Meeting is adjourned, not later than 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, preceding the time of such adjourned Meeting).

A proxy may also be revoked by the giving of a subsequent proxy with a later date. To be effective, the subsequent proxy must be deposited (in original form or in accordance with the instructions in the applicable form of proxy) at any time up to 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 30, 2022.

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Beneficial Shareholders

The following information is of significant importance to shareholders who do not hold Common Shares in their own name. If Common Shares are listed in an account statement provided to a shareholder by an intermediary, then in almost all cases those Common Shares will not be registered in the shareholder’s name on the records of the Corporation and such shareholder will be considered a beneficial shareholder. Such Common Shares will more likely be registered under the names of the shareholder’s intermediary or an agent of that intermediary. In the United States, the vast majority of shares are registered under the name of Cede & Co. as nominee for The Depository Trust Company (which acts as depositary for many U.S. brokerage firms and custodian banks), and in Canada, under the name of CDS & Co. (the registration name for The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited, which acts as nominee for many Canadian brokerage firms).

Beneficial shareholders should note that the only proxies that can be recognized and acted upon at the Meeting are those deposited by registered shareholders (those whose names appear on the records of the Corporation as the registered holders of Common Shares). Beneficial shareholders who wish to vote their Common Shares at the Meeting should follow the instructions set out in this section.

Beneficial shareholders will receive instructions from their intermediary as to how to vote their Common Shares. Every intermediary has its own mailing procedures and provides its own return instructions to clients. Beneficial shareholders who wish to vote at the Meeting should follow the instructions of their intermediary carefully to ensure that their Common Shares are voted at the Meeting. Generally, intermediaries will provide beneficial shareholders with either: (a) a voting instruction form for completion and execution by the beneficial shareholder, or (b) a proxy form, executed by the intermediary and restricted to the number of Common Shares owned by the beneficial shareholder, but otherwise uncompleted. These procedures permit beneficial shareholders to direct the voting of the Common Shares that they beneficially own.

If a beneficial shareholder wishes to attend and vote online at the Meeting, he, she or it must insert their own name in the space provided for the appointment of a proxyholder on the voting instruction form or proxy form provided by the intermediary, and carefully follow the intermediary’s instructions for return of the executed form or other method of response. You will also have to register yourself as your proxyholder as described above in “Appointment of Proxyholders.”

If a beneficial shareholder does not provide voting instructions to its intermediary, the beneficial shareholder’s Common Shares will not be voted at the Meeting on any matter on which the intermediary does not have discretionary authority to vote. Under current rules, certain intermediaries may not have discretionary authority to vote Common Shares at the Meeting on any matters other than the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Corporation’s auditor and the authorization of the Audit Committee to fix the remuneration to be paid to the Corporation’s auditor. We encourage all beneficial shareholders to provide instructions to the securities broker, financial institution, trustee, custodian or other nominee who holds Common Shares on their behalf by carefully following the instructions provided.

Voting and Broker Non-Votes

The Corporation is holding the Meeting in a virtual only format, which will be conducted via live audio webcast. Shareholders will not be able to attend the Meeting in person. In order to participate or vote at the Meeting (including for asking questions at the Meeting), shareholders must have a valid Control Number. Shareholders who have not obtained a Control Number may attend the Meeting by clicking “I am a guest” and completing the online form. Such persons can listen to the Meeting but are not able to participate or vote at the Meeting.

Registered shareholders and duly appointed proxyholders will be able to attend, participate and vote at the Meeting online athttps://web.lumiagm.com/254509977. Such persons may then enter the Meeting by clicking “I have a login” and entering a Control Number and password before the start of the Meeting:

Registered Shareholders: The control number located on the form of proxy or in the email notification you received is the Control Number. The password to the Meeting is “xenon2022” (case sensitive). If as a registered shareholder you are using your Control Number to login to the Meeting and you accept the terms and conditions, you will be provided the opportunity to vote by online ballot at the appropriate time on the matters put forth at the Meeting. If you have already voted by proxy and you vote again during the online ballot during the Meeting, your online vote during the Meeting will revoke your previously submitted proxy (or proxies).  If you have already voted by proxy (or proxies) and do not wish to revoke your previously submitted proxy (or proxies), do not vote again during the online ballot.

Duly appointed proxyholders: American Stock Transfer Trust, LLC will provide the proxyholder with a Control Number by e-mail after the voting deadline has passed. The password to the Meeting is “xenon2022” (case sensitive).

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Only registered shareholders and duly appointed proxyholders with a Control Number will be entitled to participate and vote at the Meeting. Beneficial shareholders who have not made arrangements for the due appointment of themselves as proxyholder will be able to listen to the Meeting, but they will not be able to participate or vote at the Meeting.

If the shares are registered in the name of a corporation, a duly authorized officer of the corporation may attend on its behalf, such duly authorized officer must have the Control Number provided in order to login to the Meeting.

If you attend the online Meeting, it is important that you are connected to the internet at all times during the Meeting in order to vote when balloting commences. It is your responsibility to ensure connectivity for the duration of the Meeting. You should allow ample time to check into the Meeting online and complete the related procedures.

All votes will be tabulated by the inspector of election appointed for the Meeting, who will separately tabulate affirmative and negative votes, abstentions, withheld votes and broker non-votes. Abstentions represent a shareholder’s affirmative choice to decline to vote on a proposal and withheld votes represent a shareholder’s affirmative choice to decline to vote for a particular director nominee or the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Corporation’s auditor. Properly executed proxy cards that are marked “abstain” or “withhold” on any proposal, as applicable, will be treated as abstentions for that proposal.

Broker non-votes occur when a broker or intermediary holding Common Shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a particular matter because such intermediary does not have discretionary authority to vote on that matter and has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner. Intermediaries typically do not have discretionary authority to vote on non-routine matters. Under the securities laws of the U.S., and the applicable rules (the “NYSE Rules”) of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), which apply to all NYSE-licensed intermediaries who have record ownership of listed company stock (including stock such as our Common Shares that are listed on The Nasdaq Global Market (the “Nasdaq”)), intermediaries have discretionary authority to vote on routine matters when they have not received timely voting instructions from the beneficial owner. The matters on which brokers will have discretionary authority to vote in the absence of instructions from the beneficial owners are described in the table included in the section titled “Voting Shares and Principal Holders of Voting Shares.”

Quorum

The quorum for the Meeting shall be the presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of not less than 33⅓% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Corporation entitled to be voted at the Meeting. Only a shareholder of record at the close of business on the Record Date will be entitled to vote, or grant proxies to vote, his, her or its Common Shares at the Meeting (subject, in the case of voting by proxy, to the timely deposit of his, her or its executed form of proxy as described herein). Abstentions and broker non-votes are included in the calculation of the number of votes considered to be present at the Meeting for purposes of determining a quorum. Registered shareholders or proxyholders representing shareholders participating in the Meeting virtually will be considered to be present in person at the Meeting for the purposes of determining quorum. In the absence of a quorum, the Chairman of the Meeting may adjourn the Meeting. If the Meeting is adjourned for less than 30 days, the Corporation is not required to provide notice of such adjourned meeting other than by announcement at the original Meeting that it is adjourned.

 

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VOTING SHARES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF VOTING SHARES

The authorized capital of the Corporation consists of an unlimited number of Common Shares and an unlimited number of preferred shares issuable in series. Our Common Shares are listed for trading on the Nasdaq. As of the Record Date, the Corporation had 53,074,111 Common Shares issued and outstanding, and no preferred shares issued and outstanding. As of the Record Date, the Corporation also had non-voting pre-funded warrants which grant the holders the right to purchase up to 2,775,996 Common Shares at an exercise price of $0.0001 per Common Share (“Pre-Funded Warrants”). No portion of any Pre-Funded Warrant may be exercised that, upon giving effect to such exercise, would cause the holder to beneficially own in excess of (i) 4.99% of our outstanding Common Shares or (ii) 4.99% of the combined voting power of all of our securities outstanding, subject to the terms of the Pre-Funded Warrants and the holder’s ability to elect a higher or lower percentage not in excess of 19.99% upon at least 61 days’ notice to the Corporation (the “Pre-Funded Warrant Cap”).

At the Meeting, each holder of Common Shares as of the Record Date is entitled to one vote per Common Share held in connection with each matter to be acted upon at the Meeting.

The table below describes the proposals to be voted on at the Meeting, the votes required for approval, whether brokers have discretionary voting authority, the impact of abstentions and broker non-votes and how a shareholder may vote on a particular proposal.

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EXPENSES

Xenon will pay all of the expenses of soliciting proxies for management. In addition to the mailing of the proxy material, such solicitation may be made in person or by telephone by directors, officers and employees of Xenon, whose directors, officers and employees will receive no compensation for such solicitation other than their regular salaries or fees. Xenon will also make arrangements with brokerage houses and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to send proxy materials to beneficial owners. Xenon will, upon request, reimburse these institutions for their reasonable charges and expenses incurred in forwarding this proxy material to beneficial owners of Common Shares.

 

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PARTICULARS OF MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON

ITEM 1 – RECEIPT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited annual financial statements of the Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the report of the auditor will be placed before shareholders at the Meeting.

ITEM 2 – ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The directors of the Corporation are elected each year at the annual meeting of the Corporation and hold office until their successors are elected or appointed. The Board has nominated each of the eight (8) persons listed below for election as a director of the Corporation and, in the absence of contrary instructions contained therein, the persons named as proxyholders in the enclosed forms of proxy intend to vote for the election of these nominees. The current term of office for each of our current directors will end at the conclusion of the Meeting.

Each nominee elected to the Board at the Meeting will hold office until the next annual meeting of the Corporation, subject to earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal.

The following table sets out the names of the nominees for election as directors of the Corporation, all major offices and positions with the Corporation each now holds, each nominee’s principal occupation, business or employment for the five preceding years, the period of time during which each has been a director of the Corporation and the number of voting securities of the Corporation beneficially owned by each nominee, directly or indirectly, or over which each exercised control or direction, in accordance with National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations, as of the Record Date.

 

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YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS:

 

A VOTE “FOR” THE PROPOSED DIRECTORS

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Biography of Non-Continuing Director

The following table sets out the name of the director of the Corporation who has not been nominated for re-election at the Meeting, all major offices and positions with the Corporation such director now holds, such director’s principal occupation, business or employment for the five preceding years, the period of time during which such director has been a director of the Corporation and the number of voting securities of the Corporation beneficially owned by such director, directly or indirectly, or over which such director exercised control or direction, in accordance with National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations, as of the Record Date.

 

 

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Penalties, Sanctions and Orders

As at the date of this Circular and within the past 10 years before the date of this Circular, other than as disclosed herein, no proposed nominee for election as a director of the Corporation:

No proposed nominee for election as a director of the Corporation has been subject to:

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date for:

The percentages of Common Shares shown as beneficially owned in the table are based on 53,074,111 Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date. The holders of Common Shares are entitled to one vote per Common Share.

Information with respect to beneficial ownership has been furnished by each director, director nominee, executive officer and, to the knowledge of the Corporation, each beneficial owner of more than 5% of our Common Shares. We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. These rules generally attribute beneficial ownership of securities to persons who possess sole or shared voting power or investment power with respect to those securities. In addition, the rules take into account Common Shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of stock options or conversion of other convertible securities that are either immediately exercisable or convertible or exercisable or convertible within 60 days of the Record Date. These Common Shares are deemed to be outstanding and beneficially owned by the persons holding the stock options or other convertible securities for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of that person, but they are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing the beneficial ownership of any other person. Unless otherwise indicated, the persons or entities identified in this table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to applicable common property laws.

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Except as otherwise noted below, the address for each person or entity listed in the table is c/o Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., 200 - 3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia V5G 4W8.

* Denotes less than 1% beneficial ownership

 

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Information about the Board and Corporate Governance

Our Board oversees the management of the business and affairs of Xenon as required under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq and under applicable Canadian laws. Our Board conducts its business through meetings of the Board and three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Our Board adopted a set of Corporate Governance Guidelines as a framework within which the Board and its committees conduct business. A copy of the Corporation’s Corporate Governance Guidelines is attached hereto as Schedule A.

Our Board has established guidelines for determining director independence, and all current directors, with the exception of Dr. Pimstone and Mr. Mortimer, have been determined by our Board to be independent under applicable Nasdaq rules, the Board’s governance principles and Canadian securities laws. Mr. Mortimer is not considered independent due to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Pimstone is not considered independent due to his role as Executive Chair of the Board and, under Nasdaq corporate governance rules, the earliest Dr. Pimstone could be considered independent is the third anniversary of the date he ceased to serve as an employee. Subject to his re-election, Dr. Pimstone, will be appointed as the Chair of the Board effective immediately following the Meeting, and Ms. Svoronos will continue to serve as the Lead Independent Director of the Board.

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Xenon has also adopted a written Code of Conduct in order to help directors, officers and employees resolve ethical issues in an increasingly complex business environment. The Code of Conduct applies to all of our and our subsidiaries’ directors, officers and employees. The Code of Conduct covers topics including, but not limited to, conflicts of interest, confidentiality and compliance with laws. The Corporation’s Chief Financial Officer is responsible for overseeing and monitoring compliance with the Code of Conduct. The Chief Financial Officer reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer with respect to these matters and also will make periodic reports to the Corporation’s Audit Committee regarding the implementation and effectiveness of the Code of Conduct as well as the policies and procedures put in place to ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct.

In addition, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews actual and potential conflicts of interests of officers and members of our Board, other than related party transactions, which are reviewed by our Audit Committee. The Corporation is committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and this philosophy is continually communicated by our Board to management which in turn is emphasized to the employees of the Corporation on a continuous basis.

A copy of the most up-to-date version of our Code of Conduct is available within the “Investors” section on our website located at https://www.xenon-pharma.com and on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com. We will post amendments to our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Conduct or waivers of the same for directors and executive officers on the “Investors” section on our website located at https://www.xenon-pharma.com.

Risk Management

Our Board has an active role, as a whole and also at the committee level, in overseeing the management of our risks. Our Board is responsible for general oversight of risks and regular review of information regarding our risks, including operational risks. The Compensation Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to our executive compensation plans and arrangements. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to investments, credit, liquidity, enterprise risks including cybersecurity, accounting matters and financial reporting. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks associated with the independence of our Board and potential conflicts of interest. While each committee is responsible for evaluating certain risks and overseeing the management of such risks, the entire Board is regularly informed through discussions from committee members about such risks. Our Board believes its administration of its risk oversight function has not affected the Board’s leadership structure.

Meetings

Our Board held ten (10) meetings in 2021. Most directors attended all Board meetings with the exception of Dr. Azab, who attended eight (8) of the ten (10) Board meetings, Ms. Svoronos, who attended nine (9) of the ten (10) Board meetings, Dr. Desjardins, who attended three (3) of the six (6) Board meetings that were held before her departure from the Board on June 3, 2021, and Dr. Garofalo, who attended three (3) of the four (4) Board meetings that have been held since her appointment to the Board on June 3, 2021. Mr. Mortimer has attended all Board meetings that have been held since his appointment to the Board on June 3, 2021.

The three standing Board committees met the number of times shown in parentheses in 2021: Audit Committee (6); Compensation Committee (4); and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (2). Each incumbent director attended all meetings of all Board committees on which they served during such period.

No incumbent director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate of (1) the total number of meetings of the Board held in 2021 during the period for which he or she has been a director and (2) the total number of meetings held by all committees in 2021 on which he or she served during the periods that he or she served. Dr. Desjardins attended 50% of the total number of meetings of the Board held in 2021 prior to her departure in June 2021.

We have a formal policy regarding attendance by directors at our annual meetings of shareholders which states that all directors are expected to attend, provided that a director who is unable to attend such a meeting is expected to notify the Chair of the Board in advance of any such meeting. In 2021, two of our directors attended our annual general meeting.

Our Board has held two (2) meetings in 2022 up to the Record Date. Each incumbent director attended all Board meetings held in 2022 up to the Record Date.

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Committees of the Board

Our Board currently has three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee. Our Board has not historically adopted descriptions for the positions Chair for each of the Board committees; however, the roles and responsibilities for each of the committees of the Board is set forth in the charter for each committee of the Board, which are summarized below.

Audit Committee

Our Audit Committee oversees our corporate accounting and financial reporting process. Among other matters, our Audit Committee:

The current members of our Audit Committee are Mr. Gannon, Mr. Machado and Ms. Svoronos. Mr. Gannon serves as the Chair of our Audit Committee. All members of our Audit Committee meet the requirements for financial literacy under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq and under applicable Canadian securities laws. Each of Mr. Gannon (Chair) and Mr. Machado is an Audit Committee financial expert, as that term is defined under the SEC rules implementing Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and possesses financial sophistication, as defined under Nasdaq rules. Under the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq, members of our Audit Committee must also meet heightened independence standards. Our Board has determined that each of Mr. Gannon (Chair), Mr. Machado and Ms. Svoronos meet these heightened independence standards, as well as the independence standards of Canadian securities laws. See the biographies for each member of our Audit Committee under the section of this Circular captioned “Item 2 – Election of Directors” for more information regarding their respective skills and experience with respect to financial statements, accounting principles and financial reporting.

Our Audit Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and Nasdaq and applicable Canadian securities laws. The Audit Committee’s current charter is attached hereto as Schedule B and is available under the “Investors” tab on our website at https://www.xenon-pharma.com. We will disclose any amendments to, or waivers of, the charter on our website at https://www.xenon-pharma.com in accordance with applicable law and the requirements of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees and assists our Board in reviewing and recommending nominees for election as directors. Among other matters, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee:

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The current members of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are Dr. Patou, Dr. Hayden and Ms. Svoronos. Dr. Patou serves as the Chair of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Each member of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is an independent director under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq and applicable Canadian securities laws.

Effective upon the completion of the Meeting and subject to their election to the Board, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will be comprised of Dr. Patou, Dr. Garofalo and Ms. Svoronos, with Dr. Patou serving as Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Board has determined that each of Dr. Patou, Dr. Garofalo and Ms. Svoronos is an independent director under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq and applicable Canadian securities laws.

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and Nasdaq and applicable Canadian securities laws. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s current charter is available under the “Investors” tab on our website at https://www.xenon-pharma.com. We will disclose any amendments to, or waivers of, the charter on our website at https://www.xenon-pharma.com in accordance with applicable law and the requirements of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards.

Compensation Committee

Our Compensation Committee oversees our compensation policies, plans and benefits programs. Among other matters, our Compensation Committee:

The current members of our Compensation Committee are Dr. Azab, Mr. Machado and Dr. Patou. Dr. Azab serves as the Chair of our Compensation Committee. Pursuant to its charter, the Compensation Committee may form subcommittees and delegate to such subcommittees any power and authority the Compensation Committee deems appropriate, excluding any power or authority required by law, regulation or listing standard to be exercised by the Compensation Committee as a whole. Each of the members of our Compensation Committee is an independent director under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq and applicable Canadian securities laws and a non-employee director within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act. See the biographies for each member of our Compensation Committee under the section of this Circular captioned “Item 2 – Election of Directors” for more information regarding their respective skills and senior management and board experience related to compensation policies and practices in our industry.

Our Compensation Committee operates under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and Nasdaq and applicable Canadian securities laws. Our Compensation Committee’s current charter is available under the “Investors” tab on our website at https://www.xenon-pharma.com. We will disclose any amendments to, or waivers of, the charter on our website at https://www.xenon-pharma.com in accordance with applicable law and the requirements of the Nasdaq corporate governance standards.

Our Board may from time to time establish other committees.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, Dr. Azab, Mr. Machado and Dr. Patou served as members of our Compensation Committee. No such person is currently, or has been at any time, one of our officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serve, or have served during the last completed three fiscal years, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any other entity that has or had one or more executive officers serving as a member of our Board or Compensation Committee.

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Director Nominations

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies, selects and recommends to the Board individuals qualified to serve both on the Board and on Board committees, including persons suggested by shareholders and others. Please see the section of this Circular captioned “Item 2 – Election of Directors” below for additional information.

In identifying candidates for nominations to the Board, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks to maintain at all times a Board with a diverse range of experience, talent, expertise and background appropriate for the business of the Corporation. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not require any specific minimum qualifications or specific qualities or skills, but reviews each person’s qualifications on the whole, including a candidate’s particular experience, skills, expertise, diversity, personal and professional integrity, character, business judgment, time availability in light of other commitments, dedication, conflicts of interest and such other relevant factors that our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers appropriate in the context of the needs of the Board. Following that review, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee then selects nominees and recommends them to the Board for election by the shareholders or appointment by the Board, as the case may be. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also reviews the suitability of each Board member for continued service as a director when that member’s term expires or that member experiences a significant change in status (for example, a change in employment). Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has not implemented any particular additional policies or procedures to address suggestions received from shareholders with respect to Board or committee nominees because the Committee intends to use the same criteria and manner of review to evaluate candidates (as outlined above), whether or not they are suggested by shareholders.

Pursuant to its charter, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may conduct or authorize investigations or studies into matters within its scope of responsibilities and may retain, at the Corporation’s expense, such independent counsel or other consultants or advisers as it may deem necessary from time to time.

The term of each director expires at the end of each annual meeting of shareholders, or when the successor of such director is elected or appointed to the Board, subject to earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal of such director. The Corporation does not impose term limits on its directors as it takes the view that term limits are an arbitrary mechanism for removing directors which can result in valuable, experienced directors being forced to leave the Board solely because of length of service. Instead, the Corporation believes that directors should be assessed based on their ability to continue to make a meaningful contribution. Our Board’s annual assessment of directors reviews the strengths and weaknesses of directors and is, in the Board’s view, together with annual elections by the shareholders, a more meaningful way to evaluate the performance of directors and to make determinations about whether a director should be removed due to under-performance.

Diversity

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believes that having a diverse Board and senior management team offers a depth of perspective and enhances Board and management operations. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee takes diversity, including business experience, geography, age, gender, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, sexual orientation and other personal characteristics into consideration as part of its overall recruitment and selection process in respect of the Board and senior management. However, the Corporation does not have a formal policy nor measurable objectives on the representation of women or other Designated Groups (as defined in the Employment Equity Act (Canada)) on the Board or senior management of the Corporation as our Board does not believe that a formal policy and/or measurable objectives will necessarily result in the identification or selection of the best candidates. In searches for new directors and senior management, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider the level of female and other Designated Groups representation and diversity on the Board and in management and this will be one of several factors used in its search process.

As of the date of this Circular, there are currently two (2) female directors of nine (9) directors on our Board (22%) and two (2) of the eight (8) nominees for election to our Board are female (25%). There is currently one (1) female executive officer of seven (7) executive officers (14%) of the Corporation. One (1) of nine (9) directors on our Board (10%) and one (1) out of seven (7) executive officers (14%) self-identify as a visible minority. The Corporation currently has no other Board members and no executive officers who self-identify as Indigenous peoples, visible minorities or persons with disabilities. Our Board has one (1) of nine (9) directors on our Board (11%) who self-identify as LGBTQ+ and one (1) of the eight (8) nominees for election to our Board self-identifies as LGBTQ+ (13%). The Corporation continues to be committed to ongoing review with respect to the diversity of its directors, executive officers and members of senior management.

 

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Shareholder Recommendations for Nominations to the Board of Directors

One or more shareholders holding in the aggregate not less than five percent (5%) of our Common Shares that are entitled to vote at a meeting of our shareholders may make a shareholder proposal for the nomination of a director in accordance with the requirements of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “CBCA”). Upon receipt of a proposal in compliance with the requirements of the CBCA, the Corporation must set out such proposal in the proxy statement and management information circular sent to shareholders in advance of the Corporation’s next annual meeting.

Nominations for directors not made in accordance with the shareholder proposal requirements of the CBCA shall be considered by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in accordance with the requirements of our by-laws. Under our by-laws, shareholders of record may nominate a candidate for election as a director at an annual meeting of the Corporation by submitting a notice to our Corporate Secretary not less than 30 days and not more than 65 days prior to an annual meeting; provided however that in the event that the annual meeting is held less than 50 days after the first public announcement of the annual meeting is made, notice by shareholders must be given to the Corporation not later than 10 days following the date of such public announcement. A notice providing a nomination must include, among other things, certain prescribed information about the nominee and the recommending shareholder; a certification by the recommending shareholder that the recommending shareholder’s notice does not contain an untrue statement and does not omit to state a material fact; and written consent of the nominee to serve as a director of the Corporation, if elected. Shareholders should refer to Section 5.5 of our by-laws for more details relating to the requirements for such notice.

Any nomination or shareholder proposal for the nomination of directors should be sent in writing to 200 - 3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Shareholder proposals for our 2023 annual meeting must be received by us on or before December 29, 2022 pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act. Shareholders who do not wish to use the mechanism provided by the Exchange Act may submit proposals to be considered at the 2023 annual meeting of our shareholders under the provisions of the CBCA no earlier than January 2, 2023 and no later than March 3, 2023. Nominations for directors pursuant to our by-laws must be received by us no earlier than March 28, 2022 and no later than May 2, 2022 for consideration at the Meeting. Shareholders wishing to nominate a director for election should review the relevant provisions of the CBCA and our by-laws.

Shareholder Communications with the Board of Directors

Shareholders wishing to communicate with a member of our Board may do so by writing to such director, and mailing the correspondence to: Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., 200 - 3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada, Attention: Vice President, Legal Affairs. The Vice President, Legal Affairs will forward the messages to the appropriate member of our Board.

Director Independence

Under Nasdaq rules, independent directors must comprise a majority of a listed company’s board of directors within a specified period of the completion of its initial public offering. In addition, Nasdaq rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees be independent. Audit committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. Under Nasdaq rules, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of that 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.

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To be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3, 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: (1) accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries; or (2) be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries.

Our Board has undertaken a review of its composition, the composition of its committees and the independence of current directors and considered whether any current director has a material relationship with us that could compromise his or her ability to exercise independent judgment in carrying out his or her responsibilities. 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 none of Dr. Azab, Mr. Gannon, Dr. Garofalo, Dr. Hayden, Mr. Machado, Dr. Patou, or Ms. Svoronos, being seven of our nine current directors, has 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 Nasdaq rules and Canadian securities laws. Our Board also determined that Mr. Gannon (Chair), Mr. Machado and Ms. Svoronos, who comprise our Audit Committee, Dr. Azab (Chair), Mr. Machado and Dr. Patou who comprise our Compensation Committee, Dr. Patou (Chair), Dr. Hayden and Ms. Svoronos who comprise our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and Dr. Garofalo, who will replace Dr. Hayden on our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee effective upon the completion of the Meeting and subject to her re-election to the Board, satisfy the independence standards for those committees established by applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules and Canadian securities laws.

In making this determination, our Board considered the relationships that each non-employee director has with us and all other facts and circumstances our Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of our Common Shares by each non-employee director. Of the eight director nominees named in this Circular for election to our Board, only Dr. Pimstone and Mr. Mortimer would not be considered independent under Nasdaq rules and Canadian securities laws.

Dr. Pimstone is currently the Executive Chair of the Board, and subject to his re-election at the Meeting, he will become the Chair of the Board immediately following the Meeting. The roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chair of our Board are currently separated in recognition of the differences between the two roles. We believe that it is in the best interests of our shareholders for the Board to make a determination regarding the separation or combination of these roles each time it elects a new Chair or appoints a Chief Executive Officer, based on the relevant facts and circumstances at such time.

The Board made the determination that it would be in the best interests of our shareholders to continue Ms. Svoronos’ appointment, subject to her re-election, as the Board’s Lead Independent Director. Ms. Svoronos is “independent” as that term is defined under Nasdaq rules and Canadian securities laws.

In accordance with the Corporate Governance Guidelines, meetings of the independent directors of the Corporation, without the presence of non-independent directors and members of management, are generally held following each regularly scheduled Board meeting and at such other times as requested by independent directors. The independent directors met six (6) times without the presence of non-independent directors and members of management during 2021. The independent directors met two (2) times without the presence of non-independent directors and members of management up to the Record Date in 2022.

We believe that the leadership structure of the Board, including Ms. Svoronos’s role as Lead Independent Director, as well as the independent committees of the Board, is appropriate and enhances the Boards’ ability to effectively carry out its roles and responsibilities on behalf of our shareholders.

Orientation and Continuing Education

The Corporation has traditionally retained experienced people as directors and hence the orientation needed is minimized. When new directors are appointed, they are acquainted with the Corporation’s operations, its charters and policies, and the expectations of directors. All new and continuing directors are encouraged to review the Board materials prepared by the Corporation consisting of filings, the charters of the Board’s committees, the Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Corporation’s Code of Conduct. Board meetings regularly include presentations or discussions with respect to the Corporation’s corporate governance policies. Board meetings generally also include presentations by the Corporation’s senior management in order to give the directors full insight into the Corporation’s operations.

Assessments

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assesses the participation, contributions and effectiveness of the Chair and the individual members of the Board on an annual basis. Our Board also annually monitors the effectiveness of the Board and its committees and the actions of the Board as viewed by the individual directors and senior management.

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Serving on other Boards

The following directors and director nominees are also directors of the following public companies:

Gary Patou does not currently serve on the board of directors of any other publicly traded company.

Overseeing the Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Pimstone was our Chief Executive Officer prior to his appointment as the Executive Chair of the Board on June 3, 2021. Mr. Mortimer, our current President and Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for managing the affairs of the Corporation. In accordance with its charter, our Compensation Committee, in consultation with the Board, annually establishes corporate objectives for our Chief Executive Officer and evaluates the performance of our Chief Executive Officer against these corporate objectives.

Director Compensation

We have adopted a director compensation policy that provides for equity and cash compensation to our non-management directors (the “director compensation policy”), as described below. For the purposes of the director compensation policy, our Compensation Committee classifies each director into one of the two following categories: (1) a “management director” is a director who is also an officer or otherwise employed by us in a management role; and (2) a “non-management director” is a director who is not an officer and not otherwise employed by us in a management role.

Non-management directors (including our Lead Independent Director) are eligible to receive compensation in the form of equity and cash under the director compensation policy, as described below. Management directors receive no compensation for their services on our Board.

The Board approved market-competitive amendments to the director compensation policy, effective June 1, 2022 (the “2022 Policy Amendment”), based on Radford’s assessment of publicly available director compensation data from companies in the biotechnology industry. In addition, the 2022 Policy Amendment confirms that the non-management Chair and Lead Independent Director will receive the same compensation.

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In addition, our Board has approved the acceleration of the vesting of 18,334 Common Shares subject to Dr. Hayden’s options effective as of the date of the Meeting, and an extension of the period following the termination of Dr. Hayden’s service during which the vested portion of his options may be exercised, from 90 days to 12 months, subject to any such option’s earlier original expiration date.

Equity Compensation Under the Director Compensation Policy

Pursuant to the director compensation policy, new non-management directors receive an option to purchase 20,000 Common Shares (increasing to 36,000 Common Shares as a result of the 2022 Policy Amendment) upon joining the Board and each non-management director receives, on an annual basis, an option to purchase 10,000 Common Shares (increasing to 18,000 Common Shares as a result of the 2022 Policy Amendment), which is granted immediately following the annual meeting.

The exercise price per share of each of the grants is the fair market value of one of our Common Shares (determined pursuant to our then-effective equity plan) on the date of the grant.

All of the stock options granted pursuant to the director compensation policy are made under our then-effective equity plan. The stock options underlying the initial and annual grants to each non-management director vest as to one-third of the total stock options on the one year anniversary of the grant date, one-third of the total stock options on the two year anniversary of the grant date and the balance of the total stock options on the three year anniversary of the grant date (with new annual grants to fully vest on the one year anniversary of the grant date as a result of the 2022 Policy Amendment).

The vesting of each grant described above is subject to the recipient’s continued service as a director through each vesting date and the other terms and conditions of our then-effective equity plan and the applicable stock option agreement with that director.

Cash Compensation Under the Director Compensation Policy

Pursuant to the director compensation policy for each fiscal year, each non-management director (including any non-executive Chair or Lead Independent Director of the Board) receives an annual cash retainer of CAD$53,500 for serving on the Board. Any non-executive Chair or Lead Independent Director of the Board receives an additional annual cash retainer of CAD$40,000, for a total of CAD$93,500.  

Pursuant to the director compensation policy, the Chairs and non-Chair members of the three standing committees of our Board are entitled to the following cash retainers for each fiscal year as follows:

All cash payments are paid in four equal installments on the date of our annual meeting and on the last day of the third month, sixth month and ninth month thereafter, during which such individual served as a director or non-executive Chair or Lead Independent Director of the Board or on a committee (such payments to be prorated for service during a portion of such quarter).

All directors are reimbursed for standard travel expenses incurred in their capacities as directors and/or committee members.

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The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation paid or accrued for services rendered to us by members of our Board for the year ended December 31, 2021. Dr. Pimstone, our current Executive Chair of the Board, and Mr. Mortimer, our current President and Chief Executive Officer, did not receive any additional compensation for service on our Board. Compensation paid or accrued for services rendered to us by Dr. Pimstone and Mr. Mortimer in their roles as Executive Chair of the Board and President and Chief Executive Officer, respectively, are included in our disclosures related to executive compensation under the section of this Circular captioned “Executive Compensation.”

 

 

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ITEM 3 – ADVISORY VOTE ON COMPENSATION OF NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS ("SAY-ON-PAY")

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) enables our shareholders to approve, on an advisory or non-binding basis, the compensation of our named executive officers (“NEOs”) as disclosed pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K. This proposal, commonly known as a “say-on-pay” proposal, gives our shareholders the opportunity to express their views on our NEOs’ compensation as a whole. This vote is not intended to address any specific item of compensation or any specific NEO, but rather the overall compensation of all of our NEOs and the philosophy, policies and practices described in this Circular.

The say-on-pay vote is advisory, and therefore is not binding on us, the Compensation Committee or the Board. The say-on-pay vote will, however, provide information to us regarding investor sentiment about our executive compensation philosophy, policies, and practices, which the Compensation Committee will be able to consider when determining executive compensation for the remainder of the current fiscal year and beyond. The Board and the Compensation Committee value the opinions of our shareholders. To the extent there is any significant vote against the compensation of our NEOs as disclosed in this Circular, we will endeavor to communicate with shareholders to better understand the concerns that influenced the vote and consider our shareholders’ concerns, and the Compensation Committee will evaluate whether any actions are necessary to address those concerns.

We believe that the information provided in the section titled “Executive Compensation” demonstrates that our executive compensation program was designed appropriately and is working to ensure management’s interests are aligned with our shareholders’ interests to support long-term value creation. Accordingly, we ask our shareholders to vote “FOR” the following resolution at the Meeting:

"RESOLVED, that the shareholders approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to our named executive officers, as disclosed in the Circular for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the SEC, including the compensation tables and narrative discussion and other related disclosure."

Vote Required

The approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our NEOs requires the affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast at the Meeting and entitled to vote thereon to be approved. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the outcome of the voting of this proposal.

As an advisory vote, the result of this proposal is non-binding. Although the vote is non-binding, the Board and the Compensation Committee value the opinions of our shareholders and will consider the outcome of the vote when making future compensation decisions for our NEOs.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS:

A VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

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Executive Officers

The following table sets forth information about our executive officers as of the Record Date:

The biographies of Dr. Pimstone and Mr. Mortimer can be found under “Item 2 – Election of Directors.” The biographies of our other executive officers are as follows:

Sherry Aulin, CPA, CA, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since June 2021, and has led our finance function since June 2015, previously serving as our Vice President, Finance from March 2019 to June 2021. From 2011 until 2015, Ms. Aulin provided independent financial consulting and advisory services to various publicly-traded companies including Xenon where she supported the company through its initial public offering process. From 2004 to 2011, Ms. Aulin was at KPMG LLP, most recently as Senior Manager in the assurance practice, where she provided professional services to publicly-traded companies across various industries including in the life sciences sector. Ms. Aulin holds a BCom from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant.

Christopher Kenney, MD, FAAN is employed by our wholly owned subsidiary, Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., and has served as our Chief Medical Officer since August 2021. Dr. Kenney is a board-certified neurologist with extensive clinical research experience within neuroscience in both industry and academic roles spanning more than 20 years. Most recently, Dr. Kenney served as Chief Medical Officer at Cadent Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on creating breakthrough therapies for neurological and psychiatric conditions, from 2019 until December 2020 when it was acquired by Novartis. Previously, Dr. Kenney was Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, from 2018-2019, and Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, from 2016 to 2018, at Acorda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing neurology therapies for Parkinson’s disease, migraine and multiple sclerosis. Prior to that position, from 2013 to 2016, Dr. Kenney served as Vice President/Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Biotie Therapies, a biotechnology company focused on neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders that was acquired by Acorda Therapeutics in January 2016. Before joining Biotie, Dr. Kenney worked in clinical development at Novartis and Merck Serono. Dr. Kenney’s core medical and neurology training took place at Boston University School of Medicine and at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Dr. Kenney held faculty positions at Baylor University, from 2005 to 2007, and the University of California, San Diego, from 2003 to 2005. In 2020, Dr. Kenney was appointed as a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

Christopher Von Seggern, Ph.D., MPH, M.B.A. is employed by our wholly owned subsidiary, Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., and has served as our Chief Commercial Officer since August 2020. Prior to joining Xenon, Dr. Von Seggern was a Partner at ClearView Healthcare Partners from 2011 to 2019, where he developed broad experience overseeing a range of commercial engagements involving multiple therapeutic areas as well as strategic due diligence on in-licensing and M&A opportunities. Through his tenure from 2008 to 2019 at ClearView in various roles, Dr. Von Seggern worked across the pharmaceutical sector with emphasis in orphan diseases and transformational technologies. From 2006 to 2008, Dr. Von Seggern served as a Consultant for Leerink Swann Strategic Advisors. Dr. Von Seggern began his career at the National Institutes of Health where he served as an AAAS Science Policy Fellow within the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases from 2005 to 2006. While at the NIDDK, Dr. Von Seggern helped set strategic direction for the Institute focusing on diabetes research and translational medicine. Dr. Von Seggern received his Ph.D. in pharmacology and molecular sciences as well as his Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Von Seggern received his MBA from Northeastern University and earned his B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Pennsylvania State University.

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Robin Sherrington, Ph.D. has served as our Executive Vice President, Strategy & Innovation since March 2019. Dr. Sherrington previously served as our Executive Vice President, Business & Corporate Development from March 2018 to March 2019, as our Senior Vice President, Business & Corporate Development from February 2012 to March 2018, as our Vice President, Business & Corporate Development from January 2010 to February 2012, and has held various positions in business development and other departments since joining us in March 2001. Prior to joining us, Dr. Sherrington worked at Pfizer, Inc., a global pharmaceutical company, as a neuroscientist from 1999 to 2001. Dr. Sherrington also previously served as Director of Neuroscience, from 1996 to 1999, at the biotechnology companies Axys Pharmaceuticals and Sequana Therapeutics. Prior to 1996 Dr. Sherrington was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Toronto and received his Ph.D. from the University College London, and his B.Sc. with honors from the University of Reading.

James Empfield, Ph.D. is employed by our wholly owned subsidiary, Xenon Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., and has served as our Executive Vice President, Drug Discovery since January 2021, and previously as our Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery from February 2016 to January 2021. Prior to joining us, Dr. Empfield served as Vice President, Drug Discovery and Chemistry; Co-Site Head of Research, Boston at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. from 2011 until August 2015, where he was jointly responsible for the entire Boston research organization and for delivery of lead optimization projects into preclinical development. From 2006 to 2011, Dr. Empfield was Director, CNS Chemistry Department at Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and held various other positions at Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals from 1990 to 2006. Dr. Empfield has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, a M.S. in Chemistry from Bucknell University and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Lebanon Valley College.

Our executive officers are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, our Board. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Discussion of Executive Compensation Practices

This section discusses the principles underlying our policies and decisions with respect to the compensation of our NEOs and the most important factors relevant to an analysis of these policies and decisions. This section also describes the material elements of compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to our NEOs for 2021, consisting of the following persons:

Effective as of the date of the Meeting, Dr. Pimstone will cease serving as an executive officer of the Corporation, and subject to his re-election, will begin serving as the Chair of the Board, and his compensation will be in accordance with the director compensation policy.

Mr. Mortimer, Ms. Aulin, Dr. Pimstone and Dr. Kenney are included in this Circular as NEOs for 2021 for purposes of Item 402(m) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC and National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Requirements. In addition, this section provides qualitative information regarding the manner and context in which compensation is awarded to and earned by our NEOs and is intended to place in perspective the data presented in the tables and narrative that follow.

Executive Summary

2021 Business Highlights

During 2021, we achieved several important milestones in our business and financial plans, including the following:

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2021 Executive Compensation Highlights

We continued to follow the executive compensation policies and procedures that we put in place in connection with becoming a public company, including:

Objectives and Philosophy of Our Executive Compensation Program

The primary objectives of our Compensation Committee with respect to executive compensation are to:

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To achieve these objectives, our Compensation Committee evaluates our executive compensation program with the goal of setting compensation at levels that are justifiable based on each executive’s level of experience, performance and responsibility and that our Compensation Committee believes are competitive with those of other companies in our industry and our region that compete with us for executive talent. In addition, our executive compensation program ties a portion of each executive’s overall compensation to the achievement of key corporate objectives. We provide a portion of our executive compensation in the form of stock options that vest over time, which we believe helps to retain our executives and aligns their interests with those of our shareholders by allowing them to participate in our long-term success as reflected in the appreciation of the price of our Common Shares.

Compensation Committee Process and Role of Chief Executive Officer

Our Compensation Committee oversees our policies governing the compensation of our executive officers. In this role, our Compensation Committee reviews and, following consultation with the remaining non-management directors, approves all compensation decisions relating to our executive officers. Our Compensation Committee consists of three members of our Board, all of whom have extensive experience in our industry and each of whom is an independent director. Our Compensation Committee uses its judgment and experience and considers the recommendations of our Chief Executive Officer when determining the amount and appropriate mix of compensation for each of our executive officers. Specifically, our Chief Executive Officer provides input and recommendations, via an annual review of executive performance and otherwise, regarding salary adjustments, the goals used to determine annual performance-based cash bonuses and appropriate equity incentive compensation levels. Our Chief Executive Officer provides input to the Compensation Committee on his own compensation, but has not had any control over setting the amount or mix of his compensation and is not present when the Compensation Committee discusses and determines his compensation. No other NEO participates in portions of any meetings during which decisions are made regarding their own compensation. See the section of this Circular captioned “Information about the Board and Corporate Governance — Committees of the Board — Compensation Committee” for additional information as to the composition and skills of our Compensation Committee.

At the beginning of each year, the Compensation Committee meets and approves strategic, operational and financial objectives for the Corporation for the upcoming year. The corporate objectives are developed by our Chief Executive Officer, the NEOs and other members of senior management and our Chief Executive Officer presents them to the Compensation Committee for its approval after consultation with the Board. The Chief Executive Officer also develops annual individual goals for each NEO. Although no rating is specifically attached to those individual goals for the non-equity bonuses, they are factored into the final assessment for each NEO’s performance for that year and taken into consideration in determining base salary increases and equity incentive compensation.

Our Compensation Committee periodically evaluates the need for revisions to our executive compensation program to ensure our program is competitive with the companies with which we compete for executive talent.

Use of Compensation Consultants and Market Benchmarking

In designing our executive compensation program, our Compensation Committee considers publicly available compensation data for companies in the biotechnology industry to help guide its executive compensation decisions at the time of hiring and for subsequent adjustments in compensation. Our Compensation Committee has also retained the services of Radford to provide it with additional comparative data on executive compensation practices in our industry and to advise it on our executive compensation program generally. Although our Compensation Committee considers Radford’s advice and recommendations about our executive compensation program, our Compensation Committee ultimately makes its own decisions about these matters. None of our Compensation Committee members and none of our executive officers or directors have any relationship with Radford or the individual consultants employed by Radford. Radford has not provided any other services to the Corporation other than compensation consulting services to the Compensation Committee for executive compensation analysis and to management for non-executive compensation analysis. Our Compensation Committee has determined that no conflicts of interest exist between the Corporation and Radford.

Radford was retained by the Corporation as part of our annual compensation review in 2020 and 2021 to provide our Compensation Committee with comparative data showing where our total compensation and each element of our compensation ranked among (1) public companies in the biotechnology industry generally, according to compensation data from Radford, and (2) a peer group of publicly traded companies in the biotechnology industry at a stage of development, market capitalization or company size comparable to ours at the time with which our Compensation Committee believed we competed for executive talent, according to publicly available compensation data.

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The peer group is used for purposes of gathering data to compare against our existing executive compensation practices and for guiding future compensation decisions. Radford also makes suggestions for changes to our executive compensation practices based on the data they provide to us as well as compensation trends in our industry. However, although our Compensation Committee may consider peer group and other industry compensation data and the recommendations of Radford when making decisions related to executive compensation, to date, it has not made and does not intend to make adjustments to overall executive compensation or any element thereof solely or primarily either to target a specified threshold level of compensation or market benchmark within the peer group, our larger industry or some other group of comparable companies or to act solely on the recommendations of Radford.

For the 2021 annual compensation review, the companies included in the peer group in the Radford 2021 analysis were Abeona Therapeutics Inc., Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Calithera Biosciences, Inc., ChemoCentryx, Inc., Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Correvio Pharma Corp., GlycoMimetics, Inc., Homology Medicines, Inc., Kura Oncology, Inc., Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ovid Therapeutics Inc., Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Prothena Corporation plc, Replimune Group Inc., Revance Therapeutics, Inc., Scholar Rock Holding Corp., Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

In November 2021, Radford was retained, and changes were made to the peer group for 2022. The Compensation Committee, with input from management, approved the changes to the peer group. The companies included in the peer group in the 2022 annual compensation review are Alector, Inc., Annexon, Inc., Arvinas, Inc., Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., Axsome Therapeutics, Inc., BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc., Cerevel Therapeutics Holdings Inc., ChemoCentryx, Inc., Fulcrum Therapeutics, Inc., ImmunoGen, Inc., Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc., Karuna Therapeutics, Inc., Kura Oncology, Inc., Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., Prothena Corporation plc, Repare Therapeutics Inc., Replimune Group Inc., Sage Therapeutics, Inc., Zogenix, Inc., and Zymeworks Inc.

The following table sets forth the fees paid to Radford in 2021 and 2020:

 

Annual Compensation Review Process

After the end of each calendar year, we evaluate each executive officer’s performance for the completed year. Our Chief Executive Officer, with respect to each executive other than himself, prepares a written evaluation based on his evaluation of the executives and input from others within the Corporation. Our Chief Executive Officer also prepares his own self-assessment. This process leads to a recommendation by our Chief Executive Officer to our Compensation Committee with respect to each executive officer, including himself, as to:

These recommendations are reviewed by our Compensation Committee and are taken into account along with input from the Board when it makes a final determination on all such matters.

Components of Our Executive Compensation Program

The primary elements of our executive compensation program are:

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We do not have a formal or informal policy for allocating between long-term and short-term compensation, between cash and non-cash compensation or among different forms of non-cash compensation. Instead, our Compensation Committee, after reviewing information provided by Radford and other relevant data, determines what it believes to be the appropriate level and mix of the various compensation components. We generally strive to provide our executive officers with a balance of short-term and long-term incentives to encourage consistently strong performance. Ultimately, the objective in allocating between long-term and currently paid compensation is to ensure adequate base compensation to attract and retain personnel, while providing incentives to maximize long-term value for the Corporation and our shareholders. Therefore, we provide cash compensation in the form of base salary to meet competitive salary norms and reward good performance on an annual basis and in the form of non-equity bonus compensation to incent and reward superior performance based on specific annual goals.

To further focus our executives on longer-term performance and the creation of shareholder value, we rely upon equity-based awards that vest over a meaningful period of time. In addition, we provide our executive officers with benefits that are generally available to our salaried employees and severance benefits to incentivize them to continue to strive to achieve shareholder value in connection with change of control situations.

Base salary

We use base salaries to compensate for services rendered on a day-to-day basis and to recognize the experience, skills, knowledge and responsibilities of our employees, including our executive officers. Base salaries for our executive officers are typically established through arm’s length negotiation at the time the executive is hired, taking into account the position for which the executive is being considered and the executive’s qualifications, prior experience and prior salary. None of our executive officers is currently party to an employment agreement that provides for automatic or scheduled increases in base salary.

On an annual basis, our Compensation Committee reviews and evaluates, with input from our Chief Executive Officer, the need for adjustment of the base salaries of our executives based on changes and expected changes in the scope of an executive’s responsibilities, including promotions, the individual contributions made by and performance of the executive during the prior fiscal year, the executive’s performance over a period of years, overall labor market conditions, the relative ease or difficulty of replacing the executive with a well-qualified person, our overall growth and development as a company and general salary trends in our industry and among our peer group and where the executive’s salary falls in the salary range presented by that data. In making decisions regarding salary increases, we may also draw upon the experience of members of our Board with other companies. No formulaic base salary increases are provided to our executive officers, and we do not target the base salaries of our executive officers at a specified compensation level within our peer group or other market benchmark. All of our executive officers’ base salaries are benchmarked to the U.S. dollar, with Canadian resident executive officers paid in Canadian dollars and U.S. resident executive officers paid in U.S. dollars. The U.S. dollar amount of our Canadian resident executive officers’ semi-monthly pay is converted to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada exchange rate five (5) days prior to each pay date and paid to Canadian resident executive officers in Canadian dollars. The base salary of our Chief Executive Officer is reviewed by the Compensation Committee annually based on the same factors and input.

During its annual review of our executives’ target compensation in 2021, the Compensation Committee reviewed market compensation data provided by Radford, as well as a variety of other factors as noted above, including performance, length of service and criticality of role. The table below shows the changes to the annualized base salaries of our NEOs between 2020 and 2021:

 

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Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation and Bonuses

We have designed our annual performance-based non-equity bonus program to emphasize pay-for-performance and to reward our executive officers for the achievement of specified annual corporate objectives. Each executive officer is eligible to receive an annual performance-based non-equity bonus, which we refer to as an annual cash bonus, in an amount equal to a percentage of his or her base salary, or bonus percentage.

The annual cash bonus is based on the achievement of corporate objectives that focus on specific research, clinical, regulatory, operational and financial milestones, with a focus on the advancement of our product candidates in preclinical and clinical development, the pursuit of various internal initiatives and ensuring the adequate funding of the Corporation. The corporate objectives are proposed by the Chief Executive Officer, the NEOs and other members of senior management each year in our annual operating plan that is reviewed and approved, following consultation with the Board, by our Compensation Committee, with such modifications as the Compensation Committee deems appropriate. In determining whether the corporate objectives for each year have been met, our Compensation Committee takes into consideration the percentage achievement of each specific corporate objective, including in circumstances where achievement of the particular goal was exceeded, as well as any additional objectives that were not contemplated when the corporate objectives were initially determined.

Our Compensation Committee has the authority to shift corporate objectives to subsequent fiscal years and eliminate them from the current year’s bonus calculation if it determines that circumstances that were beyond the control of the executives were the primary cause of a goal being unattainable. The corporate objectives are designed to require significant effort and operational success on the part of our executives and the Corporation, but also to be achievable with hard work and dedication.

2021 Non-Equity Incentive Plan Payments

Our 2021 Non-Equity Incentive Plan provides our NEOs with an opportunity for an annual incentive compensation payment solely upon consideration of achievement of our corporate objectives. The corporate objectives comprised the entirety of each NEO’s annual non-equity incentive award opportunity because our NEOs are in the position to influence and drive overall corporate performance and shareholder value, and therefore the Compensation Committee believes it is appropriate that all of their annual non-equity incentive payments be awarded on this basis. Each NEO’s target award is set based on a percentage of the NEO’s base salary.

Our NEOs’ target awards for 2020 and 2021 were as follows:

 

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The 2021 performance goals for our NEOs are based on the achievement of the following corporate objectives: (i) XEN1101 Phase 2b clinical trial top-line data readout; (ii) XEN496 Phase 3 clinical trial ongoing recruitment; (iii) XEN007 Phase 2 proof-of-concept data in childhood absence epilepsy and decision around future development; (iv) partnership milestones including two Investigational New Drug (“IND”) acceptance milestones in addition to providing research collaboration support to Neurocrine Biosciences; (v) transition one discovery stage project to lead optimization and one clinical candidate into IND-enabling studies; and (vi) execution against the Corporation’s capital markets plan and cash-runway objective. The 2021 non-equity incentive plan payments for Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Pimstone and Dr. Kenney were based solely on the achievement of corporate objectives, and the 2021 non-equity incentive plan payment for Ms. Aulin was based on 75% corporate and 25% individual objectives for the period prior to her transition to the role as Chief Financial Officer and based solely on the achievement of corporate objectives after June 3, 2021.

The 2021 corporate objectives can be classified into three categories: (i) Clinical, (ii) Pre-Clinical Research, and (iii) Business/Financial Operations. The Compensation Committee determined that the majority of Clinical goals were met and that the Pre-Clinical Research and Business/Financial Operations goals were exceeded. In addition to the stated corporate objectives, the Compensation Committee determined that a number of additional goals were achieved during the year specifically related to successful completion and positive results from the Phase 2b X-TOLE clinical trial discussed under “2021 Business Highlights”, significant capital raises and the successful build out of the organization including new hires in key leadership positions, and therefore determined an aggregate achievement of 150% for corporate objectives in 2021.

Both qualitative and quantitative guidelines were established for purposes of evaluating performance relative to the corporate and individual objectives during 2021. As a result, 150% of each NEO’s bonus eligibility was earned for achievement of objectives during fiscal 2021. For 2021, the aggregate annual payments earned by our NEOs under our 2021 Non-Equity Incentive Plan were the following:

 

 

2022 Non-Equity Incentive Plan Goals

The 2022 performance goals are related to various corporate objectives, including: (i) XEN1101 “end-of-Phase 2” meeting with U.S. Food and Drug Administration and initiation of a Phase 3 clinical program in epilepsy; (ii) XEN1101 company-sponsored major depressive disorder proof-of-concept clinical trial initiation and recruitment; (iii) on track for XEN496 Phase 3 clinical trial completion in the first half of 2023; (iv) achieve partnership milestones and complete collaboration support to Neurocrine Biosciences; (v) transition one discovery stage project to nomination of a development track candidate and one clinical candidate into Phase 1 clinical studies; and (vi) execute against the Corporation’s capital markets plan and cash-runway objective. The 2022 non-equity incentive plan payment for each executive officer is based solely on the achievement of corporate objectives. Dr. Pimstone, Mr. Mortimer, Ms. Aulin and Dr. Kenney are eligible to receive payments under the Corporation’s 2022 Non-Equity Incentive Plan of up to 55%, 55%, 40% and 40% of their base salaries, respectively. Any 2022 non-equity incentive plan payment that Dr. Pimstone is eligible to receive will be based on his actual base salary as an employee between January 1 and June 1, 2022.

Discretionary Bonuses

Our Board may, in certain circumstances, authorize the payment of discretionary bonuses to our executive officers and other employees. No discretionary bonuses were awarded to NEOs in 2021.

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Equity Incentive Awards

Our equity award program is the primary vehicle for offering long-term incentives to our executives. While we do not currently have any equity ownership guidelines for our executives, we believe that equity grants provide our executives with a strong link to our long-term performance, create an ownership culture and help to align the interests of our executives and our shareholders. Because our executive officers profit from stock options only if the price per share of our Common Shares increases relative to the stock option’s exercise price, we believe that stock options provide meaningful incentives to our executives to achieve increases in the value of our Common Shares over time. In addition, the vesting feature of our equity grants contributes to executive retention by providing an incentive to our executives to remain employed by us during the vesting period.

We use stock options to compensate our executive officers both in the form of initial grants in connection with the commencement of employment and generally on an annual basis thereafter. Our Compensation Committee may also make additional discretionary grants to reward an employee, for retention purposes or for other circumstances recommended by management. Typically, one quarter of the stock options that we grant to our executive officers vest on the one-year anniversary of grant for new employee grants and on January 1 of the following year for annual grants, with, in each case, the remaining three-quarters of the stock options vesting in equal monthly installments over the next three years. Vesting and exercise rights cease shortly after termination of employment, except in the case of mutual agreement, death or disability. Prior to the exercise of a stock option, the holder has no rights as a shareholder with respect to the Common Shares subject to such stock option, including voting rights or the right to receive dividends or dividend equivalents.

The exercise price of stock options granted is equal to the fair market value of our Common Shares on the date of grant, which generally is determined by reference to the closing market price of our Common Shares on the date of grant. It is our intention to grant equity awards on, at minimum, an annual basis.

In determining the size of the annual stock option grants to our executive officers, our Compensation Committee considers recommendations developed by Radford, including information regarding comparative stock ownership of and equity grants received by the executives in our peer group and our industry. In addition, our Compensation Committee considers our corporate and individual performance, the potential for enhancing the creation of value for our shareholders, the amount of equity previously awarded to the executives and the vesting of such awards.

In January 2021, our Compensation Committee approved a one-time grant of stock options to Mr. Mortimer and Ms. Aulin for their role changes to President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, commencing on June 3, 2021. Each of these grants vests over four years, with 25% of the stock options vesting on June 3, 2022, and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the following three years, subject to continued service with us, and covers the following number of Common Shares:

In March 2021, our Compensation Committee approved the annual grant of stock options to our NEOs. Each of these grants vests over four years, with 25% of the stock options vesting on January 1, 2022, and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the following three years, subject to continued service with us, and covers the following number of Common Shares:

In August 2021, our Compensation Committee approved the grant of 150,000 stock options to Dr. Kenney upon commencement of his employment in August 2021. The grant vests over four years, with 25% of the stock options vesting on August 23, 2022, and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the following three years, subject to continued service with us.

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Executive Employment Arrangements

On March 19, 2019, in connection with its annual review of executive compensation, the Compensation Committee reviewed an analysis of current market practice with respect to executive employment agreements, including input from Radford and advice from external legal counsel with respect to the terms included in the form of executive employment agreement previously approved in October 2014. As a result of this review, the Compensation Committee recommended that we enter into amended and restated employment agreements (the “previous employment agreements”) to (i) adjust foreign exchange currency terms for Canadian executives, including Mr. Mortimer and Dr. Pimstone, (ii) obtain a release in exchange for the severance payments and benefits in the event of a termination without cause, in connection with or not in connection with a change of control, or resignation for good reason in connection with a change of control and (iii) limit to three (3) months the period of time during which a termination without cause or a resignation for good reason can occur prior to a change of control.

On January 13, 2021, we entered into our current employment agreements with Mr. Mortimer, Ms. Aulin and Dr. Pimstone in connection with their role changes to President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Chair of the Board, respectively, commencing on June 3, 2021. The current employment agreements replace and supersede the previous employment agreements.

Mr. Ian Mortimer

We entered into a previous employment agreement on March 19, 2019, with Mr. Mortimer, our then President and Chief Financial Officer. Effective January 1, 2021, Mr. Mortimer’s annual base salary was $500,000, and he was eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 45% of his base salary, subject to achievement of performance metrics.

Effective on June 3, 2021, Mr. Mortimer began serving as our President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mortimer’s current employment agreement, entered into on January 13, 2021 in connection with his appointment as our President and Chief Executive Officer, is for an indefinite term. Effective on June 3, 2021, Mr. Mortimer’s annual base salary was increased to $541,000, and he is eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 55% of his base salary, subject to achievement of performance metrics. In connection with his appointment to President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mortimer was granted a one-time option grant to purchase 125,000 Common Shares on June 3, 2021.  Effective January 1, 2022, Mr. Mortimer’s base salary was increased to $594,000 and his annual incentive payment eligibility has not changed.  Mr. Mortimer’s salary increase was based on a number of factors, including an analysis of our updated peer group, which is benchmarked in U.S. dollars. The U.S. dollar amount of Mr. Mortimer’s semi-monthly pay will be converted to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada exchange rate five (5) days prior to each pay date and paid to Mr. Mortimer in Canadian dollars. Additionally, his employment agreement provides for severance benefits if Mr. Mortimer is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason in connection with a change of control. For details regarding the Corporation’s obligations to Mr. Mortimer under such circumstances, please see the section captioned “Potential Payments upon a Termination or Change in Control” below.

Ms. Sherry Aulin

We entered into a previous employment agreement on March 20, 2019, with Ms. Aulin, our then Vice President, Finance. Effective January 1, 2021, Ms. Aulin’s annual base salary was CAD$290,000, and she was eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 30% of her base salary, subject to achievement of corporate and individual objectives, as discussed above.

Effective on June 3, 2021, Ms. Aulin began serving as our Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Aulin’s current employment agreement, entered into on January 13, 2021 in connection with her appointment as our Chief Financial Officer, is for an indefinite term. Effective on June 3, 2021, Ms. Aulin’s annual base salary was increased to $320,000, and she is eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 40% of her base salary, subject to achievement of performance metrics. In connection with her appointment to Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Aulin was granted a one-time option grant to purchase 100,000 Common Shares on June 3, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022, Ms. Aulin’s annual base salary was increased to $425,000, and her annual incentive payment eligibility has not changed. Ms. Aulin’s salary increase was based on a number of factors, including an analysis of our updated peer group, which is benchmarked in U.S. dollars. The U.S. dollar amount of Ms. Aulin’s semi-monthly pay will be converted to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada exchange rate five (5) days prior to each pay date and paid to Ms. Aulin in Canadian dollars. Additionally, her employment agreement provides for severance benefits if Ms. Aulin is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason in connection with a change of control. For details regarding the Corporation’s obligations to Ms. Aulin under such circumstances, please see the section captioned “Potential Payments upon a Termination or Change in Control” below.

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Dr. Simon Pimstone

We entered into a previous employment agreement on March 19, 2019, with Dr. Pimstone, our then Chief Executive Officer. Effective January 1, 2021, Dr. Pimstone’s annual base salary was $525,000, and he was eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 60% of his base salary, subject to achievement of performance metrics.

Effective on June 3, 2021, Dr. Pimstone began serving as our Executive Chair of the Board. Dr. Pimstone’s current employment agreement for his position as Executive Chair of the Board is for a fixed period beginning on June 3, 2021 and ending on June 1, 2022, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of the employment agreement. Effective June 3, 2021, Dr. Pimstone’s annual base salary continues to be $525,000, and he is eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 55% of his base salary, subject to achievement of performance metrics. For 2022, any bonus that Dr. Pimstone may be entitled to will be based on the period he is employed as the Executive Chair of the Board in 2022, and any such bonus would be evaluated and paid in the first quarter of 2023. The U.S. dollar amount of Dr. Pimstone’s semi-monthly pay will be converted to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada exchange rate five (5) days prior to each pay date and paid to Dr. Pimstone in Canadian dollars. Additionally, his employment agreement provides for severance benefits if Dr. Pimstone is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason in connection with a change of control. For details regarding the Corporation’s obligations to Dr. Pimstone under such circumstances, please see the section captioned “Potential Payments upon a Termination or Change in Control” below.

Dr. Christopher Kenney

We entered into an employment agreement on August 18, 2021 with Dr. Kenney, our Chief Medical Officer. The employment agreement is for an indefinite term. Dr. Kenney’s annual base salary for 2021 was $450,000 and he was eligible for an annual incentive payment up to 40% of his base salary, subject to achievement of performance metrics. Effective January 1, 2022, Dr. Kenney’s annual base salary was increased to $465,000, and his annual incentive payment eligibility has not changed. Additionally, his employment agreement provides for severance benefits if Dr. Kenney is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason in connection with a change of control. For details regarding the Corporation’s obligations to Dr. Kenney under such circumstances, please see the section captioned “Potential Payments upon a Termination or Change in Control” below.

Benefits and Other Compensation

We believe that establishing competitive benefit packages for our employees is an important factor in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel. We maintain broad-based benefits that are provided to all employees, including medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, long term disability insurance, paramedical coverage and contributions equivalent to 5% of base salary intended for retirement savings. All of our executive officers are eligible to participate in all of our employee benefit plans, in each case on the same basis as other employees. Certain of our executive officers are also entitled to supplemental long-term disability insurance, life insurance and critical illness insurance coverage that is not available to our other employees of the Corporation. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, we intend to continue to maintain our current benefits for our executive officers. Our Compensation Committee in its discretion may revise, amend or add to the executive officer’s benefits and perquisites if it deems it advisable.

In particular circumstances, we sometimes award cash signing bonuses when executive officers first join us or cash bonuses in connection with the achievement of major corporate objectives. Such cash signing bonuses typically must be repaid in full if the executive officer voluntarily terminates employment with us or is terminated for cause prior to the first anniversary of the date of hire. Whether a signing bonus is paid and the amount of the bonus is determined on a case-by-case basis under the specific hiring circumstances. For example, we will consider paying signing bonuses to compensate for amounts forfeited by an executive upon terminating prior employment, to assist with relocation expenses or to create additional incentive for an executive to join the Corporation in a position where there is high market demand. Cash bonuses made outside of our annual performance-based cash bonus program may sometimes be awarded in connection with the achievement of major corporate objectives.

Retirement and Pension Benefits

We provide our employees with contributions of up to 5% of their base salary intended for retirement savings, including for example contributions to an RRSP for our Canadian employees, a Canadian retirement plan with features similar to a 401(k) plan, or to a 401(k) plan for employees in the United States. All of our NEOs are eligible to participate in all of our employee benefit plans, in each case on the same basis as other employees.

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Severance and Change of Control Benefits

Pursuant to the current employment agreements we have entered into with our executive officers, our executive officers are entitled to specified benefits in the event of the termination of their employment under specified circumstances. We believe that providing these benefits helps us compete for executive talent. After reviewing the practices of companies represented in the compensation peer group, we believe that our severance and change of control benefits are generally in-line with severance packages offered to executives of the companies in our peer group. Please refer to the section of this Circular captioned “Executive Compensation — Potential Payments upon a Termination or Change in Control” for a more detailed discussion of these benefits.

Limits on Hedging and Pledging

As part of our insider trading policy, all employees, including executive officers, and members of our Board are prohibited from engaging in transactions in publicly-traded options, such as puts and calls, and other derivative securities with respect to the Corporation’s securities. This prohibition extends to any hedging or similar transaction designed to decrease the risks associated with holding Corporation securities. Stock options, share appreciation rights, other securities issued pursuant to Corporation benefit plans or other compensatory arrangements with the Corporation, and broad-based index options, futures or baskets are not subject to this prohibition. Our insider trading policy also prohibits certain types of pledges of our securities by certain of our employees, including executive officers and members of our Board, specifically holding our securities in margin accounts or pledging our securities as collateral for a loan.

Risk Considerations in Our Compensation Program

Our Compensation Committee has reviewed and evaluated the philosophy and standards on which our compensation plans have been developed and implemented across the Corporation. It is our belief that our compensation programs do not encourage inappropriate actions or risk taking by our executive officers. We do not believe that any risks arising from our employee compensation policies and practices are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Corporation. In addition, we do not believe that the mix and design of the components of our executive compensation program encourage management to assume excessive risks. We believe that our current business process and planning cycle fosters the behaviors and controls that would mitigate the potential for adverse risk caused by the action of our executives, including the following:

Compensation Committee Report

The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the section captioned “Executive Compensation” that appears in this Circular with management and, based on such review and discussion, the Compensation Committee has recommended to our Board that this “Executive Compensation” section be included in this Circular and incorporated by reference into the Corporation’s 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K for filing with the SEC.

Respectfully submitted by the members of the Compensation Committee of the Board:

 

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Summary Compensation Table

The table below sets forth compensation information for our NEOs for 2021:

 

 

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Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table presents information concerning all equity awards held by our NEOs at December 31, 2021:

 

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Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table contains information about our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, we have three (3) equity compensation plans, two (2) of which were approved by our shareholders: (i) our pre-existing Amended and Restated Stock Option Plan (the “Stock Option Plan”) and (ii) the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan which was amended and restated in June 2020 (the “Amended and Restated 2014 Plan”). In connection with our initial public offering (“IPO”), we ceased granting stock options pursuant to the Stock Option Plan. In addition, our 2019 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (the “2019 Inducement Plan”) has not been approved by our shareholders and was terminated in June 2020 in connection with the shareholder approval of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

We entered into our current employment agreements with Mr. Mortimer, Ms. Aulin and Dr. Pimstone on January 13, 2021 and Christopher Kenney on August 18, 2021. Each of the current employment agreements with our NEOs provides that if we terminate the applicable NEO’s employment without cause (or in the case Dr. Kenney, Cause as such term is defined in his employment agreement) outside of the period beginning three months before a Change of Control (as such term is defined in the NEO’s employment agreement) and ending 12 months after the Change of Control (the “change of control period”), we will provide (i) in the cases of Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Pimstone and Ms. Aulin, a working notice of termination (in which case all terms and conditions of employment including compensation and benefits, subject to the applicable insurer’s terms of coverage), base salary continuance, a lump sum payment of base salary, or an equivalent combination of any of the foregoing, in the amount of 12 months plus 1 additional month for every 1 year of consecutive service (up to a combined maximum of 18 months) (the “Payment Period”), with the amount of notice and/or payment in excess of the amount to which the NEO is entitled under the British Columbia Employment Standards Act (the “Statutory Notice”) conditional upon the NEO signing and returning a full and final release of all claims, and (ii) in the case of Dr. Kenney, a lump sum severance payment equal to the Payment Period conditional upon Dr. Kenney signing and returning a full and final release of all claims. If we provide to Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Pimstone or Ms. Aulin the working notice of termination, base salary continuance, and/or lump sum payment of base salary in excess of the Statutory Notice or to Dr. Kenney the lump sum severance payment, we will also provide the NEO with the following: (i) in the cases of Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Pimstone or Ms. Aulin, continued coverage for the NEO under our group benefits insurance until the Payment Period ends or the NEO commences full-time employment, subject to the applicable insurer’s terms of coverage (and if the insurer does not continue coverage, payment to the NEO of an amount equal to what the monthly premiums for such continued coverage would have cost), or in the case of Dr. Kenney, pay on his behalf or otherwise reimburse him for the cost of the monthly premiums for him and his eligible dependents to continue health care benefits pursuant under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (“COBRA”), for up to the end of the Payment Period, (ii) payment to the NEO of a pro-rated portion of his or her Average Bonus (as defined below), (iii) payment to the NEO of the contributions for retirement savings that we would have paid on his or her behalf for the balance of the Payment Period, (iv) in the cases of Mr. Mortimer and Dr. Pimstone, continued exercisability of stock options granted under our Stock Option Plan (as defined below)  for up to three months following the end of the Payment Period, and (v) continued vesting of stock options and other deferred compensation granted under our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan or any subsequent incentive compensation plan for three months following the date the NEO’s employment terminates and continued exercisability of such options and deferred compensation for up to six months following termination of employment. “Average Bonus” means an amount that is (i) the sum of the annual bonus awards (expressed as a percentage of the applicable year’s base salary) that the NEO earned in each of the three completed calendar years preceding the date the NEO’s employment terminates (or if the NEO has been employed for more than one but fewer than three completed calendar years of service, then the number of completed calendar year(s) preceding the date the NEO’s employment with us terminates), divided by (ii) three, and multiplied by (iii) the NEO’s base salary at the time his or her employment terminates. In Dr. Kenney’s case, if his employment with us terminates before the one-year anniversary of his start date with us, then his “Average Bonus” would be his target bonus.

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If, during the change of control period, the NEO’s employment is terminated without cause (or in the case of Dr. Kenney, Cause as such term is defined in his employment agreement) or the NEO resigns for Good Reason (as such term is defined in the NEO’s employment agreement), we will, in exchange for and conditional upon receipt of a full and final release of all claims, (i) pay the NEO his or her base salary for the Payment Period (or in the cases of Mr. Mortimer and Dr. Pimstone, for 24 months), (ii) pay the NEO 100% of his or her applicable target bonus, (iii) pay the NEO the contributions for retirement savings that we would have paid on his or her behalf for the balance of the Payment Period (or in the cases of Mr. Mortimer and Dr. Pimstone, for the 24-month period after the termination of the NEO’s employment), (iv) fully accelerate the vesting of all of the NEO’s unvested stock options and other deferred compensation awards, (v) in the cases of Mr. Mortimer or Dr. Pimstone, provide for the continued exercisability of the NEO’s stock options for (A) 90 days from the end of the Payment Period for such stock options and awards granted under our Stock Option Plan or (B) the longer of the period stipulated in the applicable plan or grant, (vi) provide for the continued exercisability of the NEO’s stock options for (A) six months from the termination of the NEO’s employment for such stock options and awards granted under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan or any subsequent deferred compensation plan or (B) the longer of the period stipulated in the applicable plan or grant, and (vii) in the cases of Mr. Mortimer, Dr. Pimstone or Ms. Aulin, arrange for continued coverage for the NEO under our group benefits insurance until the Payment Period (or in the cases of Mr. Mortimer and Dr. Pimstone, for the 24-month period after the termination of the NEO’s employment) ends or the NEO commences full-time employment, subject to the applicable insurer’s terms of coverage (and if the insurer does not continue coverage, pay the NEO an amount equal to what the monthly premiums for such continued coverage would have cost), or in the case of Dr. Kenney, pay on his behalf or otherwise reimburse him for the cost of the monthly premiums for him and his eligible dependents to continue health care benefits pursuant under COBRA for up to the end of the Payment Period. Pursuant to the terms of Dr. Pimstone’s employment agreement, the automatic termination of his employment agreement at the end of the term shall not constitute Good Reason, even if such automatic termination occurs within three months prior to a Change of Control or within 12 months after a Change of Control.

Employee Benefit and Stock Plans

Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan

In October 2013, our Compensation Committee adopted our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, which was amended by our Board in April 2014. The 2014 Equity Incentive Plan was approved by our shareholders in June 2014 and became effective on November 3, 2014.

In June 2020, the shareholders of the Corporation approved the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, amending certain provisions of the Corporation’s 2014 Equity Incentive Plan. The Amended and Restated 2014 Plan continues to permit the grant of incentive share options, which are “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to our employees and any subsidiary corporation’s employees, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, restricted share, restricted share units, share appreciation rights, and performance shares to employees, officers, directors and consultants of the Corporation or of any of its subsidiaries. Under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, options granted generally vest on a graduated basis over a four-year period or less. The exercise price of the options is determined by the Board but must at least be equal to the fair market value of the Common Shares on the date of grant. Options may be exercised over a maximum term of ten years.  The annual share increase provision of the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan was eliminated and the maximum number of Common Shares available for issuance (the “Share Reserve”) was increased by 4,000,000 over the existing Share Reserve under the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan to 8,065,328 Common Shares. The number of Common Shares that can be issued through restricted share awards, restricted share unit awards, or performance share awards was amended to be limited to 1,000,000 Common Shares, in the aggregate. Other amendments were made to terms of the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan with respect to repricing, change of control and payment of dividends and other distributions.

At the Meeting, we are seeking shareholder approval of an increase of the Share Reserve under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan by an additional 5,300,000 Common Shares. For a description of the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan and proposed increase, please see “Item 4 - Approval of Amendment to the Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan” in this Circular.

2019 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan

On September 9, 2019, the Board adopted the 2019 Inducement Plan. The 2019 Inducement Plan was adopted without shareholder approval pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) and Rule 5635(c)(3) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. The 2019 Inducement Plan was terminated in connection with the shareholder approval of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan in June 2020, and the 2019 Inducement Plan will continue to govern the terms and conditions of outstanding stock options granted thereunder.

Authorized Shares. As of December 31, 2021, the maximum aggregate number of our Common Shares reserved for issuance under the 2019 Inducement Plan was 128,787 Common Shares. Any Common Shares for which a stock option is exercised reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance. No further options will be granted under the 2019 Inducement Plan.

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Inducement Awards. The Inducement Plan provided for the grant of equity-based awards, including share options, share appreciation rights, restricted share awards, restricted share unit awards and performance share awards, and its terms are substantially similar to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, including with respect to treatment of equity awards in the event of a “merger” or “change of control” as defined under the Inducement Plan, but with such other terms and conditions intended to comply with the Nasdaq inducement award exception or to comply with the Nasdaq acquisition and merger exception. However, the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan permits certain exchange programs (which includes repricings) without shareholder approval, while the Inducement Plan requires shareholder approval for such exchange programs.

In accordance with Rule 5635(c)(4) and Rule 5635(c)(3) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, awards under the Inducement Plan could only be made to individuals not previously employees or non-employee directors of the Corporation (or following such individuals’ bona fide period of non-employment with the Corporation), as an inducement material to the individuals’ entry into employment with the Corporation, or, to the extent permitted by Rule 5635(c)(3) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, in connection with a merger or acquisition.

Stock Option Plan

Our Stock Option Plan was initially adopted by our Board and shareholders in June 1999. Our Stock Option Plan permitted the grant of stock options to our directors, officers and other Service Providers (as defined in the Stock Option Plan). Our Stock Option Plan was most recently amended and restated in September 2014. In connection with our IPO in November 2014, we terminated our Stock Option Plan with respect to any future grant of stock options and as such, no other securities will be granted pursuant to the Stock Option Plan; however, our Stock Option Plan will continue to govern the terms and conditions of outstanding stock options granted thereunder.

Authorized Shares. As of December 31, 2021, the maximum aggregate number of our Common Shares reserved for issuance under the Stock Option Plan was 275,734 Common Shares. Any Common Shares for which a stock option is exercised reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance.

Plan Administration. Subject to the provisions of our Stock Option Plan, our Board has the power to determine the directors, officers and other Service Providers to whom stock options may be granted; to determine terms and conditions of stock options; and to extend the period of time following an optionee’s termination of service within which the optionee’s stock option may be exercised.

Stock Options. The per share exercise price of each stock option equals the market price of our Common Shares on the date of grant, and each stock option has a term of up to ten years, subject to earlier termination upon an optionee’s termination of service. After an optionee’s termination of service, the optionee may exercise his or her stock option, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, (i) until 5:00 p.m. Vancouver time on the date of termination if the optionee’s service was terminated for cause (as determined by us in our sole discretion), (ii) for 365 days following a termination of the optionee’s service due to death or disability, or (iii) 90 days following a termination of the optionee’s service for any other reason. In no event may a stock option be exercised later than the expiration of its term except in certain circumstances where the expiration occurs during a blackout period as described in greater detail in the Stock Option Plan. Our Board determined the remaining terms and conditions of a stock option, as our Board, in its discretion, deemed to be consistent with the Stock Option Plan. The specific terms of any grant of shares are set forth in an award agreement between us and the recipient.

Transferability. Optionees may not assign their stock options or their rights under the Stock Option Plan.

Certain Adjustments. In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, to prevent diminution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits available under the Stock Option Plan, our Board may make proportional adjustments to the number of Common Shares that may be delivered under the Stock Option Plan and/or the number and price of shares covered by each outstanding stock option.

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Merger, Dissolution, Liquidation, or other Change of Control. Our Stock Option Plan provides that in the event of a dissolution, liquidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets; merger, consolidation, amalgamation, arrangement or reorganization in which we are not the surviving corporation; reverse merger in which we are the surviving corporation but our Common Shares are converted into other property; or an acquisition by any person, entity or group within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act of our securities representing at least 35% of the combined voting power entitled to vote in an election of directors, which we collectively refer to as a Change of Control, any successor corporation shall assume our obligations in respect of all outstanding stock options under our Stock Option Plan or shall substitute an equivalent stock option for all outstanding stock options under the Stock Option Plan. If a successor corporation does not assume or substitute for an outstanding stock option, then any stock options held by persons who are directors, officers, or Service Providers generally will fully vest and the time during which such stock option may be exercised shall be accelerated prior to the completion of the Change of Control. All stock options that are not assumed or are not substituted for will terminate unless exercised prior to the Change of Control. In the event of our merger into another corporation or other entity or any other Change of Control in which the stock options are assumed or substituted for by a successor corporation, the assumed stock options or the substitute stock options held by a director, officer or Service Provider will become fully vested and exercisable if, within 12 months following the Change of Control, either (i) the optionee’s service is terminated by us or the successor corporation other than for Cause (as defined in the Stock Option Plan) or (ii) the optionee resigns for Good Reason (as defined in the Stock Option Plan).

Plan Amendment. Subject to any required regulatory approval, we may amend the Stock Option Plan at any time, provided that such amendment does not impair the existing rights of any optionee under any then-outstanding option.

Indemnification Agreements and Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance

Under the CBCA, we may indemnify our current or former directors or officers or any other individuals who act or have acted at our request as a director or officer, or an individual acting in a similar capacity, of another entity, against all costs, charges, and expenses, including an amount paid to settle an action or satisfy a judgment, reasonably incurred by the individual in respect of any civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other proceeding in which the individual is involved because of his or her association with us or the other entity. The CBCA also provides that we may advance moneys to a director, officer or other individual for costs, charges and expenses reasonably incurred in connection with such a proceeding. The individual shall repay the moneys to us if indemnification of the individual is ultimately prohibited under the CBCA, as described below.

Indemnification is prohibited under the CBCA unless the individual:

Our by-laws require us to indemnify each of our directors, officers, former directors or officers or persons who act or acted at our request as a director or officer, or an individual acting in a similar capacity, of another body corporate to the fullest extent permitted under the CBCA. We will indemnify such individual against all costs, charges and expenses, including an amount paid to settle an action or proceeding to which the individual is made a party by reason of being or having been a director of officer of us or such body corporate. However, we shall not indemnify such individual if the individual did not act honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests or, in the case of a criminal or administrative action or proceeding that is enforced by a monetary penalty, the individual did not have reasonable grounds for believing that his or her conduct was lawful.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and officers. As provided by our by-laws, these agreements, among other things, require us to indemnify each director and officer to the fullest extent permitted under the CBCA.

Our by-laws authorize us, with the approval of our Board, to purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of any persons our Board may from time to time determine.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

In addition to the arrangements described below, we have also entered into the arrangements which are described where required in the section of this Circular captioned “Executive Compensation”.

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Related Person Transaction Policy

Pursuant to a formal, written policy, which became effective on November 4, 2014, our executive officers, directors, holders of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, and any member of the immediate family of or any entities affiliated with any of the foregoing persons, are not permitted to enter into a related party transaction with us without the prior approval or, in the case of pending or ongoing related party transactions, ratification of our Audit Committee. For purposes of our policy, as amended from time to time, a related party transaction is a transaction, arrangement or relationship where we were, are or will be involved and in which a related party had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than transactions available to all of our employees.

License and Collaboration Agreement and Share Purchase Agreements with Neurocrine Biosciences

On December 2, 2019, we entered into a license and collaboration agreement and related share purchase agreement with Neurocrine Biosciences pursuant to which we issued 1,408,847 Common Shares, representing approximately 5.4% of our then outstanding Common Shares. Prior to entering into these transactions, Neurocrine Biosciences did not own more than 5% of any class of our voting securities.

Under the terms of the license and collaboration agreement and the related share purchase agreement, Neurocrine Biosciences made an upfront payment to us of $50.0 million, which included a $30.0 million payment in cash and an aggregate purchase price of $20.0 million for the 1,408,847 Common Shares.

In January 2021, we entered into an amendment with Neurocrine Biosciences pursuant to which we revised certain IND acceptance criteria relating to NBI-921352 for the potential treatment of SCN8A-DEE. We agreed to collaborate with Neurocrine Biosciences to identify, research and develop sodium channel inhibitors, including our clinical candidate XEN901, now known as NBI-921352, and preclinical candidates XEN393, XPC’535 and XPC’391 (collectively, the “DTCs”), which compounds Neurocrine Biosciences now has the exclusive right to further develop and commercialize under the terms and conditions set forth in agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the license and collaboration agreement, as amended in January 2021, based on the regulatory approval of a clinical trial application in Europe for NBI-921352 for focal-onset seizures in adults, in September 2021 we received an aggregate milestone payment of $10.0 million in the form of $4.5 million in cash and a $5.5 million in equity investment, whereby we issued and sold 275,337 Common Shares. In January 2022, we received an aggregate milestone payment of $15.0 million in the form of a $6.75 million payment in cash and a $8.25 million equity investment, whereby we issued and sold 258,986 Common Shares, based on the FDA’s acceptance of a protocol amendment to expand the study population of a clinical trial in pediatric patients with SCN8A-DEE.   

In February 2022, we entered into a second amendment with Neurocrine Biosciences pursuant to which the restrictions imposed on Neurocrine Biosciences prohibiting it from developing, seeking regulatory approval for, marketing or promoting certain early compounds (as the term is defined in the Collaboration Agreement) in the pain field (as the term is defined in the Collaboration Agreement) were removed.

The license and collaboration agreement also provides for potential aggregate development and regulatory milestone payments from Neurocrine Biosciences to us of up to $325.0 million for a NBI-921352 product and up to $247.5 million for each other compound up to a maximum of three other compounds. Sales-based milestones of up to $150.0 million for each compound, including a NBI-921352 product, will be paid from Neurocrine Biosciences to us upon the achievement of certain net sales targets, up to a maximum of four compounds. Neurocrine Biosciences has further agreed to pay us royalties based on future net sales of any pharmaceutical product that contains a compound. Such royalty percentages, for net sales in and outside the United States, range from (i) for a NBI-921352 product, a low double-digit percentage to a mid-teen percentage and a high-single digit percentage to low double-digit percentage, respectively; (ii) for each DTC product, a high-single digit percentage to a low double-digit percentage and a mid-single digit percentage to a high-single digit percentage, respectively; and (iii) for each research compound product, a mid-single digit percentage to a high-single digit percentage and a tiered mid-single digit percentage, respectively.

For additional information regarding the license and collaboration agreement, related share purchase agreements and subsequent amendments with Neurocrine Biosciences, please see our Current Reports on Form 8-K, Annual Report on Form 10-K and the exhibits thereto, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 2, 2019, January 14, 2021, January 12, 2022 and March 1, 2022.

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Exchange Agreement with entities affiliated with BVF Partners

On March 23, 2018, we entered into an exchange agreement with Biotechnology Value Fund, L.P., Biotechnology Value Fund II, L.P., Biotechnology Value Trading Fund O.S., L.P., Investment 10, L.L.C. and MSI BVF SPV, L.L.C. (collectively, “BVF”), pursuant to which we issued 2,868,000 Series 1 preferred shares in exchange for 2,868,000 Common Shares (the “Exchange”). The Exchange closed on March 27, 2018 and the closing price per share of our Common Shares was $4.80 on March 26, 2018, immediately before the closing date of the Exchange. Prior to the closing of the Exchange, BVF held a number of Common Shares representing approximately 19.9% of our then outstanding Common Shares. During the year ended December 31, 2018, BVF converted 1,852,000 Series 1 preferred shares in exchange for an equal number of Common Shares. In March 2022, BVF converted its remaining 1,016,000 Series 1 preferred shares in exchange for an equal number of Common Shares.

Indebtedness of Directors and Officers

No current or former director, officer or employee of the Corporation, or any associate of any such individual, is, or was at any time during the most recently completed financial year, indebted to the Corporation, nor is any indebtedness of any such person to another entity the subject of a guarantee, support agreement, letter of credit or other similar arrangement or understanding provided by the Corporation.

Other Transactions

We have granted stock options to our NEOs, other executive officers and certain of our directors.

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REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD

The following Report of the Audit Committee does not constitute soliciting material and should not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any other filing by Xenon under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent Xenon specifically incorporates this Report by reference therein.

The Audit Committee of the Board is comprised solely of independent directors and operates under a written charter which is reviewed on an annual basis and amended as necessary by the Board upon recommendation by the Audit Committee. The composition of the Audit Committee, the attributes of its members and the responsibilities of the Audit Committee, as reflected in its charter, are intended to be in accordance with all applicable requirements for corporate audit committees.

The Audit Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in serving as an oversight to Xenon’s accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions. The Audit Committee has implemented procedures to ensure that during the course of each fiscal year, it devotes the attention that it deems necessary or appropriate to each of the matters assigned to it under its charter including, whenever appropriate, meeting in executive sessions with Xenon’s independent auditors without the presence of Xenon’s management.

Management is responsible for the financial reporting process, including the system of internal controls, and for the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Corporation’s independent auditors are responsible for auditing those financial statements and expressing an opinion as to their conformity with GAAP. The independent auditors also are responsible for performing an independent audit of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the auditing standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”). The Audit Committee’s responsibility is to oversee and review the financial reporting process, including the Company’s systems of internal controls.

 

In overseeing the preparation of Xenon’s financial statements, the Audit Committee reviewed the financial statements and met with both management and Xenon’s outside auditors to review and discuss all financial statements prior to their issuance and to discuss significant accounting issues. Management advised the Audit Committee that all financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the Audit Committee discussed the statements with both management and the outside auditors.

 

The Audit Committee discussed with the independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the PCAOB, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Audit Committee has also received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG, required by applicable requirements of the PCAOB regarding the independent registered public accounting firm’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with KPMG that firm’s independence.

On the basis of their reviews and discussions, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board that the Board approve (and the Board has approved) the inclusion of Xenon’s audited financial statements in Xenon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, for filing with the SEC and the securities commissions in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

Effective November 15, 1999, the Corporation engaged KPMG as its independent registered public accounting firm. The decision to engage KPMG was made by the Audit Committee and the Board. The Committee and the Board have also approved, and submitted for shareholder approval, the selection of KPMG as Xenon’s independent auditors to hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders of the Corporation.

The Audit Committee’s current charter is appended to this Circular as Schedule B.

 

 

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ITEM 4 – APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDED AND RESTATED 2014 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

We grant share options as an incentive to our employees and directors to promote increased shareholder value. The Board and management believe that share options and other types of equity awards are one of the primary ways to attract and retain key personnel responsible for the continued development and growth of our business, and to motivate all employees to increase shareholder value. In addition, share options and other types of equity awards are necessary to remain competitive in our industry and are essential to recruiting and retaining the highly qualified employees who help our company meet its goals. At the Meeting, we are requesting that shareholders approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan to increase the Share Reserve under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan by an additional 5,300,000 Common Shares (the “Proposed Amendment”). Other than this increase the Share Reserve, there are no other changes to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan proposed.

In October 2013, our Compensation Committee adopted our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, which was amended by our Board in April 2014. The 2014 Equity Incentive Plan was approved by our shareholders in June 2014 and became effective on November 3, 2014. In June 2020, our shareholders approved the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, amending certain provisions of the Corporation’s 2014 Equity Incentive Plan. Subject to certain provisions of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the current Share Reserve is equal to 8,065,328 Common Shares and the number of Common Shares that can be issued through restricted share awards, restricted share unit awards, or performance share awards (“full-value awards”) is limited to 1,000,000 Common Shares, in the aggregate. This limitation on full-value awards was a new shareholder-favorable term included in our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Other amendments favorable to our shareholders were made to terms of the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, including eliminating the annual “evergreen”, removing the ability to conduct repricing or exchange programs, and specifying that no payment of dividends and other distributions may be made with respect to unvested awards. We also amended the terms of the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan to clarify the definition of change of control.

If the Proposed Amendment is approved by our shareholders, we expect to have sufficient shares to grant equity awards to our employees and directors at levels that are necessary to meet our recruitment and retention needs over the next several years. If the Proposed Amendment is not approved by our shareholders, then we will not have enough Common Shares to be able to grant equity awards at levels we think are necessary, and this could hinder our ability to recruit and retain qualified employees.

Our executive officers and non-employee directors have an interest in this proposal as they are eligible to receive equity awards under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan.

The Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, as amended by the Proposed Amendment, is set forth on Schedule C.

Considerations of the Board in Making its Recommendation

In determining whether to approve the Proposed Amendment, the Board considered a number of factors, including the following:

Our three-year average burn rate is below industry guidelines published by Institutional Shareholder Services. Our senior management, Compensation Committee and Radford reviewed our burn rate as compared to our industry peer companies and our Board ultimately approved an amendment to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan to increase the Share Reserve by an additional 5,300,000 Common Shares, subject to shareholder approval at the Meeting.

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In light of the factors described above, and the fact that the ability to continue to grant equity awards is vital to our ability to continue to attract and retain employees in the extremely competitive labor markets in which we compete, our Board has determined that the Proposed Amendment is reasonable and appropriate.

Summary of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan

The following is a summary of the principal features of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan (as amended to increase the Share Reserve) and its operation. The summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan set forth in Schedule C.

The Amended and Restated 2014 Plan provides for the grant of incentive share options, which are “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to our employees and any subsidiary corporation’s employees, and for the grant of nonstatutory share options, restricted share, restricted share units, share appreciation rights, and performance shares to our employees, officers, directors and consultants. As of the Record Date, approximately (i) 172 employees (including officers), (ii) seven (7) non-employee directors, and (iii) one consultant was eligible to receive awards under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Except in certain limited circumstances, the Corporation’s current practice is generally not to grant equity awards to consultants.

If approved by our shareholders at the Annual Meeting, the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan will continue until April 16, 2030, the tenth anniversary of the date our Board approved the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, unless terminated earlier as permitted under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan’s provisions.

Authorized Shares

As of December 31, 2021, we have reserved a total of 8,065,328 Common Shares for issuance pursuant to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, of which options to purchase 5,233,711 Common Shares were issued and outstanding, and 2,416,591 Common Shares remained available for future issuance.

Subject to the adjustment provisions in the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the total number of Common Shares that may be issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, as amended will equal 13,365,328 Common Shares (which represents the sum of (i) the 411,522 Common Shares initially reserved for issuance under the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, plus (ii) the 3,653,806 Common Shares that had been automatically added to the Share Reserve under the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan’s evergreen provision on the first business day of the 2015 through 2020 fiscal years, plus (iii) the 4,000,000 Common Shares that were added to the Share Reserve under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan in June 2020, plus (iv) the 5,300,000 Common Shares that are being added to the Share Reserve as a result of the Proposed Amendment). Subject to the adjustment provisions in the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, no more than 1,000,000 Common Shares, in the aggregate, may be issued through full-value awards. Any Common Shares that are issued through full-value awards and later become available for issuance under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan as described in the next paragraph will cease to count as Common Shares issued for purposes of this limitation.

If an award which has not been exercised in full or, with respect to a full-value award, is forfeited to or repurchased by us due to failure to vest, the number of unpurchased Common Shares reserved for issuance under that award (or for awards other than share options or share appreciation rights that are forfeited or repurchased Common Shares) will become available for future grant or sale under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan (unless the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan has terminated). With respect to share appreciation rights, only the net Common Shares actually issued will cease to be available under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan and all remaining Common Shares under share appreciation rights will remain available for future grant or sale under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan (unless the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan has terminated). Common Shares used to pay the exercise price of an award or to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to an award will become available for future grant or sale under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. To the extent an award under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan is paid out in cash rather than Common Shares, such cash payment will not reduce the number of Common Shares available for issuance under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan.

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Plan Administration

Our Board, or the Compensation Committee, administers the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. If our Board determines it is desirable to qualify transactions under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan as exempt under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act, such transactions will be structured to satisfy the requirements for exemption under Rule 16b-3.

Subject to the provisions of our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the administrator has the power to administer the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, including the power to determine the eligible persons to whom awards may be granted and the terms and conditions of each award, such as the number of Common Shares to be covered by the award, the vesting conditions that apply to the award, and the award’s exercise price. The administrator also has the power to approve the forms of award agreements for use under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, to modify or amend awards, to allow a participant to defer the receipt of the payment of cash or the delivery of shares that would otherwise be due to such participant under an award, to interpret the terms of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan and awards granted under it, and to create, amend and revoke rules relating to the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, including creating sub-plans. The administrator has the power to make all other determinations deemed necessary or advisable for administering the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, and the administrator’s interpretations and determinations will be conclusive and binding on us and all other affected persons.

The administrator may not implement an exchange program by which outstanding awards may be surrendered or cancelled in exchange for awards of the same type, which may have a higher or lower exercise price and/or different terms, awards of a different type, and/or cash or by which the exercise price of an outstanding award is increased or reduced.  In addition, no dividends or other distributions will be paid or credited with respect to any Common Shares subject to any unvested portion of an award.

In addition, the Compensation Committee has delegated to our Chief Financial Officer or the Chief Executive Officer, the authority to approve grants of share options to newly hired non-executive employees. The share options granted pursuant to this delegation may not exceed a certain number for each new employee and a certain aggregate number for each fiscal quarter, must have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of our Common Shares as defined in our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan and may not deviate from the standard vesting terms provided for in our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan.

Share Options 

We may grant nonstatutory share options and incentive share options under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. The exercise price of share options granted under our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan must at least be equal to the fair market value of our Common Shares on the date of grant and also may not be less than the lowest exercise price permitted under applicable rules and regulations of all regulatory authorities to which we are subject. The term of a share option may not exceed ten years. However, any incentive share option granted to a participant who owns 10% or more of the voting power of all classes of our outstanding shares will not have a term of more than five years or an exercise price less than 110% of the fair market value on the grant date. The administrator will determine the methods of payment of the exercise price of a share option, which may include cash, shares or other property acceptable to the administrator to the extent permitted by applicable securities laws and all applicable rules and regulations of all regulatory authorities to which we are subject. After the termination of service of an employee, director or consultant, he or she may exercise the vested portion of his or her share option for the period of time stated in his or her share option agreement, which generally will be for 365 days after a termination due to disability, 180 days after a termination due to retirement, or for 90 days following any other termination without cause or a resignation. In the case of the death of a participant before the participant’s termination of service or before the expiration of the period described in the previous sentence, the vested portion of the participant’s share option will remain exercisable for 365 days after the participant’s death or such other date specified in the participant’s share option agreement. The share option will be forfeited immediately in the event of a termination for cause. However, in no event may a share option be exercised later than the expiration of its term except in certain circumstances where the expiration occurs during a blackout period as described more fully in the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Subject to the provisions of our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the administrator determines the other terms of share options.

Share Appreciation Rights

We may grant share appreciation rights under our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Share appreciation rights allow the recipient to receive the appreciation in the fair market value of our Common Shares between the exercise date and the date of grant. Subject to the provisions of our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the administrator determines the other terms of share appreciation rights, including when such rights become exercisable and whether to pay any increased appreciation in cash or with our Common Shares, or a combination thereof, except that the per share exercise price for the shares to be issued pursuant to the exercise of a share appreciation right will be no less than 100% of the fair market value per share on the date of grant. Share appreciation rights may not have a term exceeding ten years. After the termination of service of an employee, director or consultant, the same expiration rules described above for share options apply to share appreciation rights.

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Restricted Share Awards

We may grant restricted share awards under our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Restricted share awards are grants of Common Shares that vest in accordance with terms and conditions established by the administrator. The administrator will determine the number of restricted share awards granted to any employee, director or consultant and, subject to the provisions of our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, will determine the terms and conditions of such awards. The administrator may impose whatever conditions to vesting it determines to be appropriate (for example, the administrator may set restrictions based on the achievement of specific performance goals or continued service to us), but the administrator has the discretion to accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed. A recipient of a restricted share award generally will have voting rights with respect to unvested Common Shares underlying such restricted share award, unless the administrator provides otherwise. Dividends or other distributions may not be paid with respect to any unvested Common Shares underlying a restricted share award. Restricted share awards that do not vest are subject to our right of repurchase or forfeiture.

Restricted Share Units

We may grant restricted share units under our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Restricted share units are bookkeeping entries representing an amount equal to the fair market value of one of our Common Shares. Subject to the provisions of our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the administrator determines the terms and conditions of restricted share units, including the vesting criteria (which may include accomplishing specified performance criteria or continued service to us) and the form and timing of payment (which may consist of any combination of cash or Common Shares). However, the administrator has the discretion to accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed. Dividend equivalents may not be credited with respect to Common Shares covered by a restricted share unit award.

Performance Shares

We may grant performance shares under our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Performance shares are awards that will result in a payment to a participant only if performance goals established by the administrator are achieved or the awards otherwise vest. The administrator will establish organizational or individual performance goals or other vesting criteria in its discretion, which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number and/or the value of performance shares to be paid out to participants. After the grant of performance shares, the administrator, in its sole discretion, may reduce or waive any performance criteria or other vesting provisions for such performance shares. Performance shares will have an initial value equal to the fair market value of our Common Shares on the grant date. The administrator has the discretion to pay earned performance shares in the form of cash, in Common Shares or in some combination thereof. Dividend equivalents may not be credited with respect to Common Shares covered by a performance share award.

Outside Directors

Our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan provides that all outside directors will be eligible to receive all types of awards (except for incentive share options) under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. In 2014, we implemented a formal policy pursuant to which our outside directors are eligible to receive equity awards under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan provides that, in any given fiscal year of ours, an outside director will not receive (i) cash-settled awards having a grant date fair value greater than $500,000, increased to $1,000,000 in connection with his or her initial service; and (ii) share-settled awards having a grant date fair value greater than $500,000, increased to $1,000,000 in connection with his or her initial service, in each case, as determined under generally accepted accounting principles.

Non-Transferability of Awards 

Unless the administrator provides otherwise, our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan generally does not allow for the transfer of awards and only the recipient of an award may exercise an award during his or her lifetime.

Certain Adjustments

In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, to prevent diminution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits available under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, the administrator will adjust the number and class of shares that may be delivered under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan and/or the number, class, and price of shares covered by each outstanding award, and the numerical share limits set forth in the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan.

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Merger or Change of Control

Our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan provides that in the event of a merger or change of control, as defined under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, each outstanding award will be treated as the administrator determines, except that if a successor corporation or its parent or subsidiary does not assume or substitute an equivalent award for any outstanding award, then such award will fully vest, all restrictions on such award will lapse, all performance goals or other vesting criteria applicable to such award will be deemed achieved at 100% of target levels and such award will become fully exercisable, if applicable, for a specified period prior to the transaction. The award will then terminate upon the expiration of the specified period of time. If the service of an outside director is terminated on or following a change of control, other than pursuant to a voluntary resignation, his or her share options and share appreciation rights will vest fully and become immediately exercisable, all restrictions on his or her restricted shares and restricted share units will lapse, and with respect to his or her performance shares, all performance goals or other vesting requirements will be deemed achieved at 100% of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.

Amendment and Termination

The administrator will have the authority to amend, suspend or terminate the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan provided such action does not impair the existing rights of any participant. Our Amended and Restated 2014 Plan will automatically terminate in 2030, unless we terminate it sooner pursuant to the provisions of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan.

Clawback

Awards granted under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan will be subject to recoupment in accordance with any clawback policy that the Corporation is required to adopt pursuant to applicable laws. Our Board may require other, recovery or recoupment provisions as the Board deems necessary or appropriate, including but not limited to a reacquisition right in respect of previously acquired Common Shares.  

Summary of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following summary is intended only as a general guide to the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of participation in the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. The summary is based on existing U.S. laws and regulations, and there can be no assurance that those laws and regulations will not change in the future. The summary does not purport to be complete and does not discuss the tax consequences upon a participant’s death, or the provisions of the income tax laws of any municipality, state or non-U.S. jurisdiction to which the participant may be subject. As a result, tax consequences for any particular participant may vary based on individual circumstances.

Incentive Share Options

No taxable income is reportable when an incentive share option is granted or exercised, although the exercise may subject the participant to the alternative minimum tax or may affect the determination of the participant’s alternative minimum tax (unless the shares are sold or otherwise disposed of in the same year). If the participant exercises the option and then later sells or otherwise disposes of the shares acquired more than two years after the grant date and more than one year after the exercise date, the difference between the sale price and the exercise price will be taxed as capital gain or loss. If the participant exercises the option and then later sells or otherwise disposes of the shares before the end of the two or one year holding periods described above, he or she generally will have ordinary income at the time of the sale equal to the fair market value of the shares on the exercise date (or the sale price, if less) minus the exercise price of the option. For purposes of the alternative minimum tax, the difference between the option exercise price and the fair market value of the shares on the exercise date is treated as an adjustment item in computing the participant’s alternative minimum taxable income in the year of exercise. In addition, special alternative minimum tax rules may apply to certain subsequent disqualifying dispositions of the shares or provide certain basis adjustments or tax credits for alternative minimum tax purposes.

Nonstatutory Share Options

No taxable income is reportable when a nonstatutory share option with a per share exercise price at least equal to the fair market value of an underlying share on the date of grant is granted to a participant. Upon exercise, the participant will recognize ordinary income in an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value (on the exercise date) of the shares purchased over the exercise price of the exercised shares subject to the option. Any taxable income recognized in connection with an option exercise by an employee of the Corporation is subject to tax withholding by us. Any additional gain or loss recognized upon any later disposition of the shares would be capital gain or loss to the participant.

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Share Appreciation Rights

No taxable income is reportable when a share appreciation right with a per share exercise price equal to at least the fair market value of an underlying share on the date of grant is granted to a participant. Upon exercise, the participant will recognize ordinary income in an amount equal to the amount of cash received and the fair market value of any shares received. Any taxable income recognized in connection with the exercise of a share appreciation right by an employee of the Corporation is subject to tax withholding by us. Any additional gain or loss recognized upon any later disposition of the shares would be capital gain or loss to the participant.

Restricted Share Awards, Restricted Share Unit Awards, and Performance Share Awards

A participant generally will not have taxable income at the time restricted share awards, restricted share unit awards, or performance share awards are granted. Instead, he or she will recognize ordinary income in the first taxable year in which his or her interest in the shares underlying the award becomes either (i) freely transferable, or (ii) no longer subject to substantial risk of forfeiture. If the participant is an employee, such ordinary income generally is subject to tax withholding by us. However, the recipient of a restricted share award may elect to recognize income at the time he or she receives the award in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares underlying the award (less any cash paid for the shares) on the date the award is granted.

Medicare Surtax

A participant’s annual “net investment income,” as defined in Section 1411 of the Code may be subject to a 3.8% federal surtax (generally referred to as the “Medicare Surtax”). Net investment income may include capital gain and/or loss arising from the disposition of shares subject to a participant’s awards under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan. Whether a participant’s net investment income will be subject to the Medicare Surtax will depend on the participant’s level of annual income and other factors.

Section 409A

Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code Section 409A”) provides certain requirements for nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements with respect to an individual’s deferral and distribution elections and permissible distribution events. Awards granted under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan with a deferral feature will be subject to the requirements of Code Section 409A. Code Section 409A also generally provides that distributions must be made on or following the occurrence of certain events (e.g., the individual’s separation from service, a predetermined date, or the individual’s death). For certain individuals who are officers, subject to certain exceptions, Code Section 409A requires that distributions in connection with the officer’s separation from service commence no earlier than 6 months after such officer’s separation from service.

If an award granted under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan is subject to and fails to satisfy the requirements of Code Section 409A, the recipient of that award may recognize ordinary income on the amounts deferred under the award, to the extent vested, which may be prior to when the compensation is actually or constructively received. Also, if an award that is subject to Code Section 409A fails to comply with Code Section 409A’s provisions, Code Section 409A imposes an additional 20% federal income tax on compensation recognized as ordinary income, as well as interest on such deferred compensation. Certain states, such as California, have enacted laws similar to Code Section 409A which impose additional taxes, interest and penalties on nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. The Corporation will also have withholding and reporting requirements with respect to such amounts. In no event will the Corporation or any of its parents or subsidiaries have any responsibility, obligation, or liability under the terms of the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan to reimburse, indemnify, or hold harmless a participant or any other person in respect of awards for any taxes, interest or penalties imposed, or other costs incurred, as a result of Code Section 409A.

Tax Effect for the Corporation

We generally will be entitled to a tax deduction in connection with an award under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan in an amount equal to the ordinary income realized by a participant and at the time the participant recognizes such income (for example, the exercise of a nonstatutory share option). Special rules limit the deductibility of compensation paid to our Chief Executive Officer and other “covered employees” within the meaning of Code Section 162(m), if applicable. Under Code Section 162(m) (to the extent applicable), the annual compensation paid to any of these specified employees will be deductible only to the extent that it does not exceed $1,000,000.

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Plan Benefits

All awards to employees, directors, and consultants under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan will be made at the discretion of the administrator. Therefore, the benefits and amounts that will be received or allocated under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan are not determinable at this time. The following table sets forth the aggregate number of Common Shares covered by options granted under the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan in fiscal 2021 to the following individuals or groups of individuals, and the weighted average per share exercise price of such options: (i) each of our NEOs, (ii) our executive officers, as a group, (iii) our directors who are not executive officers, as a group, and (iv) all employees who are not executive officers, as a group. As of April 5, 2022, the closing sales price of one Common Share as reported on the Nasdaq Stock Market was $35.16. 

Vote Required; Recommendation of the Board

Upon recommendation of the Compensation Committee, the Board has approved the Proposed Amendment, subject to shareholder approval at the Meeting. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast by shareholders present in person or represented by Proxy and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be required to approve this proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the outcome of the voting of this proposal.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS:

A VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDED AND RESTATED 2014 PLAN

 

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ITEM 5 AND ITEM 6 – APPOINTMENT AND REMUNERATION OF AUDITOR

The Corporation proposes that KPMG be appointed as auditor of the Corporation for the ensuing year and that the Audit Committee of the Board be authorized to fix their remuneration. KPMG has been the auditor of the Corporation since November 15, 1999. Prior to KPMG being appointed as auditor of the Corporation, shareholders of the Corporation waived the appointment of an auditor. Representatives of KPMG will be present at the Meeting, and they will have an opportunity to make statements and will be available to respond to appropriate questions from shareholders.

The following tables set forth the aggregate fees billed to the Corporation by KPMG for professional services in fiscal years 2021 and 2020.

 

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

Pursuant to its charter, the Audit Committee must review and approve, in advance, the scope and plans for the audits and the audit fees and approve in advance (or, where permitted under the rules and regulations of the SEC and applicable Canadian securities laws, subsequently) all non-audit and tax services to be performed by the independent auditor that are not otherwise prohibited by law or regulation and any associated fees. The Audit Committee may delegate to one or more members of the Audit Committee the authority to pre-approve permissible non-audit and tax services, as long as the pre-approved services are presented to the full Audit Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The Audit Committee may, in accordance with applicable law, adopt specific policies and procedures for the engagement of the independent auditor for non-audit services, provided that the pre-approval policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular service, the Audit Committee is informed of each non-audit service, and the procedures do not include delegation of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities to management. In considering whether to pre-approve any non-audit services, the Audit Committee or its delegates shall consider whether the provision of such services is compatible with maintaining the independence of the auditor. During 2020 and 2021 all services billed by KPMG LLP were pre-approved by the Audit Committee in accordance with this policy.

Vote Required; Recommendation of the Board

The proposed appointment of KPMG LLP must receive votes “FOR” to pass, and to authorize the Audit Committee to fix the remuneration paid to KPMG LLP requires that a majority of the votes cast vote “FOR” to pass. Abstentions, withhold votes and broker non-votes will have no effect on the outcome of the voting on either of these proposals.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS:

A VOTE “FOR” THE APPOINTMENT OF KPMG LLP

AS AUDITOR OF THE CORPORATION

AND

A VOTE “FOR” THE REMUNERATION OF THE AUDITOR

TO BE SET BY THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD

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INTEREST OF INFORMED PERSONS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS

Except as otherwise disclosed herein, no director, officer, shareholder holding 5% or more of our Common Shares (or any director or officer or principal shareholder thereof), nor any associate or affiliate of the foregoing persons has or has had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction since the beginning of the Corporation’s most recently completed financial year or in any proposed transaction which, in either such case, has materially affected or will materially affect the Corporation.

THIRD PARTY COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

None of our directors is a party to any agreement or arrangement that would require disclosure pursuant to Nasdaq Rule 5250(b)(3).

INTEREST OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON

Except as otherwise disclosed herein, no current director or officer of the Corporation, no person who has been a director or officer of the Corporation at any time since the beginning of the Corporation’s last completed financial year and no associate or affiliate of any of the foregoing has any other material interest, direct or indirect, in any matter to be acted upon at the Meeting.

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS

Shareholder proposals to be considered at the 2023 annual meeting of our shareholders must be received by the Corporation no later than December 29, 2022 in order to be included in the proxy materials pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act. Shareholders who do not wish to use the mechanism provided by the Exchange Act may submit proposals to be considered at the 2023 annual meeting of our shareholders under the provisions of the CBCA. Such shareholder proposals must be received at the principal offices of the Corporation no earlier than January 2, 2023 and no later than March 3, 2023 in order to be included in the proxy materials for such annual meeting pursuant to the requirements of the CBCA. Please see “Item 2 Election of Directors” for additional information regarding shareholder nominees to the board of directors.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting To be Held on June 1, 2022

This Circular and our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2021 are available at http://investor.xenon-pharma.com/investor-overview.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information relating to the Corporation, including financial information provided in the Corporation’s annual financial statements and related management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021, is available on http://www.sedar.com under the Corporation’s profile. We also make available, free of charge, through our website at http://investor.xenon-pharma.com/investor-overview, our annual reports, quarterly reports, current reports, proxy statements and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed or furnished with the SEC and the securities commissions in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. Our website and information contained therein or incorporated therein is not intended to be incorporated into this Circular.

Copies of all exhibits to the annual report for the year ended December 31, 2021, may be obtained for a nominal fee, which fee will not exceed our reasonable expenses in furnishing such copies, by contacting: Legal Affairs, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., 200 - 3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5G 4W8, email: legalaffairs@xenon-pharma.com.

Copies of the Corporation’s annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, including the auditor’s report thereon, and the Corporation’s management discussion and analysis, as well as other reports of the Corporation, may be obtained, free of charge, by contacting: Legal Affairs, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., 200 - 3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5G 4W8, email: legalaffairs@xenon-pharma.com.

The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding reports that we file or furnish with them electronically at http://www.sec.gov.

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GENERAL

The Board is not aware of any other matters which it anticipates will come before the Meeting as of the date of mailing of this Circular. The contents and the sending of the Notice of Meeting and this Circular have been approved by the directors of the Corporation.

DATED as of April 28, 2022

 

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SCHEDULE A

 

XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE GUIDELINES

 

The following corporate governance guidelines have been approved and adopted by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Xenon” and, together with its subsidiaries, the “Corporation”) for the purpose of establishing the corporate governance policies pursuant to which the Board intends to conduct its oversight of the business of the Corporation in accordance with its fiduciary responsibilities.

The role of the Board is to oversee the performance of the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and other senior management and to assure that the best interests of shareholders are being served and that all such officers are creating a culture of integrity throughout the Corporation. To satisfy this responsibility, the directors are expected to take a proactive approach to their duties and function as active monitors of corporate management. Accordingly, the directors provide oversight in the formulation of the long term strategic, financial and organizational goals of the Corporation and of the plans designed to achieve those goals. In addition, the Board reviews and approves standards and policies to ensure that the Corporation is committed to achieving its objectives through the maintenance of the highest standards of responsible conduct and ethics and to assure that management carries out their day-to-day operational duties in a competent and ethical manner. Furthermore, the Board or a Board committee will identify and document the financial risks and other risks, including environmental, social and governance, or ESG, risks that the Corporation faces in the course of its business and work with management to monitor and control the identified risks. The Board reports to the shareholders of the Corporation.

The day-to-day business of the Corporation is carried out by its employees, managers and officers, under the direction of the CEO and the oversight of the Board, to enhance the long-term value of the Corporation for the benefit of shareholders. The Board and management also recognize that creating long term enterprise value is advanced by considering the interests and concerns of other stakeholders, including the Corporation’s employees, customers, creditors and suppliers as well as the community generally.

The Board understands that effective directors act on an informed basis after thorough inquiry and careful review, appropriate in scope to the magnitude of the matter being considered. The directors know their position requires them to ask probing questions of management and outside advisors. The directors also rely on the advice, reports and opinions of management, counsel and expert advisers. In doing so, the Board evaluates the qualifications of those it relies upon for information and advice and also looks to the processes used by managers and advisors in reaching their recommendations. In addition, the Board has the authority to hire outside advisors at the Corporation’s expense if they feel it is appropriate.

The Board shall appoint the Chair of the Board on an annual basis and shall fill the CEO position based upon the Board’s view of what is in the best interests of the Corporation. The CEO and Chair may, but need not be, the same person.

In order to facilitate communication between management and the independent directors, in the event that the Chair of the Board is not an independent Director, the Board should elect a “Lead Independent Director,” who will have the responsibility to schedule and prepare agendas for meetings of independent directors. The Lead Independent Director will communicate with the CEO, disseminate information to the rest of the Board in a timely manner and raise issues with management on behalf of the independent directors when appropriate. In addition, the Lead Independent Director may have other responsibilities, including calling meetings of independent directors when necessary and appropriate, being available, when appropriate, for consultation and direct communication with the Corporation’s shareholders, building a productive relationship between the Board and the CEO, ensuring that the Board fulfills its oversight responsibilities in Corporation strategy, risk oversight and succession planning, and performing such other duties as the Board may from time to time designate. All members of the Board are encouraged to communicate with the CEO. As long as the Chair of the Board is an independent, non-employee director, the “Lead Independent Director” responsibility may be assigned to the Chair.

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The Board has three standing committees: the Audit Committee; the Compensation Committee; and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Board will continue to delegate substantial responsibilities to each committee, and each committee should consist solely of independent directors, as defined by the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq Rules”) and applicable Canadian securities laws, and in the case of the Audit Committee as defined by the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC Rules”) and applicable Canadian securities laws. The members of these committees shall also meet the other membership criteria specified in the respective charters for these committees. Additional committees may be formed from time to time as determined by the Board.

Committees should be appointed (or re-appointed), and chairs of each committee designated, by the full Board, upon recommendation by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, annually. While the composition of the committees of the Board should be looked at each year in making certain that these committees are not stagnant or without fair representation, it is the Board’s belief that continuity of experience in the specific functions of these committees provides a significant benefit to the shareholders and to management.

Each committee chair, in consultation with committee members, will determine the frequency and length of meetings of his or her committee, considering all relevant factors such as the committee’s mandate, nature of current committee business to be discussed and the like. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each committee shall meet at least as frequently as is required by the applicable charter adopted by the Board for such committee. Moreover, the committee chair should feel free to call additional committee meetings at times other than the scheduled meetings of the full Board.

Each committee shall have its own charter, which will set forth the purpose, membership requirements, authority and responsibilities of the committee. Annually, the chair of each committee should review the existing committee charter and determine, in consultation with the rest of the committee, whether any amendments are required. Committee charters should be within the scope of authority granted by the Board and should be approved by the Board. The chair of the committee, in consultation with appropriate members of management and staff, should develop the overall annual agenda to the extent it can be foreseen. In addition, each committee chair should prepare an agenda prior to each committee meeting and should consult with appropriate members of management for additional items which should be included in the agenda. Any committee of the Board is authorized to engage its own outside advisors at the Corporation’s expense, including legal counsel or other consultants, as required, provided that the committee shall promptly advise the full Board of such engagement.

The charters of the Corporation’s committees will be available on the Corporation's website at www.xenon-pharma.com, and will be made available to shareholders on written request.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Audit Committee shall periodically review and approve the Corporation’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is applicable to directors, officers and employees; consider questions of possible conflicts of interest of directors and corporate officers; review actual and potential conflicts of interest (including corporate opportunities) of directors and corporate officers; and approve or prohibit any involvement of such persons in matters that may involve a conflict of interest or corporate opportunity. Directors may be asked from time to time to leave a Board meeting when the Board is considering a transaction in which the director (or another organization in which the director is a director or officer) has a financial or other interest. Directors shall disclose any such interests to the Board in advance of Board deliberation on the topic.

The Audit Committee shall review and approve any proposed related party transactions in compliance with the Corporation’s policies and Nasdaq Rules and must report material related party transactions to the full Board and review and approve the Corporation’s procedures for handling complaints regarding accounting or auditing matters.

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The Board shall have no less than four regularly scheduled meetings each year at which it reviews and discusses leadership continuity, management development, management reports on the performance of the Corporation, its plans and prospects, as well as more immediate issues facing the Corporation. If independent, the Chair of the Board will set the agenda for and act as chair for each Board meeting. If the Chair of the Board is not independent, as determined in accordance with the SEC Rules and applicable Canadian securities laws, the Lead Independent Director will set the agenda and act as chair for each Board meeting. Each director is free to suggest inclusion of items on the agenda. A representative from the Corporation’s outside counsel may be invited by the Board, when appropriate, to attend all or a portion of Board meetings. The Board will review the Corporation’s long-term strategic plans during at least one Board meeting per year.

To the extent possible, information and data which is important to the Board’s understanding of matters to be discussed at the meeting and the current status of the Corporation’s business should be distributed to the Board a sufficient number of days before the meeting to enable the directors to read and prepare for the meeting.

Directors are expected to prepare for, attend, and actively participate in all Board and committee meetings. As a general rule, preparation material on specific subjects should be sent to the directors in advance so that the Board meeting time may be conserved and discussion time focused on questions that the Board has about the material. Each director will review thoroughly the materials provided in connection with each Board and committee meeting and be adequately prepared for each meeting. On those occasions when the subject matter is too sensitive to be distributed, the subject will have to be introduced at the meeting. The Corporation strongly encourages directors to attend the annual meeting of shareholders.

It is anticipated that certain members of management (e.g., the Chief Financial Officer and such other members of the executive staff as the CEO may from time to time designate) will attend Board meetings on a regular basis. Other members of management and staff will attend meetings and present reports from time to time. Specifically, the Board encourages management to schedule managers to be present at Board meetings who can provide additional insight into the items being discussed because of personal involvement in these areas. It is understood that Corporation personnel and others attending Board meetings may be asked to leave the meeting in order for the Board to meet in executive session.

It is the policy of the Board to regularly have separate meeting times for independent directors without management. Such meetings should be held at least twice per year, following regularly scheduled meetings and at such other times as requested by an independent director. The Chair of the Board or the Lead Independent Director shall preside at executive sessions.

In addition, the Audit Committee of the Board should meet periodically with the Corporation’s outside auditors without management present at such times as it deems appropriate.

Directors should have full access to members of management, either as a group or individually, and to Corporation information that they believe is necessary to fulfill their obligations as directors. The directors should use their judgment to ensure that any such contact or communication is not disruptive to the business operations of the Corporation.

The Compensation Committee should conduct an annual review of director compensation. This review will include input from the Corporation’s Human Resources department and may include input from outside consultants in order to evaluate director compensation compared to other companies of like size in the industry. Any change in Board compensation should be approved by the Board after recommendation from the Compensation Committee. Ownership of shares by the directors is encouraged. Board members who are also employees shall not be separately compensated for their service on the Board.

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The size of the Board is established in accordance with the Corporation’s By-laws, subject to the minimum and maximum number of directors set out in the Corporation’s Articles of Continuance and under applicable corporate and securities laws. The size of the Board may vary based upon the size of the business and the availability of qualified candidates. Board size should facilitate active interaction and participation by all directors. The Board will review from time to time the appropriateness of its size.

The Board believes that, so long as the Corporation does not qualify as a “controlled company” under the rules of Nasdaq, as a matter of policy there should be a majority of independent directors on the Board. Within that policy, the mix of directors should provide a range of expertise and perspective in areas relevant to the Corporation’s business.

A director shall be considered “independent” for purposes of serving on the Board if he or she meets the criteria for independence established by applicable securities laws and the Nasdaq Rules. A director shall be considered “independent” for purposes of serving on a Board committee based on the definition of independence used in that committee’s charter, which shall conform to any requirements established for such a committee by the Nasdaq Rules, any applicable SEC Rules and any applicable Canadian securities laws.

When assessing Board composition, identifying suitable candidates for appointment to the Board or recommending a slate of directors for shareholder approval, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider candidates using objective criteria, including without limitation  issues of character, judgment, independence, expertise, corporate experience, length of service, understanding of the Corporation’s business, other commitments and the like, and the composition of the Board, having due regard to the benefits of diversity and the needs of the Board. For purposes of this policy, diversity includes business experience, geography, age, gender, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, sexual orientation and other personal characteristics.  Selection of new directors requires recommendation of a candidate by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to the full Board, which has responsibility for naming new members in the event of a vacancy or expansion of the Board between annual meetings of shareholders.

It is the policy of the Board that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consider both recommendations and nominations for candidates to the Board from shareholders so long as such recommendations and nominations comply with the Articles of Continuance, as amended, and the By-laws of the Corporation and applicable laws, including the SEC Rules and applicable Canadian securities laws. Shareholders may recommend director nominees for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee by writing to the Secretary of the Corporation and providing the information required in the Corporation’s By-laws. Following verification of the shareholder status of the person submitting the recommendation, all properly submitted recommendations will be promptly brought to the attention of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Shareholders who desire to nominate persons directly for election to the Board at the Corporation’s annual meeting of shareholders must meet the deadlines and other requirements set forth in the Corporation’s By-laws, the SEC Rules, and applicable Canadian securities laws.

Any proposal to decrease the size of the Board, or to substitute a new director for an existing director, should be made first by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, then approved by the full Board. After receipt of a recommendation from the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Chair of the Board or the Lead Independent Director should notify the director of such recommendation prior to the meeting of the Board at which the slate of nominees is proposed to be approved.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee should establish an annual process for permitting the Board and each committee to conduct an assessment of its performance during the prior year. This assessment should focus on areas in which the Board or the committees believe contributions can be made going forward to increase the effectiveness of the Board or the committees. Each committee and the full Board will consider and discuss the findings of the assessments.

The Board will, in conjunction with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, assess the participation, contributions and effectiveness of the Chair, and individual board members on an annual basis.

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Directors shall be subject to election at each annual meeting of shareholders in accordance with the Corporation’s By-laws. The Board shall fill vacancies or add new directors as provided in the Corporation’s By-laws and in accordance with applicable Canadian corporate laws.

Meetings of the Board shall be designed to provide orientation for new directors to assist them in understanding the Corporation’s business as well as an introduction to the Corporation’s senior management. Further, the Corporation encourages directors to participate in continuing education programs focused on the Corporation’s business and industry, committee roles and responsibilities and legal and ethical responsibilities of directors.

The formal evaluation of the CEO and the other executive officers should be made in the context of annual compensation review by the Compensation Committee, with appropriate input from other directors, and should be communicated to the CEO by the Chair of the Board or the Lead Independent Director and the chair of the Compensation Committee.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, in consultation with the full Board, is primarily responsible for CEO succession planning. In addition, it shall monitor succession plans for other key executives. Succession planning can be critical in the event the CEO or other key executives should cease to serve for any reason, including resignation or unexpected disability. The Board believes that establishment of a strong management team is the best way to prepare for an unanticipated executive departure.

In addition to its responsibilities related to executive succession planning, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall confer with the CEO to encourage management’s employee development programs.

The Board believes that management speaks for the Corporation. Individual directors may, from time to time, meet or otherwise communicate with various constituencies that are involved with the Corporation, but it is expected that directors would do this with knowledge of management and, in most instances, only at the request of management.

In cases where shareholders wish to communicate directly with the non-management directors, messages can be sent by mail to Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., 200-3650 Gilmore Way, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada, Attn: Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer will forward the messages to the appropriate committee of the Board or non-management director.

The Corporation’s directors should not accept any gift of value that indicates an intent to influence improperly the normal business relationship between the Corporation and any supplier, customer or competitor.

The Board should provide oversight to management in formulating corporate strategy.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board should review these guidelines at least annually.

 

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SCHEDULE B

CHARTER OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE

OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Audit Committee is to assist the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Xenon,” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Corporation”) in fulfilling its responsibilities for generally overseeing:

The Audit Committee is also responsible for preparing the report required by Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules to be included in Xenon’s proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders, and for performing such other duties and responsibilities as are enumerated in or consistent with this charter.

COMPOSITION

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RESPONSIBILITIES

The following are the principal recurring responsibilities of the Audit Committee.  The Audit Committee may perform such other functions as are consistent with its purpose and applicable law, rules and regulations and as the Board or the Audit Committee deem appropriate.  In carrying out its responsibilities, the Audit Committee believes its policies and procedures should remain flexible, in order to best react to changing conditions and circumstances.

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The function of the Audit Committee is primarily one of oversight.  The Corporation’s management is responsible for preparing the Corporation’s financial statements, and the independent auditor is responsible for auditing and reviewing those financial statements.  The Audit Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in overseeing the conduct of these activities by management and the independent auditor.  The Audit Committee is not responsible for providing any expert or special assurance as to the financial statements or the independent auditor’s work.  It is recognized that the members of the Audit Committee are not full-time employees of the Corporation, that it is not the duty or responsibility of the Audit Committee or its members to conduct “field work” or other types of auditing or accounting reviews or procedures or to set auditor independence standards, and that each member of the Audit Committee shall be entitled to rely on (i) the integrity of those persons and organizations within and outside the Corporation from which the Audit Committee receives information and (ii) the accuracy of the financial and other information provided to the Audit Committee, in either instance absent actual knowledge to the contrary.

MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES

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SCHEDULE C

AMENDED AND RESTATED 2014 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

(as amended April 20, 2022)

Article 1
PURPOSE

The Company believes that these purposes may best be effected by granting Options or Share Awards to acquire Common Shares without par value in the capital of the Company.

Article 2
INTERPRETATION

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Notwithstanding the foregoing, a transaction will not be deemed a Change of Control for Awards granted to Participants who are subject to U.S. taxation unless the transaction qualifies as a Change of Control event within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as it has been and may be amended from time to time, and any proposed or final Treasury Regulations and U.S. Internal Revenue Service guidance that has been promulgated or may be promulgated thereunder from time to time.

 

Further and for the avoidance of doubt, a transaction will not constitute a Change of Control if: (x) its sole purpose is to change the state or jurisdiction of the Company’s incorporation, or (y) its sole purpose is to create a holding company that will be owned in substantially the same proportions by the persons who held the Company’s securities immediately before such transaction.

 

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and includes, for an individual Consultant, a corporation of which such individual is an employee or shareholder;

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the determination date for the Fair Market Value Price occurs on a day other than a Business Day, the Fair Market Value Price will be the price as determined in accordance with subsections (i) through (iii) above (as applicable) on the next Business Day, unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors;

 

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For the purpose of this definition, the terms “affiliate”, “associate” and “subsidiary” have the meanings given to them, respectively, in the Securities Act;

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Article 3
ADMINISTRATION OF PLAN

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Article 4
REGULATIONS

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Article 5
COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

Article 6
COMMON SHARES SUBJECT TO PLAN

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Article 7
GRANT OF OPTIONS

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Article 8
INCENTIVE SHARE OPTION LIMITATIONS

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Article 9
provisions of share awards other than options

The Board of Directors may in its discretion determine to grant other forms of Awards other than Options under this Plan on the terms and conditions set out below and all such other forms of share awards will be subject to the Share Reserve:

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Article 10

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO AWARDS

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In the event that the successor corporation does not assume or substitute for the Award consistent with subsection (i) of the immediately preceding paragraph, the Participant will fully vest in and have the right to exercise all of his or her outstanding Options and Share Appreciation Rights, including Common Shares as to which such Awards would not otherwise be vested or exercisable, all restrictions on Restricted Share Awards and Restricted Share Unit Awards will lapse, and, with respect to Awards with performance-based vesting, all performance goals or other vesting criteria will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.  In addition, if an Option or Share Appreciation Right is not assumed or substituted in the event of a Change of Control, the Board of Directors will notify the Participant in writing or electronically that the Option or Share Appreciation Right will be exercisable for a period of time determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion, and the Option or Share Appreciation Right will terminate upon the expiration of such period.

 

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For the purposes of this subparagraph (c), an Award will be considered assumed if, following the Change of Control, the Award confers the right to purchase or receive, for each Common Share subject to the Award immediately prior to the Change of Control, the consideration (whether stock, cash, or other securities or property) received in the Change of Control by holders of Common Shares for each Common Share held on the effective date of the transaction (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares); provided, however, that if such consideration received in the Change of Control is not solely common shares or common stock of the successor corporation or its Parent, the Board of Directors may, with the consent of the successor corporation, provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise of an Option or Share Appreciation Rights or upon the payout of a Restricted Share Unit, Performance Share Award, for each Common Share subject to such Award, to be solely common shares or common stock of the successor corporation or its parent equal in fair market value to the per share consideration received by holders of Common Shares in the Change of Control.

 

Notwithstanding anything in this subparagraph (c) to the contrary, an Award that vests, is earned or paid-out upon the satisfaction of one or more performance goals will not be considered assumed if the Company or its successor modifies any of such performance goals without the Participant’s consent; provided, however, a modification to such performance goals only to reflect the successor corporation’s post-Change of Control corporate structure will not be deemed to invalidate an otherwise valid Award assumption.

 

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Article 11
SUSPENSION, AMENDMENT OR TERMINATION OF PLAN

Article 12
APPLICABLE LAW

Article 13

 

 

 

 

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XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

Proxy Form - Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (the “Corporation”)

held on June 1, 2022 (the “Meeting”)

Notes to Proxy

1.    This proxy must be signed by a holder or his or her or its attorney duly authorized in writing. If you are an individual, please sign exactly as your name appears on this proxy. If the holder is a corporation, a duly authorized officer or attorney of the corporation must sign this proxy, and if the corporation has a corporate seal, its corporate seal should be affixed.

2.    If the common shares of the Corporation (the “Common Shares”) are registered in the name of an executor, administrator or trustee, please sign exactly as your name appears on this proxy. If the Common Shares are registered in the name of a deceased or other holder, the proxy must be signed by the legal representative with his or her name printed below his or her signature, and evidence of authority to sign on behalf of the deceased or other holder must be attached to this proxy.

3.    A shareholder has the right to appoint a person to attend and act for him or her or it and on his or her or its behalf at the Meeting other than the persons designated in this form of proxy. Such right may be exercised by filling in the name of such person in the blank space provided and striking out the names of management’s nominees. A person appointed as nominee to represent a shareholder need not be a shareholder of the Corporation. A person appointed as your proxyholder must be present at the Meeting to vote.

4.    Beneficial holders may be forwarded either a form of proxy already signed by the intermediary or a voting instruction form to allow them to direct the voting of Common Shares they beneficially own. Beneficial holders should follow instructions for voting conveyed to them by their intermediaries. Some holders may own Common Shares as both a registered and a beneficial holder; in which case you may receive more than one Proxy Statement and Management Information Circular and will need to vote separately as a registered and beneficial holder.

5.    If Common Shares are held by two or more individuals, any one of them present or represented by proxy at the Meeting may, in the absence of the other or others, vote at the Meeting. However, if one or more of them are present or represented by proxy, they must vote together the number of Common Shares indicated on the proxy.

6.    This proxy confers discretionary authority on the person appointed hereby to vote in his or her discretion with respect to amendments or variations to the matters identified in the Notice of Meeting accompanying this proxy and any other matters which may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

All holders should refer to the Proxy Statement and Management Information Circular for further information regarding completion and use of this proxy and other information pertaining to the Meeting.

This proxy is solicited by and on behalf of the management and the Board of Directors of the Corporation.

(Continued and to be signed on the reverse side.)

 

 

 

 

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ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS OF

XENON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.

June 1, 2022