Company: SMNR
Filing Date: 2025-10-21
Form Type: S-1
Source: 0001193125-25-245178
Chunk: 281

Company: Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-10-21
Form: S-1
Chunk 281
---
 independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities and (iii) that director nominees must be selected or recommended for the board’s selection, either by independent directors constituting a majority of the board’s independent directors in a vote in which only independent directors participate, or a nominating and corporate governance committee comprised solely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. While Semnur does not presently rely on these exemptions, Semnur may opt to utilize these exemptions in the future as long as it remains a controlled company. Accordingly, Semnur stockholders may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq. If Semnur ceases to be a “controlled company” and its shares of common stock continue to be listed on Nasdaq, Semnur will be required to comply with these standards and, depending on the Board’s independence determination with respect to its then-current directors, Semnur may be required to add additional directors to the Board in order to achieve such compliance within the applicable transition periods. See the section titled “Risk Factors — As of the date of this prospectus, we are a controlled company within the meaning of the Nasdaq Listing Rules and, as a result, if our Nasdaq listing application is approved, will qualify for, and may rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. Stockholders may not have the same protection afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such governance requirements.”

Director Independence

Under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, a majority of the members of the Board must satisfy Nasdaq’s criteria for “independence.” As a “controlled company”, Semnur is largely exempted from such requirements. The Board currently has determined that each of the directors on the Board, other than Dr. Ji and Mr. Shah (as a result of their positions as Semnur’s Executive Chairperson and Semnur’s Chief Executive Officer, respectively), qualify**

<div align='center'>181</div>

as independent directors, as defined by Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules and the Board consists of a majority of “independent directors” as defined under the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq relating to director independence requirements. In addition, Semnur is subject to the rules of the SEC relating to the membership, qualifications and operations of the Audit Committee, as discussed below.

#### Role of Board in Risk Oversight Process
Risk assessment and oversight are