Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (RYTM) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon. Hello, and welcome to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to David Meeker, Chairman of the Rhythm Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Good afternoon. I am David Meeker, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals and the Chairperson of today's meeting. Let me take this opportunity to welcome all those attending our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which we are holding virtually. Before the meeting is called to order, I'd like to introduce you to the other members of the Board and officers of the company who are on the webcast today: Camille Bedrosian, Jennifer Good, Christophe Jean, David McGirr and Lynn Tetrault. Ed Mathers is joining us by phone, and Stuart Arbuckle could not be with us today. From the company, we also have Hunter Smith, our Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary; and David Connolly, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. I would also like to introduce Jon Lang of Ernst & Young LLP, the company's independent registered public accountants, who is available to respond to appropriate questions via the question-and-answer function on the annual meeting web page; as well as Jenna Cooper of Latham & Watkins, counsel to the company, who will act as secretary of today's meeting. I will now turn the meeting over to Hunter Smith, who will conduct the formal part of the meeting.

Thank you, David. I now call the meeting to order. We will proceed with the formal business of the meeting as indicated in the notice of annual meeting and the company's proxy statement. The polls opened today, June 8, 2022, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. We're voting on all matters before the meeting. If you have not already voted your shares and wish to vote, the polls will remain open until we finish presenting the proposals and close the polls. You do not need to vote during the meeting if you've already voted and do not wish to change your vote. On the virtual meeting web page, you will find the agenda for the meeting. You will also find the rules of conduct for today's meeting. Please review these rules carefully. Note that only stockholders who are logged into the meeting using their control number and beneficial holders who have registered in advance will be able to vote and submit questions at today's meeting. Secretary will file the proof of mailing of notice of the meeting with the records of the meeting. All stockholders of record at the close of business on April 13, 2022, or holders of a valid proxy are entitled to vote at today's meeting. The inspector of elections has a complete list of the holders of record of the company's common stock on the record date for the meeting and for verified stockholders. At this time, I'd like to introduce Patti Peachey of Computershare Trust Company, N.A., who will serve as the inspector of election at today's meeting. Ms. Peachey has signed the customary oath as inspector of election to execute her duties with strict impartiality. The oath shall be filed with the minutes of the meeting. Ms. Peachey has informed me that there are present at the meeting online or represented by proxy the holders of the majority of the total number of shares of common stock of the company outstanding and entitled to vote at this meeting. There is, therefore, a quorum present, and I hereby declare this meeting to be duly constituted for the transaction of business. There are 3 items of business to be considered by the stockholders at today's meeting. The Board recommends that the stockholders vote for each of the proposals. The first item of business is the proposed election of Jennifer Good and Edward T. Mathers as Class II directors, each to serve for a 3-year term until the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified. Second item of business is the proposal to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. The third item of business is the approval of the following resolution: resolved that the company's stockholders approve by a nonbinding advisory vote the compensation of the named executive officers as disclosed in the company's proxy statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the compensation discussion and analysis, the compensation tables and narrative discussion. That was the final item of business for today's meeting. If you wish to vote and haven't voted already, please vote now by clicking on the voting button on the web portal and following the instructions. You do not need to vote electronically if you have already sent in your signed proxy or if you have voted by telephone or Internet. We will pause for approximately 30 seconds before closing the polls. [Voting]

The time is now 2:06 p.m. on June 8, 2022, and the polls are now closed for voting. We will pause for a moment while the inspector of election makes her final tabulation of votes. I have received the preliminary report of the inspector of election. The final report of the inspector of election will be kept with the company's annual -- company's records of the annual meeting. Based on the preliminary report of the inspector of election, Jennifer Good and Edward T. Mathers have been elected as Class II directors of the company and serve until the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2025 and until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified. And the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June -- December 31, 2022, has been ratified by the stockholders of the company. The resolution to approve on an advisory basis the compensation of Rhythm's named executive officers has been approved. The final tally of the votes will be published within 4 business days in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The meeting is now adjourned. We will now give you a brief update regarding our business. Please note that the various remarks we may make during this update or during any question-and-answer session about future expectations, plans and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provision under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the Risk Factors section of our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. In addition, these forward-looking statements represent the company's expectations only as of today. While the company may elect to update these forward-looking statements, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. Any forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the company's estimates or views of any date subsequent to today.

As no stockholders are currently attending the annual meeting, we will not be providing a specific update. And we refer any subsequent inquiries or questions as to the company's performance to our website or David Connolly, our Head of Communications, Corporate Affairs.

Meeting is now open for any questions or comments related to the business of the company via the online portal. Please note that we will only be answering questions that are within the rules of conduct. And only stockholders who have logged into the meeting using their 15-digit control number are able to submit a question through the question area of the web portal. Please also note that Jon Lang, a representative of Ernst & Young LLP, the company's independent auditor, is present at the meeting and is available to respond to questions raised by stockholders. Have any questions been submitted?

No, there are no questions submitted. Please proceed with closing remarks.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the annual meeting. Thank you all very much for participating. Justin, I turn it back to you.

Thank you, sir. This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.