PROPOSAL NO. 3 — APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO OUR CERTIFICATE OF
INCORPORATION, AS AMENDED, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED SHARES OF
OUR COMMON STOCK FROM 100,000,000 TO 250,000,000
Background
We are asking our stockholders to approve an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock. Our authorized capital stock presently consists of 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock. On August 5, 2024, our Board approved, subject to stockholder approval, an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of our common stock from 100,000,000 shares to 250,000,000 shares.
As of July 31, 2024, there were (i) 79,734,091 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, (ii) 25,000 shares of common stock shares held in treasury, (iii) options outstanding to purchase an aggregate of 1,444,050 shares of common stock under our equity incentive plans and arrangements and (iv) an aggregate of 569,563 shares of Common Stock reserved for future grants or purchases under our 2014 Plans.
Accordingly, out of the 100,000,000 shares of common stock presently authorized, as of July 31, 2024, (i) 81,747,704 shares were issued, held in treasury or reserved for outstanding equity awards and (ii) 18,252,296 shares of common stock remain available for future issuance.
In addition, we entered into the Amended and Restated Distribution Agreement, dated August 9, 2021, as amended by the Amendment No.1 dated April 2, 2024, with SVB Leerink LLC (which ceased to be an agent thereunder as of April 2, 2024) and Raymond James & Associates (the “Agent”) for “at the market offering” of our ordinary shares (the “Distribution Agreement”), pursuant to which we may offer and sell our ordinary shares for an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000. The actual number of shares may be issued under the Distribution Agreement will vary depending on the sales prices under the “at-the-market offering”. Sales under the Distribution Agreement are to be made by any method permitted by law that is deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, including, without limitation, sales made directly on the Nasdaq, on any other existing trading market for the Shares, through a market maker or as otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent.
Additionally, as of July 31, 2024, there were (ii) outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 20,720,722 shares of common stock, and (ii) outstanding pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,192,347 shares of common stock.
In addition, if Proposal No. 4 (approval of amendments to our 2014 Plans to increase the shared pool of shares available for issuance under the 2014 Plans by 8,000,000 shares from 5,600,000 shares to 13,600,000 shares) is approved, we will be required to reserve 8,000,000 additional shares of common stock for future issuance under the 2014 Plans (as further described in Proposal No. 4 below).
Overview of the Proposed Amendment
A copy of the amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation is attached as Appendix A to this proxy statement.
The proposed amendment provides that our Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation be amended by replacing the first sentence of Article FOURTH thereof with the following:
“FOURTH: The Corporation shall have authority to issue Two Hundred and Fifty Million (250,000,000) shares of Common Stock, par value $0.00005 per share (the “Common Stock”).”
The proposed amendment, if approved by our stockholders, would become effective upon the filing of a Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. Our Board reserves the right, notwithstanding stockholder approval and without further action by stockholders, to elect not to proceed with the proposed amendment if the Board determines that the proposed amendment is no longer in our best interests and the best interests of our stockholders.