Open Market Sale AgreementSM, dated as of August 9, 2021, by and between Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. and Jefferies LLC

EX-1.1 2 tm2124481d2_ex1-1.htm EXHIBIT 1.1

 

Exhibit 1.1 

 

EXECUTION VERSION

 

OCULAR THERAPEUTIX, INC.

Shares of Common Stock
(par value $0.0001 per share)

 

Open Market Sale Agreement^SM

 

August 9, 2021

 

JEFFERIES LLC
520 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC (the “Agent”), as follows:

 

1.            Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through the Agent, shares of common stock (the “Placement Shares”) of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”); provided, however, that in no event shall the Company issue or sell through the Agent such number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that would exceed (a) the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock registered on the effective Registration Statement (as defined below) pursuant to which the offering is being made, (b) the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock, (c) the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock permitted to be sold under Form S-3 (including General Instruction I.B.6 thereof, if applicable), or (d) the number or dollar amount of shares of Common Stock for which the Company has filed a Prospectus Supplement (as defined below) (the lesser of (a), (b), (c) and (d), the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 1 on the amount of Placement Shares issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The offer and sale of Placement Shares through the Agent will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on December 14, 2020, and which became immediately effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(e) of the Securities Act (as defined below) and General Instruction I.D. to Form S-3, although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement to issue Common Stock.

 

The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-251327), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Placement Shares, to be issued from time to time by the Company pursuant to this Agreement, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus included as part of the registration statement, which prospectus supplement relates to the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company. The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable (which shall be a Prospectus Supplement), with respect to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement(s), including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rules 430B or 462(b) under the Securities Act, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus or base prospectuses, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented, if necessary, by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus or prospectuses and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b), together with the then issued Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es) (as defined below), is herein called the “Prospectus.”

 

 

Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein. Any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act on or after the most-recent effective date of the Registration Statement, or the date of the Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as the case may be, and incorporated therein by reference. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include the most recent copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system or any successor thereto (collectively, “EDGAR”).

 

2.            Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Agent by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to by the parties) of the number of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined below) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made (a “Placement Notice”), the form of which is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from the Agent set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by the Agent unless and until (i) the Agent declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, within two (2) Trading Days from the time such Placement Notice was received (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares thereunder have been sold, (iii) the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice, (iv) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those on the earlier-dated Placement Notice, or (v) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 13. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to the Agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated as an amount up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of the Placement Shares. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor the Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Agent and the Agent does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company may change the individuals designated on Schedule 2 hereof entitled to send a Placement Notice hereunder, and the Agent may change the individuals designated on Schedule 2 hereof to receive a Placement Notice hereunder, by sending written notice of such new designees to the other party in accordance with Section 14 of this Agreement.

 

3.            Sale of Placement Shares by Agent.

 

(a)            On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Agent’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Global Market (the “Exchange”), to sell the Placement Shares up to the amount specified in, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of, such Placement Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Agreement and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by the Agent and the Company. The Agent will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number and volume-weighted average price of Placement Shares sold on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent pursuant to Section 2 with respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company, with an itemization of the deductions made by the Agent (as set forth in Section 5(b)) from the gross proceeds that it receives from such sales. Subject to the terms of the Placement Notice, the Agent may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4), including sales made directly on or through the Exchange or any other existing trading market for the Common Stock, in negotiated transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices and/or any other method permitted by law, including, but not limited to privately negotiated transactions, subject, in the case of privately negotiated transactions, to the prior written consent by the Company. “Trading Day” means any day on which Common Stock is traded on the Exchange.

 

 

(b)           During the term of this Agreement, the Agent shall not, directly or indirectly, engage in (i) any short sale of any security of the Company, as defined in Regulation SHO, (ii) any sale of any security of the Company that the Agent does not own or any sale which is consummated by the delivery of a security of the Company borrowed by, or for the account of, the Agent or (iii) any market making, bidding, stabilization or other trading activity with regard to the Common Stock or related derivative securities, in each case if such activity would be prohibited under Regulation M or other anti-manipulation rules under the Securities Act or any successors laws.

 

4.            Suspension of Sales.

 

(a)            The Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares (a “Suspension”); provided, however, that such Suspension shall not affect or impair any party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. While a Suspension is in effect any obligation under Sections 7(l), 7(m), 7(n) and 7(o) with respect to the delivery of certificates, opinions, or comfort letters to the Agent, shall be waived. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against any other party unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time.

 

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

 

5.            Settlement and Delivery to the Agent.

 

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

 

(b)           Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting the Agent’s or its designee’s account (provided the Agent shall have given the Company written notice of such designee at least one Trading Day prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, the Agent will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver Placement Shares on a Settlement Date through no fault of the Agent, the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 11(a) hereto, it will (i) hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or reasonable and documented expense (including reasonable and documented legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable) and (ii) pay to the Agent (without duplication) any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.

 

 

(c)            Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the aggregate gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of (A) together with all sales of Placement Shares under this Agreement, the Maximum Amount and (B) the amount authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof.

 

6.            Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with the Agent that, as of the date of this Agreement and as of each Applicable Time (as defined below), unless such representation, warrant or agreement specifies a different time:

 

(a)            No Misstatement or Omission. The Registration Statement has become effective. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect; and no proceedings for such purpose are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission. The Company has complied, to the Commission’s satisfaction, with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information, if any. At the time the Registration Statement was originally filed with the Commission, as well as at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Placement Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Securities Act, the Company was a “well known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, and became effective on December 14, 2020. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act objecting to the Company’s use of the automatic shelf registration form. The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the applicable conditions set forth in Form S-3 (including General Instructions I.A and I.B thereto) under the Securities Act.

 

(b)            Conformity with Securities Act and Exchange Act. (i) Each document filed or to be filed pursuant to the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference in the Prospectus complied or will comply when so filed in all material respects with the Exchange Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (ii) the Registration Statement, when it became effective, did not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (iii) the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and (iv) the Prospectus does not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this paragraph do not apply to statements or omissions in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use therein.

 

 

(c)            Ineligible Issuer. The Company is not an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. Except for the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, furnished to the Agent before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the Agent’s prior consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any incorporated document deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent specifically for use therein.

 

(d)           Distribution of Offering Materials. The Registration Statement and the offer and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby meet the requirements of Rule 415 and comply in all material respects with said Rule. The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of each Settlement Date and completion of the distribution of the Placement Shares, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering or sale of the Placement Shares other than the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to which the Agent has consented, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.

 

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

 

(f)            Authorization of the Placement Shares. The Placement Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such Placement Shares will not be subject to any preemptive or similar rights that have not been validly waived.

 

(g)           No Applicable Registration or Other Similar Rights. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any securities of the Company or to require the Company to include such securities with the Placement Shares registered pursuant to the Registration Statement, other than rights that have been validly waived.

 

(h)            No Material Adverse Change. There has not occurred any material adverse change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company from that set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(i)            Independent Accountants. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, is (i) an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), (ii) in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and (iii) a registered public accounting firm as defined by the PCAOB whose registration has not been suspended or revoked and who has not requested such registration to be withdrawn.

 

(j)            Financial Statements. The financial statements filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the periods specified. Such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus. The summary and selected financial data set forth in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the captions fairly present, in all material respects, the information set forth therein on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. To the Company’s knowledge, no person who has been suspended or barred from being associated with a registered public accounting firm, or who has failed to comply with any sanction pursuant to Rule 5300 promulgated by the PCAOB, has participated in or otherwise aided the preparation of, or audited, the financial statements, supporting schedules or other financial data filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

 

(k)            Company’s Accounting System. The Company has established a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (v) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is accurate.

 

(l)            Disclosure Controls and Procedures; Deficiencies in or Changes to Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), which (i) are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are being prepared; (ii) have been evaluated by specified members of management of the Company for effectiveness as of the end of the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter; and (iii) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (i) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (ii) 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.

 

(m)           Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly incorporated, is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, has the corporate power and authority to own its property and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which the conduct of its business or its ownership or leasing of property requires such qualification, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

(n)           Subsidiaries. Each of the Company’s “subsidiaries” (for purposes of this Agreement, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) has been duly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and is validly existing as a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization and has the power and authority (corporate or other) to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except to the extent that the failure to be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the Company. Each of the Company’s subsidiaries is duly qualified as a foreign corporation, partnership or limited liability company, as applicable, to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except to the extent that the failure to be so qualified or be in good standing would not have a material adverse effect on the Company. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, or as may be otherwise disclosed to the Agent in writing, the Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 to the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

(o)           Capitalization and Other Capital Stock Matters. The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein. The shares of Common Stock (including the Placement Shares) conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding Shares have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. There were no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any capital stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates indicated therein. The descriptions of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus accurately and fairly present, in all material respects, the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

 

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

 

(q)           Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments; No Further Authorizations or Approvals Required. The Company is not in violation of its charter, by-laws or other organizational documents. The execution and delivery by the Company of, and the performance by the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement will not contravene any provision of applicable law or the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the Company or any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company that is material to the Company, or any judgment, order or decree of any governmental body, agency or court having jurisdiction over the Company, and no consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any governmental body or agency is required for the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement, except such as have already been obtained or made or as may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states in connection with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares. The Company is not in breach of or otherwise in default, and no event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default in the performance of any material obligation, agreement or condition contained in any bond, debenture, note, indenture, loan agreement or any other material contract, lease or other instrument to which the Company is bound, or to which any of the material property or assets of the Company is subject, except for any such breach or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

(r)            Compliance with Laws. The Company has not been advised, and has no reason to believe, that it is not conducting business in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the jurisdictions in which it is conducting business, except where failure to be in such compliance would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

(s)           No Material Actions or Proceedings. There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to which the Company is a party or to which any of the properties of the Company is subject (i) other than proceedings accurately described in all material respects in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and proceedings that would not have a material adverse effect on the Company or on the power or ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Prospectus or (ii) that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and that are not so described. No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company exists, except as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent; and the Company is not aware of any existing, threatened or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers, manufacturers or contractors that could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

 

(t)            Intellectual Property Rights. The Company owns or has valid, binding and enforceable licenses under the patents, patent applications, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names and other intellectual property necessary for the conduct of the business of the Company in all material respects as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted, in the manner described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”), except as enforceability of any such licenses may be limited by bankruptcy and other similar laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and general principles of equity; to the knowledge of the Company, the patents, trademarks, and copyrights, if any, included within the Intellectual Property are valid, enforceable, and subsisting; other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (A) the Company is not obligated to pay a material royalty, grant a license to, or provide other material consideration to any third party in connection with the Intellectual Property, (B) the Company has not received any notice of any claim of infringement, misappropriation or conflict with any asserted rights of others with respect to any of the Company’s drug candidates, drug products, processes or Intellectual Property, (C) to the knowledge of the Company, neither the sale nor use of any of the discoveries, inventions, drug candidates, drug products or processes of the Company referred to in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus do or will infringe, misappropriate or violate any right or valid issued patent claim of any third party in any material respect, and (D) to the knowledge of the Company and except as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, no third party has any ownership right in or to any Intellectual Property that is owned by the Company, other than any co-owner of any patent constituting Intellectual Property who is listed on the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and any co-owner of any patent application constituting Intellectual Property who is named in such patent application, and, to the knowledge of the Company, no third party has any ownership right in or to any Intellectual Property in any field of use that is exclusively licensed to the Company, other than any licensor to the Company of such Intellectual Property. The Company’s Second Amended and Restated License Agreement with Incept LLC, dated September 13, 2018 (as amended, the “Incept License”), is valid, subsisting and enforceable on its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and general principles of equity or, with regards to rights of indemnification thereunder, as may be limited by applicable law and public policy considerations, and to the Company’s knowledge neither party to the Incept License has breached any obligation thereof.

 

(u)           All Necessary Permits, etc. The Company possesses all certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct its business, and the Company has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authorization or permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a material adverse effect on the Company, taken as a whole, except as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.

 

(v)            Title to Properties. The Company does not own any real property. The Company has good title to all personal property owned by it which is material to the business of the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company are held by it under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company, in each case except as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.

 

(w)          Tax Law Compliance. The Company has filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns required to be filed through the date of this Agreement or has requested extensions thereof (except where the failure to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company) and has paid all taxes required to be paid thereon (except for cases in which the failure to file or pay would not have a material adverse effect, or, except as currently being contested in good faith and for which reserves required by U.S. GAAP have been created in the financial statements of the Company), and no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company which has had (nor does the Company have any notice or knowledge of any tax deficiency which could reasonably be expected to be determined adversely to the Company and which could reasonably be expected to have) a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

(x)            Insurance. Except as described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company is insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the business in which it is engaged; and 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 on the Company.

 

 

(y)           Compliance with Environmental Laws. The Company (i) is in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), (ii) has received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business and (iii) is in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where such noncompliance with Environmental 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, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company. There are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties) which would, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

(z)            ERISA Compliance. (A) To the knowledge of the Company, no “prohibited transaction” as defined under Section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) or Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and not exempt under ERISA Section 408 and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder has occurred with respect to any “employee benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA, whether or not subject to ERISA, under which the Company has had or has any present or future obligation or liability Employee Benefit Plan (an “Employee Benefit Plan”); (B) at no time has the Company or any member of the company’s controlled group as defined in Code Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) (each an “ERISA Affiliate”) maintained, sponsored, participated in, contributed to or has or had any liability or obligation in respect of any Employee Benefit Plan subject to Part 3 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA, Title IV of ERISA, or Section 412 of the Code or any “multiemployer plan” as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA or any multiple employer plan for which the Company or any ERISA Affiliate has incurred or could incur liability under Section 4063 or 4064 of ERISA except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the Company; (C) each Employee Benefit Plan is and has been operated in compliance with its terms and all applicable laws, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code and no event has occurred (including a “reportable event” as such term is defined in Section 4043 of ERISA) and no condition exists that would subject the Company or any ERISA Affiliate to any tax, fine, lien, penalty or liability imposed by ERISA, the Code or other applicable law, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the Company; (D) each Employee Benefit Plan intended to be qualified under Code Section 401(a) is so qualified and has a favorable determination or opinion letter from the IRS upon which it can rely, and any such determination or opinion letter remains in effect and has not been revoked, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on the Company; to the knowledge of the Company, nothing has occurred since the date of any such determination or opinion letter that is reasonably likely to adversely affect such qualification; and (E) the Company does not have any obligations under any collective bargaining agreement with any union and, to the knowledge of the Company, no organization efforts are underway with respect to Company employees.

 

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

 

(bb)         No Price Stabilization or Manipulation; Compliance with Regulation M. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to activities by the Agent, any action designed to or that would be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of shares of Common Stock or any other “reference security” (as defined in Rule 100 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act (“Regulation M”)) with respect to the Common Stock, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or otherwise, and has taken no action which would directly or indirectly violate Regulation M. The Company acknowledges that the Agent may engage in passive market making transactions in the Placement Shares on the Exchange to the extent permitted under Regulation M and other anti-manipulation rules under the Securities Act or any successors laws. As of the date of this Agreement, shares of the Common Stock are “actively traded securities” (as defined in Regulation M).

 

 

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

 

(dd)         FINRA Matters. All of the information provided to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent by the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, its counsel, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares is true, complete, correct in all material respects and compliant with FINRA’s rules and any letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules or NASD Conduct Rules is true, complete and correct in all material respects. The Company meets the definition of the term “experienced issuer” specified in FINRA Rule 5110(j)(6), unless the Company has notified the Agent otherwise.

 

(ee)          Statistical and Market-Related Data. The statistical and market-related data contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they were derived. To the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.

 

(ff)           Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company is in compliance with all application provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder in all material respects.

 

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

 

(hh)         Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Laws. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor any director, officer, or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has, in the course of its actions for, or on behalf of, the Company or any of its subsidiaries (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken any act in furtherance of an offer, promise, or authorization of any direct or indirect unlawful payment or benefit to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or public international organization, or any political party, party official, or candidate for political office to influence official action or secure improper advantage; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”), the UK Bribery Act 2010, or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption law; or (iv) made, offered, authorized, requested, or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment or benefit to any such foreign or domestic government official or employee. The Company and its subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates have conducted their respective businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

 

(ii)            Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are, and have been conducted at all times, in material compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar applicable rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

 

(jj)           Sanctions. Neither the Company nor any of its directors or officers, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its employees or any agent, affiliate or representative of the Company, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is (i) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Crimea). The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering and sale of the Placement Shares, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any joint venture partner or other Person: (i) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or (ii) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering of the Placement Shares, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise). For the past five years, the Company has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

 

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

 

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

 

(mm)        Cybersecurity. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, (i)(x) the Company has no knowledge of any security breach or other compromise of the Company’s information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data and databases (including the data and information of its customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third-party data maintained by or on behalf of the Company) (collectively, “IT Systems and Data”) and (y) the Company has not been notified of, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach or other compromise to its IT Systems and Data, except for those instances referred to in clauses (i)(x) and (i)(y) that have been remedied or are reasonably expected to be remedied without material cost or liability to the Company or without the duty to notify any other person or any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same; (ii) the Company is presently in compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all applicable judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any governmental authority relating to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification; and (iii) the Company has implemented commercially reasonable backup and disaster recovery technology, except, in each of clauses (ii) and (iii), singly or in the aggregate, where such noncompliance would not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

(nn)         Compliance with Data Privacy Laws. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries are, and during the past three years were, in material compliance with all applicable state and federal data privacy and security laws and regulations, including without limitation, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HIPAA”), and the Company and its subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable actions to prepare to comply with, and since May 25, 2018, have been and currently are in compliance with in all material respects, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (EU 2016/679) (collectively, the “Privacy Laws”). Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, to ensure compliance with the Privacy Laws, the Company and its subsidiaries have in place, comply with, and take appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure compliance in all material respects with their policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling, and analysis of Personal Data (the “Policies”). The Company and its subsidiaries have at all times made all disclosures to users or customers required by applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, and none of such disclosures made or contained in any Policy have, to the knowledge of the Company, been inaccurate or in violation of any applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, in each case in any material respect. The Company further certifies that neither it nor any of its subsidiaries (i) has received notice of any actual liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) is currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation, or other corrective action pursuant to any Privacy Law; or (iii) is a party to any order, decree, or agreement that imposes any obligation or liability under any Privacy Law, in each of clauses (i) through (iii) which would, singly or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

 

(oo)         Clinical Data and Regulatory Compliance. Other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company: (i) is and at all times has been in material compliance with all statutes, rules or regulations applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, marketing, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, storage, import, export or disposal of any product under development, manufactured or distributed by the Company (“Applicable Laws”); (ii) has not received any FDA Form 483, notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) or any other federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authority alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any Applicable Laws or any licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws (“Authorizations”) except for FDA Forms 483 that have been resolved as of the date hereof; (iii) possesses all material Authorizations and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and the Company is not in material violation of any term of any such Authorizations; (iv) has not received notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from the FDA or any other federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product, operation or activity is in material violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and that would have a material adverse effect on the Company and has no knowledge that the FDA or any other federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authority or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding; (v) has not received notice that the FDA or any other federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authority has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any material Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA or any other federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authority is considering such action; (vi) has filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were materially complete and correct on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission); and (vii) has not, either voluntarily or involuntarily, initiated, conducted, or issued or caused to be initiated, conducted or issued, any recall, market withdrawal or replacement, safety alert, “dear doctor” letter, or other notice or action relating to the alleged lack of safety or efficacy of any product or any alleged product defect or violation and, to the Company’s knowledge, no third party has initiated, conducted or intends to initiate any such notice or action.

 

The studies, tests and preclinical and clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company that are described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus were and, if still pending, are being conducted, and in the case of those conducted on behalf of the Company, to the Company’s knowledge, in all material respects in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to accepted professional scientific standards and all Applicable Laws and Authorizations, including, without limitation, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; the descriptions of the results of such studies, tests and trials contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly present the data derived from such studies, tests and trials; the Company is not aware of any studies, tests or trials, the results of which the Company believes materially contradict the study, test, or trial results described or referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus when viewed in the context in which such results are described and the clinical state of development; and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has not received any notices or correspondence from the FDA or any other federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authority requiring the termination, suspension or material modification of any studies, tests or preclinical or clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company.

 

(pp)         Underwriter Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction.

 

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

 

 

Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company, as applicable, to the Agent as to the matters set forth therein.

 

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

 

(a)            Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 or a similar rule), (i) the Company will notify the Agent promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference or amendments or supplements that do not name the Agent or do not relate to, or which would not reasonably be expected to have a material impact on, the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that relate to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or for additional information that relate to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Agent’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in the Agent’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by the Agent (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that, in the event the Company does not comply with the Agent’s request, the Agent may cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to the Agent within a reasonable period of time before the filing and the Agent has not objected thereto in the Agent’s reasonable judgment (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to the Agent at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus that relates to the transaction contemplated by this Agreement, other than documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) or, in the case of any document to be incorporated therein by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the Commission under this Section 7(a), based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or reasonable objections, shall be made exclusively by the Company).

 

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

 

 

(c)            Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 or a similar rule), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act. If the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B, it will use its best efforts to comply with the provisions of and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430B and to notify the Agent promptly of all such filings. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify the Agent to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any such amendment or supplement if, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, it is in the best interests of the Company to do so.

 

(d)            Listing of Placement Shares. Prior to the date of the first Placement Notice, the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on the Exchange.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

(h)            Notice of Other Sales. Without the prior written consent of the Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Stock, or effect a reverse stock split, recapitalization, share consolidation, reclassification or similar transaction affecting the outstanding Common Stock during the period beginning on the fifth (5th) Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to the Agent hereunder and ending on the fifth (5th) Trading Day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Stock during the term of this Agreement; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s issuance or sale of (i) Common Stock, options to purchase Common Stock or other equity-based awards or Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options, or the vesting or settlement of any of the foregoing, pursuant to any employee or director stock option or benefit plan, stock ownership plan or dividend reinvestment plan (but not Common Stock subject to a waiver to exceed plan limits in its dividend reinvestment plan) or pursuant to inducement awards granted to new employees in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) or a similar provision, (ii) Common Stock issuable upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, and disclosed in filings by the Company available on EDGAR or otherwise in writing to the Agent or (iii) Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock as consideration for mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or strategic alliances, joint ventures, marketing or distribution arrangements, collaboration agreements, co-promotion agreements, intellectual property license agreements or offered and sold in privately negotiated transactions with vendors, customers, strategic partners or potential strategic partners, occurring after the date of this Agreement which are not issued for capital raising purposes and conducted in a manner so as not to be integrated with the offering of Placement Shares hereby.

 

 

(i)           Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during the pendency of a Placement Notice, advise the Agent promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document required to be provided to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.

 

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

 

(k)          Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company shall disclose, in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in its annual report on Form 10-K to be filed by the Company with the Commission from time to time, the number of the Placement Shares sold through the Agent under this Agreement, and the net proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement during the relevant quarter or, in the case of an Annual Report on Form 10-K, during the fiscal year covered by such Annual Report and the fourth quarter of such fiscal year. To the extent that the filing of an additional prospectus supplement with the Commission with respect to a placement of Placement Shares becomes required under the Securities Act, the Company agrees that on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b), which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement Shares, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.

 

(l)           Representation Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and each time the Company:

 

(i)            files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements (other than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other than the Placement Shares) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares;

 

(ii)           files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act (including any Form 10-K/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 10-K);

 

(iii)          files its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act (including any Form 10-Q/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 10-Q); or

 

(iv)          files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to the reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Representation Date”); the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if the Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such Form 8-K is material to the offering of securities of the Company) with a certificate dated the Representation Date, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(l). The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(l) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 7(l), then simultaneously with or prior to the time the Company delivers the Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement Shares pursuant to such Placement Notice, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate in conformity with this Section 7(l) dated as of the date of such Placement Notice.

 

 

(m)           Legal Opinion. (1) On or prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and (2) within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent a written opinion and negative assurance letter of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (“Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to the Agent, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented and dated as of the date of delivery; provided, however, the Company shall be required to furnish to the Agent no more than one opinion and negative assurance letter hereunder per filing of an annual report on Form 10-K or quarterly report on Form 10-Q; provided, further, that in lieu of such opinions and negative assurance letters for subsequent periodic filings under the Exchange Act, counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter (a “Corporate Reliance Letter”) to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion and negative assurance letter delivered under this Section 7(m) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion and negative assurance letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of the date of the Corporate Reliance Letter).

 

(n)            Intellectual Property Opinion. (1) On or prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and (2) within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l) (other than pursuant to Section 7(l)(iii)) and for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent a written opinion of the General Counsel for the Company (“Intellectual Property Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to the Agent, in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented and dated as of the date of delivery; provided, however, the Company shall be required to furnish to the Agent no more than one opinion hereunder per filing of an annual report on Form 10-K or quarterly report on Form 10-Q; provided, further, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent periodic filings under the Exchange Act, counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter (a “Intellectual Property Reliance Letter”) to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of the date of the Intellectual Property Reliance Letter).

 

(o)            Comfort Letter. (1) On or prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and (2) within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent registered public accounting firm to furnish the Agent letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(o); provided, that if requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to the Agent within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event, including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. The Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm shall be in a form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.

 

(p)            Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or would reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of Common Stock or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase Common Stock in violation of Regulation M, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than the Agent.

 

 

(q)           Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that it will not be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, required to register as an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.

 

(r)            No Offer to Sell. Other than an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus approved in advance by the Company and the Agent in its capacity as agent hereunder (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), neither the Agent nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Agent in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.

 

(s)            Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Agent, to qualify the Placement Shares for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Placement Shares to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Agent may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Placement Shares have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).

 

(t)            Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company will maintain and keep accurate books and records reflecting its assets and maintain internal accounting controls in a manner designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and including those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, (iii) that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with management’s and the Company’s directors’ authorization, and (iv) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on its financial statements. The Company will maintain such controls and other procedures, including, without limitation, those required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the applicable regulations thereunder that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to them by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which such periodic reports are being prepared.

 

(u)            Secretary’s Certificate; Further Documentation. Prior to the date of the first Placement Notice, the Company shall deliver to the Agent a certificate of the Secretary of the Company and attested to by an executive officer of the Company, dated as of such date, certifying as to (i) the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, (ii) the By-laws of the Company, (iii) the resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company or a duly authorized committee thereof, authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance of the Placement Shares and (iv) the incumbency of the officers duly authorized to execute this Agreement and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement. Within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such further information, certificates and documents as the Agent may reasonably request.

 

 

8.            Payment of Expenses. The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, including any fees required by the Commission, and the printing or electronic delivery of the Prospectus as originally filed and of each amendment and supplement thereto, in such number as the Agent shall reasonably deem necessary, (ii) the printing and delivery to the Agent of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares to the Agent, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any capital duties, stamp duties or other duties or taxes payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares to the Agent, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company, (v) the reasonable and documented fees and expenses of the Agent, including but not limited to the fees and expenses of the counsel to the Agent in connection with the execution of this Agreement, participation in the offering and distribution of the Placement Shares, in an amount not to exceed $50,000, (vi) the qualification or exemption of the Placement Shares under state securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(s) hereof, including filing fees, but excluding fees of the Agent’s counsel, (vii) the printing and delivery to the Agent of copies of any Permitted Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto in such number as the Agent shall reasonably deem necessary, (viii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Agent of copies of the blue sky survey, (ix) the fees and expenses of the transfer agent and registrar for the Common Stock, (x) the filing and other fees incident to any review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Placement Shares including the fees of the Agent’s counsel, and (xi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Placement Shares on the Exchange.

 

9.            [Reserved].

 

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

 

(a)            Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall have become effective and shall be available for the (i) resale of all Placement Shares issued to the Agent and not yet sold by the Agent and (ii) sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.

 

(b)            No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state Governmental Authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state Governmental Authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any statement of a material fact made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or material incorporated documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it 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, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will 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.

 

 

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

 

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

 

(e)            Legal Opinions. The Agent shall have received the opinions and negative assurance letters of Company Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) and Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinions and negative assurance letters are required pursuant to Section 7(m) and Section 7(n).

 

(f)             Agent Counsel Opinion. The Agent shall have received from Cooley LLP, counsel for the Agent, or other counsel satisfactory to the Agent, a negative assurance letter, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(m), with respect to such matters as the Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

 

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

 

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

 

(i)             No Suspension. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on the Exchange and the Common Stock shall not have been delisted from the Exchange.

 

(j)             Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l), the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such appropriate further information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may reasonably request and which are customarily furnished by an issuer of securities in connection with a securities offering. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents will be in compliance with the provisions hereof.

 

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

 

(l)             Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares shall either have been (i) approved for listing on the Exchange, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on the Exchange at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice and the Exchange shall have reviewed such application and not provided any objections thereto.

 

(m)           FINRA. If applicable, FINRA shall have raised no objection to the terms of this offering and the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Agent as described in the Prospectus.

 

 

(n)            No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit the Agent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 13(a).

 

11.          Indemnification and Contribution.

 

(a)            Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Agent or such affiliate, director, officer, employee, agent or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Placement Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act, or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to the foregoing), or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (iii) any act or failure to act or any alleged act or failure to act by the Agent in connection with, or relating in any manner to, the Placement Shares or the offering contemplated hereby, and which is included as part of or referred to in any loss, claim, damage, liability or action arising out of or based upon any matter covered by clause (i) or (ii) above; and to reimburse the Agent and each such affiliate, director, officer, employee, agent and controlling person for any and all reasonable and documented expenses (including the fees and disbursements of counsel) as such expenses are incurred by the Agent or such affiliate, director, officer, employee, agent or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action; provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense to the extent, but only to the extent, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Company by the Agent in writing expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described in ‎Section 11(b) below. The indemnity agreement set forth in this ‎Section 11(a) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.

 

(b)            Agent Indemnification. The Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Agent), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433 of the Securities Act, or the Prospectus (or any such amendment or supplement to the foregoing) or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any such amendment or supplement), in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished to the Company by the Agent in writing expressly for use therein; and to reimburse the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person for any and all expenses (including the fees and disbursements of counsel) as such expenses are incurred by the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action. The Company hereby acknowledges that the only information that the Agent has furnished to the Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to the foregoing) is the statement set forth in the first sentence of the ninth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement (the “Agent Information”). The indemnity agreement set forth in this ‎Section 11(b) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Agent may otherwise have.

 

 

(c)            Notifications and Other Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 11 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this Section 11, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission to so notify the indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 11 or to the extent the indemnifying party is not materially prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure and shall not in any event relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and such indemnified party seeks or intends to seek indemnity from an indemnifying party, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall elect, jointly with all other indemnifying parties similarly notified, by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, that if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of such indemnifying party’s election to so assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified party of counsel (not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 11 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action), which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Agent (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in Section 11(a) above) or by the Company (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in Section 11(b) above), (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized in writing the employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying party and shall be paid as they are incurred.

 

(d)            Settlements. The indemnifying party under this Section 11 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by Section 11(c) hereof, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into (A) more than 60 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (B) more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the proposed terms of such settlement; and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding and does not include an admission of fault or culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of such indemnified party.

 

 

(e)            Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 11 is for any reason (other than due to indemnification not being available pursuant to its terms) held to be unavailable to or otherwise insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such indemnified party, as incurred, as a result of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, from the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement; or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total gross proceeds from the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the total commissions received by the Agent. The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, on the one hand, or the Agent, on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.

 

The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 11(c) any reasonable and documented legal or other fees or expenses and reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim. The provisions set forth in Section 11(c) with respect to notice of commencement of any action shall apply if a claim for contribution is to be made under this Section 11(e); provided, however, that no additional notice shall be required with respect to any action for which notice has been given under Section 11(c) for purposes of indemnification.

 

The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 11(e) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 11(e).

 

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 11(e), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the agent fees received by the Agent in connection with the offering contemplated hereby. 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. For purposes of this Section 11(e), each affiliate, director, agent, officer and employee of the Agent and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Agent, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.

 

12.          Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 11 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.

 

 

 

13.          Termination.

 

(a)           The Agent may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, as hereinafter specified at any time (1) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any change, or any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the business, properties, earnings, results of operations or prospects of the Company, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, which individually or in the aggregate, in the sole judgment of the Agent is material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares, (2) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares, (3) if trading in the Common Stock has been suspended or limited by the Commission or the Exchange, or if trading generally on the Exchange has been suspended or limited, or minimum prices for trading have been fixed on the Exchange, (4) if any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market shall have occurred and be continuing, (5) if a major disruption of securities settlements or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred and be continuing, or (6) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either U.S. Federal or New York authorities. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8 (Payment of Expenses), Section 11 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 12 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 18 (Governing Law and Time; Waiver of Jury Trial) and Section 19 (Consent to Jurisdiction) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If the Agent elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 13(a), the Agent shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 14 (Notices).

 

(b)           The Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8, Section 11, Section 12, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(c)           The Agent shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8, Section 11, Section 12, Section 18 and Section 19 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(d)           This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 13(a), (b) or (c) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 8, Section 11, Section 12, Section 18 and Section 19 shall remain in full force and effect.

 

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

 

14.          Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to the Agent, shall be delivered to:

 

Jefferies LLC
520 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Attention: General Counsel 

Facsimile: (646) 619-4437

 

 

with a copy to:

 

Cooley LLP 

55 Hudson Yards 

New York, NY 10001-2157 

Attention: Daniel I. Goldberg, Esq. 

Facsimile: (212) 479-6275 

Email: ***@***

 

and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:

 

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. 

24 Crosby Drive 

Bedford, MA 01730 

Attention: Chief Financial Officer 

Facsimile: (781) 357-4001 

Email: ***@***

 

with a copy to:

 

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP 

7 World Trade Center 

250 Greenwich Street 

New York, NY 10007 

Attention: Brian A. Johnson, Esq. 

Facsimile: (212) 230-8888 

Email: ***@***

 

Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day (as defined below) or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Exchange and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.

 

An electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”) shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 14 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party under separate cover. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives verification of receipt by the receiving party. Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a nonelectronic form (“Nonelectronic Notice”) which shall be sent to the requesting party within ten (10) days of receipt of the written request for Nonelectronic Notice.

 

15.          Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and the Agent and their respective successors and the parties referred to in Section 11 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that the Agent may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate thereof without obtaining the Company’s consent.

 

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

 

 

17.          Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability; Waiver. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements, including, but not limited to the Open Market Sale Agreement^SM, dated as of April 5, 2019, by and between the Company and the Agent, and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and the Agent. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement. No implied waiver by a party shall arise in the absence of a waiver in writing signed by such party. No failure or delay in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power, or privilege hereunder.

 

18.          GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

 

19.         CONSENT TO JURISDICTION. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS SITTING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN, FOR THE ADJUDICATION OF ANY DISPUTE HEREUNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREBY, AND HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, AND AGREES NOT TO ASSERT IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, ANY CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT PERSONALLY SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF ANY SUCH COURT, THAT SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM OR THAT THE VENUE OF SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS IMPROPER. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES PERSONAL SERVICE OF PROCESS AND CONSENTS TO PROCESS BEING SERVED IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF (CERTIFIED OR REGISTERED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED) TO SUCH PARTY AT THE ADDRESS IN EFFECT FOR NOTICES TO IT UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREES THAT SUCH SERVICE SHALL CONSTITUTE GOOD AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE OF PROCESS AND NOTICE THEREOF. NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO LIMIT IN ANY WAY ANY RIGHT TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY MANNER PERMITTED BY LAW.

 

20.          Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.  Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile transmission or by electronic delivery of a portable document format (PDF) file (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com).

 

21.         Construction. The section and exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof. References herein to any law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any Governmental Authority shall be deemed to refer to such law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any Governmental Authority as amended, reenacted, supplemented or superseded in whole or in part and in effect from time to time and also to all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

 

22.          Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Agent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditions or delayed, and the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Company, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditions or delayed, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Placement Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Agent or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. For the purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that all free writing prospectuses, if any, listed in Exhibit 22 hereto are Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.

 

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

 

(a)           the Agent is acting solely as agent in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares and in connection with each transaction contemplated by this Agreement and the process leading to such transactions, and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, stockholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether or not the Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters, and the Agent has no obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement;

 

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

 

(c)           neither the Agent nor its affiliates have provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;

 

(d)           it is aware that the Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and the Agent and its affiliates have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and

 

(e)           it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Agent or its affiliates for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of Placement Shares under this Agreement and agrees that the Agent and its affiliates shall not have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of it or the Company, employees or creditors of Company.

 

24.          Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth below:

 

“Applicable Time” means (i) each Representation Date, (ii) the time of each sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and (iii) each Settlement Date.

 

“Governmental Authority” means (i) any federal, provincial, state, local, municipal, national or international government or governmental authority, regulatory or administrative agency, governmental commission, department, board, bureau, agency or instrumentality, court, tribunal, arbitrator or arbitral body (public or private); (ii) any self-regulatory organization; or (iii) any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.

 

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the Placement Shares that (1) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (2) is a “road show” that is a “written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (3) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Placement Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g).

 

 

“Rule 158,” “Rule 164,” “Rule 172,” “Rule 405,” “Rule 415,” Rule 424,” “Rule 424(b),” “Rule 430B,” “Rule 433,” and “Rule 462” refer to such rules under the Securities Act.

 

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be.

 

All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; all references in this Agreement to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (other than any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that, pursuant to Rule 433, are not required to be filed with the Commission) shall be deemed to include the copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; and all references in this Agreement to “supplements” to the Prospectus shall include, without limitation, any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Shares by the Agent outside of the United States.

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

 

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

 

	Very truly yours,
	OCULAR THERAPEUTIX, INC.
	By:	/s/ Donald Notman
		Name:	Donald Notman
		Title:	Chief Financial Officer

 

 

	ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written:
	JEFFERIES LLC
	By:	/s/ Michael Magarro
		Name:	Michael Magarro
		Title:	Managing Director

 

 

SCHEDULE 1

 

Form of Placement Notice

 

	From:	Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.
	To:	Jefferies LLC
		Attention: [·]
	Subject:	Placement Notice
	Date:	[·], 20[·]

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Open Market Sales Agreement between Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Jefferies LLC (“Agent”), dated August 9, 2021, the Company hereby requests that the Agent sell up to [·] of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, at a minimum market price of $[·] per share, during the time period beginning [month, day, time] and ending [month, day, time].

 

 

SCHEDULE 2

 

Notice Parties

 

The Company

 

Antony Mattessich ***@***) 

Donald Notman ***@***) 

Kathleen Theriault ***@***)

 

The Agent

 

Michael Magarro ***@***)

Donald Lynaugh ***@***)

 

 

 

Exhibit 7(l)

 

Form of Representation Date Certificate Pursuant to Section 7(l)

 

The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected [·] of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(l) of the Open Market Sales Agreement, dated August 9, 2021 (the “Sales Agreement”), between the Company and Jefferies LLC, that to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned:

 

(i)            The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; provided, however, that such representations and warranties also shall be qualified by the disclosure included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and Prospectus; and

 

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

 

Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sales Agreement.

 

	OCULAR THERAPEUTIX, INC.
	By:
	Name:
	Title:
Date: [·]

 

 

 

Exhibit 22

 

Permitted Free Writing Prospectus

 

None.