Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) stockholders approved all four proposals presented at the company’s 2026 Annual Stockholders Meeting, including the election of two directors and an increase in shares available under the company’s equity incentive plan.
William M. Greenman, Cerus’ President and Chief Executive Officer, called the virtual meeting to order and said the online meeting was hosted through a platform provided by Broadridge. Greenman also introduced members of the board and management team attending virtually, including Chief Financial Officer Kevin Green, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary Chrystal Jensen, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Benjamin, and Chief Operating Officer Vivek Jayaraman.
Stockholders Elect Directors
The first proposal before stockholders was the election of two nominees for director to serve until the 2029 annual meeting of stockholders. The nominees were William M. Greenman and Ann Lucena.
After the polls closed, the operator reported the results from the Inspector of Election, stating that Greenman and Lucena had been elected as directors of the company.
Equity Incentive Plan Amendment Approved
Stockholders also approved an amendment and restatement of the company’s 2024 Equity Incentive Plan. Greenman said the amendment would, among other things, increase the aggregate number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the plan by 10 million shares.
The proposal was one of four items submitted for approval by Cerus’ board at the meeting.
Executive Compensation and Auditor Ratification
The third proposal was an advisory vote on the compensation of the company’s named executive officers, as disclosed in the proxy statement. Greenman read the resolution asking stockholders to approve the compensation disclosures, including the compensation discussion and analysis, compensation tables and related narrative discussion.
According to the voting report, stockholders approved the advisory resolution on named executive officer compensation.
The fourth proposal was the ratification of the Audit Committee’s selection of Ernst & Young LLP as Cerus’ independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2026. Greenman introduced Jeff Skaar and Aussa Azaria of Ernst & Young LLP at the meeting and said they were available to respond to appropriate questions.
The operator later reported that stockholders ratified the selection of Ernst & Young LLP.
No Stockholder Questions Submitted
Before voting closed, Greenman said the company would review questions related to the proposals or questions directed to the auditors. Tim Lee, Cerus’ Head of Investor Relations, said there were no questions and later confirmed that the question portal had closed.
Greenman said the company expects to report preliminary voting results, or final voting results if available on a timely basis, in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days after the meeting. If final results are not reported earlier, he said Cerus expects to report them in an amendment to the Form 8-K within four business days after the final results are known.
The meeting was then adjourned.
About Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)
Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company dedicated to enhancing the safety of blood transfusions worldwide. Its flagship offering, the INTERCEPT Blood System, employs pathogen reduction technology designed to inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses, bacteria, and parasites in donated platelets and plasma. This approach aims to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and improve blood component safety for patients.
The INTERCEPT platform integrates seamlessly into existing blood center workflows, providing a one-step treatment process for collected blood products.
