SEC Form DEF 14A filed by Hoth Therapeutics Inc.

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

Schedule 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. )

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

Check the appropriate box:

HOTH THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):

HOTH THERAPEUTICS, INC.
590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor

New York, NY 10022

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON AUGUST 7, 2024

To the Shareholders of Hoth Therapeutics, Inc.:

The 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2024 Annual Meeting”) of Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), will be held on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The 2024 Annual Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting which will be conducted via live webcast. You will be able to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/HOTH2024.

In addition to voting by submitting your proxy prior to the 2024 Annual Meeting, you also will be able to vote your shares electronically during the 2024 Annual Meeting. Further details regarding the virtual meeting are included in the accompanying proxy statement. At the 2024 Annual Meeting, the holders of our outstanding common stock will act on the following matters:

Our Board unanimously recommends that you vote: “FOR” the election of our Board’s director nominees (Proposal 1); “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of Withum as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 (Proposal 2); and “FOR” the approval of the Plan Amendment (Proposal 3).

Instead of mailing a printed copy of our proxy materials to all of our shareholders, we provide access to these materials via the Internet. This reduces the amount of paper necessary to produce these materials as well as the costs associated with mailing these materials to all shareholders. Accordingly, on or about June 18, 2024, we will begin mailing a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) to all shareholders of record on our books at the close of business on June 14, 2024, the record date for the 2024 Annual Meeting, and will post our proxy materials on the website referenced in the Notice. As more fully described in the Notice, shareholders may choose to access our proxy materials on the website referred to in the Notice or may request to receive a printed set of our proxy materials. In addition, the Notice and website provide information regarding how you may request to receive proxy materials in printed form by mail, or electronically by email, on an ongoing basis.

If you are a shareholder of record, you may vote in one of the following ways:

If your shares are held in “street name,” meaning that they are held for your account by a broker or other nominee, you will receive instructions from the holder of record that you must follow for your shares to be voted.

The 2024 Annual Meeting will be a virtual shareholder meeting, conducted via live audio webcast, through which you can submit questions and vote online. The 2024 Annual Meeting can be accessed by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/HOTH2024 and entering your 16-digit control number (included on the Notice mailed to you).

Whether or not you plan to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting virtually, we urge you to take the time to vote your shares.

If you have any questions or need assistance voting your shares, please contact InvestorCom at:

19 Old Kings Highway S., Suite 130

Darien, CT 06820

Toll Free (877) 972-0090

Banks and Brokers call collect (203) 972-9300

Emails: [email protected] or [email protected]

HOTH THERAPEUTICS, INC.
590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor

New York, NY 10022

PROXY STATEMENT

FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON AUGUST 7, 2024

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE 2024 Annual MEETING TO BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2024

Copies of this proxy statement, the form of proxy card and the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “2023 Annual Report”) are available without charge at www.ProxyVote.com, by telephone at 1-800-579-1639, by email to [email protected], or by notifying our Corporate Secretary, in writing, at Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022.

The board of directors (“Board” or “Board of Directors”) of Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is soliciting the enclosed proxy for use at its 2024 annual meeting of shareholders (the “2024 Annual Meeting” or “Annual Meeting”). The 2024 Annual Meeting will be held on August 7, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and will be a completely virtual meeting which will be conducted via live webcast. You will be able to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/HOTH2024.

On or about June 18, 2024, we will begin mailing a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) to our shareholders (other than those who previously requested electronic or paper delivery of proxy materials), directing shareholders to a website where they can access our proxy materials, including this proxy statement and the 2023 Annual Report, and view instructions on how to vote. If you would prefer to receive a paper copy of our proxy materials, please follow the instructions included in the Notice. If you have previously elected to receive our proxy materials electronically, you will continue to receive access to those materials via e-mail unless you elect otherwise.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THIS PROXY MATERIAL AND VOTING

Why did I Receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials in the Mail instead of a Full Set of Proxy Materials?

We are pleased to take advantage of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rule that allows companies to furnish their proxy materials over the Internet. Accordingly, we have sent to our shareholders of record a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the Internet free of charge or to request a paper copy may be found in the Notice. Our shareholders may request to receive proxy materials in printed form by mail or electronically on an ongoing basis. A shareholder’s election to receive proxy materials by mail or electronically will remain in effect until the shareholder changes its election.

What Does it Mean if I Receive More than One Notice?

If you receive more than one Notice, your shares may be registered in more than one name or in different accounts. Please follow the voting instructions on each Notice to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

How do I attend the Annual Meeting?

The Annual Meeting will be held virtually on August 7, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/HOTH2024. Information on how to vote at the Annual Meeting is discussed below.

Who May Attend the Annual Meeting?

Only record holders and beneficial owners of our common stock, or their duly authorized proxies, may attend the Annual Meeting. If your shares of common stock are held in street name, you will need to bring a copy of a brokerage statement or other documentation reflecting your stock ownership as of the Record Date (as defined herein).

Who is Entitled to Vote?

The Board has fixed the close of business on June 14, 2024 as the record date (the “Record Date”) for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. On the Record Date, there were 5,358,804 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. Each share of common stock represents one vote that may be voted on each proposal that may come before the Annual Meeting.

What is the Difference Between Holding Shares as a Record Holder and as a Beneficial Owner (Holding Shares in Street Name)?

If your shares are registered in your name with our transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, you are the “record holder” of those shares. If you are a record holder, these proxy materials have been provided directly to you by the Company.

If your shares are held in a stock brokerage account, a bank or other holder of record, you are considered the “beneficial owner” of those shares held in “street name.” If your shares are held in street name, these proxy materials have been forwarded to you by that organization. The organization holding your account is considered to be the shareholder of record for purposes of voting at the Annual Meeting. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to instruct this organization on how to vote your shares.

What am I Voting on?

There are three matters scheduled for a vote:

What if another matter is properly brought before the Annual Meeting?

The Board knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the Annual Meeting, it is the intention of the person named in the accompanying proxy to vote on those matters in accordance with his best judgment.

How Do I Vote?

Shareholders of Record

For your convenience, record holders of our common stock have four methods of voting:

Beneficial Owners of Shares Held in Street Name

If you are the beneficial owner of shares held in street name through a bank, broker or other nominee, you may not vote your shares virtually at the 2024 Annual Meeting unless you obtain a “legal proxy” from the bank, broker or nominee that holds your shares, giving you the right to vote the shares virtually at the 2024 Annual Meeting. A voting instruction card has been provided to you by your broker, bank or other nominee describing how to vote your shares. If you receive a voting instruction card, you can vote by completing and returning the voting instruction card. Please be sure to mark your voting choices on your voting instruction card before you return it. You may also be able to vote via the Internet or by telephone. Please refer to the instructions provided with your voting instruction card for information about voting.

As a beneficial owner, you may direct your broker, bank, fiduciary, custodian, or other nominee how to vote shares they hold on your behalf. If that organization is not given specific directions on how to vote, your shares held in the name of that organization may not be voted, which is sometimes referred to as a “broker non-vote.” New York Stock Exchange Rule 452.11 prohibits brokers and other organizations holding shares on your behalf from voting uninstructed shares on certain matters deemed to be “non-routine”. Brokers and other organizations may, however, vote your uninstructed shares for proposals that are considered “routine.”

Brokers may reach conclusions regarding the ability to vote your shares on a given proposal that differ from our expectations expressed in this proxy statement. As a result, we urge you to direct your broker, bank, fiduciary, custodian, or other nominee how to vote your shares on all proposals to ensure that your vote is counted.

All shares entitled to vote on a matter and represented by a properly completed and executed proxy received before the Annual Meeting and not revoked will be voted at the Annual Meeting as instructed in a proxy delivered before the Annual Meeting. If you do not indicate how your shares should be voted on a matter, we expect that the shares represented by your properly completed and executed proxy will be voted as the Board recommends on routine proposals, with regard to any other matters that may be properly presented at the Annual Meeting and on all matters incident to the conduct of the Annual Meeting for which your broker, bank, fiduciary, custodian, or other nominee concludes it is entitled to vote your uninstructed shares. If you are a registered shareholder and attend the Annual Meeting, you may deliver your completed proxy card in person. If you are a street name shareholder and wish to vote at the Annual Meeting, you will need to obtain a proxy form from the institution that holds your shares. All votes will be tabulated by the inspector of election appointed for the Annual Meeting, who will separately tabulate affirmative and negative votes, abstentions and broker non-votes.

We provide Internet proxy voting to allow you to vote your shares online, with procedures designed to ensure the authenticity and correctness of your proxy vote instructions. However, please be aware that you must bear any costs associated with your Internet access, such as usage charges from Internet access providers and telephone companies.

How Many Votes do I Have?

On each matter to be voted upon, you have one vote for each share of common stock you own as of the close of business on the Record Date.

Is My Vote Confidential?

Yes, your vote is confidential. Only the inspector of election, individuals who help with processing and counting your votes and persons who need access for legal reasons will have access to your vote. This information will not be disclosed, except as required by law.

What Constitutes a Quorum?

To carry on business at the Annual Meeting, we must have a quorum. A quorum is present when holders of one-third of the shares entitled to vote as of the Record Date, are represented in person or by proxy. Thus, 1,786,268 shares must be represented in person or by proxy to have a quorum at the Annual Meeting. Your shares will be counted towards the quorum only if you submit a valid proxy (or one is submitted on your behalf by your broker, bank or other nominee) or if you vote in person at the Annual Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted towards the quorum requirement. Shares owned by us are not considered outstanding or considered to be present at the Annual Meeting. If a quorum is not present by attendance at the 2024 Annual Meeting or represented by proxy, the shareholders present by attendance at the meeting or by proxy may adjourn the 2024 Annual Meeting until a quorum is present.

How Will my Shares be Voted if I Give No Specific Instruction?

With regard to shares that are not held in street name, shares must be voted as a shareholder has instructed. If there is a matter on which a shareholder of record has given no specific instruction but has authorized us generally to vote its shares on its behalf, they will be voted as follows:

This authorization would exist, for example, if a shareholder of record merely signs, dates and returns the proxy card but does not indicate how its shares are to be voted on one or more proposals. If other matters properly come before the Annual Meeting and you do not provide specific voting instructions, your shares will be voted at the discretion of the proxy.

If your shares are held in street name, we expect that banks, brokers and other such holders of record will vote shares as you have instructed. Please see “What is a Broker Non-Vote?” below regarding the ability of banks, brokers and other such holders of record to vote the uninstructed shares of their customers or other beneficial owners.

How are Votes Counted?

Votes will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for the Annual Meeting, who will separately count, for the election of directors, “FOR,” “AGAINST” abstentions and broker non-votes; and, with respect to the other proposals, votes “FOR” and “AGAINST,” abstentions and broker non-votes.

What is a Broker Non-Vote?

If your shares are held in street name, we urge you to instruct the organization who holds your shares how to vote your shares. If you sign your proxy card but do not provide instructions on how your broker should vote on “routine” proposals, your broker may vote your shares as recommended by the Board. If you do not provide voting instructions, we expect that your shares will not be voted on any “non-routine” proposals. This vote is called a “broker non-vote.” Because broker non-votes are not considered to be entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, we expect that broker non-votes will not be included in the tabulation of the voting results of any of the “non-routine” proposals and, therefore, will have no effect on the voting results of such proposals.

We expect that brokers, banks, fiduciaries, custodians, or other nominees holding shares in street name for beneficial owners will not use discretionary authority to vote shares on the election of directors or the Plan Amendment if they have not received instructions from the beneficial owners. Please submit your vote instruction form so your vote is counted.

What is an Abstention?

An abstention is a shareholder’s affirmative choice to decline to vote on a proposal. Our Amended and Restated Bylaws, as amended (“Bylaws”), provide that an action of our shareholders (other than the election of directors) is only approved if a majority of the number of shares of stock present and entitled to vote thereon vote in favor of such action.

How Many Votes are Needed for Each Proposal to Pass?

What Are the Voting Procedures?

In voting by proxy with regard to the election of directors, you may vote “for,” “against” or “abstain” as to each nominee. With regard to other proposals, you may vote “for,” “against” or “abstain” for each proposal. You should specify your respective choices on the accompanying proxy card or your vote instruction form.

Is My Proxy Revocable?

You may revoke your proxy and reclaim your right to vote at any time before your proxy is voted by giving written notice to the Corporate Secretary of Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., by delivering a properly completed, later-dated proxy card or vote instruction form or by voting in person at the Annual Meeting. All written notices of revocation and other communications with respect to revocations of proxies should be addressed to: Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022. Your most current proxy card or Internet proxy is the one that will be counted.

Who is Paying for the Expenses Involved in Preparing and Mailing this Proxy Statement? 

All of the expenses involved in preparing, assembling and mailing these proxy materials and all costs of soliciting proxies will be paid by us. In addition to the solicitation by mail, proxies may be solicited by our officers and other employees by telephone or in person. Such persons will receive no compensation for their services other than their regular salaries. Furthermore, we have retained InvestorCom as our proxy solicitation agent in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Annual Meeting at an approximate cost of $7,000, plus reimbursement of expenses. If you have any questions or require any assistance with completing your proxy, please contact InvestorCom by telephone (toll-free) at (877) 972-0090. Bankers/brokers may call collect at (203) 972-9300. In addition, you may contact InvestorCom via email at either [email protected] or [email protected]. Arrangements will also be made with brokerage houses and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries to forward solicitation materials to the beneficial owners of the shares held of record by such persons, and we may reimburse such persons for reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by them in forwarding solicitation materials.

Do I Have Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal?

Our shareholders do not have appraisal rights with respect to the matters to be voted upon at the Annual Meeting.

How can I Find out the Results of the Voting at the Annual Meeting?

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the Annual Meeting. In addition, final voting results will be disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K that we expect to file with the SEC within four business days after the Annual Meeting. If final voting results are not available to us in time to file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC within four business days after the Annual Meeting, we intend to file a Current Report on Form 8-K to publish preliminary results and, within four business days after the final results are known to us, file an additional Current Report on Form 8-K to publish the final results.

When are Shareholder Proposals Due for the 2025 Annual Meeting?

Shareholders who intend to have a proposal considered for inclusion in our proxy materials for presentation at our 2025 annual meeting of shareholders (the “2025 Annual Meeting”) must submit the proposal to us at our corporate headquarters no later than February 18, 2025, which proposal must be made in accordance with the provisions of Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In the event the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the date of the 2024 Annual Meeting, shareholders who intend to have a proposal considered for inclusion in our proxy materials for presentation at our 2025 Annual Meeting must submit the proposal to us at our corporate headquarters no later than a reasonable time before we begin to print and send our proxy materials for our 2025 Annual Meeting.

Shareholders who intend to present a proposal at our 2025 Annual Meeting without inclusion of the proposal in our proxy materials are required to provide notice of such proposal to our Corporate Secretary so that such notice is received by our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive office on or after April 9, 2025 but no later than May 9, 2025; provided, however, in the event that the 2025 Annual Meeting occurs on a date that is not within 25 days before or after the anniversary date of the 2024 Annual Meeting, notice of such proposal must be received by our Corporate Secretary no later than the close of business on the 10^th day following the day on which such notice of the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting is mailed or public disclosure of the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting is made, whichever first occurs. 

In order for shareholders to give timely notice under the universal proxy rules of an intent to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than our nominees for the 2025 Annual Meeting, notice must be submitted by June 8, 2025; provided, however, in the event that the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting has changed by more than 30 calendar days from the anniversary date of the 2024 Annual Meeting, then notice of such proxy solicitation must be provided by the later of 60 days prior to the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting or the 10th calendar day following the day on which a public announcement of the date of the 2025 Annual Meeting is first made by us and such notice must include all the information required by Rule 14a-19(b) under the Exchange Act and such shareholders must comply with all of the requirements of Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act.

Shareholders are also advised to review our Bylaws, which contain additional requirements relating to shareholder proposals and director nominations, including who may submit them and what information must be included.

We reserve the right to reject, rule out of order or take other appropriate action with respect to any proposal that does not comply with these and other applicable requirements.

Do the Company’s Officers and Directors have an Interest in Any of the Matters to Be Acted Upon at the Annual Meeting?

Members of the Board have an interest in Proposal 1, the election to the Board of the five director nominees set forth herein. In addition, our officers and directors may be the recipient of future awards under the 2022 Plan as described later in this proxy statement under the heading “Proposal 3: Amendment to the Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. Amended and Restated 2022 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance thereunder.” Members of the Board and executive officers of the Company do not have any interest in Proposal 2, the ratification of the appointment of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm.

PROPOSAL 1:
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Our Board currently consists of five directors, and their terms will expire at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Directors are elected at the annual meeting of shareholders each year and hold office until their resignation or removal or their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Robb Knie, David Sarnoff, Graig Springer, Wayne Linsley and Jeff Pavell have each been nominated to serve as directors and have agreed to stand for election. If the nominees are elected at the 2024 Annual Meeting, then each nominee will serve for a one-year term expiring at the 2025 Annual Meeting and until his successor is duly elected and qualified.

Under our Bylaws, a plurality of the votes cast at the 2024 Annual Meeting is required to elect a nominee as a director. With respect to Proposal 1, you may vote FOR, AGAINST or ABSTAIN with respect to each director nominee. Any nominee receiving more votes FOR than AGAINST will be elected. If you ABSTAIN, your shares will be counted as present and entitled to vote for purposes of establishing a quorum but will not be counted for purposes of determining the number of votes cast. Proposal 1 is a non-discretionary matter. Therefore, if your shares are held by your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee in “street name” and you do not timely provide voting instructions with respect to your shares, we expect that your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee will not vote your shares on Proposal 1. Shares held in “street name” by banks, brokerage firms, or nominees who indicate on their proxies that they do not have authority to vote the shares on Proposal 1 will not be counted as votes FOR or AGAINST any nominee. As a result, such “broker non-votes” or voting to ABSTAIN will have no effect on the voting results of Proposal 1.

If no contrary indication is made, with the potential exception of proxies submitted for shares held in street name, proxies will be voted “FOR” Robb Knie, David Sarnoff, Graig Springer, Wayne Linsley and Jeff Pavell or, in the event that any such individual is unable to serve as a director at the time of the election (which is not currently expected), for any nominee who is designated by our Board to fill the vacancy.

Recommendation of our Board

Our Board unanimously recommends that the shareholders vote “FOR” the election of all of our director nominees at the 2024 Annual Meeting.

Nominees for Election to the Board

Nominees for Election to the Board for a Term Expiring at the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Robb Knie

Robb Knie has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company since May 2017 and served as our principal financial and accounting officer from June 2018 until March 2019. From October 2020 to January 2023, Mr. Knie served as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and chairman of the board of directors of FoxWayne Enterprises Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation. Mr. Knie served as the President of Lifeline Industries Inc. since its inception in 1995. From 2002 to 2010 he was a Semiconductor Analyst for PAW Partners. From 1993 until 1995, Mr. Knie served as Northeast Regional Manager of American Express Financial Advisors. Mr. Knie has served as a board member for Nasdaq-listed companies. He has been featured on Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes Magazine as an Independent Equity Analyst. Mr. Knie has over 20 years of equity markets experience. Mr. Knie has been a member of the American Chemical Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, as well as The National Alliance for Youth Sports. We believe that Mr. Knie is qualified to serve as a director because of his business and leadership experience and experience as a board member of public companies in the healthcare industry.

David Sarnoff

David Sarnoff has served as a director of the Company since August 2018. Since May 2015, Mr. Sarnoff has served as the founder and Principal of Sarnoff Group, LLC, and since January 2019, he has served as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Executive Leadership Coach at Loeb Leadership. In addition, since December 2021, Mr. Sarnoff has served as Adjunct Faculty at iCoach Global (formally known as iCoach New York) with respect to a professional coaching program affiliated with the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. From October 2003 until May 2015, Mr. Sarnoff served as the co-founder and Principal of Morandi, Taub & Sarnoff LLC, an executive search firm, and from July 1998 until October 2003 he served as a Legal Recruiter for Schneider Legal Search, Inc. From August 1994 until July 1998, Mr. Sarnoff served as a litigation associate attorney at Wachtel Missry LLP (formerly known as Gold & Wachtel LLP). Since July 2018, Mr. Sarnoff has served as a member of the advisory committee of the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers. From January 2015 until January 2018, Mr. Sarnoff served as board President of Fort Lee Board of Education and served as a board member from January 2013 through January 2019. In September of 2020, Mr. Sarnoff was appointed to a three-year term on the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and in September 2022, he was appointed as Co-Chair of that committee. Mr. Sarnoff received his Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Hofstra University. Mr. Sarnoff is admitted to the New York and New Jersey (retired status) state bars. We believe that Mr. Sarnoff is qualified to serve as a director because of his legal experience as well as his extensive experience in executive leadership and business development.

Graig Springer

Graig Springer has served as a director of the Company since February 2020. Since April 2021, Mr. Springer has served as Vice President for Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions LLC (“Brookfield”) in their Legal and Regulatory Department, and from August 2020 to April 2021, he served as a consultant to Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC. From May 2019 to August 2019, Mr. Springer assisted with product development and governance at Invesco U.S., an investment management company, and from December 2013 to May 2019, he served in various capacities at OppenheimerFunds, Inc., an investment management company acquired by Invesco U.S., including distribution compliance and product development. In addition, Mr. Springer served on the Sub-Adviser Oversight Committee at OppenheimerFunds, Inc. Mr. Springer received his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and his Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law. Mr. Springer also holds a Series 7 and a Series 24 license. We believe that Mr. Springer is qualified to serve as a director because of his over 15 years of experience within the financial services industry overseeing and advising firms’ compliance with federal rules and regulations.

Wayne Linsley

Wayne D. Linsley has served as a director of the Company since April 2020. Mr. Linsley has been in business management for over 40 years. He possesses a wide and varied skillset including sales and sales management, finance (for both public and private companies), accounting, audit support and financial reporting. From 2009 to September 2021, he worked for a financial reporting firm that works with publicly traded companies. He has extensive knowledge of, among other things, financial statements and SEC filings. He currently serves as an independent director for DatChat Inc. (Nasdaq: DATS), and for Silo Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: SILO), serving as the chair of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee for each of DatChat Inc. and Silo Pharma, Inc. Mr. Linsley received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Siena College in Loudonville, NY. We believe Mr. Linsley is qualified to serve as a director because of his business management experience.

Jeff Pavell

Jeff Pavell has served as a director of the Company since December 2022. Since January 2017, Dr. Pavell has served as Chief of Rehabilitation Medicine at Englewood Health, and since November 2021, he has been on the teaching staff at New York-Presbyterian. In addition, since December 2020 he has been on the teaching staff at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall. Furthermore, since 2010, Dr. Pavell has served as a partner at Patient Care Associates, an outpatient surgical center, and since 2002, he has served as a Partner at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center, a private medical practice serving patients with spine, sports and occupational injuries. Dr. Pavell is a Board-Certified physician specializing in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. Pavell is also certified in pain medicine and specializes in the most advanced non-operative treatments for spine, sports and interventional pain medicines. Dr. Pavell received his Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and his D.O. degree with honors from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. From January 2021 to January 2023, Dr. Pavell served as a member of the board of directors as well as chairman of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee of FoxWayne Enterprises Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation. Furthermore, since September 2022, Dr. Pavell has served as a director of Silo Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: SILO) as well as a member of its audit committee, compensation committee and chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. We believe that Dr. Pavell is qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive experience practicing in the healthcare industry as well as his prior experience serving as a director for other public companies.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings 

We are not aware of any of our directors or officers being involved in any legal proceedings in the past ten years relating to any matters in bankruptcy, insolvency, criminal proceedings (other than traffic and other minor offenses), or being subject to any of the items set forth under Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

General

We believe that good corporate governance is important to ensure that our Company is managed for the long-term benefit of our shareholders. This section describes key corporate governance practices that we have adopted. We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics which applies to all of our officers, directors and employees and charters for our audit committee, our compensation committee and our nominating and corporate governance committee. We have posted copies of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, as well as each of our committee charters, on the Corporate Governance page of the Investors/Media section of our website, www.hoththerapeutics.com, which you can access free of charge. Information contained on the website is not incorporated by reference in, or considered part of, this proxy statement.

We will also provide copies of these documents as well as our other corporate governance documents, free of charge, to any shareholder upon written request to Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022, Attn: Corporate Secretary.

Director Independence

Our Board of Directors has determined that a majority of the Board consists of members who are currently “independent” as that term is defined under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(a)(2). The Board considers Wayne Linsley, David Sarnoff, Graig Springer and Jeff Pavell to be “independent.”

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

The Company does not have a formal policy regarding the separation of its Chair and Chief Executive Officer positions. Robb Knie serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Due to the size of our Company, we believe that this structure is appropriate. We believe that the fact that four of the five members of the Board are independent reinforces the independence of the Board in its oversight of our business and affairs, and provides for objective evaluation and oversight of management’s performance, as well as management accountability. Furthermore, the Board believes that Mr. Knie is best situated to serve as Chairman because he is the director most familiar with the Company’s business and industry and is also the person most capable of effectively identifying strategic priorities and leading the discussion and execution of corporate strategy. In addition, the Board believes that the combined role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer strengthens the communication between the Board and management. Further, as the individual with primary responsibility for managing day-to-day operations, Mr. Knie is best positioned to chair regular Board meetings and ensure that key business issues and risks are brought to the attention of our Board. We therefore believe that the creation of a lead independent director position is not necessary at this time.

Board and Committee Meetings and Attendance

The Board of Directors and its committees meet regularly throughout the year and also hold special meetings and act by written consent from time to time. During the 2023 fiscal year, the Board of Directors held 2 meetings. In addition, our audit committee, our compensation committee and our nominating and corporate governance committee held 4, 0 and 0 meetings, respectively. During the 2023 fiscal year, none of our directors attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate of the total number of meetings held by the Board of Directors and the total number of meetings held by all committees of the Board of Directors on which he served. The independent members of the Board of Directors also meet separately without management directors on a regular basis to discuss such matters as the independent directors consider appropriate.

Committees of Our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors directs the management of our business and affairs, as provided by Nevada law, and conducts its business through meetings of the Board of Directors and its standing committees. We have a standing audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee. In addition, from time to time, special committees may be established under the direction of the Board of Directors when necessary to address specific issues.

Our Board of Directors has determined that all of the members of the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee are independent as defined under the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Capital Market, including, in the case of all of the members of our audit committee, the independence requirements contemplated by Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. In making such determination, the Board of Directors considered the relationships that each director has with our Company and all other facts and circumstances that the Board of Directors deemed relevant in determining director independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock by each director.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

Our audit committee consists of Wayne Linsley, David Sarnoff and Graig Springer, with Wayne Linsley serving as chair. Each member of our audit committee meets the financial literacy requirements of the Nasdaq rules. In addition, our Board of Directors has determined that Wayne Linsley qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as such term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K.

Our Board of Directors adopted a written charter for the audit committee, which is available on our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com.

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:

Our compensation committee consists of Wayne Linsley, Graig Springer and Jeff Pavell, with Wayne Linsley serving as chair.

Our Board of Directors adopted a written charter for the compensation committee, which is available on our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com.

Nominating and Governance Committee

Our nominating and governance committee is responsible for, among other things:

Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Wayne Linsley, Graig Springer and David Sarnoff, with Graig Springer serving as chair.

Our Board of Directors adopted a written charter for the nominating and corporate governance committee, which is available on our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com.

Director Nominations Process

Our nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for recommending candidates to serve on the Board and its committees. In considering whether to recommend any particular candidate to serve on the Board or its committees or for inclusion in the Board’s slate of recommended director nominees for election at the annual meeting of shareholders, the nominating and corporate governance committee considers the criteria set forth in the nominating and corporate governance committee charter. Specifically, the nominating and corporate governance committee may take into account many factors, including personal and professional integrity, experience relevant to the Company’s industry, diversity of background and perspective including, but not limited to, with respect to gender and ethnicity and any other relevant qualifications, attributes or skills.

We consider diversity a meaningful factor in identifying director nominees, but do not have a formal diversity policy. The Board evaluates each individual in the context of the Board as a whole, with the objective of assembling a group that has the necessary tools to perform its oversight function effectively in light of the Company’s business and structure. In determining whether to recommend a director for re-election, the nominating and corporate governance committee may also consider potential conflicts of interest with the candidates, other personal and professional pursuits, the director’s past attendance at meetings and participation in and contributions to the activities of the Board.

In identifying prospective director candidates, the nominating and corporate governance committee may seek referrals from other members of the Board or shareholders. The nominating and corporate governance committee also may, but need not, retain a third-party search firm in order to assist it in identifying candidates to serve as directors of the Company. The nominating and corporate governance committee uses the same criteria for evaluating candidates regardless of the source of the referral or recommendation. When considering director candidates, the nominating and corporate governance committee seeks individuals with backgrounds and qualities that, when combined with those of our incumbent directors, provide a blend of skills and experience to further enhance the Board’s effectiveness.

The nominating and corporate governance committee will also consider potential nominees submitted by shareholders in accordance with the procedures set forth in our Bylaws and other processes adopted from time to time for submission of director nominees by shareholders, and such candidates will be considered and evaluated under the same criteria described above. Shareholders wishing to propose a candidate for consideration may do so by submitting the above information to the attention of the Corporate Secretary, Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022.

Board Diversity Matrix

Our nominating and corporate governance committee is committed to promoting diversity on our Board of Directors. We have surveyed our current directors and asked each director to self-identify their race, ethnicity, and gender using one or more of the below categories. The results of this survey are included in the matrix below.

Scientific Advisory Board

In July 2017, our Board of Directors formed a Scientific Advisory Board (formerly known as the Technology Advisory Board). As of the Record Date, the members of such board are as follows: (i) Dr. Mario Lacouture, Dr. William Weglicki and Dr. Adam Friedman as Medical Doctor members and (ii) Dr. Glenn Cruse, Dr. Carla Yuede, Dr. John Cirrito and Sergio Traversa as Non-Medical Doctor members.

Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct

We adopted a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. A copy of the code is posted on our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com. Disclosure regarding any amendments to, or waivers from, provisions of the code of conduct and ethics that apply to our directors, principal executive and financial officers will be posted on the “Investors/Media-Corporate Governance” section of our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com or will be included in a Current Report on Form 8-K, which we will file within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver.

Insider Trading Policy and Anti-hedging

We have adopted an Insider Trading Policy that applies to our officers, directors and all other employees (including temporary employees) of, or consultants to, the Company or its subsidiaries, as well as family members of such persons. As part of our Insider Trading Policy, all of our officers, directors, employees and consultants and family members or others sharing a household with any of the foregoing or that may have access to material non-public information regarding our Company are prohibited from engaging in short sales of our securities, any hedging or monetization transactions involving our securities and in transactions involving puts, calls or other derivative securities based on our securities. Our Insider Trading Policy further prohibits such persons from purchasing our securities on margin, borrowing against any account in which our securities are held or pledging our securities as collateral for a loan unless pre-cleared by our Insider Trading Compliance Officer. As of December 31, 2023, none of our directors or executive officers had pledged any shares of our common stock.

Director Attendance at Annual Meetings

Our policy is that directors should attend our annual meetings of shareholders.

Shareholder Communications with our Board

Shareholders and other interested persons seeking to communicate with our Board must submit their written communications to our Corporate Secretary at Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022. Such communications must include the number of Company securities owned, beneficially or otherwise, by the person issuing the communication. Depending on the subject matter of the communication, our Corporate Secretary will do one of the following:

Our Board (and any individual director to whom the communication was specifically addressed) will determine what further steps are appropriate depending on the facts and circumstances outlined in the communication.

Non-Employee Director Compensation

The following table presents the total compensation for each person who served as a non-employee member of our Board and received compensation for such service during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Other than as set forth in the table and described more fully below, we did not pay any compensation, make any equity awards or non-equity awards to, or pay any other compensation to any of the non-employee members of our Board in 2023.

Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy

Our directors receive $50,000 cash compensation per year for their service on the Board, as well as reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses with respect to such directors’ attendance at meetings of the Board of the Company.

Committee chairs receive an additional one-time $6,000 cash compensation upon appointment for their added services in such roles.

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

The primary purpose of the audit committee is to oversee our financial reporting processes on behalf of our Board. The audit committee’s functions are more fully described in its charter, which is available on our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com.

In the performance of its oversight function, the audit committee has reviewed and discussed our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 with management and with our independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, the audit committee has discussed the matters required to be discussed by the statement on Auditing Standards No. 1301, as amended, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) in Release No. 2012-004, with WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The audit committee has also received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from WithumSmith+Brown, PC required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and has discussed with WithumSmith+Brown, PC their independence from us.

Based on the review and discussions referenced above, the audit committee recommended to our Board that our audited financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

Audit Committee:

Wayne Linsley (Chair)

David Sarnoff

Graig Springer

The foregoing report of the audit committee does not constitute soliciting material and will not be deemed filed, incorporated by reference into or a part of any other filing by the Company (including any future filings) under the Exchange Act, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates such report by reference therein.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following are biographical summaries of our executive officers and their ages, except for Mr. Knie, whose biography is included under the heading “Proposal 1: Election of Directors” set forth above:

David Briones

David Briones has served as Chief Financial Officer of the Company since March 2019 and has over 24 years of public accounting and executive level experience. He consults with various public companies in financial reporting, internal control development and evaluation, budgeting and forecasting. From September 2021 until December 2022, Mr. Briones served as Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary and a member of the board of directors of Larkspur Healthcare Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: LSPR), a special purpose acquisition corporation. Since October 2010, he has served as the managing member and founder of Brio Financial Group, LLC, a full-service financial consulting firm that brings experienced finance and accounting expertise to both public and private companies. Since 2010, Mr. Briones has served over 75 companies as well as numerous banks, hedge funds, venture capital funds and private equity firms. In addition, from May 2018 until its dissolution in April 2021, Mr. Briones served as Executive Chair of Zovis Pharmaceuticals, and from August 2013 to January 2020, Mr. Briones served as Chief Financial Officer of Petro River Oil Corp., an independent energy company focused on the exploration and development of conventional oil and gas assets. Mr. Briones also served as interim Chief Financial Officer of AdiTx Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADTX), a pre-clinical stage, life sciences company with a mission to prolong life and enhance life quality of transplanted patients from January 2018 to July 2020 (until the company’s initial public offering). From October 2017 to May 2018, Mr. Briones served as the Chief Financial Officer of Bitzumi, Inc., a Bitcoin exchange and marketplace. Prior to founding Brio Financial Group, LLC, Mr. Briones was an auditor with Bartolomei Pucciarelli, LLC in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in New York, New York. Since May 2020, Mr. Briones has served as a member of the board of directors of Unique Logistics International Inc. (OTC Pink: UNQL). Mr. Briones received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Fairfield University.  

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table 

The following table sets forth the compensation paid or accrued during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 to our principal executive officer and an additional officer (collectively, the “named executive officers”):

Employment Agreements

Robb Knie Employment Agreement

On March 28, 2023, we entered into an employment agreement (the “2023 Knie Employment Agreement”) with Robb Knie, pursuant to which Mr. Knie continues to serve as our Chief Executive Officer. The term of the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement will continue for a period of three years from the date of execution and automatically renews for successive one-year periods at the end of each term until either party delivers written notice of their intent not to review at least six months prior to the expiration of the then effective term. Mr. Knie’s base salary is $450,000 per year. Mr. Knie is eligible to receive an annual bonus of up to $350,000 per year at the discretion of the compensation committee of the Company, based upon the achievement of Company and individual performance targets established by the compensation committee. Under the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement, Mr. Knie is also entitled to receive equity-based compensation awards. In addition, the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement contains standard non-competition and non-solicitation provisions. Mr. Knie is also eligible to receive additional equity-based compensation awards as the Company may grant from time to time. The 2023 Knie Employment Agreement further provides for standard expense reimbursement, vacation time and other standard executive benefits.

Pursuant to the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement, in the event Mr. Knie’s employment is terminated without Cause (as defined in the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement), due to a non-renewal by the Company, he voluntarily resigns, or if he resigns for Good Reason (as defined in the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement), Mr. Knie is entitled to (i) a cash payment equal to the sum of (x) 24 months of his base salary at the then current rate (or 36 months if such termination occurs within 12 months of a Change in Control (as defined in the 2023 Knie Employment Agreement)) and (y) annual bonus in effect on his last day of employment; (ii) continuation of health benefits for a period of 24 months (or 36 months if such termination occurs within 12 months of a Change in Control); (iii) a lump sum payment equal to the amount of any annual bonus earned with respect to a prior fiscal year, but unpaid as of the date of termination; (iv) a lump sum payment equal to the amount of annual bonus that was accrued through the date of termination for the year in which employment ends; and (v) subject to Mr. Knie’s compliance with his restrictive covenants, the outstanding and unvested portion of any equity award will accelerate and immediately vest on the date of Mr. Knie’s termination.

In the event that Mr. Knie’s employment is terminated due to his death or disability, he will be entitled to receive (i) a lump sum payment equal to the amount of any annual bonus earned with respect to a prior fiscal year, but unpaid as of the date of termination; (ii) a lump sum payment equal to the amount of annual bonus that was accrued for the year in which employment ends; and (iii) the treatment of any equity awards in accordance with their respective equity award agreements.

In the event that Mr. Knie’s employment is terminated due to his non-renewal or resignation without Good Reason, he will be entitled to receive a lump sum payment equal to the amount of any annual bonus earned with respect to a prior fiscal year, but unpaid as of the date of termination.

Equity Grant Practices

2018 Equity Incentive Plan

On May 4, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. 2018 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”). The 2018 Plan became effective on May 4, 2018 upon approval of the 2018 Plan by the Company’s shareholders at the Company’s annual meeting of shareholders. Pursuant to the 2018 Plan, the Company can grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, deferred stock units, annual or long-term performance awards or other stock-based awards. As of the Record Date, the outstanding option awards totaled 77,362.

2022 Equity Incentive Plan

On March 24, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior 2022 Plan”), initially reserving 96,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for issuance thereunder. The Prior 2022 Plan became effective on June 23, 2022 upon approval of the Prior 2022 Plan by the Company’s shareholders at the Company’s annual meeting of shareholders. On June 2, 2023, the Company’s Board approved the 2022 Plan, which included increasing the number of shares of common stock by 495,317 shares such that a total of 591,317 shares of common stock were reserved for issuance under the 2022 Plan. The 2022 Plan was approved by shareholders on August 18, 2023. Pursuant to the 2022 Plan, the Company can grant stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, deferred stock units, annual or long-term performance awards or other stock-based awards. As of the Record Date, the outstanding option awards under the 2022 Plan totaled 540,000.

Bonus Arrangements

Pursuant to the terms of the executive employment agreements described above, the Company, through the Board, has the discretion to determine the amounts of the annual incentive bonus payments which executives may receive Based on the review of the Company’s performance for calendar year 2023, the Board, in its sole discretion, determined to pay the bonuses to the named executive officers listed in the Summary Compensation Table above.

401(k) Plan

The Company maintains a defined contribution employee retirement plan, or 401(k) plan, for its employees. The 401(k) plan is intended to qualify as a tax-qualified plan under Section 401(k) of the Code so that contributions to the 401(k) plan, and income earned on such contributions, are not taxable to participants until withdrawn or distributed from the 401(k) plan. The Company will match a participant’s contribution 100% up to 6% of their compensation, subject to statutory limits.

Perquisites

Perquisites are not a material component of compensation. In general, named executive officers do not receive reimbursements for meals, airlines, and travel costs, other than those costs allowed for all employees. During 2023, no named executive officers received an allowance from the Company or any of the above or a reimbursement for any expense incurred for non-business purposes.

Outstanding Equity Awards at December 31, 2023

The following table provides information regarding option awards held by each of our named executive officers that were outstanding as of December 31, 2023. There were no stock awards or other equity awards outstanding as of December 31, 2023.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The following includes a summary of transactions during our fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 to which we have been a party, including transactions in which the amount involved in the transaction exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any of our directors, executive officers or, to our knowledge, beneficial owners of more than 5% of our capital stock or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than equity and other compensation, termination, change in control and other arrangements, which are described elsewhere in this proxy statement. We are not otherwise a party to a current related party transaction, and no transaction is currently proposed, in which the amount of the transaction exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years and in which a related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

On September 13, 2023, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors, including Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. (“Armistice”) pursuant to which Armistice (i) acquired (A) 384,500 shares of our common stock and (B) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 165,500 shares of our common stock in a public offering and (ii) warrants to purchase up to 550,000 shares of our common stock in a concurrent private placement for aggregate gross proceeds to us from Armistice of $1,446,500, exclusive of placement agent commission and fees and other offering expenses. The closing of the offering occurred on September 15, 2023 pursuant to which we received gross proceeds of $2.89 million in the aggregate, prior to deducting placement agent’s fees and other offering expenses payable by us. Each pre-funded warrant is exercisable until exercised in full at an exercise price of $0.001 per share and may be exercised on a cashless basis. Each warrant is exercisable for a period of five years from the issuance date at an exercise price of $2.505 per share, subject to adjustment, and can, under certain circumstances, be exercised on a cashless basis.

On December 29, 2022, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with Armistice pursuant to which we agreed to sell an aggregate of (i) 140,000 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, (ii) pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 1,860,000 shares (the “Pre-Funded Warrant Shares”) of common stock and (iii) warrants (the “January 2023 Warrants”) to purchase up to 2,500,000 shares (the “Warrant Shares” and together with the Shares and the Pre-Funded Warrant Shares, the “Registrable Securities”) of common stock at a purchase price of $5.00 per share and accompanying warrant (less $0.001 for each pre-funded warrant and accompanying warrant) in a private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $10 million, exclusive of placement agent commission and fees and other offering expenses. The closing of the offering occurred on January 3, 2023. Each common stock warrant was exercisable for a period of five and one-half years from the issuance date at an exercise price of $5.00 per share, subject to adjustment, and could, under certain circumstances, be exercised on a cashless basis. Each pre-funded warrant is exercisable until exercised in full at an exercise price of $0.001 per share and may be exercised on a cashless basis. In connection with the offering, we also entered into a registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with Armistice pursuant to which we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the Registrable Securities on January 13, 2023, which registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on January 25, 2023. On March 27, 2024, we entered into an inducement offer agreement with Armistice to immediately exercise, for cash, all of the January 2023 Warrants at a reduced exercise price of $1.6775 per share for gross proceeds to us of approximately $4.2 million before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses payable by us.  In accordance with the terms of an inducement offer agreement dated as of March 27, 2024 between us and Armistice, we shall only issue such number of shares of common stock (the “Warrant Shares”) issuable upon exercise of the January 2023 Warrants to Armistice that would not cause Armistice to exceed the maximum number of Warrant Shares permitted thereunder, as directed by Armistice, with the balance of the Warrant Shares to be held in abeyance until notice from Armistice that the balance (or portion thereof) may be issued in compliance the limitations set forth in the inducement offer agreement, which abeyance was evidenced through the January 2023 Warrants which shall be deemed prepaid thereafter (including the cash payment in full of the exercise price), and exercised pursuant to a Notice of Exercise in the January 2023 Warrants (provided no additional exercise price shall be due and payable). As such, on April 1, 2024, we issued 485,000 shares of common stock to Armistice upon exercise of the January 2023 Warrants and 2,015,000 shares of common stock are held in abeyance for future issuance. As an inducement to exercise the January 2023 Warrants, we agreed to issue new unregistered warrants (the “New Warrants”) to purchase up to 3,750,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share to Armistice. The New Warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance and will expire on July 3, 2028.

Related Person Transaction Policy

We have adopted a formal policy regarding approval of transactions with related parties. For purposes of our policy only, a related person transaction is a transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we and any related person are, were or will be participants in which the amount involved exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of our total assets at the end of our last completed fiscal year. Transactions involving compensation for services provided to us as an employee or director are not covered by this policy. A related person is any executive officer, director or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, including any of their immediate family members and any entity owned or controlled by such persons.

Under the policy, if a transaction has been identified as a related person transaction, including any transaction that was not a related person transaction when originally consummated or any transaction that was not initially identified as a related person transaction prior to consummation, our management must present information regarding the related person transaction to our audit committee, or, if audit committee approval would be inappropriate, to another independent body of our Board of Directors, for review, consideration and approval or ratification. The presentation must include a description of, among other things, the material facts, the interests, direct and indirect, of the related persons, the benefits to us of the transaction and whether the transaction is on terms that are comparable to the terms available to or from, as the case may be, an unrelated third party or to or from employees generally. Under the policy, we will collect information that we deem reasonably necessary from each director, executive officer and, to the extent feasible, significant shareholder to enable us to identify any existing or potential related-person transactions and to effectuate the terms of the policy. In addition, under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, our employees and directors will have an affirmative responsibility to disclose any transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest. In considering related person transactions, our audit committee, or other independent body of our Board, will take into account the relevant available facts and circumstances including, but not limited to:

The policy requires that, in determining whether to approve, ratify or reject a related person transaction, our audit committee, or other independent body of our Board, must consider, in light of known circumstances, whether the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent with, our best interests and those of our shareholders, as our audit committee, or other independent body of our Board of Directors, determines in the good faith exercise of its discretion.

PROPOSAL 2: RATIFICATION OF
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Our audit committee has appointed Withum as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 and our Board has directed that management submit the appointment of Withum as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for ratification by the shareholders at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Representatives of Withum are expected to be virtually present at the 2024 Annual Meeting, will have an opportunity to make a statement if they so desire, and be available to respond to appropriate questions. Withum was appointed to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm in February 2018.

Shareholder ratification of the appointment of Withum as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is not required law. However, our Board is submitting the audit committee’s appointment of Withum to the shareholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate practice. If the shareholders fail to ratify the appointment, the audit committee will reconsider whether to retain that firm. Even if the appointment is ratified, the audit committee, in its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if the audit committee determines that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

Independent Registered Public Accountant’s Fee

The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed by Withum as described below:

Audit Fees: Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services performed by Withum for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements, the review of interim consolidated financial statements, and related services that are normally provided in connection with registration statements. There were $193,758 and $149,791 of such fees incurred by the Company in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Audit-Related Fees: Audit related fees consist of fees billed by an independent registered public accounting firm for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our consolidated financial statements. There were no such fees incurred by the Company in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Tax Fees: Tax fees consist of fees for professional services, including tax compliance performed by Withum. There were $9,800 and $6,650 of such fees incurred by the Company in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

All Other Fees: There were no such fees incurred by the Company in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

In accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, our audit committee charter requires the audit committee to pre-approve all audit and permitted non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the review and approval in advance of our independent registered public accounting firm’s annual engagement letter and the proposed fees contained therein. The audit committee has the ability to delegate the authority to pre-approve non-audit services to one or more designated members of the audit committee. If such authority is delegated, such delegated members of the audit committee must report to the full audit committee at the next audit committee meeting all items pre-approved by such delegated members. In the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, all of the services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm were pre-approved by the audit committee.

Recommendation of our Board

Our Board recommends a vote “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of Withum as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.

PROPOSAL 3: AMENDMENT TO THE HOTH THERAPEUTICS, INC. AMENDED AND RESTATED 2022 OMNIBUS EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK RESERVED FOR ISSUANCE THEREUNDER

Introduction

On March 24, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the Prior 2022 Plan, initially reserving 96,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for issuance thereunder. The Prior 2022 Plan became effective on June 23, 2022 upon approval of the Prior 2022 Plan by the Company’s shareholders. On June 2, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the 2022 Plan, which was approved by shareholders on August 18, 2023 and (i) increased the number of shares of common stock that may be issued under such plan by 495,317 shares and (ii) included clawback provisions to comply with recent developments of applicable law.

On May 15, 2024, our Compensation Committee recommended and our Board approved an amendment to our 2022 Plan to increase the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance thereunder from 591,317 shares to 1,091,317 shares, an increase of 500,000 shares.

We currently maintain the Hoth Therapeutics, Inc. 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”) and will continue to issue awards under the 2018 Plan. All awards issued under the 2018 Plan will continue to be governed by the terms, conditions and procedures set forth in the 2018 Plan and any applicable award agreement.

We are seeking shareholder approval to amend our 2022 Plan to increase the number of shares of common stock available for issuance to 1,091,317 shares so that the Company can continue to provide equity-based compensation as approved by our Compensation Committee.

The proposed form of amendment to our 2022 Plan is attached as Appendix A to this Proxy Statement.

The following table sets forth, as of the Record Date, the approximate number of each class of participants eligible to participate in the 2022 Plan and the basis of such participation.

Reasons for the Amendment to our 2022 Plan

As of the Record Date, 591,317 shares of common stock were reserved for issuance under the 2022 Plan of which 51,317 shares of common stock remain available for issuance. We are seeking shareholder approval to amend our 2022 Plan to increase the number of shares of common stock issuable thereunder to 1,091,317 shares. As noted above, if our shareholders do not approve the amendment, we anticipate that there will not be sufficient shares available under our 2022 Plan for continued equity awards to our employees and non-employee directors over the next year. This would result in the loss of an important compensation tool aligned with shareholder interests to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified talent.

We recognize the dilutive impact of our equity compensation program on our shareholders and continuously strive to balance this concern with the competition for talent in the competitive business environment and talent market, as well as the current market conditions, in which we operate. In determining the appropriate number of shares to request and add to the pool of shares available for issuance pursuant to the amendment, our Board and Compensation Committee worked with management to evaluate a number of factors, and carefully considered (i) the potential dilutive impact on shareholders, (ii) our historical run rate and overhang, (iii) the number of shares remaining available for issuance, (iv) forecasted grants, (v) the realities of equity awards being a key component of designing competitive compensation packages necessary for attracting and retaining key talent in a competitive medical devices marketplace, (vi) our strategic growth plans, and (vii) the interests of our shareholders.

We anticipate the additional shares requested under the amendment, plus the remaining shares that are available for issuance under the 2022 Plan, to be sufficient for a period of one year.

Our 2022 Plan is designed to attract and retain non-employee directors and employees and reward them for making contributions to the success of the Company and its subsidiaries. These objectives are to be accomplished by making awards under 2022 Plan and thereby providing participants with a proprietary interest in the growth and performance of the Company and align a portion of their compensation with the shareholders. Shareholder approval of this proposal will enable us to continue to grant equity awards to our employees and non-employee directors at levels determined by our Compensation Committee and Board to be necessary to attract, retain and motivate the individuals who will be critical to our success in achieving our business objectives and thereby creating greater value for our shareholders. In addition to the crucial role, we believe such grants play in attracting and retaining talented individuals, we believe that the equity compensation granted under our 2022 Plan also serves the important function of aligning the interests of participants with those of our shareholders and focusing such participants on the long-term growth of the Company.

Dilution, Stock Available and Historical Stock Usage

Dilution. Subject to shareholder approval of the Plan Amendment, the number of shares of common stock that will be reserved for issuance pursuant to awards granted under the 2022 Plan shall be 1,091,317 shares, which represents approximately 6.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock on a fully diluted basis as of the Record Date. The Board believes that this number of shares of common stock constitutes reasonable potential equity dilution and provides a significant incentive for employees and service providers to increase the value of the Company for all shareholders. The closing trading price of each share of Company common stock as of the Record Date was $0.96.

As of the Record Date, we had: (i) 5,358,804 shares of common stock outstanding (excluding 1,545,000 shares of common stock held in abeyance for future issuances); (ii) 617,362 stock options outstanding (vested and unvested), with a weighted average exercise price of $7.86 per share; (iii) 1,693 shares of unvested restricted stock outstanding, with a weighted average exercise price of $3.16 per share; and (iv) 5,211,848 warrants to purchase common stock outstanding, with a weighted average exercise price of $2.71 per share. The additional shares of Company’s common stock available under the 2022 Plan would represent an additional potential equity dilution of approximately 2.8%.

Shares Available; Certain Limitations. The maximum number of shares of common stock reserved and available for issuance under the 2022 Plan will be 1,091,317 shares; provided that shares of common stock issued under the 2022 Plan with respect to an Exempt Award will not count against the share limit. We use the term “Exempt Award” to mean (i) an award granted in the assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted by another business entity acquired by us or any of our subsidiaries or with which we or any of our subsidiaries merges, (ii) an “employment inducement” award as described under applicable law, or (iii) an award that a participant purchases at fair market value.

No more than 1,091,317 shares of the Company’s common stock shall be issued pursuant to the exercise of incentive stock options.

New shares reserved for issuance under the 2022 Plan may be authorized but unissued shares of the Company’s common stock or shares of the Company’s common stock that will have been or may be reacquired by the Company in the open market, in private transactions or otherwise. If any shares of the Company’s common stock subject to an award are forfeited, cancelled, exchanged or surrendered or if an award terminates or expires without a distribution of shares to the participant, the shares of the Company’s common stock with respect to such award will, to the extent of any such forfeiture, cancellation, exchange, surrender, termination or expiration, again be available for awards under the 2022 Plan except that (i) any shares of the Company’s common stock reacquired by the Company on the open market or otherwise using cash proceeds from the exercise of options, and (ii) any shares of the Company’s common stock surrendered or withheld as payment of either the exercise price of an award and/or withholding taxes in respect of an award will not again be available for awards under the 2022 Plan. If an award is denominated in shares of the Company’s common stock, but settled in cash, the number of shares of common stock previously subject to the award will again be available for grants under the 2022 Plan. If an award can only be settled in cash, it will not be counted against the total number of shares of common stock available for grant under the 2022 Plan. However, upon the exercise of any award granted in tandem with any other awards, such related awards will be cancelled as to the number of shares as to which the award is exercised and such number of shares of the Company’s common stock will no longer be available for grant under the 2022 Plan.

As exhibited by our responsible use of equity over the past several years and good corporate governance practices associated with equity and executive compensation practices in general, we believe the stock reserved under the 2022 Plan will provide us with the platform needed for our continued growth, while managing program costs and share utilization levels within acceptable industry standards.

Share Usage. In determining the requested number of shares of the Company’s common stock reserved for issuance under the 2022 Plan, we evaluated the dilution and historic share usage, burn rate and the existing terms of outstanding awards under the Prior Plan. The annual share usage under our equity plans for the last three fiscal years was as follows:

⁽¹⁾  Includes the number of options and full value awards (restricted shares of common stock) granted for such year.

Description of the Amendment to our 2022 Plan

The full text of the proposed amendment to our 2022 Plan is set forth in Appendix A to this Proxy Statement. The full text of our 2022 Plan (prior to the amendment described in this Proposal 3) is set forth in in Appendix A of our definitive proxy statement for our 2023 annual meeting of shareholders filed with the SEC on June 27, 2023.

The following is a summary of the material features of the 2022 Plan. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety to the full text of the 2022 Plan.

Types of Awards. The 2022 Plan provides for the issuance of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and other stock-based awards. Items described above in the Section called “Shares Available; Certain Limitations” are incorporated herein by reference.

Administration. The 2022 Plan will be administered by the Board, or if the Board does not administer the 2022 Plan, any committee of the Board or any other committee or subcommittee of the Board that complies with the applicable requirements of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, as amended from time to time, and any other applicable legal or stock exchange listing requirements (each of the Board, or such committee or such subcommittee, the “plan administrator”). The plan administrator may interpret the 2022 Plan and may prescribe, amend and rescind rules and make all other determinations necessary or desirable for the administration of the 2022 Plan.

The 2022 Plan permits the plan administrator to select the eligible recipients who will receive awards, to determine the terms and conditions of those awards, including, but not limited to, the exercise price or other purchase price of an award, the number of shares of common stock or cash or other property subject to an award, the term of an award and the vesting schedule applicable to an award, and to amend the terms and conditions of outstanding awards.

Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units. Restricted stock and RSUs may be granted under the 2022 Plan. The plan administrator will determine the purchase price, vesting schedule and performance goals, if any, and any other conditions that apply to a grant of restricted stock and RSUs. If the restrictions, performance goals or other conditions determined by the plan administrator are not satisfied, the restricted stock and RSUs will be forfeited. Subject to the provisions of the 2022 Plan and the applicable award agreement, the plan administrator has the sole discretion to provide for the lapse of restrictions in installments.

Unless the applicable award agreement provides otherwise, participants with restricted stock will generally have all of the rights of a shareholder; provided that dividends will only be paid if and when the underlying restricted stock vests. RSUs will not be entitled to dividends prior to vesting, but may be entitled to receive dividend equivalents if the award agreement provides for them. The rights of participants granted restricted stock or RSUs upon the termination of employment or service to us will be set forth in the award agreement.

Options. Incentive stock options and non-statutory stock options may be granted under the 2022 Plan. An “incentive stock option” means an option intended to qualify for tax treatment applicable to incentive stock options under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Code”). A “non-statutory stock option” is an option that is not subject to statutory requirements and limitations required for certain tax advantages that are allowed under specific provisions of the Code. A non-statutory stock option under the 2022 Plan is referred to for federal income tax purposes as a “non-qualified” stock option. Each option granted under the 2022 Plan will be designated as a non-qualified stock option or an incentive stock option. At the discretion of the plan administrator, incentive stock options may be granted only to our employees, employees of our “parent corporation” (as such term is defined in Section 424(e) of the Code) or employees of our subsidiaries.

The exercise period of an option may not exceed ten years from the date of grant and the exercise price may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date the option is granted (110% of fair market value in the case of incentive stock options granted to 10% shareholders). The exercise price for shares of common stock subject to an option may be paid in cash, or as determined by the plan administrator in its sole discretion, (i) through any cashless exercise procedure approved by the plan administrator (including the withholding of shares of common stock otherwise issuable upon exercise), (ii) by tendering unrestricted shares of common stock owned by the participant, (iii) with any other form of consideration approved by the plan administrator and permitted by applicable law or (iv) by any combination of these methods. The option holder will have no rights to dividends or distributions or other rights of a shareholder with respect to the shares of the Company’s common stock subject to an option until the option holder has given written notice of exercise and paid the exercise price and applicable withholding taxes.

In the event of a participant’s termination of employment or service, the participant may exercise his or her option (to the extent vested as of such date of termination) for such period of time as specified in his or her option agreement.

Stock Appreciation Rights.

SARs may be granted either alone (a “Free-Standing SAR”) or in conjunction with all or part of any option granted under the 2022 Plan (a “Related Right”). A Free-Standing SAR will entitle its holder to receive, at the time of exercise, an amount per share up to the excess of the fair market value (at the date of exercise) of a share of common stock over the base price of the Free-Standing SAR (which shall be no less than 100% of the fair market value of the related shares of common stock on the date of grant) multiplied by the number of shares in respect of which the SAR is being exercised. A Related Right will entitle its holder to receive, at the time of exercise of the SAR and surrender of the applicable portion of the related option, an amount per share up to the excess of the fair market value (at the date of exercise) of a share of common stock over the exercise price of the related option multiplied by the number of shares in respect of which the SAR is being exercised. The exercise period of a Free-Standing SAR may not exceed ten years from the date of grant. The exercise period of a Related Right will also expire upon the expiration of its related option.

The holder of a SAR will have no rights to dividends or any other rights of a shareholder with respect to the shares of the Company’s common stock subject to the SAR until the holder has given written notice of exercise and paid the exercise price and applicable withholding taxes.

In the event of a participant’s termination of employment or service, the holder of a SAR may exercise his or her SAR (to the extent vested as of such date of termination) for such period of time as specified in his or her SAR agreement.

Other Stock-Based Awards. The plan administrator may grant other stock-based awards under the 2022 Plan, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, shares of common stock. The plan administrator will determine the terms and conditions of these awards, including the number of shares of common stock to be granted pursuant to each award, the manner in which the award will be settled, and the conditions to the vesting and payment of the award (including the achievement of performance goals). The rights of participants granted other stock-based awards upon the termination of employment or service to us will be set forth in the applicable award agreement. In the event that a bonus is granted in the form of shares of common stock, the shares of common stock constituting such bonus shall, as determined by the plan administrator, be evidenced in uncertificated form or by a book entry record or a certificate issued in the name of the participant to whom such grant was made and delivered to such participant as soon as practicable after the date on which such bonus is payable. Any dividend or dividend equivalent award issued under the 2022 Plan shall be subject to the same restrictions, conditions and risks of forfeiture as apply to the underlying award.

Equitable Adjustment and Treatment of Outstanding Awards Upon a Change in Control

Equitable Adjustments. In the event of a merger, consolidation, reclassification, recapitalization, spin-off, spin-out, repurchase, reorganization, special or extraordinary dividend or other extraordinary distribution (whether in the form of common shares, cash or other property), combination, exchange of shares, or other change in corporate structure affecting our common stock, an equitable substitution or proportionate adjustment shall be made in (i) the aggregate number and kind of securities reserved for issuance under the 2022 Plan, (ii) the kind and number of securities subject to, and the exercise price of, any outstanding options and SARs granted under the 2022 Plan, (iii) the kind, number and purchase price of shares of common stock, or the amount of cash or amount or type of property, subject to outstanding restricted stock, RSUs and other stock-based awards granted under the 2022 Plan and (iv) the terms and conditions of any outstanding awards (including any applicable performance targets). Equitable substitutions or adjustments other than those listed above may also be made as determined by the plan administrator. In addition, the plan administrator may terminate all outstanding awards for the payment of cash or in-kind consideration having an aggregate fair market value equal to the excess of the fair market value of the shares of common stock, cash or other property covered by such awards over the aggregate exercise price, if any, of such awards, but if the exercise price of any outstanding award is equal to or greater than the fair market value of the shares of common stock, cash or other property covered by such award, the plan administrator may cancel the award without the payment of any consideration to the participant. With respect to awards subject to foreign laws, adjustments will be made in compliance with applicable requirements. Except to the extent determined by the plan administrator, adjustments to incentive stock options will be made only to the extent not constituting a “modification” within the meaning of Section 424(h)(3) of the Code.

Change in Control. The 2022 Plan provides that, unless otherwise determined by the plan administrator and evidenced in an award agreement, employment, services or other agreement, if a “change in control” (as defined below) occurs and a participant is employed by, or otherwise providing services to the Company or any of its affiliates immediately prior to the consummation of the change in control, then the plan administrator, in its sole and absolute discretion, may (i) provide that any unvested or unexercisable portion of an award carrying a right to exercise will become fully vested and exercisable; and (ii) cause the restrictions, deferral limitations, payment conditions and forfeiture conditions applicable to any award granted under the 2022 Plan to lapse, and the awards will be deemed fully vested and any performance conditions imposed with respect to such awards will be deemed to be fully achieved at target performance levels. The plan administrator shall have discretion in connection with such change in control to provide that all outstanding and unexercised options and SARs shall expire upon the consummation of such change in control.

For purposes of the 2022 Plan, a “change in control” means, in summary, the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) a person or entity becomes the beneficial owner of more than 50% of our voting power; (ii) an unapproved change in the majority membership of our Board; (iii) a merger or consolidation of us or any of our subsidiaries, other than (A) a merger or consolidation that results in our voting securities continuing to represent 50% or more of the combined voting power of the surviving entity or its parent and our Board immediately prior to the merger or consolidation continuing to represent at least a majority of the Board of the surviving entity or its parent or (B) a merger or consolidation effected to implement a recapitalization in which no person is or becomes the beneficial owner of our voting securities representing more than 50% of our combined voting power; or (iv) shareholder approval of a plan of our complete liquidation or dissolution or the consummation of an agreement for the sale or disposition of substantially all of our assets, other than (A) a sale or disposition to an entity, more than 50% of the combined voting power of which is owned by our shareholders in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of us immediately prior to such sale or (B) a sale or disposition to an entity controlled by our Board. However, a change in control will not be deemed to have occurred as a result of any transaction or series of integrated transactions following which our shareholders, immediately prior thereto, hold immediately afterward the same proportionate equity interests in the entity that owns all or substantially all of our assets.

Tax Withholding

Each participant will be required to make arrangements satisfactory to the plan administrator regarding payment of up to the maximum statutory tax rates in the participant’s applicable jurisdiction with respect to any award granted under the 2022 Plan, as determined by us. We have the right, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to deduct any such taxes from any payment of any kind otherwise due to the participant. With the approval of the plan administrator, the participant may satisfy the foregoing requirement by either electing to have us withhold from delivery of shares of common stock, cash or other property, as applicable, or by delivering already owned unrestricted shares of common stock, in each case, having a value not exceeding the applicable taxes to be withheld and applied to the tax obligations. We may also use any other method of obtaining the necessary payment or proceeds, as permitted by applicable law, to satisfy our withholding obligation with respect to any award.

Amendment and Termination of the 2022 Plan

The 2022 Plan provides our Board with authority to amend, alter or terminate the 2022 Plan, but no such action may impair the rights of any participant with respect to outstanding awards without the participant’s consent. The plan administrator may amend an award, prospectively or retroactively, but no such amendment may materially impair the rights of any participant without the participant’s consent. Shareholder approval of any such action will be obtained if required to comply with applicable law. The 2022 Plan will terminate on the tenth anniversary of the effective date (although awards granted before that time will remain outstanding in accordance with their terms).

Clawback

If the Company is required to prepare a financial restatement due to the Company’s material non-compliance with any financial reporting requirement under the securities law, then the plan administrator may require any Section 10D-1(d) of the Exchange Act “executive officer” to repay or forfeit to us that part of the cash or equity incentive compensation received by that Section 10D-1(d) executive officer during the preceding three completed fiscal years that the plan administrator determines was in excess of the amount that such Section 10D-1(d) executive officer would have received had such cash or equity incentive compensation been calculated based on the restated amounts reported in the restated financial statement. The plan administrator may take into account any factors it deems reasonable in determining whether to seek recoupment of previously paid cash or equity incentive compensation and how much of such compensation to recoup from each Section 10D-1(d) executive officer (which shall be made irrespective of any fault, misconduct or responsibility of each Section 10D-1(d) executive officer). The amount and form of the incentive compensation to be recouped shall be determined by the plan administrator in its sole and absolute discretion, and calculated on a pre-tax basis.

U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a summary of certain United States federal income tax consequences of awards under the 2022 Plan. It does not purport to be a complete description of all applicable rules, and those rules (including those summarized here) are subject to change.

Non-Qualified Stock Options

A participant who has been granted a non-qualified stock option will not recognize taxable income upon the grant of a non-qualified stock option. Rather, at the time of exercise of such non-qualified stock option, the participant will recognize ordinary income for income tax purposes in an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value of the shares of common stock purchased over the exercise price. We generally will be entitled to a tax deduction at such time and in the same amount that the participant recognizes ordinary income. If shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of a non-qualified stock option are later sold or exchanged, then the difference between the amount received upon such sale or exchange and the fair market value of such shares on the date of such exercise will generally be taxable as long-term or short-term capital gain or loss (if the shares are a capital asset of the participant) depending upon the length of time such shares were held by the participant.

Incentive Stock Options

In general, no taxable income is realized by a participant upon the grant of an incentive stock option (“ISO”). If shares of common stock are purchased by a participant, or option shares, pursuant to the exercise of an ISO granted under the 2022 Plan and the participant does not dispose of the option shares within the two-year period after the date of grant or within one year after the receipt of such option shares by the participant, such disposition a disqualifying disposition, then, generally (1) the participant will not realize ordinary income upon exercise and (2) upon sale of such option shares, any amount realized in excess of the exercise price paid for the option shares will be taxed to such participant as capital gain (or loss). The amount by which the fair market value of the common stock on the exercise date of an ISO exceeds the purchase price generally will constitute an item which increases the participant’s “alternative minimum taxable income.” If option shares acquired upon the exercise of an ISO are disposed of in a disqualifying disposition, the participant generally would include in ordinary income in the year of disposition an amount equal to the excess of the fair market value of the option shares at the time of exercise (or, if less, the amount realized on the disposition of the option shares), over the exercise price paid for the option shares. Subject to certain exceptions, an option generally will not be treated as an ISO if it is exercised more than three months following termination of employment. If an ISO is exercised at a time when it no longer qualifies as an ISO, such option will be treated as a nonqualified stock option as discussed above. In general, we will receive an income tax deduction at the same time and in the same amount as the participant recognizes ordinary income.

Stock Appreciation Rights

A participant who is granted a SAR generally will not recognize ordinary income upon receipt of the SAR. Rather, at the time of exercise of such SAR, the participant will recognize ordinary income for income tax purposes in an amount equal to the value of any cash received and the fair market value on the date of exercise of any shares of common stock received. We generally will be entitled to a tax deduction at such time and in the same amount, if any, that the participant recognizes as ordinary income. The participant’s tax basis in any shares of common stock received upon exercise of a SAR will be the fair market value of the shares of common stock on the date of exercise, and if the shares are later sold or exchanged, then the difference between the amount received upon such sale or exchange and the fair market value of such shares on the date of exercise will generally be taxable as long-term or short-term capital gain or loss (if the shares are a capital asset of the participant) depending upon the length of time such shares were held by the participant.

Restricted Stock

A participant generally will not be taxed upon the grant of restricted stock, but rather will recognize ordinary income in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares of common stock at the earlier of the time the shares become transferable or are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture (within the meaning of the Code). We generally will be entitled to a deduction at the time when, and in the amount that, the participant recognizes ordinary income on account of the lapse of the restrictions. A participant’s tax basis in the shares of common stock will equal their fair market value at the time the restrictions lapse, and the participant’s holding period for capital gains purposes will begin at that time. Any cash dividends paid on the shares of common stock before the restrictions lapse will be taxable to the participant as additional compensation and not as dividend income, unless the individual has made an election under Section 83(b) of the Code. Under Section 83(b) of the Code, a participant may elect to recognize ordinary income at the time the restricted shares are awarded in an amount equal to their fair market value at that time, notwithstanding the fact that such stock is subject to restrictions or transfer and a substantial risk of forfeiture. If such an election is made, no additional taxable income will be recognized by such participant at the time the restrictions lapse, the participant will have a tax basis in the shares of common stock equal to their fair market value on the date of their award, and the participant’s holding period for capital gains purposes will begin at that time. We generally will be entitled to a tax deduction at the time when, and to the extent that, ordinary income is recognized by such participant.

Restricted Stock Units

In general, the grant of RSUs will not result in income for the participant or in a tax deduction for us. Upon the settlement of such an award in cash or shares of common stock, the participant will recognize ordinary income equal to the aggregate value of the payment received, and we generally will be entitled to a tax deduction at the same time and in the same amount.

Other Awards

With respect to other stock-based awards, generally when the participant receives payment in respect of the award, the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any shares of common stock or other property received will be ordinary income to the participant, and we generally will be entitled to a tax deduction at the same time and in the same amount.

New Plan Benefits

Future grants under the 2022 Plan will be made at the discretion of the plan administrator and, accordingly, are not yet determinable. In addition, benefits under the 2022 Plan will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of our common stock on future dates and the exercise decisions made by participants. Consequently, at this time, it is not possible to determine the future benefits that might be received by participants receiving discretionary grants under the 2022 Plan.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of a majority of the shares (by voting power) present in person at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote on this matter or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on this matter is required to approve the Plan Amendment.

Recommendation of our Board

Our Board unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” the Plan Amendment.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF
CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the Record Date by:

The percentage ownership information is based on 5,358,804 shares of common stock outstanding as of the Record Date. Information with respect to beneficial ownership has been furnished by each director or director nominee, officer or beneficial owner of more than 5% of our common stock. We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. These rules generally attribute beneficial ownership of securities to persons who possess sole or shared voting power or investment power with respect to those securities. In addition, the rules attribute beneficial ownership of securities as of a particular date to persons who hold options or warrants to purchase shares of common stock and that are exercisable within 60 days of such date. These shares are deemed to be outstanding and beneficially owned by the person holding those options or warrants for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of that person, but they are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Unless otherwise indicated, the persons or entities identified in this table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as beneficially owned by them, subject to applicable community property laws.

Except as otherwise noted below, the address for each person or entity listed in the table is c/o Hoth Therapeutics, Inc., 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022.

SECURITIES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS

The following table summarizes information about our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2023.

DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS TO SHAREHOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS

The SEC has adopted rules known as “householding” that permit companies and intermediaries (such as brokers) to deliver one set of proxy materials to multiple shareholders residing at the same address. This process enables us to reduce our printing and distribution costs and reduce our environmental impact. Householding is available to both registered shareholders and beneficial owners of shares held in street name.

Registered Shareholders

If you are a registered shareholder and have consented to householding, then we will deliver or mail one Notice or set of our proxy materials, as applicable, for all registered shareholders residing at the same address. Your consent will continue unless you revoke it, which you may do at any time by providing notice to the Company’s Corporate Secretary by telephone at (646) 756-2997 or by mail at 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022. In addition, the Company will promptly deliver, upon written or oral request to the address or telephone number above, a separate copy of the 2023 Annual Report, proxy statement, or Notice to a shareholder at a shared address to which a single copy of the documents was delivered.

If you are a registered shareholder who has not consented to householding, then we will continue to deliver or mail Notices or copies of our proxy materials, as applicable, to each registered shareholder residing at the same address. You may elect to participate in householding and receive only one Notice or set of proxy materials, as applicable, for all registered shareholders residing at the same address by providing notice to the Company as described above.

Street Name Holders

Shareholders who hold their shares through a brokerage may elect to participate in householding, or revoke their consent to participate in householding, by contacting their respective brokers.

ANNUAL REPORT

This proxy statement is accompanied by our 2023 Annual Report which includes our audited financial statements. We have filed the 2023 Annual Report with the SEC, and it is available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website at www.hoththerapeutics.com. In addition, upon written request to the Company’s Corporate Secretary at 590 Madison Ave., 21st Floor, New York, NY 10022, we will mail a paper copy of our 2023 Annual Report, including the financial statements and the financial statement schedules, to you free of charge.

OTHER MATTERS

We do not know of any business that will be presented for consideration or action by the shareholders at the 2024 Annual Meeting other than that described in this proxy statement. If, however, any other business is properly brought before the meeting, shares represented by proxies will be voted in accordance with the best judgment of the person named in the proxies or their substitutes. All shareholders are urged to complete, sign and return the proxy card.