EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
Exhibit
99.3
This
Agreement (“Agreement”), dated April 9, 2009 and effective on April 9, 2009, by
and between Healthmine, Inc., a Corporation organized under the laws of the
State of Delaware (the “Corporation”), and Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, M.D., an individual
(“Employee” or “President”).
W I T N E
S S E T H:
WHEREAS,
the Corporation desires to extend employment to the Employee and Employee
desires to be engaged and employed by the Corporation, respectively, all
pursuant to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth:
NOW
THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual promises and
covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:
1.
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EMPLOYMENT:
DUTIES
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(a) The Corporation engages and employs the President as President of the
Corporation and, for the term of this Agreement as long as President desires to
serve. It is expected that the employment duties of the President will include
overseeing the physician education, publishing and awareness activities of the
Corporation in the areas of conditions of subclinical zinc deficiency and/or
chronic copper toxicity reporting to the Board of Directors of the Corporation
with a commitment of seventy-five percent (75%) of the President’s
full-time.
(b) The President shall devote the majority of his professional time
under this Agreement at the Corporation’s executive offices in Ann Arbor,
Michigan or traveling on corporate business as agreed between the parties,
provided, however, that the President acknowledges and agrees that the
performance by the President of duties hereunder will likely require significant
domestic and international travel by the President.
(c) The
Corporation shall provide an office and computer for the President, for use at
the Corporation’s executive offices and a laptop computer which shall be the
Corporation’s property intended for use while the President is away from the
Corporation’s executive offices with such laptop computer to be used and linked
to the Corporation’s computer servers.
2.
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TERM
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The
President employment hereunder shall be for a three year period unless
terminated earlier under Section 8 of this Agreement.
3.
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COMPENSATION
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(a) As
compensation for the performance of his duties on behalf of the Corporation,
President shall receive the following:
(i)Base
Salary. The President shall receive a base salary of one hundred twenty
thousand dollars ($120,000) per year (the “Base Salary”).
(ii)Stock
Options. The President shall receive an option to purchase the
Corporation’s parent company’s publicly traded parent company’s common stock
(Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) equal to one hundred twenty thousand (120,000)
options exercisable at the market price per share on the date of issue. 20,000
of these options will vest immediately and the remaining will vest quarterly on
each quarterly anniversary of the start date of employment and for twelve (12)
successive quarters while employed by the Corporation and such options will
remain exercisable for a period of ten years from the date of grant, unless
terminated earlier.
(iii)
Bonuses. The President shall be entitled to discretionary cash and non-cash
bonuses at each year-end depending upon performance and recommendation of the
Compensation Committee of the Corporation’s board of directors, as well as
additional commission based cash and stock bonuses during the year determined in
the sole and exclusive discretion of the Compensation Committee in connection
with significant revenue-generating, out-licensing and merger and acquisition
transactions initiated and completed by the President Any such commission based
compensation shall be required to be in writing signed by both parties in each
instance and for pending transactions unless otherwise stated shall not survive
termination of employment for any reason other than dismissal without
cause.
(v)
Vacation. The President shall be entitled to two (2) weeks paid vacation (i.e.
10 work days) per year. During the first year of the contract, 2.5 business days
of vacation will vest quarterly. Thereafter, the entire vacation allowance will
vest on the annual anniversary date of the contract The Corporation will be also
be closed for business on the following 7 days: January 1, Memorial Day, July 4,
Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, and December 25.
In the event that any of these paid Holidays fall on a weekend, management will
announce (at the beginning of each calendar year) the substitute week date(s)
allowable for the paid holiday and will be the day(s) immediately preceding or
following the weekend in which the holiday falls.
(vi)
Signing Bonus. The Corporation shall pay the President a signing bonus of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) at the start of employment.
(vii)
Termination of Consulting Agreement. Upon execution of this
Agreement, the President’s consulting agreement with Adeona Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. shall terminate.
(b) The
Corporation shall reimburse President for all normal, usual and necessary
expenses incurred by President in furtherance of the business and affairs of the
Corporation, including reasonable travel and entertainment, against receipt by
the Corporation, as the case may be,
of
appropriate vouchers or other proof of President expenditures and otherwise in
accordance with such Expense Reimbursement Policy as may from time to time be
adopted by the Corporation. The Corporation will issue a company credit card to
the President for expenses. The President will account for such in accordance
with the Corporation’s policies. .
4.
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REPRESENTATIONS
AND WARRANTIES BY THE
PRESIDENT
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(a)
President hereby represents and warrants to the Corporation as
follows:
(i)
Neither the execution and delivery of this Agreement nor the performance by the
President of his duties and other obligations hereunder violates or will violate
any statute, law, determination or award, or conflict with or constitute a
default under (whether immediately, upon the giving of notice or lapse of time
or both) any prior employment agreement, contract, or other instrument to which
the President is a party or by which he is bound.
(ii)
President has the full right, power and legal capacity to enter and deliver this
Agreement and to perform his duties and other obligations hereunder. This
Agreement constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of President
enforceable against him in accordance with its terms. No approvals or consents
of any persons or entities are required for the President to execute and deliver
this Agreement or perform his duties and other obligations
hereunder.
5.
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CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION
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(a)
Except with prior written authorization by the Corporation, or in cases covered
by confidential agreement, President agrees that during the course of his
employment or at any time thereafter, he will not disclose or make accessible to
any other person, other than to the Corporation’s employees or other entities
who are under a similar obligation to maintain the confidential status of the
Corporation’s information as confidential and who have a strict need to know of
the existence of or access to such information in order to support the
Presidents’ duties to the Corporation, the Corporation’s confidential
information concerning: products, services and technology, both current and
under development, promotion and marketing programs, lists, trade secrets and
other confidential and proprietary business information of the Corporation or
any affiliates or any of their clients (collectively, “Confidential
Information”). The President agrees not to use any such Confidential Information
for himself or others. The President agrees immediately to return all such
material and reproductions thereof in his possession to the Corporation upon
request and in any event upon termination of employment.
(b)
Except with prior written authorization by the Corporation, The President agrees
not to disclose or publish any of the confidential, technical or business
information or material of the Corporation, its clients or any other party to
whom the Corporation owes an obligation of confidence, at any time during or
after his employment with the Corporation.
(c) In
the event that the President breaches any provisions of this Section 5 or there
is a threatened breach, then, in addition to any other rights which the
Corporation may have, the Corporation shall be entitled, without the posting of
a bond or other security, to injunctive relief to enforce the restrictions
contained herein. In the event that an actual proceeding is brought in equity to
enforce the provisions of this Section 5, the President shall not urge as a
defense that there is an adequate remedy at law, nor shall the Corporation be
prevented from seeking any other remedies which may be available. In addition,
the President agrees that in event that he breaches the covenants in this
Section 5, in addition to any other rights that the Corporation may have, the
President shall be required to pay to the Corporation any amounts he receives in
connection with such breach.
(d) The
President recognizes that in the course of his duties hereunder, he may receive
from the Corporation or others information which may be considered “material,
non-public information” concerning a public company that is subject to the
reporting requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended. The President agrees not to:
(i) Buy
or sell any security, option, bond or warrant while in possession of relevant
material, non-public information received from the Corporation or others in
connection herewith, and
(ii)
Provide the Corporation with information with respect to any public company that
may be considered material, non-public information, unless first specifically
agreed to in writing by the Corporation.
The
foregoing obligations of confidentiality, however, shall not apply or shall
otherwise terminate if and when, but only to the extent that: (a) such
Confidential Information is or shall become publicly known through no fault of
the President; (b) is in the President’s possession prior to employment thereof
by the Corporation, such prior possession demonstrable by the President’s
written records; (c) is disclosed to the President by a third party that is
under no obligation of confidentiality to the Corporation, such disclosure
demonstrable by the President’s written records, or (d) the President is
compelled to disclose by legal process.
6.
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INVENTIONS
DISCOVERED BY THE
PRESIDENT
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(a) The
President shall promptly disclose to the Corporation any invention, improvement,
discovery, process, formula, or method or other intellectual property, whether
or not patentable or copyrightable, conceived or first reduced to practice by
the President, either alone or jointly with others, while performing services
hereunder: (a) which pertain to any line of business activity of the
Corporation, whether then conducted or then being actively planned by the
Corporation, with which the President was or is involved, (b) which is developed
using time, material or facilities of the Corporation, whether or not during
working hours or on the Corporation premises, or (c) which directly relates to
any of the President's work during his employment, whether or not during normal
working hours (collectively, "Inventions").
(b) The
President hereby assigns to the Corporation all of the President 's right, title
and interest in and to any such Inventions. During and after the Term, the
President shall execute any documents necessary to perfect the assignment of
such Inventions to the Corporation and to enable the Corporation to apply for,
obtain and enforce patents, trademarks and copyrights in any and all countries
on such Inventions, including, without limitation, the execution of any
instruments and the giving of evidence and testimony, without further
compensation beyond the President agreed compensation during the course of the
President's employment. All such acts shall be done without cost or expense to
the President. The President shall be compensated for the giving of evidence or
testimony after the term of the President 's employment at the rate of
$1,000/day plus expenses. Without limiting the foregoing, the President further
acknowledges that all original works of authorship by the President, whether
created alone or jointly with others, related to the President's employment with
the Corporation and which are protectable by copyright, are "works made for
hire" within the meaning of the United States Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. (S) 101,
as amended, and the copyright of which shall be owned solely, completely and
exclusively by the Corporation. If any Invention is considered to be work not
included in the categories of work covered by the United States Copyright Act,
17 U. S. C. (S) 101, as amended, such work is hereby assigned or transferred
completely and exclusively to the Corporation. The President hereby irrevocably
designates counsel to the Corporation as the President's agent and
attorney-in-fact to do all lawful acts necessary to apply for and obtain patents
and copyrights and to enforce the Corporation's rights under this Section. This
Section 5 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. Any assignment of
copyright hereunder includes all rights of paternity, integrity, disclosure and
withdrawal and any other rights that may be known as or referred to as "moral
rights" (collectively "Moral Rights"). To the extent such Moral Rights cannot be
assigned under applicable law and to the extent the following is allowed by the
laws in the various countries where Moral Rights exist, the President hereby
waives such Moral Rights and consents to any action of the Corporation that
would violate such Moral Rights in the absence of such consent. The President
agrees to confirm any such waivers and consents from time to time as requested
by the Corporation.
(c.)
Excluded from this paragraph 6 are any inventions conceived prior to employment
with the Corporation. In particular, the dilation enhancing methods and
apparatus as disclosed in U.S. patent numbers 6,101,411, 7,151,960 and U.S.
patent application number 11/612941(the “Dilation Technology”). Any improvements
to the Dilation Technology, irrespective of where or how developed, are excluded
from assignment by this paragraph 6.
7.
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COMPETITION
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(a)
During the period of the President's employment by the Corporation, and
for a period of one year after suc such emply
such
employment (the non-competition period) (regardless of the reasons for
termination of employment), the President will not (i) engage in; (ii)
have any interest in any person, firm, or corporation that engages in; or
(iii) perform any services for any person, firm, or corporation that
engages in direct competition with the Corporation, or any of its
subsidiaries in the development, research relating to, manufacture,
processing, marketing, distribution, or sale of technology related to (i)
copper related pharmaceuticals; (ii) zinc-related pharmaceuticals; (iii)
thiomolybdate-related pharmaceuticals; provided, however, that this
provision shall not prohibit President from owning less than
five
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such
employment (the non-competition period) (regardless of the reasons for
termination of employment), the President will not (i) engage in: (ii) have any
interest in any person, firm, or corporation that engages in; or (iii) performs
any services for any person, firm, or corporation that engages in direct
competition with the Corporation, or any of its affiliates relating to
the communication or publication of educational and/or
health information resources relating to subclinical zinc deficiency and/or
chronic copper toxicity, , research or development relating to, the
diagnosis or treatment of (i) chronic copper toxicity or (ii)subclinical zinc
deficiency provided, however, that this provision shall not prohibit the
President from owning less than five percent (5%) of the stock of any publicly
traded corporation, regardless of the nature of such corporation’s activities.
In the event that the President resigns on his own accord or is terminated for
Cause, the non-competition period shall be extended an additional year, for a
total period of two years. President recognizes that the Corporation
may be investing considerable sums promoting the name and likeness of the
President as it relates to physician education, publishing and awareness
activities of the Corporation in the areas of conditions of
subclinical zinc deficiency and/or chronic copper toxicity, and accordingly, for
a period of two years following the termination of this agreement, the President
shall not utilize his name or likeness to support or promote any informational
website, publication or brand of products, diagnostic, supplements or
therapeutics relating to subclinical zinc deficiency or chronic copper toxicity
without the prior written permission of the Corporation.
(b)
President will not, directly or indirectly, employ, solicit for employment, or
advise or recommend to any other person that they employ or solicit for
employment, any employee of the Corporation during the period of President's
employment by the Corporation and for a period of two (2) years
thereafter.
(c) The
President represents that his experience and capabilities are such that the
provisions of this Section 7 will not prevent him from earning a
livelihood.
8.
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TERMINATION
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(a) President’s
employment hereunder shall continue as set forth in Section 2 hereof unless
terminated upon the first to occur of the following events:
(i)
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The
death or permanent disability of the
President,
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(ii)
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Termination
by the Corporation for Cause. For the purpose of this Agreement,
termination for“Cause” shall mean a termination for gross insubordination;
acts of embezzlement or misappropriation of funds; fraud; dereliction of
fiduciary obligation; conviction of a felony, a wilful unauthorized
disclosure of confidential information belonging to the Corporation or
entrusted to the Corporation by a client; a material violation of any
provision of the Agreement which is not cured by the Employee within 15
days of receiving written notice of such violation by the Corporation;
being under the influence of drugs (other than prescription medicine or
other medically-related drugs to the extent that they are taken in
accordance with their directions) during the performance of Employee’s
duties under this Agreement, engaging in behaviour that would constitute
grounds for liability for harassment (as proscribed by the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission Guidelines or any other applicable state
or local regulatory body) or other egregious conduct that violates laws
governing the workplace; Termination for Cause shall also include the
failure of the President to perform his written assigned tasks, where such
failure is attributable to the fault of the President. In this event, the
Corporation will first provide a written warning of such failure and the
allocation of fault, and provide a reasonable time period to cure such
failure, in no case less than thirty
days.
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(iii)
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Termination by the Corporation without Cause. |
(iv)
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Material
breach by the Corporation of any provision of this agreement which is not
cured by the Corporation within fifteen (15) days of written notice
thereof from the Employee,
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(v) |
Termination
by the Employee at any time.
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(vi) |
Termination
by the Corporation without Cause.
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(b)
Exercise of Vested Options. In the event of termination for any reason,
Employee’s stock vested options shall continue to be exercisable for a period of
one year.
(c)
Severance. In the event of termination by the Corporation without Cause, the
Corporation shall continue to pay the President’s base salary for a period of
two (2) months.
9.
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NOTICES
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Any
notice or other communication under this Agreement shall be in person or in
writing and shall be deemed to have been given (i) when delivered personally
against receipt therefor, or (ii) one (1) day after being sent by
Federal Express or similar overnight delivery, (iii) when sent by
facsimile, followed by oral confirmation and with a hard copy sent as in (ii) or
(iii) above.
10.
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SEVERABILITY
OF PROVISIONS
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If any
provision of this Agreement shall be declared by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or incapable of being enforced in whole or
in part, such provision shall be interpreted so a to remain enforceable to the
maximum extent permissible consistent with applicable law and the remaining
conditions and provisions or portions thereof shall nevertheless remain in full
force and effect and enforceable to the extent they are valid, legal and
enforceable, and no provision shall be deemed dependent upon any other covenant
or provision unless so expressed herein.
11.
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ENTIRE
AGREEMENT
MODIFICATION
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This
Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties relating to the subject
matter hereof, and the parties hereto have made no agreements, representations
or warranties relating to the subject matter of this Agreement which are not set
forth herein. No modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless made in
writing and signed by the parties hereto.
12.
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BINDING
EFFECT
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The
rights, benefits, duties and obligations under this Agreement shall inure to,
and be binding upon, the Corporation, its successors and assigns, and upon the
President and his legal representatives. This Agreement constitutes a personal
service agreement, and the performance of the President’s obligations hereunder
may not be transferred or assigned by the President.
13.
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NON-WAIVER
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The
failure of either party to insist upon the strict performance of any of the
terms, conditions and provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed as a
waiver or relinquishment of future compliance therewith, and said terms,
conditions and provisions shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of
any term or condition of this Agreement on the part of either party shall be
effective for any purpose whatsoever unless such waiver is in writing and signed
by such party.
14.
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GOVERNING
LAW, DISPUTE
RESOLUTION
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This
Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance
with, the laws of the State of Michigan of the United States of America without
regard to principles of conflict of laws
15.
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HEADING
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The
headings of paragraphs are inserted for convenience and shall not affect any
interpretation of this Agreement.
16.
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DISPUTE
RESOLUTION/
ARBITRATION.
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Except
for a claim for injunctive relief, any controversy, dispute or claim arising out
of or relating to this Agreement, or its interpretation, application,
implementation, breach or enforcement which the parties are unable to resolve by
mutual agreement, shall be settled by submission by the Corporation or the
President , of the controversy, claim or dispute to binding arbitration in any
venue having jurisdiction over the parties, before a single arbitrator in
accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association then in
effect. In any such arbitration preceding the parties agree to provide all
discovery deemed necessary by the arbitrator. The decision and award made by the
arbitrator shall be final, binding and conclusive on all parties hereto for all
purposes, and judgment may be entered thereon in any court having jurisdiction
thereof. The prevailing party shall be entitled to reimbursement by the other
party for all reasonable costs of arbitration incurred by such prevailing part,
including attorney’s fees.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day
and year first above written.
HEALTHMINE,
INC.
s/s
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
By:
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
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Title:
President, resigning upon appointment of the new
Presidnt
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Signed
and Agreed to:
/s/
Xxxxx X. Nwesome, M.D.
By:
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Xxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx, M.D.
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