UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of November, 2020

 


Commission File Number: 001-37891

AC IMMUNE SA

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

EPFL Innovation Park

Building B

1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

(Address of principal executive office)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

 

Form 20-F

  Form 40-F  ☐
         

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):

 

Yes  ☐   No

         

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):

 

Yes  ☐   No

         

 

 

Extraordinary General Meeting Results

 

On November 20, 2020, AC Immune SA (“AC Immune”) held an Extraordinary General Meeting. The final results of the agenda item submitted to a vote of the shareholders is as follows:

 

Agenda Item 1: Election of Member to the Board of Directors

 

AC Immune shareholders approved the election of Carl June as a new member of the Board of Directors, until the end of the next ordinary General Meeting.

 

 

SIGNATURE

 

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

 

  AC IMMUNE SA  
     
     
    By: /s/ Andrea Pfeifer  
      Name: Andrea Pfeifer  
      Title: Chief Executive Officer  



 

    By: /s/ Joerg Hornstein  
      Name: Joerg Hornstein  
      Title: Chief Financial Officer  

Date: November 20, 2020

 

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit

Number 

Description
99.1 Press Release dated November 20, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

Press Release

 

Immunotherapy Pioneer Prof. Carl H. June Joins AC Immune’s Board of Directors

 

Prof. June is a world authority on immune tolerance and adoptive immunotherapy

 

Appointment reaffirms AC Immune’s scientific leadership in neurodegeneration

 

Lausanne, Switzerland, November 20, 2020 – AC Immune SA (NASDAQ: ACIU), a Swiss-based, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a broad pipeline focused on neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that Prof. Carl H. June, a world authority on mechanisms related to immune tolerance and adoptive immunotherapy in the fields of chronic inflammation and cancer, was elected to the Company’s Board of Directors, at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting today.

 

Prof. June is a true pioneer in the field of immunotherapy most well-known for his research into T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, who, in 2020, was elected to the American Philosophical Society. His expertise can further accelerate AC Immune’s progress in advancing its pipeline of immunotherapies and therapies targeting neuroinflammation.

 

Prof. Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune SA, commented: “We welcome Prof. June’s timely appointment, as neurodegeneration is increasingly linked to inflammatory mechanisms, a key scientific focus for AC Immune’s discovery efforts. His appointment is a further affirmation of our scientific leadership in the neurodegenerative disease field. Prof. June’s significant expertise and standing in the scientific community will be an invaluable asset as we work to develop innovative immunotherapies and target neuroinflammation using our proprietary technology platforms.”

 

Prof. June commented: “I am proud to be invited to join the Board of Directors of AC Immune, an established pioneer at the forefront of discovering and developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It is tremendously exciting to be involved at the cutting edge of research addressing an area with such a high unmet medical need, where immunotherapy and inflammation could play a critically important role. I look forward to working with the outstanding team at AC Immune and hope my own expertise will contribute to their continued success.”

 

Prof. June is Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy, Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Due to his lifelong work on lymphocyte activation, Prof. June is considered a world authority on mechanisms related to immune tolerance and adoptive immunotherapy in the fields of chronic inflammation and cancer. He and his team pioneered the groundbreaking work in immunotherapy in which patients with refractory and relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia are treated with genetically engineered versions of their own T cells. This CAR-T therapy approach, which trains the immune system to attack and destroy cancer cells, has opened a new era of innovative treatments and personalized medicine for cancer patients.

 

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Prof. June is a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, USA, and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, USA, where he received his medical degree. Prof. June also completed graduate training in immunology and malaria with Dr. Paul-Henri Lambert at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, and post-doctoral training in transplantation biology with E. Donnell Thomas and John Hansen at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, USA. He has published more than 500 manuscripts and is the recipient of numerous honors and prizes.

 

About AC Immune SA

 

AC Immune SA is a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which aims to become a global leader in precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases. The Company utilizes two proprietary platforms, SupraAntigenTM and MorphomerTM, to design, discover and develop small molecule and biological therapeutics as well as diagnostic products intended to diagnose, prevent, and modify neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolding proteins. The Company's pipeline features nine therapeutic and three diagnostic product candidates, with six currently in clinical trials. It has collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies including Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Eli Lilly and Company and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Head of Investor Relations

Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.

AC Immune

Phone: +1 917 809 0814

Email: joshua.drumm@acimmune.com 

US Media

Katie Gallagher

LaVoie HealthScience

Phone: +1 617 792 3937

Email: kgallagher@lavoiehealthscience.com 

   

Global Head of Communications

Judith Moore

AC Immune

Phone: +41 79 826 63 82

Email: judith.moore@acimmune.com 

European Investors & Media

Chris Maggos 

LifeSci Advisors

Phone: +41 79 367 6254 

Email: chris@lifesciadvisors.com

 

Forward looking statements

 

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact and may include statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or AC Immune’s strategies or expectations. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “projects,” “potential,” “outlook” or “continue,” and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include those described under the captions “Item 3. Key Information – Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in AC Immune’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These include: the impact of Covid-19 on our business, suppliers, patients and employees and any other impact of Covid-19. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and AC Immune does not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable law. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

 

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