8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 16, 2024

INHIBIKASE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Delaware	001-39676	26-3407249
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

3350 Riverwood Parkway SE, Suite 1900 Atlanta, Georgia	30339
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (678) 392-3419

N/A

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.001 par value	IKT	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On January 16, 2024, Joseph Frattaroli provided notice to the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) of his intention to retire as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective at the end of the first quarter of 2024 or March 31, 2024. Mr. Frattaroli’s planned retirement as Chief Financial Officer is not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matters relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.

In connection with Mr. Frattaroli’s planned retirement, the Compensation Committee of the Board has extended the exercise period of each of Mr. Frattaroli’s vested stock options with time based vesting until the original expiration date of each of such stock options.

The Board will appoint Garth Lees-Rolfe to serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Company upon Mr. Frattaroli’s retirement and until the earliest of his removal, termination, or resignation from such office.

Mr. Lees-Rolfe, age 39, has served as the Vice President of Finance at the Company since November 2022. Mr. Lees-Rolfe previously served as the Vice-President, Finance for F-Star, Inc., a publicly traded global clinical-stage biotech company from December 2021 to November 2022. Prior to that, Mr. Lees-Rolfe worked for 16 years in public practice, most of which was with Ernst & Young, most recently as Senior Manager from 2016 to 2021. Mr. Lees-Rolfe earned a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance from Kaplan Professional. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Massachusetts and a licensed Chartered Accountant of Australia and New Zealand.

The terms of Mr. Lees-Rolfe’s compensation as Chief Financial Officer have yet to be determined. The Company will file an amendment to this Form 8-K when such compensation has been determined.

There are no other arrangements or understandings between Mr. Lees-Rolfe and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Lees-Rolfe will be appointed as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lees-Rolfe does not have any family relationship with any of the Company’s directors or executive officers or any persons nominated or chosen by the Company to be a director or executive officer. Mr. Lees-Rolfe does not have any direct or indirect interest in any transaction or proposed transaction required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

On January 16, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing the planned retirement of Mr. Frattaroli as its Chief Financial Officer. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Number	Description
99.1	Press Release dated January 16, 2024.
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: January 16, 2024	INHIBIKASE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
	By:	/S/ MILTON H. WERNER
		Milton H. Werner, Ph.D.
		President and Chief Executive Officer

-3-

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Inhibikase Therapeutics Announces Planned Retirement of Chief Financial Officer Joseph Frattaroli

- Joseph Frattaroli to retire at end of 1Q24; Garth Lees-Rolfe, Vice-President of Finance, to be promoted to Chief Financial Officer —

BOSTON and ATLANTA, January 16, 2024 — Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) (“Inhibikase” or “Company”), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing protein kinase inhibitor therapeutics to modify the course of Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson’s-related disorders and other diseases of the Abelson Tyrosine Kinases, today announced that Joseph Frattaroli, Chief Financial Officer, plans to retire at the end of the first quarter of 2024. The Company’s Vice-President for Finance, Garth Lees-Rolfe, will be promoted to Chief Financial Officer.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire Inhibikase team, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Joe for his years of service. Joe joined Inhibikase in 2018, and, through his leadership, we successfully transitioned into a public company and have managed to finance our research and development programs despite the difficult market,” said Dr. Milton Werner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Inhibikase. “While I’m sad to lose a partner and confidant, succeeding Joe in his role is Garth Lees-Rolfe, our current VP of finance, who has been working with Joe and has been assuming increased responsibilities over the past year as part of a planned transition to becoming our next Chief Financial Officer. We are excited to have Garth take on an expanded role with Inhibikase as we enter a new chapter of growth.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with the dedicated, professional team at Inhibikase Therapeutics for the past six years,” said Joseph Frattaroli. “I look back on the significant progress that we have made as a company with pride for how far we’ve come and will be excited to see what the team accomplishes in the coming years. Garth has been growing into the CFO role and I have no doubt that Inhibikase will be continue to drive value for its shareholders while simultaneously developing transformative therapeutics for patients with neurodegenerative disease.”

About Inhibikase (www.inhibikase.com)

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Inhibikase’s multi-therapeutic pipeline has a primary focus on neurodegeneration and its lead program risvodetinib, an Abelson Tyrosine Kinase (c-Abl) inhibitor, targets the treatment of Parkinson’s disease inside and outside the brain as well as other diseases that arise from Ableson Tyrosine Kinases. Its multi-therapeutic pipeline is pursuing Parkinson’s-related disorders of the brain and GI tract, orphan indications related to Parkinson’s disease such as Multiple System Atrophy, and drug delivery technologies for kinase inhibitors such as IkT-001Pro, a prodrug of the anticancer agent imatinib mesylate that the Company believes will provide a better patient experience with fewer on-dosing side-effects. The Company’s RAMP^™ medicinal chemistry program has identified a number of follow-on compounds to IkT-148009 to be potentially applied to other cognitive and motor function diseases of the brain. Inhibikase is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with an office in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Social Media Disclaimer

Investors and others should note that we announce material financial information to our investors using our investor relations website, press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The company intends to also use X, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube as a means of disclosing information about the company, its services and other matters and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc.		Page 1 of 2
3350 Riverwood Parkway, Suite 1900
Atlanta, GA 30339	www.inhibikase.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipates,” “plans,” or similar expressions or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Inhibikase’s current expectations and assumptions. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause Inhibikase’s actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include our ability to successfully transition the chief financial officer role, our ability to successfully conduct clinical trials, that results in our animal studies may not be replicated in humans, and our need for additional financing as well as such other factors that are discussed in our periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q that we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement in this release speaks only as of the date of this release. Inhibikase undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Company Contact:

Milton H. Werner, PhD

President & CEO

678-392-3419

info@inhibikase.com

Investor Relations:

Alex Lobo

Stern Investor Relations, Inc.

alex.lobo@sternir.com

# # #

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc.		Page 2 of 2
3350 Riverwood Parkway, Suite 1900
Atlanta, GA 30339	www.inhibikase.com

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