UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
__________________________
FORM 8-K
__________________________
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 18, 2022
__________________________
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | |||||||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||||||||
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (339 ) 499-9300
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2. below):
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | |||||
| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | |||||
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | |||||
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) | |||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company x
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o
Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
On November 18, 2022, 2seventy bio, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”) to sell shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000 (the “Placement Shares”), from time to time during the term of the Sales Agreement, through an “at the market” equity offering program under which Cowen will act as the Company’s sales agent.
Under the Sales Agreement, the Company will set the parameters for the sale of the Placement Shares, including the number of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one trading day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Sales Agreement, Cowen may sell the Placement Shares by methods deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including, without limitation, sales made through The Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”), on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock. In addition, if expressly authorized by the Company, Cowen may also sell shares in privately negotiated transactions. In conducting such sales activities, Cowen will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of Nasdaq. The Company has no obligation to make any sales of Common Stock under the Sales Agreement, and the Sales Agreement may be suspended or terminated by the Company upon prior notice to Cowen or by Cowen upon prior notice to the Company, or at any time under certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, the occurrence of a material adverse change in the Company.
The Company will pay Cowen a commission equal to up to three percent (3.0%) of the gross sales proceeds of any Placement Shares sold through Cowen under the Sales Agreement, and also has provided Cowen with customary indemnification rights.
Any sales of Placement Shares under the Sales Agreement will be made pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-268222) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on November 7, 2022 and declared effective on November 18, 2022. The Company filed a prospectus supplement with the Commission on November 18, 2022 in connection with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement.
The foregoing description of the material terms of the Sales Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. | Description | |||||||
| 1.1 | ||||||||
| 5.1 | ||||||||
| 23.1 | ||||||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document and incorporated as Exhibit 101) | |||||||
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Dated: November 18, 2022 | 2seventy bio, Inc. | ||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Chip Baird | ||||||||||
| Chip Baird | |||||||||||
| Chief Financial Officer | |||||||||||
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||||||||||
Exhibit 1.1
2SEVENTY BIO, INC.
$150,000,000
COMMON STOCK
SALES AGREEMENT
November 18, 2022
Cowen and Company, LLC
599 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Ladies and Gentlemen:
2seventy bio, Inc. (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”), as follows:
1. Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through Cowen, acting as agent and/or principal, shares (the “Placement Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $150,000,000 (the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the number of shares of Common Stock issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and Cowen shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement Shares through Cowen will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement (as defined below) to issue the Placement Shares.
The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-268222), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Common Stock, to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company has furnished to Cowen, for use by Cowen, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, and
any post-effective amendment thereto, as amended when it became effective, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or 462(b) of the Securities Act, or any subsequent registration statement on Form S-3 filed pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) under the Securities Act by the Company with respect to the Placement Shares, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is consented to by Cowen, hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus,” (ii) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).
2. Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell the Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify Cowen by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Placement Shares to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number of shares of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined in Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from Cowen set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by Cowen unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, Cowen declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares thereunder have been sold, (iii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice for any reason, in its sole discretion, (iv) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding those on the earlier dated Placement Notice, or (v) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Cowen in
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connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor Cowen will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to Cowen and Cowen does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.
3. Sale of Placement Shares by Cowen. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Company’s delivery of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, Cowen, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. Cowen will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company. In the event the Company engages Cowen for a sale of Placement Shares that would constitute a “block” within the meaning of Rule 10b-18(a)(5) under the Exchange Act, the Company will provide Cowen, at Cowen’s request and upon reasonable advance notice to the Company, on or prior to the Settlement Date (as defined below), the opinions of counsel, accountant’s letter and officers’ certificates set forth in Section 8 hereof, each dated the Settlement Date, and such other documents and information as Cowen shall reasonably request. Cowen may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made through Nasdaq or on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock. Cowen shall not purchase Placement Shares for its own account as principal unless expressly authorized to do so by the Company in a Placement Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that Cowen will be successful in selling Placement Shares, and (ii) Cowen will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by Cowen to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Section 3. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the Company’s Common Stock is purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not offer, sell or deliver, or request the offer or sale, of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and, by notice to Cowen given by telephone (confirmed promptly by email), shall cancel any instructions for the offer or sale of any Placement Shares, and Cowen shall not be obligated to offer or sell any Placement Shares, (i) during any period in which the Company is, or could be deemed to be, in
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possession of material non-public information, or (ii) at any time from and including the date on which the Company shall issue a press release containing, or shall otherwise publicly announce, its earnings, revenues or other results of operations (an “Earnings Announcement”) through and including the time that the Company files a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or an Annual Report on Form 10-K that includes consolidated financial statements as of and for the same period or periods, as the case may be, covered by such Earnings Announcement.
4. Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or Cowen may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such schedule may be amended from time to time.
(b) If either Cowen or the Company has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Common Stock, it shall promptly notify the other party, and Cowen may, at its sole discretion, suspend sales of the Placement Shares under this Agreement.
(c) The Registration Statement was declared effective on November 18, 2022. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Registration Statement is no longer effective under the Securities Act, the Company shall promptly notify Cowen, the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and Cowen shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.
5. Settlement.
(a) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the second (2nd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date” and the first such settlement date, the “First Delivery Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by Cowen at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction for (i) Cowen’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to Cowen hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
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(b) Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting Cowen’s or its designee’s account (provided Cowen shall have given the Company written notice of such designee at least one (1) full Trading Day prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, Cowen will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date. Cowen will be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of the Placement Shares being sold at least one (1) full Trading Day prior to the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized Placement Shares on a Settlement Date (other than as a result of a failure by Cowen to timely provide accurate instructions for delivery), the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) (Indemnification and Contribution) hereto, it will (i) hold Cowen harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or reasonably incurred and documented expense (including reasonably incurred and documented legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company and (ii) pay to Cowen (without duplication) any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.
6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, Cowen that, unless such representation, warrant or agreement specifies otherwise, as of (i) the date of this Agreement, (ii) each Time of Sale (as defined below), (iii) each Settlement Date, and (iv) each Bring-Down Date (as defined below) (each date included in (i) through (iv), a “Representation Date”):
(a) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement have been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act. The Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, contemplated or threatened by the Commission. The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. The sale of the Placement Shares hereunder meets the requirements or General Instruction I.B.1 of Form S-3.
(b) No Misstatement or Omission. The Prospectus when filed complied and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act. Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any post-effective amendments or supplements thereto, at the time it became effective or its date, as applicable, complied and as of each Representation Date, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and, as of each Representation Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, did not and, as of each Representation Date, will not
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contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to Agent’s Information (as defined below). There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required. As used herein, “Time of Sale” means with respect to each offering of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, the time of Cowen’s initial entry into contracts with purchasers for the sale of such Placement Shares.
(c) Offering Materials Furnished to Cowen. The Company has delivered to Cowen one complete copy of the Registration Statement and a copy of each consent and certificate of experts filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits) and the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as Cowen has reasonably requested. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent any such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus was required to be filed with the Commission) delivered to Cowen for use in connection with the public offering of the Placement Shares contemplated herein have been and will be identical to the versions of such documents transmitted to the Commission for filing via EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(d) Emerging Growth Company. On the date of the initial filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission, the Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act.
(e) Not an Ineligible Issuer. The Company currently is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act. The Company agrees to notify Cowen promptly upon the Company becoming an “ineligible issuer.”
(f) Distribution of Offering Material By the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of Cowen’s distribution of the Placement Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Prospectus or the Registration Statement.
(g) Organization and Qualification. The Company and each entity in which the Company, directly or indirectly, owns sufficient capital stock or holds a sufficient equity or similar interest such that it is consolidated with the Company in the financial statements of the Company (the “Subsidiaries”) is an entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, with the requisite corporate power and authority to own and use its properties and assets and to carry on its business as currently conducted. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation or default of any of the provisions of its respective certificate of incorporation, bylaws or other organizational or charter documents. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries is duly qualified to conduct business and is in good standing as a foreign corporation or other entity in each
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jurisdiction in which the nature of the business conducted or property owned by it makes such qualification necessary, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing, as the case may be, could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change (as defined below) and 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 or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the Subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year and other than (i) those Subsidiaries not required to be listed on Exhibit 21.1 by Item 601 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act and (ii) those Subsidiaries formed since the last day of the most recently ended fiscal year.
(h) Authorization; Enforcement; Validity. (i) The Company has the requisite corporate power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement, and to issue the Placement Shares in accordance with the terms hereof and thereof, (ii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Company and the consummation by it of the transactions contemplated hereby, including without limitation, the issuance of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, when issued and delivered, will be duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement duly authorized by the Company’s Board of Directors and the Pricing Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, and no further consent or authorization is required by the Company, its Board of Directors, the Pricing Committee thereof, or its stockholders, (iii) this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and (iv) this Agreement constitutes the valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be limited by general principles of equity or applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, liquidation or similar laws relating to, or affecting generally, the enforcement of creditors’ rights and remedies. The Board of Directors of the Company, or the Pricing Committee thereof, has approved and authorized this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. Such resolutions are valid, in full force and effect and have not been materially modified or supplemented in any respect. Except as set forth in this Agreement, no other approvals or consents of the Company’s Board of Directors, any authorized committee thereof, and/or stockholders is necessary under applicable laws and the Company’s certificate of incorporation as amended and restated and as in effect on the date hereof (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), and/or the Company’s bylaws as amended and restated and as in effect on the date hereof (the “Bylaws”), to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby, including, but not limited to, the issuance of the Placement Shares.
(i) Capitalization. The Company’s issued and outstanding capital stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and are non-assessable. None of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company were issued in violation of any preemptive rights. As of the date hereof, and except as disclosed in the Prospectus, (i) no shares of the Company’s capital stock are subject to preemptive rights or any other similar rights or any liens or encumbrances suffered or permitted by the Company, (ii) there are no outstanding debt securities, (iii) except for outstanding securities of the Company under the equity incentive plans of the Company disclosed in the Prospectus (the “Stock Plans”), there are no outstanding options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of
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any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or may become bound to issue additional shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or options, warrants, scrip, rights to subscribe to, calls or commitments of any character whatsoever relating to, or securities or rights convertible into, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (iv) there are no agreements or arrangements under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is obligated to register the sale of any of their securities under the Securities Act other than those accurately described in all material respects in the Prospectus, (v) there are no outstanding securities or instruments of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which contain any redemption or similar provisions, and there are no contracts, commitments, understandings or arrangements by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is or may become bound to redeem a security of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (vi) there are no securities or instruments containing anti-dilution or similar provisions that will be triggered by the issuance of the Placement Shares as described in this Agreement and (vii) the Company does not have any stock appreciation rights or “phantom stock” plans or agreements or any similar plan or agreement.
(j) Issuance, Sale and Delivery of the Placement Shares. The Placement Shares being purchased hereunder have been duly authorized and, when issued, delivered and paid for in the manner set forth in this Agreement will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and rights of refusal of any kind. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, no stockholder of the Company has any right to require the Company to register the sale of any capital stock owned by such stockholder under the Registration Statement. No further approval or authority of the stockholders or the Board of Directors of the Company will be required for the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares to be sold by the Company as contemplated herein.
(k) No Conflicts. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby a will not (i) result in a violation of the Certificate of Incorporation, any certificate of designation, preferences and rights of any outstanding series of preferred stock of the Company or the Bylaws or (ii) conflict with, or constitute a default (or an event which with notice or lapse of time or both would become a default) under, or give to others any rights of termination, amendment, acceleration or cancellation of, any agreement, indenture or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, or result in a violation of any law, rule, regulation, order, judgment or decree (including federal and state securities laws and regulations and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) or by which any property or asset of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or affected, except in the case of conflicts, defaults, terminations, amendments, accelerations, cancellations and violations under clause (ii), which could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Change. Neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries is in violation of any term of or in default under its Certificate of Incorporation, any certificate of designation, preferences and rights of any outstanding series of preferred stock of the Company or Bylaws or their organizational charter or bylaws, respectively. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any term of or is in default under any material contract, agreement, mortgage, indebtedness, indenture, instrument, judgment, decree or order or any statute, rule or regulation applicable to the
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Company or its Subsidiaries, except for possible conflicts, defaults, terminations or amendments that could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change. The business of the Company and its Subsidiaries is not being conducted, and shall not be conducted, in violation of any law, ordinance or regulation of any governmental entity, except for possible violations, the sanctions for which either individually or in the aggregate could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change. Except as specifically contemplated by this Agreement and as required under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq, the Company is not required to obtain any consent, authorization or order of, or make any filing or registration with, any court or governmental agency or any regulatory or self-regulatory agency in order for it to execute, deliver or perform any of its obligations under or contemplated by this Agreement in accordance with the terms hereof or thereof. Except as set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, all consents, authorizations, orders, filings and registrations which the Company is required to obtain pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be obtained or effected on or prior to the date hereof. The Company has been in compliance with the applicable continued listing requirements of Nasdaq and the Company has not received nor delivered any notices related to non-compliance with the rules of Nasdaq. Nasdaq has not commenced any delisting proceedings against the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, there is no reasonable basis for the delisting of the Common Stock from Nasdaq. No consent, approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental or regulatory authority or agency, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and by the Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or made by the Company and are in full force and effect under the Securities Act, applicable state securities or blue sky laws and from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
(l) Prospectus; Financial Statements. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the Settlement Dates, will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus comply in all material respects with applicable accounting requirements and the rules and regulations of the Commission with respect thereto as in effect at the time of filing. Such financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved (“GAAP”), except as may be otherwise specified in such financial statements or the notes thereto and except that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP, and fairly present in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of and for the dates thereof and the results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended, subject, in the case of unaudited statements, to normal, immaterial, year-end audit adjustments. The Company has received no notices or correspondence from the Commission for the one year preceding the date hereof. To the Company’s knowledge, the Commission has not commenced any enforcement proceedings against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
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(m) Absence of Certain Changes. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, (i) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, operations or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one entity (any such change is called a “Material Adverse Change”) in the business, properties, operations, financial condition or results of operations of the Company or its Subsidiaries. The Company has not taken any steps, and does not currently expect to take any steps, to seek protection pursuant to any bankruptcy law nor does the Company or any of its Subsidiaries have any knowledge or reason to believe that its creditors intend to initiate involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. The Company is financially solvent and is generally able to pay its debts as they become due. No event, liability, fact, circumstance, occurrence or development (including, without limitation, any fundamental transaction, change of control or similar event under any agreement (including, without limitation, any employment agreement)) has occurred or exists, or is reasonably expected to occur or exist, with respect to the Company or its business, properties, operations, assets or financial condition that, but for the passage of time, would be required to be disclosed by the Company under applicable securities laws at the time this representation is made that has not been publicly disclosed at least one Trading Day prior to the date that this representation is made.
(n) Absence of Litigation. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the Company’s knowledge or to the knowledge of any of its Subsidiaries, threatened against or affecting the Company, the Common Stock or any of the Company’s or its Subsidiaries’ officers or directors in their capacities as such, which could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Change. No material labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries exists or, to the Company’s knowledge, is threatened or imminent.
(o) Intellectual Property Rights. The Company and its Subsidiaries own or possess adequate rights or licenses to use all material trademarks, trade names, service marks, service mark registrations, service names, patents, patent rights, copyrights, inventions, licenses, approvals, governmental authorizations, trade secrets and rights necessary to conduct their respective businesses as now conducted (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Rights”). None of the Company’s material Intellectual Property Rights have expired or terminated except as disclosed in the Prospectus. To the Company’s knowledge, neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries have infringed on any material Intellectual Property Rights or other similar rights of others, or of any such development of similar or identical trade secrets or technical information by others, and there is no claim, action or proceeding being made or brought against, or to the Company’s knowledge, being threatened against, the Company or its Subsidiaries regarding trademark, trade name, patents, patent rights, invention, copyright, license, service names, service marks, service mark registrations, trade secret or other infringement, which could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Change. The Company has taken all reasonable steps to protect, maintain and safeguard its Intellectual Property Rights, including the execution of appropriate nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements. The consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in the loss or impairment of or payment of any additional amounts with
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respect to, nor require the consent of any other person in respect of, the Company's right to own, use, or hold for use any of the Intellectual Property Rights as owned, used or held for use in the conduct of the business as currently conducted.
(p) Environmental Laws. To the Company’s Knowledge, the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (“Environmental Laws”), (ii) have received all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) are in compliance with all terms and conditions of any such permit, license or approval, except where, in each of the three foregoing clauses, the failure to so comply could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Change.
(q) Title. The Company and its Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property owned by them and good and marketable title in all personal property owned by them that is material to the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects (“Liens”), except for Liens as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its Subsidiaries and Liens for the payment of federal, state or other taxes, the payment of which is neither delinquent nor subject to penalties. Any real property and facilities held under lease by the Company and its Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with which the Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company and its Subsidiaries.
(r) Insurance. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as management of the Company believes to be prudent and customary in the businesses in which the Company and its Subsidiaries are engaged. Neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for and neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary 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 would not materially and adversely affect the condition, financial or otherwise, or the earnings, business or operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
(s) Regulatory Permits. The Company and its Subsidiaries possess all material certificates, authorizations and permits issued by the appropriate federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities necessary to conduct their respective businesses, and neither the Company nor any such Subsidiary has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authorization or permit.
(t) Tax Law Compliance. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries has duly and timely made or filed (taking into account applicable extensions) all U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and all other material tax returns, reports and declarations required to have been made or
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filed by any jurisdiction to which it is subject and such returns, reports and declarations are true, correct and complete in all material respects, has duly and timely paid all taxes and other governmental assessments and charges that are material in amount, shown or determined to be due on such returns, reports and declarations, except those being contested in good faith and for which the Company has set aside on its books provisions reasonably adequate for the payment thereof as determined in accordance with GAAP, and has in effect no waivers of applicable statutes of limitations with respect to taxes for any year. There are no unpaid taxes in any material amount claimed to be due by the taxing authority of any jurisdiction. The Company and each Subsidiary has not reported any material uncertain tax positions pursuant to FASB Interpretation 48 (FIN 48), “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” on the Company’s financial statements, and the officers of the Company know of no basis for any such tax reporting positions. There have been no examinations or audits of any tax returns, reports or declarations of the Company or its Subsidiaries by any applicable U.S. federal, state, local or non-U.S. governmental agency and, to the Company’s knowledge, there are no currently or proposed examinations or audits. The Company and its Subsidiaries have no liability for taxes of any person (other than bluebird bio, Inc., the Company and their subsidiaries) arising from the application of U.S. Treasury Regulations Section 1.1502-6 or any similar provision of state, local or non-U.S. law, or as a transferee or successor or member of an affiliated, consolidated, combined or unitary group. The Company and its Subsidiaries are not a party to, are not bound by, and do not have any obligation under, any tax sharing, tax indemnity or tax allocation agreement or similar agreement or arrangement (to which any person other than the Company and its Subsidiaries is a party) other than obligations in agreements or arrangements not primarily related to taxes, except for the tax matters agreement by and between the Company and bluebird bio, dated as of November 3, 2021 (the “Tax Matters Agreement”). The Company and its Subsidiaries have not been party to any transaction that is a “prohibited tax shelter transaction” as defined in Section 4965(e) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (including any successor statute) (the “Code”) or any “reportable transaction” (other than any “loss transaction”) within the meaning of U.S. Treasury regulations Section 1.6011-4(b). The Company is not, nor does it reasonably expect to become, a “United States real property holding corporation” within the meaning of Section 897(c) of the Code. The Company is not, nor does it reasonably expect to become, a “disqualified investment corporation” within the meaning of Section 355(g) of the Code or a “real estate investment trust” within the meaning of Section 355(h) of the Code. None of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has taken any action that could reasonably be expected to prevent the Distribution from qualifying as a distribution eligible for non-recognition under Sections 355(a) of the Code. Other than as part of the Distribution (as defined in the Tax Matters Agreement), within the past five years, none of the Company or its Subsidiaries has been either a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” in a distribution in which the parties to such distribution treated the distribution as one to which Section 355 of the Code is applicable. The Company and its Subsidiaries have complied with all of their respective obligations under the Tax Matters Agreement and the Company has furnished to Cowen (i) a copy of the executed “Unqualified Tax Opinion” (as defined in the Tax Matters Agreement) delivered by the Company’s tax counsel to bluebird bio, Inc. on or prior to the date hereof with respect to the sales pursuant to this Agreement and (ii) a copy of the executed certificate delivered to the Company by bluebird bio, Inc. on or prior to the date hereof to the effect that such “Unqualified Tax Opinion” with respect to the sales pursuant to
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this Agreement constitutes an “Unqualified Tax Opinion” for purposes of Section 6.1(c) of the Tax Matters Agreement.
(u) Transactions With Affiliates. Except as set forth in the Prospectus, to the Company’s knowledge, none of the officers or directors of the Company, the Company’s stockholders, the officers or directors of any stockholder of the Company, or any family member or affiliate of any of the foregoing, has either directly or indirectly any interest in, or is a party to, any transaction that would be required to be disclosed as a related party transaction pursuant to Rule 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act.
(v) Sarbanes-Oxley. The Company is in compliance in all material respects with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), which are applicable to it as of the date hereof. The Company and its Subsidiaries will use their best efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(w) Certain Fees. Except for Cowen, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(x) Investment Company. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is, and, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, will not be, an “investment company” or an “affiliated person” of, or “promoter” or “principal underwriter” for an investment company, within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.
(y) Listing and Maintenance Requirements. The Common Stock is registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and is listed on Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or which to the Company’s knowledge is likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Common Stock pursuant to the Exchange Act nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is currently contemplating terminating such registration. The Company has not received any notice from any Person to the effect that the Company is not in compliance with the listing or maintenance requirements of Nasdaq. The Company is in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements. All of the Placement Shares that have been or may be sold under this Agreement have been approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject to official notice of issuance; the Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon and at all times after Nasdaq shall have approved the Placement Shares for listing, it will be in compliance with all applicable corporate governance requirements set forth in Nasdaq’s listing rules that are then in effect.
(z) Accountants. Ernst & Young LLP, who has expressed its opinion with respect to the financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) and supporting schedules filed with the Commission or incorporated by reference as a part of the Registration Statement and included in the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
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(aa) No Market Manipulation. The Company has not, and to its knowledge no Person acting on its behalf has, (i) taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of any of the Placement Shares, (ii) sold, bid for, purchased, or, paid any compensation for soliciting purchases of, any of the Placement Shares, or (iii) paid or agreed to pay to any Person any compensation for soliciting another to purchase any other securities of the Company in violation of Regulation M promulgated under the Exchange Act.
(bb) Tests and Preclinical and Clinical Trials. (i) To the Company’s knowledge, the preclinical studies and clinical trials conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by the Company or its Subsidiaries (including, the preclinical studies and clinical trials of the Company’s product and product candidates conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by bluebird bio, Inc. prior to its spin-off with the Company), or in which the Company or its Subsidiaries have participated, that are described in the Prospectus, or the results of which are referred to in the Prospectus, as applicable, were, and if still pending are, being conducted in all material respects in accordance with the protocols submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) and comparable regulatory agencies outside of the United States to which they are subject (collectively, the “Regulatory Authorities”) and applicable statutes and all applicable rules and regulations of the Regulatory Authorities; (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, the descriptions of the tests and nonclinical and clinical studies conducted by or on behalf of the Company (including, the descriptions of the tests and nonclinical and clinical studies of the Company’s product and product candidates conducted by or on behalf of bluebird bio, Inc. prior to its spin-off with the Company) and the results thereof contained in the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects; (iii) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no other studies or trials not described in the Prospectus, the results of which the Company believes reasonably call into question the results described or referred to in the Prospectus; (iv) the Company and its Subsidiaries have operated at all times and are currently in compliance with all applicable statutes, rules and regulations of the Regulatory Authorities, except where such non-compliance would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Change; and (v) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries have received any written notices, correspondence or other communications from the Regulatory Authorities or any other governmental agency requiring or threatening the termination, material modification or suspension of any preclinical studies or clinical trials that are material to the Company and that are described in the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Prospectus, other than ordinary course communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such studies or trials.
(cc) Additional Regulatory Matters. The Company has not received any notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other written correspondence or notice from the FDA, or any other court or arbitrator or federal, state, local, supranational or foreign governmental or regulatory authority, alleging or asserting noncompliance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) (the “FDCA”) which remains unresolved. The Company and its directors, officers, employees and, to the Company’s knowledge, agents, are and have been in material compliance with applicable health care laws, including without limitation, the FDCA, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), the criminal False Claims Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), the Civil Monetary Penalties Law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
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1996 (42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq.), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. § 17921 et seq.) the exclusion laws (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7), Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act), Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, including, without limitation, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7h), and the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, and comparable state laws, and all other local, state, federal, national, supranational, and foreign laws, manual provisions, policies and administrative guidance relating to the regulation of the Company (collectively, “Health Care Laws”). The Company has not, either voluntarily or involuntarily, initiated, conducted or issued or caused to be initiated, conducted or issued, any recall, market withdrawal or replacement, safety alert, post sale warning, “dear doctor” letter, or other notice or action relating to the alleged lack of safety or efficacy of any product or any alleged product defect or violation and, to the knowledge of the Company, no third party has initiated or conducted any such notice or action. Neither the Company nor any of its officers, directors, employees, or to the Company’s knowledge, agents, has been or is currently excluded from participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs or any other state or federal health care program, except where such exclusion would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Change. The manufacture of the Company’s product and product candidates by or on behalf of the Company is being conducted in compliance in all material respects with applicable Health Care Laws, including, without limitation, the FDA’s current good manufacturing practice regulations at 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211, and to the extent applicable, the respective counterparts thereof promulgated by governmental authorities in countries outside the United States. The Company has not had any manufacturing site (whether Company-owned or that of a third party manufacturer for the Company’s product and product candidates) subject to a governmental authority (including FDA) shutdown or import or export prohibition, nor received any written correspondence from FDA or any other governmental authority requiring the Company to make material changes to the Company’s products and product candidates, processes or operations. To the knowledge of the Company, neither the FDA or any other governmental authority is considering such action. The Company has filed with the FDA all required filings and drug safety reports or similar required reports of adverse drug events. All such filings were in material compliance with all applicable Health Care Laws when filed, or were subsequently corrected, and no deficiencies have been asserted in writing by the FDA or similar regulatory authority with respect to any such filings. Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of its directors, officers, or employees have (a) made an untrue statement of a material fact or fraudulent statement to the FDA or any other comparable regulatory authority or (b) failed to disclose a material fact required to be disclosed to the FDA or any other comparable regulatory authority, in each case regarding the Company. Neither the Company, nor any of its directors, officers, or employees are the subject of any pending or threatened investigation by the FDA under the “Fraud, Untrue Statements of Material Facts, Bribery, and Illegal Gratuities” policy as stated at 56 Fed. Reg. 46191 (September 10, 1991) (the “FDA Application Integrity Policy”), or the subject of any similar investigation by any other comparable regulatory authority that, assuming such investigations were determined or resolved adversely, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
(dd) Accounting Controls and Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined under Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that are designed to comply with the requirements of
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the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, including, but not limited to, internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (E) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language incorporated by reference in the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially adversely affected, or is reasonably likely to materially adversely affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act; such disclosure controls and procedures have been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management to allow timely decisions regarding disclosures. The Company has conducted evaluations of the effectiveness of their disclosure controls as required by Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act.
(ee) Registration Rights. There are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights as have been duly waived.
(ff) No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, employee, agent, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any Subsidiary has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government officials or employees, political parties or campaigns, political party officials, or candidates for political office from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable anti-corruption laws, rules, or regulations of any other jurisdiction in which the Company or any Subsidiary conducts business; or (iv) made any other unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment to any person.
(gg) Compliance with Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in material compliance with all applicable
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financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of jurisdictions where the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority, body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending, or to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(hh) Compliance with OFAC.
(A) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer or employee thereof, any agent, affiliate, representative, or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is: (i) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union (“EU”), Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (ii) located, organized, or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of a U.S. government embargo (including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria).
(B) The Company will not, directly or indirectly, use the Net Proceeds, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such Net Proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person: (i) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions, or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of a U.S. government embargo; or (ii) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including Cowen)
(C) For the past five (5) years, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any direct or indirect dealings or transactions with any Person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions or any country or territory that, at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of a U.S. government embargo.
(ii) No Outstanding Loans or Other Indebtedness. Except as described in the Prospectus, there are no outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees or indebtedness by the Company to or
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for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of the members of any of them.
(jj) No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon Cowen or legal counsel for Cowen for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.
(kk) Compliance with Laws. The Company has not been advised, and has no reason to believe, that it and each of its Subsidiaries are not conducting business in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations of the jurisdictions in which it is conducting business, except where failure to be so in compliance would not result in a Material Adverse Change.
(ll) Privacy Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are, and in the past three (3) years (or such shorter time as the Company has existed, if applicable) were in material compliance with all applicable data privacy and security laws and regulations(collectively, “Privacy Laws”). To ensure compliance with the Privacy Laws, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have in place, comply with, and take appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure compliance in all material respects with their policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling and analysis of Personal Data (the “Policies”). The Company provides accurate notice of its Policies to individuals from whom Personal Data are collected, to the extent that such notice is required by applicable Privacy Laws. The Policies provide accurate and sufficient notice of the Company’s then-current privacy practices relating to its subject matter and such Policies do not contain any material omissions of the Company’s then-current privacy practices. “Personal Data” means (i) a natural persons’ name, street address, telephone number, email address, photograph, social security number, bank information, or customer or account number; (ii) any information which is regulated by applicable Privacy Laws; and (iii) (v) any other piece of information that allows the identification of such natural person, or his or her family, or permits the collection or analysis of any data related to an identified person’s health or sexual orientation. None of such disclosures made or contained in any of the Policies have been inaccurate, misleading, deceptive or in violation of any Privacy Laws or Policies in any material respect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or any other agreement referred to in this Agreement will not result in a breach of any Privacy Laws or Policies. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, (i) has received notice of any actual or potential liability under or relating to, or actual or potential violation of, any of the Privacy Laws, and has no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) is currently conducting or paying for, in whole or in part, any investigation, remediation or other corrective action pursuant to any Privacy Law; or (iii) is a party to any order, decree, or agreement that imposed any obligation or liability under any Privacy Law.
(mm) IT Systems. (i)(x)There has been no material security breach or attack or other compromise of any Personal Data, any of the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware and software used to store and/or process any Personal Data, data (including the data of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of them), equipment or technology (“IT Systems and Data”), and (y) the Company and its Subsidiaries have not been notified of, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in
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any material security breach, attack or compromise to their IT Systems and Data, (ii) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have taken appropriate steps reasonably designed to ensure material compliance with, all applicable Privacy Laws relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification except as would not, in the case of this clause (ii), individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Change, and (iii) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry standards and practice.
(nn) Export and Import Laws. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries, and, to the Company’s knowledge, each of their affiliates and any director, officer, agent or employee of, or other person associated with or acting on behalf of, the Company has acted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable Export and Import Laws (as defined below) and there are no claims, complaints, charges, investigations or proceedings pending or expected or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened between the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and any Governmental Authority under any Export or Import Laws. The term “Export and Import Laws” means the Arms Export Control Act, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, the Export Administration Regulations, and all other laws and regulations of the United States government regulating the provision of services to non-U.S. parties or the export and import of articles or information from and to the United States of America, and all similar laws and regulations of any foreign government applicable to the Company.
Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to Cowen or to counsel for Cowen pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to Cowen as to the matters set forth therein.
The Company acknowledges that Cowen and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 7 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to Cowen, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.
7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with Cowen that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify Cowen promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information insofar as it relates to the Placement Shares or the transactions by this Agreement, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon Cowen’s reasonable request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, insofar as it relates to the Placement Shares or the transactions by this Agreement, that, in Cowen’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable to comply with law in connection with the
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distribution of the Placement Shares by Cowen (provided, however, that the failure of Cowen to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Cowen’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that (other than Cowen’s right under Section 9 hereof) the only remedy Cowen shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Cowen within a reasonable period of time before the filing and Cowen has not reasonably objected in writing thereto within two (2) Business Days (provided, however, that (A) the failure of Cowen to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Cowen’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, (B) the Company has no obligation to provide Cowen any advance copy of such filing or to provide Cowen an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name Cowen and does not relate to the transaction herein provided, and (C) the only remedy Cowen shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to provide Cowen with such copy of the filing of such amendment or supplement despite Cowen’s objection shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to Cowen at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act, and (v) prior to the termination of this Agreement, the Company will notify Cowen if at any time the Registration Statement shall no longer be effective as a result of the passage of time pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act or otherwise. Prior to the initial sale of any Placement Shares, the Company shall file a final Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) relating to the Placement Shares.
(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise Cowen, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued.
(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares, (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates (taking into account any extensions available under the Exchange Act) all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the
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Exchange Act. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify Cowen to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that the Company may delay any such amendment or supplement if, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company to do so, provided that no Placement Notice is in effect during such time.
(d) Listing of Placement Shares. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as Cowen reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities or file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.
(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to Cowen and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as Cowen may from time to time reasonably request and, at Cowen’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to Cowen to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act, which requirement may be satisfied by publicly filing the required information on EDGAR.
(g) Expenses. The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereunder, will pay the following expenses all incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing
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of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(d) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for Cowen in connection therewith shall be paid by Cowen except as set forth in (vii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to Cowen of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission, (vii) the filing fees and associated legal expenses of Cowen’s outside counsel for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department , such legal expense reimbursement not to exceed $10,000 in the aggregate and, (viii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of Cowen’s counsel in an amount not to exceed $75,000.
(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”
(i) Notice of Other Sales. During the pendency of any Placement Notice given hereunder, and for three (3) trading days following the termination of any Placement Notice given hereunder, the Company shall provide Cowen notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any shares of Common Stock (other than Placement Shares offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Stock; provided, that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Common Stock, options to purchase shares of Common Stock or other equity awards or Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement described in the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets, (iii) the issuance or sale of Common Stock pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time provided the implementation of such is disclosed to Cowen in advance,(iv) the issuance or sale of any shares of common stock issuable upon the exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding or disclosed in filings by the Company available on EDGAR or otherwise in writing to Cowen prior to the date of the applicable Placement Notice or (v) the issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock, or securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock, offered and sold in a privately negotiated transaction to vendors, customers, investors, strategic partners or potential strategic partners, collaborators, joint venturers, equipment leasing providers, financial institutions or other lenders in connection with debt arrangements, or in connection with a merger, acquisition or similar activities, and otherwise conducted in a manner so as not to be integrated with the offering of Common Stock hereby. For avoidance of doubt, nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the Company’s ability, or require the Company to provide notice to Cowen, to file a registration statement with the Commission.
(j) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise Cowen promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any
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information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided to Cowen pursuant to this Agreement.
(k) Due Diligence Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by Cowen or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as Cowen may reasonably request.
(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing under Rule 424(b), a “Filing Date”), which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the amount of Placement Shares sold through Cowen, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to Cowen with respect to such Placement Shares (provided that the Company may satisfy its obligations under this Section 7(l)(i) by effecting a filing in accordance with the Exchange Act with respect to such information), and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market. The Company shall disclose in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in its annual report on Form 10-K, the number of the Placement Shares sold through Cowen under this Agreement, and the gross proceeds and Net Proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Placement Shares and the compensation paid by the Company with respect to sales of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement during the relevant quarter or, in the case of an Annual Report on Form 10-K, during the fiscal year covered by such Annual Report and the fourth quarter of such fiscal year.
(m) Bring-Down Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and each time (i) the Company files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares; (ii) the Company files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act; (iii) the Company files its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or (iv) the Company files a report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release and other than information “furnished” pursuant to Items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K) under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a "Bring-Down Date"); the Company shall furnish Cowen with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) within three (3) Trading Days of any Bring-Down Date if requested by Cowen. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be automatically waived for any Bring-Down Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Bring-Down Date) and the next occurring Bring-Down Date; provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Bring-Down Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Bring-Down Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Cowen with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Cowen sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide Cowen with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of the Placement Notice.
(n) Legal Opinion. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Cowen a written opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP (collectively with Company IP Counsels (as defined below), “Company Counsel”), or other counsel reasonably satisfactory to Cowen, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered, substantially similar to the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(n)(i) and Exhibit 7(n)(ii), respectively, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Bring-Down Dates, counsel may furnish Cowen with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that Cowen may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such Reliance Letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Bring-Down Date).
(o) Intellectual Property Opinion. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Cowen written opinions of Cooley LLP, McCarter & English LP, and Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP (“Company IP Counsels”), or other counsel that the Company retains in addition to or in replacement of one or more Company IP Counsels, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered, with respect to intellectual property matters, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Bring-Down Dates, counsel may furnish Cowen with a Reliance Letter to the effect that Cowen may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such Reliance Letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Bring-Down Date).
(p) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish Cowen letters (the "Comfort Letters"), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Cowen, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters
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ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to Cowen in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter provided, however, that (i) Cowen has provided the Company’s independent accountants with a representation letter reasonably satisfactory to the Company’s independent accountants and (ii) any such comfort letter will only be required on the Bring-Down Date to the extent that it contains financial statements filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act and incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into a Prospectus.
(q) Chief Financial Officer’s Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(q) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall have delivered to Cowen a certificate executed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company (“CFO Certificate”), dated as of such date, in substantially similar to the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(q).
(r) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or would reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the Common Stock to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than Cowen; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase shares of its Common Stock in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.
(s) Insurance. The Company and its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.
(t) Compliance with Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental permits, licenses and other authorizations required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations and with applicable environmental laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
(u) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor its Subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.
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(v) Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.
(w) No Offer to Sell. Other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, neither Cowen nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than Cowen in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Common Stock hereunder.
(x) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company and its Subsidiaries will use their best efforts to comply with all effective and applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
(y) Affirmation. Each Placement Notice delivered by the Company to Cowen shall be deemed to be (i) an affirmation that the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained and contained in any certificate delivered to Cowen pursuant hereto are true and correct at the time of delivery of such Placement Notice, and (ii) an undertaking that such representations, warranties and agreements will be true and correct on any applicable Time of Sale and Settlement Date, as though made at and as of each such time (it being understood that such representations, warranties and agreements shall relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to the time of such Placement Notice acceptance).
(z) Renewal. If immediately prior to the third anniversary (the “Renewal Deadline”) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, the aggregate gross sales price of Placement Shares sold by the Company is less than the Maximum Amount and this Agreement has not expired or been terminated, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Deadline, use commercially reasonable efforts to file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new shelf registration statement relating to the Placement Shares, in a form satisfactory to Cowen, and, if not automatically effective, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 60 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Placement Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new shelf registration statement.
8. Conditions to Cowen’s Obligations. The obligations of Cowen hereunder with respect to a Placement Notice will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder, to the completion by Cowen of a due diligence review satisfactory to Cowen in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by Cowen in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for (i) all sales of Placement Shares issued pursuant to all prior Placement
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Notices and (ii) the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued pursuant to any Placement Notice.
(b) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus or such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission. Cowen shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in Cowen’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in Cowen’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
(d) Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any Material Adverse Change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Change or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities) by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of Cowen (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(e) Company Counsel Legal Opinion. Cowen shall have received the opinions of Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o) on or before
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the date on which such delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o).
(f) Cowen Counsel Legal Opinion. Cowen shall have received from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., counsel for Cowen, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as Cowen may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.
(g) Comfort Letter. Cowen shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(p).
(h) Representation Certificate. Cowen shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(m).
(i) Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date, Cowen shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate secretary, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel.
(j) CFO Certificate. Cowen shall have received the CFO Certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(q) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(q).
(k) No Suspension. Trading in the Common Stock shall not have been suspended on Nasdaq.
(l) Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to Cowen such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as Cowen may have reasonably requested. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company will furnish Cowen with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as Cowen shall have reasonably requested.
(m) Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.
(n) Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares shall either have been (i) approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on Nasdaq at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.
(o) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit Cowen to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).
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9. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Cowen, the directors, officers, partners, employees and agents of Cowen and each person, if any, who (i) controls Cowen within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with Cowen from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including, but not limited to, any and all reasonable investigative, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with Section 9(c)) of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), as and when incurred, to which Cowen, or any such person, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any free writing prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Common Stock under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it not misleading or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused directly or indirectly by an untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with solely Agent’s Information. “Agent’s Information” means, solely, the following information in the Prospectus: the third sentence of the eighth paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.
(b) Cowen Indemnification. Cowen agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company that signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 9(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.
(c) Procedure. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 9 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 9, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the
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indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 9 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as they are incurred after the indemnifying party receives a written invoice related to such fees, disbursements and other charges. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 9 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding.
(d) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or Cowen, the Company and Cowen will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons
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other than Cowen, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and Cowen may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and Cowen on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and Cowen on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by Cowen from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and Cowen, on the other, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or Cowen, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and Cowen agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 9(c) hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(d), Cowen shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 9(d), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of Cowen, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer and director of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of written notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 9(d), will notify in writing any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 9(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 9(c) hereof.
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10. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 9 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of Cowen, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
11. Termination.
(a) Cowen shall have the right by giving notice as hereinafter specified at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of Cowen, may materially impair the ability of Cowen to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder, or (iii) any other condition of Cowen’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, or (iv), any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g) (Expenses), Section 9 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 10 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 16 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction) and Section 17 (Waiver of Jury Trial) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If Cowen elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), Cowen shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12 (Notices).
(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(c) Cowen shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(d) Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through Cowen on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.
(e) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), (c), or (d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide
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that Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.
(f) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by Cowen or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
(g) Subject to the additional limitations set forth in Section 7 of this Agreement, in the event of termination of this Agreement by the Company prior to the sale of any Placement Shares, Cowen shall be entitled only to reimbursement of its out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred.
12. Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to Cowen, shall be delivered to Cowen at Cowen and Company, LLC, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, fax no. 646-562-1130, Attention: General Counsel, email: Bradley.friedman@cowen.com; or if sent to the Company, shall be delivered to 2seventy bio, Inc., 60 Binney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, attention: Chip Baird, Chief Financial Officer, email: chip.baird@2seventybio.com, with a copy to Goodwin Procter LLP, attention: Gregg Katz, email: GKatz@goodwinlaw.com . Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day (as defined below), or, if such day is not a Business Day on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier, (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid) and (iv) when delivered by electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”), at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives verification of receipt by the receiving party, other than via automatic reply. For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which Nasdaq and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.
13. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and Cowen and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 9 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that Cowen may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of Cowen without obtaining the Company’s consent.
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14. Adjustments for Share Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Common Stock.
15. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and Cowen. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement.
16. Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any transaction contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.
17. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and Cowen each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby.
18. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) Cowen has been retained solely to act as an arm’s length contractual counterparty to the Company in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares contemplated hereby and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and Cowen has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether Cowen has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;
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(b) the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
(c) the Company has been advised that Cowen and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that Cowen has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and
(d) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against Cowen, for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that Cowen shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.
19. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile or electronic transmission.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and Cowen, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and Cowen.
Very truly yours, | |||||
COWEN AND COMPANY, LLC | |||||
By: | /s/ Michael Murphy | ||||
| Name: Michael Murphy | |||||
Title: Managing Director | |||||
ACCEPTED as of the date | |||||
first-above written: | |||||
2SEVENTY BIO, INC. | |||||
By: | /s/ Chip Baird | ||||
| Name: Chip Baird | |||||
| Title: CFO | |||||
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SCHEDULE 1
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
From: [ ]
Cc: [ ]
To: [ ]
Subject: Cowen At the Market Offering—Placement Notice
Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between 2seventy bio, Inc. (the “Company”), and Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”) dated November 18, 2022 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that Cowen sell up to [ ] shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, at a minimum market price of $[ ] per share. Sales should begin on the date of this Notice and shall continue until [DATE] [all shares are sold].
SCHEDULE 2
Notice Parties
Company
Nick Leschly – President and Chief Executive Officer
Chip Baird – Chief Financial Officer
Teresa Jurgenson – Senior Vice President, General Counsel
Cowen
Michael J. Murphy Managing Director
William Follis Managing Director
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SCHEDULE 3
Compensation
Cowen shall be paid compensation equal to up to 3% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Common Stock pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
Exhibit 7(m)
OFFICER CERTIFICATE
The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected _______________________, of 2seventy bio, Inc. (“Company”), a Delaware corporation, does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement dated November 18, 2022 (the “Sales Agreement”) between the Company and Cowen and Company, LLC, that to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned.
(i) The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Change, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; and
(ii) The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.
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By: | ||||||||||||||
Name: | ||||||||||||||
Title: | ||||||||||||||
Date: | ||||||||||||||
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Exhibit 7(n)(i)
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Exhibit 7(q)
CFO Certificate
I, Chip Baird, Chief Financial Officer of 2seventy bio, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), pursuant to Section 7(q) of the Sales Agreement, dated November 18, 2022 by and between the Company and Cowen and Company, LLC (the “Agent”) (the “Sales Agreement”), hereby certify on behalf of the Company, and not in my individual capacity, that (capitalized terms used herein, but not otherwise defined herein, have the same respective meanings in this certificate as in the Sales Agreement):
1. I am the principal financial officer of the Company. I have responsibility for financial matters of the Company and am familiar with the accounting practices, policies, controls, operations and records systems of the Company.
2. I have participated in, and am responsible for overseeing, the Company’s accounting functions and the preparation of the Company’s financial statements as of December 31, 2021 and for the interim periods ended March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022.
3. In connection with the preparation of the Prospectus, I, or members of my staff who are responsible for the Company’s financial and accounting matters, have reviewed the circled items contained in or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus attached as Exhibit A hereto (the “Circled Information”) and have compared such Circled Information to the Company’s books and records, and found such Circled Information to be in agreement in all material respects. In addition, the Circled Information is true and correct in all material respects.
This certificate is being furnished to the Agent solely to assist the Agent in conducting and documenting its investigation of the affairs of the Company in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares covered by the Sales Agreement, and may be relied upon by the Agent solely for this purpose.
[Signature page to follow]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this Officer’s Certificate as of the first date written above.
2seventy bio, Inc. | ||
By______________________________ | ||
Name: Chip Baird | ||
Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||
Exhibit A
Circled Information
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Exhibit 5.1
Goodwin Procter LLP 100 Northern Avenue Boston, MA 02210 goodwinlaw.com +1 617 570 1000 | ||||||||
 | ||||||||
November 18, 2022 | ||||||||
2seventy bio, Inc.
60 Binney Street
Cambridge, MA 02210
Re: Securities Registered under Registration Statement on Form S-3
We have acted as counsel to you in connection with your filing of a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-268222) (as amended or supplemented, the “Registration Statement”) filed on November 7, 2022 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), relating to the registration of the offering by 2 seventy bio, Inc, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) of up to $400,000,000 of any combination of securities of the types specified therein. The Registration Statement was declared effective by the Commission on November 18, 2022. Reference is made to our opinion letter dated November 7, 2022 and included as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. We are delivering this supplemental opinion letter in connection with the prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”) filed on November 18, 2022 by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. The Prospectus Supplement relates to the offering by the Company of up to $150,000,000 in shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”) covered by the Registration Statement. The Shares are being offered and sold by the sales agent(s) named in, and pursuant to, distribution agreement(s) among the Company and such sales agent(s).
We have reviewed such documents and made such examination of law as we have deemed appropriate to give the opinion set forth below. We have relied, without independent verification, on certificates of public officials and, as to matters of fact material to the opinion set forth below, on certificates of officers of the Company.
For purposes of the opinion set forth below, we have assumed that the Shares are issued for a price per share equal to or greater than the minimum price authorized by the Company’s board of directors prior to the date hereof (the “Minimum Price”) and that no event occurs that causes the number of authorized shares of Common Stock available for issuance by the Company to be less than the number of then unissued Shares that may be issued for the Minimum Price.
For purposes of the opinion set forth below, we refer to the following as “Future Approval and Issuance”: (a) the approval by the Company’s board of directors (or a duly authorized committee of the board of directors) of the issuance of the Shares (the “Approval”) and (b) the issuance of the Shares in accordance with the Approval and the receipt by the
2seventy bio, Inc.
November 18, 2022
Page 2
Company of the consideration (which shall not be less than the par value of such Shares) to be paid in accordance with the Approval.
The opinion set forth below is limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Based on the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized and, upon Future Approval and Issuance, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
This opinion is being furnished to you for submission to the Commission as an exhibit to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K relating to the Shares (the “Current Report”), which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Current Report and its incorporation by reference and the reference to our firm in that report. In giving our consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| /s/ Goodwin Procter LLP | ||
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP | ||