false 0001835597 0001835597 2023-08-08 2023-08-08

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 8, 2023

 

 

PepGen Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   001-41374   85-3819886

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

321 Harrison Avenue

8th Floor

Boston, MA 02118

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(781) 797-0979

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Trading
Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share   PEPG   Nasdaq Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  

 

 

 


Item 1.01

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On August 8, 2023, PepGen Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel”), under which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time at its sole discretion, shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million after the date of the Agreement through Stifel as its sales agent. Also on August 8, 2023, the Company filed a prospectus supplement offering up to $100.0 million shares of its Common Stock in accordance with the Agreement, on the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-272378).

Stifel may sell the Common Stock under the Agreement (A) in negotiated transactions with the consent of the Company or (B) by any other method permitted by law deemed to be an “at-the-market” offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on the Nasdaq Global Select Market or sales made into any other existing trading market for the shares of Common Stock. Stifel will use commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Common Stock from time to time, based upon instructions from the Company (including any price, time or size limits or other customary parameters or conditions the Company may impose). The Company will pay Stifel a commission of up to three percent (3.0%) of the gross sales proceeds of any Common Stock sold through Stifel under the Agreement, and also has provided Stifel with customary indemnification rights. In addition, the Company has agreed to reimburse certain legal expenses and fees incurred by Stifel in connection with the offering.

The Company is not obligated to make any sales of Common Stock under the Agreement. The offering of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all Common Stock subject to the Agreement or (ii) termination of the Agreement in accordance with its terms.

The foregoing description of the Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Agreement, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation, or sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

 

Item 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

 

Exhibit
No.
   Description
  1.1    At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement by and between the Company and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, dated August 8, 2023
  5.1    Opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP
23.1    Consent of Goodwin Procter LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
104    Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

      PEPGEN INC.
  Date: August 8, 2023     By:  

/s/ Noel Donnelly

    Name:   Noel Donnelly
    Title:   Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit 1.1

STIFEL NICOLAUS MASTER FORM ATM SALES AGREEMENT

PEPGEN INC.

Common Stock

($0.0001 par value per share)

AT-THE-MARKET EQUITY OFFERING SALES AGREEMENT

August 8, 2023

STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INCORPORATED

One South Street, 15th Floor

Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Ladies and Gentlemen:

PepGen Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell from time to time to or through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel Nicolaus”), as sales agent and/or principal (“Agent”), shares (the “Shares) of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million on the terms set forth in Section 2 of this At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement (this “Agreement”). The Company agrees that whenever it determines to sell Shares directly to the Agent as principal, it will enter into a separate agreement (each, a “Terms Agreement”) in substantially the form of Annex I hereto, relating to such sale in accordance with Section 3 of this Agreement.

Section 1. Representations and Warranties. The Company represents and warrants to the Agent that as of the date of this Agreement, any applicable Registration Statement Amendment Date (as defined in Section 3 below), each Company Periodic Report Date (as defined in Section 3 below), each Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(c) below) and each Settlement Date (as defined in Section 2 below):

(a) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Company has prepared and filed, or will prepare and file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a shelf registration statement pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), on Form S-3, in respect of the Company’s Common Stock (including the Shares) (collectively, the “Securities”) which shall not have become effective earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, was declared effective by the Commission, or shall be declared effective prior to the Company instructing the Agent to make any sales of Shares, and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such form of registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the 1933 Act has been received by the Company (the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “Basic Prospectus”; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto and any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the prospectus specifically relating to the Shares prepared and filed, or to be filed, with the Commission is hereinafter called the “Original Prospectus”; the Basic Prospectus, as amended and supplemented by the Original Prospectus is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the 1933 Act; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Shares filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the 1933 Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and the rules and


regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “1934 Act Regulations”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the 1934 Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the 1933 Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”).

No order preventing or suspending the use of the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and the Basic Prospectus and the Original Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, at each Time of Sale and each Settlement Date, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the 1933 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” means, with respect to any Shares, the time of sale of such Shares pursuant to this Agreement; the Prospectus and the applicable Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) issued at or prior to such Applicable Time, taken together (collectively, and, with respect to any Shares, together with the public offering price of such Shares, the “General Disclosure Package”) as of each Applicable Time and each Settlement Date, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each applicable Issuer Free Writing Prospectus will not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the General Disclosure Package as of such Applicable Time, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(b) Incorporation of Documents by Reference. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1934 Act and the 1934 Act Regulations, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, (i) at the time the Registration Statement was last deemed effective, (ii) at the time the Prospectus was issued and (iii) on the date of this Agreement, did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading

(c) Company Not Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Shares and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.

(d) Emerging Growth Company Status. From the time of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the 1933 Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).

(e) Independent Accountants. The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules, if any, included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are independent public accountants as required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

 

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(f) Financial Statements. The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiary at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiary for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except, in the case of unaudited interim financial statements, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the exclusion of certain footnotes by the applicable rules of the Commission. The supporting schedules, if any, present fairly in all material respects in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package or 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.

(g) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (i) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiary considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (ii) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or its subsidiary, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiary considered as one enterprise, and (iii) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.

(h) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(i) Good Standing of the Subsidiary. The “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X) (theSubsidiary”) has been duly organized and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, has corporate or similar power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through its subsidiary, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any Subsidiary were issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. The only subsidiary of the Company is the subsidiary listed on Exhibit 21 to the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by the Company with the Commission.

(j) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to reservations, agreements or employee benefit plans referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or pursuant to options

 

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referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus). The outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any security holder of the Company.

(k) Authorization of Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(l) Authorization and Description of Shares. The Shares to be purchased by the Agent from the Company have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to this Agreement against payment of the consideration set forth herein, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable; and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to the preemptive or other similar rights of any security holder of the Company, except as have been waived in writing as of the date of this Agreement. The Common Stock conforms to all statements relating thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and such description conforms in all material respects to the rights set forth in the instruments defining the same. No holder of Shares will be subject to personal liability by reason of being such a holder.

(m) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities registered for sale pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered for sale or sold by the Company under the 1933 Act pursuant to this Agreement, other than those rights that have been disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and have been waived.

(n) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor its subsidiary is (i) in violation of its charter, by-laws or similar organizational document, (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or its subsidiary is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or its subsidiary is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (iii) in violation of any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or its subsidiary or any of their respective properties, assets or operations (each, a “Governmental Entity”), except for such violations that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Shares and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or its subsidiary pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of (X) the provisions of the charter, by-laws or similar organizational document of the Company or its subsidiary or (Y) any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any Governmental Entity, except in the case of clause (Y) above, for such violation that would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or its subsidiary.

(o) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or its subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or its subsidiary’s principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(p) ERISA Compliance. Except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect or as set forth in or contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) each, if any, “employee benefit plan” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”)) for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any organization which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within the meaning of Section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)) would have any liability (each a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and with the requirements of all applicable statutes, rules and regulations including ERISA and the Code; and (ii) each, if any, Plan maintained by the Company that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter or is comprised of a master prototype plan that has received an opinion letter from the Internal Revenue Service (or has submitted an application for a determination letter and is awaiting a response from the Internal Revenue Service), and, to the knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred and no condition exists that would result in the revocation or failure to issue any such determination letter or opinion letter. To the extent applicable, except as would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, with respect to each Plan subject to Title IV of ERISA (X) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA, other than events with respect to which the 30-day notice requirement under Section 4043 of ERISA have been waived by the United States Department of Labor) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur, (Y) no “accumulated funding deficiency” (within the meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code), whether or not waived, has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur, and (Z) neither the Company or any member of its Controlled Group has incurred, or reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the PBGC in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan”, within the meaning of Section 4001(c)(3) of ERISA).

(q) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any Governmental Entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or its subsidiary, which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect their respective properties or assets or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or its subsidiary is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(r) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required under the 1933 Act or 1933 Act Regulations to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been so described and filed as required.

(s) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Shares hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Market, state securities laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).

(t) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiary possess such permits, licenses, clearances, approvals, registrations, exemptions, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate Governmental Entities necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be

 

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expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiary are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor its subsidiary has received any written notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(u) Title to Property. The Company and its subsidiary have good and marketable title to all real property owned by them and good title to all other properties owned by them, in each case, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except such as (i) are described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (ii) do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially and adversely affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or its subsidiary; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and its subsidiary, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or its subsidiary holds properties described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company nor its subsidiary has any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or its subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or its subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.

(v) Possession of Intellectual Property. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Documents, the Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, valid and enforceable rights to use all patents, statutory invention rights, invention disclosures, rights in utility models and industrial designs, inventions, registered and unregistered copyrights (including copyrights in software), trademarks, service marks, business names, trade names, logos, slogans, trade dress, design rights, Internet domain names, social media accounts, any other designations of source or origin, intellectual property rights in technology, software, source code, data and know how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), and any applications (including provisional applications), registrations, or renewals for any of the foregoing, together with the goodwill associated with any of the foregoing, and/or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated and as proposed to be conducted as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Disclosure Documents”) by them, provided that the foregoing should not be construed as a representation of non-infringement of the Intellectual Property of third parties. To the Company’s knowledge, except as disclosed in the Disclosure Documents, the Company (i) is not infringing, misappropriating, diluting or otherwise violating, and has not infringed, misappropriated, diluted or otherwise violated, any Intellectual Property rights of third parties; and (ii) has not received any notice or is otherwise aware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any claim or assertion that the Company, currently, or in the future upon the manufacturing or commercialization of any product or service described in the Disclosure Documents as under development, infringes, misappropriates, dilutes or otherwise violates any Intellectual Property rights of others. To the Company’s knowledge, there is no pending threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others: (X) challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property owned or exclusively licensed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (the “Company Intellectual Property”); or (Y) challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Company Intellectual Property. As to both (X) and (Y), the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim. The Company Intellectual Property has been duly maintained and, to the Company’s knowledge, is valid, subsisting and enforceable and free of material defects in connection with the filing and prosecution thereof. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Documents: (A) the Company is the sole owner of the Company Intellectual Property owned by it and has the valid and enforceable right to use such Intellectual Property without the obligation to obtain consent to sublicense and without a duty of accounting to co-owner, as applicable; and (B) no government funding, facilities or resources of a university, college, other educational institution or research center was used in the development of any Intellectual Property that is owned or purported to be owned by the Company that would confer any

 

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governmental agency or body, university, college, other educational institution or research center any claim or right of ownership to any such Intellectual Property. Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Documents, the Company is not obligated to pay a material royalty, grant a license or option, or provide other material consideration to any third party in connection with the Company Intellectual Property. The Company Intellectual Property has not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and the Company and its subsidiaries are unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such adjudication. To the Company’s knowledge: (A) there are no third parties who have rights to any Company Intellectual Property, except for customary reversionary rights of third-party licensors with respect to Company Intellectual Property that is disclosed in the Disclosure Documents as exclusively licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries; and (B) there is no infringement, misappropriation, dilution, or other violation by third parties of any Company Intellectual Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Company Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries, and all such agreements are in full force and effect. The Company is taking all reasonable steps necessary to secure assignments to its title, rights and interests in and to the Company Intellectual Property owned by the Company from all employees, consultants, agents and contractors engaged in the development of the Intellectual Property on behalf of the Company, including requiring all such employees, consultants, agents and contractors to execute appropriate invention assignment agreements to assign all of their right, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property to the Company. To the Company’s knowledge, no such agreement has been breached or violated. The Company and its subsidiaries have taken all reasonable and customary steps to protect, maintain and safeguard the Company Intellectual Property, including by implementation of physical and cyber security measures and the execution of appropriate employment contracts, patent disclosure agreements, non-competition agreements, non-solicitation agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and confidentiality agreements with their employees, and no employee of the Company or its subsidiaries is in or has been in violation of any term of, such agreements or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company or its subsidiaries. All patents and patent applications owned by the Company or its subsidiaries have been duly and properly filed and each issued patent is being diligently maintained and is valid and enforceable. To the Company’s knowledge, there are no facts that would preclude the issuance of a valid and enforceable patent on any pending patent applications included in the Intellectual Property of the Company. To the Company’s knowledge, the Company and the parties prosecuting such applications have complied or are in the process of complying 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. To the Company’s knowledge: (1) 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; (2) there is no prior art material to any patent of the Intellectual Property of the Company that may render any U.S. patent held by the Company invalid or unenforceable; and (3) there is no prior art or public or commercial activity or other facts required to be disclosed to the USPTO and any relevant foreign patent authority that were not (or are not in the process of being) 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. The Company expects the product candidates described in the Disclosure Documents as under development by the Company to fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents or patent applications owned by the Company, as described in the Disclosure Documents.

(w) Environmental Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (i) neither the Company nor its subsidiary is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (ii) the Company and its subsidiary have all

 

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permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (iii) there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigations or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or its subsidiary and (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or Governmental Entity, against or affecting the Company or its subsidiary relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

(x) Accounting Controls. The Company and its subsidiary maintain a system of effective internal controls over financial reporting (as defined under Rule 13-a15 and 15d-15 under the rules and regulations of the 1934 Act Regulations) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (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, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially and adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

(y) Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company is in compliance with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) that are then in effect and with which the Company is required to comply as of the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, and is taking steps to ensure that it will be in compliance with other provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act not currently in effect, upon the effectiveness of such provisions, or which will become applicable to the Company at all times after the effectiveness of the Registration Statement.

(z) Payment of Taxes. All United States federal and United Kingdom income and corporation tax returns and other material tax returns of the Company and its subsidiary required by law to be filed have been filed, all such returns are true and accurate and are not the subject of any material dispute nor are likely to become the subject of any material dispute with the relevant tax authorities. All taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except assessments that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and as to which adequate reserves have been provided in accordance with GAAP or to the extent any failure to file or pay such taxes or assessments would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The United States federal income tax returns of the Company through the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 have been filed and no assessment in connection therewith has been made against the Company. The Company and its subsidiary have filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law except insofar as the failure to file such returns would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and its subsidiary, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been established by the Company in accordance with GAAP or where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income or corporation tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(aa) Tax Records and Disputes. Each of the Company and its subsidiary has maintained all material records and information required to be maintained for tax purposes; all such records and information were and remain complete and accurate in all material respects. Neither the Company nor its subsidiary is involved in any material dispute or investigation with any tax authority, nor has any enquiry been raised by any tax authority in respect of the Company or its subsidiary which is likely to be material, and, so far as the Company is aware, there are no facts which are likely to cause any such material dispute or investigation, or to cause any tax authority to raise any enquiry which is likely to be material.

(bb) UK Stamp Duty. No U.K. transfer taxes, stamp duties or other similar taxes shall apply to the sale and delivery of the Shares to the Agent or to the resale of the Shares by the Agent as contemplated by this Agreement.

(cc) Tax Residence. Each of the Company and its subsidiary is and has at all times been resident for tax purposes solely in its place of incorporation and is not and has not been treated as either resident or having a permanent establishment in any other jurisdiction for any tax purpose.

(dd) Arm’s Length Transactions. All transactions between the Company and its subsidiary, or between the Company or its subsidiary and any third party, have been and are on fully arm’s length terms.

(ee) Anti-Tax Evasion Laws. Neither the Company nor its subsidiary nor any of its Associated Persons has done anything or omitted to do anything which has caused the Company or its subsidiary to commit an offence under any Anti-Tax Evasion Laws. As used herein, “Associated Person” means, with respect to an entity, any person that is an employee of the entity who is acting in the capacity of an employee, any agent of the entity who is acting in the capacity of an agent or any other person who performs services for or on behalf of the entity who is acting in the capacity of a person performing such services.

(ff) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiary carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with financially sound and reputable insurers, in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company believes is generally maintained by companies of established repute engaged in the same or similar business, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. The Company has no reason to believe that it or its subsidiary will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither of the Company nor its subsidiary has been denied any insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.

(gg) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the Shares as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will not be required, to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

(hh) Absence of Manipulation. Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any affiliate of the Company has taken, nor will the Company or any affiliate of the Company take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed, or would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which constitutes, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or to result in a violation of Regulation M under the 1934 Act.

(ii) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, its subsidiary or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or its subsidiary is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

 

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(jj) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiary are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity involving the Company or its subsidiary with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(kk) OFAC. None of the Company, its subsidiary or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or representative of the Company or its subsidiary is a Person currently the subject or target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States Government, including, without limitation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the sale of the Shares, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to its subsidiary, joint venture partners or other Person, to fund any activities of or business with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject of Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any Person (including any Person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions.

(ll) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of the Agent and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of the Agent.

(mm) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.

(nn) Cybersecurity. (i) There has been no security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure, or other compromise of or relating to the Company’s or its subsidiary’s information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data and databases (including the data and information of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained, processed or stored by the Company and its subsidiary, and any such data processed or stored by third parties on behalf of the Company and its subsidiary, collectively, “Data”), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) that has resulted in any legal obligation on the Company to notify any data subject or governmental authority; (ii) neither the Company nor its subsidiary has been notified of, and each of them has no knowledge of any event or condition that could result in, any material security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure or other compromise to its IT Systems and Data; (iii) the Company and its subsidiary have implemented appropriate controls, policies, procedures, and technological safeguards to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of their IT Systems and Data reasonably consistent with industry standards and practices, or as required by applicable regulatory standards; (iv) the Company and its subsidiary have implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry standards and practices; and (v) the Company’s and its subsidiary’s IT Systems are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiary as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants.

 

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(oo) Compliance with Data Privacy Laws. The Company and its subsidiary have at all times been and are in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data (collectively, the “Privacy Laws”), except where failure to comply would not be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. To ensure compliance with the Privacy Laws, the Company and its subsidiary have in place, comply with, and take appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure compliance in all material respects with its policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling, and analysis of Data (the “Policies”). The Company and its subsidiary have at all times made all disclosures to users or customers required by applicable Privacy Laws, and none of such disclosures made or contained in any Policy have, to the Company’s knowledge, been inaccurate or in violation of any applicable Privacy Laws, except where failure to do so or any such inaccuracy or violation would not be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and its subsidiary (i) have not received any written notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) are not currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation, or other corrective action pursuant to any Privacy Law; and (iii) are not a party to any order, decree, or agreement that imposes any obligation or liability by any governmental or regulatory authority under any Privacy Law. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or any other agreement referred to in this Agreement will not result in a breach of any Privacy Laws or Policies in any material respect.

(pp) Tests and Preclinical and Clinical Studies. The preclinical tests and clinical trials conducted or sponsored by or on behalf of the Company or in which the Company’s or its subsidiary’s product candidates participated (“Studies”) were and, if still pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including, without limitation, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Section 301 et seq.) (“FDCA”) and its implementing regulations at 21 C.F.R. Parts 50, 54, 56, 58, and 312; each description of such Studies, and the results thereof, contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus is accurate in all material respects, and the Company has no knowledge of any other Studies the results of which are materially inconsistent with, or otherwise reasonably call into question, the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; the Company has not received any written notices or other written correspondence from any Governmental Entity requiring the termination, suspension or material adverse modification of any Studies.

(qq) Compliance with Health Care Laws. The Company and its subsidiary is, and during the last three (3) years, has been, in compliance with all Health Care Laws, except where failure to comply would not be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Agreement, “Health Care Laws” means: (i) the FDCA and the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.); (ii) all applicable federal, state, local and foreign health care fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(b)), the Civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. Section 3729 et seq.), the criminal false statements law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(a)), 18 U.S.C. Sections 286, 287, 1347 and 1349, the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7a), the exclusion law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7), the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1320-7h), and applicable laws governing government funded or sponsored healthcare programs; (iii) the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. Section 17921 et seq.); (iv) all other similar local, state, federal, national, supranational and foreign laws; and (v) the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws set forth in subparts (i) through (iv). Except as would not be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, during the last three (3) years, the Company has not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or Governmental Entity alleging that any product, operation, or activity is in violation of any Health Care Laws nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any such written claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action threatened. Except as would not be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, during the last three (3) years, the Company has filed, maintained or submitted all written reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments (“Submissions”) as required by any Health Care Laws, and all such Submissions were accurate on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission). The Company is not a party to any corporate integrity agreements, deferred or non-prosecution agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar written agreements with or imposed by any Governmental Entity. During the last three (3) years, neither the Company nor any of its respective employees, officers, directors, or, to the Company’s knowledge, agents has been excluded, suspended or debarred from participation in any U.S. federal health care program or human clinical research

 

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(rr) Forward-Looking Statements. No “forward-looking statement” (as defined by Section 27A of the 1933 Act or Section 21E of the 1934 Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or its counsel in connection with the offering of the Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to the Agent.

Section 2. Sale and Delivery of Shares.

(a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Company agrees to issue and sell exclusively through the Agent acting as sales agent or directly to the Agent acting as principal from time to time, and the Agent agrees to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell as sales agent for the Company, the Shares. Sales of the Shares, if any, through the Agent acting as sales agent or directly to the Agent acting as principal may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at-the-market offerings” as defined in Rule 415 under the 1933 Act, including sales made directly on Nasdaq, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange or through an electronic communications network.

(b) The Shares are to be sold on a daily basis or otherwise as shall be agreed to by the Company and the Agent on that trading day (other than a day on which Nasdaq is scheduled to close prior to its regular weekday closing time, each, a “Trading Day”) that the Company has satisfied its obligations under Section 6 of this Agreement and that the Company has instructed the Agent to make such sales. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing limitation shall not apply to sales solely to employees or security holders of the Company or its Subsidiaries, or to a trustee or other person acquiring such securities for the accounts of such persons in which Stifel Nicolaus is acting for the Company in a capacity other than as Agent under this Agreement. On any Trading Day, the Company may instruct the Agent by telephone (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email by any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 1 hereto and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from the Agent set forth on Schedule 1 hereto, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged by the Agent) as to the maximum aggregate dollar value or number of Shares to be sold by the Agent on such day (in any event not in excess of the number available for issuance under the Prospectus and the currently effective Registration Statement, as determined by the Company) and the minimum price per Share at which such Shares may be sold. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, the Agent shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell as sales agent all of the Shares so designated by the Company. The Company and the Agent each acknowledge and agree that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling the Shares, (ii) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if they do not sell 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 law and regulations to sell such Shares as required by this Agreement, and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis except as otherwise specifically agreed by each of the Agent and the Company pursuant to a Terms Agreement. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Terms Agreement, the terms of such Terms Agreement will control.

(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not authorize the issuance and sale of, and the Agent as sales agent shall not be obligated to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell, any Shares pursuant to this Agreement in excess of the aggregate offering price or number, as the case may be, of Shares of Common Stock (i) set forth in the preamble paragraph of this Agreement, (ii) available for issuance under the Prospectus and the then currently effective Registration Statement or (iii) authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement or any Terms Agreement by the Company’s board of directors, or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing. In addition, under no circumstances shall any Shares with respect to which the Agent acts as sales agent be sold at a price lower than the minimum price therefor authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors, or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing. In

 

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addition, the Company may, upon notice to the Agent, suspend the offering of the Shares or the Agent may, upon notice to the Company, suspend the offering of the Shares with respect to which the Agent is acting as sales agent for any reason and at any time; provided, however, that such suspension or termination shall not affect or impair the parties’ respective obligations with respect to the Shares sold hereunder prior to the giving of such notice. Any notice given pursuant to the preceding sentence may be given by telephone by any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 1 hereto (confirmed promptly by telecopy or email and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from the Agent set forth on Schedule 1 hereto, which confirmation will be promptly acknowledged).

(d) The gross sales price of any Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement by the Agent acting as sales agent of the Company shall be the market price prevailing at the time of sale for shares of the Company’s Common Stock sold by the Agent on Nasdaq or otherwise, at prices relating to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The compensation payable to the Agent for sales of Shares with respect to which the Agent acts as sales agent shall be equal to up to 3.0% of the gross sales price of the Shares for amounts of Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement. The Company may sell Shares to the Agent, acting as principal, at a price agreed upon with the Agent at the relevant Applicable Time and pursuant to a separate Terms Agreement. The remaining proceeds, after further deduction for any transaction fees imposed by any governmental, regulatory or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales, shall constitute the net proceeds to the Company for such Shares (the “Net Proceeds”). The Agent shall notify the Company as promptly as practicable if any deduction referenced in the preceding sentence will be required.

(e) If acting as a sales agent hereunder, the Agent shall provide written confirmation to the Company following the close of trading on Nasdaq, each day in which Shares are sold under this Agreement setting forth the number of Shares sold on such day, the aggregate gross sales proceeds of the Shares, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to such Agent with respect to such sales.

(f) Settlement for sales of Shares pursuant to this Section 2 will occur on the second business day that is also a Trading Day following the trade date on which such sales are made, unless another date shall be agreed to by the Company and the Agent (each such day, a “Settlement Date”). On each Settlement Date, the Shares sold through the Agent for settlement on such date shall be delivered by the Company to the Agent against payment of the Net Proceeds from the sale of such Shares. Settlement for all Shares shall be effected by book-entry delivery of Shares to the Agent’s account at The Depository Trust Company against payments by the Agent of the Net Proceeds from the sale of such Shares in same day funds delivered to an account designated by the Company. If the Company shall default on its obligation to deliver Shares on any Settlement Date, the Company shall (i) indemnify and hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim or damage arising from or as a result of such default by the Company and (ii) pay the Agent any commission to which it would otherwise be entitled absent such default.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company and the Agent agree that no sales of Shares shall take place, and the Company shall not request the sale of any Shares that would be sold, and the Agent shall not be obligated to sell, during any period in which the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information; provided that, unless otherwise agreed between the Company and the Agent, for purposes of this paragraph (g) such period shall be deemed to end on the date on which the Company’s next subsequent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as the case may be, is filed with the Commission.

(h) At each Applicable Time, Settlement Date, Registration Amendment Date and each Company Periodic Report Date, the Company shall be deemed to have affirmed each representation and warranty contained in this Agreement. Any obligation of the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Shares on behalf of the Company as sales agent shall be subject to the continuing accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the continuing satisfaction of the additional conditions specified in Section 6 of this Agreement.

Section 3. Covenants. The Company agrees with the Agent:

(a) During any period when the delivery of a prospectus is required in connection with the offering or sale of Shares (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 153 or 172, or in lieu thereof, a notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the 1933 Act), (i) to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration

 

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Statement or the Prospectus (other than an amendment or supplement relating to an offering of the Company’s securities which is unrelated to the offering of the Shares hereunder) prior to any Settlement Date which shall be disapproved by the Agent promptly after reasonable notice thereof and to advise the Agent, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus (other than an amendment or supplement relating to an offering of the Company’s securities which is unrelated to the offering of the Shares hereunder) has been filed and to furnish the Agent with copies thereof, (ii) to file promptly all other material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act, (iii) subject to any permitted extensions, to file promptly all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act, (iv) to advise the Agent, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of any notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the 1933 Act, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the form of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information, and (v) in the event of the issuance of any such stop order or of any such order preventing or suspending the use of the Prospectus in respect of the Shares or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order; and in the event of any such issuance of a notice of objection, promptly to take such commercially reasonable steps as may be necessary to permit offers and sales of the Shares by the Agent, which may include, without limitation, amending the Registration Statement or filing a new registration statement, at the Company’s expense (references herein to the Registration Statement shall include any such amendment or new registration statement). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be obligated to furnish copies of any report or statement filed with the Commission to the extent it is available on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).

(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as the Agent may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Agent may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the sale of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction; and to promptly advise the Agent of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offer or sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose.

(c) During any period when the delivery of a prospectus is required (whether physically or through compliance with Rules 153 or 172, or in lieu thereof, a notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the 1933 Act) in connection with the offering or sale of Shares, the Company will make available to the Agent, as soon as practicable after the execution of this Agreement, and thereafter from time to time furnish to the Agent, copies of the most recent Prospectus in such quantities and at such locations as the Agent may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated by the 1933 Act. During any period when the delivery of a prospectus is required (whether physically or through compliance with Rules 153 or 172, or in lieu thereof, a notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the 1933 Act) in connection with the offering or sale of Shares, and if at such time any event shall have occurred 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 any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the 1934 Act any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the 1933 Act or the 1934 Act, to notify the Agent and to file such document and to prepare and furnish without charge to the Agent as many written and electronic copies as the Agent may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to furnish any document to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

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(d) To make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the 1933 Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its Subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158), which requirement may be satisfied by publicly filing the required information on EDGAR.

(e) To pay the required Commission filing fees relating to the Shares within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) under the 1933 Act without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r) under the 1933 Act.

(f) To use the Net Proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement and any Terms Agreement in the manner specified in the General Disclosure Package.

(g) In connection with the offering and sale of the Shares, the Company will file with Nasdaq all documents and notices, and make all certifications, required by Nasdaq of companies that have securities that are listed or quoted on Nasdaq and will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain such listings or quotations.

(h) To not take, directly or indirectly, and to cause its affiliates to refrain from taking, any action designed to cause or result in, or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to constitute, under the 1934 Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any securities of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.

(i) At each Applicable Time, each Settlement Date, each Registration Statement Amendment Date (as defined below), each Company Periodic Report Date (as defined below) and each date on which Shares are delivered to the Agent pursuant to a Terms Agreement, the Company shall be deemed to have affirmed each representation, warranty, covenant and other agreement contained in this Agreement or any Terms Agreement. In each Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by the Company in respect of any quarter in which sales of Shares were made by or through the Agent under this Agreement or any Terms Agreement (each date on which any such document is filed, and any date on which an amendment to any such document is filed, a “Company Periodic Report Date”), the Company shall set forth with regard to such quarter the number of Shares sold through the Agent under this Agreement or any Terms Agreement and the Net Proceeds received by the Company with respect to sales of Shares pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement.

(j) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement and each time the Shares are delivered to the Agent as principal on a Settlement Date and promptly after each (i) date the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be amended or supplemented (other than (1) by an amendment or supplement providing solely for the determination of the terms of the Shares, (2) in connection with the filing of a prospectus supplement that contains solely the information set forth in Section 3(i), (3) in connection with the filing of any current reports on Form 8-K (other than any current reports on Form 8-K which contain financial statements, supporting schedules or other financial data that are material to an offering of securities of the Company in the Agent’s reasonable discretion, including any current report on Form 8-K under Item 2.02 of such form that is considered “filed” under the 1934 Act) or (4) by a prospectus supplement relating to the offering of other securities (including, without limitation, other shares of Common Stock)) (each such date, a “Registration Statement Amendment Date”) and (ii) Company Periodic Report Date, the Company will furnish or cause to be furnished forthwith to the Agent a certificate dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment or the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document, as the case may be, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent to the effect that the statements contained in the certificate referred to in Section 6(f) of this Agreement which were last furnished to the Agent are true and correct at the time of such amendment, supplement or filing, as the case may be, as though made at and as of such time (except that such statements shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to such time) or, in lieu of such certificate, a certificate of the same tenor as the certificate referred to in said Section 6(f), but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented, or to the document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, to the time of delivery of such certificate. As used in this paragraph, to the extent there shall be an Applicable Time on or following the date referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, promptly shall be deemed to be on or prior to the next succeeding Applicable Time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to deliver any such certificate if it has notified the Agent that it does not then presently intend to make sales of Shares under this agreement; provided, however, that such certificate shall then be required to be delivered to the Agent prior to any further sales of Shares under this Agreement covering the period which would most recently have been required but for such notice.

 

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(k) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement and each time the Shares are delivered to the Agent as principal on a Settlement Date, and promptly after each (i) Registration Statement Amendment Date and (ii) Company Periodic Report Date, the Company will furnish or cause to be furnished to the Agent and to counsel to the Agent (A) the written opinion and negative assurance letter of each Company counsel or other counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment or the date of filing with the Commission of such supplement or other document, as the case may be, in a form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, of the same tenor as the opinions and letters referred to in Section 6(c) and Section 6(d) of this Agreement, but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented, or to the document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, to the time of delivery of such opinion and letter or, in lieu of such opinion and letter, counsel last furnishing such letter to the Agent shall furnish such Agent with a letter substantially to the effect that the Agent may rely on such last opinion and letter to the same extent as though each were dated the date of such letter authorizing reliance (except that statements in such last letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to the time of delivery of such letter authorizing reliance). As used in this paragraph, to the extent there shall be an Applicable Time on or following the date referred to in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above, promptly shall be deemed to be on or prior to the next succeeding Applicable Time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to deliver any such opinion or letter if it has notified the Agent that it does not then presently intend to make sales of Shares under this Agreement; provided, however, that such an opinion or letter shall then be required to be delivered to the Agent prior to any further sales of Shares under this Agreement covering the period which would most recently have been required but for such notice.

(l) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement and each time the Shares are delivered to the Agent as principal on a Settlement Date, and promptly after each (i) Registration Statement Amendment Date and (ii) Company Periodic Report Date, the Company will cause KPMG LLP, or other independent accountants reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, to furnish to the Agent a letter, dated the date of effectiveness of such amendment or the date of filing of such supplement or other document with the Commission, as the case may be, in form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, of the same tenor as the letter referred to in Section 6(e) hereof, but modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented, or to the document incorporated by reference into the Prospectus, to the date of such letter. As used in this paragraph, to the extent there shall be an Applicable Time on or following the date referred to in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) above, promptly shall be deemed to be on or prior to the next succeeding Applicable Time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (y) the Company shall not be required to deliver any such letter if it has notified the Agent that it does not then presently intend to make sales of Shares under this Agreement; provided, however, that such letter shall then be required to be delivered to the Agent prior to any further sales of Shares under this Agreement covering the period which would most recently have been required but for such notice, and (z) the Company shall be required to furnish no more than one comfort letter hereunder per each filing of an annual report on Form 10-K or a quarterly report on Form 10-Q; provided, however, in the event the Company files a restatement of its financial statements on Form 10-K/A, 10-Q/A or 8-K, such filing shall be considered a Company Period Report Date, and the Company shall be required to furnish a comfort letter prior to the recommencement of the offering of Shares.

(m) The Company consents to Stifel Nicolaus trading in the Company’s Common Stock for Stifel Nicolaus’ own account and for the account of its clients at the same time as sales of Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement.

(n) If, to the knowledge of the Company, all filings required by Rule 424 in connection with this offering shall not have been made or the representations in Section 1(a) shall not be true and correct on the applicable Settlement Date, the Company will offer to any person who has agreed to purchase Shares from the Company as the result of an offer to purchase solicited by the Agent the right to refuse to purchase and pay for such Shares.

 

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(o) The Company will cooperate timely with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent or its counsel from time to time in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby or in any Terms Agreement, including, without limitation, and upon reasonable notice providing information and making available documents and appropriate corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request.

(p) During each period commencing on the date on which the Company has given an instruction to sell Shares pursuant to Section 2(b) and ending on the close of business of the Settlement Date of the last Shares sold pursuant to such instruction, the Company will not, without (i) giving the Agent at least three business days’ prior written notice specifying the nature of the proposed sale and the date of such proposed sale or otherwise obtaining the Agent’s written consent and (ii) the Agent suspending activity under this program for such period of time as requested by the Company or as deemed appropriate by the Agent in light of the proposed sale, (A) offer, pledge, publicly announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with Common Stock, or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing (other than a shelf registration statement under Rule 415 under the 1933 Act, a registration statement on Form S-8 or post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement) or (B) enter into any swap or other agreement or any transaction that transfers in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any of the economic consequence of ownership of the Common Stock, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (A) or (B) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Shares to be offered and sold through the Agent pursuant to this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, (B) issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock, options to purchase shares of Common Stock or shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to equity incentive plan or employee stock purchase plan rights or any inducement award under Nasdaq rules or other compensation plan of the Company approved by the board of directors of the Company or the compensation committee thereof, (C) issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise or vesting of warrants, options or other equity awards outstanding at the date an applicable instruction to sell Shares is delivered, (D) issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock as consideration for mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations, joint ventures, collaborations, licensing arrangements, strategic alliances, or manufacturing, distribution, marketing, supply, sponsored research, technology transfer or development, or third-party service arrangements occurring after the date of this Agreement which are not used primarily for capital raising purposes; provided that the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issued or issuable in connection with this clause (D) do not exceed 5% of the number of shares of Common Stock of the Company then outstanding; and (E) modification of any outstanding options, warrants of any rights to purchase or acquire shares of Common Stock.

(q) If immediately prior to the third anniversary (the “Renewal Deadline”) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, any of the Shares remain unsold, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Deadline file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, an “automatic shelf registration statement” (as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act) relating to the Shares, in a form satisfactory to the Agent. If the Company is not eligible to file an automatic shelf registration statement, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Deadline, if it has not already done so, file a new shelf registration statement relating to the Shares, in a form satisfactory to the Agent, and will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 60 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the issuance and sale of the Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new automatic shelf registration statement or such new shelf registration statement, as the case may be.

Section 4. Free Writing Prospectus.

(a) (i) The Company represents and agrees that without the prior consent of the Agent, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the 1933 Act; and

 

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(ii) the Agent represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus required to be filed with the Commission.

(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the 1933 Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (including any free writing prospectus identified in Section 4(a) hereof), including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending.

Section 5. Payment of Expenses. The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Shares under the 1933 Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, Original Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Agent; (ii) the cost of printing or producing this Agreement or any Terms Agreement, any Blue Sky and Legal Investment Memoranda, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (iii) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 3(b) hereof, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Agent in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky and Legal Investment Surveys (such fees and disbursements of counsel not to exceed $10,000 in the aggregate); (iv) any filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Agent in connection with, any required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Shares (such fees and disbursements of counsel not to exceed $10,000 in the aggregate); (v) all fees and expenses in connection with listing or quoting the Shares on Nasdaq; (vi) the cost of preparing the Shares; (vii) the costs and charges of any transfer agent or registrar or any dividend distribution agent; and (viii) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section. The fees and disbursements of counsel to the Agent pursuant to subsections (iii), (iv) and (viii) shall not exceed in the aggregate (A) $50,000 in connection with the execution of this Agreement and (B) $15,000 in connection with every date specified in Section 3(j) hereof on which the Company is required to provide a certificate. It is understood, however, that, except as provided in this Section, and Section 7 hereof, the Agent will pay all of its own costs and expenses, including the fees of its counsel, transfer taxes on resale of any of the Shares by it, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers it may make.

Section 6. Conditions of Agent’s Obligation. The obligations of the Agent hereunder shall be subject, in its discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company herein or in certificates of any officer of the Company delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof are true and correct as of the time of the execution of this Agreement, the date of any executed Terms Agreement and as of each Registration Statement Amendment Date, Company Periodic Report Date, Applicable Time and Settlement Date, to the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:

(a) The Registration Statement containing the Original Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission on the date hereof and in accordance with Section 3(a) hereof, any other material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of the form of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the 1933 Act shall have been received; no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Agent.

(b) On every date specified in Section 3(k) hereof, Paul Hastings LLP, counsel for the Agent, shall have furnished to the Agent such written opinion or opinions and negative assurance letters, dated as of such date, with respect to such matters as the Agent may reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.

 

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(c) On every date specified in Section 3(k) hereof, Goodwin Procter LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Agent written opinion or opinions and negative assurance letters, dated as of such date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

(d) On every date specified in Section 3(k) hereof, Clark+Elbing LLP, intellectual property counsel for the Company, or such other legal representative that is familiar with intellectual property matters and is reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, shall have furnished to the Agent written opinion or opinions and negative assurance letters, dated as of such date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in such opinions and negative assurance letters.

(e) At the dates specified in Section 3(l) hereof, the independent accountants of the Company who have certified the financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus shall have furnished to the Agent a letter dated as of the date of delivery thereof and addressed to the Agent in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements of the Company and its Subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(f) Prior to commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement, the Agent shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate Secretary, in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel.

(g) (i) Upon commencement of the offering of Shares under this Agreement and on such other dates as reasonably requested by Agent, the Company will furnish or cause to be furnished promptly to the Agent a certificate of an officer in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Agent stating the minimum price for the sale of such Shares pursuant to this Agreement and the maximum number of Shares that may be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement or, alternatively, maximum gross proceeds from such sales, as authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof or, in connection with any amendment, revision or modification of such minimum price or maximum Share number or amount, a new certificate with respect thereto and (ii) on each date specified in Section 3(j), the Agent shall have received a certificate of executive officers of the Company, one of whom shall be the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer, or Executive Vice President in the area of capital markets and investments, dated as of the date thereof, to the effect that (A) there has been no Material Adverse Effect since the date as of which information is given in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented, (B) the representations and warranties in Section 1 hereof are true and correct as of such date, subject to the qualifications contained therein, except for those which speak solely as of a specific date and (C) the Company has complied in all material respects with all of the agreements entered into in connection with the transaction contemplated herein and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied.

(h) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements then included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, no Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred.

(i) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 3(c) hereof with respect to the timely furnishing of prospectuses.

(j) On such dates as reasonably requested by the Agent, the Company shall have conducted due diligence sessions, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent.

(k) All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the 1933 Act to have been filed by each Applicable Time or related Settlement Date shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424 (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8)).

(l) The Shares shall have received approval for listing or quotation on Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance, prior to the first Settlement Date.

 

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Section 7. Indemnification.

(a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Agent against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which the Agent may become subject, under the 1933 Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the 1933 Act, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse the Agent for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Agent in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in strict conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use therein.

(b) The Agent will indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the 1933 Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, the Basic Prospectus, the Original Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in strict conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use therein; and will reimburse the Company for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Company in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.

(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under such subsection except and then only to the extent such indemnifying party is materially prejudiced thereby. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 7 for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) 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.

 

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(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 7 is unavailable to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other from the offering of the Shares to which such loss, claim, damage or liability (or action in respect thereof) relates. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total commissions received by the Agent. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Agent on the other and the parties’ relative intent, 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 contribution pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total compensation received by the Agent with respect to sales of the Shares sold by it to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which the Agent has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.

(e) The obligations of the Company under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to the directors, officers, employees, attorneys and agents of the Agent and to each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the 1933 Act and each broker dealer affiliate of the Agent; and the obligations of the Agent under this Section 7 shall be in addition to any liability which the Agent may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each director, officer, employee, attorney and agent of the Company and to each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the 1933 Act.

Section 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the Agent, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of the Agent or any controlling person of the Agent, or the Company, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.

Section 9. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the Agent is acting solely in the capacity of an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company with respect to the offering of Shares contemplated hereby (including in connection with determining the terms of such offering) and (ii) the Agent has not assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iii) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Agent has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owe a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

 

21


Section 10. Termination.

(a) The Company shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party, except that (i) with respect to any pending sale through the Agent for the Company, the obligations of the Company, including in respect of compensation of the Agent, shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination; and (ii) the provisions of Section 1, Section 5, Section 7, Section 8, Section 14 and Section 15 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(b) The Agent shall have the right, by giving written notice as hereinafter specified, to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 1, Section 5, Section 7, Section 8, Section 14 and Section 15 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(c) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 10, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Shares by Stifel Nicolaus on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein except any termination pursuant to this clause (c) shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 1, Section 5, Section 7, Section 8, Section 14 and Section 15 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

(d) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect until and unless terminated pursuant to Section 10(a), (b) or (c) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided that any such termination by mutual agreement or pursuant to this clause (c) shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 1, Section 5, Section 7, Section 8, Section 14 and Section 15 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

(e) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided 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 Shares, such sale shall settle in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(h) hereof.

(f) In the case of any purchase by the Agent pursuant to a Terms Agreement, the Agent may terminate this Agreement, at any time at or prior to the Settlement Date (i) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) if there has occurred any Material Adverse Effect in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of Shares, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or Nasdaq, or if trading generally on the American Stock Exchange or the NYSE or Nasdaq has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (iv) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, or (v) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.

Section 11. Notices. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to Stifel Nicolaus shall be delivered or sent by mail, electronic mail, telex or facsimile transmission to:

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

One South Street, 15th Floor

Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Facsimile: (443) 224-1273

Attention: Syndicate Department

with a copy to:

Paul Hastings LLP

MetLife Building

 

22


200 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10166

Facsimile: (212) 319-4090

Attention: Siavosh Salimi

and if to the Company to:

PepGen Inc.

321 Harrison Avenue, 8th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02118

Attention: Chief Executive Officer

Email: jmcarthur@pepgen.com

with a copy to:

Goodwin Procter LLP

100 Northern Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02210

Facsimile: (617) 977-9449

Attention: Richard Hoffman

Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.

Section 12. Parties. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Agent and the Company and, to the extent provided in Sections 7 and 8 hereof, the officers, directors, employees, attorneys and agents of the Company and the Agent and each person who controls the Company or the Agent, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of Shares through the Agent shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.

Section 13. Time of the Essence. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.

Section 14. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and the Agent hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to jury trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

Section 15. Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REFERENCE TO ITS PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW.

Section 16. Consent to Jurisdiction; Waiver of Immunity. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be instituted in (i) the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan or (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

Section 17. Counterparts. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto and thereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such respective counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. This Agreement and any Terms Agreement may be delivered by any party by facsimile or other electronic transmission.

 

23


Section 17. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement between the Agent and the Company in accordance with its terms.

 

24


Very truly yours,
PEPGEN INC.
By:   /s/ James McArthur
  Name: James McArthur
  Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

Accepted as of the date hereof:
STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INCORPORATED
By:   /s/ Mark Dempster
  Name: Mark Dempster
  Title: Managing Director

 

 

25


Schedule 1

Notice Parties

The Company

James McArthur

Noel Donnelly

The Agent

Daniel Covatta

Mark White

 

26


Annex 1

PEPGEN INC.

Common Stock

($0.0001 par value per share)

TERMS AGREEMENT

STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INCORPORATED

One South Street, 15th Floor

Baltimore, MD 21202

Attn: Syndicate Department

Ladies and Gentlemen:

PepGen Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein and in the At-the-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement, dated August 8, 2023 (the “Sales Agreement”), between the Company and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (the “Agent”), to issue and sell to the Agent the securities specified in the Schedule hereto (the “Purchased Securities”) [, and solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, to grant to the Agent the option to purchase the additional securities specified in the Schedule hereto (the “Additional Securities”)]*.

[The Agent shall have the right to purchase from the Company all or a portion of the Additional Securities as may be necessary to cover over-allotments made in connection with the offering of the Purchased Securities, at the same purchase price per share to be paid by the Agent to the Company for the Purchased Securities. This option may be exercised by the Agent at any time (but not more than once) on or before the thirtieth day following the date hereof, by written notice to the Company. Such notice shall set forth the aggregate number of shares of Additional Securities as to which the option is being exercised, and the date and time when the Additional Securities are to be delivered (such date and time being herein referred to as the “Option Closing Date”); provided, however, that the Option Closing Date shall not be earlier than the Time of Delivery (as set forth in the Schedule hereto) nor earlier than the second business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised nor later than the fifth business day after the date on which the option shall have been exercised. Payment of the purchase price for the Additional Securities shall be made at the Option Closing Date in the same manner and at the same office as the payment for the Purchased Securities.]*

Each of the provisions of the Sales Agreement not specifically related to the solicitation by the Agent, as agent of the Company, of offers to purchase securities is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and shall be deemed to be part of this Terms Agreement to the same extent as if such provisions had been set forth in full herein. Each of the representations and warranties set forth therein shall be deemed to have been made at and as of the date of this Terms Agreement [and] [,] the Applicable Time [and any Option Closing Date]*, except that each representation and warranty in Section 1 of the Sales Agreement which makes reference to the Prospectus (as therein defined) shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty as of the date of the Sales Agreement in relation to the Prospectus, and also a representation and warranty as of the date of this Terms Agreement [and] [,] the Settlement Date [and any Option Closing Date]* in relation to the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to relate to the Purchased Securities. The Company will not be required to pay, or cause to be paid, any fees and disbursements of the Agent’s counsel in respect of any purchases by the Agents of Additional Securities as principal.

An amendment to the Registration Statement (as defined in the Sales Agreement), or a supplement to the Prospectus, as the case may be, relating to the Purchased Securities [and the Additional Securities]*, in the form heretofore delivered to the Agent is now proposed to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

27


Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein and in the Sales Agreement which are incorporated herein by reference, the Company agrees to issue and sell to the Agent and the latter agrees to purchase from the Company the number of shares of the Purchased Securities at the time and place and at the purchase price set forth in the Schedule hereto.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement between the Agent and the Company in accordance with its terms.

 

Very truly yours,
PEPGEN INC.
By:    
Name:   James McArthur
Title:   Chief Executive Officer

 

Accepted as of the date hereof:
STIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY, INCORPORATED
By:    
Name:   Mark Dempster
Title:   Managing Director

 

*

Include only if the Agent has an over-allotment option.

 

28

Exhibit 5.1

August 8, 2023

PepGen Inc.

321 Harrison Avenue, 8th Floor

Boston, MA 02118

 

  Re:

Securities Registered under Registration Statement on Form S-3

We have acted as counsel to you in connection with your filing of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-272378) (as amended or supplemented, the “Registration Statement”) filed on June 2, 2023 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), relating to the registration of the offering by PepGen Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) of up to $300,000,000 of any combination of securities of the types specified therein. The Registration Statement was declared effective by the Commission on June 16, 2023. Reference is made to our opinion letter dated June 2, 2023 and included as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. We are delivering this supplemental opinion letter in connection with the prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”) filed on August 8, 2023 by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. The Prospectus Supplement relates to the offering by the Company of up to $100,000,000 in shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”) covered by the Registration Statement. The Shares are being offered and sold by the sales agent named in, and pursuant to, a sales agreement, by and between the Company and such sales agent.

We have reviewed such documents and made such examination of law as we have deemed appropriate to give the opinion set forth below. We have relied, without independent verification, on certificates of public officials and, as to matters of fact material to the opinion set forth below, on certificates of officers of the Company.

For purposes of the opinion set forth below, we have assumed that the Shares are issued for a price per share equal to or greater than the minimum price authorized by the Company’s board of directors prior to the date hereof (the “Minimum Price”) and that no event occurs that causes the number of authorized shares of Common Stock available for issuance by the Company to be less than the number of then unissued Shares that may be issued for the Minimum Price.

For purposes of the opinion set forth below, we refer to the following as “Future Approval and Issuance”: (a) the approval by the Company’s board of directors (or a duly authorized committee of the board of directors) of the issuance of the Shares (the “Approval”) and (b) the issuance of the Shares in accordance with the Approval and the receipt by the Company of the consideration (which shall not be less than the par value of such Shares) to be paid in accordance with the Approval.

The opinion set forth below is limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law.


PepGen Inc.

August 8, 2023

Page 2

 

Based on the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized and, upon Future Approval and Issuance, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

This opinion letter and the opinions it contains shall be interpreted in accordance with the Core Opinion Principles as published in 74 Business Lawyer 815 (Summer 2019).

This opinion is being furnished to you for submission to the Commission as an exhibit to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K relating to the Shares (the “Current Report”), which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Current Report and its incorporation by reference and the reference to our firm in that report. In giving our consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

Very truly yours,
/s/ Goodwin Procter LLP
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
v3.23.2
Document and Entity Information
Aug. 08, 2023
Cover [Abstract]  
Amendment Flag false
Entity Central Index Key 0001835597
Document Type 8-K
Document Period End Date Aug. 08, 2023
Entity Registrant Name PepGen Inc.
Entity Incorporation State Country Code DE
Entity File Number 001-41374
Entity Tax Identification Number 85-3819886
Entity Address, Address Line One 321 Harrison Avenue
Entity Address, Address Line Two 8th Floor
Entity Address, City or Town Boston
Entity Address, State or Province MA
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code 02118
City Area Code (781)
Local Phone Number 797-0979
Written Communications false
Soliciting Material false
Pre Commencement Tender Offer false
Pre Commencement Issuer Tender Offer false
Security 12b Title Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
Trading Symbol PEPG
Security Exchange Name NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company true
Entity Ex Transition Period false

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