UBX Board Recommends Liquidation; Series A Preferred Carries 600M Votes
Unity Biotechnology, Inc. (UBX) is asking stockholders to approve a Plan of Complete Liquidation and Dissolution at a virtual Special Meeting on September 18, 2025 to authorize the Board to wind down the company. Only holders of record as of July 25, 2025 may vote; as of that date there were 17,212,172 shares of Common Stock outstanding and one share of Series A Preferred Stock that carries 600,000,000 votes and will vote in proportion to Common Stock votes on the Dissolution Proposal. The Board unanimously recommends a vote "FOR" the Dissolution and Adjournment proposals.
The Board approved the Dissolution and Plan of Dissolution on June 27, 2025, concurrently accepting the resignations of the CEO, CFO and CLO and reducing the Board from eight directors to one, appointing Craig R. Jalbert to lead the wind-down. The company ceased clinical development and expects to use remaining cash to pay winding-up costs first; based on information available at the time of this proxy statement, the Board expects there will not be any amounts available for distribution to stockholders. The company also disclosed its Common Stock was suspended from Nasdaq on July 9, 2025 and has been trading on the OTC Markets.
Positive
- Board unanimity: The Board unanimously recommends a vote "FOR" the Dissolution and Adjournment proposals.
- Experienced wind-down lead: Craig R. Jalbert was appointed President and director and is described as having decades of experience with distressed businesses and wind downs.
- Clear timeline and procedures: Proxy discloses Record Date (July 25, 2025), Special Meeting date (September 18, 2025), and detailed Delaware dissolution procedures to be followed.
Negative
- Plan to dissolve the company: Board adopted a Plan of Dissolution and is seeking shareholder approval to liquidate operations.
- Expected no distributions: The proxy states that, based on information currently available, the Board expects there will not be any amounts available for distribution to stockholders.
- Ceased clinical development and workforce reductions: The company ceased clinical development and implemented reductions and consulting arrangements as part of the wind-down.
- Management and board resignations: CEO, CFO and CLO ceased roles and the board was reduced from eight directors to one on June 27, 2025.
- Delisting event: Common Stock was suspended from Nasdaq on July 9, 2025 and is trading on the OTC Markets.
- Stock transfer suspension: If the Board proceeds, stock transfer books will be closed and further transfers will not be recorded after the Effective Time.
Insights
TL;DR: The company seeks shareholder approval to dissolve; current disclosures indicate little or no residual value for equity holders.
The Board adopted a Plan of Dissolution and recommends shareholder approval, while noting the Board retains sole discretion on timing and may abandon the plan prior to filing the Certificate of Dissolution. Key numeric facts include 17,212,172 outstanding Common shares, a Record Date of July 25, 2025, and a Special Meeting on September 18, 2025. The proxy states the Company will prioritize payment of taxes, claims, lease obligations, insurance, professional fees and reserves before any liquidating distributions and explicitly states that, based on currently available information, there will not be any amounts available for distribution. These facts signal a materially adverse outcome for common stockholders and high uncertainty on timing and magnitude of any recovery.
TL;DR: Governance concentrated during wind-down; Board reduced to one director and a Series A preferred share was issued to mirror shareholder votes.
Effective June 27, 2025, the CEO, CFO and CLO resigned and all serving directors resigned, reducing the Board to one Class I director, Craig R. Jalbert, who was appointed President and Corporate Secretary and has extensive experience with distressed wind-downs per the proxy. The Company issued a single share of Series A Preferred Stock (one share) that holds 600,000,000 votes and will be voted in proportion to Common Stock votes to "amplify" the expressed will of voting stockholders at the Special Meeting. These steps centralize control for an orderly wind-down but raise governance concentration and potential conflicts of interest concerns; however, the proxy discloses the arrangements and Mr. Jalbert's background in distressed situations.
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☐ | Preliminary Proxy Statement |
☐ | Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
☒ | Definitive Proxy Statement |
☐ | Definitive Additional Materials |
☐ | Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12 |
☒ | No fee required. |
☐ | Fee paid previously with preliminary materials |
☐ | Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11 |
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Sincerely, | |||
/s/ Craig R. Jalbert | |||
Craig R. Jalbert | |||
President and Secretary | |||
August 11, 2025 | |||
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Time and Date | September 18, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time | ||
Place | The special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) of Unity Biotechnology, Inc. (“Unity,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”) will be held in a virtual format only at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/UBX2025SM. | ||
Items of Business | The approval of the liquidation and dissolution of the Company (the “Dissolution”) and the Plan of Complete Liquidation and Dissolution (the “Plan of Dissolution”), attached hereto as Exhibit A, which, if approved, will authorize the Board to liquidate and dissolve the Company in accordance with the Plan of Dissolution (the “Dissolution Proposal”). To approve one or more adjournments of the Special Meeting, from time to time, to a later date or dates, even if a quorum is present, to solicit additional proxies in the event that there are not sufficient votes at the time of the Special Meeting to approve the Dissolution Proposal (the “Adjournment Proposal”). | ||
Board Recommendations | After careful consideration of a number of factors, as described in the attached proxy statement, the Board has unanimously determined that the Dissolution Proposal and Adjournment Proposal are advisable and in the best interests of Unity and its stockholders. The Board unanimously recommends that you vote “FOR” each of the Dissolution Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal. | ||
Record Date | The close of business on July 25, 2025 (the “Record Date”). Only holders of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), and of our outstanding share of Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, on the Record Date are entitled to receive notice of, and to vote at, the Special Meeting, or any adjournment thereof. The share of Series A Preferred Stock may only vote on the Dissolution Proposal. | ||
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Proxy Voting | IMPORTANT Please vote your shares at your earliest convenience by completing, signing, dating and returning your proxy card or by Internet or telephone voting as described on your proxy card. This will save the expense and extra work of additional solicitation. Submitting your proxy now will not prevent you from voting your shares at the Special Meeting, as your proxy is revocable at your option. | ||
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Page | |||
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS | 1 | ||
WEBSITES | 2 | ||
RISK FACTORS | 3 | ||
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS REGARDING THIS SOLICITATION AND VOTING AT THE SPECIAL MEETING | 7 | ||
PROPOSAL 1: APPROVAL OF THE DISSOLUTION PURSUANT TO THE PLAN OF DISSOLUTION | 14 | ||
CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PROPOSED DISSOLUTION | 25 | ||
PROPOSAL 2: APPROVAL OF ADJOURNMENT OF SPECIAL MEETING TO SOLICIT ADDITIONAL PROXIES | 31 | ||
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT | 32 | ||
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION | 34 | ||
HOUSEHOLDING | 35 | ||
OTHER MATTERS | 36 | ||
EXHIBIT A | 37 | ||
ANNEX A | A-1 | ||
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• | plans and expectations for the Dissolution; |
• | beliefs about the Company’s available options and financial condition; |
• | all statements regarding the tax and accounting consequences of the transactions contemplated by the Dissolution; and |
• | all statements regarding the amount and timing of distributions made to stockholders, if any, in connection with the Dissolution. |
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• | by Telephone - You can submit a proxy by telephone by calling 800-690-6903 and following the instructions on the proxy card; |
• | by Internet - You can submit a proxy over the Internet at www.proxyvote.com by following the instructions on the proxy card; or |
• | by Mail - You can submit a proxy by mail by signing, dating and mailing the proxy card, which you may have received by mail. |
• | Instructions on how to attend and participate via the Internet, including how to demonstrate proof of stock ownership, are posted at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/UBX2025SM. |
• | Assistance with questions regarding how to attend and participate via the Internet will be provided at virtualshareholdermeeting.com/UBX2025SM on the day of the Special Meeting. |
• | Webcast starts at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. |
• | You will need your 16-Digit control number to enter the Special Meeting. |
• | Stockholders may submit questions while attending the Special Meeting via the Internet. |
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• | sending a written statement to that effect to the attention of our Corporate Secretary at Unity Biotechnology, Inc., 124 Washington Street, Suite 101, Foxborough, Massachusetts 02035 provided such statement is received no later than September 17, 2025; |
• | submitting another proxy by Internet or telephone at a later time before the closing of those voting facilities at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time on September 17, 2025; |
• | submitting a properly signed proxy card with a later date that is received no later than September 17, 2025; or |
• | attending the Special Meeting, revoking your proxy and voting during the Special Meeting. |
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• | the payment of income and other taxes; |
• | the payment of the costs associated with our Dissolution and winding up over the Survival Period; these costs may include, among others, expenses necessary to the implementation and administration of our Plan of Dissolution and fees and other amounts payable to professional advisors (including legal counsel, financial advisors and others) and to consultants and others assisting us with our Dissolution; |
• | the payment of any claims by others against us that we do not reject as part of the dissolution process; |
• | the payment of any amounts owed by us under contracts with third parties; |
• | the funding of any reserves or other security that is established to pay for asserted claims (including lawsuits) and possible future claims, as further described below; and |
• | solely to the extent we have cash remaining after provision for the above-described payments and funding of any reserves or other security that is established, liquidating distributions to be made to our stockholders, which distributions may be made from time to time as available and in accordance with the procedures required by the DGCL and the Plan of Dissolution as described below. |
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• | expenses, including retention amounts, incurred in connection with extending our directors’ and officers’ insurance coverage; |
• | expenses incurred in connection with the Dissolution; |
• | taxes imposed upon us and any of our assets; and |
• | professional, legal, consulting and accounting fees. |
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• | banks, financial institutions, or insurance companies; |
• | tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations; |
• | persons who hold shares of our Common Stock as part of a straddle, hedge, integrated transaction, or conversion transaction; |
• | U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States; |
• | persons holding shares through a partnership or other fiscally transparent entity; |
• | persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code; |
• | brokers, dealers, or traders in securities, commodities. or currencies, or other persons who have elected mark-to-market accounting; |
• | U.S. Holders whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar; |
• | regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts; |
• | stockholders who received shares of our Common Stock through the exercise of incentive stock options or through the issuance of restricted stock under an equity incentive plan or otherwise as compensation; |
• | persons for whom our Common Stock constitutes “qualified small business stock” under Section 1202 of the Code; |
• | “controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax; |
• | “qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds; |
• | persons subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income with respect to our Common Stock being taken into account in an applicable financial statement; |
• | tax-qualified retirement plans; or |
• | persons who own (directly or through attribution) five percent or more (by voting power or value) of our Common Stock. |
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• | an individual citizen or resident of the United States; |
• | a corporation created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
• | an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or |
• | a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and one or more United States persons (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code) have authority to control all of the substantial decisions of the trust, or (2) has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person. |
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• | the gain is effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such gain is attributable); |
• | the Non-U.S. Holder is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition and certain other requirements are met; or |
• | our Common Stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest (“USRPI”) by reason of our status as a U.S. real property holding corporation (“USRPHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. |
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• | the holder fails to furnish the holder’s taxpayer identification number, which for an individual is ordinarily his or her social security number; |
• | the holder furnishes an incorrect taxpayer identification number; |
• | the applicable withholding agent is notified by the IRS that the holder previously failed to properly report payments of interest or dividends; or |
• | the holder fails to certify under penalties of perjury that the holder has furnished a correct taxpayer identification number and that the IRS has not notified the holder that the holder is subject to backup withholding. |
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Shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned | ||||||||||||
Name of Beneficial Owner | Common Stock | Number of Shares Exercisable Within 60 Days | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Percentage of Shares Beneficially Owned | ||||||||
5% and Greater Stockholders: | ||||||||||||
Entities Associated with Alyeska Investment Group, L.P.(1) | 292,091 | 1,586,000 | 1,878,091 | 9.9% | ||||||||
Entities Associated with ARCH Venture Partners(2) | 1,004,817 | — | 1,004,817 | 5.8% | ||||||||
Named Executive Officers and Directors: | ||||||||||||
Anirvan Ghosh, Ph.D.(3) | 138,446 | 719,415 | 857,861 | 4.8% | ||||||||
Lynne Sullivan(4) | 72,295 | 242,583 | 314,878 | 1.8% | ||||||||
Alexander Nguyen(5) | 35,315 | 206,040 | 241,355 | 1.4% | ||||||||
Craig R. Jalbert(6) | — | — | — | * | ||||||||
All directors and executive officers as a group (1 person) | — | — | * | |||||||||
* | Indicates beneficial ownership of less than 1% of the total outstanding common stock. |
(1) | As reported on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on April 15, 2025. Alyeska Investment Group, L.P., Alyeska Fund GP, LLC and Anand Parekh (collectively, “Alyeska”) are the beneficial owners of 1,578,091 shares of common stock, which includes (i) 292,091 shares of common stock, and (ii) warrants to purchase 1,286,000 shares of our common stock, which warrants are subject to a beneficial ownership limitation that precludes Alyeska from exercising any portion of them to the extent that, following the exercise, the Alyeska’s beneficial ownership of common stock would exceed 9.99% of the total number of outstanding shares. The address of Alyeska is 77 West Wacker Drive, 7th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601. |
(2) | As reported on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 11, 2022. Consists of (i) 836,576 shares of common stock held by ARCH Venture Fund VII, L.P. (“ARCH VII”), and (ii) 168,241 shares of common stock held by ARCH Venture Fund VIII Overage, L.P. (“ARCH VIII Overage”). ARCH Venture Partners VII, L.P. (“AVP VII LP”), as the sole general partner of ARCH VII, may be deemed to beneficially own certain of the shares held by ARCH VII. AVP VII LP disclaims beneficial ownership of all shares held by ARCH VII in which AVP VII LP does not have an actual pecuniary interest. ARCH Venture Partners VII, LLC (“AVP VII LLC”), as the sole general partner of AVP VII LP, may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by ARCH VII. AVP VII LLC disclaims beneficial ownership of all shares held by ARCH VII in which AVP VII LLC does not have an actual pecuniary interest. ARCH Venture Partners VIII, LLC (“AVP VIII LLC”), as the sole general partner of ARCH VIII Overage, may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by ARCH VIII Overage. AVP VIII LLC disclaims beneficial ownership of all shares held by ARCH VIII Overage in which AVP VIII LLC does not have an actual pecuniary interest. As managing directors of AVP VII LP and AVP VIII LLC, each of Keith Crandell, Clinton Bybee, and Robert T. Nelsen (the “ARCH Managing Directors”) may be deemed to share the power to direct the disposition and vote of, and therefore to beneficially own, the shares held by ARCH VII and ARCH VIII Overage. The ARCH Managing Directors disclaim beneficial ownership of all shares held by ARCH VII and ARCH VIII Overage except to the extent of any actual pecuniary interest. The address of ARCH VII, ARCH Overage VIII, AVP VII LP, AVP VII LLC, AVP VIII LLC, and the ARCH Managing Directors is 8755 West Higgins Avenue, Suite 1025, Chicago, Illinois 60631. |
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(3) | Consists of (i) 138,446 shares of common stock, and (ii) 719,415 shares of common stock that may be acquired pursuant to the exercise of stock options within 60 days of the Record Date. Dr. Ghosh departed from the Company on June 27, 2025. The beneficial ownership reported herein is based on information known to the Company as of June 26, 2025. |
(4) | Consists of (i) 72,295 shares of common stock, and (ii) 242,583 shares of common stock that may be acquired pursuant to the exercise of stock options within 60 days of Record Date. Ms. Sullivan departed from the Company on June 27, 2025. The beneficial ownership reported herein is based on information known to the Company as of June 26, 2025. |
(5) | Consists of (i) 35,315 shares of common stock, and (ii) 206,040 shares of common stock that may be acquired pursuant to the exercise of stock options within 60 days of Record Date. Mr. Nguyen departed from the Company on June 27, 2025. The beneficial ownership reported herein is based on information known to the Company as of June 26, 2025. |
(6) | As of the record date for the Special Meeting, Mr. Jalbert owned the one share of Series A Preferred Stock issued and outstanding as of such date. Such share of Series A Preferred Stock is not convertible into common stock and has voting rights as described under “Questions and Answers About These Proxy Materials and Voting—How many votes do I have?” |
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• | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, initially filed with the SEC on March 7, 2025 and amended on April 11, 2025; |
• | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2025; |
• | our Current Reports filed on Form 8-K with the SEC on January 6, 2025, March 10, 2025, March 17, 2025, March 24, 2025, April 4, 2025, May 5, 2025, June 20, 2025, June 30, 2025 and July 22, 2025, as amended. |
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FAQ
When is the Unity Biotechnology (UBX) Special Meeting and who can vote?
What proposals are UBX stockholders voting on?
How many shares are outstanding and how does the Series A Preferred vote?
Will UBX stockholders receive a distribution if dissolution is approved?
What happened to UBX management and the Board?
How can I vote my UBX shares if I cannot attend the virtual meeting?