[FORM OF UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT] 35,000,000 Shares Warrants to Purchase 17,500,000 Shares BIONOVO, INC. UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

EX-1.1 2 dex11.htm FORM OF UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT Form of Underwriting Agreement

Exhibit 1.1

[FORM OF UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT]

35,000,000 Shares

Warrants to Purchase 17,500,000 Shares

BIONOVO, INC.

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

January     , 2011

COWEN AND COMPANY, LLC

599 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York 10022

Dear Sirs:

1. INTRODUCTORY. Bionovo, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), proposes to sell, pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, to Cowen and Company, LLC, as underwriter (the “Underwriter”), an aggregate of 35,000,000 units, with each unit consisting of (i) one share of the common stock, $0.0001 par value (the “Common Stock”), of the Company (the “Stock”), and (ii) warrants to purchase 0.5 shares of Common Stock (the “Warrants”) in the form attached hereto as Exhibit I. The aggregate of 35,000,000 units so proposed to be sold is hereinafter referred to as the “Firm Units”. The Company also proposes to sell to the Underwriter, upon the terms and conditions set forth in Section 3 hereof, up to an additional 5,250,000 units (the “Optional Units”). The Firm Units and the Optional Units are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Units”. The shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants are hereinafter referred to as the “Warrant Shares”.

2. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY

The Company represents and warrants to the Underwriter, as of the date hereof and as of each Closing Date (as defined below), and agrees with the Underwriter, that:

(a) A registration statement of the Company on Form S-1 (File No. 333-171208) (including all pre-effective amendments thereto, the “Initial Registration Statement”) in respect of the Units has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “Rules and Regulations”). The Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, each in the form heretofore delivered to you, have been declared effective by the Commission in such form and meet the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations. Other than (i) a registration statement, if any, increasing the size of the offering filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations (a “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement”) and (ii) the Prospectus (as defined below) contemplated by this Agreement to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations in accordance with Section 4(a) hereof and (iii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), no other document with respect to the offer and sale of the Units has heretofore been filed with the Commission. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act has been initiated or threatened by the Commission (any preliminary prospectus included in the Initial Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the Rules and Regulations is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”). The various parts of the Initial Registration Statement and the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, in each case including all exhibits thereto and including (i) the information contained in the Prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations and deemed by virtue of Rule 430A under the Securities Act to be part of the Initial Registration Statement at the time it became effective and (ii) the documents incorporated by reference in the Rule 462(b)


Registration Statement at the time the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statements.” The final prospectus, in the form filed pursuant to and within the time limits described in Rule 424(b) under the Rules and Regulations, is hereinafter called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to any Registration Statement, Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein.

(b) As of the Applicable Time, neither (i) the General Use Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below) issued at or prior to the Applicable Time and the Pricing Prospectus (as defined below), all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), (ii) any individual Limited Use Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below), nor (iii) the bona fide electronic road show (as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) of the Rules and Regulations that has been made available without restriction to any person), when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted 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; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from the Pricing Prospectus, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information as defined in Section 18. As used in this paragraph (b) and elsewhere in this Agreement:

“Applicable Time” means [            ] [A/P].M., New York time, on the date of this Agreement or such other time as agreed to by the Company and the Underwriter.

“Pricing Prospectus” means the Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Units that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time, including any document incorporated by reference therein.

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 of the Rules and Regulations relating to the Units 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) of the Rules and Regulations.

“General Use Free Writing Prospectus” means any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that is identified on Annex C to this Agreement.

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

(c) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus relating to the proposed offering of the Units has been issued by the Commission, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act has been instituted or threatened by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to information contained in or omitted from any Preliminary Prospectus, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information as defined in Section 18.

(d) At the respective times the Registration Statements and any amendments thereto became or become effective, at the date of this Agreement and at each Closing Date, each Registration Statement and any amendments thereto conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, at the time the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto was filed with the Commission and at each

 

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Closing Date, conformed and will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the foregoing representations and warranties in this paragraph (d) shall not apply to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information (as defined in Section 18). The Prospectus contains or will contain all required information under Rule 430A.

(e) Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Units or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Underwriter as described in Section 4(f), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein that has not been superseded or modified, or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, provided, however, that the foregoing representations and warranties in this paragraph (c) shall not apply to information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statements or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information.

(f) The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, when they were filed with the Commission, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and none of such documents contained any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(g) The Company has not, directly or indirectly, distributed and will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Units other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and other materials, if any, permitted under the Securities Act and consistent with Section 4(b) below. The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses (other than a “road show”, as described in Rule 433(d)(8) of the Rules and Regulations), if any, in the time and manner required under Rules 163(b)(2) and 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations.

(h) At the time of filing the Initial Registration Statement, any 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, and at the date hereof, the Company was not, and the Company currently is not, an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations.

(i) The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing (or the foreign equivalent thereof) under the law of its jurisdiction of organization. The Company is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other legal entity in each jurisdiction in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its businesses requires such qualification and has all power and authority (corporate or other) necessary to own or hold its properties and to conduct the businesses in which it is engaged, except where the failure to so qualify or have such power or authority would not (i) have, singularly or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, assets, business or prospects of the Company, or (ii) impair in any material respect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate any transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (any such effect as described in clauses (i) or (ii), a “Material Adverse Effect”). The Company has no subsidiaries.

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

 

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(k) The Stock to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriter hereunder has been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free of any preemptive or similar rights and will conform to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Warrants have been duly authorized, and when executed and delivered by the Company, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms, except that such enforcement may be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws, now or hereafter in effect, affecting creditors’ rights generally. The Warrant Shares have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance pursuant to the terms of the Warrants, and when issued by the Company upon valid exercise of the Warrants and payment of the exercise price, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free of any preemptive or similar rights and will conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

The Underwriter’s Warrants have been duly authorized and, when executed and delivered by the Company, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms, except that such enforcement may be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws, now or hereafter in effect, affecting creditors’ rights generally. The shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Underwriter’s Warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance pursuant to the terms of the Underwriter’s Warrants, and when issued by the Company upon valid exercise of the Underwriter’s Warrants and payment of the exercise price, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free of any preemptive or similar rights and will conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(l) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth under the heading “Description of Capital Stock” in the Pricing Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws, and conform to the description thereof contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. As of January 21, 2011, there were 24,530,112 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding and no shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001, of the Company, issued and outstanding and 11,666,700 shares of Common Stock were issuable upon the exercise of all options, warrants and convertible securities outstanding as of such date. Since such date, the Company has not issued any securities. All of the Company’s options, warrants and other rights to purchase or exchange any securities for shares of the Company’s capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued and were issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws. None of the outstanding shares of Common Stock was 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 shares of capital stock, options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company other than those described above or accurately described in the General Disclosure Package. The description of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, accurately and fairly present the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

(m) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the issue and sale by the Company of the Stock, the Warrants and the Underwriter’s Securities and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby will not (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, constitute a default or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event (as defined below) under, give rise to any right of termination or other right or the cancellation or acceleration of any right or obligation or loss of a benefit under, or give rise to the creation or imposition of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, claim or charge upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which the Company is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws (or analogous governing instruments, as applicable) of the Company or (iii) result in any violation of any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court or governmental

 

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agency or body, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or assets, except in the case of clauses (i) and (iii), to the extent that any such conflict, breach or violation or default would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. A “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition that gives, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company.

(n) Except for the registration of the Stock, the Warrants and the Underwriter’s Securities under the Securities Act, Exchange Act and applicable state securities laws, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Exchange”) in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Stock and Warrants by the Underwriter, the issuance of the Underwriter’s Securities and the listing of the Stock, the Warrant Shares and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Underwriter’s Warrants on the Exchange, no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, qualification or registration (each an “Authorization”) with, any court, governmental or non-governmental agency or body, foreign or domestic having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties or assets, which has not been made, obtained or taken and is not in full force and effect, is required for the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company, the offer or sale of the Stock and Warrants, the issuance of the Underwriter’s Securities or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and no event has occurred that allows or results in, or after notice or lapse of time or both would reasonably be expected to allow or result in, revocation, suspension, termination or invalidation of any such Authorization or any other impairment of the rights of the holder or maker of any such Authorization. All corporate approvals (including those of stockholders) necessary for the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been obtained and are in effect.

(o) PMB Helin Donovan, LLP, who has certified certain financial statements and related schedules included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of Article 2-01 of Regulation S-X and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”).

(p) The financial statements, together with the related notes and schedules, included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and in each Registration Statement fairly present in all material respects the financial position and the results of operations and changes in financial position of the Company at the respective dates or for the respective periods therein specified. Such statements and related notes and schedules have been prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved except as may be set forth in the related notes included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package. The financial statements, together with the related notes and schedules, included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus comply in all material respects with Regulation S-X. No other financial statements or supporting schedules or exhibits are required by Regulation S-X to be described, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus. The summary and selected financial data included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and each Registration Statement fairly present in all material respects the information shown therein as at the respective dates and for the respective periods specified and are derived from the consolidated financial statements set forth or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus and other financial information. All information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as defined in Regulation G) complies with Regulation G and Item 10 of Regulations S-K, to the extent applicable.

(q) The Company has not sustained, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package; and, since such date, there has not been any change in the capital stock (other than stock option and warrant exercise, securities issued upon vesting of restricted stock and restricted stock units and stock repurchases in the ordinary course of business) or long-term debt of the

 

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Company, or any material adverse changes, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, assets, general affairs, management, financial position, prospects, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.

(r) Except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, there is no legal or governmental proceeding to which the Company is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company is the subject, including any proceeding before the United States Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“FDA”) or comparable federal, state, local or foreign governmental bodies (collectively, “Governmental Authorities”) (it being understood that the interaction between the Company and the FDA and such Governmental Authorities relating to the clinical development and product approval process shall not be deemed proceedings for purposes of this representation), which is required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein and which is not described therein, or which, singularly or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and to the knowledge of Tom Chesterman, Isaac Cohen and Mary Tagliaferri after reasonable investigation and due diligence inquiry (“Knowledge”), no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others. The Company has operated and currently is in compliance with all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations, orders and decrees governing its business, including those prescribed by the FDA or any other Governmental Authority engaged in the regulation of pharmaceuticals, biologics or biohazardous substances or materials, except where noncompliance would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The statements contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and the documents incorporated by reference therein, with respect to the regulatory status of Menerbatm are based entirely on the Meetings Minutes supplied to the Company by the FDA, dated July 22, 2010 and November 8, 2010, and the Preliminary Responses supplied by the FDA in advance of the meeting with the FDA of November 8, 2010, and taken as a whole constitute a complete and accurate representation of the FDA’s current position regarding such status.

(s) The Company is not in (i) violation of its charter or by-laws (or analogous governing instrument, as applicable), (ii) default in any respect, and no event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its property or assets is subject or (iii) violation in any respect of any law, ordinance, governmental rule, regulation or court order, decree or judgment to which it or its property or assets may be subject (including, without limitation, those administered by the FDA or by any Governmental Authority performing functions similar to those performed by the FDA) except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph (s), for any violations or defaults which, singularly or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

(t) The Company possesses all licenses, certificates, authorizations, approvals, consents and permits issued by, and has made all declarations and filings with, all appropriate local, state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies and Institutional Review Boards (other than with respect to clinical trials commencing on or after the Applicable Time) which are necessary or desirable for the ownership of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Governmental and IRB Permits”) except where any failures to possess or make the same, singularly or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is in compliance with all such Governmental and IRB Permits and all such Governmental and IRB Permits are valid and in full force and effect, except where the failure to comply or the lack of validity or failure to be in full force and effect would not, singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not received written notification of any revocation, modification, suspension, termination or invalidation (or proceedings related thereto) of any such Governmental or IRB Permit and to the Knowledge of the Company, no event has occurred that (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) could reasonably be expected to allow or result in, revocation, modification, suspension, termination or invalidation of any such Governmental or IRB Permit or any proceedings with respect thereto and the Company has no reason to believe that any such Governmental or IRB Permit will not be renewed or that such proceedings may be commenced. The Company is a member in good standing of each Federal, state or foreign exchange, board of trade, clearing house or association and self-regulatory or similar organization, to the extent in each case necessary to conduct its businesses as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

 

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(u) All non-clinical and clinical tests and studies conducted by or on behalf of the Company to support approval for commercialization of the Company’s products (“Company Studies or Trials”) have been and, if still pending, are being conducted by the Company (or have been and if still pending, are being conducted to the Company’s Knowledge by third parties) (i) in compliance with all applicable federal, state or foreign laws, rules, orders and regulations, except for such failure or failures to be in compliance as could not reasonably be expected to have, singly or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, and (ii) in all material respects in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to, where applicable, accepted professional scientific standards. To the extent required by applicable laws and regulations of the FDA, the Company has submitted to the FDA an Investigational New Drug Application (“IND”) or amendment or supplement thereto for each clinical trial it has conducted or sponsored or is conducting or sponsoring. The Company has not received any notices or correspondence with the FDA or any Governmental Authority exercising comparable authority requiring the termination, suspension or material modification of any Company Studies or Trials, which termination, suspension or material modification would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has, or has had on its behalf, filed, declared, obtained, maintained or submitted all reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as are required by any applicable law or Governmental or IRB Permit. All such submissions were in material compliance with applicable laws and rules and regulations when submitted, and no material deficiencies have been asserted by the FDA with respect to any such submissions. No filing or submission to the FDA or any other Governmental Authority, intended to be the basis for any Governmental License, contains any material omission or material false information. The Company has not received any written notice or correspondence from the FDA or any Governmental Authority exercising comparable authority or any Institutional Review Board or comparable authority requiring the termination, suspension, clinical hold or material modification of any Company Study or Trial, except for such terminations, suspensions, clinical holds or material modifications which have been resolved so as not to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not sold or otherwise distributed any substance or material subject to regulation by the FDA or any other Governmental Authority to any person except for non-clinical and clinical research as permitted by its Governmental or IRB Permits. The descriptions of the results of the Company Studies and Trials contained in the General Disclosure Package and Prospectus are accurate in all material respects.

(v) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering of the Units and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not become an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

(w) Neither the Company nor any of its officers, directors or affiliates has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed or intended to stabilize or manipulate the price of any security of the Company, or which caused or resulted in, or which might in the future reasonably be expected to cause or result in, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company.

(x) The Company owns or possesses the right to use all (i) patents, patent applications, trademarks, trademark registrations, service marks, service mark registrations, Internet domain name registrations, copyrights, copyright registrations, licenses, trade secret rights (“Intellectual Property Rights”) and (ii) inventions, software, works of authorships, trade marks, service marks, trade names, databases, formulae, know how, Internet domain names and other intellectual property (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary confidential information, systems, or procedures) (collectively, “Intellectual Property Assets”) necessary to conduct its business as currently conducted, and as proposed to be conducted and described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. The Company has not received any written opinion from its legal counsel concluding that any activities of its businesses infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate, valid and enforceable Intellectual Property Rights of any other person, and has not received written notice of any challenge, which is to its Knowledge still pending, by any other person to the rights of the Company with respect to any Intellectual Property Rights or Intellectual Property Assets owned or used by the Company, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material

 

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Adverse Effect. To the Knowledge of the Company, the Company’s business as now conducted does not give rise to any infringement of, any misappropriation of, or other violation of, any valid and enforceable Intellectual Property Rights of any other person, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. All licenses for the use of the Intellectual Property Rights described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are valid, binding upon, and enforceable by or against the parties thereto in accordance to its terms. The Company has complied in all material respects with, and is not in breach nor has received any written asserted or threatened claim of breach of any Intellectual Property license, and the Company has no Knowledge of any breach by any other person to any Intellectual Property license. Except as described in the General Disclosure Package, no claim has been made against the Company alleging the infringement by the Company of any patent, trademark, service mark, trade name, copyright, trade secret, license in or other intellectual property right or franchise right of any person. The Company has taken reasonable measures to protect, maintain and safeguard its Intellectual Property Rights, including the execution of appropriate nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements. The consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in the loss or impairment of or payment of any additional amounts with respect to, nor require the consent of any other person in respect of, the Company’s right to own, use, or hold for use any of the Intellectual Property Rights as owned, used or held for use in the conduct of the business as currently conducted. The Company has taken all necessary actions to obtain ownership of all works of authorship and inventions made by its employees, consultants and contractors during the time they were employed by or under contract with the Company and which relate to the Company’s business. All founders and key employees have signed confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with the Company.

(y) The Company has good and marketable title to, or has valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real or personal property which are material to the business of the Company, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, security interests, claims and defects that do not, singularly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company under which the Company holds properties described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are in full force and effect, and the Company has not received any written notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.

(z) There is (A) no significant unfair labor practice complaint pending against the Company, nor to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened against it, before the National Labor Relations Board, any state or local labor relation board or any foreign labor relations board, and no significant grievance or significant arbitration proceeding arising out of or under any collective bargaining agreement is so pending against the Company, or, to the Knowledge of the Company, threatened against it and (B) no labor disturbance by the employees of the Company exists or, to the Company’s Knowledge, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers, manufacturers, customers or contractors, that would reasonably be expected, singularly or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not aware that any key employee or significant group of employees of the Company plans to terminate employment with the Company.

(aa) No “prohibited transaction” (as defined in Section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, including the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (“ERISA”), or Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time (the “Code”)) or “accumulated funding deficiency” (as defined in Section 302 of ERISA) or any of the events set forth in Section 4043(b) of ERISA (other than events with respect to which the thirty (30)-day notice requirement under Section 4043 of ERISA has been waived) has occurred or would reasonably be expected to occur with respect to any employee benefit plan of the Company which would, singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Each employee benefit plan of the Company is in compliance in all material respects with applicable law, including ERISA and the Code. The Company has not incurred and would not reasonably be expected to incur liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of, or withdrawal from, any pension plan (as defined in ERISA). Each pension plan for which the Company would have any liability that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified in all material respects, and nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would, singularly or in the aggregate, cause the loss of such qualification.

 

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(bb) The Company is in compliance with all foreign, federal, state and local rules, laws and regulations relating to the use, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous or toxic substances or waste and protection of health and safety or the environment which are applicable to their businesses (“Environmental Laws”), except where such noncompliance with Environmental Laws would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. There has been no storage, generation, transportation, handling, treatment, disposal, discharge, emission, or other release of any kind of toxic or other wastes or other hazardous substances by, due to, or caused by the Company (or, to the Company’s Knowledge, any other entity for whose acts or omissions the Company is or may otherwise be liable) upon any of the property now or previously owned or leased by the Company, or upon any other property, in violation of any law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, order, judgment, decree or permit or which would, under any law, statute, ordinance, rule (including rule of common law), regulation, order, judgment, decree or permit, give rise to any liability, except where such noncompliance with such laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of such permits, licenses or approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect; and there has been no disposal, discharge, emission or other release of any kind onto such property or into the environment surrounding such property of any toxic or other wastes or other hazardous substances with respect to which the Company has Knowledge, except for any such disposal, discharge, emission or other release of any kind which would not have a Material Adverse Effect. In the ordinary course of business, the Company conducts periodic reviews of the effect of Environmental Laws on their business and assets, in the course of which they identify and evaluate associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or Governmental or IRB Permits issued thereunder, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties). On the basis of such reviews, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not have, singularly or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(cc) The Company (i) has timely filed all necessary federal, state, local and foreign tax returns, and all such returns were true, complete and correct, (ii) has paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes, assessments, governmental or other charges due and payable for which it is liable, including, without limitation, all sales and use taxes and all taxes which the Company is obligated to withhold from amounts owing to employees, creditors and third parties, and (iii) does not have any tax deficiency or claims outstanding or assessed or, to its Knowledge, proposed against any of them, except those, in each of the cases described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph (aa), that would not, singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not engaged in any transaction which is a corporate tax shelter or which would be characterized as such by the Internal Revenue Service or any other taxing authority. The accruals and reserves on the books and records of the Company in respect of tax liabilities for any taxable period not yet finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments and related liabilities for any such period, and since December 31, 2009 the Company has not incurred any liability for taxes other than in the ordinary course.

(dd) The Company carries, or is covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries. The Company does not have any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect. All policies of insurance owned by the Company are, to the Company’s Knowledge, in full force and effect and the Company is in compliance with the terms of such policies. The Company has not received written notice from any insurer, agent of such insurer or the broker of the Company that any material capital improvements or any other material expenditures (other than premium payments) are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance. The Company does not insure risk of loss through any captive insurance, risk retention group, reciprocal group or by means of any fund or pool of assets specifically set aside for contingent liabilities other than as described in the General Disclosure Package.

 

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(ee) The Company maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act (the “Exchange Act Rules”)) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and has been designed by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or under their supervision, to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective. Except as described in the General Disclosure Package, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (A) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (B) 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’s internal control over financial reporting is, or upon consummation of the offering of the Stock will be, overseen by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”) in accordance with the Exchange Act Rules. The Company has not publicly disclosed or reported to the Audit Committee or to the Board, and within the next 90 days the Company does not reasonably expect to publicly disclose or report to the Audit Committee or the Board, a significant deficiency, material weakness, change in internal control over financial reporting or fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in the internal control over financial reporting (each an “Internal Control Event”), any violation of, or failure to comply with, the U.S. Securities Laws, which if determined adversely, would have a Material Adverse Effect.

(ff) A member of the Audit Committee has confirmed to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or General Counsel that, except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, the Audit Committee is not reviewing or investigating, and neither the Company’s independent auditors nor its internal auditors have recommended that the Audit Committee review or investigate, (i) adding to, deleting, changing the application of or changing the Company’s disclosure with respect to, any of the Company’s material accounting policies, (ii) any matter which would result in a restatement of the Company’s financial statements for any annual or interim period during the current or prior three fiscal years, or (iii) any Internal Control Event.

(gg) The Company has made and keeps books, records and accounts, which, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company in all material respects.

(hh) The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such is defined in Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act Rules) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within those entities, such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established.

(ii) The minute books of the Company have been made available to the Underwriter and counsel for the Underwriter, and such books (i) contain a reasonably complete summary of all meetings and actions of the board of directors (including each board committee) and shareholders of the Company (or analogous governing bodies and interest holders, as applicable), since the time of its respective incorporation or organization through the date of the latest meeting and action, and (ii) accurately in all material respects reflect all transactions referred to in such minutes.

(jj) There is no franchise agreement, lease, contract, or other agreement or document required by the Securities Act or by the Rules and Regulations to be described in the General Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statements or a document incorporated by reference therein which is not so described or filed therein as required; and all descriptions of any such franchise agreements, leases, contracts, or other agreements or documents contained in the General Disclosure Package and in the Prospectus or in a

 

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document incorporated by reference therein are accurate and complete descriptions of such documents in all material respects. Other than as described in the General Disclosure Package, no such franchise agreement, lease, contract or other agreement has been suspended or terminated for convenience or default by the Company or any of the other parties thereto, and the Company has not received notice of and the Company does not have Knowledge of any such pending or threatened suspension or termination, except for such suspensions or terminations or pending or threatened suspensions or terminations that would not reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(kk) No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company on the one hand, and the directors, officers, stockholders (or analogous interest holders), customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its affiliates on the other hand, which is required to be described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein and which is not so described.

(ll) No person or entity has the right to require registration of shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company because of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statements or otherwise, except for persons and entities who have expressly waived such right in writing or who have been given timely and proper written notice and have failed to exercise such right within the time or times required under the terms and conditions of such right. Except as described in the General Disclosure Package, there are no persons with registration rights or similar rights to have any securities registered by the Company under the Securities Act.

(mm) None of the proceeds of the sale of the Units will be used, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of purchasing or carrying any margin security, for the purpose of reducing or retiring any indebtedness which was originally incurred to purchase or carry any margin security or for any other purpose which might cause any of the Stock or the Warrants to be considered a “purpose credit” within the meanings of Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”).

(nn) The Company is not a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or the Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Units or any transaction contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.

(oo) All grants of options were validly issued and properly approved by the board of directors of the Company (or a duly authorized committee thereof) in material compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and recorded in the Company’s financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and, to the Company’s Knowledge, no such grants involved “back dating”, “forward dating” or similar practice with respect to the effective date of grant.

(pp) Since the date as of which information is given in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus through the date hereof, and except as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company has not (i) issued or granted any securities other than options to purchase common stock pursuant to the Company’s stock option plan, (ii) incurred any material liability or obligation, direct or contingent, other than liabilities and obligations which were incurred in the ordinary course of business, (iii) entered into any material transaction other than in the ordinary course of business or (iv) declared or paid any dividend on its capital stock.

(qq) If applicable, all of the information provided to the Underwriter or to counsel for the Underwriter by the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 is true, correct and complete in all material respects.

(rr) The Company is not a Passive Foreign Investment Company (“PFIC”) within the meaning of Section 1296 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1966.

 

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(ss) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in either the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

(tt) The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act and is listed on the Exchange, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or reasonably likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Stock from the Exchange, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or FINRA is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, notification or registration with, the Exchange is required for the listing and trading of the Stock and the Warrant Shares on the Exchange.

(uu) The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) that are in effect.

(vv) The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable corporate governance requirements set forth in the rules of the Exchange that are then in effect.

(ww) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s Knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company, while acting on behalf of the Company, has (i) used any corporate funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity, (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds, (iii) violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended or (iv) made any other unlawful payment.

(xx) There are no transactions, arrangements or other relationships between and/or among the Company, any of its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations) and any unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to, any structured finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity that would reasonably be expected to materially affect the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for its capital resources required to be described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or a document incorporated by reference therein which have not been described as required.

(yy) There are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees of indebtedness by the Company to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company, or any of their respective family members, except as disclosed in the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. All transactions by the Company with office holders or control persons of the Company have been duly approved by the board of directors of the Company, or duly appointed committees or officers thereof, if and to the extent required under U.S. law.

(zz) The statistical and market related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate in all material respects, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived.

(aaa) The operations of the Company are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, applicable money laundering statutes and applicable rules and regulations thereunder (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 with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending, or to the Company’s Knowledge, threatened.

 

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(bbb) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s Knowledge, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC.

(ccc) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s Knowledge, any of its affiliates (within the meaning of NASD Conduct Rule 2720(b)(1)(a)) directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is an associated person (within the meaning of Article I, Section 1(ee) of the By-laws of FINRA) of, any member firm of FINRA.

Any certificate signed by or on behalf of the Company and delivered to the Underwriter or to counsel for the Underwriter shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.

3. PURCHASE, SALE AND DELIVERY OF OFFERED SECURITIES. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to the Underwriter, and the Underwriter agrees to purchase from the Company, the Firm Units. The purchase price per share to be paid by the Underwriter to the Company for the Units will be $[            ] per Unit (94% of the per Unit offering price) (the “Purchase Price”).

The Company will deliver to the Underwriter (i) the Stock through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company and (ii) the Warrants in physical, certificated form, issued in such names and in such denominations as the Underwriter may direct by notice in writing to the Company given at or prior to 12:00 Noon, New York time, on the second (2nd) full business day preceding the Closing Date against payment of the aggregate Purchase Price therefor by wire transfer in federal (same day) funds to an account at a bank acceptable to the Underwriter payable to the order of the Company at the offices of Pryor Cashman LLP, 7 Times Square, New York, New York 10036. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligations of the Underwriter hereunder. The time and date of the delivery and closing shall be at 10:00 A.M., New York time, on January     , 2011, in accordance with Rule 15c6-1 of the Exchange Act. The time and date of such payment and delivery are herein referred to as the “Closing Date”. The Closing Date and the location of delivery of, and the form of payment for, the Firm Units may be varied by agreement between the Company and the Underwriter.

For the purpose of covering any over-allotments in connection with the distribution and sale of the Firm Units as contemplated by the Prospectus, the Underwriter may purchase all or less than all of the Optional Units. The price per Unit to be paid for the Optional Units shall be the Purchase Price. The Company agrees to sell to the Underwriter the number of shares of Optional Units specified in the written notice delivered by the Underwriter to the Company described below and the Underwriter agrees to purchase such Optional Units. The option granted hereby may be exercised as to all or any part of the Optional Units at any time, and from time to time, not more than thirty (30) days subsequent to the date of this Agreement. No Optional Units shall be sold and delivered unless the Firm Units previously have been, or simultaneously are, sold and delivered. The right to purchase the Optional Units or any portion thereof may be surrendered and terminated at any time upon notice by the Underwriter to the Company.

The option granted hereby may be exercised by written notice being given to the Company by the Underwriter setting forth the number of Optional Units to be purchased by the Underwriter and the date and time for delivery of and payment for the Optional Units. Each date and time for delivery of and payment for the Optional Units (which may be the Closing Date, but not earlier) is herein called the “Option Closing Date” and shall in no event be earlier than two (2) business days nor later than five (5) business days after written notice is given. The Option Closing Date and the Closing Date are herein called the “Closing Dates.”

The Company will deliver to the Underwriter (i) the Stock included in the Optional Units through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company and (ii) the Warrants included in the Optional Units in physical, certificated form, issued in such names and in such denominations as the Underwriter may direct by notice in writing to the Company given at or prior to 12:00 Noon, New York time, on the second (2nd) full business day

 

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preceding the Option Closing Date against payment of the aggregate Purchase Price therefor by wire transfer in federal (same day) funds to an account at a bank acceptable to the Underwriter payable to the order of the Company at the offices of Pryor Cashman LLP, 7 Times Square, New York, New York 10036. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified pursuant to this Agreement is a further condition of the obligations of the Underwriter. The Option Closing Date and the location of delivery of, and the form of payment for, the Optional Units may be varied by agreement between the Company and the Underwriter.

The Underwriter proposes to offer the Units for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

4. FURTHER AGREEMENTS OF THE COMPANY

The Company agrees with the Underwriter:

(a) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, to prepare the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if necessary, in a form approved by the Underwriter and file such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission by 10:00 P.M., New York time, on the date hereof, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 111(b) under the Rules and Regulations; to prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Underwriter containing information previously omitted at the time of effectiveness of the Registration Statement in reliance on Rule 430A of the Rules and Regulations and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and Regulations not later than the second business (2nd) day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A of the Rules and Regulations; to notify the Underwriter immediately of the Company’s intention to file or prepare any supplement or amendment to any Registration Statement or to the Prospectus and to make no amendment or supplement to the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package or to the Prospectus to which the Underwriter shall reasonably object by notice to the Company after a reasonable period to review; to advise the Underwriter, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to any Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Underwriter with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rules 433(d) or 163(b)(2) of the Rules and Regulations, as the case may be; to advise the Underwriter, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Stock and Warrants for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, and promptly to use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order.

(b) The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Underwriter, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Units that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations unless the prior written consent of the Underwriter has been received (each, a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus”). The Company agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, comply with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 of the Rules and Regulations applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including the requirements relating to timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping and will not take any action that would result in the Underwriter or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that the Underwriter otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.

(c) Intentionally Omitted.

 

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(d) If at any time prior to the expiration of nine (9) months after the later of (i) the latest effective date of the Registration Statement or (ii) the date of the Prospectus, when a prospectus relating to the Units is required to be delivered (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules and Regulations) any event occurs or condition exists as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact, or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made when the Prospectus is delivered (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules and Regulations), not misleading, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement any Registration Statement or the Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, that the Company will promptly notify the Underwriter thereof and upon its request will prepare an appropriate amendment or supplement in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance and will use its reasonable best efforts to have any amendment to any Registration Statement declared effective as soon as possible. The Company will furnish without charge to the Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many copies as the Underwriter may from time to time reasonably request of such amendment or supplement. In case the Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules and Regulations) relating to the Units nine (9) months or more after the later of (i) the latest effective date of the Registration Statement or (ii) the date of the Prospectus, the Company upon the request of the Underwriter will prepare promptly an amended or supplemented Prospectus as may be necessary to permit compliance with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act and deliver to the Underwriter as many copies as it may request of such amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act.

(e) If the General Disclosure Package is being used to solicit offers to buy the Units at a time when the Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers and any event shall occur as a result of which, in the judgment of the Company or in the reasonable opinion of the Underwriter, it becomes necessary to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, or to make the statements therein not conflict with the information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement then on file and not superseded or modified, or if it is necessary at any time to amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package to comply with any law, the Company promptly will prepare, file with the Commission (if required) and furnish to the Underwriter and any dealers an appropriate amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package.

(f) If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, Pricing Prospectus or Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and not superseded or modified or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Underwriter so that any use of the Issuer Free Writing Prospectus may cease until it is amended or supplemented and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for inclusion therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information (as defined in Section 18).

(g) To furnish promptly to the Underwriter and its counsel a signed copy of each of the Registration Statements as originally filed with the Commission, and of each amendment thereto filed with the Commission, including all consents and exhibits filed therewith.

(h) Upon request, to deliver promptly to the Underwriter in New York City such number of the following documents as the Underwriter shall reasonably request: (i) copies of the Registration Statements as originally filed with the Commission (in each case excluding exhibits), (ii) each Preliminary Prospectus, (iii) any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, (iv) the Prospectus (the delivery of the documents referred to in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph (h) to be made as soon as commercially practicable following

 

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the execution and delivery of this Agreement), (v) copies of any amendment to the Registration Statement (excluding exhibits) and (vi) any amendment or supplement to the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (the delivery of the documents referred to in clauses (v) and (vi) of this paragraph (h) to be made as soon as commercially practicable following the date of such amendment or supplement).

(i) To make generally available to its shareholders as soon as commercially practicable, but in any event not later than sixteen (16) months after the effective date of each Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) of the Rules and Regulations), an earnings statement of the Company (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158).

(j) To take promptly from time to time such actions as the Underwriter may reasonably request to qualify the Stock and Warrants for offering and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of such jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Underwriter may designate and to continue such qualifications in effect, and to comply with such laws, for so long as required to permit the offer and sale of the Stock and Warrants in such jurisdictions; provided that the Company shall not be obligated to qualify as foreign corporations in any jurisdiction in which they are not so qualified or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.

(k) Upon request, during the period of five (5) years from the date hereof, to deliver to the Underwriter, (i) as soon as they are available, copies of all reports or other communications furnished to shareholders, and (ii) as soon as they are available, copies of any reports and financial statements furnished or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed. However, so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of either Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act and is timely filing reports with the Commission on its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”), it is not required to furnish such reports or statements to the Underwriter.

(l) That the Company will not, for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of this Agreement, (the “Lock-Up Period”) without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, directly or indirectly offer, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, other than: (i) the Company’s sale of the Units (including the Stock, Warrants and Warrant Shares) hereunder; (ii) the issuance of Common Stock or options to acquire Common Stock pursuant to the Company’s employment agreements, consultant agreements, employee benefit plans, qualified stock option plans or other employee compensation plans either (x) if prior to the Applicable Time, as such agreements and/or plans are in existence on the date hereof and described in the Prospectus or (y) if after the Applicable Time, as may be approved by the Board of Directors of the Company in the ordinary course of business from time to time; and (iii) the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to the valid exercises of options, warrants or rights outstanding on the date hereof. The Company will cause each officer, director, shareholder, optionholder and warrantholder listed in Annex D to furnish to the Underwriter, prior to the Closing Date, a letter, substantially in the form of Exhibit II hereto. The Company also agrees that during such period, other than for the sale of the Stock hereunder, the Company will not file any registration statement, preliminary prospectus or prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, under the Securities Act for any such transaction or which registers, or offers for sale, Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock, except for a registration statement on Form S-8 relating to employee benefit plans. The Company hereby agrees that (i) if it issues an earnings release or material news, or if a material event relating to the Company occurs, during the last seventeen (17) days of the Lock-Up Period, or (ii) if prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the sixteen (16)-day period beginning on the last day of the Lock-Up Period, the restrictions imposed by this paragraph (l) or the letter shall continue to apply until the expiration of the eighteen (18)-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event. The Company will provide the Underwriter and each stockholder subject to the Lock-Up Period with prior notice (in accordance with Section 15 herein) of any such announcement that gives rise to an extension of the Lock-Up Period, subject to the Underwriter’s agreement to hold such information in confidence prior to public disclosure of the same.

 

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(m) To supply the Underwriter with copies of all correspondence to and from, and all documents issued to and by, the Commission in connection with the registration of the Stock and Warrants under the Securities Act or any of the Registration Statements, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated by reference therein.

(n) Prior to the latest of the Closing Dates, not to issue any press release or other communication directly or indirectly or hold any press conference with respect to the Company, its condition, financial or otherwise, or earnings, business affairs or business prospects (except for routine oral marketing communications in the ordinary course of business and consistent with the past practices of the Company and of which the Underwriter is notified), without the prior written consent of the Underwriter, unless in the judgment of the Company and its counsel, and after notification to the Underwriter, such press release or communication is required by law.

(o) Until the Underwriter shall have notified the Company of the completion of the resale of the Units, that the Company will not, and will use its best efforts to cause its affiliated purchasers (as defined in Regulation M under the Exchange Act) not to, either alone or with one or more other persons, bid for or purchase, for any account in which it or any of its affiliated purchasers has a beneficial interest, any Units, or attempt to induce any person to purchase any Units; and not to, and to cause its affiliated purchasers not to, make bids or purchase for the purpose of creating actual, or apparent, active trading in or of raising the price of the Units.

(p) Will use its reasonable best efforts not to take any action prior to the latest of the Closing Dates which would require the Prospectus to be amended or supplemented pursuant to Section 4(c).

(q) To at all times comply with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in effect from time to time.

(r) To maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Stock and Warrants.

(s) To apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Units as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the heading “Use of Proceeds,” and except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package, the Company does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Units hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of the Underwriter. The Company shall manage its affairs and investments in such a manner as not to be or become an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.

(t) To use its reasonable best efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance, and to maintain the listing of the Stock, the Warrant Shares and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Underwriter’s Warrants on the Exchange.

(u) To use its reasonable best efforts to do and perform all things required to be done or performed under this Agreement by the Company prior to each Closing Date and to satisfy all conditions precedent to the delivery of the Firm Units and the Optional Units.

(v) To reserve and keep available at all times a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of enabling the Company to issue the Warrant Shares and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Underwriter’s Warrants.

(w) Upon request of the Underwriter, to furnish, or cause to be furnished, to the Underwriter an electronic version of the Company’s trademarks, servicemarks and corporate logo for use on the website, if any, operated by the Underwriter for the purpose of facilitating the on-line offering of the Units (the “License”); provided, however that the License shall be used solely for the purpose described above, is granted without any fee and may not be assigned or transferred.

 

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5. PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.

(a) Subject to Section 5(b) below, the Company agrees to pay, or reimburse if paid by the Underwriter, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated or this Agreement is terminated: (a) the costs incident to the authorization, issuance, sale, preparation and delivery of the Stock and Warrants and any taxes payable in that connection; (b) the costs incident to the registration of the Stock, Warrants and Warrant Shares under the Securities Act; (c) the costs incident to the preparation, printing and distribution of the Registration Statements, any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any amendments, supplements and exhibits thereto or any document incorporated by reference therein and the costs of printing, reproducing and distributing the Master Selected Dealers’ Agreement, the Underwriters’ Questionnaire, this Agreement and any closing documents by mail, telex or other means of communications; (d) the fees and expenses (other than the fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriter) incurred in connection with securing any required review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Units and any filings made with FINRA; (e) any applicable listing or other fees; (f) the fees and expenses (other than the fees and expenses of counsel to the Underwriter) of qualifying the Stock, Warrants and Warrant Shares under the securities laws of the several jurisdictions as provided in Section 4(j)) and of preparing, printing and distributing wrappers, Blue Sky Memoranda and Legal Investment Surveys; (g) the cost of preparing and printing stock certificates and Warrants; (h) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Stock and Warrants; (i) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Units, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road show, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the officers of the Company and such consultants, including the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show, and (j) all other costs and expenses incident to the offering of the Units or the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement (including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel and the Company’s independent accountants); provided that, except to the extent otherwise provided in this Section 5 and in Section 10, the Underwriter shall pay its own costs and expenses, including any transfer taxes on the resale of any Units by it and the expenses of advertising any offering of the Units made by the Underwriter.

(b) The Company further agrees that, in addition to the expenses payable pursuant to Section 5(a), on the Closing Date it will pay to the Underwriter a non-accountable expense allowance equal to one and one-quarter percent (1.25%) of the gross proceeds received from the sale of the Firm Units by deduction from the proceeds of the offering contemplated hereby.

6. CONDITIONS OF THE UNDERWRITERS OBLIGATIONS. The obligations of the Underwriter hereunder are subject to the accuracy, when made and as of the Applicable Time and on such Closing Date, of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional terms and conditions:

(a) The Registration Statements have become effective under the Securities Act, and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of any Registration Statement or any part thereof, preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A under the Securities Act shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission, and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission (to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the reasonable satisfaction of the Underwriter; the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus shall have been filed with, the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by, and in compliance with, the Rules and Regulations and in accordance with Section 4(a), and the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, shall have become effective immediately upon its filing with the Commission; and FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the terms of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

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(b) The Underwriter shall not have discovered and disclosed to the Company on or prior to such Closing Date that any Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto contains an untrue statement of a fact which, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriter, is material or omits to state any fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or that the General Disclosure Package, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto contains an untrue statement of fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material or omits to state any fact which, in the opinion of such counsel, is material and is necessary in order to make the statements, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading.

(c) All corporate proceedings and other legal matters incident to the authorization, form and validity of each of this Agreement, the Units, the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package, each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and the Prospectus and all other legal matters relating to this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reasonably satisfactory in all material respects to counsel for the Underwriter, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel all documents and information that they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters.

(d)(i) Greenberg Traurig, LLP shall have furnished to the Underwriter such counsel’s written opinion and negative assurance statement, as counsel to the Company, addressed to the Underwriter and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter, to the effect set forth in Annex A and (ii) Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati shall have furnished to the Underwriter such counsel’s written opinion and negative assurance statement, as Intellectual Property counsel to the Company, addressed to the Underwriter and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Underwriter, to the effect set forth in Annex B.

(e) Intentionally omitted.

(f) The Underwriter shall have received from Pryor Cashman LLP, counsel for the Underwriter, such opinion or opinions, dated such Closing Date, with respect to such matters as the Underwriter 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) At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Underwriter shall have received from PMB Helin Donovan, LLP a letter, addressed to the Underwriter, executed and dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriter (i) confirming that they are an independent registered accounting firm with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Rules and Regulations and PCAOB and (ii) stating the conclusions and findings of such firm, of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters, with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(h) On the effective date of any post-effective amendment to any Registration Statement and on such Closing Date, the Underwriter shall have received a letter (the “bring-down letter”) from PMB Helin Donovan, LLP addressed to the Underwriter and dated such Closing Date confirming, as of the date of the bring-down letter (or, with respect to matters involving changes or developments since the respective dates as of which specified financial information is given in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of a date not more than three (3) business days prior to the date of the bring-down letter), the conclusions and findings of such firm, of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters, with respect to the financial information and other matters covered by its letter delivered to the Underwriter concurrently with the execution of this Agreement pursuant to paragraph (g) of this Section 6.

(i) The Company shall have furnished to the Underwriter a certificate, dated such Closing Date, of its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer stating that (i) such officers have examined the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and, in their opinion, the Registration Statements and each amendment thereto, as of their respective effective dates and as of such Closing Date did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as of its date and as of such

 

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Closing Date, the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto, as of the respective date thereof and as of such Closing Date, and the General Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading, (ii) since the effective date of the Initial Registration Statement, no event has occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement or amendment to the Registration Statements, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, which has not been set forth in a supplement or an amendment to the Registration Statement, (iii) to the best of their Knowledge, as of such Closing Date, the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct and the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such Closing Date, and (iv) there has not been, subsequent to the date of the most recent audited financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package, any material adverse change in the financial position or results of operations of the Company, or any change or development that, singularly or in the aggregate, would involve a material adverse change or a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, business, assets or prospects of the Company, except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus.

(j) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the General Disclosure Package or incorporated by reference in the General Disclosure Package as of the date hereof, (i) the Company shall not have sustained any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, and (ii) there shall not have been any change in the capital stock (other than stock option and warrant exercises and restricted stock and restricted stock unit vesting and stock repurchases in the ordinary course of business) or long-term debt of the Company, or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business, general affairs, management, financial position, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company, otherwise than as set forth in the General Disclosure Package, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii) of this paragraph (j), is, in the reasonable judgment of the Underwriter, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Units on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package.

(k) No action shall have been taken and no law, statute, rule, regulation or order shall have been enacted, adopted or issued by any governmental agency or body which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Units or materially and adversely affect or potentially materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company; and no injunction, restraining order or order of any other nature by any federal or state court of competent jurisdiction shall have been issued which would prevent the issuance or sale of the Units or materially and adversely affect or potentially materially and adversely affect the business or operations of the Company.

(l) Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Capital Market or the NYSE Amex or in the over-the-counter market, or trading in any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market, shall have been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices or maximum range for prices shall have been established on any such exchange or such market by the Commission, by such exchange or market or by any other regulatory body or governmental authority having jurisdiction, (ii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared by Federal or state authorities or a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States, (iii) the United States shall have become engaged in hostilities, or the subject of an act of terrorism, or there shall have been an outbreak of or escalation in hostilities involving the United States, or there shall have been a declaration of a national emergency or war by the United States or (iv) there shall have occurred such a material adverse change in general economic, political or financial conditions (or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States shall be such) as to make it, in the reasonable judgment of the Underwriter, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the sale or delivery of the Units on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

 

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(m) The Exchange shall have approved the Stock, the Warrant Shares and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Underwriter’s Warrants for listing therein, subject only to official notice of issuance.

(n) The Underwriter shall have received on and as of such Closing Date satisfactory evidence of the good standing of the Company in its jurisdictions of organization and its good standing as a foreign entity in such other jurisdictions as Cowen may reasonably request, in each case in writing or any standard form of telecommunication from the appropriate Governmental Authorities of such jurisdictions.

(o) The Underwriter shall have received the written agreements, substantially in the form of Exhibit II hereto, of the officers, directors, shareholders, optionholders and warrantholders of the Company listed in Annex D to this Agreement.

(p) The Company shall have furnished to the Underwriter a Secretary’s Certificate of the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriter.

(q) On or prior to such Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Underwriter such further certificates and documents as the Underwriter may reasonably request.

All opinions, letters, evidence and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall be deemed to be in compliance with the provisions hereof only if they are in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriter.

7. ADDITIONAL COVENANTS.

(a) Right of First Refusal. The Company agrees that if Firm Units are sold in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, then, if following the date of such sale the Company proposes to effect any public offering, any Rule 144A offering or any private placement of securities (each, a “Subsequent Placement”), other than the offering contemplated by this Agreement, the Company shall offer to engage the Underwriter (or, at the Underwriter’s discretion, any of its affiliates) as the Company’s lead managing underwriter, lead purchaser or exclusive placement agent, as the case may be, in connection with such transaction(s) on terms and conditions customary to the Underwriter for similar transactions, as follows: (i) if such offering is for gross proceeds of $25 million or less, then the obligation under this paragraph shall expire three (3) months from the date of this Agreement; (ii) if such offering is for gross proceeds greater than $25 million but less than $30 million, then the obligation under this paragraph shall expire six (6) months from the date of this Agreement; and (iii) if such offering is for gross proceeds equal to or greater than $30 million, then the obligation under this paragraph shall expire nine (9) months from the date of this Agreement; provided, however, that the Underwriter may decline such engagement in its sole and absolute discretion at such time. The terms of such engagement shall be set forth in separate agreements and may be subject to, among other things, satisfactory completion of due diligence by the Underwriter, market conditions, the absence of adverse changes to the Company’s business or financial condition, approval of the Underwriter’s internal committee and any other conditions that the Underwriter may deem appropriate for transactions of such nature. The Underwriter’s failure to exercise its rights with respect to any particular offering shall not affect its rights relative to future offerings. If the Underwriter fails to deliver written notice to the Company electing to exercise the Underwriter’s rights pursuant to this Section 7(a) within five (5) Business Days after the Underwriter’s receipt of a written notice of a proposed Subsequent Placement from the Company or its agents, the Underwriter shall be deemed to have permanently and irrevocably waived such rights with respect to such Subsequent Placement.

(b) Underwriter’s Warrants. The Company hereby agrees to issue to the Underwriter (and/or its designees) on the Closing Date warrants (the “Underwriter’s Warrants”), in the form attached hereto as Exhibit III, for the purchase of an aggregate of 1,750,000 shares of Common Stock. The Underwriter’s Warrant and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise thereof are sometimes hereinafter referred to collectively as the “Underwriter’s Securities.” The Underwriter understands and agrees that there are significant restrictions pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 against transferring the Underwriter’s Warrants and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise thereof following the effective date of the Initial Registration Statement. Thus, the Underwriter hereby agrees that during the six (6) month period following

 

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the Closing Date, neither the Underwriter’s Warrants nor any shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise thereof shall be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the Effective Date, other than the transfer of any such security as permitted by FINRA rules. Delivery of the Underwriter’s Warrants shall be made on the Closing Date and shall be issued in the name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Underwriter may request.

8. INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION.

(a) The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Underwriter, its directors, officers, managers, members, employees, representatives and agents and each person, if any, who controls the Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (collectively the “Underwriter Indemnified Parties,” and each an “Underwriter Indemnified Party”) against any loss, claim, damage, expense or liability whatsoever (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), joint or several, to which such Underwriter Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding arises out of or is based upon (A) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” that is used in connection with the offering and sale of the Units by, or with the approval of, the Company filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated by reference therein, or (B) the omission or alleged omission to state in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” that is used in connection with the offering and sale of the Units by, or with the approval of, the Company filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto or document incorporated by reference therein, a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of (other than in the case of the Registration Statement) the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and shall reimburse each Underwriter Indemnified Party promptly upon demand for any legal fees or other expenses reasonably incurred by that Underwriter Indemnified Party in connection with investigating, or preparing to defend, or defending against, or appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding, as such fees and expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement in, or omission or alleged omission from any Preliminary Prospectus, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for use therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information (as defined in Section 18).

The indemnity agreement in this Section 8(a) is not exclusive and is in addition to each other liability which the Company might have under this Agreement or otherwise, and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available under this Agreement, at law or in equity to any Underwriter Indemnified Party.

(b) The Underwriter shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors, its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (collectively the “Company Indemnified Parties” and each a “Company Indemnified Party”) against any loss, claim, damage, expense or liability whatsoever (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), joint or several, to which such Company Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, or (ii) the omission or alleged omission to state in any

 

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Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules and Regulations, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of (other than in the case of the Registration Statement) the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, but in each case only to the extent that the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter specifically for use therein, which information the parties hereto agree is limited to the Underwriter’s Information as defined in Section 18, and shall reimburse the Company Indemnified Parties promptly on demand for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or preparing to defend or defending against or appearing as third party witness in connection with any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, investigation or proceeding, as such fees and expenses are incurred. This indemnity agreement is not exclusive and will be in addition to any liability which the Underwriter might otherwise have and shall not limit any rights or remedies which may otherwise be available under this Agreement, at law or in equity to the Company Indemnified Parties.

(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, the indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify such indemnifying party in writing of the commencement of that action; provided, however, that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have under this Section 8 except to the extent it has been materially prejudiced by such failure; and, provided, further, that the failure to notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 8. If any such action shall be brought against an indemnified party, and it shall notify the indemnifying party thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it wishes, jointly with any other similarly notified indemnifying party, to assume the defense of such action with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party (which counsel shall not, except with the written consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party). After notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense of such action, except as provided herein, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to the indemnified party under Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense of such action other than reasonable costs of investigation; provided, however, that any indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel in any such action and to participate in the defense of such action but the fees and expenses of such counsel (other than reasonable costs of investigation) shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the employment thereof has been specifically authorized in writing by the Company in the case of a claim for indemnification under Section 8(a) or the Underwriter in the case of a claim for indemnification under Section 8(b), (ii) such indemnified party shall have been advised by its counsel that there may be one or more legal defenses available to it which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, or (iii) the indemnifying party has failed to assume the defense of such action and employ counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party within a reasonable period of time after notice of the commencement of the action or the indemnifying party does not diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense, in which case, if such indemnified party notifies the indemnifying party in writing that it elects to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party, the indemnifying party shall not have the right to assume the defense of (or, in the case of a failure to diligently defend the action after assumption of the defense, to continue to defend) such action on behalf of such indemnified party and the indemnifying party shall be responsible for reasonable legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense of such action; provided, however, that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any one such action or separate but substantially similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances, be liable for the reasonable fees and expenses of more than one separate firm of attorneys at any time for all such indemnified parties (in addition to any local counsel), which firm shall be designated in writing by the Underwriter if the indemnified parties under this Section 8 consist of any Underwriter Indemnified Party or by the Company if the indemnified parties under this Section 8 consist of any Company Indemnified Parties. Subject to this Section 8(c), the amount payable by an indemnifying party under Section 8 shall include, but not be limited to, (x) reasonable legal fees and expenses of counsel to the indemnified party and any other expenses in investigating, or preparing to defend or defending against, or appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any

 

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action, investigation, proceeding or claim, and (y) all amounts paid in settlement of any of the foregoing. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of judgment with respect to any pending or threatened action or any claim whatsoever, in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 8 (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party. Subject to the provisions of the following sentence, no indemnifying party shall be liable for settlement of any pending or threatened action or any claim whatsoever that is effected without its written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), but if settled with its written consent, if its consent has been unreasonably withheld or delayed or if there be a judgment for the plaintiff in any such matter, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless any indemnified party from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement or judgment. In addition, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested that an indemnifying party reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 8(a) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than forty-five (45) days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the request for reimbursement, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least thirty (30) days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under Section 8(a) or 8(b), then each indemnifying party shall, in lieu of indemnifying such indemnified party, contribute to the amount paid, payable or otherwise incurred by such indemnified party as a result of such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof), as incurred, (i) in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other from the offering of the Units, or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) of this Section 8(d) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) of this Section 8(d) but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other with respect to the statements, omissions, acts or failures to act which resulted in such loss, claim, damage, expense or liability (or any action, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof) as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other with respect to such offering shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Units purchased under this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriter with respect to the Units purchased under this Agreement, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriter on the other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company on the one hand or the Underwriter on the other, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement, omission, act or failure to act; provided that the parties hereto agree that the written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriter for use in the Preliminary Prospectus, any Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any amendment or supplement thereto, consists solely of the Underwriter’s Information as defined in Section 18.

(e) The Company and the Underwriter agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to Section 8(d) above were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to Section 8(d) above. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding referred to in Section 8(d) above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth above, any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating, preparing to defend or defending against or appearing as a third party witness in respect of, or otherwise incurred in connection with, any such loss, claim,

 

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damage, expense, liability, action, investigation or proceeding. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8, the Underwriter shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Units exceeds the amount of any damages which the Underwriter has otherwise paid or become liable to pay by reason of any untrue or alleged untrue statement, omission or alleged omission, act or alleged act or failure to act or alleged failure to act. No Person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any Person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriter’s obligations to contribute as provided in this Section 8 are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

9. TERMINATION. The Underwriter may terminate its obligations hereunder, in its absolute discretion, by notice given to the Company prior to delivery of and payment for the Firm Units if, prior to that time, any of the events described in Sections 6(j), 6(k) or 6(l) have occurred or if the Underwriter shall decline to purchase the Units for any reason permitted under this Agreement.

10. REIMBURSEMENT OF UNDERWRITERS EXPENSES. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, if (a) this Agreement shall have been terminated pursuant to Section 9, (b) the Company shall fail to tender the Units for delivery to the Underwriter for any reason not permitted under this Agreement, (c) the Underwriter shall decline to purchase the Units for any reason permitted under this Agreement or (d) the sale of the Units is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Underwriter set forth herein is not satisfied or (e) the sale of the Units is not consummated because of the refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or to satisfy any condition (other than as set forth in Section 6(f)) or to comply with the provisions hereof, then in lieu of the payment of amounts in accordance with Section 5, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriter for the reasonable fees and expenses of Underwriter’s counsel and for such other reasonable out-of-pocket expenses as shall have been reasonably incurred by it in connection with this Agreement and the proposed purchase of the Units, including, without limitation, travel and lodging expenses of the Underwriter, and upon demand the Company shall pay the full amount thereof to the Underwriter, provided that in no event shall the Company be obligated to reimburse the Underwriters pursuant to clauses (a), (c) or (d) in an amount in excess of $150,000 in the aggregate.

11. ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS OF UNDERWRITER.

(a) The Underwriter agrees that it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Units that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations unless the prior written consent of the Company has been received.

(b) The Underwriter hereby agrees that: (i) it will deliver to the Company prior to the applicable Closing Date a list setting forth the name of each Person who, after giving effect to their purchase of Units, would be a “beneficial owner” (as defined for purposes of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) of more than 8% of the shares of Common Stock and (ii) if such Person would “beneficially own” more than 15% of the shares of Common Stock after giving effect to its purchase of Units, the Underwriter shall not sell Units to such Person without the prior written consent of the Company.

12. ABSENCE OF FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a) the Underwriter’s responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature, the Underwriter has been retained solely to act as underwriter in connection with the sale of the Units and no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Underwriter has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Underwriter has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

(b) the price of the Units set forth in this Agreement was established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Underwriter, and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

 

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

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

13. SUCCESSORS; PERSONS ENTITLED TO BENEFIT OF AGREEMENT. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriter, the Company and their respective successors and assigns. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, other than the persons mentioned in the preceding sentence, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement, or any provisions herein contained, this Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof being intended to be and being for the sole and exclusive benefit of such persons and for the benefit of no other person; except that the representations, warranties, covenants, agreements and indemnities of the Company contained in this Agreement shall also be for the benefit of the Underwriter Indemnified Parties, and the indemnities of the Underwriter shall be for the benefit of the Company Indemnified Parties. It is understood that the Underwriter’s responsibility to the Company is solely contractual in nature and the Underwriter does not owe the Company, or any other party, any fiduciary duty as a result of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Units from the Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.

14. SURVIVAL OF INDEMNITIES, REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, ETC. The respective indemnities, covenants, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company and the Underwriter, as set forth in this Agreement or made by them respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Underwriter, the Company or any person controlling any of them and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Units. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, including without limitation any termination pursuant to Section 9, the indemnities, covenants, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements forth in Sections 2, 5, 7, 8 and 10 and Sections 11 through 22, inclusive, of this Agreement shall not terminate and shall remain in full force and effect at all times.

 

15. NOTICES. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and:

(a) if to the Underwriter, shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex, facsimile transmission or email to Cowen and Company, LLC, Attention: Head of Equity Capital Markets, Fax: 646 ###-###-#### with a copy to the General Counsel, Fax: 646 ###-###-####, with a copy (which shall not constitute notice hereunder) to Pryor Cashman LLP, 7 Times Square, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Richard S. Frazer, Esq., Fax: 212 ###-###-####; and

(b) if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex, facsimile transmission or email to: Bionovo, Inc., 5858 Horton Street, Suite 400, Emeryville, CA 94608, Attention: Tom Chesterman, Fax: (510)  ###-###-####, with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to Greenberg Traurig, LLP, The MetLife Building, 200 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10166 , Attention: Robert H. Cohen, Esq., Fax: (212)  ###-###-####.

16. DEFINITION OF CERTAIN TERMS. For purposes of this Agreement, (a) “business day” means any day on which the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. is open for trading and (b) “subsidiary” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 of the Rules and Regulations.

17. GOVERNING LAW, AGENT FOR SERVICE AND JURISDICTION. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, including without limitation Section 5-1401 of the New York General Obligations. The Company irrevocably (a) submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal and state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York for the purpose of any suit, action or other proceeding arising out of this Agreement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statements and any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, (b) agrees that all claims in respect of any such suit,

 

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action or proceeding may be heard and determined by any such court, (c) waives to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any immunity from the jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process, (d) agrees not to commence any such suit, action or proceeding other than in such courts, and (e) waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any claim that any such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum.

18. UNDERWRITERS INFORMATION. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that, for all purposes of this Agreement, the Underwriter’s Information consists solely of the following information in the Prospectus: (i) the last paragraph on the front cover page concerning the terms of the offering by the Underwriter; and (ii) the information contained in the fourth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth (“Discretionary Accounts”), thirteenth (“Stabilization”), fifteenth (“Passive Market Making”), twenty-second (“Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Units”), eighteenth (“United Kingdom”) and each paragraph thereafter under the heading “Underwriting.”

19. Intentionally omitted.

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

21. GENERAL. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof. In this Agreement, the masculine, feminine and neuter genders and the singular and the plural include one another. The section headings in this Agreement are for the convenience of the parties only and will not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended or modified, and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived, only by a writing signed by the Company and the Underwriter.

22. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.

[Remainder of page intentionally left blank; signature page follows]

 

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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of the agreement between the Company and the Underwriter, kindly indicate your acceptance in the space provided for that purpose below.

 

Very truly yours,

 

BIONOVO, INC.

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

Accepted as of

the date first above written:

COWEN AND COMPANY, LLC

By:

 

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

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