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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 16, 2022 (September 15, 2022)

 

 

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware   001-38306   82-2755287

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

 

7946 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 201

La Jolla, California

  92037
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(858) 263-4196

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

 

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

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

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
   
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
   
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
   
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

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

 

Title of each class   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share   ENSC   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Warrants to purchase one share of Common Stock   ENSCW   OTC Pink Open Market

 

Emerging growth company

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (the “Company”) is in receipt of the tender of resignation from its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nily Osman, such resignation effective as of September 15, 2022.

 

The Company has appointed Dr. William K. Schmidt, Ph.D. as the Company’s interim Chief Medical Officer, effective as of September 15, 2022. Set forth below is the business experience of Dr. Schmidt, who also serves as the Company’s Senior Vice President of Clinical Development.

 

Dr. Schmidt, age 72, served as Ensysce’s Chief Medical Officer between January 1, 2016 and April 18, 2022. Between April 18, 2022 and September 15, 2022 he served as the Company’s Senior Vice President of Clinical Development. He is also the Head of NorthStar Consulting, the Parliamentarian and a former president of the Eastern Pain Association, the largest regional affiliate of the American Pain Society. He has over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience with a special emphasis on the discovery and development of novel analgesic and narcotic antagonist drugs. He was previously Vice President of Clinical Development for CrystalGenomics (Seoul, South Korea) and its United States subsidiary, CG Pharmaceuticals (Emeryville, CA); Senior Vice President of Development at Limerick BioPharma; Vice President, Clinical Research, for Renovis, Inc.; and Vice President, Scientific Affairs and acting Vice President, Clinical Research and Development, at Adolor Corporation. At Adolor Corporation, Dr. Schmidt was a key member of the team leading to the clinical development, NDA filing, and FDA approval of Entereg® (alvimopan), a peripherally-acting opioid antagonist. Currently Dr. Schmidt serves as an expert on pain medicine pharmaceutical development with pharmaceutical and biotech companies throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Dr. Schmidt received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Berkeley and his Ph.D. University of California-San Francisco.

 

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

(d) Exhibits

 

Exhibit No.   Description
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

 

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SIGNATURES

 

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

 

Dated: September 16, 2022

 

  Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.
     
  By: /s/ Lynn Kirkpatrick
  Name: Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick
  Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

 

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