GERON CORPORATION COMMON STOCK SALES AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.2
GERON CORPORATION
COMMON STOCK
February 27, 2026
TD Securities (USA) LLC
▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Geron Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with TD Securities (USA) LLC (“▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇”), as follows:
1. Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, acting as agent and/or principal, shares (the “Placement Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000.00 (the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the number of shares of Common Stock issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement Shares through ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company which will become automatically effective under Rule 462(e) of the Securities Act (as defined below) upon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement (as defined below) to issue the Placement Shares. The Company acknowledges and agrees that sales of Common Stock under this Agreement may be made through affiliates of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, and that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may otherwise fulfill its obligations pursuant to this Agreement to or through an affiliated broker-dealer.
The Company shall file, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Common Stock, to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “ATM Prospectus”) included as part of such registration statement, and shall, if necessary, prepare a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company shall furnish to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, for use by ▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇, copies of the ATM Prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, if any, relating to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, as amended when it becomes effective, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or 462(b) of the Securities Act, or any subsequent registration statement on Form S-3 filed pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) under the Securities Act by the Company to cover any Placement Shares, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement and amendments thereto filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act and relating to the offering covered by the Registration Statement is herein called a “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and, after such filing, the “Registration Statement” shall include any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the ATM Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, if any, in the form in which such base prospectus, ATM Prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Securities Act regulations (“Rule 433), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is consented to by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus,” (ii) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“▇▇▇▇▇”). The Company’s obligations under this Agreement to furnish, provide, deliver or make available (and all other similar references) copies of any document shall be deemed satisfied if the same is filed with the Commission through ▇▇▇▇▇.
2. Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell the Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Placement Shares to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number or dollar value of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined in Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ set
- 2 -
forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares that may be issued and sold through ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ pursuant to this Agreement have been sold, (iii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends, amends, supersedes or terminates the Placement Notice, (iv) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding or amending those on the earlier dated Placement Notice, or (v) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ does not decline (and the Company does not suspend or terminate) such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.
3. Sale of Placement Shares by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Company’s delivery of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified in such Placement Notice, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company. In the event the Company engages ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ for a sale of Placement Shares that would constitute a “block” within the meaning of Rule 10b-18(a)(5) under the Exchange Act (a “Block Sale”), the Company will provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, at ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ request and upon reasonable advance notice to the Company, on or prior to the Settlement Date (as defined below), the opinions of counsel, accountant’s letter and officers’ certificates set forth in Section 8 hereof, each dated the Settlement Date, and such other documents and information as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall reasonably request. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may sell Placement Shares in negotiated transactions, including block trades or Block Sales, or by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made through Nasdaq or on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock, or by any other method permitted by law. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall not purchase Placement Shares for its own account as principal unless expressly authorized to do so by the Company in a Placement Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there
- 3 -
can be no assurance that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will be successful in selling Placement Shares, and (ii) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Section 3. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the Company’s Common Stock is purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not offer, sell or deliver, or request the offer or sale, of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and, by notice to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ given by telephone (confirmed promptly by email), shall cancel any instructions for the offer or sale of any Placement Shares, and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall not be obligated to offer or sell any Placement Shares, (i) during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information, or (ii) at any time from and including the date on which the Company shall issue a press release containing, or shall otherwise publicly announce, its earnings, revenues or other results of operations (an “Earnings Announcement”) through and including the time that the Company files a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or an Annual Report on Form 10-K that includes consolidated financial statements as of and for the same period or periods, as the case may be, covered by such Earnings Announcement.
4. Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. While a suspension is in effect any obligation under section 7(m), 7(n), 7(o) and 7(p) with respect to delivery of certificates, opinion, or comfort letters to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, shall be waived; provided that such certificates, opinions, or comfort letters shall be delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ prior to the resumption of sales of any Placement Shares. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such schedule may be amended from time to time.
(b) If either ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or the Company has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Common Stock, it shall promptly notify the other party, and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may, at its sole discretion, suspend sales of the Placement Shares under this Agreement.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Registration Statement is no longer effective under the Securities Act, the Company shall promptly notify ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.
- 4 -
5. Settlement.
(a) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the first (1st) Trading Day following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date” and the first such settlement date, the “First Delivery Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction for (i) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
(b) Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ or its designee’s account (provided ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System (“DWAC”) or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of Placement Shares being sold. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized Placement Shares on a Settlement Date (other than as a result of a failure by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to provide instructions for delivery), the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) (Indemnification and Contribution) hereto, it will (i) hold ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable and documented legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company and (ii) pay to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ (without duplication) any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents), the Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ that, unless such representation, warranty or agreement specifies a different time, as of (i) the date of this Agreement, (ii) each Time of Sale (as defined below), (iii) each Settlement Date, and (iv) each Bring-Down Date (as defined below) (each date included in (i) through (iv), a “Representation Date”):
(a) Compliance with Registration Requirements. As of each Time of Sale, Settlement Date and Bring-Down Date, the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement have been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act. The Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information. No stop order
- 5 -
suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated or threatened by the Commission. The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. The sale of the Placement Shares hereunder meets the requirements of General Instruction I.B.1 of Form S-3.
(b) No Misstatement or Omission. The Prospectus when filed complied and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act. Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any post-effective amendments or supplements thereto, at the time it became effective or its date, as applicable, complied and as of each Representation Date, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and, as of each Representation Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, did not and, as of each Representation Date, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to Agent’s Information (as defined below). There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required. As used herein, “Time of Sale” means with respect to each offering of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, the time of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ initial entry into contracts with purchasers for the sale of such Placement Shares. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the Settlement Dates, will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(c) Offering Materials Furnished to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇. The Company has delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ one complete copy of the Registration Statement and a copy of each consent and certificate of experts filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits) and the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ has reasonably requested. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent any such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus was required to be filed with the Commission) delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ for use in connection with the public offering of the Placement Shares contemplated herein have been and will be identical to the versions of such documents transmitted to the Commission for filing via ▇▇▇▇▇, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
- 6 -
(d) Distribution of Offering Material By the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ distribution of the Placement Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Prospectus or the Registration Statement.
(e) Conformity with Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, and the documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents were or are filed with the Commission under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or became or become effective under the Securities Act, as the case may be, conformed or will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable.
(f) Financial Information. The financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of the dates indicated and the results of operations, cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity of the Company for the periods specified (subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments) and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and Exchange Act, as applicable, and in conformity with GAAP (as defined below) applied on a consistent basis (except for such adjustments to accounting standards and practices as are noted therein and except in the case of unaudited financial statements to the extent they may exclude footnotes or may be condensed or summary statements) during the periods involved; the other financial and statistical data with respect to the Company contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are accurately and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company does not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement (including the exhibits thereto and Incorporated Documents) and the Prospectus which are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (including exhibits thereto and Incorporated Documents); and all disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply in all material respects with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable.
(g) XBRL. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in each Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.
(h) Conformity with ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇. The Prospectus delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ for use in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement will be identical to the versions of the Prospectus created to be transmitted to the Commission for filing via ▇▇▇▇▇, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
- 7 -
(i) Organization. The Company is, and will be, duly organized, validly existing as a corporation and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization. The Company is, and will be, duly licensed or qualified as a foreign corporation for transaction of business and in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such license or qualification, and has all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents), except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the assets, business, operations, earnings, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, stockholders’ equity (as set forth on the Company’s most recent balance sheet included in the Incorporated Documents) or results of operations of the Company taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
(j) Subsidiaries. Other than disclosed in filings made with the Commission, the Company has no subsidiaries (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Commission).
(k) No Violation or Default. The Company is not (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of each of clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as described in the Prospectus or the Incorporated Documents, to the Company’s knowledge, no other party under any material contract or other agreement to which it is a party is in default in any respect thereunder where such default would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(l) No Material Adverse Effect. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents), and other than the Company’s execution of this Agreement and the sale of any Placement Shares hereunder, there has not been (i) any Material Adverse Effect, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company, which is material to the Company taken as a whole, (iv) any material change in the capital stock (other than (A) as described in a current report on Form 8-K, a proxy statement filed on Schedule 14A or a Registration Statement on Form S-4 and otherwise publicly announced or (B) changes in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of
- 8 -
securities exercisable for, or convertible into, shares of Common Stock, or the vesting of equity awards) or outstanding long-term indebtedness of the Company or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company, other than in each case above (A) in the ordinary course of business, (B) as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents) or (C) where such matter, item, change or development would not make the statements in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(m) Capitalization. The issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and, other than as disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, are not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or similar rights. The Company has an authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein (other than the grant of additional options or other equity awards under the Company’s existing equity compensation plans, or changes in the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise, vesting or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, shares of Common Stock outstanding on the date hereof or described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents) or as a result of the issuance of Placement Shares) and such authorized capital stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents). The description of the Common Stock in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is complete and accurate in all material respects. Other than as set forth or described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents), as of the dates referred to therein, the Company did not have outstanding any options to purchase, or any rights or warrants to subscribe for, or any securities or obligations convertible into, or exchangeable for, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, any shares of capital stock or other securities. All of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws. None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. The description of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Prospectus accurately and fairly presents in all material respects the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.
(n) Authorization; Enforceability. The Company has full legal right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that (i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles and (ii) the indemnification and contribution provisions of Section 11 hereof may be limited by federal or state securities laws and public policy considerations in respect thereof.
- 9 -
(o) Authorization of Placement Shares. The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered pursuant to the terms approved by the board of directors of the Company or a duly authorized committee thereof, or a duly authorized officer, against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of any pledge, lien, encumbrance, security interest or other claim (other than any pledge, lien, encumbrance, security interest or other claim arising from an act or omission of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or a purchaser), including any statutory or contractual preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights, and will be registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act. The Placement Shares, when issued, will conform in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in or incorporated into the Prospectus.
(p) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or any governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, and the issuance and sale by the Company of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby, except for the registration of the Placement Shares under the Securities Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities laws or by the by-laws and rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or the Exchange in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇.
(q) No Preferential Rights. (i) No person, as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act (each, a “Person”), has the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to such Person any shares of Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company (other than upon the exercise of options or warrants to purchase Common Stock or upon the exercise or vesting of options or other equity awards that may be granted from time to time under the Company’s equity compensation plans), (ii) no Person has any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal, or any other rights (whether pursuant to a “poison pill” provision or otherwise) to purchase any shares of Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company from the Company which have not been duly waived with respect to the offering contemplated hereby, (iii) except as may be disclosed to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, no Person has the right to act as an underwriter or sales agent in connection with the offer and sale of the Common Stock, and (iv) no Person has the right, contractual or otherwise, to require the Company to register under the Securities Act any shares of Common Stock or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, or to include any such shares or other securities in the Registration Statement or the offering contemplated thereby, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated thereby or otherwise.
- 10 -
(r) Independent Public Accountants. Ernst & Young LLP, whose report on the financial statements of the Company is filed with the Commission as part of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Commission and incorporated into the Registration Statement, is and, during the periods covered by its reports, was an independent public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). To the Company’s knowledge, Ernst & Young LLP is not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act of 2002 (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act”) with respect to the Company.
(s) Enforceability of Agreements. To the Company’s knowledge, all agreements between the Company and third parties expressly referenced in the Prospectus, other than such agreements that have expired by their terms or whose termination is disclosed in documents filed by the Company on ▇▇▇▇▇, are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent that (i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles and (ii) the indemnification provisions of certain agreements may be limited by federal or state securities laws or public policy considerations in respect thereof, except for any unenforceability that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) Litigation. Other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings pending, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, to which the Company is a party or to which any property of the Company is the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement; to the Company’s knowledge, no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings or, to the Company’s knowledge, investigations that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Prospectus that are not described in the Prospectus including any Incorporated Document; and (ii) there are no contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not so filed.
(u) Licenses and Permits. The Company possesses or has obtained, all licenses, certificates, consents, orders, approvals, permits and other authorizations issued by, and has made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of its properties or the conduct of its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (the “Permits”), except where the failure to possess, obtain or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received written notice of any proceeding relating to revocation or modification of any such Permit nor has any reason to believe that such Permit will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except where the failure to obtain any such renewal would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
- 11 -
(v) No Material Defaults. The Company has not defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not filed a report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the filing of its last Annual Report on Form 10-K, indicating that it (i) has failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock or (ii) has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(w) Certain Market Activities. Neither the Company, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its directors, officers or controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.
(x) Broker/Dealer Relationships. The Company (i) is not required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act or (ii) does not directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control or is a “person associated with a member” or “associated person of a member” (within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual).
(y) No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or legal counsel for ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.
(z) Taxes. The Company has filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed and paid all taxes shown thereon through the date hereof, to the extent that such taxes have become due and are not being contested in good faith, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company which has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any federal, state or other governmental tax deficiency, penalty or assessment which has been asserted or threatened against it which would have a Material Adverse Effect.
(aa) Title to Real and Personal Property. The Company has good and marketable title in fee simple to all items of real property and good and valid title to all personal property (excluding Intellectual Property) described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being owned by it that are material to the business of the Company, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims, except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made of such property by the Company or (ii) would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse
- 12 -
Effect. Any real property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being leased by the Company is held by the Company under valid, existing and enforceable leases, except those that (A) do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company or (B) would not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(bb) Possession of Intellectual Property. The Company owns, possesses valid and enforceable licenses for, or can acquire on reasonable terms by ownership or license all trademarks, trade names, patent rights, copyrights, domain names, licenses, approvals, trade secrets, inventions, technology, know-how and other intellectual property and similar rights, including registrations and applications for registration thereof (collectively, “Intellectual Property Rights”) necessary for, or material to the conduct of the business of the Company as now conducted or proposed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be conducted by them. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus:
| (i) | there are no ownership rights of third parties to any of the Intellectual Property Rights purported to be owned solely by the Company; |
| (ii) | the Company is not aware of any infringement, misappropriation, breach, default or other violation, or the occurrence of any event that would result in any of the foregoing, by any third parties of any of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company; |
| (iii) | there are no pending or threatened actions, suits, proceedings or claims by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to, or the violation of any of the terms of, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; |
| (iv) | there are no pending or threatened actions, suits, proceedings or claims by others challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; and |
| (v) | there are no pending or threatened actions, suits, proceedings or claims by others that the Company infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates or conflicts with any Intellectual Property Rights or other proprietary rights of others and the Company is unaware of any other fact which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim, except as would not individually or in the aggregate be material to the conduct of the business now conducted or proposed by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be conducted by the Company. |
Further, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, none of the Intellectual Property Rights used by the Company in its businesses has been obtained or is being used by the Company in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company in violation of the rights of any persons.
- 13 -
The Company is the sole owner of the Intellectual Property Rights solely owned by it and has the valid and enforceable right to use such Intellectual Property Rights without the obligation to obtain consent to sublicense and without a duty of accounting to co-owner, as applicable.
Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company is not obligated to pay a material royalty, grant a license or option, or provide other material consideration to any third party in connection with the Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company. The Company has complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property Rights have been licensed to the Company, and all such agreements are in full force and effect.
The Company has taken all reasonable steps necessary to secure assignments to its respective title, rights and interests in and to the Intellectual Property Rights purported to be owned by the Company from its employees, consultants, agents and contractors. All employees, consultants, agents and contractors engaged in the development of Intellectual Property Rights on behalf of the Company have executed appropriate invention assignment agreements or terms whereby such employees, consultants, agents and contractors presently assign all of their right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights to the Company, and to the Company’s knowledge, no such agreement has been breached or violated.
To the Company’s knowledge, no employee of the Company is in or has been in violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company, except as would not, singly or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.
The Company uses, and has used, commercially reasonable efforts to appropriately maintain all information intended to be maintained as a trade secret.
The Company has complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property Rights have been licensed to the Company, and all such agreements are in full force and effect. Imetelstat, the product candidate described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as under development by the Company, falls within the scope of the claims of one or more patents or patent applications owned by the Company.
Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no government funding, facilities or resources of a university, college, other educational institution or research center, was used in the development of any Intellectual Property Rights that are owned or purported to be owned by the Company that would confer any governmental agency any claim or right of ownership to any such Intellectual Property Rights.
- 14 -
(cc) Patents and Patent Applications. All patents and patent applications owned by or, to the knowledge of the Company, exclusively licensed to the Company have been duly and properly filed and each issued patent is being diligently maintained and is valid and enforceable; and
| (i) | the Company is not aware of any facts that would preclude the issuance of a valid and enforceable patent on any pending patent applications owned by or licensed to the Company; |
| (ii) | to the knowledge of the Company, the Company and the parties prosecuting such applications have complied with their duty of candor and disclosure to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”), and all such requirements in the relevant foreign patent authority having similar requirements as the case may be, in connection with such patents and patent applications for which it has filing, prosecution and/or maintenance responsibilities; |
| (iii) | to the Company’s knowledge, there is no patent that contains claims that dominate (as such term is described in 35 U.S.C. §135 and 37 C.F.R. 41.100 to 41.208) with the issued or pending claims of any of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company; |
| (iv) | to the Company’s knowledge, there is no prior art material to any patent or patent application of the Intellectual Property Rights owned by or licensed to the Company that may render any U.S. patent or any U.S. patent issuing from a U.S. patent application held by the Company invalid or unenforceable; and |
| (v) | the Company is not aware of any prior art or public or commercial activity or other facts required to be disclosed to the USPTO and any relevant foreign patent authority that were not disclosed and which would preclude the grant of a patent in connection with any such application or would reasonably be expected to form the basis of a finding of invalidity or unenforceability with respect to any patents that have been issued with respect to such applications. |
(dd) Environmental Laws. The Company (i) is in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) has received and is in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and (iii) has not received notice of any actual or potential liability for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except, in the case of any of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, for any such failure to comply or failure to receive required permits, licenses, other approvals or liability as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
- 15 -
(ee) Disclosure Controls. The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). Since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). The Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15) for the Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the certifying officers by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as the case may be, is being prepared. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of the Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no significant changes in the Company’s internal controls (as such term is defined in Item 307(b) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act) or, to the Company’s knowledge, in other factors that could significantly adversely affect the Company’s internal controls. To the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s “internal controls over financial reporting” and “disclosure controls and procedures” are effective.
(ff) ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any applicable provisions of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Each of the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Company (or each former principal executive officer of the Company and each former principal financial officer of the Company as applicable) has made all certifications required by Sections 302 and 906 of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act with respect to all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by it or furnished by it to the Commission. For purposes of the preceding sentence, “principal executive officer” and “principal financial officer” shall have the meanings given to such terms in the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act.
(gg) Finder’s Fees. The Company has not incurred any liability for any finder’s fees, brokerage commissions or similar payments in connection with the transactions herein contemplated, except as may otherwise exist with respect to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ pursuant to this Agreement.
- 16 -
(hh) Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(ii) Investment Company Act. The Company is not, nor, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares, will be an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company,” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
(jj) Operations. The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions to which the Company is subject, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency having jurisdiction over the Company (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(kk) Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. There are no transactions, arrangements and other relationships between and/or among the Company, and/or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of its affiliates and any unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to, any structural finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity (each, an “Off Balance Sheet Transaction”) that would reasonably be expected to affect materially the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for its capital resources, including those Off Balance Sheet Transactions described in the Commission’s Statement about Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (Release Nos. 33-8056; 34-45321; FR-61), in each case that are required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been described as required.
(ll) Underwriter Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” transaction.
(mm) ERISA. To the knowledge of the Company, (i) each material employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company for employees or former employees of the Company has been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred which would reasonably be expected to result in a material liability to the Company with respect to any such plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a
- 17 -
statutory or administrative exemption; and (iii) for each such plan, if any, that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code has been incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) equals or exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined using reasonable actuarial assumptions, other than, in the case of (i), (ii) and (iii) above, as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(nn) Forward Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) (a “Forward Looking Statement”) contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith. The Forward Looking Statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year most recently ended (i) except for any Forward Looking Statement included in any financial statements and notes thereto, are within the coverage of the safe harbor for forward looking statements set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act, Rule 175(b) under the Securities Act or Rule 3b-6 under the Exchange Act, as applicable, and (ii) were made by the Company with a reasonable basis and in good faith and reflect the Company’s good faith commercially reasonable best estimate of the matters described therein.
(oo) Margin Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.
(pp) Insurance. The Company carries, or is covered by, insurance from insurers of recognized financial responsibility in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate for the use of its properties and as is customary for companies of similar size engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.
(qq) No Improper Practices. (i) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, employee, agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary has, in the past five years, made any unlawful contributions to any candidate for any political office (or failed fully to disclose any contribution in violation of law) or made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state, municipal, or foreign office or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public duty in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Prospectus; (ii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, any affiliate of the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers and stockholders of the Company, on the other hand, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described; (iii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any affiliate of the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders or directors of the Company, on the other hand, that is
- 18 -
required by the rules of FINRA to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described; (iv) there are no material outstanding loans or advances or material guarantees of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of its officers or directors or any of the members of the families of any of them; (v) the Company has not offered, or caused any placement agent to offer, Common Stock to any person with the intent to influence unlawfully (A) a customer or supplier of the Company to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company or (B) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any of its products or services; and (vi) neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company has made any payment of funds of the Company or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation (including, without limitation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977), which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
(rr) Status Under the Securities Act. The Company was not and is not an ineligible issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act at the times specified in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares. The Company agrees to notify ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ promptly upon the Company becoming an “ineligible issuer.”
(ss) No Misstatement or Omission in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time (as defined in Section 25 below), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any incorporated document deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ specifically for use therein.
(tt) No Conflicts. Neither the execution of this Agreement by the Company, nor the issuance, offering or sale of the Placement Shares, nor the consummation by the Company of any of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, nor the compliance by the Company with the terms and provisions hereof and thereof will conflict with, or will result in a breach of, any of the terms and provisions of, or has constituted or will constitute a default under, or has resulted in or will result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any contract or other agreement to which the Company is a party or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, except (i) such conflicts, breaches or defaults as may have been waived and (ii) such conflicts, breaches, defaults, liens, charges or encumbrances that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; nor will such action result (x) in any violation of the provisions of the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company, or (y) in any material violation of the provisions of any statute or any order, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or of any court or of any federal, state or other regulatory authority or other government body having jurisdiction over the Company, except where such violation would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
- 19 -
(uu) Studies, Tests and Trials. The clinical and preclinical studies, tests and trials conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by the Company, or in which the Company has participated with respect to its product candidates including, without limitation, any such studies, tests or trials that are described in, or the results of which are referred to in, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus were and, if still pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations to which they are subject, including without limitation all applicable Health Care Laws (as defined below).The description of the results of the studies, tests and trials contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are accurate in all material respects, and the Company has no knowledge of any other studies, tests or trials, the results of which could reasonably be expected to call into question in any material respect the results described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The Company has made all such material filings and obtained all such allowances or approvals as may be required by the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“FDA”) or any committee thereof or from any other U.S. or foreign government or supranational regulatory authority, or health care facility Institutional Review Board or ethics committee (collectively, the “Regulatory Agencies”) for the conduct of such studies, tests or trials, and the Company has not received any written notice of, or correspondence from, any Regulatory Agency requiring the termination, suspension or modification of any studies, tests or trials, other than ordinary course written communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such tests or trials, and, to the Company’s knowledge, there are no reasonable grounds for the same.
(vv) Compliance Program. To the extent legally required to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has established and administers a compliance program, applicable to the Company, to assist the Company and the directors, officers and employees of the Company in complying with applicable regulatory guidelines (including, without limitation, those administered by the FDA and any other foreign, federal, state or local governmental or regulatory authority performing function similar to those performed by the FDA); except where such noncompliance would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(ww) OFAC. (i) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Company, is a government, individual, or entity (in this paragraph (ww), “Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is:
| (a) | the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union (“EU”), His Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), the Swiss Secretariat of Economic Affairs, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor |
- 20 -
| (b) | located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, the non-government controlled areas of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria). |
| (ii) | The Company represents and covenants that the Company will not, directly or indirectly, knowingly use the proceeds of the offering, or knowingly lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person: |
| (a) | to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or |
| (b) | in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise). |
| (iii) | The Company represents and covenants that, except as detailed in the Prospectus, since April 24, 2019, the Company has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not knowingly engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions. |
(xx) Stock Transfer Taxes. On each Settlement Date, all stock transfer or other taxes (other than income taxes) which are required to be paid in connection with the sale and transfer of the Placement Shares to be sold hereunder will be, or will have been, fully paid or provided for by the Company and all laws imposing such taxes will be or will have been fully complied with in all material respects.
(yy) FINRA Exemption. The Company (i) has a non-affiliate, public common equity float of at least $150 million or a non-affiliate, public common equity float of at least $100 million and annual trading volume of at least three million shares and (ii) has been subject to the Exchange Act reporting requirements for a period of at least 36 months.
(zz) IT Systems. (i)(x) To the knowledge of Company, there has been no security breach or other compromise of any Company’s information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of them), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) and (y) the Company has not been notified of, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach or other compromise to their IT Systems and Data; (ii) the Company is presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the
- 21 -
protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except as would not, in the case of this clause (ii), individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) the Company has implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry standards and practices.
(aaa) Related Party Transactions. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders, customers, suppliers or other affiliates of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the other, required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been described as required by the Securities Act.
(bbb) Listing. The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and is listed on the Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Stock from Nasdaq, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. All of the Placement Shares that have been or may be sold under this Agreement have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance; the Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon and at all times after the Nasdaq shall have approved the Placement Shares for listing, it will be in compliance with all applicable corporate governance requirements set forth in the Nasdaq’s listing rules that are then in effect.
(ccc) No Outstanding Loans or Other Indebtedness. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents),, there are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees or indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of the members of any of them.
(ddd) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (including the Incorporated Documents),, the Company does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares to repay any outstanding debt owed to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or any affiliate of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇.
(eee) Export and Import Laws. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries, and, to the Company’s knowledge, each of their affiliates and any director, officer, agent or employee of, or other person associated with or acting on behalf of, the Company has acted at all times in compliance with applicable Export and Import Laws (as defined below) and there are no claims, complaints, charges, investigations or proceedings pending or expected or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened between the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and any Governmental Authority under any Export or Import Laws. The term “Export and Import Laws” means the Arms Export Control Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, the Export Administration Regulations, and all other laws and regulations of the United States government regulating the provision of services to non-U.S. parties or
- 22 -
the export and import of articles or information from and to the United States of America, and all similar laws and regulations of any foreign government regulating the provision of services to parties not of the foreign country or the export and import of articles and information from and to the foreign country to parties not of the foreign country.
(fff) Actively Traded Security. The Common Stock is an “actively traded security” exempted from the requirements of Rule 101 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act by subsection (c)(1) of such rule.
(ggg) Outbound Investment Security Program. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a “covered foreign person”, as that term is defined in 31 C.F.R. § 850.209. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries currently engages, or has plans to engage, directly or indirectly, in a “covered activity”, as that term is defined in in 31 C.F.R. § 850.208 (“Covered Activity”). The Company does not have any joint ventures that engages in or plans to engage in any Covered Activity. The Company also does not, directly or indirectly, hold a board seat on, have a voting or equity interest in, or have any contractual power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of any person or persons that engages or plans to engage in any Covered Activity.
(hhh) Health Care Laws. The Company is, and for the past six (6) years has been, in compliance with all applicable Health Care Laws except where the failure to be in compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Agreement, “Health Care Laws” means (A) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, (B) federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. §1320a-7b(b)), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §3729 et seq.), Sections 1320a-7 and 1320a-7a of Title 42 of the United States Code, the criminal false statements law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(a)), 18 U.S.C. Sections 286, 287, 1349 and the health care fraud criminal provisions under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.), the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1320-7h), and the regulations promulgated pursuant to such statutes, (C) HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. Section 17921 et seq.) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, (D) Titles XVII (42 U.S.C. §1395 et seq.) and XIX (42 U.S.C. §1396 et seq.) of the Social Security Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder, and any applicable laws governing government funded or sponsored healthcare programs (E) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (F) all statutes, directives, rules or regulations applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, quality, safety, accreditation, packaging, use, distribution, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, import, export or disposal of any product or product candidate manufactured, developed, tested, imported, exported, advertised, promoted, sold or distributed by the Company applicable to the business of the Company as currently conducted by it as described in the Registration Statement; (G) any and all other health care laws and regulations applicable to the business of the Company as currently conducted by it as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, each of (A) through (G) as may be amended from time to time. The Company has not received any FDA Form-483, written notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or written notice
- 23 -
from any court or arbitrator or governmental entity or regulatory authority alleging or asserting material non-compliance by the Company with any applicable Health Care Laws or Permits required by any such Health Care Laws. The Company has not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product operation or activity of the Company is in material violation of any applicable Health Care Laws nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any such claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action threatened. The Company has filed, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Health Care Laws, and all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and accurate on the date filed in all material respects (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission), except where the failures to file, maintain or submit the same would not, whether individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not a party to any corporate integrity agreements, deferred or non-prosecution agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. Additionally, neither the Company nor any of its respective employees, officers, directors, or, to the knowledge of the Company, agents has been excluded, suspended or debarred from participation in any U.S. federal health care program or human clinical research or, to the knowledge of the Company, is subject to a governmental inquiry, investigation, proceeding, or other similar action that could reasonably be expected to result in debarment, suspension, or exclusion.
(iii) Healthcare Care Product Manufacturing. The manufacture of the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ products and product candidates by or on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries is being conducted in compliance in all material respects with all applicable Health Care Laws, including, without limitation, the FDA’s current good manufacturing practice regulations at 21 CFR Part 820, and, to the extent applicable, the respective counterparts thereof promulgated by governmental authorities in countries outside the United States. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has had any manufacturing site (whether Company-owned, subsidiary-owned or that of a third party manufacturer for the Company’s or its subsidiaries’ product candidates) subject to a governmental authority (including FDA or the national competent authorities of European Union EU Member States ) shutdown or import or export prohibition, nor received any FDA, or other governmental authority “warning letters,” or “untitled letters” alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any applicable Health Care Laws, requests to make material changes to the Company’s or its subsidiaries’ product candidates, processes or operations, or similar correspondence or notice from the FDA, national competent authorities of European Union EU Member States or other governmental authority alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any applicable Health Care Laws, other than those that have been satisfactorily addressed and/or closed with the FDA, national competent authorities of European Union EU Member States or other governmental authority. To the knowledge of the Company, neither the FDA, national competent authorities of European Union EU Member States or any other governmental authority is considering such action.
- 24 -
Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or to counsel for ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ as to the matters set forth therein.
The Company acknowledges that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 7 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.
7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ reasonable request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ (provided, however, that the failure of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement), (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ within a reasonable period of time before the filing and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that (A) the failure of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, (B) the Company has no obligation to provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ any advance copy of such filing or to provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and does not relate to the transactions herein, and (C) the only remedy that ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ with such copy or the filing of such amendment or supplement despite ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ objection shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via ▇▇▇▇▇; (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than
- 25 -
documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act, and (v) prior to the termination of this Agreement, the Company will notify ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ if at any time the Registration Statement shall no longer be effective as a result of the passage of time pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act or otherwise. Prior to the initial sale of any Placement Shares, the Company shall file a final Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) relating to the Placement Shares.
(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued.
(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares, (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates (taking into account any extensions available under the Exchange Act) all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act, if not available ▇▇▇▇▇. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance provided, that, the Company may delay the filing of any amendment or supplement, if in the judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company, during which time of delay of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall be under no obligation to make any sales of Placement Shares hereunder.
(d) Listing of Placement Shares. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the listing of the Placement Shares or to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq, as applicable, and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws of
- 26 -
such jurisdictions as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities or file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.
(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may from time to time reasonably request and, at ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to the extent such document is available on ▇▇▇▇▇.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act, which requirement may be satisfied by publicly filing the required information on ▇▇▇▇▇.
(g) Expenses. The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereunder, will pay the following expenses all incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(d) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in connection therewith shall be paid by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ except as set forth in (vii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission, and, (vii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ counsel in amounts not to exceed (A) $75,000 in connection with execution of this Agreement and (B) $25,000 in connection with each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable.
- 27 -
(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”
(i) Notice of Other Sales. During the pendency of any Placement Notice given hereunder, and for five trading days following the termination of any Placement Notice given hereunder, the Company shall provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any shares of Common Stock (other than Placement Shares offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Stock; provided, that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Common Stock, options to purchase shares of Common Stock or Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to any equity incentive plan, stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement whether now in effect or hereafter implemented pursuant to any qualifying inducement award under Nasdaq Rules, (ii) the issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets, (iii) the issuance or sale of Common Stock pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time provided the implementation of such is disclosed to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in advance, (iv) any shares of common stock issuable upon the exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding or (v) shares of common stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable for common stock, in connection with any joint venture, commercial, strategic or collaborative relationship, or the acquisition or license by the Company of the securities, businesses, property or other assets of another person or entity. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the Company’s ability, or require the Company to provide notice to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, to file a registration statement with the Commission.
(j) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during the pendency of a Placement Notice , advise ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document required to be provided to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ pursuant to this Agreement.
(k) Due Diligence Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may reasonably request.
(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. To the extent that the filing of a prospectus supplement with the Commission with respect to a placement of Placement Shares becomes required under Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, the Company agrees that on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing under Rule 424(b), a “Filing Date”), and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus
- 28 -
supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market. The Company shall disclose in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in its annual report on Form 10-K, the number of the Placement Shares sold through ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ under this Agreement, and the Net Proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement during the relevant quarter or, in the case of an Annual Report on Form 10-K, during the fiscal year covered by such Annual Report and the fourth quarter of such fiscal year.
(m) Bring-Down Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and each time (i) the Company files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares; (ii) the Company files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act; (iii) the Company files its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or (iv) the Company files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release or other information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K) under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Bring-Down Date”); the Company shall furnish ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) within one (1) Trading Day of any Bring-Down Date if requested by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be waived for any Bring-Down Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Bring-Down Date) and the next occurring Bring-Down Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Bring-Down Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of the Placement Notice.
(n) Legal Opinion. On or prior to the First Delivery Date , the Company shall cause to be furnished to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ a written opinion (the “Corporate Legal Opinion”) and negative assurance letter (such letter, a “Negative Assurance Letter”) of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP (“Company Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered. Thereafter, within five (5) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ (i) a written opinion of Bozicevic, Field & ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, intellectual property counsel to the Company (“Company IP Counsel”) or other counsel satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, in form and substance satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered annually at the time of filing of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act (the “IP Opinion”) and (ii) a Corporate Legal
- 29 -
Opinion annually at the time of filing of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act. For avoidance of doubt, and notwithstanding the forgoing, within five (5) Trading Days of each Bring-Down with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, Company counsel shall deliver a Negative Assurance Letter substantially similar to the form previously provided to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, for the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall not be required to furnish any such IP Opinion, Corporate Legal Opinion or Negative Assurance Letter at any time at which no Placement Notice is pending until such time as the Company delivers its next Placement Notice; provided, further that in lieu of such opinion(s) and/or negative assurance letter for subsequent Bring-Down Dates, Company Counsel and Company IP Counsel, as applicable, may furnish ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may rely on a prior opinion and/or negative assurance letter delivered under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion and/or negative assurance letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Bring-Down Date).
(o) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within one (1) Trading Day of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, in form and substance satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter. The Company shall be required to furnish no more than one comfort letter hereunder per each filing of an annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
(p) [RESERVED.]
(q) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the Common Stock to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase shares of its Common Stock in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.
- 30 -
(r) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.
(s) Compliance with Laws. The Company and each of its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental permits, licenses and other authorizations required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of its subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations and with applicable environmental laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that it will not be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.
(u) Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.
(v) No Offer to Sell. Other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, neither ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.
(w) ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act. The Company will use its best efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act.
(x) Affirmation. Each Placement Notice delivered by the Company to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall be deemed to be (i) an affirmation that the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained and contained in any certificate delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ pursuant hereto are true and correct at the time of delivery of such Placement Notice, and (ii) an undertaking that such representations, warranties and agreements will be true and correct on any applicable Time of Sale and Settlement Date, as though made at and as of each such time (it being understood that such representations, warranties and agreements shall relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to the time of such Placement Notice acceptance).
- 31 -
(y) Renewal. If immediately prior to the third anniversary (the “Renewal Deadline”) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, the aggregate gross sales price of Placement Shares sold by the Company is less than the Maximum Amount and this Agreement has not expired or been terminated, the Company will, in its sole discretion, prior to the Renewal Deadline, use reasonable best efforts to file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new shelf registration statement relating to the Placement Shares, in a form reasonably satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, and, if not automatically effective, will use its reasonable best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 60 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action it reasonable determines to be necessary or appropriate to permit the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Placement Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new shelf registration statement.
8. Conditions to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ Obligations. The obligations of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ hereunder with respect to a Placement Notice will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder, to the completion by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ of a due diligence review satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued pursuant to any Placement Notice.
(b) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus or such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ reasonable opinion, in consultation with outside counsel, is material, or omits to state a fact that in ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
- 32 -
(d) Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(e) Company Counsel Legal Opinion and Letters. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have received the opinion and negative assurance letters, as applicable, of Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinion and letters, as appliable, is required pursuant to Section 7(n).
(f) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Counsel Legal Opinion. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have received from ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel and Company IP Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(g) Comfort Letter. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(o) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(o).
(h) Representation Certificate. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(m).
(i) Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate secretary, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and its counsel.
(j) [RESERVED]
(k) No Suspension. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on Nasdaq.
(l) Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may have reasonably requested. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company will furnish ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have reasonably requested. Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
- 33 -
(m) Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares shall either have been (i) approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on Nasdaq at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.
(n) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).
9. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, its affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers, partners, employees and agents of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and each person, if any, who (i) controls ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including, but not limited to, any and all reasonable and documented investigative, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with Section 9(c)) of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), within 30 days of the written receipt of the documented expenses by the indemnifying party, to which ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, or any such person, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any free writing prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Common Stock under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, or (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it not misleading; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused directly or indirectly by an untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with solely Agent’s Information. “Agent’s Information” means, solely, the following information in the Prospectus: the third sentence of the eighth paragraph and the tenth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
(b) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Indemnification. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company that signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 9(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.
- 34 -
(c) Procedure. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 9 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 9, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 9 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable and documented costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on written advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on written advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly after the indemnifying party receives a written invoice relating to fees, disbursements and other charges in reasonable detail. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior
- 35 -
written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 9 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (1) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding and (2) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, on the other, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 9(c) hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(d), ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent
- 36 -
misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 9(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer and director of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 9(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 9(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof.
10. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 9 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
11. Termination.
(a) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have the right by giving notice as hereinafter specified at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, may materially impair the ability of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder, or (iii) any other condition of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, or (iv), any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g) (Expenses), Section 9 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 10 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 16 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction) and Section 17 (Waiver of Jury Trial) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12 (Notices).
(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
- 37 -
(c) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Company shall not have any liability to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ for any discount, commission or other compensation with respect to any Placement Shares not otherwise sold by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ under this Agreement.
(f) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
12. Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, shall be delivered to ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ at TD Securities (USA) LLC, ▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, fax no. ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇, Attention: Head of Equity Capital Markets, email: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇; or if sent to the Company, shall be delivered to Geron Corporation, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇, attention: Chief Financial Officer, email: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇, with a copy to ▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, attention: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, email: ▇▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇. Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day, or, if such day is not a Business Day on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier, (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid), and (iv) when delivered by electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”), at the time receipt of such Electronic Notice is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the Electronic Notice is sent, other than via auto-reply. For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Nasdaq and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.
- 38 -
13. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 9 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ without obtaining the Company’s consent.
14. Adjustments for Share Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Common Stock.
15. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) together with that certain Confidential Disclosure Agreement, dated February 4, 2026, by and between the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ (the “CDA”), constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Moreover, the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ agree that all exchanges of information hereunder shall be governed by the terms of the CDA, which CDA the parties agree is and shall hereby be amended to remain in full force and effect at all times during the term of this Agreement. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement.
16. Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any transaction contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.
- 39 -
17. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby.
18. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ has been retained solely to act as an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares contemplated hereby and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;
(b) the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(c) the Company has been advised that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and
(d) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.
19. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile or other electronic transmission (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇ or ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
20. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
(a) In the event that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
- 40 -
(b) In the event that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ is a Covered Entity and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ or a BHC Act Affiliate of ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
(c) For purposes of this Section 20; (a) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k), (b) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b), (c) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable, and (d) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the ▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
- 41 -
If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| TD SECURITIES (USA) LLC | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Title: Managing Director | ||
| ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written: | ||
| GERON CORPORATION | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Title: Executive Vice President, Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | ||
SCHEDULE 1
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
| From: | Geron Corporation | |||
| Cc: | [ ] | |||
| To: | [ ] | |||
| Subject: | ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ At the Market Offering—Placement Notice | |||
Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between Geron Corporation (the “Company”), and TD Securities (USA) LLC (“▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇”) dated February 27, 2026 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ sell up to [ ] shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, at a minimum market price of $_______ per share. Sales should begin on the date of this Notice and shall continue until [DATE] [all shares are sold].
SCHEDULE 2
Notice Parties
Company
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | President and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Interim Secretary | |||
▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | Managing Director | |
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | Managing Director | |
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | Director | |
| ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | Associate | |
SCHEDULE 3
Compensation
▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ shall be paid compensation up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from each sale of Placement Shares pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
Exhibit 7(m)
OFFICER CERTIFICATE
The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected _______________________, of Geron Corporation (“Company”), a Delaware corporation, does hereby certify on behalf of the Company, and not in the undersigned individual capacity, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement dated February 27, 2026 (the “Sales Agreement”) between the Company and TD Securities (USA) LLC, that to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Sales Agreement.
(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; and
(ii) The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: |
| Date: |