5,500,000 Shares Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.000001 PER SHARE UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT September 9, 2015

EX-1.1 2 d63584dex11.htm EX-1.1 EX-1.1

Exhibit 1.1

5,500,000 Shares

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

COMMON STOCK, PAR VALUE $0.000001 PER SHARE

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

September 9, 2015

LEERINK PARTNERS LLC

As Representative of the Several Underwriters,

c/o Leerink Partners LLC

255 California Street, 12th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94111

Dear Sirs:

1. Introductory. Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), agrees with the several Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (the “Underwriters”), for whom Leerink Partners LLC is acting as representative (the “Representative”) to issue and sell to the several Underwriters 5,500,000 shares (the “Firm Securities”) of its common stock, par value $0.000001 per share (the “Securities”) and also agrees to issue and sell to the Underwriters, at the option of the Underwriters, an aggregate of not more than 825,000 additional shares (the “Optional Securities”) of its Securities as set forth below. The Firm Securities and the Optional Securities are herein collectively called the “Offered Securities.

2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the several Underwriters that:

(a) Filing and Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Certain Defined Terms. The Company has filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-203180), including a related prospectus or prospectuses, covering the registration of the Offered Securities under the Act, which has become effective. “Registration Statement” at any particular time means such registration statement in the form then filed with the Commission, including any amendment thereto, any document incorporated by reference therein and all 430B Information and all 430C Information with respect to such registration statement, that in any case has not been superseded or modified. “Registration Statement” without reference to a time means the Registration Statement as of the Effective Time. For purposes of this definition, 430B Information shall be considered to be included in the Registration Statement as of the time specified in Rule 430B.

For purposes of this Agreement:


430B Information” means information included in a prospectus then deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B(e) or retroactively deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B(f).

430C Information” means information included in a prospectus then deemed to be a part of the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430C.

Act” means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Applicable Time” means 6:00 p.m. (New York time) on the date of this Agreement.

Canadian Offering Jurisdictions” means Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

Canadian Offering Memorandum” means the Canadian private placement offering memorandum together with all exhibits thereto of the Company relating to the Offered Securities, dated September 9, 2015 to be utilized for distributions of the Offered Securities in the Canadian Offering Jurisdictions pursuant to the terms hereof.

Canadian Securities Laws” means the applicable securities laws, regulations, rules, policy statements and prescribed forms, collectively, of each of the Canadian Offering Jurisdictions.

Closing Date”has the meaning defined in Section 3 hereof.

Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Effective Time” of the Registration Statement relating to the Offered Securities means the time of the first contract of sale for the Offered Securities.

Exchange Act” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Final Prospectus” means the Statutory Prospectus that discloses the public offering price, other 430B Information and other final terms of the Offered Securities and otherwise satisfies Section 10(a) of the Act.

General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is intended for general distribution to prospective investors, as evidenced by its being so specified in Schedule B to this Agreement.

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the Offered Securities in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

Limited Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is not a General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.

Rules and Regulations” means the rules and regulations of the Commission.

Securities Laws” means, collectively U.S. Securities Laws and Canadian Securities Laws.

Statutory Prospectus” with reference to any particular time means the prospectus relating to the Offered Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to that time, including all 430B Information and all 430C Information with respect to the Registration Statement. For purposes of the foregoing definition, 430B Information shall be considered to be included in the Statutory Prospectus only as of the actual time that form of prospectus (including a prospectus supplement) is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and not retroactively.

Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Act.

 

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U.S. Securities Laws” means, collectively, , the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”), the Act, the Exchange Act, the Rules and Regulations, the auditing principles, rules, standards and practices applicable to auditors of “issuers” (as defined in Sarbanes-Oxley) promulgated or approved by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as applicable, the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market (“Exchange Rules”).

Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act.

Unless otherwise specified, a reference to a “rule” is to the indicated rule under the Act. In the event that the Company has only one subsidiary, then all references herein to “subsidiaries” of the Company shall be deemed to refer to such single subsidiary, mutatis mutandis. For the avoidance of doubt, as used herein, the terms “Registration Statement,” “base prospectus”, “Statutory Prospectus” and “Final Prospectus” shall include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein.

(b) Compliance with Securities Act and Exchange Act Requirements. (i) (A) At the time the Registration Statement initially became effective, (B) at the time of each amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether by post-effective amendment, incorporated report or form of prospectus), (C) at the Effective Time relating to the Offered Securities and (D) on the Closing Date, the Registration Statement conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and each document, if any, filed or to be filed pursuant to the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement complied or will comply when so filed in all material respects with the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and (ii) (A) on its date, (B) at the time of filing of the Final Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) and (C) on the Closing Date, the Final Prospectus will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the Rules and Regulations and will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and each document, if any, filed or to be filed pursuant to the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference in the Final Prospectus complied or will comply when so filed in all material respects with the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any such document based upon written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information is described as such in Section 8(b) hereof. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the General Disclosure Package (as defined below) or the Final Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required.

(c) Compliance with Canadian Securities Laws. The Canadian Offering Memorandum, as of the time of filing thereof, complied (and any amendments or supplements thereto will comply) in all material respects with the applicable requirements of Canadian Securities Laws and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from the Canadian Offering Memorandum (and any amendments or supplements thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for inclusion in the Canadian Offering Memorandum (and any amendments or supplements thereto).

 

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(d) Shelf Registration Statement. The date of this Agreement is not more than three years subsequent to the initial effective time of the Registration Statement. If, immediately prior to the third anniversary of the Registration Statement, any of the Offered Securities remain unsold by the Underwriters, the Company will prior to that third anniversary file, if it has not already done so, a new shelf registration statement relating to the Offered Securities, in a form satisfactory to the Representative, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after that third anniversary, and will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Offered Securities to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Offered Securities. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new shelf registration statement.

(e) Ineligible Issuer Status. (i) At the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2)) of the Offered Securities and (ii) at the date of this Agreement, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, including (x) the Company or any subsidiary of the Company in the preceding three years not having been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or having been made the subject of a judicial or administrative decree or order as described in Rule 405 and (y) the Company in the preceding three years not having been the subject of a bankruptcy petition or insolvency or similar proceeding, not having had a registration statement be the subject of a proceeding under Section 8 of the Act and not being the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Act in connection with the offering of the Securities, all as described in Rule 405.

(f) Emerging Growth Company Status. From the time of the initial confidential submission of the initial registration statement to the Commission during the Company’s initial public offering (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged directly or through any person authorized to act on its behalf in any Testing-the-Waters Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).

(g) General Disclosure Package. As of the Applicable Time, none of (i) the General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time, the preliminary prospectus supplement, dated September 8, 2015, including the base prospectus, dated April 1, 2015 (which is the most recent Statutory Prospectus distributed to investors generally), and the other information, if any, stated in Schedule B to this Agreement to be included in the General Disclosure Package, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), (ii) any individual Limited Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package or (iii) any individual Written Testing-the-Waters Communication that has been authorized by the Company, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted 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. The preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Statutory Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8(b) hereof.

(h) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Offered Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representative as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information then contained in the Registration

 

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Statement. If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information then contained in the Registration Statement or as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if republished immediately following such event or development, would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (i) the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Representative and (ii) the Company has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission. This subsection (h) does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8(b) hereof.

(i) Testing-the-Waters Communication. The Company (a) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication and (b) has not authorized anyone other than the Representative to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company reconfirms that the Representative has been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Testing-the-Waters Communication. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication.

(j) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly incorporated and is existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own, lease and operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in all other jurisdictions in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, results of operations, business, properties, assets, liabilities or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (“Material Adverse Effect”).

(k) Subsidiaries. Each subsidiary of the Company has been duly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and is validly existing as a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own, lease and operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus; and each subsidiary of the Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation, partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, to transact business and is in good standing in all other jurisdictions in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification; all of the issued and outstanding capital stock or other equity or ownership interests of each subsidiary of the Company has been duly authorized and validly issued and is fully paid and nonassessable; and the capital stock of each subsidiary is wholly-owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, defects or adverse claim. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in the General Disclosure Package.

(l) Offered Securities and Capitalization. The Offered Securities and all other outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized; the authorized equity capitalization of the Company is as set forth in the General Disclosure Package; all outstanding

 

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shares of capital stock of the Company are, and, when the Offered Securities have been delivered and paid for in accordance with this Agreement on each Closing Date, such Offered Securities will have been, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and issued in compliance with all Securities Laws, will be consistent with the information in the General Disclosure Package and conform in all material respects to the description of such Offered Securities contained in the Final Prospectus; the stockholders of the Company have no preemptive rights with respect to the Securities, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe or purchase the Offered Securities that have not been duly waived or satisfied; and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of any security holder. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus. The descriptions of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus accurately and fairly presents the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

(m) No Finder’s Fee. Except pursuant to this Agreement, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection with this offering.

(n) Registration Rights. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Act with respect to any securities of the Company owned or to be owned by such person or to require the Company to include such securities in the securities registered pursuant to a Registration Statement or in any securities being registered pursuant to any other registration statement filed by the Company under the Act (collectively, “registration rights”), and any person to whom the Company has granted registration rights has agreed not to exercise such rights until after the expiration of the Lock-Up Period referred to in Section 5(n) hereof.

(o) Listing. The Offered Securities have been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Global Market, subject to notice of issuance.

(p) Absence of Further Requirements. No consent, approval, authorization, or order of, or filing or registration with, any person (including any governmental agency or body or any court) is required to be obtained or made by or on behalf of the Company for the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in connection with the offering, issuance and sale of the Offered Securities by the Company, except such as have been obtained, or made and such as may be required under Securities Laws.

(q) Title to Property. The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real and personal properties and all other assets reflected as being owned by the Company and its subsidiaries in the financial statements referred to in Section 2(ii)(or described elsewhere in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus), in each case, free and clear of any security interests, mortgages, liens, charges, encumbrances, equities, adverse claims and other defects. The Company and its subsidiaries hold any leased real property, improvements, equipment and personal property under valid and enforceable leases, with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made or to be made thereof by them.

 

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(r) Absence of Defaults and Conflicts Resulting from Transaction. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will not result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, (i) the charter, by-laws, partnership agreements or operating agreements or similar organization agreements, as applicable, of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) any statute, rule, regulation or order of any governmental agency or body or any court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, or (iii) any agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the properties of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, except, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii), where such breach, violation or default would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; no consent, approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental or regulatory authority or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or made by the Company and are in full force and effect under the Securities Act and such as may be required under applicable state securities or blue sky laws or by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”); no consent of any other party to any of the agreements or instruments described in clause (iii) is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; a “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition that gives, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give, 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 any of its subsidiaries.

(s) Compliance with Laws. The Company and its subsidiaries have been and are in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, except where failure to be so in compliance would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(t) Absence of Existing Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its charter, by-laws, partnership agreement or operating agreement or similar organization documents, as applicable, or is in default (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would be in default) under any indenture, loan agreement, credit agreement, note, lease, license agreement, contract, franchise or other agreement (including, without limitation, any pledge agreement, security agreement, mortgage or other instrument or other agreement evidencing, guaranteeing, securing or relating to indebtedness) to which any of them is a party or by which any of them is bound or to which any of the properties of any of them is subject, except such defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

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

(v) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and its subsidiaries (i) possess, and are in compliance with the terms of, all certificates, authorizations, franchises, licenses and permits (“Licenses”), including, without limitation, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

 

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(“FDA”) and equivalent foreign regulatory authorities, in each case that are necessary or material to the conduct of the business now conducted or proposed in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus to be conducted by them, except where failure to so possess or be in compliance with such would not be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and (ii) have not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Licenses, in each case such that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect.

(w) Absence of Labor Dispute. No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or with the employees of any principal supplier, manufacturer, customer or contractor of the Company, exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened or imminent.

(x) Intellectual Property. The Company and its subsidiaries own, or have obtained valid and enforceable licenses for, or other rights to use on reasonable terms, the inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks (both registered and unregistered), trade names, service names, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets) and other intellectual property described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus as being owned or licensed by them or which are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted or as proposed to be conducted in the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus (collectively, “Intellectual Property”). To the Company’s knowledge: (i) there are no third parties who have rights to any Intellectual Property, except for customary reversionary rights of third-party licensors with respect to Intellectual Property that is disclosed in the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus as licensed to the Company or one or more of its subsidiaries; and (ii) there is no infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property. There is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others: (A) challenging the Company’s or its subsidiaries’ ownership or rights in or to any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (B) challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim, and none of the Intellectual Property has been adjudged invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part; or (C) asserting that the Company or any of its subsidiaries infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or service described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus as under development, infringe or violate, any patent, trademark, trade name, service name, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim. None of the Intellectual Property used by the Company has been obtained or is being used by the Company in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, upon any of its officers, directors or employees, and the Company is not aware of any facts that it believes would form a reasonable basis for a successful challenge that any of its employees are in or have ever been in violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where such violation relates to such employee’s breach of a confidentiality obligation, obligation to assign to the Intellectual Property, or obligation not to use third party intellectual property or other proprietary rights on behalf of the Company. To the Company’s knowledge, there is no prior art material to any patent or patent application of the Intellectual Property that may render any U.S. patent held by the Company invalid or any U.S. patent application held by the Company unpatentable that has not been disclosed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Company and its subsidiaries have complied in all material respects with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed and/or assigned to the Company or any subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect. The product candidates described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus as under development by the Company or any subsidiary fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company or any subsidiary.

 

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(y) Environmental Laws. Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect: (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy, decision or order of any governmental agency or body or any court relating to the 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 (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 subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements; (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries owns or operates any real property contaminated with any substance that is subject to any environmental laws, is liable for any off-site disposal or contamination pursuant to any environmental laws, or is subject to any claim relating to any environmental laws; and (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no events or circumstances that might 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 body or agency, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

(z) ERISA Compliance. The Company and its subsidiaries and any “employee benefit plan” (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively, “ERISA”)) established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or their “ERISA Affiliates” (as defined below) are in compliance, to the extent applicable, in all material respects with ERISA. “ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, any member of any group of organizations described in Sections 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the “Code”) of which the Company or such subsidiary is a member. No “reportable event” (as defined under ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates. No “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates, if such “employee benefit plan” were terminated, would have any “amount of unfunded benefit liabilities” (as defined under ERISA). Neither the Company, its subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “employee benefit plan” or (ii) Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the Code. Each employee benefit plan established or maintained by the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification.

(aa) Reserved.

(bb) Absence of Manipulation. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Securities.

 

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(cc) Related-Party Transactions. There are no business relationships or related-party transactions involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any other person required to be described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus that have not been described as required.

(dd) FINRA Matters. All of the information provided to the Underwriters or to counsel for the Underwriters by the Company, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Offered Securities is true, complete, correct in all material respects and compliant with FINRA’s rules and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules or NASD Conduct Rules is true, complete and correct in all material respects.

(ee) Parties to Lock-Up Agreements. The Company has furnished to the Underwriters a letter agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Lock-up Agreement”) from each of the persons listed on Exhibit B. Such Exhibit B lists under an appropriate caption the directors and executive officers of the Company. If any additional persons shall become directors or executive officers of the Company prior to the end of the Company Lock-up Period (as defined below), the Company shall cause each such person, prior to or contemporaneously with their appointment or election as a director or executive officer of the Company, to execute and deliver to the Representative a Lock-up Agreement.

(ff) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any third-party statistical and market-related data included in a Registration Statement, a Statutory Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication is based on or derived from sources that the Company believes, after reasonable inquiry, to be reliable and accurate in all material respects. To the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.

(gg) Internal Controls and Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, the Company, its subsidiaries and the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) are in compliance with applicable provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley and all applicable Exchange Rules. The Company maintains a system of internal controls, including, but not limited to, disclosure controls and procedures, internal controls over accounting matters and financial reporting, an internal audit function and legal and regulatory compliance controls (collectively, “Internal Controls”) that comply with the U.S. Securities Laws and are sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. General Accepted Accounting Principles (“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. The Internal Controls are, or upon consummation of the offering of the Offered Securities will be, overseen by the Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board in accordance with Exchange Rules. The Company has not publicly disclosed or reported to the Audit Committee or the Board, and within the next 135 days the Company does not reasonably expect to publicly disclose or report to the Audit Committee or the Board, a significant deficiency, material weakness, change in Internal Controls or fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in Internal Controls (each, an “Internal Control Event”), any violation of, or failure to comply with, the U.S. Securities Laws, or any matter which, if determined adversely, would have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(hh) Litigation. There are no pending actions, suits or proceedings (including any inquiries or investigations by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign) against or affecting the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect, or would materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement, or which are otherwise material in the context of the sale of the Offered Securities; and no such actions, suits or proceedings (including any inquiries or investigations by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign) are to the Company’s knowledge, threatened or contemplated.

(ii) Financial Statements. The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates shown and their results of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the periods shown, and such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus. The financial data set forth, or incorporated by reference, in the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus under the caption “Capitalization” fairly present the information set forth therein on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements contained in the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus. To the Company’s knowledge, no person who has been suspended or barred from being associated with a registered public accounting firm, or who has failed to comply with any sanction pursuant to Rule 5300 promulgated by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), has participated in or otherwise aided the preparation of, or audited, the financial statements, supporting schedules or other financial data filed with the Commission as a part of the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus.

(jj) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, since the end of the period covered by the latest audited financial statements included in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus (i) there has been no change, nor any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, results of operations, business, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole that is material and adverse, (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity, have not incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, including without limitation any losses or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, earthquakes, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any strike, labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, that are material, individually or in the aggregate, to the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity, or has entered into any transactions not in the ordinary course of business; and (iii) there has been no material adverse change in the capital stock, short-term indebtedness, long-term indebtedness, net current assets or net assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company, except for dividends paid to the Company or other subsidiaries, by any of the Company’s subsidiaries on any class of capital stock, or any repurchase or redemption by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any class of capital stock.

(kk) Independent Accountants. Deloitte LLP, which has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, is (i) an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act, and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the Commission

 

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and of the PCAOB and is also independent within the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, (ii) in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and (iii) a registered public accounting firm as defined by the PCAOB whose registration has not been suspended or revoked and who has not requested such registration to be withdrawn.

(ll) Investment Company Act. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Offered Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

(mm) Ratings. No “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as such term is defined in Rule 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act (i) has imposed (or has informed the Company that it is considering imposing) any condition (financial or otherwise) on the Company’s retaining any rating assigned to the Company or any securities of the Company or (ii) has indicated to the Company that it is considering any of the actions described in Section 7(d)(ii) hereof.

(nn) Taxes. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign income and franchise tax returns required to be filed through the date of this Agreement or have properly requested extensions thereof and have paid all taxes required to be paid thereon (except as currently being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and for which reserves have been created, in conformity with GAAP, in the financial statements of the Company referred to in Section 2(ii)).

(oo) Tax Matters Relating to Aquinox Canada. None of the shares of Aquinox Canada derives, and none of them has at any time within the past 60 months derived, more than 50% of its fair market value directly or indirectly from or from any combination of (i) real or immovable property situated in Canada, (ii) Canadian resource properties (as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)), (iii) timber resource properties (as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)), and (iv) options in respect of, or interests in, or for civil law, a right in, property described in any of (i) to (iii), whether or not the property exists.

(pp) Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility in such amounts as are reasonably prudent and customary for the businesses in which they are engaged; all material policies of insurance and material fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and there are no material claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any of the Company’s insurance policies or instruments as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has been refused any material insurance coverage sought or applied for; neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth in or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus.

(qq) No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or any subsidiary, has made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state or foreign office in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus.

 

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(rr) Anti-Corruption. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has, in the course of its actions for, or on behalf of, the Company or any of its subsidiaries (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any domestic government official, “foreign official” (as defined in the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “FCPA”)) or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the FCPA or any applicable non-U.S. anti-bribery statute or regulation; or (iv) made any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment to any domestic government official, such foreign official or employee; and the Company and its subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates have conducted their respective 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.

(ss) Anti-Money Laundering. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar applicable rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(tt) Regulatory Matters: Products and Product Candidates. The Company and its subsidiaries (i) have operated and currently operate their respective businesses in compliance in all material respects with all statutes, rules and regulations applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, marketing, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, storage, import, export or disposal of any of the Company’s product candidates or any product manufactured or distributed by the Company, including, without limitation, the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et. seq.), the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the Anti-Inducement Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a(a)(5)), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.), the administrative False Claims Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), the exclusion laws (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7), the Medicare statute (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act), the Medicaid statute (Title XIX of the Social Security Act), the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, and any other similar federal, state or local laws (collectively, “Applicable Laws”) and have not engaged in activities which are, as applicable, prohibited, cause for civil penalties, or mandatory or permissive exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, or any other state health care program or federal health care program, (ii) have not received any FDA Form 483, written notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or notice from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging or asserting non-compliance with any Applicable Laws or any licenses, exemptions, certificates, approvals, clearances, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws (“Authorizations”), (iii) possess all material Authorizations and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and are not in violation of any term of any

 

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such Authorizations, (iv) have not received notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product operation or activity is in violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and have no knowledge that any such court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding, (v) have not received notice that any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority has taken, is taking or intends to take action to materially limit, suspend, materially modify or revoke any Authorizations and have no knowledge that any such court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is considering such action, (vi) have filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and correct on the date filed in all material respects (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission), and (vii) is not a party to and does not have any ongoing reporting obligations pursuant to any corporate integrity agreement, deferred prosecution agreement, monitoring agreement, consent decree, settlement order, plan of correction or similar agreement imposed by any governmental authority.

(uu) Economic Sanctions. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, after due inquiry, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of this offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, or any joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that currently is the subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC 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 U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

(vv) Forward-Looking Statements. Each financial or operational projection or other “forward-looking statement” (as defined by Section 27A of the Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the General Disclosure Package (as defined below) and the Final Prospectus (i) was so included by the Company in good faith and with reasonable basis after due consideration by the Company of the underlying assumptions, estimates and other applicable facts and circumstances and (ii) is accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying those factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statement. No such statement was made with the knowledge of an executive officer or director of the Company that is was false or misleading.

(ww) Regulatory Matters: Manufacturing. To the Company’s knowledge, the manufacturing facilities and operations of its suppliers are operated in compliance in all material respects with all applicable statutes, rules, regulations and policies of the FDA or from any other federal, state, local or foreign health-care related regulatory agency or drug regulatory agency, or Institutional Review Board (collectively, the “Regulatory Authorities”).

(xx) Regulatory Matters: Clinical Trials. None of the Company’s product candidates have received marketing approval from any Regulatory Authority. All clinical and preclinical studies and trials conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by the Company or its subsidiaries, or in which the Company or its subsidiaries participated, with respect to the Company’s product candidates, including any such studies and trials that are described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, or the results of which are referred to in


the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, as applicable (collectively, “Company Trials”), were, and if still pending are, being conducted in all material respects in accordance with the protocols, procedures and controls designed and approved for such studies and with all applicable statutes, rules, regulations and policies of the Regulatory Authorities and current good clinical practices and good laboratory practices, standard medical and scientific research procedures and any applicable rules, regulations and policies of the jurisdiction in which such trials and studies are being conducted; the descriptions in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus of the results of any Company Trials are accurate and complete descriptions in all material respects and fairly present the data derived therefrom; the Company and its subsidiaries have no knowledge of any other studies or trials not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, the results of which are inconsistent with or call into question the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus; the Company and its subsidiaries have operated at all times and are currently in compliance in all material respects with all applicable statutes, rules, regulations and policies of the Regulatory Authorities; neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have received, nor does the Company or its subsidiaries have knowledge after due inquiry that any of its collaboration partners has received, any written notices, correspondence or other communications from the Regulatory Authorities or any other governmental agency requiring or threatening the termination, material modification or suspension of Company Trials, and, to the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ knowledge, there are no reasonable grounds for the same. The Company and its subsidiaries have obtained (or caused to be obtained) informed consent by or on behalf of each human subject who participated in a Company Trial. In using or disclosing patient information received by the Company or its subsidiaries in connection with a Company Trial, the Company and its subsidiaries have complied in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, including, without limitation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the rules and regulations thereunder. To the Company’s knowledge, none of the Company Trials involved any investigator who has been disqualified as a clinical investigator or has been found by the FDA to have engaged in scientific misconduct.

(yy) No Contract Terminations. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sent or received any communication regarding termination of, or intent not to renew, any of the contracts or agreements referred to or described in any preliminary prospectus, the Final Prospectus or any free writing prospectus, or referred to or described in, or filed as an exhibit to, the Registration Statement, and no such termination or non-renewal has been threatened by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party to any such contract or agreement, which threat of termination or non-renewal has not been rescinded as of the date hereof.

(zz) Dividend Restrictions. No subsidiary of the Company is prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, or from making any other distribution with respect to such subsidiary’s equity securities or from repaying to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company any amounts that may from time to time become due under any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any property or assets to the Company or to any other subsidiary.

3. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of Offered Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Company agrees to sell to the several Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $14.57 per share, the respective number of shares of Firm Securities set forth opposite the names of the Underwriters in Schedule A hereto.

 

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The Company will deliver the Firm Securities to or as instructed by the Representative for the accounts of the several Underwriters in a form reasonably acceptable to the Representative against payment of the purchase price by the Underwriters in Federal (same day) funds by wire transfer to an account at a bank acceptable to the Representative drawn to the order of the Company at the office of Latham & Watkins LLP, 140 Scott Drive, Menlo Park, California, 94025, at 10:00 a.m., New York time, on September 15, 2015, or at such other time not later than seven full business days thereafter as the Representative and the Company determine, such time being herein referred to as the “First Closing Date”. For purposes of Rule 15c6-1 under the Exchange Act, the First Closing Date (if later than the otherwise applicable settlement date) shall be the settlement date for payment of funds and delivery of securities for all the Offered Securities sold pursuant to the offering. The Firm Securities so to be delivered or evidence of their issuance will be made available for checking at the above office of Latham & Watkins LLP at least 24 hours prior to the First Closing Date.

In addition, upon written notice from the Representative given to the Company from time to time not more than 30 days subsequent to the date of the Final Prospectus, the Underwriters may purchase all or less than all of the Optional Securities at the purchase price per Security to be paid for the Firm Securities, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Securities but not payable on the Optional Securities. The Company agrees to sell to the Underwriters the number of shares of Optional Securities specified in such notice and the Underwriters agree, severally and not jointly, to purchase such Optional Securities. Such Optional Securities shall be purchased for the account of each Underwriter in the same proportion as the number of shares of Firm Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name bears to the total number of shares of Firm Securities (subject to adjustment by the Representative to eliminate fractions) and may be purchased by the Underwriters only for the purpose of covering over-allotments made in connection with the sale of the Firm Securities. No Optional Securities shall be sold or delivered unless the Firm Securities previously have been, or simultaneously are, sold and delivered. The right to purchase the Optional Securities or any portion thereof may be exercised from time to time and to the extent not previously exercised may be surrendered and terminated at any time upon notice by the Representative to the Company.

Each time for the delivery of and payment for the Optional Securities, being herein referred to as an “Optional Closing Date”, which may be the First Closing Date (the First Closing Date and each Optional Closing Date, if any, being sometimes referred to as a “Closing Date”), shall be determined by the Representative but, unless the Optional Closing Date is the First Closing Date or as otherwise mutually agreed between the Company and the Representative, shall be not earlier than two full business days nor later than five full business days after written notice of election to purchase Optional Securities is given. The Company will deliver the Optional Securities being purchased on each Optional Closing Date to or as instructed by the Representative for the accounts of the several Underwriters in a form reasonably acceptable to the Representative against payment of the purchase price therefor in Federal (same day) funds by wire transfer to an account at a bank acceptable to the Representative drawn to the order of the Company, at the above office of Latham & Watkins LLP. The Optional Securities being purchased on each Optional Closing Date or evidence of their issuance will be made available for checking at the above office of Latham & Watkins LLP at a reasonable time in advance of such Optional Closing Date.

Each Underwriter covenants and agrees that it shall not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any Offered Securities in Canada or to or for the account of any resident of or person in Canada (a “Canadian Purchaser”) unless such offer or sale is, based upon the covenants, representations and warranties deemed to be made by an Canadian Purchaser as set forth in the Canadian Offering Memorandum, to or for the account of a resident of or person in a Canadian Offering Jurisdiction in compliance with Canadian Securities Laws and in such manner that the distribution of the Offered Securities will not have to be qualified by way of a prospectus under Canadian Securities Laws. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each Underwriter agrees that it shall not directly or indirectly sell any Offered Securities to a Canadian Purchaser unless such Canadian Purchaser has represented for the benefit of the Company and the applicable Underwriter that (i) it is a resident of or located in one of the Canadian Offering

 

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Jurisdictions; (ii) it is purchasing, or is deemed under applicable Canadian Securities Laws to be purchasing, Offered Securities as principal and not as agent, with investment intent and not with a view to distribution or syndication; (iii) it is not an individual; (iv) it is (A) an “accredited investor” as defined in National Instrument 45-106 –Prospectus Exemptions (“NI 45-106”) if it is resident in a province or territory of Canada other than Ontario or (B) an “accredited investor” as defined in the Securities Act (Ontario) and NI 45-106 if it is resident in Ontario; (v) it was not created and is not being used solely to purchase or hold securities as an accredited investor as described in paragraph (m) of the definition of “accredited investor” in Section 1.1 of NI 45-106; and (vi) it is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 –Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (“NI 31-103”) if the Canadian Purchaser is resident of or located in British Columbia or did not acquire the Offered Securities through a registered Canadian investment dealer. Each Underwriter covenants and agrees that it will not provide to any Canadian Purchaser any document or other material (other than the Canadian Offering Memorandum) that would constitute an offering memorandum with respect to the Offered Securities within the meaning of Canadian Securities Laws

As promptly as reasonably practical after Closing, the Underwriters will deliver to the Company such Canadian Purchaser’s identity, address, telephone number and jurisdiction of residence.

4. Offering by Underwriters. It is understood that the several Underwriters propose to offer the Offered Securities for sale to the public as set forth in the Final Prospectus.

5. Certain Agreements of the Company. The Company agrees with the several Underwriters that:

(a) Filing of Prospectuses. The Company has filed or will file each Statutory Prospectus (including the Final Prospectus) pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 424(b)(2) (or, if applicable and consented to by the Representative, subparagraph (5)) not later than the second business day following the earlier of the date it is first used or the execution and delivery of this Agreement. The Company has complied and will comply with Rule 433.

(b) Filing of Amendments; Response to Commission Requests. The Company will promptly advise the Representative of any proposal to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or any Statutory Prospectus at any time and will offer the Representative a reasonable opportunity to comment on any such amendment or supplement; and the Company will also advise the Representative promptly of (i) the filing of any such amendment or supplement, (ii) any request by the Commission or its staff for any amendment to the Registration Statement, for any supplement to any Statutory Prospectus or for any additional information, (iii) the institution by the Commission of any stop order proceedings in respect of a Registration Statement or the threatening of any proceeding for that purpose, and (iv) the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Offered Securities in any jurisdiction or the institution or threatening of any proceedings for such purpose. The Company will use its reasonable best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or the suspension of any such qualification and, if issued, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof. If, at any time prior to the filing of the Final Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b), any event occurs as a result of which the General Disclosure Package would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made at such time not misleading, the Company will (x) promptly notify the Representative so that any use of the General Disclosure Package may cease until it is amended or supplemented; (y) amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package to correct such statement or omission; and (z) supply any amendment or supplement to the Representative in such quantities as the Representative may reasonably request.

 

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(c) Preparation of Canadian Offering Memorandum and Ancillary Documents. The Company covenants and agrees to take all steps and actions as may be reasonably necessary or desirable to fulfil, to the Underwriters’ reasonable satisfaction, all legal requirements to enable the Underwriters to offer and sell the Offered Securities to Canadian Purchasers in accordance with Section 3 hereof. The Representative will arrange for preparation of the Canadian Offering Memorandum (and preliminary versions thereof), subject to approval of the Company.

(d) Continued Compliance with U.S. Securities Laws. If, at any time when a prospectus relating to the Offered Securities is (or but for the exemption in Rule 172 would be) required to be delivered under the Act by any Underwriter or dealer, any event occurs as a result of which the Final Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or if it is necessary at any time to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Final Prospectus to comply with the Act, the Company will promptly notify the Representative of such event and will promptly prepare and file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and the dealers and any other dealers upon request of the Representative, an amendment or supplement which will correct such statement or omission or an amendment which will effect such compliance. Neither the Representative’s consent to, nor the Underwriters’ delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the conditions set forth in Section 7 hereof.

(e) Continued Compliance with Canadian Securities Laws. If, at any time when any event occurs as a result of which the Canadian Offering Memorandum, as then amended or supplemented, would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the Canadian Offering Memorandum to comply with Canadian Securities Laws, the Company will promptly notify the Representative of such event and will promptly prepare and deliver to the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and the dealers and any other dealers upon request of the Representative, an amendment or supplement which will correct such statement or omission or an amendment which will effect such compliance (the “Supplementary Material”). The Company shall promptly after receiving notice or obtaining knowledge thereof notify the Representative in writing of the imposition of any order preventing or affecting the sale of the Offered Securities in any of the Canadian Offering Jurisdictions or the institution, threatening or contemplation of any proceedings for any such purpose. Upon the occurrence of any event referred to in this Section, the Company shall promptly, and within any statutory limitation therefor, comply with all applicable filing and other requirements under Canadian Securities Laws or other applicable laws as a result of such event, provided that the Company shall not distribute, file or deliver any Supplementary Material or other documents without first obtaining the approval of the Representative after consulting with the Representative with respect to the form and content thereof.

(f) Testing-the-Waters Communication. If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such statement or omission.

(g) Rule 158. As soon as practicable, but not later than 16 months after the date of this Agreement, the Company will make generally available to its security holders an earnings statement covering a period of at least 12 months beginning after the date of this Agreement and satisfying the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act and Rule 158 under the Act.

 

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(h) Furnishing of Prospectuses. The Company will furnish to the Representative copies of the Registration Statement, including all exhibits, any Statutory Prospectus, the Final Prospectus and all amendments and supplements to such documents, in each case, as soon as available and in such quantities as the Representative reasonably requests. The Company will pay the expenses of printing and distributing to the Underwriters all such documents.

(i) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will arrange for the qualification of the Offered Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative reasonably designate and will continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Offered Securities as contemplated hereby; provided that the Company will not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or file a general consent to service of process in any such jurisdiction or take any action that would subject it to taxation in respect of doing business in any such jurisdiction where it is not then so subject.

(j) Reporting Requirements. During the period of three years hereafter, the Company will furnish to the Representative and, upon request, to each of the other Underwriters, as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, a copy of its annual report to stockholders for such year; and, the Company will furnish to the Representative (i) as soon as available, a copy of each report and any definitive proxy statement of the Company filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act or mailed to stockholders, and (ii) from time to time, such other information concerning the Company as the Representative may reasonably request, as permitted by applicable law. However, so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of either Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act and is timely filing reports with the Commission on its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (or any successor system), it is not required to furnish such reports or statements to the Underwriters.

(k) Payment of Expenses. The Company will pay (i) all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including but not limited to any filing fees and other expenses (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters) incurred in connection with qualification of the Offered Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative designate and the preparation and printing of memoranda relating thereto, (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and the transfer agent of the Shares, (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors, (v) the fees and expenses of Canadian Counsel to the Underwriters, including all fees, attorneys’s fees and expenses incurred by the Underwriters in connection with preparing and printing a “Blue Sky Survey” or memorandum and the Canadian Offering Memorandum, and any supplements thereto, advising the Underwriters of such qualifications, registrations and exemptions, provided that the Company shall not be responsible for reimbursing any reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses of the Canadian Counsel to the Underwriters in excess of $5,000, (vi) costs and expenses related to the review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) of the Offered Securities (including filing fees and the fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters relating to such review) in an amount not to exceed $30,000, (vii) costs and expenses relating to investor presentations, any “road show” or Testing-the-Waters Communication in connection with the offering and sale of the Offered Securities including, without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, (viii) fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentation with the prior approval of the Company, (ix) all other travel and lodging expenses of the Company’s representatives, officers and employees and such consultants and all other expenses of the

 

19


Company, fees and expenses incident to listing the Offered Securities on the NASDAQ Global Market, (x) fees and expenses in connection with the registration of the Offered Securities under the Exchange Act, and (xi) expenses incurred in distributing preliminary prospectuses, the Final Prospectus and the Canadian Offering Memorandum (including any amendments and supplements thereto) to the Underwriters and for expenses incurred for preparing, printing and distributing any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses to investors or prospective investors. Except as provided in this Section 5(k) and Section 10, the several Underwriters shall pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the fees of their counsel, and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.

(l) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it in connection with this offering in the manner described in the “Use of Proceeds” section of the General Disclosure Package and, except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus, the Company does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any Underwriter or affiliate of any Underwriter.

(m) Absence of Manipulation. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any securities of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Securities; provided that no representation is made with regard to the Underwriters.

(n) Restriction on Sale of Securities. For the period specified below (the “Lock-Up Period”), the Company will not, directly or indirectly, take any of the following actions with respect to its Securities or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of its Securities (“Lock-Up Securities”): (i) offer, sell, issue, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of Lock-Up Securities, (ii) offer, sell, issue, contract to sell, contract to purchase or grant any option, right or warrant to purchase Lock-Up Securities, (iii) enter into any swap, hedge or any other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequences of ownership of Lock-Up Securities, (iv) establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position in Lock-Up Securities within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act or (v) file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to Lock-Up Securities (other than registration statements on Form S-8 relating to Lock Up Securities granted or to be granted pursuant to the terms of a plan disclosed in the General Disclosure Package), or publicly disclose the intention to take any such action, without the prior written consent of the Representative, except (A) pursuant to this Agreement, (B) issuances of Lock-Up Securities pursuant to the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities or the exercise of warrants or options, in each case outstanding on the date hereof, (C) grants of employee stock options or other securities pursuant to the terms of a plan in effect on the date hereof or as described in the General Disclosure Package or the Final Prospectus or issuances of Lock-Up Securities pursuant to the exercise of such options, and (D) issuances of Lock Up Securities or securities exercisable for, convertible into or exchangeable for Lock Up Securities in connection with any acquisition, collaboration, merger, licensing or other joint venture or strategic transaction involving the Company; provided that in the case of clause (D), that such issuances shall not be greater than 10% of the total outstanding shares of the Company immediately following the initial closing hereunder and the recipients of such Lock Up Securities agree to be bound by a lockup letter in the form executed by directors, officers and shareholders pursuant to Section 7(i) hereof. The Lock-Up Period will commence on the date hereof and continue for 90 days after the date hereof or until such earlier date that the Representative consents to in writing.

(o) Emerging Growth Company Status. The Company will promptly notify the Representative if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) completion of the distribution of the Offered Securities within the meaning of the Act and (ii) completion of the Lock-Up Period (as defined in Section 5(n) hereof).

 

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6. Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company and the Representative, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Offered Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Representative is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely Commission filing where required, legending and record keeping.

7. Conditions of the Obligations of the Underwriters. The obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase and pay for the Firm Securities on the First Closing Date and the Optional Securities to be purchased on each Optional Closing Date will be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein (as though made on such Closing Date), to the accuracy of the statements of Company officers made pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions precedent:

(a) Accountants’ Comfort Letter. The Representative shall have received letters, dated, respectively, the date hereof and each Closing Date, of Deloitte LLP confirming that they are a registered public accounting firm and independent public accountants within the meaning of the Securities Laws and in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative (except that, in any letter dated a Closing Date, the specified date referred to in such letter hereto shall be a date no more than three days prior to such Closing Date).

(b) Filing of Prospectus. The Final Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission in accordance with the Rules and Regulations and Section 5(a) hereof. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or, to the knowledge of the Company or any Underwriter, shall be contemplated by the Commission.

(c) Delivery of Canadian Offering Memorandum and Supplementary Material. If any Offered Securities are sold to Canadian Purchasers, the Representative shall (i) deliver copies of the Canadian Offering Memorandum and any Supplementary Material it has received from the Company to the Canadian securities regulatory authorities where required and (ii) file a Form 45-106F1 and pay the applicable filing fees in British Columbia and any other applicable Canadian Offering Jurisdiction, all provided that the Company shall reimburse the Representative for all related expenses in accordance with Section 5(k) of this Agreement.

(d) No Material Adverse Change. Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred (i) any change, or any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, properties or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole which, in the judgment of the Representative, is material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the Offered Securities; (ii) any downgrading in the rating of any debt securities of the Company by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act), or any public announcement that any such organization has under surveillance or review its rating of any debt securities of the Company (other than an

 

21


announcement with positive implications of a possible upgrading, and no implication of a possible downgrading, of such rating); (iii) any change in U.S. or international financial, political or economic conditions or currency exchange rates or exchange controls the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, impractical to market or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Offered Securities, whether in the primary market or in respect of dealings in the secondary market; (iv) any suspension or material limitation of trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Market, or any setting of minimum or maximum prices for trading on such exchange; (v) any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market; (vi) any issuance by a securities regulatory authority in any of the Canadian Offering Jurisdictions of any order suspending or preventing the use of the Canadian Offering Memorandum; (vii) any banking moratorium declared by any U.S. federal, New York or British Columbia authorities; (viii) any major disruption of settlements of securities, payment, or clearance services in the United States or any other country where such securities are listed or (ix) any attack on, outbreak or escalation of hostilities or act of terrorism involving the United States, any declaration of war by Congress or any other national or international calamity or emergency if, in the judgment of the Representative, the effect of any such attack, outbreak, escalation, act, declaration, calamity or emergency is such as to make it impractical or inadvisable to market the Offered Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Offered Securities.

(e) Opinion of Counsel for Company. The Representative shall have received (i) an opinion, dated such Closing Date, of Cooley LLP, U.S. counsel for the Company in form and substance previously agreed to among the parties hereto.

(f) Opinions of Intellectual Property Counsel for Company. The Representative shall have received an opinion, dated such Closing Date, of Seed Intellectual Property Law Group LLC, intellectual property counsel for the Company, in form and substance previously agreed to among the parties hereto.

(g) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. The Representative shall have received from Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion or opinions, dated such Closing Date, with respect to such matters as the Representative may require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.

(h) Officer’s Certificate. The Representative shall have received a certificate, dated such Closing Date, of an executive officer of the Company and a principal financial or accounting officer of the Company in which such officers shall state that: the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct; the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such Closing Date; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to the best of their knowledge, are contemplated by the Commission; the Additional Registration Statement (if any) satisfying the requirements of subparagraphs (1) and (3) of Rule 462(b) was timely filed pursuant to Rule 462(b), including payment of the applicable filing fee in accordance with Rule 111(a) or (b) of Regulation S-T of the Commission; and, subsequent to the date of the most recent financial statements in the General Disclosure Package, there has been no material adverse change, nor any development or event involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, properties or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Final Prospectus or as described in such certificate.

 

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(i) Lock-up Agreements. On or prior to the date hereof, the Representative shall have received lock-up agreements in the form set forth on Exhibit A hereto from each executive officer and director of the Company.

The Company will furnish the Representative with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and documents as the Representative reasonably requests. The Representative may in its sole discretion waive on behalf of the Underwriters compliance with any conditions to the obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, whether in respect of an Optional Closing Date or otherwise.

8. Indemnification and Contribution. (a) Indemnification of Underwriters. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its partners, members, directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, an “Indemnified Party”), against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation (including Canadian Securities Laws), or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Offered Securities have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) (i)(A) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any part of the Registration Statement at any time, any Statutory Prospectus as of any time, the Final Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication or the Canadian Offering Memorandum, (B) arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or (C) the filing or receipt of the Canadian Offering Memorandum, or (ii) the violation of any laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Offered Securities have been offered or sold, and will reimburse each Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to any of the above as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company will 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 in or omission or alleged omission from any of such documents in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in subsection (b) below. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 8(a) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.

(b) Indemnification of Company. Each Underwriter will severally and not jointly indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors and each of its officers who signs a Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, an “Underwriter Indemnified Party”), against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such Underwriter Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any part of the Registration Statement at any time, any Statutory Prospectus as of any time, the Final Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or the alleged omission of 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 reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, and will reimburse any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any such loss, claim, damage,

 

23


liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such Underwriter Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission as such expenses are incurred, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Final Prospectus furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: the concession figure appearing in the 5th paragraph under the caption “Underwriting” and the 12th, 13th and 14th paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting” regarding price stabilization, short positions and penalty bids.

(c) Actions against Parties; Notification. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under subsection (a) or (b) above, notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof; but the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under subsection (a) or (b) above except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under subsection (a) or (b) above. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it may wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel 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 will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. Notwithstanding the indemnifying party’s election to appoint counsel to represent the indemnified party in an action, the indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel (including local counsel), and the indemnifying party shall bear the reasonable fees, costs and expenses of such separate counsel if (i) the use of counsel chosen by the indemnifying party to represent the indemnified party would present such counsel with a conflict of interest, (ii) the actual or potential defendants in, or targets of, any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, (iii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of the institution of such action or (iv) the indemnifying party shall authorize the indemnified party to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened action in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party unless such settlement (x) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on any claims that are the subject matter of such action and (y) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of an indemnified party.

(d) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in subsection (a) or (b) above (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Offered Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the

 

24


same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions but before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters. 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 or the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The amount paid by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in the first sentence of 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 action or claim which is the subject of this subsection (d). Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the underwriting discount or commission applicable to the Securities purchased by such Underwriter hereunder exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter 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 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 8(d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 8(d).

9. Default of Underwriters. If any Underwriter or Underwriters default in their obligations to purchase Offered Securities hereunder on either the First or any Optional Closing Date and the aggregate number of shares of Offered Securities that such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase does not exceed 10% of the total number of shares of Offered Securities that the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on such Closing Date, the Representative may make arrangements satisfactory to the Company for the purchase of such Offered Securities by other persons, including any of the Underwriters, but if no such arrangements are made by such Closing Date, the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated severally, in proportion to their respective commitments hereunder, to purchase the Offered Securities that such defaulting Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase on such Closing Date. If any Underwriter or Underwriters so default and the aggregate number of shares of Offered Securities with respect to which such default or defaults occur exceeds 10% of the total number of shares of Offered Securities that the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on such Closing Date and arrangements satisfactory to the Representative and the Company for the purchase of such Offered Securities by other persons are not made within 36 hours after such default, this Agreement will terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except as provided in Section 10 (provided that if such default occurs with respect to Optional Securities after the First Closing Date, this Agreement will not terminate as to the Firm Securities or any Optional Securities purchased prior to such termination). As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section. Nothing herein will relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

10. Survival of Certain Representations and Obligations. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company or its officers and of the several Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation, or statement as to the results thereof, made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, the Company or any of their respective representatives, officers or directors or any controlling person, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Offered Securities. If the purchase of any of the Offered Securities by the Underwriters is not consummated for any reason other than solely because of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 9 hereof or due to the failure to satisfy any condition under Section 7(d)(iii), (iv), (vi) or (viii) hereof, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including reasonably documented fees and disbursements of counsel) reasonably incurred by them in connection with the offering of the Offered Securities not so purchased, and the respective

 

25


obligations of the Company and the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8 hereof shall remain in effect. In addition, if any Offered Securities have been purchased hereunder, the representations and warranties in Section 2 and all obligations under Section 5 shall also remain in effect.

11. Notices. All communications hereunder will be in writing and, if sent to the Underwriters, will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to the Representative, c/o Leerink Partners LLC, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, Attention: John I. Fitzgerald, Esq. or, if sent to the Company, will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to it at 5600 Parkwood Way, Suite 430, Richmond, British Columbia V6V 2M2, Attention: Chief Executive Officer, fax: (604)  ###-###-####; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 8 will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to such Underwriter.

12. Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 8, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.

13. Representation of Underwriters. The Representative will act for the several Underwriters in connection with this financing, and any action under this Agreement taken by the Representative will be binding upon all the Underwriters.

14. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts (which may be delivered by facsimile or other form of electronic transmission), each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.

15. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a) No Other Relationship. The Representative has been retained solely to act as an underwriter in connection with the sale of Offered Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Representative has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Final Prospectus, irrespective of whether the Representative has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

(b) Arms’ Length Negotiations. The price of the Offered Securities set forth in this Agreement was established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Representative and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

(c) Absence of Obligation to Disclose. The Company has been advised that the Representative and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Representative has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

(d) Waiver. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Representative for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby and agrees that the Representative shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, employees or creditors of the Company.

16. Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

 

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The Company hereby submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. The Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of venue of any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York and irrevocably and unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit or proceeding in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

17. Waiver of Jury Trial. Each of the Company and the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

[Signature page follows]

 

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If the foregoing is in accordance with the Representative’s understanding of our agreement, kindly sign and return to the Company one of the counterparts hereof, whereupon it will become a binding agreement between the Company and the several Underwriters in accordance with its terms.

 

Very truly yours,

 

AQUINOX PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

    By:  

/s/ David Main

    Name: David Main
    Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

The foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby

confirmed and accepted as of the date first above

written.

 

BY LEERINK PARTNERS LLC
By:  

  /s/ Bryan Giraudo

  Name: Bryan Giraudo
  Title: Managing Director

Acting on behalf of themselves and as the

Representative of the several Underwriters.

[Signature page to Underwriting Agreement]


SCHEDULE A

 

Underwriter

   Number of
Firm Securities
 

Leerink Partners LLC

     2,475,000  

Canaccord Genuity Inc.

     1,182,500   

Guggenheim Securities, LLC

     1,182,500   

Needham & Company, LLC

     660,000   
  

 

 

 

Total

     5,500,000  
  

 

 

 


SCHEDULE B

 

1. General Use Free Writing Prospectuses (included in the General Disclosure Package)

“General Use Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” includes each of the following documents:

None

 

2. Other Information Included in the General Disclosure Package

The following information is also included in the General Disclosure Package:

1.   The initial price to the public of the Offered Securities is $15.50.

2.   The number of Firm Securities is 5,500,000.

3.   The number of Optional Securities is 825,000.


Exhibit A

Form of Lock-Up Agreement

 

3


FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

            , 2015

Leerink Partners

255 California Street, 12th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94111

RE: Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”)

Ladies & Gentlemen:

The undersigned is an owner of shares of common stock, par value $0.000001 per share, of the Company (“Shares”) or of securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Shares. The Company proposes to conduct a public offering of Shares (the “Offering”) for which Leerink Partners (“Leerink”) will act as the representative of the underwriters (the “Representative”). The undersigned recognizes that the Offering will benefit each of the Company and the undersigned. The undersigned acknowledges that the underwriters are relying on the representations and agreements of the undersigned contained in this letter agreement in conducting the Offering and, at a subsequent date, in entering into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) and other underwriting arrangements with the Company with respect to the Offering.

Annex A sets forth definitions for capitalized terms used in this letter agreement that are not defined in the body of this agreement. Those definitions are a part of this agreement.

In consideration of the foregoing, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby agrees that, during the Lock-up Period, the undersigned will not (and will use best efforts to cause any Immediate Family Member not to), subject to the exceptions set forth in this letter agreement, without the prior written consent of Leerink, which may withhold its consent in its sole discretion:

 

    Sell or Offer to Sell any Shares or Related Securities currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) by the undersigned or such Immediate Family Member,

 

    enter into any Swap,

 

    make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration under the Securities Act of the offer and sale of any Shares or Related Securities, or cause to be filed a registration statement, prospectus or prospectus supplement (or an amendment or supplement thereto) with respect to any such registration, or

 

    publicly announce any intention to do any of the foregoing.

 

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The foregoing will not apply to the registration of the offer and sale of the Shares, and the sale of the Shares to the underwriters, in each case as contemplated by the Underwriting Agreement. In addition, the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to (i) the transfer of Shares or Related Securities by gift, or by will or intestate succession to the legal representative, heir, beneficiary or any Family Member or to a trust whose beneficiaries consist exclusively of one or more of the undersigned and/or Family Member(s), (ii) if the undersigned is a non-individual, transfer of Shares or Related Securities to any affiliate (as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act), limited partners, general partners, limited liability company members or stockholders of the undersigned, or, if the undersigned is a corporation, to any wholly owned subsidiary of such corporation, if, in any such case, such transfer is not for value or (iii) transfers of Shares or Related Securities pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order or a negotiated divorce settlement; provided, however, that in any such case, it shall be a condition to such transfer that:

 

    each transferee executes and delivers to the Representative an agreement in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative stating that such transferee is receiving and holding such Shares and/or Related Securities subject to the provisions of this letter agreement and agrees not to Sell or Offer to Sell such Shares and/or Related Securities, engage in any Swap or engage in any other activities restricted under this letter agreement except in accordance with this letter agreement (as if such transferee had been an original signatory hereto), and

 

    prior to the expiration of the Lock-up Period, no public disclosure or filing under the Exchange Act by any party to the transfer (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) shall be required, or made voluntarily, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of Shares in connection with such transfer.

For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to, and nothing in this letter agreement prohibits the undersigned (or any Immediate Family Member of the undersigned) from, (i) exercising any options or other rights to purchase Shares pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement existing as of the date hereof and described in the Registration Statement (as defined in the Underwriting Agreement) (which exercises may be effected on a cashless basis to the extent the instruments representing such options, warrants or other rights permit exercises on a cashless basis), (ii) receiving grants by the Company of stock options or other stock-based awards to the undersigned pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement existing as of the date hereof and described in the Registration Statement; provided however, in any such case, any Shares or Related Securities acquired shall remain subject to this letter agreement, or (iii) transferring or disposing of Shares acquired in the Offering or on the open market following the Offering, regardless of whether any filing under the Exchange Act or other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer or disposition pursuant to this clause (iii) during the Lock-up Period. In addition, the undersigned may enter into any plan designed to satisfy the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act (a “10b5-1 Plan”) (other than the entry into such a plan in such a manner as to allow the sale of Shares or Related Securities, in each case, within the Lock-up Period); provided however, no public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act regarding the establishment of such 10b5-1 Plan shall be required or made during the Lock-Up Period.

 

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The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of Shares or Related Securities held by the undersigned and the undersigned’s Immediate Family Members, if any, except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

The undersigned confirms that the undersigned has not, and has no knowledge that any Immediate Family Member has, directly or indirectly, taken any action designed to or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale of the Shares. The undersigned will not, and will cause any Immediate Family Member not to take, directly or indirectly, any such action.

Whether or not the Offering occurs as currently contemplated or at all depends on market conditions and other factors. The Offering will only be made pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the terms of which are subject to negotiation between the Company and the underwriters.

The undersigned hereby represents and warrants that the undersigned has full power, capacity and authority to enter into this letter agreement. This letter agreement is irrevocable and will be binding on the undersigned and the successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns of the undersigned. This letter agreement shall lapse and become null and void, and the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this letter agreement, if (i) the Company notifies the Representative in writing that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, (ii) the Underwriting Agreement is not executed on or before October 1, 2015 or (iii) if the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions thereof that survive termination) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for, and delivery of, the Firm Shares (as defined therein) to be sold thereunder.

[Signature page follows]

 

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This letter agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York.

 

IF AN INDIVIDUAL:

   

IF AN ENTITY:

 

   

 

              (signature)        (please print complete name of entity)
Name:  

 

    By:   

 

      (please print full name)        (duly authorized signature)
      Name:   

 

         (please print full name of signatory)

Email Address:

   

Email Address:

 

   

 

Address:

   

Address:

 

   

 

 

   

 


Certain Defined Terms

Used in Lock-up Agreement

For purposes of the letter agreement to which this Annex A is attached and of which it is made a part:

Call Equivalent Position” shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 16a-1(b) under the Exchange Act.

Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Family Member” shall mean any individual related by blood, marriage or adoption, but not more remotely than as a first cousin, to the undersigned.

Immediate Family Member” shall mean the spouse of the undersigned, an immediate family member of the undersigned or an immediate family member of the undersigned’s spouse, in each case living in the undersigned’s household or whose principal residence is the undersigned’s household (regardless of whether such spouse or family member may at the time be living elsewhere due to educational activities, health care treatment, military service, temporary internship or employment or otherwise). The term “immediate family” as used above shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 16a-1(e) under the Exchange Act.

Lock-up Period” shall mean the period beginning on the date hereof and continuing through the close of trading on the date that is 90 days after the date of the Prospectus (as defined in the Underwriting Agreement).

Put Equivalent Position” shall have the meaning set forth in Rule 16a-1(h) under the Exchange Act.

Related Securities” shall mean any options or warrants or other rights to acquire Shares or any securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into Shares, or to acquire other securities or rights ultimately exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into Shares.

Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Sell or Offer to Sell” shall mean to:

 

    sell, offer to sell, contract to sell or lend,

 

    effect any short sale or establish or increase a Put Equivalent Position or liquidate or decrease any Call Equivalent Position

 

    pledge, hypothecate or grant any security interest in, or

 

    in any other way transfer or dispose of,

in each case whether effected directly or indirectly.


Swap” shall mean any swap, hedge or similar arrangement or agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic risk of ownership of Shares or Related Securities, regardless of whether any such transaction is to be settled in securities, in cash or otherwise.

Capitalized terms not defined in this Annex A shall have the meanings given to them in the body of this letter agreement.


Exhibit B

Directors, Executive Officers and Others Signing Lock-Up Agreement


Executive Officers

David Main (Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Aquinox)

Kamran Alam (Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, Finance)

Stephen Shrewsbury (Chief Medical Officer, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development)

Lloyd Mackenzie (Vice President, Technical Operations and Planning)

David Mitchell (Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance)

Directors

Sean Nolan (Director)

Daniel Levitt (Director)

Gary Bridger (Director)

Robert Pelzer (Director)

Todd Simpson (Director)

Shareholders

Ventures West 8 Limited Partnership