Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc., now renamed Azora Therapeutics, Inc., filed a current report on October 28, 2026, disclosing the appointment of three new executives, a corporate name change, a ticker symbol change, and an increase in authorized common shares approved at its reconvened 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Key Highlights

  • Name change: The company's name changed from "Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc." to "Azora Therapeutics, Inc." effective 12:01 AM Eastern on October 29, 2026, following stockholder approval on October 28, 2026.
  • Ticker symbol change: Beginning with the opening of trading on October 29, 2026, the common stock is expected to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the new symbol "AZR" with a new CUSIP of 054800107.
  • Authorized shares increase: Stockholders approved an amendment to increase authorized common shares from 100,000,000 to 500,000,000.
  • CEO appointment: Matthew Davidson, Ph.D. (age 42) was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer on October 28, 2026, succeeding Cary J. Claiborne, whose employment was terminated on the same date.
  • CFO appointment: Celia Economides (age 47) was appointed Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Vinay Shah, whose employment was also terminated effective October 28, 2026.
  • CSO appointment: Julie Saiki, Ph.D. (age 41), previously Executive Vice President of Strategy since June 2026, was appointed Chief Strategy Officer.

Azora Therapeutics Completes Executive Overhaul and Corporate Restructuring on October 28, 2026

According to the filing, the Board of Directors of Azora Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Adial Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) appointed Matthew Davidson, Ph.D. as President and Chief Executive Officer effective October 28, 2026. Dr. Davidson had previously served as the company's Chief Development Officer and a board member since June 2026, and before that as Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman of Legacy Azora Therapeutics, Inc. since its inception in March 2019. The filing notes that Dr. Davidson holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from Stanford University School of Medicine and a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. The filing states that his existing compensation arrangements remain unchanged following the appointment.

The filing also discloses that Celia Economides was appointed Chief Financial Officer effective October 28, 2026, succeeding Vinay Shah. According to the filing, Ms. Economides had served as the company's Executive Vice President of Finance since August 2026 and previously held the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer at Gritstone bio, Inc. during its restructuring. Julie Saiki, Ph.D. was simultaneously appointed Chief Strategy Officer; the filing states she had served as Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Legacy Azora and previously worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company. Both terminated executives, Cary J. Claiborne and Vinay Shah, are described as entitled to receive severance payments and benefits under their respective amended and restated employment agreements, subject to the execution of a release.

At the reconvened 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on October 28, 2026, stockholders approved the amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation to increase authorized shares of common stock from 100,000,000 to 500,000,000 and to change the corporate name. The filing states that the amendment was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on October 28, 2026. The filing also notes that the name change will not affect the voting or other rights accompanying the common stock or the validity or transferability of currently outstanding shares.

What Was Disclosed

The company reported executive leadership changes, including new appointments of a CEO, CFO, and CSO with concurrent terminations of prior officers, a stockholder-approved corporate name change and share authorization increase, and a pending ticker symbol change to "AZR" on The Nasdaq Capital Market.