Description of Securities

Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. (“we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“1934 Act”): our common stock. The following summary of the terms of our common stock is based upon our Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (our “restated certificate of incorporation”) and our bylaws. This summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by express reference to, the applicable provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, which are filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated by reference herein. We encourage you to read our restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) for more information.

Description of Common Stock

Under our restated certificate of incorporation, we have authority to issue 100,000,000 shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share. As of December 31, 2019, 12,040,835 shares of our common stock were issued and outstanding. All shares of our common stock will, when issued, be duly authorized, fully paid and nonassessable.

Dividends. Subject to preferential dividend rights of any other class or series of stock, the holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, including dividends of our stock, as and when declared by our board of directors, subject to any limitations imposed by law and to the rights of the holders, if any, of our preferred stock. We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock, except with respect to a cash dividend paid in connection with the closing of our business combination with Targacept, Inc. We do not anticipate paying periodic cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any future determination about the payment of dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our earnings, if any, capital requirements, operating and financial conditions and on such other factors as the board of directors deems relevant.

Liquidation. In the event we are liquidated, dissolved or our affairs are wound up, after we pay or make adequate provision for all of our known debts and liabilities, each holder of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably in all assets that remain, subject to any rights that are granted to the holders of any class or series of preferred stock.

Voting Rights. For all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share registered in his or her name. Except as may be required by law and in connection with some significant actions, such as mergers, consolidations, or amendments to our restated certificate of incorporation that affect the rights of stockholders, holders of our common stock vote together as a single class. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our directors, which means that, subject to any rights to elect directors that are granted to the holders of any class or series of preferred stock, a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of stockholders at which a quorum is present is sufficient to elect a director.

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Other Rights and Restrictions. Subject to the preferential rights of any other class or series of stock, all shares of our common stock have equal dividend, distribution, liquidation and other rights, and have no preference, appraisal or exchange rights, except for any appraisal rights provided by Delaware law. Furthermore, holders of our common stock have no conversion, sinking fund or redemption rights, or preemptive rights to subscribe for any of our securities. Our restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws do not restrict the ability of a holder of our common stock to transfer his or her shares of our common stock.

The rights, powers, preferences and privileges of holders of our common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of shares of any series of preferred stock which we may designate and issue in the future.

Listing. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “CBIO.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar. The transfer agent for our common stock is American Stock Transfer &Trust Company, LLC. Its address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.

Description of Preferred Stock

Under our restated certificate of incorporation, we have authority, subject to any limitations prescribed by law and without further stockholder approval, to issue from time to time up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, in one or more series. As of December 31, 2019, we had no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.

Pursuant to our restated certificate of incorporation, we are authorized to issue “blank check” preferred stock, which may be issued from time to time in one or more series upon authorization by our board of directors. Our board of directors, without further approval of the stockholders, is authorized to fix the designation, powers, preferences, relative, participating optional or other special rights, and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions applicable to each series of the preferred stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes could, among other things, adversely affect the voting power or rights of the holders of our common stock and, under certain circumstances, make it more difficult for a third party to gain control of us, discourage bids for our common stock at a premium or otherwise adversely affect the market price of the common stock.

Certain Effects of Authorized but Unissued Stock

We have shares of common stock and preferred stock available for future issuance without stockholder approval. We may issue these additional shares for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public or private offerings to raise additional capital or to facilitate corporate acquisitions or for payment as a dividend on our capital stock. The existence of unissued and unreserved preferred stock may enable our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock with terms that could render more difficult or discourage a third-party attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, thereby protecting the continuity of our management. In addition, if we issue preferred stock, the issuance could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that holders of common stock will receive dividend payments or payments upon liquidation.

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Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Our Charter Documents

Our restated certificate of incorporation provides for our board of directors to be divided into three classes serving staggered terms. Approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. The provision for a classified board could prevent a party who acquires control of a majority of the outstanding voting stock from obtaining control of the board of directors until the second annual stockholders meeting following the date the acquirer obtains the controlling stock interest. The classified board provision could discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company and could increase the likelihood that incumbent directors will retain their positions. Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that directors may be removed with or without cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all outstanding stock.

Our restated certificate of incorporation requires that certain amendments to the restated certificate of incorporation and amendments by the stockholders of our bylaws require the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all outstanding stock. These provisions could discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company and could delay changes in management.

Our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual stockholders meeting, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors. At an annual stockholders meeting, stockholders may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our board of directors. Stockholders may also consider a proposal or nomination by a person who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given to the Secretary of the Company timely written notice, in proper form, of his or her intention to bring that business before the annual stockholders meeting. Our bylaws do not give our board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting of the stockholders. However, our bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed. These provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company.

Our bylaws provide that only our board of directors, the chairperson of the board, the President or the Chief Executive Officer may call a special meeting of stockholders. Because our stockholders do not have the right to call a special meeting, a stockholder could not force stockholder consideration of a proposal over the opposition of our board of directors by calling a special meeting of stockholders prior to such time as a majority of our board of directors, the chairperson of the board, the President or the Chief Executive Officer believed the matter should be considered or until the next annual meeting provided that the requestor met the notice requirements. The restriction on the ability of stockholders to call a special meeting means that a proposal to replace the board also could be delayed until the next annual stockholders meeting.

Our restated certificate of incorporation does not allow stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting. Without the availability of stockholder’s actions by written consent, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend our bylaws or remove directors without holding a stockholders’ meeting.

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Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Delaware Law

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL, or Section 203. Under Section 203, we would generally be prohibited from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the time that this stockholder became an interested stockholder unless:

Under Section 203, a “business combination” includes:

In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as an entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors shall not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, for acts or omissions not in good faith or involving intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, for payment of dividends or approval of stock purchases or redemptions that are prohibited by the DGCL, or for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. Under the DGCL, our directors have a fiduciary duty to us that is not eliminated by this provision of the restated certificate of incorporation and, in appropriate circumstances, equitable remedies such as injunctive or other forms of non-monetary relief will remain available. This provision also does not affect our directors’ responsibilities under any other laws, such as federal securities laws or state or federal environmental laws.

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Section 145 of the DGCL empowers a corporation to indemnify its directors and officers against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlements actually and reasonably incurred by them in connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by third parties by reason of the fact that they were or are directors or officers of the corporation, if they acted in good faith, in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. The DGCL provides further that the indemnification permitted thereunder shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the directors and officers may be entitled under the corporation’s bylaws, any agreement, a vote of stockholders or otherwise. Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, we shall indemnify any person who is or was a director or officer of us, or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer or trustee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, against the expenses, liabilities or other matters referred to in or covered by Section 145 of the DGCL. Our bylaws provide that we will indemnify any person who was or is a party or threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of us or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer or trustee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL.

In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and with certain of our executive officers. Pursuant to the indemnification agreements, we has agreed to indemnify and hold harmless these directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. The agreements generally cover expenses that a director or officer incurs or amounts that a director or officer becomes obligated to pay because of any proceeding to which he or she is made or threatened to be made a party or participant by reason of his or her service as a current or former director, officer, employee or agent of the Company. The agreements also provide for the advancement of expenses to the directors and officers subject to specified conditions. There are certain exceptions to our obligation to indemnify the directors and officers, including any intentional malfeasance or act where the director or officer did not in good faith believe he or she was acting in our best interests, with respect to “short-swing” profit claims under Section 16(b) of the 1934 Act and, with certain exceptions, with respect to proceedings that he or she initiates.

Section 145 of the DGCL also empowers a corporation to purchase insurance for its officers and directors for such liabilities. We maintain liability insurance for our officers and directors.

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