Sales Agreement, dated as of December 16, 2020, between Sio Gene Therapies Inc. and SVB Leerink LLC

 

 

SVB Leerink LLC

One Federal Street, 37th Floor

Boston, MA 02110 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Sio Gene Therapies Inc. (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with SVB Leerink LLC (“SVB Leerink”), as follows:

 

1. Issuance and Sale of Shares.  The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through SVB Leerink, acting as agent and/or principal, the Company’s common stock (the “Common Stock”), par value $0.00001 per share (such Common Stock, the “Placement Shares”).  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the number of shares of Common Stock issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and SVB Leerink shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.  The issuance and sale of Common Stock through SVB Leerink will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement (as defined below) to issue the Common Stock.

 

The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-235889), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Common Stock, to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus Supplement”).  The Company has furnished to SVB Leerink, for use by SVB Leerink, copies of the base prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement.  Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, as amended when it became effective, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or 462(b) of the Securities Act, is herein called the “Registration Statement.”  The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by any prospectus supplement, including the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus supplement has most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus” (as used herein, as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”)), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case, in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).

 

2. Placements.  Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify SVB Leerink by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Placement Shares to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined in Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary is attached hereto as Schedule 1.  The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from SVB Leerink set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by SVB Leerink unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, SVB Leerink declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares have been sold, (iii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice, (iv) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those contained in an earlier dated Placement Notice, or (v) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 11.   The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to SVB Leerink in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3.  It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor SVB Leerink will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to SVB Leerink and SVB Leerink does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein.  In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.

 

3. Sale of Placement Shares by SVB Leerink.  Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Company’s delivery of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, SVB Leerink, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of The Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified in the Placement Notice, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice.  SVB Leerink will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company.  SVB Leerink may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made through Nasdaq or on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock. If expressly authorized by the Company (including in a Placement Notice), SVB Leerink may also sell Placement Shares in negotiated transactions. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(ii), SVB Leerink shall not purchase Placement Shares for its own account as principal unless expressly authorized to do so by the Company in a Placement Notice.  The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that SVB Leerink will be successful in selling Placement Shares, and (ii) SVB Leerink will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by SVB Leerink to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Section 3.  For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the Common Stock is purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Stock is then listed or quoted.

 

4. Suspension of Sales.

 

(a) The Company or SVB Leerink may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice.  Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such schedule may be amended in writing from time to time.

 

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information, the Company and SVB Leerink agree that (i) no sale of Placement Shares will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and (iii) SVB Leerink shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.

 

(c) If either SVB Leerink or the Company has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Common Stock, it shall promptly notify the other party, and SVB Leerink may, at its sole discretion, suspend sales of the Placement Shares under this Agreement.

 

(d) The Registration Statement, as amended on November 13, 2020, was declared effective on November 19, 2020.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Registration Statement is no longer effective under the Securities Act, the Company shall promptly notify SVB Leerink, the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and SVB Leerink shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.

 

5. Settlement.

 

(a) Settlement of Placement Shares.  Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the second (2nd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date” and the first such settlement date, the “First Delivery Date”).  The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by SVB Leerink at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction for (i) SVB Leerink’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to SVB Leerink hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.

 

(b) Delivery of Placement Shares.  On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting SVB Leerink’s or its designee’s account (provided SVB Leerink shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form.  On each Settlement Date, SVB Leerink will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date.  The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized Placement Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) (Indemnification and Contribution) hereto, it will (i) hold SVB Leerink harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company and (ii) pay to SVB Leerink any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.

(c) Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the aggregate number or gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of: (i) the number of shares or dollar amount of Common Stock registered pursuant to, and available for offer and sale under, the Registration Statement pursuant to which the offering of Placement Shares is being made, (ii) the number of shares of authorized but unissued Common Stock of the Company (less the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of any outstanding securities of the Company or otherwise reserved from the Company’s authorized capital stock), (iii) the number of shares or dollar amount of Common Stock permitted to be offered and sold by the Company under Form S-3 (including General Instruction I.B.6. thereof, if such instruction is applicable), (iv) the number of shares or dollar amount of Common Stock that the Company’s board of directors, a duly authorized committee thereof or authorized executive officers of the Company are authorized to issue and sell from time to time, and notified to SVB Leerink in writing, or (v) the dollar amount of Common Stock for which the Company has filed the Prospectus. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors, a duly authorized committee thereof or authorized executive officers of the Company, and notified to SVB Leerink in writing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto acknowledge and agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 5(c) on the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that SVB Leerink shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.

 

6. Representations and Warranties of the Company.  The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, SVB Leerink that, unless such representation or warranty specifies a different time, as of the date of this Agreement, each Representation Date (as defined in Section 7(m)), each date on which a Placement Notice is given, and any date on which Placement Shares are sold hereunder:

 

(a) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement have been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice by the Company.  The Company has complied, to the Commission’s satisfaction, with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information in connection therewith.  No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission.  At the time the Registration Statement, as amended, became effective, at the time the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2020 was filed with the Commission, and as of the date hereof, the Company met the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act (including General Instructions I.A and I.B.1). The sale of the Placement Shares hereunder meets the requirements of General Instruction I.B.1 of Form S-3.

 

(b) No Misstatement or Omission.  The Prospectus, when filed, complied and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act.  Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, at the time it became effective, complied and as of each of the Settlement Dates, if any, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and, as of each Settlement Date, if any, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, did not and, as of each of the Settlement Dates, if any, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to SVB Leerink furnished to the Company in writing by SVB Leerink expressly for use therein.  There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required.

 

(c) Offering Materials Furnished to SVB Leerink. The Company has delivered to SVB Leerink one complete copy of the Registration Statement and a copy of each consent and certificate of experts filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits) and the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as SVB Leerink has reasonably requested.

 

(d) Emerging Growth Company.  The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act.  The Company agrees to notify SVB Leerink promptly upon the Company ceasing to be an emerging growth company.

  

(e) Not an Ineligible Issuer.  The Company currently is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 of the rules and regulation of the Commission.  The Company agrees to notify SVB Leerink promptly upon the Company becoming an “ineligible issuer.”

 

(f) Distribution of Offering Material By the Company.  The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of SVB Leerink’s distribution of the Placement Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Prospectus or the Registration Statement.

 

(g) The Sales Agreement.  This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by, and is a valid and binding agreement of, the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as rights to indemnification hereunder may be limited by applicable law and except as the enforcement hereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights and remedies of creditors or by general equitable principles.

 

(h) Authorization of the Common Stock.  The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered, will be duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. The issuance and sale of the Placement Shares is not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase the Placement Shares.

 

(i) No Applicable Registration or Other Similar Rights.  There are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(j) No Material Adverse Change.  Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus: (i) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, management, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity (any such change being referred to herein as a “Material Adverse Change”); (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 material transactions not in the ordinary course of business; and (iii) there has not been any material decrease in the capital or any material increase in any short-term or long-term indebtedness of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company or, except for dividends paid to the Company, by the Company’s subsidiaries on any class of share capital, or any repurchase or redemption by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any class of share capital.

 

(k) Independent Accountants.  Ernst & Young LLP, who has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) and supporting schedules filed with the Commission or incorporated by reference as a part of the Registration Statement and included in the Prospectus, is (i) an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), (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.

 

(l) Financial Statements.  The financial statements incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly present, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the periods specified.  Such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles as applied in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto.  The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.  All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus and any free writing prospectus, that constitute non-GAAP financial measures (as defined by the rules and regulations under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act) comply with Regulation G under the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, as applicable.  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 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 Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(m) Company’s Accounting System.  Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company makes and keeps accurate books and records and maintains a system of internal accounting controls designed, and which the Company believes is sufficient, to provide reasonable assurance that:  (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (v) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

 

(n) Disclosure Controls and Procedures; Deficiencies in or Changes to Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.  Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act), which (i) are designed to reasonably ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities and (ii) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established.  Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there have been no significant deficiencies or material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.  The Company is not aware of any change in its internal control over financial reporting that has occurred during its most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

(o) Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company and its Subsidiaries.  The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of Delaware and has the corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement.  The Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, business, management, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects of the Company (a “Material Adverse Effect”).  Each of the Company’s “subsidiaries” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), has been duly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and is validly existing as a corporation or company in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization and has the power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  Each of the Company’s subsidiaries is duly qualified as a foreign corporation, to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.  All of the issued and outstanding share capital or other equity or ownership interests of each of the Company’s subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are owned by the Company free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim.  The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than Axovant Sciences, Inc., Axovant Holdings Limited, Axovant Sciences GmbH, Axovant Sciences America, Inc., Axovant Treasury Holdings, Inc., Axovant Treasury, Inc. and Axovant Sciences Europe Ltd.

 

(p) Capital Stock Matters.  The Common Stock (including the Placement Shares) conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus.  All of the shares of issued and outstanding Common Stock have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws.  None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company.  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 shares of the Company other than those described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  The descriptions of the Company’s share option, share bonus and other share plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus accurately and fairly presents, in all material respects, the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

 

(q) Stock Exchange Listing.  The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and are listed on Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Stock from Nasdaq, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. To the Company’s knowledge, it is in compliance with all applicable listing requirements of Nasdaq.

 

(r) Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments; No Further Authorizations or Approvals Required.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of its charter, memorandum of association or bye-laws, as the case may be, or is in default (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would be in default) (“Default”) under any indenture, loan, credit agreement, note, lease, license agreement, contract, franchise or other instrument (including, without limitation, any pledge agreement, security agreement, mortgage or other instrument or agreement evidencing, guaranteeing, securing or relating to indebtedness) to which the Company or any its subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which any of their respective properties or assets are subject (each, an “Existing Instrument”), except for such Defaults as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.  The Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares (including the use of proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) (i) have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will not result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or bye-laws of the Company, (ii) will not conflict with or constitute a breach of, or 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 pursuant to, or require the consent of any other party to, any Existing Instrument and (iii) will not result in any violation of any law, administrative regulation or administrative or court decree applicable to the Company, except in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, 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, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Registration Statement and the 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 the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).  As used herein, a “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition which 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.

 

(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) No Material Actions or Proceedings.  There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation brought by or before any governmental entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries, which would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, if determined adversely to the Company, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.  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, which would reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(u) Intellectual Property Rights.  The Company and its subsidiaries own, or have obtained valid and enforceable licenses for, the inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks, trade names, service names, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as being owned or licensed by them or, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, which are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted or as currently proposed to be conducted, except where the failure to so own or hold as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, “Intellectual Property”).  To the Company’s knowledge, and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (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 Registration Statement and the Prospectus as licensed to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) the Company is not obligated to grant an option or license to any third party in connection with any Intellectual Property owned by, or licensed to, the Company, and (iii) there is no infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property, except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.  Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others: (A) challenging the Company’s ownership of, 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 that, if asserted on the date hereof, would reasonably be expected to succeed; (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 that, if asserted on the date hereof, would reasonably be expected to succeed; or (C) asserting that the Company or any of its subsidiaries infringes or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or service described in the Registration Statement or the 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 that, if asserted on the date hereof, would reasonably be expected to succeed.  Except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, and all such agreements are in full force and effect.  To the Company’s knowledge, the product candidates described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as under development by the Company or any of its subsidiaries fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents or patent applications owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company or any of its subsidiaries and included in the Intellectual Property.  To the knowledge of the Company, all patents and patent applications owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company have been duly and properly filed and maintained except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.  To the knowledge of the Company, the parties prosecuting such patents and patent applications have complied with their duty of candor and disclosure to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the Company is not aware of any facts required to be disclosed to such office that were not disclosed to such office and, as such, which would preclude the grant of a patent in connection with any such application or would reasonably be expected to form the basis of a finding of invalidity with respect to any patents that have issued from such applications.

 

(v) All Necessary Permits, etc.  The Company and its subsidiaries possess such valid and current certificates, authorizations or permits required by state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies to conduct their respective businesses as currently conducted and as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (“Permits”), except where the failure to so possess would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of, or in default under, any of the Permits or has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any such certificate, authorization or permit, except where such violation or default would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(w) Title to Properties.  The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all of the personal property and other assets reflected as owned in the financial statements referred to in Section 6(l) above (or elsewhere in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus), in each case free and clear of any security interests, mortgages, liens, encumbrances, equities, adverse claims and other defects, except as would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.  The equipment and personal property held under lease by the Company or any of its subsidiaries are held under valid and enforceable leases, with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such equipment or personal property by the Company or such subsidiary.  The Company and its subsidiaries do not own any real property.

 

(x) Tax Law Compliance.  The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all necessary federal, state and foreign income and franchise tax returns or have properly requested extensions thereof, except where the failure to so file would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, and have paid all taxes required to be paid by either of them and, if due and payable, any related or similar assessment, fine or penalty levied against either of them except as may be being contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings or where the failure to make such payment would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.  The Company has made adequate charges, accruals and reserves in the applicable financial statements referred to in Section 6(l) above in respect of all federal, state and foreign income and franchise taxes for all periods as to which the tax liability of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has not been finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(y) Insurance.  Each of the Company and its subsidiaries are insured by recognized, financially sound and reputable institutions with policies in such amounts and with such deductibles and covering such risks as are generally deemed adequate and customary for their businesses including, but not limited to, policies covering real and personal property owned or leased by the Company and its subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction and acts of vandalism and policies covering the Company and its subsidiaries for product liability claims and clinical trial liability claims.  The Company has no reason to believe that it or its subsidiaries will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been denied any insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.

 

(z) Compliance with 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 applicable federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products (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) there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries; 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.

 

(aa) ERISA Compliance.  The Company and its subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, 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 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 any of its subsidiaries 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.

 

(bb) Company Not an “Investment Company”.  The Company is not, and will not be, either after receipt of payment for the Placement Shares or after the application of the proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, required to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

 

(cc) No Price Stabilization or Manipulation; Compliance with Regulation M.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Stock or of any “reference security” (as defined in Rule 100 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act (“Regulation M”)) with respect to the Common Stock, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or otherwise, and has taken no action which would directly or indirectly violate Regulation M.

 

(dd) 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 Registration Statement or the Prospectus that have not been described as required.

 

(ee) FINRA Matters.  All of the information provided to SVB Leerink or to SVB Leerink’s counsel by the Company is true, complete and 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 National Association of Securities Dealers Conduct Rules is true, complete and correct in all material respects.

 

(ff) Statistical and Market-Related Data.  All statistical, demographic and market-related data included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes 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) 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 of its subsidiaries, 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 or the Prospectus.

 

(hh) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, affiliate, officer, agent or employee of the Company or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used or will use any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken or will make or take an act in furtherance of an offer, promise or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated, will violate or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under  the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law; or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken, or will make, offer, agree, request or take, an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit.  The Company and its subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates have conducted their respective businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted, maintain and enforce, and will continue to maintain and enforce, policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the Offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws.

 

(ii) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws.  The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are, and have been conducted at all times, in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, 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 “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 Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

(jj) Compliance with OFAC.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, after due inquiry, any director, affiliate, officer, agent or employee of the Company or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is, or is owned or controlled by one or more persons that are, (i) currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. government, (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person”), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject  or target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria (each, a“Sanctioned Country”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Placement Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, initial purchaser, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions.  For the past five years, the Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in and are not now knowingly engaged in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country.

 

(kk) Brokers.  Except pursuant to this Agreement, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(ll) Forward-Looking Statements.  Each financial or operational projection or other “forward-looking statement” (as defined by Section 27A of the Securities Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement or the 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, at the time that it was made, was made with the knowledge of an executive officer or director of the Company that it was false or misleading.

 

(mm) Clinical Data and Regulatory Compliance.  The nonclinical studies and clinical trials (collectively, “Studies”) being conducted by or, to the knowledge of the Company for the Company or that are described in, or the results of which are referred to in, the Registration Statement or the Prospectus were and, if still being conducted, are being or were conducted in all material respects in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. (the “FDCA”) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, the protocols, procedures and controls designed and approved for such Studies and with standard medical and scientific research procedures; each description of the results of such Studies is accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly presents, in all material respects, the data derived from such Studies, and the Company and its subsidiaries have no knowledge of any other studies the results of which are inconsistent with, or otherwise call into question, the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; the Company and its subsidiaries have made all such filings and obtained all such Permits as may be required by the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or from any other U.S. federal, state or local, or foreign government regulatory agency, (collectively, the “Regulatory Agencies”) for the conduct of its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of, or correspondence from, any Regulatory Agency  requiring the termination, suspension or material modification of any Studies currently being conducted or proposed to be conducted by or for the Company, that are described or referred to in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; and the Company and its subsidiaries have each operated and currently are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable rules, regulations and policies of the Regulatory Agencies.

 

(nn) Compliance with Health Care Laws.  The Company’s and its subsidiaries’ business practices have been structured in a manner reasonably designed to comply with the state, federal and foreign health care laws applicable to the respective businesses of the Company and its subsidiaries, and the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with all applicable Health Care Laws, except where the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this Agreement, “Health Care Laws” means: (i) the FDCA, the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 262, and the regulations promulgated thereunder; (ii) all applicable federal, state, local and all applicable foreign health care related fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the U.S. Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(b)), the U.S. Physician Payments Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7h), the U.S. civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. Section 3729 et seq.), the criminal false claims Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), 18 U.S.C. Sections 286 and 287, the health care fraud criminal provisions under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.), the exclusion laws (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7) and the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a); (iii) HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. Section 17921 et seq.), and the regulations promulgated pursuant to such statutes; (iv) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (Public Law 111-152; (v) Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act); (vi) Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act); and (vii) any and all other applicable health care laws and regulations. Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of its subsidiaries has received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product operation or activity is in material violation of any Health Care Laws, and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action is threatened. To the Company’s knowledge, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have engaged in activities which are, as applicable, cause for false claims liability, civil penalties, or mandatory or permissive exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, or any other state health care program or federal health care program.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to or has any ongoing reporting obligations pursuant to any corporate integrity agreements, deferred prosecution agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, plans of correction or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority. Additionally, none of the Company, its subsidiaries or any of their respective employees, officers or directors has been excluded, suspended or debarred from participation in any U.S. federal health care program or human clinical research or, to the knowledge of the Company, is subject to a governmental inquiry, investigation, proceeding, or other similar action that could reasonably be expected to result in debarment, suspension, or exclusion.

 

(oo) No Rights to Purchase Preferred Stock.  The issuance and sale of the Common Stock as contemplated hereby will not cause any holder of any shares, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares or options, warrants or other rights to purchase shares or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any preferred shares of the Company.

 

(pp) 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 Prospectus or any free writing prospectus, or referred to or described in, or filed as an exhibit to, the Registration Statement, or any document incorporated by reference therein, 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, in each case except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(qq) Dividend Restrictions.  None of the Company’s subsidiaries is prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, or from making any other distribution with respect to its equity securities or from repaying to 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.

 

(rr) No Rated Debt.  There are no debt securities or preferred stock issued, or guaranteed, by the Company that are rated by a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.

 

(ss) Legality.  The legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence of any of the Registration Statement, this Agreement or the Placement Shares in any jurisdiction in which the Company is incorporated or does business is not dependent upon such document being submitted into, filed or recorded with any court or other authority in any such jurisdiction on or before the date hereof or that any tax, imposition or charge be paid in any such jurisdiction on or in respect of any such document.

 

(tt) Legal Action.  A holder of the Placement Shares and SVB Leerink are each entitled to sue as plaintiff in the court of the jurisdiction of incorporation and domicile of the Company for the enforcement of their respective rights under this Agreement and the Placement Shares and such access to such courts will not be subject to any conditions which are not applicable to residents of such jurisdiction or a company incorporated in such jurisdiction.

(uu) [Reserved.]

 

(vv) Stamp Duty.  Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no stamp, registration, documentary, issuance, transfer or other similar taxes or duties (“Stamp Taxes”) are payable by or on behalf of SVB Leerink in the United States or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (i) the creation, issuance or delivery by the Company of the Placement Shares in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) the purchase by SVB Leerink of the Placement Shares in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, (iii) where relevant, the resale and delivery by SVB Leerink of the Placement Shares in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and (iv) the execution and delivery of this Agreement.

(ww) [Reserved.]

 

(xx) [Reserved.]

(yy) Non-Affiliate Shares. As of the close of trading on Nasdaq on December 14, 2020, the aggregate market value of the outstanding voting and non-voting common equity (as defined in Rule 405) of the Company held by persons other than affiliates of the Company (pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act, those that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control, or are controlled by, or are under common control with, the Company) (the “Non-Affiliate Shares”), was approximately $84.5 million (calculated by multiplying (x) the price at which the common equity of the Company was last sold on Nasdaq on December 15, 2020 by (y) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares outstanding on December 15, 2020).

(zz) Cybersecurity. (i) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (x) To the Company’s knowledge, there has been no security breach or other compromise of or relating to any of the Company’s or any of its subsidiaries’ information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of them), equipment or technology (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”), except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same, and (y) the Company and its subsidiaries have not been notified of, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach, or other compromise to their IT Systems and Data; (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries are presently in compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except in the case of this clause (ii), as would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry standards and practices in all material respects.

 

(aaa) No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon SVB Leerink or legal counsel for SVB Leerink for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.

 

(bbb) SVB Leerink Purchases. The Company acknowledges and agrees that SVB Leerink has informed the Company that SVB Leerink may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell Common Stock for its own account while this Agreement is in effect.

 

Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to SVB Leerink or to counsel for SVB Leerink shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to SVB Leerink as to the matters set forth therein.

 

The Company acknowledges that SVB Leerink and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 7 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to SVB Leerink, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.

  

7. Covenants of the Company.  The Company covenants and agrees with SVB Leerink that:

 

(a) Registration Statement Amendments.  After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by SVB Leerink under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify SVB Leerink promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon SVB Leerink’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in SVB Leerink’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by SVB Leerink (provided, however, that the failure of SVB Leerink to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect SVB Leerink’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to SVB Leerink within a reasonable period of time before the filing and SVB Leerink has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that the failure of SVB Leerink to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect SVB Leerink’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to SVB Leerink at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act, and (v) prior to the termination of this Agreement, the Company will notify SVB Leerink if at any time the Registration Statement shall no longer be effective as a result of the passage of time pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act or otherwise.

 

(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders.  The Company will advise SVB Leerink, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued.

 

(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes.  During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by SVB Leerink under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares, (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act.  If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify SVB Leerink to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any amendment or supplement if, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company to do so.

 

(d) Listing of Placement Shares.  During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by SVB Leerink under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as SVB Leerink reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities or file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.

 

(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus.  The Company will furnish to SVB Leerink and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as SVB Leerink may from time to time reasonably request and, at SVB Leerink’s reasonable request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to SVB Leerink to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

(f) Earnings Statement.  The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act.

 

(g) Expenses.  The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereunder, will pay the following expenses all incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(d) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for SVB Leerink in connection therewith shall be paid by SVB Leerink except as set forth in (vii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to SVB Leerink of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission, (vii) the filing fees and associated legal expenses of SVB Leerink’s outside counsel for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department, such legal expense reimbursement not to exceed $10,000, and (viii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of SVB Leerink’s counsel (A) in an amount not to exceed $50,000 arising out of executing this Agreement and the Company’s delivery of the initial certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) and (B) in an amount not to exceed $15,000 in connection with each Representation Date (as defined below) on which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) (in addition to the fees and associated expenses referred to in clause (vii) above).

 

(h) Use of Proceeds.  The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”

 

(i) Notice of Other Sales.  Without the prior written consent of SVB Leerink, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire shares of Common Stock during the period beginning on the fifth trading day immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to SVB Leerink hereunder and ending on the second trading day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at the market offering” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any shares of Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, shares of Common Stock prior to the later of the termination of this Agreement and the sixtieth day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice; provided, however, that such restrictions will not apply to (i) the issuance, grant or sale by the Company of shares of Common Stock, options to purchase shares of Common Stock, other equity awards or shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to the any share option, share bonus or other share plan or arrangement described in the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance of securities by the Company in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets, (iii) the issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock by the Company pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time provided the implementation of such is disclosed to SVB Leerink in advance, or (iv) any shares of Common Stock issuable by the Company upon the exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding.

 

(j) Change of Circumstances.  The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise SVB Leerink promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided to SVB Leerink pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(k) Due Diligence Cooperation.  The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by SVB Leerink or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as SVB Leerink may reasonably request.

 

(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares.  The Company agrees that on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing under Rule 424(b), a “Filing Date”), which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the amount of Placement Shares sold through SVB Leerink, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to SVB Leerink with respect to such Placement Shares, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.

 

(m) Representation Dates; Certificate.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date and each time the Company (i) files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares; (ii) files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act; (iii) files its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or (iv) files a report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release) under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Representation Date”), the Company shall furnish SVB Leerink with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) within three (3) Trading Days of any Representation Date if requested by SVB Leerink.  The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide SVB Leerink with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or SVB Leerink sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide SVB Leerink with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of the Placement Notice.

  

(n) Corporate Legal Opinions.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to SVB Leerink a written opinion of Cooley LLP (together with Company IP Counsel (as defined below), the “Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to SVB Leerink, each in form and substance satisfactory to SVB Leerink and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Representation Dates, counsel may furnish SVB Leerink with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that SVB Leerink may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).

 

(o) Intellectual Property Opinion.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to SVB Leerink a written opinion of each of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. (collectively, the “Company IP Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to SVB Leerink, each in form and substance satisfactory to SVB Leerink and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered, with respect to intellectual property matters, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Representation Dates, counsel may furnish SVB Leerink with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that SVB Leerink may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).

 

(p) Comfort Letter.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish SVB Leerink letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, in form and substance satisfactory to SVB Leerink, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to SVB Leerink in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.

  

(q) Market Activities.  The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the shares of Common Stock to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than SVB Leerink; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase its shares of Common Stock in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.

 

(r) Insurance.  The Company and its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.

 

(s) Investment Company Act.  The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor its subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.

 

(t) Securities Act and Exchange Act.  The Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.

 

(u) No Offer to Sell.  Other than a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance by the Company and SVB Leerink in its capacity as principal or agent hereunder, neither SVB Leerink nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than SVB Leerink in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy shares of Common Stock hereunder.

 

(v) Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  The Company and its subsidiaries will use their best efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

(w) General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3. If, from and after the date of this Agreement, the Company is no longer eligible to use Form S-3 pursuant to General Instruction I.B.1. of Form S-3 at the time it files with the Commission an annual report on Form 10-K or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, then it shall promptly notify SVB Leerink and, within two Business Days after the date of filing of such annual report on Form 10-K or amendment to the Registration Statement, the Company shall file a new prospectus supplement with the Commission reflecting the number of shares of Common Stock available to be offered and sold by the Company under this Agreement pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any such prospectus supplement for up to 30 days if, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company to do so, provided that no Placement Notice is in effect or pending during such time. Until such time as the Company shall have corrected such misstatement or omission or effected such compliance, the Company shall not notify SVB Leerink to resume the offering of Placement Shares.

(x) Taxes. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless SVB Leerink against any Stamp Taxes, including any interest and penalties with respect thereto, in any jurisdiction, in connection with (i) the creation, issuance or delivery by the Company of the Placement Shares in the manner contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) the sale and delivery by SVB Leerink of the Placement Shares in the manner contemplated by this Agreement and (iii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement. All payments to be made by or on behalf of the Company under this Agreement shall be made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future taxes, duties or governmental charges whatsoever unless the Company is compelled by law to deduct or withhold such taxes, duties or charges. In that event (but excluding income taxes imposed on the overall net income of SVB Leerink in the ordinary course of its business), the Company shall pay such additional amounts as may be necessary in order to ensure that the net amounts received after such withholding or deductions shall equal the amounts that would have been received if no withholding or deduction had been required.

8. Conditions to SVB Leerink’s Obligations. The obligations of SVB Leerink hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by SVB Leerink of a due diligence review satisfactory to SVB Leerink in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by SVB Leerink in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:

 

(a) Registration Statement Effective.  The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for (i) all sales of Placement Shares issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.

  

(b) No Material Notices.  None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing:  (i) receipt by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus or such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission.  SVB Leerink shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in SVB Leerink’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in SVB Leerink’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(d) Material Changes.  Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital of the Company or any Material Adverse Change or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities) by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of SVB Leerink (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.

 

(e) Company Counsel Legal Opinions.  SVB Leerink shall have received the opinions of Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinions are required pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section (o).

 

(f) SVB Leerink Counsel Legal Opinion.  SVB Leerink shall have received from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., counsel for SVB Leerink, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinions are required pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), with respect to such matters as SVB Leerink may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

 

(g) Comfort Letter.  SVB Leerink shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(p).

 

(h) Representation Certificate.  SVB Leerink shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(m).

 

(i) Secretary’s Certificate.  On or prior to the First Delivery Date, SVB Leerink shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate Secretary, in form and substance satisfactory to SVB Leerink and its counsel.

 

(j) No Suspension.  Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on Nasdaq.

 

(k) Other Materials.  On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to SVB Leerink such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as SVB Leerink may have reasonably requested. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company will furnish SVB Leerink with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as SVB Leerink shall have reasonably requested.

 

(l) Securities Act Filings Made.  All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.

 

(m) Approval for Listing.  The Placement Shares shall either have been (i) approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on Nasdaq at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.

 

(n) No Termination Event.  There shall not have occurred any event that would permit SVB Leerink to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).

  

9. Indemnification and Contribution.

 

(a) Company Indemnification.  The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless SVB Leerink, the directors, officers, partners, employees and agents of SVB Leerink and each person, if any, who (i) controls SVB Leerink within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with SVB Leerink from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including, but not limited to, any and all reasonable investigative, legal and other expenses  incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with Section 9(c)) of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), as and when incurred, to which SVB Leerink, or any such person, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any free writing prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Common Stock under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it not misleading or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused directly or indirectly by an untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.  This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.

 

(b) SVB Leerink Indemnification. SVB Leerink agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company that signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company (a “Company Affiliate”) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 9(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.

 

(c) Procedure.  Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 9 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 9, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any  

liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 9 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction atany one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as they are incurred. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent.  No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 9 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding.

 

(d) Contribution.  In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or SVB Leerink, the Company and SVB Leerink will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than SVB Leerink, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and SVB Leerink may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and SVB Leerink on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and SVB Leerink on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by SVB Leerink from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company.  If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and SVB Leerink, on the other, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or SVB Leerink, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and SVB Leerink agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 9(c) hereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(d), SVB Leerink shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 9(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of SVB Leerink, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each director and officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 9(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 9(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof.

 

10. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery.  The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 9 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of SVB Leerink, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.

 

11. Termination.

 

(a) SVB Leerink shall have the right by giving notice as hereinafter specified at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of SVB Leerink, may materially impair the ability of SVB Leerink to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder; provided, however, in the case of any failure of the Company to deliver (or cause another person to deliver) any certification, opinion, or letter required under Sections 7(m), 7(n), 7(o) or 7(p), SVB Leerink’s right to terminate shall not arise unless such failure to deliver (or cause to be delivered) continues for more than thirty (30) days from the date such delivery was required; or (iii) any other condition of SVB Leerink’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, or (iv), any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g) (Expenses), Section 9 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 10 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 16 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction) and Section 17 (Waiver of Jury Trial) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If SVB Leerink elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), SVB Leerink shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12 (Notices).

 

(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving five (5) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(c) SVB Leerink shall have the right, by giving five (5) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement.  Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

  

(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through SVB Leerink on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.

 

(f) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by SVB Leerink or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

12. Notices.  All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to SVB Leerink, shall be delivered to SVB Leerink LLC, 1301 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10019, attention: Stuart R. Nayman, with a copy to Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., One Financial Center, Boston, MA 02111, attention: William C. Hicks; or if sent to the Company, shall be delivered to Sio Gene Therapies Inc., 11 Times Square, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10036, attention: Legal Department, and Cooley LLP, 3175 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA, fax no. (650) 849-7400, attention: John T. McKenna, Esq. Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose.  Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day (as defined below), or, if such day is not a Business Day on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which Nasdaq and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.

 

13. Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and SVB Leerink and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 9 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that SVB Leerink may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of SVB Leerink without obtaining the Company’s consent.

  

14. Adjustments for Share Splits.  The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Common Stock.

 

15. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability.  This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and SVB Leerink.  In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement.

 

16. Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any transaction contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper.  Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof.  Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.

 

17. Waiver of Jury Trial.  The Company and SVB Leerink each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

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

 

(a) SVB Leerink has been retained solely to act as sales agent in connection with the sale of the Common Stock and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and SVB Leerink has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether SVB Leerink has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

 

(b) the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

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

 

(d) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against SVB Leerink, for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that SVB Leerink shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including shareholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.

 

19. Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile transmission.

 

20. Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following term has the meaning set forth below:

 

(a) “Applicable Time” means the date of this Agreement, each Representation Date, the date on which a Placement Notice is given, and any date on which Placement Shares are sold hereunder.

 

(b) “Agent’s Information” means solely the following information in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus: the first and third sentences in the eighth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus.

 

If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and SVB Leerink, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and SVB Leerink.

 

 

 

 

From: [                                                                                                                                            ]

Cc: [                                                                                                                                            ]

To: [                                                                                                                                            ]

 

Subject: SVB Leerink at the Market Offering—Placement Notice

 

Gentlemen:

 

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between Sio Gene Therapies Inc. (the “Company”), and SVB Leerink LLC (“SVB Leerink”) dated December 16, 2020 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that SVB Leerink sell up to [  ] shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, at a minimum market price of $        per share.  Sales should begin on the date of this Notice and shall continue until [DATE] [all shares are sold].

 

 

 

 

Pavan Cheruvu

 

David Nassif

 

 

ATM@SVBLeerink.com

Dan Dubin

Sean Pitt

 

 

 

The Company shall pay SVB Leerink compensation in cash equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Placement Shares pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement of which this Schedule 3 forms a part.

 

 

 

Axovant Holdings Limited

 

Axovant Sciences, Inc.

 

Axovant Sciences GmbH

 

Axovant Sciences America, Inc.

 

Axovant Treasury Holdings, Inc.

 

Axovant Treasury, Inc.

Axovant Sciences Europe Ltd.

 

 

 

 

The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected                        , of Sio Gene Therapies Inc. (“Company”), a Delaware Corporation, does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement dated December 16, 2020 (the “Sales Agreement”) between the Company and SVB Leerink LLC, that to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned.

 

(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Change, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; and

 

(ii) The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.