Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) held its 2026 annual meeting of stockholders on June 4 through a virtual-only platform, with shareholders approving all five proposals presented during the meeting, according to preliminary voting results.
Chairman Anthony Altig opened the meeting by recognizing former Chairman Bill Ringo, who elected not to stand for re-election and stepped down from the board. Altig said Ringo joined the board in 2014 and had served as chairman since 2015, leading the board through “many changes,” including the company’s expansion beyond a focus strictly on hepatitis B.
Quorum Established
John Gunderson, Assembly Biosciences’ vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, served as inspector of elections for the meeting. Gunderson reported that, as of the April 10 record date, the company had 15,892,608 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote.
He said a preliminary count showed approximately 78% of outstanding shares entitled to vote were represented by proxy at the meeting, establishing a quorum. Proxy materials were mailed or made available beginning April 22 by Broadridge Financial Solutions, according to Gunderson.
Directors Elected, Compensation Approved
Shareholders elected nine directors to serve until the company’s 2027 annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The elected nominees were Anthony Altig, Tomas Cihlar, Gina Consylman, Rob Cook, Michael Houghton, Lisa Johnson-Pratt, Sue Mahony, John McHutchison and Jason Okazaki.
Stockholders also approved, on a non-binding advisory basis, the compensation of the company’s named executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement. The board had recommended a vote in favor of the executive compensation proposal.
Auditor Ratified and Equity Plan Amendments Approved
Shareholders ratified the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as Assembly Biosciences’ independent registered public accounting firm for the 2026 fiscal year. Altig noted that Sarah McDonald, a partner involved with the company’s audit at Ernst & Young, was present on the line to respond to appropriate questions, though no questions were submitted during the meeting.
Investors also approved two equity-related proposals. One amended the company’s amended and restated 2018 incentive plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance under the plan by 1.2 million shares. The other amended the company’s second amended and restated 2018 employee stock purchase plan to increase the number of shares reserved to 515,000 shares.
The board had recommended votes in favor of each of the five proposals.
Final Results to Be Filed
Gunderson said the preliminary voting results showed that all nine director nominees had been elected and that proposals two through five had received the necessary approvals described in the proxy statement.
The company said final voting results will be filed with the meeting minutes and publicly reported on a Form 8-K within four business days of the meeting’s conclusion.
The meeting was adjourned at the end of the formal business, with no shareholder questions submitted through the virtual meeting portal.
About Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB)
Assembly Biosciences, Inc (NASDAQ: ASMB) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV) infections. The company’s core expertise lies in small-molecule modulation of viral proteins and host-targeted pathways to achieve sustained viral suppression and potential functional cure. Assembly’s research model integrates medicinal chemistry, structural biology and translational virology to advance its pipeline from early discovery through clinical development.
The company’s lead programs include core protein allosteric modulators (CpAMs) designed to disrupt the HBV lifecycle by interfering with capsid assembly and viral DNA replication, as well as prenylation inhibitors targeting the HDV lifecycle.
