aibioEnsysce chief operating officer Jeffrey Millard resigns
Tickers ENSC
Ensysce Biosciences disclosed in an 8-K that Jeffrey Millard resigned as chief operating officer, effective July 10, 2026, with no reason or successor given.
Key facts
- Company
- Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENSC)
- News type
- Company Updates
- Primary source
- Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. 8-K (2026-07-15)
Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. disclosed that Jeffrey Millard has resigned as its Chief Operating Officer. The company received his resignation notice, which was dated and effective July 10, 2026. The disclosure appears in an 8-K filed July 15, 2026 under Item 5.02, which covers departures and appointments of certain officers. The filing does not give a reason for the resignation and does not name a successor or an interim officer. Its only exhibit is the cover page interactive data file.
What the filing says
Item 5.02 of the filing states that the company received a resignation notice from Jeffrey Millard, who served as the company's Chief Operating Officer. The notice was dated and effective July 10, 2026. The 8-K is signed by Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick, who is President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. The filing contains no other item and no statement about the reasons for the departure, the handover of his duties, or any compensation arrangement.
Who the company is
The company's annual report, filed March 30, 2026, describes Ensysce as a clinical stage pharmaceutical company. Its primary focus has been opioid pain products and opioid use disorder products. The report says prescription opioid abuse presents major burdens to society, and that the company's proprietary technologies are designed to deter abuse at the molecular level.
The company was originally incorporated in the State of Delaware in April 2003 as PharmacoFore, Inc. It changed its name to Signature Therapeutics Inc. in January 2012, and Signature merged into Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. in December 2015. In June 2021, the former Ensysce merged into Leisure Acquisition Corporation, which changed its name to Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. The principal executive office is in La Jolla, California.
The pipeline
The annual report describes two drug platforms. The Trypsin Activated Abuse Protection platform, or TAAP, is an abuse-resistant opioid prodrug technology. The Multi-Pill Abuse Resistant platform, or MPAR, is an overdose protection opioid prodrug technology. The lead candidate, PF614, is a TAAP oxycodone prodrug that the company describes as biologically inactive until it is metabolized in the body. The report says PF614 is designed to resist both oral and non-oral modes of prescription drug abuse, and that preclinical studies show it does not readily convert into oxycodone in the bloodstream or in the nasal passage.
The report says the company filed an Investigational New Drug application and completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for PF614 in February 2018. The Phase 1 data demonstrated that oxycodone released from PF614 was absorbed following oral administration and matched the release profile of OxyContin OP. The company cites a second multi-ascending dose study with a bioequivalent arm completed in July 2022, a nasal human abuse potential study completed in October 2022, a second oral human abuse potential study completed in March 2023, and an efficacy study completed in December 2023.
Financial position
The company's financial data from the annual report show revenue of $5.1 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, compared with $5.2 million for 2024. Research and development expense was $10.4 million in 2025, up from $7.2 million in 2024. Cash used in operations was $7.8 million in 2025, compared with $7.5 million in 2024. Year-end cash and cash equivalents were $3.5 million at December 31, 2024.
Why the gap matters
The filing offers no reason for the resignation, names no successor or interim officer, and says nothing about the clinical programs or financing. It does not link the departure to the company's finances, but those finances are thin. Cash used in operations was $7.8 million in 2025, research and development expense rose to $10.4 million, and revenue was $5.1 million. Cash and cash equivalents were $3.5 million at the end of 2024, according to the company's annual report.
On the science, the annual report cites a completed efficacy study of PF614 but the sources give no results from it. The Phase 1 data it describes show that PF614 released oxycodone with a profile matching OxyContin OP, a drug-exposure result and not evidence of pain relief or safety.