CLASS A COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT TO PURCHASE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF DARA BIOSCIENCES, INC.

Exhibit 4.17

CLASS A COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT

TO PURCHASE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF

DARA BIOSCIENCES, INC.

    THIS CLASS A COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT (the “Warrant”) certifies that, for value received, the holder (the “Holder”), is entitled, upon the terms and subject to the limitations on exercise and the conditions hereinafter set forth, at any time on or after the date hereof (the “Initial Exercise Date”) and on or prior to 5:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on the five year anniversary of the Initial Exercise Date (the “Termination Date”) but not thereafter, to subscribe for and purchase from DARA BioSciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), up to                      shares (the “Warrant Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”). The purchase price of one share of Common Stock under this Warrant shall be equal to the Exercise Price, as defined in Section 2(b).

    Section 1.     Definitions. In addition to the terms defined elsewhere in this Warrant, for all purposes of this Warrant, the following terms have the meanings indicated in this Section.1:

    “Affiliate” means any Person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Person as such terms are used in and construed under Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

    “Business Day” means any day except Saturday, Sunday, any day which shall be a federal legal holiday in the United States or any day on which banking institutions in the State of North Carolina are authorized or required by law or other governmental action to close.

    “Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company, par value $.01 per share.

    “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

    “Person” means an individual or corporation, partnership, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, joint stock company, government (or an agency or subdivision thereof) or other entity of any kind.

    “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

    “Trading Day” means a day on which the Common Stock is traded on a Trading Market.

    Section 2.     Exercise.

    (a)      Exercise of Warrant.     Exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, at any time or times on or after the Initial Exercise Date and on or before the Termination Date by delivery to the Company (or such other office or agency of the Company as it may designate by notice in writing to the registered Holder at the address of the Holder appearing on the books of the Company) of a duly executed facsimile copy of the Notice of Exercise Form annexed hereto; and, within three (3) Trading Days of the date said Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company, the Company shall have received payment of the aggregate Exercise Price of the shares

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thereby purchased by wire transfer or cashier’s check drawn on a United States bank. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company until the Holder has purchased all of the Warrant Shares available hereunder and the Warrant has been exercised in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company for cancellation within three (3) Trading Days of the date the final Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company. Partial exercises of this Warrant resulting in purchases of a portion of the total number of Warrant Shares available hereunder shall have the effect of lowering the outstanding number of Warrant Shares purchasable hereunder in an amount equal to the applicable number of Warrant Shares purchased. The Holder and the Company shall maintain records showing the number of Warrant Shares purchased and the date of such purchases. The Holder and any assignee, by acceptance of this Warrant, acknowledge and agree that, by reason of the provisions of this paragraph, following the purchase of a portion of the Warrant Shares hereunder, the number of Warrant Shares available for purchase hereunder at any given time may be less than the amount stated on the face hereof.

    (b)      Exercise Price.    The exercise price of the Common Stock under this Warrant shall be $                    , subject to adjustment hereunder (the “Exercise Price”).

    (c)      Mechanics of Exercise.

i.          Delivery of Certificates Upon Exercise. Certificates for shares purchased hereunder shall be transmitted by the Transfer Agent to the Holder by crediting the account of the Holder’s prime broker with the Depository Trust Company through its Deposit or Withdrawal Agent at Custodian system (“DWAC”) if the Company is then a participant in such system and there is an effective Registration Statement permitting the issuance of the Warrant Shares to or resale of the Warrant Shares by Holder, and otherwise by physical delivery to the address specified by the Holder in the Notice of Exercise by the date that is three (3) Trading Days after the latest of (A) the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise Form, (B) surrender of this Warrant (if required) and (C) payment of the aggregate Exercise Price as set forth above (such date, the “Warrant Share Delivery Date”). This Warrant shall be deemed to have been exercised on the first date on which all of the foregoing have been delivered to the Company. The Warrant Shares shall be deemed to have been issued, and Holder or any other person so designated to be named therein shall be deemed to have become a holder of record of such shares for all purposes, as of the date the Warrant has been exercised, with payment to the Company of the Exercise Price.

ii.          Delivery of New Warrants Upon Exercise. If this Warrant shall have been exercised in part, the Company shall, at the request of a Holder and upon surrender of this Warrant certificate, at the time of delivery of the certificate or certificates representing Warrant Shares, deliver to Holder a new Warrant evidencing the rights of Holder to purchase the unpurchased Warrant Shares called for by this Warrant, which new Warrant shall in all other respects be identical with this Warrant.

iii.          No Fractional Shares or Scrip. No fractional shares or scrip representing fractional shares shall be issued upon the exercise of this Warrant. As to any fraction of a share which

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Holder would otherwise be entitled to purchase upon such exercise, the Company shall pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the Exercise Price.

    (d)      Holder’s Exercise Limitations.    The Company shall not effect any exercise of this Warrant, and a Holder shall not have the right to exercise any portion of this Warrant, pursuant to Section 2 or otherwise, to the extent that after giving effect to such issuance after exercise as set forth on the applicable Notice of Exercise, the Holder (together with the Holder’s Affiliates, and any other Persons acting as a group together with the Holder or any of the Holder’s Affiliates), would beneficially own in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation (as defined below). For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the Holder and its Affiliates shall include the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant with respect to which such determination is being made, but shall exclude the number of shares of Common Stock which would be issuable upon (i) exercise of the remaining, nonexercised portion of this Warrant beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates and (ii) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or nonconverted portion of any other securities of the Company (including, without limitation, any other Common Stock Equivalents) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this Section 2(d), beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, it being acknowledged by the Holder that the Company is not representing to the Holder that such calculation is in compliance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the Holder is solely responsible for any schedules required to be filed in accordance therewith. To the extent that the limitation contained in this Section 2(d) applies, the determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable shall be in the sole discretion of the Holder, and the submission of a Notice of Exercise shall be deemed to be the Holder’s determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable, in each case subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the Company shall have no obligation to verify or confirm the accuracy of such determination. In addition, a determination as to any group status as contemplated above shall be determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. For purposes of this Section 2(d), in determining the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock, a Holder may rely on the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock as reflected in (A) the Company’s most recent periodic or annual report filed with the Commission, as the case may be, (B) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (C) a more recent written notice by the Company or the Transfer Agent setting forth the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. Upon the written or oral request of a Holder, the Company shall within two Trading Days confirm orally and in writing to the Holder the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding. In any case, the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of securities of the Company, including this Warrant, by the Holder or its Affiliates since the date as of which such number of outstanding shares of Common Stock was reported. The “Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant. The Holder, upon not less than 61 days’ prior notice to the Company, may increase or decrease the Beneficial Ownership Limitation provisions of this Section 2(d), provided that the Beneficial Ownership Limitation in no event exceeds 9.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of this Warrant held by the Holder and the provisions of this Section 2(d) shall continue to apply. Any such increase or decrease will not be effective until the 61^st day after such notice is delivered to the Company. The provisions of this paragraph shall be construed and implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section

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2(d) to correct this paragraph (or any portion hereof) which may be defective or inconsistent with the intended Beneficial Ownership Limitation herein contained or to make changes or supplements necessary or desirable to properly give effect to such limitation. The limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply to a successor holder of this Warrant.

    Section 3.     Certain Adjustments.

    (a)      Stock Dividends and Splits.     If the Company, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding: (A) pays a stock dividend or otherwise make a distribution or distributions on shares of its Common Stock or any other equity or equity equivalent securities payable in shares of Common Stock (which, for avoidance of doubt, shall not include any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company pursuant to this Warrant or any other issued but unexercised warrant of the Company), (B) subdivides outstanding shares of Common Stock into a larger number of shares, (C) combines (including by way of reverse stock split) outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (D) issues by reclassification of shares of the Common Stock any shares of capital stock of the Company, then in each case the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock (excluding treasury shares, if any) outstanding immediately before such event and of which the denominator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the number of shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant shall be proportionately adjusted. Any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 3(a) shall become effective immediately after the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive such dividend or distribution and shall become effective immediately after the effective date in the case of a subdivision, combination or re-classification.

    (b)      Fundamental Transaction.      If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (A) the Company effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with a Person, (B) the Company effects any sale of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (C) any tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or a Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of Common Stock are permitted to tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property, or (D) the Company effects any reclassification of the Common Stock or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the Common Stock is effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property (each “Fundamental Transaction”), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the Holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant Share that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such Fundamental Transaction, the number of shares of Common Stock of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and/or any other consideration, including cash (the “Alternate Consideration”), receivable as a result of such merger, consolidation or disposition of assets by a Holder of the number of shares of Common Stock for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such event. For purposes of any such exercise, the determination of the Exercise Price shall be appropriately adjusted to apply to such Alternate Consideration based on the amount of Alternate Consideration issuable in respect of one share of Common Stock in such Fundamental Transaction, and the Company shall apportion the Exercise Price among the Alternate Consideration in a reasonable manner reflecting the relative value of any different components of the Alternate Consideration. If holders of Common Stock are given any choice as to the securities, cash or property to be received in a Fundamental Transaction, then the Holder shall be given the same choice as to the Alternate Consideration it receives upon any exercise of this Warrant following such Fundamental Transaction. To the extent necessary to effectuate the foregoing provisions, any successor to the Company or surviving entity in such Fundamental Transaction shall issue to the Holder a new warrant consistent with the foregoing provisions and evidencing the Holder’s right to exercise such warrant into Alternate Consideration.

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    (c)      Calculations.    All calculations under this Section 3 shall be made to the nearest cent or the nearest 1/100th of a share, as the case may be. For purposes of this Section 3, the number of shares of Common Stock deemed to be issued and outstanding as of a given date shall be the sum of the number of shares of Common Stock (excluding treasury shares, if any) issued and outstanding.

    (d)      Notice to Holders.    Whenever the Exercise Price is adjusted pursuant to this Section 3, the Company shall promptly mail to each Holder a notice setting forth the Exercise Price after such adjustment and setting forth a brief statement of the facts requiring such adjustment.

    Section 4.     Transfer of Warrant.

    (a)      Transferability.  This Warrant and all rights hereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of this Warrant at the principal office of the Company, together with a written assignment of this Warrant substantially in the form attached hereto duly executed by the Holder or its agent or attorney and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer. Upon such surrender and, if required, such payment, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in the name of the assignee or assignees and in the denomination or denominations specified in such instrument of assignment, and shall issue to the assignor a new Warrant evidencing the portion of this Warrant not so assigned, and this Warrant shall promptly be cancelled. A Warrant, if properly assigned, may be exercised by a new holder for the purchase of Warrant Shares without having a new Warrant issued.

    (b)      New Warrants.   This Warrant may be divided or combined with other Warrants upon presentation hereof at the aforesaid office of the Company, together with a written notice specifying the names and denominations in which new Warrants are to be issued, signed by the Holder or its agent or attorney. Subject to compliance with Section 4(a), as to any transfer which may be involved in such division or combination, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in exchange for the Warrant or Warrants to be divided or combined in accordance with such notice.

    (c)      Warrant Register.   The Company shall register this Warrant, upon records to be maintained by the Company for that purpose (the “Warrant Register”), in the name of the record Holder hereof from time to time. The Company may deem and treat the registered Holder of this Warrant as the absolute owner hereof for the purpose of any exercise hereof or any distribution to the Holder, and for all other purposes, absent actual notice to the contrary.

    Section 5.     Miscellaneous.

    (a)      Title to Warrant.   Prior to the Termination Date and subject to compliance with applicable laws and Section 4 of this Warrant, this Warrant and all rights hereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, at the office or agency of the Company by the Holder in person or by duly authorized attorney, upon surrender of this Warrant together with the Assignment Form annexed hereto properly endorsed.

    (b)      No Rights as Stockholder Until Exercise.   This Warrant does not entitle the Holder to any voting rights or other rights as a stockholder of the Company prior to the exercise hereof. Upon the surrender of this Warrant and the payment of the aggregate Exercise Price, the Warrant Shares so purchased shall be and be deemed to be issued to such Holder as the record owner of such shares as of the close of business on the later of the date of such surrender or payment.

    (c)      Loss, Theft, Destruction or Mutilation of Warrant.   The Company covenants that upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of the loss, theft,

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destruction or mutilation of this Warrant or any stock certificate relating to the Warrant Shares, and in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it (which, in the case of the Warrant, shall not include the posting of any bond), and upon surrender and cancellation of such Warrant or stock certificate, if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Warrant or stock certificate of like tenor and dated as of such cancellation, in lieu of such Warrant or stock certificate.

    (d)      Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, Etc.  If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall be a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, then such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding day not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

    (e)      Authorized Shares.  The Company covenants that during the period the Warrant is outstanding, it will reserve from its authorized and unissued Common Stock a sufficient number of shares to provide for the issuance of the Warrant Shares upon the exercise of any purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company further covenants that its issuance of this Warrant shall constitute full authority to its officers who are charged with the duty of executing stock certificates to execute and issue the necessary certificates for the Warrant Shares upon the exercise of the purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company will take all such reasonable action as may be necessary to assure that such Warrant Shares may be issued as provided herein without violation of any applicable law or regulation, or of any requirements of the NASDAQ Capital Market or any other trading market upon which the Common Stock may be listed.

    Except and to the extent as waived or consented to by the Holder, the Company shall not by any action, including, without limitation, amending its certificate of incorporation or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all such terms and in the taking of all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect the rights of Holder as set forth in this Warrant against impairment. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will (a) not increase the par value of any Warrant Shares above the amount payable therefor upon such exercise immediately prior to such increase in par value, (b) take all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Warrant Shares upon the exercise of this Warrant, and (c) use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all such authorizations, exemptions or consents from any public regulatory body having jurisdiction thereof as may be necessary to enable the Company to perform its obligations under this Warrant.

    Before taking any action which would result in an adjustment in the number of Warrant Shares for which this Warrant is exercisable or in the Exercise Price, the Company shall obtain all such authorizations or exemptions thereof, or consents thereto, as may be necessary from any public regulatory body or bodies having jurisdiction thereof.

    (f)      Jurisdiction.   All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of this Warrant shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina.

    (g)      Non-Waiver and Expenses.   No course of dealing or any delay or failure to exercise any right hereunder on the part of Holder shall operate as a waiver of such right or otherwise prejudice Holder’s rights, powers or remedies, notwithstanding the fact that all rights hereunder terminate on the Termination Date. If the Company willfully and knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this Warrant, which results in any material damages to the Holder, the Company shall pay to Holder such amounts as shall be sufficient to cover any costs and expenses including, but not limited to,

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reasonable attorneys’ fees, including those of appellate proceedings, incurred by Holder in collecting any amounts due pursuant hereto or in otherwise enforcing any of its rights, powers or remedies hereunder.

    (h)      Notices. Any notice, request or other document required or permitted to be given or delivered to the Holder by the Company must be in writing and will be deemed effectively given on the earliest of the date (i) three Business Days after such notice is sent by registered U.S. mail, return receipt requested, (ii) one Business Day after receipt of confirmation if such notice is sent by facsimile, (iii) one Business Day after delivery of such notice into the custody and control of an overnight courier service for next day delivery, (iv) one Business Day after delivery of such notice in person and (v) such notice is received; in each case to the address for the Holder as it appears on the books of the Company.

    (i)      Limitation of Liability.   No provision hereof, in the absence of any affirmative action by Holder to exercise this Warrant or purchase Warrant Shares, and no enumeration herein of the rights or privileges of Holder, shall give rise to any liability of Holder for the purchase price of any Common Stock or as a stockholder of the Company, whether such liability is asserted by the Company or by creditors of the Company.

    (j)      Remedies.   Holder, in addition to being entitled to exercise all rights granted by law, including recovery of damages, will be entitled to specific performance of its rights under this Warrant. The Company agrees that monetary damages would not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of a breach by it of the provisions of this Warrant and hereby agrees to waive the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate.

    (k)      Successors and Assigns.   Subject to applicable securities laws, this Warrant and the rights and obligations evidenced hereby shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors of the Company and the successors and permitted assigns of Holder. The provisions of this Warrant are intended to be for the benefit of all Holders from time to time of this Warrant and shall be enforceable by any such Holder or holder of Warrant Shares.

    (l)      Amendment.   This Warrant may be modified or amended or the provisions hereof waived with the written consent of the Company and the Holder.

    (m)      Severability.   Wherever possible, each provision of this Warrant shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Warrant shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provisions or the remaining provisions of this Warrant.

    (n)      Headings.   The headings used in this Warrant are for the convenience of reference only and shall not, for any purpose, be deemed a part of this Warrant.

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    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Warrant to be executed by its officer thereunto duly authorized.

NOTICE OF EXERCISE

TO:DARA BioSciences, Inc.

       VIA FACSIMILE (919)  ###-###-####

       8601 Six Forks Road, Suite 160

       Raleigh, NC 27615

(1)    The undersigned hereby elects to purchase                      Warrant Shares of the Company pursuant to the terms of the attached Warrant, and tenders herewith payment of the exercise price, together with all applicable transfer taxes, if any, in accordance with paragraph (2) below.

(2)    Payment shall take the form of $                             in lawful money of the United States.

(3)    Please issue a certificate or certificates representing said Warrant Shares in the name of the undersigned or in such other name as is specified below:

The Warrant Shares shall be delivered to the following DWAC Account Number or by physical delivery of a certificate to:

[SIGNATURE OF HOLDER]

ASSIGNMENT FORM

(To assign the foregoing warrant, execute this form and supply required information. Do not use this form to exercise the warrant.)

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the foregoing Warrant and all rights evidenced thereby are hereby assigned to                                                           whose address is                                                          .

Signature Guaranteed:                                                  .

NOTE: The signature to this Assignment Form must correspond with the name as it appears on the face of the Warrant, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever, and must be guaranteed by a bank or trust company. Officers of corporations and those acting in a fiduciary or other representative capacity should file proper evidence of authority to assign the foregoing Warrant.