Company: HRTX
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000950170-25-060882
Chunk: 35

Company: HERON THERAPEUTICS, INC. /DE/
Filing Date: 2025-04-30
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 35
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 appropriate. The Compensation Committee is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any compensation consultant. At least annually, the Compensation Committee assesses whether the work of any compensation consultant involved in determining or recommending Named Executive Officer compensation has raised any conflict of interest that is required to be disclosed in the Company’s annual report and proxy statement. In 2024, the Compensation Committee engaged the services of Compensia, a national independent compensation advisory firm that has extensive experience with biotechnology companies and specializes in executive compensation. The directive for Compensia during 2024 was to assist the Compensation Committee in its review of executive and director compensation practices, including the competitiveness of pay levels, executive compensation design and review and analysis of competitive market data with respect to the Company’s peers in the industry. The Compensation Committee has the final authority to engage and terminate services for consultants it may utilize. The decision to engage Compensia was not made or recommended by our management, and Compensia did not provide any services to us outside of its services to the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee, after a review of the factors set forth in the rules of the SEC and the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market, determined that the work performed by Compensia did not present any conflicts of interest. Role of Management The Compensation Committee consults with our CEO and head of Human Resources when making compensation decisions. Typically, our CEO and head of Human Resources engage with other members of our management team to gather information on corporate and individual performance and their perspective and recommendations on compensation matters. Our CEO makes recommendations to the Compensation Committee regarding compensation matters, including the compensation of our other Named Executive Officers. The Compensation Committee uses these recommendations as one of several factors in making compensation decisions, and those decisions do not necessarily follow the CEO’s recommendations. Program Design The following table describes the material elements of fiscal 2024 pay for Named Executive Officers and explains why each element was provided.

| Incentive Type | Compensation Element        | What the Element Rewards                                                                                                             | Form of Payment |
| Fixed          | Base Salary                 | Individual performance while considering market pay levels, specific responsibilities and experience of each Named Executive Officer | Cash            |
| Variable       | Annual Cash Incentive Bonus | Achievement of specific corporate and financial goals                                                                                | Cash            |
| Time-Based     | Long-Term Equity            | Creation of shareholder value                                                                                                        | Shares          |

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Peer Group The Compensation Committee reviews and considers the compensation levels and practices of a group of peer companies. When our Named