Underwriting Agreement, dated December 11, 2017

 

 

December 11, 2017

 

 

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

As Representative of the

Several Underwriters named

in Schedule I hereto

85 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Company") proposes, subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, to sell to you and the other underwriters named on Schedule I to this Agreement (the "Underwriters"), for whom you are acting as Representative (the “Representative”), an aggregate of (i) 10,000,000 shares (the "Shares") of the Company's common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the "Common Stock"), and (ii) warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase up to an aggregate of 10,000,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Warrant Shares”). Each Share is being sold together with a Warrant to purchase one Warrant Share. The Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares are collectively referred to as the “Securities”. The Shares and the Warrants will be issued separately, but will be purchased together in the offering. The respective amounts of the Securities to be purchased by each of the several Underwriters are set forth opposite their names on Schedule I hereto.

 

The Company has prepared and filed in conformity with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the published rules and regulations thereunder (the "Rules") adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") a Registration Statement (as hereinafter defined) on Form S-1 (No. 333-221009), including a preliminary prospectus relating to the Shares and the Warrants, and such amendments thereof as may have been required to the date of this Agreement. Copies of such Registration Statement (including all amendments thereof) and of the related Preliminary Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) have heretofore been delivered by the Company to you. The term "Preliminary Prospectus" means any preliminary prospectus included at any time as a part of the Registration Statement or filed with the Commission by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the Rules. The term "Registration Statement" as used in this Agreement means the initial registration statement (including all exhibits, financial schedules), as amended at the time and on the date it becomes effective (the "Effective Date"), including the information (if any) contained in the form of final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules and deemed to be part thereof at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430A of the Rules. If the Company has filed an abbreviated registration statement to register additional Securities pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Rules (the "462(b) Registration Statement"), then any reference herein to the Registration Statement shall also be deemed to include such 462(b) Registration Statement. The term "Prospectus" as used in this Agreement means the prospectus in the form included in the Registration Statement at the time of effectiveness or, if Rule 430A of the Rules is relied on, the term Prospectus shall also include the final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to and within the time limits described in Rule 424(b) of the Rules.

 

 

 

The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Shares and the Warrants, as set forth in and pursuant to the Statutory Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) and the Prospectus, as soon after the Effective Date and the date of this Agreement as the Representative deems advisable. The Company hereby confirms that the Underwriters and dealers have been authorized to distribute or cause to be distributed each Preliminary Prospectus, and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) and are authorized to distribute the Prospectus (as from time to time amended or supplemented if the Company furnishes amendments or supplements thereto to the Underwriters).

 

1. Sale, Purchase, Delivery and Payment for the Shares and the Warrants. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements contained in, and subject to the terms and conditions of, this Agreement:

 

(a)          The Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price of $1.395 per Share and related Warrant, (i) the number of Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter under the column "Number of Shares to be Purchased from the Company" on Schedule I to this Agreement and (ii) the number of Warrants set forth opposite the name of the Underwriter under the column “Number of Warrants to be Purchased from the Company” on Schedule I to this Agreement, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 8 hereof.

 

(b)          Payment of the purchase price for, and delivery of certificates for, the Shares and the Warrants shall be made at the offices of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, 23rd Floor New York, New York 10004, at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the third business day following the date of this Agreement or at such time on such other date, not later than ten (10) business days after the date of this Agreement, as shall be agreed upon by the Company and the Representative (such time and date of delivery and payment are called the "Closing Date").

 

(c)          Payment shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds or by certified or official bank check or checks payable in New York Clearing House (same day) funds drawn to the order of the Company, against delivery of certificates representing the Shares and the Warrants to the account of the Representative for the respective accounts of the Underwriters.

 

(d)          Certificates evidencing the Shares and the Warrants shall be registered in such names and shall be in such denominations as the Representative shall request at least two full business days before the Closing Date and shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company (i) in the case of the Shares, as directed by the Representative through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company ("DTC") for the respective accounts of the Underwriters and (ii) in the case of the Warrants, by physical delivery to be received or directed by the Representative no later than one (1) business day following the Closing Date. The Company will cause the certificates representing the Shares and the Warrants to be made available for checking and packaging, at such place as is designated by the Representative, on the full business day before the Closing Date.

 

2. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date, as follows:

 

(a)          On the Effective Date, the Registration Statement complied, and on the date of the Prospectus, the date any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective, the date any supplement or amendment to the Prospectus is filed with the Commission and each Closing Date, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (and any amendment thereof or supplement thereto) will comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. The Registration Statement did not, as of the Effective Date, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and on the Effective Date and the other dates referred to above neither the Registration Statement nor the Prospectus, nor any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, will contain any untrue statement of a material fact or will omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the case of the Prospectus and any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. When any Preliminary Prospectus was first filed with the Commission (whether filed as part of the Registration Statement or any amendment thereto or pursuant to Rule 424(a) of the Rules) and when any amendment thereof or supplement thereto was first filed with the Commission, such Preliminary Prospectus as amended or

 

 

 

supplemented complied in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the Securities Act and the Rules and did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading. If applicable, each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T. Notwithstanding the foregoing, none of the representations and warranties in this paragraph 2(a) shall apply to statements in, or omissions from, the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information herein or otherwise furnished in writing by the Representative on behalf of the several Underwriters specifically for use in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be. With respect to the preceding sentence, the Company acknowledges that the only information furnished in writing by the Representative on behalf of the several Underwriters for use in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus is the statements contained in the 4th and 10th paragraphs under the caption "Underwriting" in the Prospectus (collectively, the “Underwriter Information”).

 

(b)          As of the Applicable Time (as hereinafter defined), neither (i) (a) the Statutory Prospectus (as hereinafter defined) nor (b) the information set forth on Schedule III hereto which will be provided orally to investors, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”) nor (ii) any individual Issuer Free Writing Prospectus when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include, nor will it include any untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements in or omissions in the General Disclosure Package made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.

 

Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as hereinafter defined), including any electronic road show (including without limitation any “bona fide electronic road show” as defined in Rule 433(h)(5) under the Securities Act) (each, a “Road Show”) (i) is identified in Schedule IV hereto and (iii) complied when issued, and complies, in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Rules and the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

As used in this Section and elsewhere in this Agreement:

 

“Applicable Time” means 8:00 am (Eastern time) on the date of this Underwriting Agreement.

 

“Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time.

 

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means each “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules) prepared by or on behalf of the Company or used or referred to by the Company in connection with the offering of the Securities, including , without limitation, each Road Show.

 

(c)          The Registration Statement is effective under the Securities Act and no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or suspending or preventing the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Rules, has been issued by the Commission and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are threatened under the Securities Act. Any required filing of any Preliminary Prospectus and/or the Prospectus and any supplement thereto pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Rules has been or will be made in the manner and within the time period required by such Rule 424(b). Any material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 443(d) or Rule 163(b)(2) of the Rules has been or will be made in the manner and within the time period required by such Rules.

 

(e)          Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the public offer and sale of the Securities or until any earlier date that the Company notified or notifies the Representative as described in the next sentence, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus.

 

 

 

If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, the Company has promptly notified or will promptly notify the Representative and has promptly amended or will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

 

(f)          The financial statements of the Company (including all notes and schedules thereto) included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; and such financial statements and related schedules and notes thereto, and the unaudited financial information filed with the Commission as part of the Registration Statement, have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied throughout the periods involved. The summary and selected financial data, if any, included in the Statutory Prospectus and Prospectus present fairly the information shown therein as at the respective dates and for the respective periods specified and have been presented on a basis consistent with the consolidated financial statements set forth in the Prospectus and other financial information.

 

(g)          OUM & Co. LLP (the “Auditor”) whose reports are filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement, are and, during the periods covered by their reports, were independent public accountants as required by the Securities Act and the Rules.

 

(h)          The Company and each of its subsidiaries, including each entity (corporation, partnership, joint venture, association or other business organization) controlled directly or indirectly by the Company (each, a “subsidiary”), is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of incorporation or organization and each such entity has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business as is currently being conducted as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, and to own, lease and operate its properties. All of the issued shares of capital stock of, or other ownership interests in, each subsidiary have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, mortgage, pledge, security interest, claim, limitation on voting rights, equity, trust or other encumbrance, preferential arrangement, defect or restriction of any kind whatsoever. The Company and each of its subsidiaries is duly qualified to do business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation in each jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted by it or location of the assets or properties owned, leased or licensed by it requires such qualification, except for such jurisdictions where the failure to so qualify individually or in the aggregate would not have a material adverse effect on the assets, properties, condition, financial or otherwise, or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as a whole (a "Material Adverse Effect"); and to the Company's knowledge, no proceeding has been instituted in any such jurisdiction revoking, limiting or curtailing, or seeking to revoke, limit or curtail, such power and authority or qualification. The Company does not own, lease or license any asset or property or conduct any business outside the United States of America.

 

(j)          The Company and each of its subsidiaries has all requisite corporate power and authority, and all necessary authorizations, approvals, consents, orders, licenses, certificates and permits of and from all governmental or regulatory bodies or any other person or entity (collectively, the "Permits"), to own, lease and license its assets and properties and conduct its business, all of which are valid and in full force and effect, except where the lack of such Permits, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and each of its subsidiaries has fulfilled and performed in all material respects all of its obligations with respect to such Permits and no event has occurred that allows, or after notice or lapse of time would allow, revocation or termination thereof or results in any other material impairment of the rights of the Company thereunder. Except as may be required under the Securities Act and state and foreign Blue Sky laws, no other Permits are required to enter into, deliver and perform this Agreement and to issue and sell the Securities.

 

 

 

(k)          (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement and (ii) at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules, including (but not limited to) the Company or any other subsidiary in the preceding three years not having been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or having been made the subject of a judicial or administrative decree or order as described in Rule 405 of the Rules.

 

(l)          The Company and each of its subsidiaries owns or possesses legally enforceable rights to use all patents, patent rights, inventions, trademarks, trademark applications, trade names, service marks, copyrights, copyright applications, licenses, know-how and other similar rights and proprietary knowledge (collectively, "Intangibles") necessary for the conduct of its business. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of, or is not aware of, any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intangibles.

 

(m)          The Company and each of its subsidiaries has good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property, and good and marketable title to all other property owned by it, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims, security interests and defects, except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries. All property held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims, security interests and defects, except such as are not material and do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries.

 

(n)          Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, (i) there has not been any event which could have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its assets, businesses or properties (whether owned or leased) from fire, explosion, earthquake, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or any court or legislative or other governmental action, order or decree which would have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) since the date of the latest balance sheet included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries has (A) issued any securities or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, for borrowed money, except such liabilities or obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business, (B) entered into any transaction not in the ordinary course of business or (C) except for regular dividends on the Common Stock in amounts per share that are consistent with past practice, declared or paid any dividend or made any distribution on any shares of its stock or redeemed, purchased or otherwise acquired or agreed to redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire any shares of its capital stock.

 

 

(p)          The statistical and market related data included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate.

 

 

 

(q)          Neither the Company nor any subsidiary (i) is in violation of its certificate or articles of incorporation, by-laws, certificate of formation, limited liability company agreement, partnership agreement or other organizational documents, (ii) is in default under, and no event has occurred which, with notice or lapse of time, or both, would constitute a default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge, mortgage, pledge, security interest, claim, limitation on voting rights, equity, trust or other encumbrance, preferential arrangement, defect or restriction of any kind whatsoever, upon, any property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to, any bond, debenture, note, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it is bound or to which any of its properties or assets is subject or (iii) is in violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, directive, judgment, decree or order of any judicial, regulatory or other legal or governmental agency or body, foreign or domestic, except (in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above) for violations or defaults that could not (individually or in the aggregate) reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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

 

(s)           Neither the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Warrants by the Company nor the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the issuance and sale by the Company of the Shares and the Warrants) will give rise to a right to terminate or accelerate the due date of any payment due under, or conflict with or result in the breach of any term or provision of, or constitute a default (or an event which with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute a default) under, or require any consent or waiver under, or result in the execution or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or its subsidiaries pursuant to the terms of, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which either the Company or its subsidiaries or any of their properties or businesses is bound, or any franchise, license, permit, judgment, decree, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or violate any provision of the charter or by-laws of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, except for such consents or waivers which have already been obtained and are in full force and effect.

 

(t)           The Company has authorized and outstanding capital stock as set forth under the caption "Description of Securities We Are Offering and Capitalization" in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. The certificates evidencing the Shares and the Warrants are in due and proper legal form and have been duly authorized for issuance by the Company. All of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock have been duly and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. There are no statutory preemptive or other similar rights to subscribe for or to purchase or acquire any shares of Common Stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any such rights pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation or by-laws or any agreement or instrument to or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or bound. The Company has reserved and kept available for the exercise of the Warrants such number of authorized but unissued shares as are sufficient to permit the exercise in full of the Warrants. The Shares, when issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, and the Warrant Shares, when issued and sold pursuant to the Warrants, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and none of them will be issued in violation of any preemptive or other similar right. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, there is no outstanding option, warrant or other right calling for the issuance of, and there is no commitment, plan or arrangement to issue, any share of stock of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any security convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, such stock. The exercise price of each option to acquire Common Stock (each, a “Company Stock Option”) is no less than the fair market value of a share of Common Stock as determined on the date of grant of such Company Stock Option. All grants of Company Stock Options were validly issued and properly approved by the Board of Directors of the Company or the Compensation Committee thereof in material compliance with all applicable laws and the terms of the plans under which such Company Stock Options were issued and were recorded on the Company financial statements, including the documents included in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, in accordance with GAAP, and no such grants involved any “back dating”, “forward dating,” “spring loading” or similar practices with respect to the effective date of grant. The Common Stock, the Shares and the Warrants conform in all material respects to all statements in relation thereto contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus. All outstanding shares of capital stock of each of the Company's subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, and are fully paid and nonassessable and are owned directly by the Company or by another wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company free and clear of any security interests, liens, encumbrances, equities or claims, other than those described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

 

 

(u)           No holder of any security of the Company has any right, which has not been waived, to have any security owned by such holder included in the Registration Statement or to demand registration of any security owned by such holder for a period of 180 days after the date of this Agreement. Each director and executive officer of the Company and each stockholder of the Company listed on Schedule II hereto has delivered to the Representative his enforceable written lock-up agreement in the form attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A hereto ("Lock-Up Agreement").

 

(v)          There are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries could individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; and, to the knowledge of the Company, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental authorities or threatened by others.

 

(w)          All necessary corporate action has been duly and validly taken by the Company and to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Warrants, and the issuance and sale of the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares by the Company. The Warrants have been duly and validly authorized and, upon the execution and delivery thereof by the Company on the Closing Date, will constitute legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.

 

(w)          Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is involved in any labor dispute nor, to the knowledge of the Company, is any such dispute threatened, which dispute would have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its principal suppliers or contractors which would have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company is not aware of any threatened or pending litigation between the Company or its subsidiaries and any of its executive officers which, if adversely determined, could have a Material Adverse Effect and has no reason to believe that such officers will not remain in the employment of the Company.

 

(x)          No transaction has occurred between or among the Company and any of its officers or directors, shareholders or any affiliate or affiliates of any such officer or director or shareholder that is required to be described in and is not described in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus.

 

(y)          The Company has not taken, nor will it take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or which might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, or which has constituted or which might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Stock or any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Securities.

 

(z)          The Company and each of its subsidiaries has filed all Federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which are required to be filed through the date hereof, which returns are true and correct in all material respects or has received timely extensions thereof, and has paid all taxes shown on such returns and all assessments received by it to the extent that the same are material and have become due. There are no tax audits or investigations pending, which if adversely determined would have a Material Adverse Effect; nor are there any material proposed additional tax assessments against the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

 

(aa)          The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. 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 listing of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. There is no action pending by the Company or, to the Company’s knowledge, by the Nasdaq Capital Market to delist the Common Stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market, nor has the Company received any notification that the Nasdaq Capital Market is contemplating terminating such listing. The Company has submitted a Notification Form: Listing of Additional Shares with the Nasdaq Capital Market with respect to the Shares and the Warrant Shares and Nasdaq has raised no objection with respect to the listing of the Shares and the Warrant Shares which has not been resolved.

 

 

 

(bb)          The books, records and accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries accurately and fairly reflect, the transactions in, and dispositions of, the assets of, and the results of operations of, the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management's general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles 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.

 

(cc)          The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act), which: (i) are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within the Company, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are required to be prepared; (ii) provide for the periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of such disclosure controls and procedures at the end of the periods in which the periodic reports are required to be prepared; and (iii) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established.

 

(dd)          Based on the evaluation of its disclosure controls and procedures, except as disclosed in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of (i) any material weakness or significant deficiency in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data or any material weaknesses in internal controls; or (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a role in the Company’s internal controls.

 

(ee)          Except as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus and as preapproved in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 10A of the Exchange Act, the Auditor has not been engaged by the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” (as defined in Section 10A of the Exchange Act).

 

(ff)          Except as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, there are no material off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K) that have or are reasonably likely to have a material current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, revenues or expenses, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

 

(gg)          The Company’s Board of Directors has validly appointed an audit committee whose composition satisfies the requirements of Rule 5605 of the NASDAQ Stock Market and the Board of Directors and/or the audit committee has adopted a charter that satisfies the requirements of Rule 5605 of the NASDAQ Stock Market. The audit committee has reviewed the adequacy of its charter within the past twelve months.

 

(hh)          There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of its directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including, without limitation, Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.

 

(ii)          The Company and its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are customary in the businesses in which they are engaged or propose to engage after giving effect to the transactions described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus; all policies of insurance and fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the Company's or its subsidiaries' respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; the Company and each of its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; and neither the Company nor any subsidiary of the Company has 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 is not materially greater than the current cost. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been denied any insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.

 

 

 

(jj)          Each approval, consent, order, authorization, designation, declaration or filing of, by or with any regulatory, administrative or other governmental body necessary in connection with the execution and delivery by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated required to be obtained or performed by the Company (except such additional steps as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") or may be necessary to qualify the Securities for public offering by the Underwriters under the state securities or Blue Sky laws) has been obtained or made and is in full force and effect.

 

(kk)          There are no affiliations with FINRA among the Company's officers, directors or, to the best of the knowledge of the Company, any five percent or greater stockholder of the Company, except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus or otherwise disclosed in writing to the Representative.

 

(ll)          (i) Each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries is in compliance in all material respects with all rules, laws and regulation relating to the use, treatment, storage and disposal of toxic substances and protection of health or the environment ("Environmental Law") which are applicable to its business; (ii) neither the Company nor its subsidiaries has received any notice from any governmental authority or third party of an asserted claim under Environmental Laws; (iii) each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries has received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of it under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct its business and is in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval; (iv) to the Company's knowledge, no facts currently exist that will require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to make future material capital expenditures to comply with Environmental Laws; and (v) no property which is or has been owned, leased or occupied by the Company or its subsidiaries has been designated as a Superfund site pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation of Liability Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 9601, et. seq.) or otherwise designated as a contaminated site under applicable state or local law. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has been named as a "potentially responsible party" under the CERCLA 1980.

 

(mm)          In the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically reviews the effect of Environmental Laws on the business, operations and properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, in the course of which the Company identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws, or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties). On the basis of such review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(nn)          The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the Warrants and the application of proceeds thereof (including any cash exercise of the Warrants) as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, will not be an "investment company" within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act").

(oo)          The Company or any other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company including, without limitation, any director, officer, agent or employee of the Company or its subsidiaries, has not, directly or indirectly, while acting on behalf of the Company or its subsidiaries (i) used any corporate funds for unlawful contributions, gifts, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made any unlawful payment to foreign or domestic government officials or employees or to foreign or domestic political parties or campaigns from corporate funds; (iii) violated any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended; or (iv) made any other unlawful payment.

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

(rr)          Except as described in the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company has not sold or issued any shares of Common Stock during the six-month period preceding the date of the Prospectus, including any sales pursuant to Rule 144A under, or Regulations D or S of, the Securities Act, other than shares issued pursuant to employee benefit plans, qualified stock options plans or other employee compensation plans or pursuant to outstanding options, rights or warrants.

 

(ss)          The Company has fulfilled its obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder with respect to each "plan" as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA and such regulations and published interpretations in which its employees are eligible to participate and each such plan is in compliance in all material respects with the presently applicable provisions of ERISA and such regulations and published interpretations. No "Reportable Event" (as defined in 12 ERISA) has occurred with respect to any "Pension Plan" (as defined in ERISA) for which the Company could have any liability.

 

(tt)          None of the Company, its directors or its officers has distributed nor will distribute prior to the later of (i) the Closing Date and (ii) completion of the distribution of the Shares and the Warrants, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares and the Warrants other than any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, the Registration Statement and other materials, if any, permitted by the Securities Act and consistent with Section 3(d) below.

 

(uu)          Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and each of its subsidiaries: (A) are and at all times have been, in material compliance with all statutes, rules and 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 sold, under development, manufactured or distributed by the Company or any subsidiary (“Applicable Regulatory Laws”); (B) have not received any Form 483 from the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), notice of adverse finding, warning letter, or other correspondence or written notice from the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) or any other federal, state, local, national or foreign governmental or regulatory authority alleging or asserting noncompliance with any Applicable Regulatory Laws or any licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Regulatory Laws (“Authorizations”); (C) possess all Authorizations, if any, and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and neither the Company nor any subsidiary is in material violation of any term of any such Authorizations; (D) have not received written notice of any proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from the FDA, the DEA, or any other federal, state, local, national or foreign governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product, operation or activity is in violation of any Applicable Regulatory Laws or Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA, the DEA or any other federal, state, local, national or foreign governmental or regulatory authority or third party is considering any such proceeding; (E) have not received written notice that the FDA, DEA or any other federal, state, local, national or foreign governmental or regulatory authority has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA, DEA or any other federal, state, local, national or foreign governmental or regulatory authority is considering such action; (F) have filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Regulatory Laws or Authorizations except where the failure to file such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments would not result in a Material Adverse Effect on the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and correct on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission); and (G) has, and, if still pending, is, to the Company’s knowledge, conducting all clinical and preclinical studies in all material respects in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls

 

 

generally used by qualified experts in the clinical or preclinical study of new drugs or diagnostics as applied to comparable products to those being developed by the Company. The descriptions of the results of such studies, trials and tests contained in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects, and except as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus and the Prospectus, the Company has no knowledge of any other trials, studies or tests, the results of which the Company believes reasonably calls into question the clinical trials, 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.

 

3. Conditions of the Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement are several and not joint. The respective obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Shares and the Warrants are subject to each of the following terms and conditions:

 

(a)          The Prospectus shall have been timely filed with the Commission in accordance with Section 4(a) of this Agreement and any material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules shall have been timely filed with the Commission in accordance with such rule.

 

(b)           No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules) shall have been or shall be in effect and no order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect and no proceedings for such purpose shall be pending before or threatened by the Commission, and any requests for additional information on the part of the Commission (to be included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or otherwise) shall have been complied with to the satisfaction of the Commission and the Representative. If the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 430B, Rule 430B information previously omitted from the effective Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B shall have been transmitted to the Commission for filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the prescribed time period and the Company shall have provided evidence satisfactory to the Representative of such timely filing, or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been promptly filed and declared effective in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430B.

 

(c)          The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement and in the certificate delivered pursuant to Section 3(d) shall be true and correct when made and on and as of the Closing Date as if made on such date. The Company shall have performed all covenants and agreements and satisfied all the conditions contained in this Agreement required to be performed or satisfied by them at or before the Closing Date.

 

(d)          The Representative shall have received on the Closing Date a certificate, addressed to the Representative and dated the Closing Date, of the chief executive or chief operating officer and the chief financial officer or chief accounting officer of the Company to the effect that: (i) the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company in this Agreement were true and correct when made and are true and correct as of the Closing Date; (ii) the Company has performed all covenants and agreements and satisfied all conditions contained herein; (iii) they have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and in their opinion (A) as of the Effective Date the Registration Statement and Prospectus did not include, and as of the Applicable Time, neither (i) the General Disclosure Package, nor (ii) any individual Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included any untrue statement of a material fact and did not omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and (B) since the Effective Date no event has occurred which should have been set forth in a supplement or otherwise required an amendment to the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus or the Prospectus; (iv) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and, to their knowledge, no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending under the Securities Act and (v) there has not occurred any material adverse change in the assets, properties, condition, financial or otherwise, or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as a whole.

 

 

 

(e)          The Representative shall have received: (i) simultaneously with the execution of this Agreement a signed letter from the Auditor addressed to the Representative and dated the date of this Agreement, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative , containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and the Disclosure Package, and (ii) on the Closing Date, a signed letter from the Auditor addressed to the Representative and dated the date of the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants' "comfort letters" to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(f)          The Representative shall have received on the Closing Date from Disclosure Law Group, a Professional Corporation, counsel for the Company, an opinion and negative assurance statement, addressed to the Representative and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

 

(g)          The Representative shall have received on the Closing Date from Reid Adler, Esq., intellectual property counsel for the Company, an opinion and negative assurance statement, addressed to the Representative and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

 

 (h)          The Representative shall have received on the Closing Date from Lowenstein Sandler LLP, counsel for the Representative, an opinion and negative assurance statement, addressed to the Representative and dated the Closing Date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

 

(i)          All proceedings taken in connection with the sale of the Shares and the Warrants as herein contemplated shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and its counsel.

 

(j)          On or prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Representative shall have received copies of the Lock-up Agreements executed by each entity or person listed on Schedule II hereto.

 

(k)          The Company shall have submitted a Notification Form: Listing of Additional Shares Application with the Nasdaq Capital Market with respect to the Shares and Warrant Shares and the Nasdaq Capital Market shall have raised no objection with respect to the listing of the Shares and the Warrant Shares which has not been resolved to the reasonable satisfaction of the Representative on or before the Closing Date.

 

(l)          The Representative shall be reasonably satisfied that since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) there shall not have been any material change in the capital stock of the Company or any material change in the indebtedness (other than in the ordinary course of business) of the Company, (ii) except as set forth or contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, no material oral or written agreement or other transaction shall have been entered into by the Company that is not in the ordinary course of business or that could reasonably be expected to result in a material reduction in the future earnings of the Company, (iii) no loss or damage (whether or not insured) to the property of the Company shall have been sustained that had or could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (iv) no legal or governmental action, suit or proceeding affecting the Company or any of its properties that is material to the Company or that affects or could reasonably be expected to affect the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall have been instituted or threatened and (v) there shall not have been any material change in the assets, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company or its subsidiaries considered as a whole that makes it impractical or inadvisable in the Representative’s judgment to proceed with the purchase or offering of the Shares and the Warrants as contemplated hereby.

 

(m)          On or before the Closing Date, FINRA shall have confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and agreements in connection with the offering of the Shares and the Warrants.

 

(n)          The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Representative such further certificates or documents as the Representative shall have reasonably requested.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Covenants and other Agreements of the Company and the Underwriters.

 

(a)          The Company covenants and agrees as follows:

 

(i)     The Company shall prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representative and file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission's close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by the Rules. The Company will file with the Commission all Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses in the time and manner required under Rules 433(d) or 163(b)(2) as the case may be.

 

(ii)    The Company shall promptly advise the Representative in writing (A) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall have become effective or any supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (B) of any request by the Commission for any amendment of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for any additional information, (C) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or any “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 of the Rules, or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose and (D) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose. The Company shall not file any amendment of the Registration Statement or supplement to the Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus unless the Company has furnished the Representative a copy for its review prior to filing and shall not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representative reasonably objects. The Company shall use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order and, if issued, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal thereof.

 

(iii)   If, at any time when a prospectus relating to the Securities (or, in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules) is required to be delivered under the Securities Act and any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the Rules, the Company promptly shall prepare and file with the Commission, subject to the second sentence of paragraph (ii) of this Section 4(a), an amendment or supplement which shall correct such statement or omission or an amendment which shall effect such compliance.

 

(iv)    If at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus there occurs an event or development as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or would omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict, untrue statement or omission.

 

 

 

(v)     The Company shall make generally available to its security holders and to the Representative as soon as practicable, but not later than 45 days after the end of the 12-month period beginning at the end of the fiscal quarter of the Company during which the Effective Date occurs (or 90 days if such 12-month period coincides with the Company's fiscal year), an earning statement (which need not be audited) of the Company, covering such 12-month period, which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 158 of the Rules.

 

(vi)    The Company shall furnish to the Representative and its counsel, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement (including all exhibits thereto and amendments thereof) and to each other Underwriter a copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and all amendments thereof and, so long as delivery of a prospectus by an Underwriter or dealer may be required by the Securities Act or the Rules, as many copies of any Preliminary Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments thereof and supplements thereto as the Representative may reasonably request. If applicable, the copies of the Registration Statement, preliminary prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and Prospectus and each amendment and supplement thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

(vii)   The Company shall cooperate with the Representative and its counsel in endeavoring to qualify the Securities for offer and sale in connection with the offering under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may designate and shall maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares and the Warrants; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith, as a condition thereof, to qualify as a foreign corporation or to execute a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction or subject itself to taxation as doing business in any jurisdiction.

 

(viii)  The Company, during the period when the Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) of the Rules) is required to be delivered under the Securities Act and the Rules or the Exchange Act, will file all reports and other documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15 of the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

(ix)     Without the prior written consent of the Representative, for a period of 90 days after the date of this Agreement, the Company shall not issue, sell or register with the Commission (other than on Form S-8 or on any successor form), or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any equity securities of the Company (or any securities convertible into, exercisable for or exchangeable for equity securities of the Company), exceptfor (i) the issuance of the Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement; (ii) the issuance of shares pursuant to the Company's existing stock option plan or bonus plan as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and (iii) the issuance of up to 500,000 shares (appropriately adjusted for any stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend or other reclassification or combination of the Common Stock occurring after the date hereof) of unregistered Common Stock to consultants or other third parties in satisfaction of accounts payable. In the event that during this period, (A) any shares are issued pursuant to the Company's existing stock option plan or bonus plan that are exercisable during such 90 day period or (B) any registration is effected on Form S-8 or on any successor form relating to shares that are exercisable during such 90 day period, the Company shall obtain the written agreement of such grantee or purchaser or holder of such registered securities that, for a period of 90 days after the date of this Agreement, such person will not, without the prior written consent of the Representative, offer for sale, sell, distribute, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, or exercise any registration rights with respect to, any shares of Common Stock (or any securities convertible into, exercisable for, or exchangeable for any shares of Common Stock) owned by such person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company represents and warrants that each such grantee or purchaser or holder of such registered securities shall be subject to similar lockup restrictions as set forth on Exhibit A attached hereto and the Company shall enforce such rights and impose stop-transfer restrictions on any such sale or other transfer or disposition of such shares until the end of the applicable period.

 

 

(x)      On or before completion of this offering, the Company shall make all filings required under applicable securities laws and by the Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

(xi)     Prior to the Closing Date, the Company will issue no press release or other communications directly or indirectly and hold no press conference with respect to the Company, the condition, financial or otherwise, or the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of any of them, or the offering of the Securities without the prior written consent of the Representative unless in the judgment of the Company and its counsel, and after notification to the Representative, such press release or communication is required by law.

 

(xii)  The Company will apply the net proceeds from the offering of the Shares and the Warrants in the manner set forth under "Use of Proceeds" in the Prospectus.

 

(b)          The Company agrees to pay, or reimburse if paid by the Representative, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, all costs and expenses incident to the public offering of the Securities and the performance of the obligations of the Company under this Agreement including those relating to: (i) the preparation, printing, reproduction filing and distribution of the Registration Statement including all exhibits thereto, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, all amendments and supplements thereto, and the printing, filing and distribution of this Agreement; (ii) the preparation and delivery of certificates for the Warrants to or as directed by the Underwriters (iii) the registration or qualification of the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various jurisdictions referred to inSection 4(a)(vii) of this Agreement, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Representative in connection with such registration and qualification and the preparation, printing, distribution and shipment of preliminary and supplementary Blue Sky memoranda; (iv) the furnishing (including costs of shipping and mailing) to the Underwriters of copies of each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and all amendments or supplements to the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and of the several documents required by this Section to be so furnished, as may be reasonably requested for use in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares and the Warrants by the Underwriters or by dealers to whom Shares and Warrants may be sold; (v) the filing fees of FINRA in connection with its review of the terms of the public offering and reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Representative in connection with such review; (vi) listing of the Shares and the Warrant Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market; and (vii) all transfer taxes, if any, with respect to the sale and delivery of the Shares and the Warrants by the Company to the Underwriters. The Company will reimburse the Representative for its reasonable expenses, in an amount not to exceed $20,000 without prior written approval by the Company, and will reimburse the Representative for legal fees and disbursements, in connection with the purchase and sale of the Shares and the Warrants contemplated hereby in an amount not to exceed100,000 (including amounts payable pursuant to clauses (iii) and (v) above). provided, however, in the event the gross proceeds from the offering exceed $10.0 million, such amount shall not exceed $125,000. Subject to the provisions of Section 7, the Underwriters agree to pay, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, all costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement not payable by the Company pursuant to this paragraph, including, without limitation, the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in excess of the Company’s reimbursement obligation as set forth above.

 

 

 

(d)          The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Representative, and the Representative represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. The Company represents that is has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions set forth in Rule 433 of the Rules to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any Road Show.

 

5. Indemnification

 

(a)          The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its officers and employees and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities, joint or several (including any reasonable investigation, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted), to which they, or any of them, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other Federal or state law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any “issuer-information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules, any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or in any Blue Sky application or other information or other documents executed by the Company filed in any state or other jurisdiction to qualify any or all of the Securities under the securities laws thereof (any such application, document or information being hereinafter referred to as a "Blue Sky Application") or arise out of or are based upon any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (except in the case of the Registration Statement, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading; provided, however, that such indemnity shall not inure to the benefit of any Underwriter (or any person controlling such Underwriter) on account of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities arising from the sale of the Shares and the Warrants to any person by such Underwriter if such untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission was made in such preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Statutory Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or such amendment or supplement thereto, or in any Blue Sky Application in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have.

 

(b)          Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, each director of the Company, and each officer of the Company who signs the Registration Statement, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such party may become subject, under the Securities Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any “issuer-information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Rules, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon 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, 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 any Preliminary Prospectus, the Registration Statement, the Statutory Prospectus, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement thereto in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information; provided, however, that the obligation of each Underwriter to indemnify the Company (including any controlling person, director or officer thereof) shall be limited to the amount of the underwriting discount and commissions applicable to the Shares and the Warrants to be purchased by such Underwriter hereunder.

 

 

 

 

 

(c)          Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action, suit or proceeding against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, suit or proceeding, enclosing a copy of all papers served. No indemnification provided for in Section 5(a) or 5(b) shall be available to any party who shall fail to give notice as provided in this Section 5(c) if the party to whom notice was not given was unaware of the proceeding to which such notice would have related and was prejudiced by the failure to give such notice but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party of any such action, suit or proceeding shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under this Section. In case any such action, suit or proceeding shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof and the approval by the indemnified party of such counsel, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses, except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof. The indemnified party shall have the right to employ its counsel in any such action, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the employment of counsel by such indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying parties, (ii) the indemnified party shall have been advised by counsel that there may be one or more legal defenses available to it which are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying parties shall not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (iii) the indemnifying parties shall not have employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after notice of the commencement thereof, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying parties. An indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any action, suit, and proceeding or claim effected without its written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

 

6. Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in Section 5(a) or 5(b) is due in accordance with its terms but for any reason is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect to any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses (including any investigation, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claims asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by any person entitled hereunder to contribution from any person who may be liable for contribution) incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Shares and the Warrants pursuant to this Agreement or, if such allocation is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 6 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6, no Underwriter (except as may be provided in the Agreement Among Underwriters) shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions applicable to the Shares and the Warrants purchased by such Underwriter. 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 6, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, 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 Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company. Any party entitled to contribution will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action, suit or proceeding against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made against another party or parties under this Section 6, notify such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission so to notify such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought shall not relieve the party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have hereunder or otherwise than under this Section 6. No party shall be liable for contribution with respect to any action, suit, proceeding or claim settled without its written consent. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 6 are several in proportion to their respective underwriting commitments and not joint.

 

7. Termination.

 

(a)          This Agreement may be terminated with respect to the Shares and the Warrants to be purchased at the Closing Date by the Representative by notifying the Company at any time at or before the Closing Date in the absolute discretion of the Representative if: (i) there has occurred any material adverse change in the securities markets or any event, act or occurrence that has materially disrupted, or in the opinion of the Representative, will in the future materially disrupt, the securities markets or there shall be such a material adverse change in general financial, political or economic conditions or the effect of international conditions on the financial markets in the United States is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, inadvisable or impracticable to market the Shares and the Warrants or enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares and the Warrants; (ii) there has occurred any outbreak or material escalation of hostilities or acts of terrorism or other calamity or crisis the effect of which on the financial markets of the United States is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representative, inadvisable or impracticable to market the Shares and the Warrants or enforce contracts for the sale of the Shares and the Warrants; (iii) trading in the Shares or any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or trading generally on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., the NYSE American or the Nasdaq Stock Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum ranges for prices for securities shall have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices for securities have been required, by any of said exchanges or by such system or by order of the Commission, FINRA, or any other governmental or regulatory authority; or (iv) a banking moratorium has been declared by any state or Federal authority; or (v) in the judgment of the Representative, there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the assets, properties, condition, financial or otherwise, or in the results of operations, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business.

 

(b)          If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to any of its provisions, the Company shall not be under any liability to any Underwriter, and no Underwriter shall be under any liability to the Company, except that (x) if this Agreement is terminated by the Representative because of any failure, refusal or inability on the part of the Company to comply with the terms or to fulfill any of the conditions of this Agreement, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees and disbursements of their counsel) incurred by them in connection with the proposed purchase and sale of the Shares and the Warrants or in contemplation of performing their obligations hereunder and (y) no Underwriter who shall have failed or refused to purchase the Shares and the Warrants agreed to be purchased by it under this Agreement, without some reason sufficient hereunder to justify cancellation or termination of its obligations under this Agreement shall be relieved of liability to the Company or to the other Underwriters for damages occasioned by its failure or refusal.

 

 

 

8. Substitution of Underwriters. If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase on the Closing Date the Shares and Warrants agreed to be purchased hereunder on the Closing Date, the Representative shall have the right, within 36 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase such Shares and Warrants on the terms contained herein. If, however, the Representative shall not have completed such arrangements within such 36-hour period, then the Company shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to the Underwriters to purchase such Shares and Warrants on such terms. If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares and Warrants of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the Representative and the Company as provided above, the aggregate number of Shares and Warrants which remains unpurchased on the Closing Date does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares and Warrants that all the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on such date, then the Company shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Shares and Warrants which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such date and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares and Warrants which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares and Warrants of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default. In any such case, either the Representative or the Company shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for a period of not more than seven days in order to effect any necessary changes and arrangements (including any necessary amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any other documents), and the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in the opinion of the Company and the Underwriters and their counsel may thereby be made necessary.

 

 If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares and Warrants of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by the Representative and the Company as provided above, the aggregate number of such Shares and Warrants which remains unpurchased exceeds 10% of the aggregate number of all the Shares and Warrants to be purchased at such date, then this Agreement shall terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter to the Company, and without liability on the part of the Company, except as provided in Sections 4(b), 5, 6 and 7. The provisions of this Section 8 shall not in any way affect the liability of any defaulting Underwriter to the Company or the nondefaulting Underwriters arising out of such default. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section 8 with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.

 

9. Miscellaneous.

 

The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities and other statements of the Company and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of the any Underwriter or the Company or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons referred to in Sections 5 and 6 hereof, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares and the Warrants. In addition, the provisions of Sections 4(b), 5, 6 and 7 shall survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.

 

This Agreement has been and is made for the benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and their respective successors and assigns, and, to the extent expressed herein, for the benefit of persons controlling any of the Underwriters, or the Company, and directors and officers of the Company, and their respective successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. The term "successors and assigns" shall not include any purchaser of Shares and Warrants from an Underwriter merely because of such purchase.

 

 

 

All notices and communications hereunder shall be in writing and mailed or delivered or by telephone or telegraph if subsequently confirmed in writing, (a) if to the Representative, c/o Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 Attention: Equity Capital Markets, with a copy to Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004 Attention: General Counsel, and to Lowenstein Sandler LLP, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020, Attention: John D. Hogoboom and (b) if to the Company, to its agent for service as such agent's address appears on the cover page of the Registration Statement with a copy to Disclosure Law Group, a Professional Corporation, 600 West Broadway, Suite 700, San Diego, California, 92101, Attention: Jessica Sudweeks.

 

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. This Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument.

 

 

 

Please confirm that the foregoing correctly sets forth the agreement among us.

 

Very truly yours,   VISTAGEN THERAPEUTICS, INC.   By: /s/ Shawn K. Singh       Name: Shawn K. Singh       Title: Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

Confirmed:

 

OPPENHEIMER & CO. INC.

 

By: /s/ Eric Helenek

Name:  Eric Helenek

Title:    Managing Director

 

 

 

 

Acting severally on behalf of itself and as

Representative of the several Underwriters

Named in Schedule I annexed hereto

 

OPPENHEIMER & CO. INC.

 

 

 

 

 

Name		Number of Shares to   Be Purchased	Number of Warrants to Be Purchased
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.		7,500,000	7,500,000
Chardan Capital Markets, LLC		2,500,000	2,500,000
Total		10,000,000	10,000,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shawn K. Singh                                

H. Ralph Snodgrass, Ph.D.           

Jon S. Saxe

Brian J. Underdown, PhD.           

Jerry B. Gin, Ph.D, MBA                

Mark A. Smith, M.D., Ph.D.         

Jerrold D. Dotson, CPA

Mark A. McPartland          

   

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of Shares to be Issued: 10,000,000 shares of Common Stock

 

Number of Warrants to be Issued: Warrants to purchase up to 10,000,000 shares of Common Stock

 

Warrant Coverage: 100%

 

Warrant Exercise Price: $1.50 per share

 

Public Offering Price: $1.50 per share and related Warrant

 

Underwriting Discount: 7.0%

 

 

 

 

 

None.