CLIMB BIO, INC. COMMON STOCK EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 1.1
COMMON STOCK
March 25, 2025
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc.
▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Climb Bio, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc. (the “Agent”), 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 the Agent shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”), subject to the limitations set forth in Section 5(c) (the “Placement Shares”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the aggregate gross sales price of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement Shares through the Agent will be initially effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on November 22, 2024, although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to issue any Placement Shares.
The Company has prepared and filed, 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 (File No. 333-283166), including a base prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”), relating to the securities of the Company, including shares of 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 and will file a prospectus supplement to the Base Prospectus, which specifically relates to the Placement Shares, which may be issued from time to time pursuant to this Agreement (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable (which shall be a Prospectus Supplement), with respect to the Placement Shares. The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, copies of the Prospectus Supplement. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement(s), and any post-effective amendment thereto, as amended when it became 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 Rule 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 with respect to the Placement Shares, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The Base Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement, each of which forms part of the Registration Statement, as it or they may be supplemented by any additional prospectus supplement(s) and/or post-effective amendment(s), in the form in which such prospectus and/or the 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 (“Rule 433”), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is consented to by the Agent (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 Supplement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the documents filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents. Any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement 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 Supplement, 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 (“▇▇▇▇▇”). All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be. All references in this Agreement to “supplements” to the Prospectus shall include any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Shares by the Agent outside of the United States. 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 any Placement Shares through the Agent hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Agent by email notice (or such other method as may be mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (each such notice, a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which the Company desires such Placement Shares to be sold, which at a minimum shall include the maximum number or amount of Placement Shares to be sold, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number or amount of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined below) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. A form of Placement Notice is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice must originate from one of the individuals authorized to act on behalf of the Company and set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such Schedule 2), and shall be addressed to the Agent as set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be updated by either party from time to time by sending a written notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12 (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company or the Agent, as applicable, 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). The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by the Agent unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Agent declines in writing to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion,
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within two Trading Days of the date the Agent receives the Placement Notice, (ii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Agent suspends sales under the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (iii) all of the Placement Shares covered by this Agreement or, if fewer, the Placement Shares covered by such Placement notice, have been sold, (iv) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends sales under or terminates the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (v) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice and explicitly indicates that its parameters supersede those contained in the earlier dated Placement Notice or (vi) this Agreement has been terminated pursuant to the provisions of Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to the Agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares effected through the Agent shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor the Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Agent and the Agent does not decline (and the Company does not provide written notice of suspension or termination) 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 with respect to the matters covered thereby. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the Common Stock is purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Stock is then listed or quoted.
3. Sale of Placement Shares by the Agent. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, including Section 5(c), upon the Agent’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice as provided in Section 2, 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, the Agent, 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 and the rules of the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the number or amount specified in, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of, such Placement Notice. The Agent 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 immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number or amount of Placement Shares sold on such Trading Day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company. Unless otherwise specified by the Company in a Placement Notice, the Agent may sell Placement Shares 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 sales made directly on or through Nasdaq, on or through any other existing trading market for the Common Stock or to or through a market maker. If expressly authorized by the Company (including in a Placement Notice), the Agent may also sell Placement Shares in privately negotiated transactions. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(vv), except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent, the Agent shall not purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement unless the Company and the Agent enter into a separate written agreement setting forth the terms of such sale. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) the Agent 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 the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable laws and regulations to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Agreement and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement unless the Company and the Agent enter into a separate written agreement setting forth the terms of such sale.
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4. Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence at the email addresses 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 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 pursuant to this Section 4(a) is in effect, any obligation under Sections 7(m), 7(n), 7(o), and 7(p) with respect to the delivery of certificates, opinions, or comfort letters to the Agent, shall be waived; provided, that upon delivery of a Placement Notice following a Representation Date (as defined below), the Company shall be subject to the obligations set forth in Sections 7(m), 7(n), 7(o), and 7(p), as applicable. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other party unless such notice is sent by one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto 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).
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information, the Company and the Agent agree that (i) no sale of Placement Shares will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares and shall suspend or cancel any effective Placement Notices and (iii) the Agent shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.
5. Settlement and Delivery of the Placement Shares.
(a) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the first Trading Day (or such earlier time as is industry practice or as is required for regular way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold will be equal to the aggregate gross sales price received by the Agent at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction of the Agent’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof (such amount, the “Net Proceeds”).
(b) Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will issue the Placement Shares being sold on such date and will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer such Placement Shares by crediting the Agent’s or its designee’s account (provided the Agent 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 duly authorized, freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares of Common Stock in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, the Agent will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on or prior to the Settlement Date. The Agent shall be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of the Placement Shares being sold. In addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) hereto, the Company agrees that if the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized, freely tradeable, transferable, registered Placement Shares in good deliverable form by 2:30 P.M., New York City time, on a Settlement Date (other
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than as a result of a failure by the Agent to provide instructions for delivery), the Company will (i) take all necessary action to cause the full amount of any Net Proceeds that were delivered to the Company’s account with respect to such settlement, together with any costs incurred by the Agent and/or its clearing firm in connection with recovering such Net Proceeds, to be immediately returned to the Agent or its clearing firm no later than 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on such Settlement Date, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Agent or its clearing firm, (ii) indemnify and hold the Agent and its clearing firm 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 through no fault of the Agent and (iii) pay to the Agent (without duplication) any commission, discount or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
(c) Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the aggregate number or gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of: (i) the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock registered pursuant to, and available for offer and sale under, the Registration Statement pursuant to which the offering of Placement Shares is being made, (ii) the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock of the Company, (iii) the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock permitted to be offered and sold by the Company under Form S-3 (including General Instruction I.B.6. thereof, if such instruction is applicable), (iv) the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock that the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof is authorized to issue and sell from time to time, or (v) the dollar amount of shares of Common Stock for which the Company has filed a Prospectus Supplement. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto acknowledge and agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 5(c) on the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.
6. Representations and Warranties of the Company.
For purposes of this Representations and Warranties section, references to “Subsidiary” or “Subsidiaries,” are replaced in their entirety with references to “Subsidiary, if any,” or “Subsidiaries, if any,” in each place that they appear.
The Company, on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries (for purposes of this Agreement, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act) (the “Subsidiaries”), represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Agent that, as of the date of this Agreement, and as of (i) each Representation Date, (ii) each date on which a Placement Notice is given, (iii) any date on which Placement Shares are sold pursuant to this Agreement and (iv) each Settlement Date (each such time or date referred to in clauses (i) through (iv), an “Applicable Time”), except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any amendments or supplements thereto) on or before an Applicable Time, and unless such representation, warranty or agreement specifies a different time:
(a) The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the applicable conditions for the use of Form S-3 (including General Instructions I.A and I.B.6.) under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission and declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act prior to the issuance of
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any Placement Notices by the Company. At the time the Registration Statement was declared effective the Company met the then-applicable requirements for use of Form S-3 (including General Instructions I.A or, if applicable, General Instruction I.B.6.) under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby comply with, the requirements of Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Securities Act. The Agent is named as the agent engaged by the Company in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not received, any notice from the Commission pursuant to Rule 401(g)(1) under the Securities Act objecting to the use of the shelf registration statement form. No stop order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus, or the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose are, to the knowledge of the Company, pending before or threatened by the Commission. At the time of the initial filing of the Registration Statement, the Company paid the required Commission filing fees relating to the securities covered by the Registration Statement, including the Placement Shares that may be sold pursuant to this Agreement, in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any such amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing and all Incorporated Documents that were filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available through ▇▇▇▇▇, to the Agent and its counsel.
(b) Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Agent pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) under the Securities Act and as of each Applicable Time, complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and did not, does 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, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this sentence do not apply to Agent’s Information (as defined below). The Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, when so filed with the Commission under Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, complied, complies and as of each Applicable Time will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, and the Prospectus or any issuer free writing prospectus (or any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing) furnished to the Agent for use in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to ▇▇▇▇▇, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, as of its date and as of each Applicable Time, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will 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, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this sentence do not apply to Agent’s Information. Each Incorporated Document heretofore filed, when it was filed (or, if any amendment with respect to any such document was filed, when such amendment was filed), conformed in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act and were filed on a timely basis with the Commission, and any further Incorporated Documents to be filed and incorporated into the Prospectus after the date of this Agreement will be filed on a timely basis and, when so filed, will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act; no such Incorporated Document when it was filed (or, if an amendment with respect to any such document was filed, when such amendment was filed), contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further Incorporated Document when filed will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
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(c) The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. The Company is not a shell company (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) and has not been a shell company for at least 12 calendar months previously.
(d) The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
(e) Any issuer free writing prospectus, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time, 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 that has not been superseded or modified by such issuer free writing prospectus. Any issuer free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433 or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used by the Company in connection with the offering of Placement Shares complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act.
(f) The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of each Settlement Date and completion of the Agent’s distribution of the Placement Shares under this Agreement, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below).
(g) The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus 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) 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) of the Exchange Act and is listed on Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or reasonably likely 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. The Company is in compliance with the current listing standards of Nasdaq. The Company has filed a Notification of Listing of Additional Shares with Nasdaq with respect to the Placement Shares.
(i) The Company is not a party to any other agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market offering”, equity line of credit or other continuous equity transaction. No person (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act) has the right to act as an underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares hereunder, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby or otherwise, other than the Agent. Except for the Agent, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(j) The Company is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and has all requisite corporate power and authority to carry on its business as now conducted and to own or lease its properties. The Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property makes such qualification or leasing necessary unless the failure to so qualify has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, results of operations, business,
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properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”). Except for the entities identified in Exhibit 21 to the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity. The Company’s Subsidiaries are duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and have all requisite power and authority to carry on their business as now conducted and to own or lease their properties except where the failure to be in good standing or have such power or authority would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company’s Subsidiaries are duly qualified to do business as foreign corporations and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of their business or their ownership or leasing of property makes such qualification or leasing necessary unless the failure to so qualify has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All of the issued and outstanding share capital or other equity or ownership interests of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and nonassessable, has been issued in compliance with federal state and securities laws and is owned by the Company, directly or through other wholly-owned Subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim.
(k) The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority and has taken all requisite corporate action necessary for, and no further action on the part of the Company, its officers, directors and stockholders is necessary for the authorization, execution and delivery of this Agreement. This Agreement constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of general applicability, relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and to general equitable principles.
(l) The Company has the authorized and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year or, if later, the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the most recent fiscal quarter, as of the dates referred to therein. The Common Stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, including under the heading “Description of Capital Stock.” The outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and nonassessable; and, except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein, no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue, or rights to convert any obligations into or exchange any securities for, shares of capital stock of or ownership interests in the Company are outstanding. The descriptions of the Company’s equity incentive plan, stock option plans and other stock plans or arrangements described in the Prospectus and in effect as of the date hereof (collectively, the “Stock Plans”) and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus accurately and fairly present, in all material respects, the information required to be shown with respect to such Stock Plans and the options or other rights granted thereunder.
(m) The Placement Shares have been duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and will conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus. The issuance and sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby shall not be subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase the Placement Shares. When issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, the purchasers of the Placement Shares issued and sold hereunder will acquire good, marketable and valid title to such Placement Shares, free and clear of all pledges, liens, security interests, charges, claims or encumbrances. The issuance and sale of the
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Placement Shares as contemplated hereby will not cause any holder of any share capital, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for share capital or options, warrants or other rights to purchase share capital or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any preferred shares of the Company. There are no restrictions upon the voting or transfer of the Common Stock under the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or any agreement or other instrument to which the Company is a party or otherwise filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.
(n) No consent, approval, license, permit, qualification, authorization or other order or decree of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental, taxing or regulatory authority or agency, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares hereunder), except such as have been already obtained or made or as may be required under the Securities Act, applicable state securities or Blue Sky laws, applicable rules of Nasdaq, or the applicable rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).
(o) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus: (i) there has been no change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one entity, have not (A) incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, including without limitation any material losses or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, earthquakes, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any strike, labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, that are material, individually or in the aggregate, to the Company and its Subsidiaries, (B) entered into any material transactions not in the ordinary course of business or (C) issued or granted any shares of the Company’s capital stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or that represent the right to receive shares of the Company’s capital stock other than under the Stock Plans; and (iii) there has not been any material decrease in the share capital or any material increase in any short-term or long-term indebtedness of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, considered as one entity, and there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made, except for dividends or distributions made to a Subsidiary, by the Company or, except for dividends or distributions to the Company or another Subsidiary, by any Subsidiary on any class of shares, or any repurchase or redemption by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any class of shares.
(p) Neither the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement nor the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares in accordance with the provisions herein will (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of (a) any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, or amended and restated bylaws, both as currently in effect (true and complete copies of which have been made available through ▇▇▇▇▇), or (b) any applicable statute, rule, regulation or order of any governmental agency or body or any court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or its Subsidiaries, or any of their assets or properties, or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event that with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, result in the creation of any lien, encumbrance or other adverse claim upon any of the properties or assets of the Company or its Subsidiaries or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation (with or without notice, lapse of time or both) of, any material contract, except, in the case of clauses (i)(b) and (ii) above, for such violations, conflicts or defaults as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. This Section 6(p) does not relate to matters with respect to tax status, which are the subject of Section 6(q), employee relations and labor matters, which are the subject of Section 6(t), or environmental laws, which are the subject of Section 6(z).
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(q) The Company and its Subsidiaries have timely prepared and filed all tax returns required to have been filed by them with all appropriate governmental agencies (or extensions have been duly obtained) and timely paid all material taxes shown thereon or otherwise owed by them, except for those which are being contested in good faith, except where failure to file such tax returns or pay such taxes would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. There are no material unpaid assessments against the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any audits by any federal, state or local taxing authority.
(r) The Company and its Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real properties and all other properties and assets owned by them, in each case free from liens, encumbrances and defects, except such as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect; and the Company and its Subsidiaries hold any leased real or personal property under valid and enforceable leases, except such as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(s) The Company and its Subsidiaries possess adequate certificates, licenses authorities or permits issued by appropriate governmental agencies or bodies necessary to conduct their respective businesses now operated by them, except where failure to so possess would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its Subsidiaries have not received any written notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, license, authority or permit that would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(t) The Company and its Subsidiaries are not party to or bound by any collective bargaining agreements or other agreements with labor organizations. To the Company’s knowledge, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not violated in any respect any laws, regulations, orders or contract terms affecting the collective bargaining rights of employees or labor organizations, or any laws, regulations or orders affecting employment discrimination, equal opportunity employment, or employees’ health, safety, welfare, wages and hours that individually or in aggregate are reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No labor disputes with the employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or with the employees of any principal supplier, manufacturer, customer or contractor of the Company or its Subsidiaries, exist or, to the Company’s knowledge, are threatened or imminent, that individually or in aggregate are reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(u) Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect: (i) the Company and its Subsidiaries own, possess, license or have other rights to use, all patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of the Company’s business as now conducted or as proposed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be conducted; (ii) there are no rights of third parties to any such Intellectual Property, including liens, security interests or other encumbrances; (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no infringement by third parties of any such Intellectual Property; (iv) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to any such Intellectual Property; (v) such Intellectual Property that is described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus has not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part; (vi) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property that is owned or licensed by the Company, including interferences, oppositions, reexaminations or government proceedings; (vii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that
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the Company infringes, misappropriates, or otherwise violates any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others and (viii) the Company has taken all necessary measures to protect the proprietary nature of each item of Intellectual Property, and to maintain in confidence all trade secrets and confidential information comprising a part thereof. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have or reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, there is not pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, any threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others asserting that the conduct of the Company’s business as now conducted or as proposed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be conducted would require any license under any Intellectual Property of a third party not otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(v) (i) All patents and patent applications owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or under which the Company has rights have, to the knowledge of the Company, been duly and properly filed and each issued patent is being diligently maintained and is valid and enforceable; (ii) the Company is unaware of any facts that would preclude the issuance of a valid and enforceable patent on any pending patent applications included in the Intellectual Property; (iii) 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; (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no patent or patent application that contains claims that dominate or may 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 of the Company; (v) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no prior art material to any patent or patent application of the Intellectual Property of the Company that may render any U.S. patent held by the Company invalid or unenforceable or any U.S. patent application held by the Company unpatentable; and (vi) 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 having similar disclosure requirement 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.
(w) As to each of the product candidates of the Company, including compounds currently under research and/or development by the Company and subject to the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) or any equivalent regulatory authority in any legal jurisdiction other than the U.S. and the European Union (each such product, a “Company Regulated Product”), if any, such Company Regulated Product is being researched, investigated, developed, manufactured, packaged, labeled, stored, distributed, imported and exported, and tested in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) the Company has not received any written notices or correspondence from the FDA, the EMA or any other regulatory authority exercising comparable authority, and there is no action or proceeding pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened (including any prosecution, injunction, seizure, civil fine, suspension or recall), in each case alleging that the Company is not currently in material compliance with any and all applicable laws, including, without limitation, the Healthcare Laws (as defined below), implemented by the FDA, EMA or any other regulatory authority exercising comparable authority over any Company Regulated Product and (ii) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no proceedings pending or threatened against the Company with respect to an alleged material violation of the Healthcare Laws or any similar law administered or promulgated by the EMA or any other regulatory authority exercising comparable authority.
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The term “Health Care Laws” means Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1395-1395hhh (the Medicare statute); Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1396-1396v (the Medicaid statute); the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b); the civil False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.; the criminal False Claims Act 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(a); any criminal laws relating to health care fraud and abuse, including but not limited to 18 U.S.C. Sections 286, 287, 1347 and 1349 and the health care fraud criminal provisions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1320d et seq., (“HIPAA”); the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1320a-7a and 1320a-7b; the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7h; the Exclusion Laws, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7; HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 17921 et seq.; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq. (the “FDCA”); and the Public Health Service Acts, 42 U.S.C. § 262 and the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws; and any similar comparable laws and regulations outside the United States.
(x) All preclinical studies and clinical trials, and other studies and tests of any Company Regulated Product conducted by or on behalf of the Company have been, and if still pending are being, conducted in material compliance and to the extent applicable and required by law with, the applicable protocol for such study or trial, including the FDCA and its implementing regulations governing good laboratory practices and good clinical practices (e.g., 21 C.F.R. Parts 50, 54, 56, and 312 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations) and the respective counterparts in the European Union and other jurisdictions outside the United States exercising comparable authority over any Company Regulated Product. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no clinical trial conducted by or on behalf of the Company has been terminated or placed on full or partial clinical hold by the FDA, EMA or by the applicable Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) for safety reasons or otherwise prior to scheduled completion, and neither the FDA, EMA, an IRB nor any other applicable regulatory authority that has or has had jurisdiction over, a clinical trial conducted by or on behalf of the Company has initiated, or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to initiate, any action to place a full or partial clinical hold order on, or otherwise terminate or suspend, any proposed or ongoing clinical investigation of the Company Regulated Products conducted or proposed to be conducted by or on behalf of the Company. The Company has made available to the Agent and its counsel all material written formal communications submitted by or on behalf of the Company to any regulatory authority, and each such communication, including all supplements and amendments thereto, was true, complete and correct as of the applicable date thereof. All material summaries of preclinical, nonclinical and other data and studies disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are consistent with the raw preclinical, nonclinical and other data associated with the Company’s Regulated Products, in all material respects, and are true, complete and accurate descriptions of the subject matter thereof, in all material respects.
(y) Neither the Company nor any of its officers, directors, or employees has been, is, or is in anticipation of being (based on a conviction by the courts or a finding of fault by a regulatory authority): (a) debarred pursuant to the Generic Drug Enforcement Act of 1992 (21 U.S.C. § 335a), as amended from time to time; (b) disqualified from participating in clinical trials pursuant to 21 C.F.R. §312.70, as amended from time to time; (c) disqualified as a testing facility under 21 C.F.R. Part 58, Subpart K, as amended from time to time; (d) excluded, debarred or suspended from or otherwise ineligible to participate in a “Federal Health Care Program” as that term is defined in 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(f), including under 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7 or relevant regulations in 42 C.F.R. Part 1001; (e) assessed any civil money penalties pursuant to 42 C.F.R. Part 1003; or (f) included on the HHS/OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities, the General Services Administration’s System for Award Management, or the FDA Debarment List or the FDA Disqualified/Restricted List. Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of its officers, directors or employees has engaged in any activities that are prohibited, or are cause for civil penalties, or grounds for mandatory or permissive exclusion, debarment, or
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suspension pursuant to any of these authorities. Since January 11, 2024, the Company has not used, and is currently not using, in any capacity related to any Company Regulated Product, any person that has ever been, or to the knowledge of the Company, is the subject of a proceeding that could lead to the persons becoming debarred, excluded, disqualified, restricted or suspended pursuant to any of these authorities.
(z) The Company is not in violation of any statute, rule, regulation, decision or order of any governmental agency or body or any court, domestic or foreign, relating to the use, disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or relating to the protection or restoration of the environment or human exposure to hazardous or toxic substances (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), has not released any hazardous substances regulated by Environmental Law onto any real property that it owns or operates and has not received any written notice or claim that it is liable for any off-site disposal or contamination pursuant to any Environmental Laws, which violation, release, notice, claim, or liability would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, and to the Company’s knowledge, there is no pending or threatened investigation that would reasonably be expected to lead to such a claim.
(aa) Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, suits or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened, to which the Company or its Subsidiaries are or may reasonably be expected to become a party or to which any property of the Company or its Subsidiaries are or may reasonably be expected to become the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(bb) The financial statements 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 consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations, cash flows and changes in stockholders’ equity of the Company and the Subsidiaries for the periods specified and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and Exchange Act, as applicable, and in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved, except in the case of any unaudited financial statements, which are subject to normal year-end adjustments and do not contain certain footnotes as permitted by the applicable rules of the Commission, and except as otherwise noted therein. To the extent applicable, any pro forma financial statements, information or data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply with the requirements of Regulation S-X of the Securities Act, including, without limitation, Article 8 thereof, fairly present, in all material respects, the information set forth therein and the assumptions used in the preparation of such pro forma financial statements, use reasonable pro forma adjustments to give effect to the circumstances referred to therein and properly apply the pro forma adjustments to historical amounts. 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 therein as required.
(cc) [Reserved.]
(dd) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries considered together as one entity have established and maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act), which (a) are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its Subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities, (b) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and Prospectus, such disclosure controls are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established, and (c) have been evaluated by management of the Company for effectiveness as of the end of the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter.
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(ee) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries considered together as one entity, maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting 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 GAAP 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. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries’ internal controls over financial reporting are effective and the Company and its Subsidiaries are not aware of any material weakness in their internal controls over financial reporting except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(ff) The Company is not required to be registered as, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, will not be required to register as, an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
(gg) The Company has not taken, and, to the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer of affiliate of the Company has taken, directly or indirectly (without giving effect to the activities of the Agent), any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.
(hh) Each of the Company, its Subsidiaries and, to the Company’s knowledge, their respective officers, directors, supervisors, managers, agents, or employees are and have at all times been in compliance with: (A) anti-bribery laws, including but not limited to, any applicable law, rule, or regulation of any locality in which the Company or its Subsidiaries have conducted business, including but not limited to any law, rule, or regulation promulgated to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, signed December 17, 1997, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 or (B) anti-money laundering laws of any locality in which the Company or its Subsidiaries have conducted business, including, but not limited to, applicable federal, state, international, foreign or other laws, regulations or government guidance regarding anti-money laundering, including, without limitation, Title 18 US. Code sections 1956 and 1957, the Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, and international anti-money laundering principles or procedures by an intergovernmental group or organization, such as the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, of which the United States is a member and with which designation the United States representative to the group or organization continues to concur, all as amended, and any Executive order, directive, or regulation pursuant to the authority of any of the foregoing, or any orders or licenses issued thereunder (collectively, the “Anti-Corruption Laws”). The Company and its Subsidiaries have instituted and maintain policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Anti-Corruption Laws. No part of the proceeds of the offering of the Placement Shares will be used, directly or indirectly, in violation of the Anti-Corruption Laws.
(ii) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (i) is, or is controlled or more than 50% owned in the aggregate by or is acting on behalf of, one or more individuals or entities that are currently the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States (including any administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department
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of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of State or the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, a member state of the European Union (including sanctions administered or enforced by His Majesty’s Treasury of the United Kingdom) or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions” and such persons, “Sanctioned Persons” and each such person, a “Sanctioned Person”), (ii) is located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions that broadly prohibit dealings with that country or territory (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 of Ukraine (or any other Covered Region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065), Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria, collectively, “Sanctioned Countries” and each, a “Sanctioned Country”) or (iii) will, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of this offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other individual or entity in any manner that would result in a violation of any Sanctions by, or could result in the imposition of Sanctions against, any individual or entity (including any individual or entity participating in the offering, whether as an underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).
(jj) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has engaged in any dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country, since April 24, 2019, nor does the Company or any of its Subsidiaries have any plans to engage in dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country.
(kk) [Reserved.]
(ll) There are no persons (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act) with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities of the Company registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights as have been duly waived in a writing previously furnished to the Agent.
(mm) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who has certified certain financial statements of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries and delivered its report with respect to the audited consolidated financial statements and schedules included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has not been engaged by the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” or provided to the Company any prohibited “non-audit services” (as defined in Section 10A of the Exchange Act).
(nn) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are insured against such losses and risks and in such amounts as the Company believes are customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; all policies of insurance and fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect, except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any threatened termination of, or material premium increase with respect to, any such policy and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
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(oo) No Subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company, except as described in or contemplated by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
(pp) Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the company to believe that the statistical and market related data included in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects, and, to the extent required by such sources, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(qq) Any “employee benefit plan” (as defined under Section 303 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively, “ERISA”)) currently maintained by the Company, its Subsidiaries or any of their “ERISA Affiliates” (as defined below) is in compliance in all material respects with the applicable provisions of ERISA. “ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, any member of any group of organizations described in Sections 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the “Code”) of which the Company or such Subsidiary is a member. No “reportable event” (as defined under Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than those events as to which the notice period referred to in Section 4043(a) of ERISA has been waived) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any such “employee benefit plan”. No steps have been taken to terminate any such “employee benefit plan”. Neither the Company, its Subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any material liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any such “employee benefit plan” or otherwise under Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the Code. Each such “employee benefit plan” that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified and, to the knowledge of the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates, as applicable, nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to act, which would reasonably be expected to cause the revocation of such qualification.
(rr) There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection thereunder (the “▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇ Act”), including Section 402 relating to loans and Sections 302 and 906 relating to certifications.
(tt) There are no debt securities or preferred stock issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that are rated by a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act.
(uu) No financial or operational projection or other “forward-looking statement” (as defined by Section 27A of the Securities Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith; provided that for documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they were made or otherwise reaffirmed.
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(vv) The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Agent has informed the Company that the Agent may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell shares of Common Stock for its own account while this Agreement is in effect; provided, that (i) no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except to the extent the Agent may engage in sales of Placement Shares purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity) and (ii) the Company shall not be deemed to have authorized or consented to any such purchases or sales by the Agent, except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent.
Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or its counsel in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company (and not by such officer in his or her personal capacity), as to matters covered thereby, to the Agent.
7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which the Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule); (i) the Company will notify the Agent promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than Incorporated Documents, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, 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 (in each case, insofar as it relates to the transactions contemplated hereby); (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Agent’s reasonable request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in the Agent’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by the Agent (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing (but without limiting the Agent’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to the Agent within a reasonable period of time before the filing and the Agent has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that (A) the failure of the Agent to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, (B) the Company has no obligation to provide the Agent any advance copy of such filing or to provide the Agent an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name the Agent or does not relate to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares or other transactions contemplated hereunder, and (C) the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing (but without limiting the Agent’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed) and the Company will furnish to the Agent at the time of filing thereof a copy of any Incorporated Document, except for those documents available via ▇▇▇▇▇; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than
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Incorporated Documents, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act and, in the case of any Incorporated Document, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the Commission under this Section 7(a), shall be made exclusively by the Company based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or reasonable objections).
(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise the Agent, 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. The Company will advise the Agent promptly after it receives any request by the Commission for any amendments to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplements to the Prospectus or for additional information related to the offering of the Placement Shares, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule), the Company will use commercially reasonably efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and will 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 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 the Agent 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 (it being acknowledged that the Company may delay the filing of any amendment or supplement if, in the judgement of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company). If the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with the provisions thereof and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430B and to notify the Agent promptly of all such filings if not available on ▇▇▇▇▇.
(d) Listing of Placement Shares. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq.
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(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to the Agent and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all Incorporated Documents) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all Incorporated Documents filed with the Commission during such period), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as the Agent may from time to time reasonably request and, at the Agent’s 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 the Agent to the extent such document is available on ▇▇▇▇▇.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as reasonably 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) of and Rule 158 under the Securities Act, which requirement may be satisfied by publicly filing the required information on ▇▇▇▇▇. The terms “earnings statement” and make “generally available to its security holders” shall have the meanings set forth in Rule 158 under the Securities Act.
(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 all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of the Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto and of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares, (ii) the preparation, issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares and any taxes due or payable in connection with the initial preparation, issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(w) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for the Agent in connection therewith shall be paid by the Agent except as set forth in clauses (vii) and (viii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to the Agent and its counsel of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the filing fees and legal 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, owed to the Commission or FINRA and the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Placement Shares, (vii) the fees and associated expenses of the Agent’s outside legal counsel for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department in an amount not to exceed $5,000 (excluding FINRA filing fees referred to in clause (vi) above and in addition to the fees and disbursements referred to in clause (viii) below), and (viii) the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of the Agent’s outside legal counsel (A) in an amount not to exceed $75,000 arising out of executing this Agreement and the Company’s delivery of the initial certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) and (B) in an amount not to exceed $15,000 in connection with each Representation Date (as defined below) on which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) (in addition to the fees and associated expenses referred to in clause (vii) above).
(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. Without the prior written consent of the Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire shares of Common Stock during the period beginning on the third Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to the Agent hereunder and
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ending on the second Trading Day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at the market offering”, equity line of credit or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, shares of Common Stock prior to the termination of this Agreement; provided, that such restrictions shall not apply in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Common Stock, options, warrants or other rights to purchase or acquire shares of Common Stock, restricted shares of Common Stock, restricted stock units or other equity awards, or Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to any Stock Plan, inducement plan, long-term incentive plan, or other plan (whether in effect now or hereafter implemented), (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 the Agent 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, (v) modification of any outstanding options, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Stock or (vi) the issuance or sale of Common Stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock offered and sold in a private placement transaction to vendors, customers or strategic partners, mergers, acquisition, other business combinations or research, collaboration, technology, license, development, marketing or other similar agreements if the primary purpose is not a capital raising transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the Company’s ability, or require the Company to provide notice to the Agent, to file a registration statement under the Securities Act.
(j) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise the Agent promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided or required to be provided to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.
(k) Due Diligence Cooperation. During the term of this Agreement, the Company will reasonably cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent or its counsel from time to time in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices or by means of electronic communication, as the Agent may reasonably request.
(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that on or prior to such dates as the Securities Act shall require with respect to the Placement Shares, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the number or amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent and the Net Proceeds to the Company, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus 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; provided, that, unless a prospectus supplement containing such information is required to be filed under the Securities Act, the requirement of this Section 7(l) may be satisfied by Company’s inclusion in the Company’s Form 10-K or Form 10-Q, as applicable, of the number or amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent and the Net Proceeds to the Company.
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(m) Representation Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the date on which the Company first delivers a Placement Notice pursuant to this agreement (the “First Placement Notice Date”) and each time the Company:
(i) amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than (A) a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement or (B) a supplement or amendment to an offering of securities other than the Placement Shares) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares;
(ii) files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act (including any Form 10-K/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 10-K);
(iii) files a quarterly report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or
(iv) files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release that is “furnished” pursuant to Item 2.02, Item 7.01 or Item 9.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to the reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) 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 “Representation Date”), the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if (1) a Placement Notice is pending or in effect and (2) the Agent requests such certificate within three Business Days after the filing of such Form 8-K with the Commission) with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) (modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented), within two Trading Days of any Representation Date. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending or in effect, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of (1) the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and (2) the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date on which the Company relied on the waiver referred to in the previous sentence and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers a Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares pursuant thereto, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of such Placement Notice. Within two Trading Days of each Representation Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such further information, certificates and documents as the Agent may reasonably request.
(n) Legal Opinions. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion and “negative assurance letter” of ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel to the Company, or such other counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Agent (“Company Counsel”), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel and substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel. On any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no suspension or waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion and negative assurance letter of Company Counsel, or such other counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, each in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel and substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion and negative assurance letter are required to be delivered, modified, as necessary, to relate to the
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Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinion and negative assurance letter for subsequent Representation Dates, Company Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion or negative assurance letter delivered by such counsel 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 or negative assurance letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(o) Intellectual Property Opinion. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no suspension or waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion of ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Company with respect to intellectual property matters, or such other intellectual property counsel satisfactory to the Agent (“Intellectual Property Counsel”), in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel and substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such written opinion for subsequent Representation Dates, Intellectual Property Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such opinion (except that statements in such prior opinion letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(p) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no suspension or waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent registered public accounting firm (and any other independent accountants whose report is included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus) to furnish the Agent letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(p); provided, that if requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to the Agent within 10 Trading Days of the occurrence of any material transaction or event that necessitates the filing of additional, pro forma, amended or revised financial statements (including any restatement of previously issued financial statements). Each Comfort Letter shall be in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and each Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm shall (i) confirm that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) state, 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 underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) update 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.
(q) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, and will cause its officers, directors and Subsidiaries not to (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or would 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 shares of Common Stock to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement in violation of Regulation M, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than the Agent; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase shares of Common Stock in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.
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(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 certificates, authorizations or permits required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus (collectively, “Permits”), 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 and with applicable Environmental Laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such Permits 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 neither it nor any of its Subsidiaries will 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.
(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 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 free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance by the Company and the Agent, neither the Agent nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Agent in its capacity as agent) 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) Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Agent, to qualify the Placement Shares for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Placement Shares to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Agent may reasonably designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as reasonably required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Placement Shares have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as reasonably required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).
(x) [Reserved.]
(y) Emerging Growth Company. The Company will promptly notify the Agent if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time during the term of this Agreement.
(z) Transfer Agent. The Company has engaged and will maintain, at its sole expense, a transfer agent and registrar for the Common Stock.
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8. Conditions to the Agent’s Obligations. The obligations of the Agent 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 (except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any amendments or supplements thereto), and unless such representation or warranty specifies a different time that shall be true and correct as of such time), to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by the Agent of a due diligence review satisfactory to the Agent in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by the Agent in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for all offers and sales of Placement Shares (i) that have been issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) that will be issued pursuant to any Placement Notice.
(b) Prospectus Supplement. The Company shall have filed with the Commission the Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second Business Day following the date of this Agreement.
(c) 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 or any of its Subsidiaries 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 Incorporated Document untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or Incorporated Documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any 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, in the case of the Prospectus, so that it will not contain any 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.
(d) No Misstatement or Material Omission. The Agent 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 the Agent’s reasonable opinion, in consultation with outside counsel, is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion, in consultation with outside counsel, is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(e) 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 would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), if any, by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization
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that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), if any, the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of the Agent (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(f) Company Counsel Legal Opinions. The Agent shall have received the opinions and negative assurance letters, as applicable, of Company Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), as applicable, on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinions and negative assurance letters are required pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), as applicable.
(g) Agent’s Counsel Legal Opinion. The Agent shall have received the opinion and negative assurance letter from ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP, counsel for the Agent, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as the Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they may request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(h) Comfort Letter. The Agent shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(p).
(i) Representation Certificate. The Agent 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).
(j) Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date, the Agent shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by the Secretary of the Company and attested to by an executive officer of the Company, dated as of such date and in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, certifying as to (i) the amended and restated certificate of incorporation of the Company, (ii) the amended and restated bylaws of the Company, (iii) the resolutions of the board of directors of the Company or duly authorized committee thereof authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares and (iv) the incumbency of the officers of the Company duly authorized to execute this Agreement and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement (including each of the officers set forth on Schedule 2).
(k) No Suspension. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on, and the Common Stock shall not have been delisted from, 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 the Agent such appropriate further information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may have reasonably requested. All such information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company shall have furnished the Agent with conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may have reasonably requested.
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(m) Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 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(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) of the Securities Act) or Rule 433, as applicable.
(n) Approval for Listing. Either (i) the Placement Shares shall have been 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 First Placement Notice Date.
(o) [Reserved.]
(p) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit the Agent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).
9. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its affiliates and their respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Agent 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 Agent, in each case from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any and all investigative, legal and other documented expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with this Section 9)), any action, suit, investigation or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party (including any governmental or self-regulatory authority, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), as and when incurred, to which the Agent, or any such other 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 related thereto 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, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (solely with respect to the Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading; or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties or agreements contained in this Agreement; 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, or alleged untrue statement or omission, made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
(b) Agent Indemnification. The Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who 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, in each case from and 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.
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(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 in writing 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 other legal 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 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 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 reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party 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 and documented 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 such 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 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, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, from all liability arising 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) Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for reasonable and documented fees and expenses of counsel for which it is entitled to be reimbursed under this Section 9, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 9(a) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 90 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 60 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
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(e) 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 or insufficient from the Company or the Agent, the Company and the Agent 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, investigation or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than the Agent, 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 the Agent may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent 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 the Agent 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 the Agent, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action, suit, investigation or proceeding 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 Agent, 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 the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(e) 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, suit, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(e) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(e), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action, suit, investigation, proceeding or claim to the extent consistent with this Section 9. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(e), the Agent 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 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(e), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, any affiliates of the Agent, any partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents of the Agent and each person that is controlled by or under common control with the Agent will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer 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(e), 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(e) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the
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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 or pursuant to Section 9(d) 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 the Agent, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
11. Termination.
(a) The Agent 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 judgment of the Agent, may materially impair the ability of the Agent 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; provided, however, in the case of any failure of the Company to deliver (or cause another person to deliver) any certification, opinion or letter required under Section 7(m), Section 7(n), Section 7(o) or Section 7(p), the Agent’s right to terminate shall not arise unless such failure to deliver (or cause to be delivered) continues for more than 30 calendar days from the date such delivery was required, (iii) any other condition of the Agent’s 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 (v) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of United States federal or New York authorities, or (vi) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States or international political, financial or economic conditions that, in the judgment of the Agent, may materially impair the ability of the Agent to sell the Placement Shares hereunder or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities. 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. If the Agent elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), the Agent shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12.
(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement upon ten days’ prior written notice. Any such termination will go into effect at 4:05 P.M., New York City Time, on the tenth day following receipt of such notice. 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 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) The Agent shall have the right, by giving ten day’s notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination will go into effect at 4:05 P.M., New York City Time, on the tenth day following receipt of such notice. 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 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(d) [Reserved.]
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(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), or (c) 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 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.
(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 the Agent 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. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Company shall not be required to pay to the Agent any discount or commission with respect to any Placement Shares not otherwise sold by the Agent under this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company shall remain obligated to reimburse the Agent’s expenses pursuant to Section 7(g).
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 the Agent, shall be delivered to:
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc.
▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Attention: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Office of the General Counsel
Telephone: [**]
Email: [**]
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP
The MetLife Building
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
New York, New York 10166
Attention:
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇
and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:
▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts 02481
Attention: Chief Operating Officer
E-mail: [**]
with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:
▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇ LLP
▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
30
New York, New York 10007
Attention:
▇▇▇▇▇ Barnstable-▇▇▇▇▇: ▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇: ▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇
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 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) by Electronic Notice as set forth in the next paragraph, (iii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier or (iv) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). 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.
An electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”) shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 12 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party in Section 12. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives actual acknowledgment of receipt from the person whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply. Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a nonelectronic form (“Nonelectronic Notice”), which shall be sent to the requesting party within 10 days of receipt of the written request for Nonelectronic Notice.
13. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and the Agent and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers, directors and other persons 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 each such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto, the persons referred to in the preceding sentence and 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 the Agent may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of the Agent without obtaining the Company’s consent, so long as such affiliate is a registered broker-dealer.
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; Waiver. This Agreement (including all schedules (as amended pursuant to this Agreement) and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) 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. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and the Agent; provided, however, that Schedule 2 of this Agreement may be amended by either party from time to time by sending a notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12 and, upon such amendment, all references herein to Schedule 2 shall automatically be deemed to refer to such amended Schedule 2. 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
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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. No implied waiver by a party shall arise in the absence of a waiver in writing signed by such party. No failure or delay in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power, or privilege hereunder.
16. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
17. Consent to Jurisdiction. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the 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 of the transactions 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 (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices under Section 12 of this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient notice 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.
18. Construction.
(a) The section and exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
(b) Words defined in the singular shall have a comparable meaning when used in the plural, and vice versa.
(c) The words “hereof,” “hereto,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement.
(d) Wherever the word “include,” “includes” or “including” is used in this Agreement, it shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation.”
(e) References herein to any gender shall include each other gender.
(f) References herein to any law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any governmental authority shall be deemed to refer to such law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any governmental authority as amended, reenacted, supplemented or superseded in whole or in part and in effect from time to time and also to all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
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19. Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. Each of the Company and the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the other party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Placement Shares that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405), required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Agent or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an issuer free writing prospectus, and that it has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping.
20. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) the Agent has been retained to act as sales agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares, the Agent has acted at arms’ length and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, stockholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters and the Agent has no duties or obligations to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth herein;
(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) neither the Agent nor its affiliates have provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;
(d) the Company has been advised and is aware that the Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Agent and its affiliates have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and
(e) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Agent or its affiliates for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and agrees that the Agent and its affiliates 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 (or other equity holders), creditors or employees of the Company.
21. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from the Agent 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.
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In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and the Agent or a BHC Act Affiliate of the Agent becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against the Agent 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.
For purposes of this Agreement, (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.
22. 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 electronic transmission. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇) 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.
23. Use of Information. The Agent may not provide any information gained in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including due diligence, to any third party other than its legal counsel advising it on this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement unless expressly approved by the Company in writing.
24. Agent’s Information. As used in this Agreement, “Agent’s Information” means solely the following information in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus: the first and second sentences of the seventh paragraph under the heading “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the Agent, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Agent.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| CLIMB BIO, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| Name: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇.▇., ▇▇.B. | ||
| Title: President and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written:
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & CO. INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |
| Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Title: Senior Managing Director, | ||
| Head of Healthcare Investment Banking | ||
[Signature Page to Sales Agreement]
SCHEDULE 1
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
| From: | [NAME] | |
| [TITLE] | ||
| Climb Bio, Inc. | ||
| Cc: | [NAME] | |
| To: | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc. | |
| Subject: | ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.—At the Market Offering—Placement Notice | |
| Ladies and Gentlemen: | ||
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated March 25, 2025 (the “Agreement”), by and between Climb Bio, Inc. (the “Company”), and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc. (“▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co.”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. sell up to [ ] shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of the Company (the “Shares”), at a minimum market price of $ per share[; provided that no more than [ ] Shares shall be sold in any one Trading Day (as such term is defined in Section 3 of the Agreement)]. Sales should begin [on the date of this Placement Notice] and end on [MONTH DAY, YEAR] [until all Shares that are the subject of this Placement Notice are sold].
SCHEDULE 3
Compensation
The Company shall pay ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc. compensation in cash equal to up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Placement Shares pursuant to the terms of the Agreement of which this Schedule 3 forms a part.
[Signature Page to Sales Agreement]
Exhibit 7(m)
OFFICERS’ CERTIFICATE
Each of ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, the duly qualified and elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Climb Bio, Inc. (the “Company”), and ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, the duly qualified and elected Chief Operating Officer of the Company, does hereby certify in their respective capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated March 25, 2025 (the “Agreement”), by and between the Company and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ & Co. Inc., that, after due inquiry, to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned:
(i) Except as may be disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the 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 relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, 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.
(ii) The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.
Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Sales Agreement. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇ LLP, ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP and ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ LLP are entitled to rely on this certificate in connection with the respective opinions such firms are rendering pursuant to the Agreement.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the undersigned, in such individual’s respective capacity as President and Chief Executive Officer or Chief Operating Officer of the Company, has executed this Officers’ Certificate on behalf of the Company.
| By: |
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| Name: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Title: President and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Date: | ||
| By: |
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| Name: ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | ||
| Title: Chief Operating Officer | ||
| Date: | ||