Vaxart OTCMKTS: VXRT held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, where investors re-elected the company’s full slate of directors, ratified its auditor and rejected the company’s non-binding advisory proposal on executive compensation.
Mark Watson, Vaxart’s lead independent director and chair of the meeting, said proxies had been received for 110,631,100 of the company’s 242,044,838 outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote as of the May 26, 2026, record date. That represented about 45.71% of eligible shares and constituted a quorum.
Stockholders Elect Directors, Reject Say-on-Pay Proposal
Stockholders approved the election of James B. Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D.; Kevin P. Finney; Elaine J. Heron, Ph.D.; Steven Lo; W. Mark Watson, CPA; and David Wheadon, M.D., as directors to serve until the 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or until their successors are elected and qualified.
Investors also approved the ratification of WithumSmith+Brown, PC as Vaxart’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2026.
However, Watson said the company’s non-binding advisory vote on the compensation of named executive officers, referred to as the say-on-pay proposal, “did not pass.” Vaxart said it expects to report preliminary voting results, or final results if available, in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days of the meeting.
Management Says No Reverse Split Is Currently Planned
Several stockholder questions focused on whether Vaxart would pursue a reverse stock split. Steven Lo, Vaxart’s president and chief executive officer, said the company is “not working on a reverse stock split at the present moment.”
Lo said Vaxart is focused on executing its corporate strategy, including completing its COVID-19 study and seeking potential norovirus partnerships. In response to a question about shareholder feedback, Lo said the company did not propose a reverse split at the annual meeting because it had heard from stockholders.
“Your opinion does matter,” Lo said.
Asked whether management anticipated calling a special meeting to revive a reverse split initiative, Lo said there is no current plan for a special meeting. He added that the company would prefer to execute its plan and, in a best-case scenario, see the stock price grow organically.
COVID-19 Program and BARDA-Backed Study Discussed
Lo addressed questions about the 400-participant sentinel cohort data from Vaxart’s COVID-19 vaccine study. He said the company had announced top-line 12-month safety data from the cohort on July 6 and directed investors to the company’s press release for more detail.
Lo said Vaxart was “very happy” with the safety findings, including systemic effects, and said the Vaxart cohort “did much better than the mRNA” comparator on certain safety measures. He said the findings reinforced the safety of the company’s oral vaccine platform, noting that Vaxart has cumulatively dosed more than 1,000 subjects across studies.
On efficacy, Lo said the 400-participant cohort was not powered or designed to compare efficacy against mRNA vaccines. Still, he said the numbers were “certainly very close” and that Vaxart was encouraged by the results as it moves into a 5,000-subject cohort.
Lo said the sentinel 400 cohort targeted the XBB strain, matching the mRNA comparator used at that time. For the 5,000-participant cohort, he said the vaccine was updated to target the KP.2 strain, again matching the mRNA comparator. He also said the program uses Vaxart’s current second-generation constructs.
Regarding BARDA funding, Lo said Vaxart remains one of the few companies with a COVID-19 program agreement with BARDA after the agency canceled many projects in 2025. He said weekly interactions with BARDA could help position Vaxart for future opportunities, though any additional funding would depend on BARDA’s priorities and available budget.
Norovirus Partnerships Remain a Focus
Lo said Vaxart has maintained ongoing conversations with various companies regarding a potential norovirus partnership. He emphasized that the company views the norovirus asset as highly valuable and would only be interested in offers that reflect what management sees as the full potential of the market.
“We only are going to be interested in offers that realize the full value of the potential of the norovirus market,” Lo said, adding that Vaxart believes it has one of the only norovirus vaccine candidates in development.
Asked about advancing the norovirus pipeline into a Phase II clinical study, Lo said the timing depends on additional funding and, at this point, would require a partnership commitment.
Cash Runway, Funding Efforts and Other Pipeline Updates
Jeroen Grasman, Vaxart’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, said the company’s cash runway, as previously announced in its Form 10-Q, extends through the second quarter of 2027.
Lo said Vaxart continues to pursue non-dilutive funding opportunities, including through entities such as BARDA, the Gates Foundation and other government sources. He noted that the Gates Foundation previously funded Vaxart’s lactating mother study and said the company remains in dialogue with the foundation.
Management also addressed Vaxart’s licensing agreement with Altesa Biosciences for Vapendavir. Lo said Vaxart is eligible to receive up to $130 million in total payments if Altesa is successful, including tiered royalties ranging from low single digits to low double digits based on global net product sales. He directed investors to the company’s Form 10-K for additional details.
In response to concerns about the company’s share price, Lo said management and the board share investors’ disappointment. Watson added that the board is focused on creating value for all shareholders, including Vaxart’s large retail investor base.
Lo also said Vaxart remains in contact with the Dynavax/Sanofi team and that they are aware of the company’s COVID-19, norovirus and flu programs.
About Vaxart (OTCMKTS:VXRT)
Vaxart, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of oral recombinant vaccines administered in tablet form. Leveraging a proprietary, room-temperature-stable platform, the company aims to simplify vaccine delivery while eliciting both systemic and mucosal immune responses. Its technology is based on the replication-defective adenovirus vector system, which encodes target antigens designed to protect against a range of infectious diseases without the need for injections or cold-chain logistics.
The company’s pipeline includes multiple vaccine candidates in various stages of development.
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