aibioHepion adds two directors, including the son of its interim CEO
Tickers HEPA
Danina Fisher and Gary S. Stetz, II joined the board on July 1, 2026. The filing notes that Mr. Stetz is the son of Gary Stetz, the interim chief executive.
Key facts
- Company
- Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC: HEPA)
- News type
- Company Updates
- Primary source
- Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 8-K (2026-07-02)
Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said its board of directors approved the appointment of Danina Fisher and Gary S. Stetz, II as directors, effective immediately. The board acted on July 1, 2026, and the company reported the change in a Form 8-K filed on July 2, 2026. The 8-K is signed by Gary Stetz, Interim Chief Executive Officer.
The appointments
The filing states that there are no arrangements or understandings between Ms. Fisher or Mr. Stetz and any other person under which either was selected as a director. It also states that there is no family relationship involving either director, except that Mr. Stetz is Gary Stetz's son. The 8-K reports the appointments under Item 5.02 and contains no other items.
The filing does not describe the directors' backgrounds, committee roles or compensation.
The company and its history
Hepion's annual report on Form 10-K, filed March 12, 2026, describes the company as a medical diagnostic company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. The company previously focused on drug therapy for chronic liver diseases. Its lead molecule, rencofilstat, formerly CRV431, is a cyclophilin inhibitor that was being developed to address several complex pathologies of liver disease.
The company stopped its ASCEND-NASH trial beginning April 19, 2024, after it said it did not have sufficient funding to complete the study as designed. The trial closed in August 2024. The 10-K also describes a patent and assets sale to Panetta Partners Limited on May 26, 2025, with contingent payments to stockholders tied to future approval and sales of rencofilstat.
The 10-K also gives the terms of the New Day license. The company paid $525,000 in cash and $270,629 in shares of common stock, with up to $17.15 million in milestone payments and royalties on net sales in the upper single to low double digits. The company recorded an impairment loss of $402,746 on the New Day assets after projecting that cash flows over the first two years would not recover the allocated cost.
The 10-K says the company has no commercialization or sales and marketing capabilities and no plans to build them internally. It also says the company does not own or operate any facilities in which it can formulate and manufacture its product candidates.
Under the Cirna license, the company will pay up to $2,350,000 in milestone payments, up to $4,500,000 in sales milestone payments and a royalty on net sales in the low single digits, plus certain patent expenses.
The 10-K also describes the Panetta contingent value right tied to rencofilstat. It lists $500,000 on FDA approval of a first new drug application for rencofilstat, $1,000,000 on first net sales of a licensed product above US$350,000,000, and $3,000,000 on net sales above US$750,000,000.
Financial position
Financial data tagged in the company's SEC filings show research and development expense of $445,512 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, compared with $11.8 million for 2024. Net income (loss) was negative $8.3 million for 2025 and negative $13.2 million for 2024. Cash from operations was negative $3.3 million for 2025 and negative $18.2 million for 2024.
The sources available at the filing date give no year-end cash or cash equivalents balance.
The 8-K does not describe any planned changes to the company's operations or management beyond the two appointments. Putting the interim CEO's son on the board raises an independence question that the filing does not address, and it gives no background for either director. The company they join used $3.3 million in operations in 2025, and it has no sales capability.