DRS
As confidentially submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 6, 2026.
This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and all information herein remains strictly confidential.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware |
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45-2463191 |
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Avalyn Pharma Inc.
105 W First Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02127
(206) 707-0340
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Lyn Baranowski
Chief Executive Officer
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
105 W First Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02127
(206) 707-0340
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
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Mitchell S. Bloom Stephanie Richards Goodwin Procter LLP 100 Northern Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02210 (617) 570-1000 |
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Richard D. Truesdell, Jr. Yasin Keshvargar Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 450 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10017 (212) 450-4000 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after this registration statement becomes effective.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, check the following box: ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Emerging growth company |
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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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state or other jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
Subject to Completion, Dated , 2026
Shares

Common Stock
This is the initial public offering of shares of common stock of Avalyn Pharma Inc. We are offering shares of our common stock.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per share will be between $ and $ . We intend to apply to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “AVLN.” We believe that upon the completion of this offering, we will meet the standards for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, and the completion of this offering is contingent upon such listing.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws and, as such, we have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements in this prospectus. For additional information, see “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company.”
Investing in shares of our common stock involves a high degree of risk. See the section titled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 14 to read about factors you should consider before deciding to invest in shares of our common stock.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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(1)For additional information regarding compensation payable to the underwriters, see the section titled “Underwriting.”
We have granted the underwriters the option to purchase up to an additional shares of common stock from us, at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to % of the shares offered by this prospectus for sale, at the initial public offering price, to our directors, officers, certain employees and certain other persons associated with us. See the section “Underwriting—Directed Share Program.”
The underwriters expect to deliver the shares against payment on or about , 2026.
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Morgan Stanley |
Jefferies |
Evercore ISI |
Guggenheim Securities |
Prospectus dated , 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this prospectus to “Avalyn,” the “company,” “we,” “our,” “us” or similar terms refer to Avalyn Pharma Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, or either or both of them as the context may require.
Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide you any information or make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We and the underwriters are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or in any applicable free writing prospectus is current only as of its date, regardless of its time of delivery or any sale of shares of our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
For investors outside of the United States: we have not, and the underwriters have not, done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than the United States. Persons outside of the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of our common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.
We have rights to use one or more registered and common law trademarks, service marks and/or trade names in connection with our business in the United States, which may be used throughout this prospectus. This prospectus also includes trademarks, tradenames, and service marks of third parties which are the property of their respective owners. Our use or display of third-parties’ trademarks, service marks, tradenames or products in this prospectus and our other public filings is not intended to, and does not imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship by us. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, service marks, logos and trade names referred to in this prospectus and our other public filings may appear without the ®, TM or SM symbols, but the omission of such references is not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable owner of or licensor to these trademarks, service marks and trade names.
Market, Industry and Other Data
The market data and certain other statistical information used throughout this prospectus are based on independent industry publications, governmental publications, reports by market research firms, or other independent sources that we believe to be reliable sources. Industry publications and third-party research, surveys, and studies generally indicate that their information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. We are responsible for all of the disclosures contained in this prospectus, and we believe that these sources are reliable; however, we have not independently verified the information contained in such publications. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding any third-party information presented in this prospectus, their estimates, in particular, as they relate to projections, involve numerous assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. Some data are also based on our good faith estimates.
PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, we are omitting our audited financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and our unaudited financial statements as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2025 because they relate to historical periods that we believe will not be required to be included in the prospectus at the time of the contemplated offering. We intend to amend this registration statement to include all financial information required by Regulation S-X under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, at the date of such amendment before distributing a preliminary prospectus to investors.
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making your investment decision. Before investing in our common stock, you should carefully read this entire prospectus, including our financial statements and the related notes thereto and the information set forth under the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in each case included in this prospectus. Some of the statements in this prospectus constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” for additional information. Unless the context otherwise requires, we use the terms “Avalyn Pharma Inc.,” “Avalyn Pharma,” “Avalyn,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus to refer to Avalyn Pharma Inc.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering inhaled therapies to transform the treatment paradigm of serious, rare respiratory diseases with significant unmet needs. Our approach is designed to address the limitations of current oral therapies by delivering optimized inhaled formulations of approved oral medicines directly to the lungs to enhance efficacy and minimize systemic exposure that contributes to side effects and treatment discontinuation.
Our current pipeline is focused on treating pulmonary fibrosis, a life-threatening disease with a median survival of three to five years, which is a significantly shorter prognosis than that observed for many forms of cancer. Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by scarring of the lungs, which can lead to a decline in lung function, progressive shortness of breath, reduced quality of life, and increased mortality risk. There are currently three approved oral antifibrotic therapies for pulmonary fibrosis: pirfenidone, or ESBRIET®; nintedanib, or OFEV®; and nerandomilast, or JASCAYD®. While these oral antifibrotics slow fibrosis progression, none stop progression entirely. In addition, their use is frequently limited by tolerability challenges associated with their systemic delivery. Due to their side effects, around 50% of patients who start treatment with available therapies discontinue within one year. Despite limited use, ESBRIET® and OFEV® generated more than $4.0 billion in gross global sales in 2024.
Our most clinically advanced candidates, AP01 and AP02, are inhaled formulations of pirfenidone and nintedanib for the treatment of progressive pulmonary fibrosis, or PPF, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, respectively. We have completed ATLAS, a Phase 1b clinical trial of AP01 in patients with IPF. Patients from ATLAS transitioned into an ongoing open-label extension, or OLE, trial, along with compassionate-use cohorts of patients with IPF and PPF. We currently have over four and a half years of data demonstrating safety and clinical activity, including near-stabilization of lung function.
AP01 is currently being evaluated in MIST, a global Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of PPF. We have also completed Phase 1 trials of AP02 in healthy adult volunteers and patients with IPF. AP02 is currently being evaluated in AURA, a global Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of IPF. We are also advancing AP03 into a Phase 1 clinical trial. AP03 is a fixed-dose combination of inhaled pirfenidone and nintedanib designed to deliver dual antifibrotic mechanisms with the potential for additive or synergistic benefit.
We believe our inhaled therapies may offer improved tolerability and efficacy for long-term treatment. These programs are intentionally designed, leveraging our deep expertise in rare respiratory diseases, advanced inhaled drug formulation, and our exclusive license to customize the delivery device.
Our Approach to Transforming the Treatment Paradigm for Pulmonary Fibrosis
Interstitial lung diseases, or ILDs, are a heterogeneous group of rare pulmonary disorders, comprising over 200 distinct conditions, many of which lack approved or effective treatments. ILDs are characterized by varying degrees of inflammation, fibrosis, or both. These conditions impair gas exchange and patients’ quality of life, or QoL, by causing chronic breathlessness, fatigue, coughing, and reduced ability to perform daily activities.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a pathologic phenotype observed across a large subset of ILDs characterized by chronic injury, aberrant repair, and progressive, typically irreversible fibrosis and stiffening of lung tissue. Although different ILDs have distinct underlying etiologies, pathophysiology, and clinical courses, many forms of ILD can ultimately result in pulmonary fibrosis. Once pulmonary fibrosis develops, disease progression may continue even if the underlying cause of ILD is treated or removed. ILDs represent a significant global health burden, affecting about five million people worldwide and over 650,000 in the U.S. alone, of which approximately 300,000 have pulmonary fibrosis. The median survival of pulmonary fibrosis is three to five years, which is a significantly shorter prognosis than that observed for many forms of cancer.
There are two primary clinical forms of pulmonary fibrosis: IPF and PPF. IPF is an ILD of unknown etiology, affecting an estimated three million people worldwide and approximately 120,000 people in the U.S. PPF, by contrast, refers to ILDs with a known etiological factor, such as autoimmune disease or exposure to allergens, where a subset of patients develop a progressive pulmonary fibrotic phenotype. PPF represents a more prevalent form of pulmonary fibrosis, affecting an estimated six million people worldwide and approximately 180,000 people in the U.S.
Types of Interstitial Lung Disease

Sources: 1. Jeganathan et al., 2024; 2. Avalyn Market Research; 3. Olson et al., 2021.
PPF, previously referred to as Progressive Fibrosing ILD (PF-ILD)
Current standard of care oral antifibrotic therapies slow, but do not halt nor reverse, disease progression. As a result, current oral antifibrotic therapies expose patients to chronic systemic drug exposure without directly targeting the site of disease, contributing to significant limitations including safety concerns and tolerability issues. We believe we may be able to address these limitations through the development of optimized inhaled formulations of established oral antifibrotic agents. By delivering drugs directly to the lungs, our approach is designed to fundamentally improve the benefit-risk profile of antifibrotic therapy by achieving higher drug concentration at the site of disease while substantially reducing systemic exposure. We believe this lung-targeted delivery strategy enables sustained long-term treatment, addressing key limitations of existing systemic therapies and supporting better treatment adherence and long-term disease management for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
The change we aim to make in the treatment paradigm of pulmonary fibrosis and other ILDs parallels the decades-long evolution seen in the treatment of asthma and COPD. In those diseases, treatments advanced through successive innovations, moving from broad, systemic oral therapies to targeted inhaled treatments, and ultimately to combination inhalers. We see a similar opportunity in pulmonary fibrosis, where the field still relies on oral antifibrotics today. Our programs are designed to drive a similar evolution, first by shifting treatment toward inhaled, lung-targeted formulations of existing antifibrotics that aim to improve safety and efficacy. We aspire to deliver inhaled therapies that combine complementary mechanisms into a single device for even greater therapeutic impact.
Importantly, most investigational therapies for pulmonary fibrosis, including those targeting novel biological pathways, are in development as potential add-on systemic treatments to existing oral antifibrotics. Given we are developing inhaled formulations of these background standard-of-care antifibrotics, we believe our product candidates could be used as standalone therapies or in combination with other approved medicines. The commercial performance of current oral treatments is limited by their suboptimal benefit-risk profile, highlighting a significant unmet medical need. This gap creates a substantial commercial opportunity for therapies like our product candidates, which aim to preserve lung function while offering a more favorable tolerability profile.
Our Pipeline
Our wholly owned pipeline is summarized below:

AP01 (Inhaled Pirfenidone)
Our wholly owned product candidate, AP01, is an optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone that we are advancing as a treatment for PPF. AP01 has demonstrated encouraging safety and clinical activity in ATLAS, a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with IPF, and an OLE trial in IPF and PPF patients, which has supported development in PPF. ATLAS was a randomized, open-label trial comparing AP01 50 mg once-daily, or QD, and AP01 100 mg twice-daily, or BID. Both dose regimens showed lowered rates of side effects commonly associated with oral pirfenidone, including gastrointestinal, or GI, toxicities and liver enzyme elevations, compared to historical data with the oral product. At 48 weeks, the high-dose AP01 achieved near stabilization of lung function, as measured by forced vital capacity, or FVC. In addition, analyses of high-resolution computed tomography, or HRCT, imaging indicated fibrosis stabilization or improvement in over 70% of patients evaluated, with reduced lung scarring and improved lung volume, suggesting a potential disease-modifying effect.
An ongoing OLE trial of AP01 has further supported its long-term safety and the potential to stabilize lung function decline. Patients from ATLAS transitioned into the OLE trial with AP01 100 mg BID treatment, along with
compassionate-use cohorts of patients with IPF and PPF. Long-term data show consistent safety and FVC trends as ATLAS. The OLE trial has now been underway for more than four and a half years, with 23 patients continuing to receive AP01 100 mg BID treatment. Many of these patients are surpassing six years post-diagnosis, exceeding the three to five years median survival for patients with pulmonary fibrosis after diagnosis.
These results supported our initiation of MIST, a global, randomized, 52-week Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating AP01 in PPF. We strategically selected PPF for Phase 2b development based on the clinical activity and observed anatomical changes seen with AP01; the higher global prevalence of PPF, which is nearly double that of IPF; and a potentially more efficient development and regulatory path. MIST enrollment is ongoing, with initial data expected in .
AP02 (Inhaled Nintedanib)
AP02, our inhaled formulation of nintedanib, has completed a Phase 1 single-ascending dose, or SAD, trial in healthy volunteers and patients with IPF and a Phase 1 SAD and multiple-ascending dose, or MAD, trial in healthy volunteers. AP02 was generally well-tolerated following single doses and throughout 7 days BID, up to the highest dose of 8 mg BID. AP02 also showed favorable pharmacokinetic, or PK, properties, notably no difference in systemic exposure between healthy volunteers and IPF patients, and an increase in pulmonary exposure and significantly lower systemic exposure with AP02 compared to oral nintedanib, supporting its targeted lung delivery. Based on these data, we initiated AURA, a global Phase 2 clinical trial of AP02 in patients with IPF. Data from AURA is expected .
AP03 (Inhaled Fixed-Dose Combination of Pirfenidone and Nintedanib)
Combination therapies targeting multiple mechanisms are well established in other chronic lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. We designed AP03 as a fixed-dose combination of inhaled pirfenidone and inhaled nintedanib, leveraging the two complementary antifibrotic mechanisms of action that have shown signals of enhanced efficacy in pulmonary fibrosis, but have been historically limited by overlapping systemic toxicities. A historical, independent clinical trial in IPF demonstrated that combined use of oral pirfenidone and oral nintedanib exhibit potential for additive or even synergistic effects, improving lung function decline more than monotherapy. However, the challenging systemic side effects have limited the clinical feasibility of oral combination, given the overlapping adverse event, or AE, profiles of nintedanib and pirfenidone. We believe that delivering both molecules via inhalation has the potential to be transformative in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, where treatment options remain limited. AP03 reflects our initial effort to advance the treatment algorithm in pulmonary fibrosis. We are advancing manufacturing activities through a CMO for AP03. Pending alignment with regulatory authorities, we plan to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of AP03 as an inhaled fixed-dose combination in .
Our Lung-Targeted Inhalation Delivery Method
Our pipeline benefits from an exclusive license to PARI Technology Services’, or PARI’s, eRapid® Nebulizer System with eFlow® Technology for their delivery. PARI’s eFlow® Technology nebulizers are clinically and commercially validated, with five drug-device combinations products using their nebulizers approved by regulatory authorities in North America, Europe, and Japan, including LAMIRA® for ARIKAYCE® and ALTERA® for CAYSTON®. Our PARI exclusivity offers a key competitive advantage, as we are not taking any incremental device risk and the proprietary device would be included in any potential product labels approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, and other foreign regulatory authorities.
We have chosen nebulized delivery for our current programs, as we believe it offers the best solution for patients with pulmonary fibrosis, who often suffer from chronic cough and compromised lung function. Nebulized formulation produces a soft, gentle mist that allows for normal tidal breathing without requiring forceful inhalation. This minimizes cough induction and improves usability for the vast majority of patients. In contrast, other approaches like dry powder inhalers, or DPIs, require a powder formulation that is aerosolized through the device and depend on patients initiating a deep, vigorous inhalation to deliver the dose. Such inhalation can trigger cough, and if the patient coughs
immediately afterward, much of the drug may be expelled, reducing efficacy. While a segment of the population with pulmonary fibrosis could successfully use a DPI, the size of that segment remains uncertain. We believe that nebulization offers a more reliable and patient-friendly solution.
By advancing a portfolio of optimized inhaled therapies, we aim to deliver transformative, patient-centered treatment solutions for pulmonary fibrosis and other ILDs, setting a new standard of care for these underserved populations.
Our Strategy
Our mission is to transform the lives of patients with serious, rare respiratory diseases through innovative inhaled therapies, beginning with pulmonary fibrosis. To achieve our mission, we are focused on the following strategic priorities:
•Continue to rapidly advance AP01, our optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone, through late-stage clinical development for the treatment of PPF.
•Efficiently progress clinical development of AP02, our optimized inhaled formulation of nintedanib, for the treatment of IPF.
•Unlock the potential of combination therapy with AP03, our first-in-kind inhaled fixed-dose combination therapy.
•Maintain our competitive advantage through proprietary drug-device combinations and intellectual property.
•Establish Avalyn as a leader in developing and delivering transformative therapies to patients suffering from a broad range of rare pulmonary diseases.
We believe in the value our approach could unlock and are committed to growing into a company fully capable of realizing that potential opportunity.
Our Team
We have a seasoned leadership team with deep experience in developing and commercializing respiratory medicines and inhaled therapeutics. Collectively, our team members have played key roles in the development, regulatory review, and commercial launches of several respiratory and inhaled therapeutics, including ESBRIET®, OFEV®, JASCAYD®, BREZTRI®, BEVESPI®, XOLAIR®, TOBI®, and BAXDELA®. Lyn Baranowski, our Chief Executive Officer, has over 20 years of experience in biopharmaceuticals and venture capital, with a significant focus on the immunology and respiratory therapeutic areas. Ms. Baranowski most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Altavant Sciences, or Altavant, overseeing development of therapies for rare respiratory diseases and culminating in the company’s acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon in 2019. Prior to Altavant, she served as Vice President of Commercial Development at Pearl Therapeutics, which successfully developed a portfolio of inhaled respiratory medicines that led to its $1.15 billion acquisition by AstraZeneca. Douglas Carlson, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer, has more than 23 years of corporate finance, M&A, business development and commercial experience in public and private biopharma companies. He was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Avenge Bio and Ikena Oncology, and prior to that, held senior positions at Collegium Pharmaceutical, BTG plc (acquired by Boston Scientific) and Lundbeck Inc. (formerly Ovation Pharmaceuticals, acquired by H. Lundbeck A/S). Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., our Chief Operating Officer, previously held leadership roles at Kriya Therapeutics, Aerami Therapeutics, and Altavant, focusing on the development of inhaled therapies. Howard Lazarus, M.D., FCCP, our Chief Medical Officer, is a board-certified pulmonary and critical care physician with more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical and academic experience. He was Chief Medical Officer of Altavant, and, prior to that, was a key contributor to the development of OFEV® for its non-IPF ILD indications at Boehringer Ingelheim and contributed to the development of Gilead’s PAH and IPF portfolios.
Since our inception, we have raised approximately $389 million in equity capital from a syndicate of premier investors in healthcare and life sciences, including Novo Holdings A/S; SR One; F-Prime; Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds; Norwest Venture Funds; Eventide Asset Management; Wellington Management; Vida Ventures; Catalio Capital Management; RiverVest Venture Partners; Pivotal bioVenture Partners; TPG Biotech; Suvretta Capital Management; Hamilton Square Partners Management; Rock Springs Capital; Surveyor Capital (a Citadel Company); funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.; and Piper Heartland. Potential investors should not consider investments made by our existing investors as a factor when making a decision to purchase shares in this offering since our existing investors likely have different risk tolerances and paid significantly less per share than the price at which the shares are being offered in this offering.
Summary of Risks Associated With Our Business
Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making an investment decision. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
•We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and have incurred significant operating losses since inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future. Our net losses were $ million and $49.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $ million and $180.2 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We may never achieve or maintain profitability.
•Even if this offering is successful, we will need substantial additional funding. We may be unable to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, and, as a result, we may be required to delay, reduce, or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.
•We are substantially dependent on the success of our lead candidates, AP01 and AP02. If we are unable to advance such product candidates into later-stage clinical development or unable to obtain regulatory approval and commercialize a therapy for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, or PF, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.
•We are early in our development efforts. If we are unable to successfully develop, receive regulatory approval for and commercialize any product candidate or successfully develop any other product candidate or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be substantially harmed.
•We have not yet completed all testing of any product candidate in clinical trials. Preclinical, interim, topline and preliminary results from our preclinical studies or clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of the results or analyses of such results of later clinical trials. If we cannot replicate the positive results from any preclinical studies or clinical trials of our current or potential future product candidates that have positive results, or if we suffer any other significant setbacks in our later clinical trials, we may be unable to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our current or potential future product candidates.
•Targeting PF with inhaled formulations of antifibrotic therapies is novel, and we do not know whether we will be able to successfully develop any inhaled products.
•Our preclinical studies and clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, or serious or unacceptable adverse side effects or unexpected toxicology findings may be identified during the development of our product candidates, which could prevent or delay further clinical development, regulatory approvals and commercialization, impact the product’s labeling, if approved, increase our costs or necessitate the abandonment or limitation of the development of some of our product candidates.
•We may incur additional costs and experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
•We intend to deliver AP01 and AP02 and our other product candidates via a drug delivery device that will have its own regulatory, development, supply and other risks.
•If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment and/or retention of patients in clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected, and our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.
•The results of clinical trials conducted at clinical trial sites outside the U.S. might not be accepted by the FDA, and data developed outside of a foreign jurisdiction similarly might not be accepted by such foreign regulatory authority.
•We are dependent on licensed intellectual property rights pursuant to the PARI Agreement relating to the PARI eFlow® Technology and eRapid® Nebulizer System, and we may in the future enter into additional intellectual property licensing agreements on which we could similarly become dependent. If we were to lose our rights to licensed intellectual property, we may not be able to continue developing or commercializing our product candidates, if approved, on the intended timeline. If we breach the PARI Agreement or any other future agreements in which we license the use, development and commercialization rights to our product candidates from third parties or, in certain cases, we fail to meet certain deadlines, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
•We may seek to establish collaborations, license agreements and other similar arrangements with third parties for the development or commercialization of our product candidates. If we are not able to establish them on commercially reasonable terms, or if those arrangements are not successful, we may have to alter our development and commercialization plans.
•We face substantial competition and we may not be able to compete successfully in this environment.
•Even if any of our product candidates receive marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
•The market for our product candidates may be smaller than we estimate.
•We may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
•There has been no prior public market for our common stock. An active trading market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained.
•If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for any products we develop and for our technology, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors or other third parties could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to commercialize any product candidates we may develop, and our technology may be adversely affected.
The summary risk factors described above should be read together with the text of the full risk factors in the section titled “Risk Factors” and the other information set forth in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes, as well as in other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. The risks summarized above or described in full elsewhere in this prospectus are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future growth prospects.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware as Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in May 2011 and changed our name to Avalyn Pharma Inc. in July 2017. Our principal executive offices are located at 105 W. First Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02127, and our telephone number is 206-707-0340. We have one subsidiary, Avalyn Pharma Pty Ltd, formed in August 2017 under the laws of Australia. Our website address is www.avalynpharma.com. The information contained in or accessible from our website is not incorporated into this prospectus, and you should not consider it part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:
•being permitted to present only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure in this prospectus;
•reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;
•not being required to hold advisory votes on executive compensation or to obtain stockholder approval of any golden parachute arrangements not previously approved;
•an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and
•an exemption from compliance with the requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor’s report on the financial statements.
We may remain an emerging growth company for up to five years from the date of the first sale in this offering. We would cease to be an emerging growth company on the date that is the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.235 billion or more; (ii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the completion of this offering; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these exemptions. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different from the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock. Additionally, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption and, therefore, while we are an emerging growth company we may not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time that they become applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result of this election, our financial statements
may not be comparable to those of other public companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. We have in the past chosen and may in the future choose to early adopt any new or revised accounting standards whenever such early adoptions is permitted for private companies.
We are also a “smaller reporting company,” meaning that the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates plus the proposed aggregate amount of gross proceeds to us as a result of this offering is less than $700 million and our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company after this offering if either (i) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company, we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.
THE OFFERING
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Common stock offered by us |
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shares |
Option to purchase additional shares of common stock offered by us |
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We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to additional shares of common stock from us at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions on the same terms as set forth in this prospectus. |
Common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering |
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shares (or shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of common stock in full) |
Use of proceeds |
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We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of common stock in full), based on the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We currently intend to use the net proceeds we receive from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to fund the continued development of AP01 and AP02, our two clinical stage programs, and AP03, our preclinical stage program, as well as to fund research and development activities for additional programs, and the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes. For additional information, see the section titled “Use of Proceeds.” |
Directed share program |
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At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to % of the shares of common stock being offered by this prospectus for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, certain employees and certain other persons associated with us. The sales will be made by , an underwriter of this offering, through a directed share program. We do not know if these persons will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved shares, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of shares of common stock available to the general public. Any reserved shares not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other shares of common stock. Except for reserved shares purchased by our executive officers and directors, these reserved shares will not be subject to the lock-up restrictions described elsewhere in this prospectus. For additional information, see the section titled “Underwriting—Directed Share Program.” |
Risk factors |
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For a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding whether to invest in our common stock, see the section titled “Risk Factors.” |
Proposed Nasdaq Global Market trading symbol |
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“AVLN” |
Unless otherwise noted, the number of shares of our common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025, after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of shares of common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering, or the Preferred Stock Conversion, and excludes:
• shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2025 under our 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2012 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share;
• shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2025 under our 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2022 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share and shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options granted after December 31, 2025 pursuant to our 2022 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share;
•4,287,641 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025, which warrant shall become exercisable upon completion of the offering, with an exercise price of $0.29 per share;
•432,939 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase shares of common stock issued subsequent to December 31, 2025, with an exercise price of $0.51 per share;
• shares of common stock reserved for future issuance as of December 31, 2025 under the 2022 Plan, which will cease to be available for issuance at the time that our 2026 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, or the 2026 Plan, becomes effective;
• shares of our common stock that will become available for future issuance under our 2026 Plan, which will become effective on the date immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the 2026 Plan and any shares underlying outstanding stock awards granted under the 2012 Plan and 2022 Plan that expire or are repurchased, forfeited, cancelled, or withheld; and
• shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2026 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or the ESPP, which will become effective on the date immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the ESPP.
Unless otherwise indicated, the information in this prospectus reflects or assumes the following:
•a 1-for- stock split of our common stock, which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering;
•the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of shares of common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering;
•no exercise of the outstanding stock options or warrants described above after December 31, 2025;
•no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional shares of common stock in this offering;
•no purchases by existing stockholders or their affiliates pursuant to the directed share program; and
•the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation immediately prior to the completion of this offering and the adoption of our amended and restated bylaws to be in effect upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
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Year Ended December 31, |
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2025 |
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2024 |
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(in thousands, except for share and per share data) |
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Statements of Operations Data: |
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Operating expenses: |
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Research and development |
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$ |
45,759 |
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General and administrative |
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11,362 |
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Total operating expenses |
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57,121 |
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Loss from operations |
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(57,121 |
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Other income (Expense): |
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7,377 |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(49,744 |
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Net loss per share, basic and diluted(1) |
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$ |
(9.57 |
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Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic and diluted(1) |
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5,197,971 |
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Pro forma net loss per share, basic and diluted (unaudited)(2) |
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Pro forma weighted average shares of common stock outstanding, basic and diluted (unaudited)(2) |
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(1)See Note 2 and Note 13 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for an explanation of the method used to calculate historical net loss attributable to common stockholders per share, basic and diluted, and the weighted-average number of shares of common stock used in the computation of the per share amounts.
(2)Unaudited pro forma net loss per share, basic and diluted, attributable to common stockholders, is calculated giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into shares of our common stock. Unaudited pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders does not include the shares expected to be sold and related proceeds to be received in this offering. Unaudited pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders for the year ended December 31, 2024 was calculated using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding as of such date, including the pro forma effect of the conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into shares of our common stock, as if such conversion had occurred at the beginning of the period, or their issuance dates, if later.
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December 31, 2025 |
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Actual |
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Pro Forma(1) |
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Pro Forma As Adjusted(2) |
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(in thousands, except for share data) |
Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities |
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Working capital(3) |
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Total assets |
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Total liabilities |
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Convertible preferred stock |
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Accumulated deficit |
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Total stockholders’ (deficit) equity |
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(1)Pro forma amounts give effect to the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of shares of our common stock and the related reclassification of the carrying value of the convertible preferred stock to permanent equity immediately prior to the closing of this offering.
(2)Pro forma as adjusted amounts give effect to (i) the pro forma adjustments set forth in footnote (1) above and (ii) the issuance and sale of shares of our common stock in this offering at the initial public offering price of $ per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share would increase or decrease, as applicable, the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, working capital, total assets and total stockholders’ (deficit) equity by approximately $ million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each increase or decrease of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares offered by us at the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share would increase or decrease, as applicable, the pro forma as adjusted amounts of each of our cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities, working capital, total assets and total stockholders’ (deficit) equity by approximately $ million, assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price per share, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
(3)We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities. See our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus for further details regarding our current assets and current liabilities.
RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as the other information in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” before deciding whether to invest in our common stock. The risks described below are not the only ones facing us. The following risks or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. In such an event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial that also may impair our business operations. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks and uncertainties described below.
Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Need for Additional Capital
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and have incurred significant operating losses since inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future. Our net losses were $ million and $49.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $ million and $180.2 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We may never achieve or maintain profitability.
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and have incurred operating losses in each year since our inception. Our net losses were $ million and $49.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $ million and $180.2 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Substantially all of our operating losses have resulted from costs incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations. Our prior losses, combined with expected future losses, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ deficit and working capital.
Since our inception in 2011, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to the development of our product candidates, the continuation of ongoing clinical trials, the commencement of new clinical trials and ongoing manufacturing to support our product candidates. Biopharmaceutical product development is a highly speculative undertaking and involves a substantial degree of risk. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to conduct later-stage clinical trials, obtain regulatory approval, manufacture any product on a commercial scale or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization, and there is no assurance that we will accomplish any of these abilities in the future. Our operating history makes any assessment of our future success and viability subject to significant uncertainty. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we will incur significant sales, marketing, and manufacturing expenses. Once we are a public company, we will incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company. As a result, we expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when we will become profitable, if at all. Even if we become profitable, we may not be able to sustain or increase our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.
The amount of our future losses is uncertain, and our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly or may fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, each of which may cause our stock price to fluctuate or decline. Our operating losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and from year to year. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if, and as, we:
•continue to advance clinical development of our lead candidates, AP01 (inhaled pirfenidone), or AP01, and AP02 (inhaled nintedanib), or AP02, and our other current and future product candidates, including conducting our ongoing clinical trials;
•continue to advance our research and preclinical activities and seek to discover and develop additional product candidates;
•continue to utilize third parties to manufacture our product candidates and ensure sufficient supply of our manufacturing of drug substances, drug products and related medical devices;
•continue to develop, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio (including intellectual property obtained through license agreements) and provide reimbursement of third-party expenses related to our patent portfolio;
•attract, hire and retain additional qualified personnel;
•seek regulatory approvals for any current or future product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;
•make any potential milestones, royalties or other payments due under any current or future in-license, collaboration or other agreements;
•undertake any pre-commercial activities and scale up external commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities;
•ultimately establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any product candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval;
•add additional operational, financial, clinical, quality and management information systems; and
•incur additional audit, legal, regulatory, tax and other expenses with being a public company.
We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue.
Given the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, it is not certain if any of our current or future product candidates will advance through late-stage development or be approved for commercial sale; therefore, we are unable to predict if or when we will generate product revenue or achieve or maintain profitability.
Even if we successfully complete development and obtain the necessary regulatory approval for commercialization for any of our product candidates, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with launching and commercializing such products. If we fail to become profitable or do not sustain profitability on a continuing basis, we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or cease operations.
Even if this offering is successful, we will need substantial additional funding. We may be unable to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, and, as a result, we may be required to delay, reduce, or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. Identifying potential product candidates and conducting preclinical testing and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain regulatory approvals and achieve product sales. We expect to continue to incur significant and increasing expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we initiate and conduct clinical trials of our current and future product candidates, scale-up and manufacture our product candidates, advance our preclinical programs, seek marketing and regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials and commercialize our products, if approved. Because the outcome of any clinical trial or preclinical study is highly uncertain, we cannot reliably estimate the actual amount of financing necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of any of our product candidates.
We believe that the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, will be sufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital requirements into . This estimate is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we expect. Changes may occur beyond our control that would cause us to consume our available capital before that time, including but not limited to changes in progress of our development activities, acquisitions of additional product candidates, and changes in regulation. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
•the scope, timing, progress, costs, complexity and results of discovery, preclinical development and clinical trials for our current or future product candidates, including our ongoing clinical trials of our lead candidates, AP01 and AP02;
•the number of clinical trials required for regulatory approvals of our current or future product candidates;
•the extent to which we develop, in-license or acquire other product candidates in our pipeline;
•the costs and timing of process development and manufacturing scale-up activities associated with our product candidates and other programs as we advance them through preclinical and clinical development and, if approved, commercialization;
•the number and development requirements of product candidates that we may pursue;
•the timing and amount of the milestone, royalty or other payments we must make to PARI, pursuant to the PARI License Agreement (as defined below), and any other third parties;
•the timing and amount of royalty payments we must make pursuant to the terms of a confidential settlement agreement;
•the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates;
•our headcount growth and associated costs as we expand our research and development capabilities and establish a commercial infrastructure;
•the costs and timing of future commercialization activities, including product manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval;
•the costs and timing of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending any intellectual property-related claims;
•our ability to achieve sufficient market acceptance, coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors (or patients’ willingness to pay out-of-pocket for any approved products in the absence of such coverage) and adequate market share and revenue for any approved products;
•the revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of any product candidates for which we receive marketing approval;
•the effect of macroeconomic trends including inflation, tariffs and interest rates;
•addressing any potential supply chain interruptions or delays, which may be due in part to international tariffs; and
•the costs of operating as a public company.
We will require additional capital to achieve our business objectives. Additional funds may not be available on a timely basis, on favorable terms or at all, and such funds, if raised, may not be sufficient to enable us to continue implementing our long-term business strategy. Further, our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by global economic conditions and disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States, or the U.S., and worldwide resulting from factors that include but are not limited to, inflation, tariffs, global conflicts, diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, uncertainty about economic stability and other factors. If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult to obtain, more costly
and more dilutive. If we are unable to raise sufficient additional capital, we could be forced to curtail our planned operations and the pursuit of our growth strategy, or even cease operations.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, including purchasers of our common stock in this offering, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our product candidates.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenues from product sales, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings or other capital sources, such as grants, collaborations, licenses or other similar arrangements. We do not currently have any committed external source of funds other than the $30 million loan facility. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Debt financing and preferred equity financing may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt or making capital expenditures. Such restrictions could adversely impact our ability to conduct our operations and execute our business plan. If we raise additional funds through grants, collaborations, licenses or other similar arrangements with third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams, intellectual property or product candidates, grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us and/or that may reduce the value of our common stock or commit us to future payment streams. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed or on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves, or on less favorable terms than we would otherwise choose.
We maintain the majority of our cash and cash equivalents in accounts with major U.S. and multi-national financial institutions, and our deposits at certain of these institutions exceed insured limits. Market conditions and changes in financial regulations and policies can impact the viability of these institutions. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we would be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all. Any inability to access or delay in accessing these funds could adversely affect our business and financial position. In addition, changes in regulations governing financial institutions are beyond our control and difficult to predict; consequently, the impact of such changes on our business and results of operations is difficult to predict and may have an adverse effect on us.
The terms of our loan and security agreement place restrictions on our operating and financial flexibility. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, the terms of any new debt could further restrict our ability to operate our business.
Our Loan and Security Agreement, or LSA, with Banc of California provides us with up to $30.0 million of borrowing capacity. Our overall leverage, certain obligations and affirmative and negative covenants contained in the related documentation could adversely affect our financial health and business and future operations by limiting our ability to, among other things, satisfy our obligations under the LSA, refinance our debt on terms acceptable to us or at all, plan for and adjust to changing business, industry and market conditions, use our available cash flow to fund future acquisitions and make dividend payments, and obtain additional financing for working capital, to fund growth or for general corporate purposes, even when necessary to maintain adequate liquidity. With certain exceptions, the LSA prohibits us from taking certain actions without Banc of California’s prior consent, including, but not limited to any material transfers of our assets, changes in our business, management, directorship (in certain circumstances), ownership, or business locations; certain mergers or consolidations; incurring any indebtedness, other than permitted indebtedness; granting or permitting liens against our assets, other than permitted liens; making certain capitalized expenditures; entering into any material transaction with any affiliate, other than in the ordinary course of business; or making any payments in respect of any subordinated debt.
We intend to satisfy our current and future debt service obligations with our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments and funds from external sources. However, we may not have sufficient funds or may be unable to arrange for additional financing to pay the amounts due under our existing debt. Funds from external sources may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Additionally, if we raise any additional debt financing, the terms of such additional debt could further restrict our operating and financial flexibility. In the event of an acceleration of amounts
due as a result of an event of default, we may not have sufficient funds and may be unable to arrange for additional financing to repay our indebtedness, and our lender could seek to enforce security interests in the collateral securing such indebtedness. Any declaration by the lender of an event of default could significantly harm our business and prospects and could cause the price of our common stock to decline. Further, if we are liquidated, the lenders’ right to repayment would be senior to the rights of the holders of our common stock to receive any proceeds from the liquidation.
Risks Related to the Discovery and Development of Our Product Candidates
We are substantially dependent on the success of our lead candidates, AP01 and AP02. If we are unable to advance such product candidates into later-stage clinical development or unable to obtain regulatory approval and commercialize a therapy for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, or PF, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.
To date, as an organization, we have not completed the development of any product candidates. We are substantially dependent on the success of at least one of our product candidates, including AP01, which is currently in Phase 2b clinical development for the treatment of PPF and AP02, which is currently in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of IPF.
The success of AP01, AP02, and our other current and any future product candidates will depend on several factors, including the following:
•successful and timely initiation and enrollment of clinical trials and completion of clinical trials with favorable results;
•the safety, tolerability and PK profile of our product candidates observed in clinical trials;
•acceptance of regulatory submissions by the FDA and/or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for the conduct of clinical trials of our product candidates;
•the frequency and severity of adverse safety findings in nonclinical studies and AEs in clinical trials;
•timely and successful completion of preclinical studies, including toxicology studies and in vitro dose projection studies in animals, where applicable;
•acceptance of our products, if approved, by PF patients, the medical community and third-party payors, and their perspective on the cost, safety, tolerability and efficacy and perceived advantages of alternative therapies for PF, including the current standard of care;
•maintaining relationships with contract research organizations, or CROs, and clinical sites for the clinical development of our product candidates and ability of such CROs and clinical sites to comply with clinical trial protocols, Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs, and other applicable requirements;
•demonstrating the safety and efficacy of our product candidates to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities;
•receipt and maintenance of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities for our initial target indication and label expansions to include new populations;
•maintaining relationships with our third-party manufacturers and their ability to comply with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs, as well as making arrangements with our third-party manufacturers for commercial manufacturing capabilities at a cost and scale sufficient to support commercialization;
•establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities and launching commercial sales of our product candidates, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;
•obtaining, establishing, maintaining and enforcing patent and any potential trade secret protection or regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates;
•maintaining our arrangement with PARI pursuant to the PARI License Agreement for the exclusive license to PARI’s eFlow® Technology and eRapid® Nebulizer System;
•maintaining an acceptable safety profile of our product candidates following regulatory approvals, if any;
•the sufficiency of our financial resources to fund our operations; and
•maintaining and growing an organization of people who can develop and, if approved, commercialize, market and sell our current or future product candidates.
If we are unable to develop, receive marketing approval for and successfully commercialize our product candidates, or if we experience delays as a result of any of the above factors or otherwise, our business would be significantly harmed.
We are early in our development efforts. If we are unable to successfully develop, receive regulatory approval for and commercialize any product candidate or successfully develop any other product candidate or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be substantially harmed.
We are early in our development efforts. Each of our product candidates will require additional preclinical and/or clinical development, regulatory approval, obtaining manufacturing supply, capacity and expertise, building a commercial organization or successfully outsourcing commercialization, substantial investment and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales.
Our assumptions about the development potential of AP01 and AP02 are based on the data generated from our clinical trials and from preclinical studies. We may also observe materially and adversely different safety results as we continue to conduct our clinical trials.
Our product candidates will require substantial additional investment, clinical development, regulatory review, approval in one or more jurisdictions and significant marketing efforts before we could generate any revenue from product sales, if ever. Given our stage of development, it will take additional clinical development before we can demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a product candidate sufficient to warrant approval for commercialization, if we can do so at all.
We do not have complete control over many of these factors, including certain aspects of clinical development and the regulatory submission process, potential threats to our intellectual property rights and the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales efforts of any future collaborator. If we are not successful with respect to one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize the product candidates we develop, which would materially harm our business. If we do not receive marketing approvals for our product candidates or any future product candidate we develop or if we experience delays in such approvals, we may not be able to continue our operations.
Further, conducting clinical trials in foreign countries, as we are currently doing, presents additional risks that may delay completion of our clinical trials. These risks include the failure of enrolled patients in foreign countries to adhere to clinical protocol as a result of differences in healthcare services or cultural customs, failure to properly translate or interpret patient-reported outcome endpoints, managing additional administrative burdens associated with foreign regulatory schemes as well as political and economic risks relevant to such foreign countries.
The foregoing makes our ability to successfully and timely complete development of our product candidates and obtain regulatory approval for them less certain. If we are unable to develop, or obtain marketing approval for, or, if approved, successfully commercialize our product candidates, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially harmed.
Additional time may be required to obtain marketing authorizations for product candidates that we develop as drug-device combination products.
Our nebulizer-delivered product candidates, AP01 and AP02, are subject to combination product development and approval regulatory requirements. Development of a product candidate as a combination product candidate requires close coordination with the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for review of each of the drug
and device components that comprise the product. Although the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have or may have systems in place for the review and approval of such combination products, we may experience additional delays in the development and commercialization of such product candidates due to regulatory timing constraints and uncertainties in the product development and approval process.
The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, European Medicines Agency, or EMA, and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable. If we are not able to obtain the required regulatory approval for any product candidate, our business will be substantially harmed.
We are not permitted to market, commercialize, sell or promote any product candidate in the U.S. until we receive regulatory approval of a new drug application, or NDA, for such product candidate in a specific indication from the FDA. Our business is dependent on our ability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development of, obtain regulatory approval for, and, if approved, successfully commercialize our product candidates and any future product candidates in a timely manner. The time required to obtain approval or other marketing authorizations by the FDA and comparable foreign authorities is unpredictable, and it typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations and the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any product candidate, and it is possible that we may never obtain regulatory approval for any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future.
Prior to obtaining approval to commercialize any product candidate in the U.S. or abroad, we must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials, to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, that such product candidates are safe and effective for their intended uses. Results from preclinical studies and clinical trials can be interpreted in different ways. Even if we believe the preclinical or clinical data for our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities. The FDA may also require us to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials for our product candidates either prior to or after approval, or it may object to elements of our clinical development programs. For example, in July 2025, the FDA commented on AP02 findings considered to be non-adverse and/or species specific in a rat toxicology study ahead of IND submission. Due to this, we proceeded to initiate our Phase 2 clinical trial outside of the United States and intend to submit such IND with the safety and efficacy clinical data from our Phase 2 trial, if successful, to potentially enable future FDA IND clearance.
Our current and future product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree as to the design or implementation of our clinical trials and interpretation of data from clinical trials or preclinical studies;
•we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate is safe and effective for its proposed indication;
•the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for approval;
•we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;
•the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of an NDA to the FDA or other submission to obtain regulatory approval in the European Union or elsewhere;
•the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may find deficiencies with or fail to accept device validation data or to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and
•the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.
Of the large number of products in development, only a small percentage successfully complete the FDA or foreign regulatory approval processes and are commercialized. The lengthy approval and marketing authorization process as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The FDA, EMA and comparable foreign authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and determining when or whether regulatory approval will be granted for any product candidate that we develop. The U.S. Supreme Court’s July 2024 decision to overturn prior established case law giving deference to regulatory agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutory language has introduced uncertainty regarding the extent to which the FDA’s regulations, policies and decisions may become subject to increasing legal challenges, delays or changes. Even if we believe the data collected from future clinical trials of our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA, EMA or any other regulatory authority.
Even if we complete clinical testing and receive approval of a NDA or foreign marketing application for our current or future product candidates, the FDA, EMA or the applicable foreign regulatory agency may grant approval or other marketing authorization contingent on the performance of costly additional clinical trials, including post-marketing clinical trials. The FDA, EMA or the applicable foreign regulatory agency also may approve or authorize for marketing a product candidate for a more limited indication or patient population than we originally request, and the FDA, EMA or applicable foreign regulatory authority may not approve or authorize the labeling that we believe is necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of a product candidate. Any delay in obtaining, or inability to obtain, applicable regulatory approval or other marketing authorization, or failure to obtain our desired product label, would delay or prevent commercialization of that product candidate and would materially adversely impact our business and prospects.
In addition, the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities may change their policies, issue additional regulations or revise existing regulations or take other actions, which may prevent or delay approval of our future product candidates under development on a timely basis. Such policy or regulatory changes could impose additional requirements upon us that could delay our ability to obtain approvals, increase the costs of compliance or restrict our ability to maintain any marketing authorizations we may have obtained. Further, macroeconomic and other global conditions have impacted and could in the future impact the ability of the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities to provide any required approvals or marketing authorizations for our product candidates or result in the delay of such approvals or authorizations.
Preclinical and clinical product development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome.
Our current assumptions about our product candidates’ development potential are based on the data generated from preclinical studies and clinical trials; however, we may observe materially and adversely different safety results as we continue to conduct our clinical trials. In order to obtain FDA, EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities approval to market a new drug product, we must demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the drug in humans in a manner that satisfies the applicable authority’s standards. It is impossible to predict when or if any of our product candidates will prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities, including the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, we must complete preclinical development and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, potency and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing or at any time during the trial process. The outcome of preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the results of later clinical trials as to safety or efficacy, particularly if later clinical trials have a materially different trial design. The historical failure rate for product candidates in our industry is high, particularly in the earlier stages of development. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products.
We have not completed all of the clinical trials required for the approval of any of our product candidates. We cannot assure you that any preclinical study or clinical trial that we are conducting, or may conduct in the future, will demonstrate consistent or adequate efficacy and safety to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.
Additionally, we have in the past and intend in the future to utilize an “open-label” clinical trial design for certain of our clinical trials. An “open-label” clinical trial is one where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational product candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most open-label clinical trials test only the investigational product candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an “investigator bias” where those assessing and reviewing the physiological outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which patients have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. The results from an open-label trial may not be predictive of future clinical trial results of a product candidate when studied in a controlled environment with a placebo or active control.
We may incur additional costs and experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
We may incur additional costs and experience delays in ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates, and we do not know whether future clinical trials, if any, will begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll an adequate number of patients on time or be completed on schedule, if at all. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during or as a result of preclinical studies or clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to continue or complete clinical development, receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates, including:
•regulators or institutional review boards not authorizing us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial or conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;
•experiencing delays in reaching, or failing to reach, agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites or prospective CROs, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;
•clinical trials of our product candidates producing negative or inconclusive results, including failure to demonstrate statistical significance, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development programs;
•failing to demonstrate statistical significance in clinical trials of our product candidates, which may impact the timing and design of late-stage clinical trials for such product candidates, or failing to demonstrate statistical significance in late-stage trials despite promising early stage results;
•the number of patients required for clinical trials of our product candidates being larger than we anticipate; enrollment in these clinical trials being slower than we anticipate, for example, due to the availability of standard of care therapy, changes to standard of care therapy, and the reluctance of patients to discontinue standard of care therapy in order to participate in certain of our future clinical trials; or participants dropping out of these clinical trials or failing to return for post-treatment follow-up at a higher rate than we anticipate;
•our product candidates having undesirable side effects (including drug-drug interactions), unexpected toxicology findings, or other unexpected characteristics, causing us or our investigators, regulators or institutional review boards to suspend or terminate the trials;
•our third-party contractors failing to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;
•regulators or institutional review boards requiring that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical development for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;
•future collaborators, if any, may conduct clinical trials in ways they view as advantageous to them but that are suboptimal to us;
•the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates being greater than we anticipate; and
•the supply or quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary, including comparator drug, to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates being insufficient, inadequate or too costly.
If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not favorable or if there are safety concerns, we may, among other things:
•be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;
•not obtain marketing approval at all;
•obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;
•obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings;
•be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements; or
•have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval.
Moreover, principal investigators for our current and future clinical trials have in the past and may in the future serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the study. The FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval.
We have not yet completed all testing of any product candidate in clinical trials. Preclinical, interim, topline and preliminary results from our preclinical studies or clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of the results or analyses of such results of later clinical trials. If we cannot replicate the positive results from any preclinical studies or clinical trials of our current or potential future product candidates that have positive results, or if we suffer any other significant setbacks in our later clinical trials, we may be unable to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our current or potential future product candidates.
Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will generate the same results or otherwise provide adequate data to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of a product candidate. Preclinical studies, Phase 1 and Phase 2a clinical trials are primarily designed to test safety, to study pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and to understand the side effects of product candidates at various doses and dosing schedules. Success in preclinical or animal studies and early clinical trials does not ensure that later large-scale efficacy trials will be successful, nor does it predict final results. Our product candidates may fail to show the desired safety, tolerability, PK profile, and efficacy in clinical development despite positive results in preclinical studies or having successfully advanced through initial clinical trials, particularly because of our product candidates leveraging an inhalation approach.
Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical trials even after achieving promising results in preclinical testing and earlier-stage clinical trials. Such
setbacks have occurred and may occur for many reasons, including: clinical sites and investigators may deviate from clinical trial protocols, whether due to lack of training or otherwise, and we may fail to detect any such deviations in a timely manner; patients may fail to adhere to any required clinical trial procedures, including post-treatment follow-up; our product candidates may fail to demonstrate effectiveness or safety in certain patient subpopulations or at all; or our clinical trials may not adequately represent the patient populations we intend to treat, whether due to limitations in our trial designs or otherwise. Data obtained from preclinical and clinical activities are subject to varying interpretations, which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. In addition, we may experience regulatory delays or rejections as a result of many factors, including changes in regulatory policy during the period of our product candidate development.
Similarly, from time to time, we may publish interim, topline or preliminary results from our preclinical studies and clinical trials, which are based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our preliminary analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. Interim results from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Preliminary or topline results also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, interim, topline and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between interim, topline or preliminary data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.
Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our company in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and investors or others may not agree with what we determine is material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure. If the interim, topline or preliminary data that we report differ from actual results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for, and commercialize, our product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.
Targeting PF with inhaled formulations of antifibrotic therapies is novel, and we do not know whether we will be able to successfully develop any inhaled products.
Our product candidates target PF with an inhaled formulation approach. Other companies have discontinued programs targeting PF as they were unable to develop compounds that could demonstrate safety or efficacy or whose dosing regimens were commercially unviable. Given our approach, we may not be able to successfully develop any products.
The PF market currently relies on oral systemic medications: nintedanib, pirfenidone, and nerandomilast. We aim to optimize inhaled formulations of the current oral antifibrotic medicines, as with AP01 and AP02, inhaled formulations of pirfenidone or nintedanib, for potentially improved safety and efficacy. While products for the treatment of PF have been approved by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to date, no inhaled antifibrotic therapy of pirfenidone or nintedanib, or combination of pirfenidone and nintedanib, has been approved, and to our knowledge, no product candidate combining these agents in an inhaled formulation is currently in clinical development. As a result, it is difficult to predict the developmental challenges we may encounter as our lead product candidates proceed through clinical trials, including our planned future clinical trials. It is also difficult for us to predict the time and cost of development, whether any of our clinical trials will be successful, whether any unexpected side effects that have not been associated with oral nintedanib and pirfenidone will be identified in our product development activities and whether our novel approach will result in the successful development and regulatory approval of any product candidates. For example, although we have not observed this to date in clinical trials, airway irritation is a potential risk for inhaled administration, which can be manifested by coughing, increased secretions, or bronchospasm.
Any development problems we experience in the future related to our lead product candidates may cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, and such development problems may not be able to be solved. The novelty of our approach may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to conduct additional studies or clinical trials, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. For example, the FDA could require additional studies that may be difficult or impossible to perform, or prohibitively costly. Any of these factors may prevent us from completing clinical trials that we may initiate, and obtaining regulatory approval of or commercializing any product candidates we may develop, on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
Our preclinical studies and clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, or serious or unacceptable adverse side effects or unexpected toxicology findings may be identified during the development of our product candidates, which could prevent or delay further clinical development, regulatory approvals and commercialization, impact the product’s labeling, if approved, increase our costs or necessitate the abandonment or limitation of the development of some of our product candidates.
Clinical trials often fail to demonstrate safety or efficacy of the product candidate studied for the target indication. If our product candidates are associated with serious or significant adverse side effects in clinical trials or have adverse safety findings in nonclinical studies, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to more narrow uses in which the side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a benefit-risk perspective. The FDA, EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authority or an institutional review board or ethics committee may also require that we suspend, discontinue or limit our clinical trials based on safety information, or that we conduct additional animal or human studies regarding the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, which we have not planned or anticipated. For example, in July 2025, the FDA commented on AP02 findings considered to be non-adverse and/or species specific in a rat toxicology study ahead of IND submission. Due to this, we proceeded to initiate our Phase 2 clinical trial outside of the United States and intend to submit such IND with the safety and efficacy data from our Phase 2 trial, if successful, to potentially enable future FDA IND clearance. If we are unable to obtain IND clearance from the FDA for AP02, our market opportunity may be adversely affected, and we may have to expend additional resources to complete additional preclinical testing if required by the FDA. There is no guarantee that our efforts or further testing, if required, will be successful or will enable the clearance of an IND by the FDA.
Such findings could further result in regulatory authorities failing to provide marketing authorization for our product candidates or limiting the scope of the indication, if approved. Many product candidates that initially showed promise in early-stage testing have later been found to cause adverse side effects that prevented further development of the product candidate. For example, the long-term safety impacts of our product candidates are unknown and may not be discoverable in preclinical studies or clinical trials that we may conduct. Additionally, if one or more of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others subsequently identify undesirable side effects caused by such products a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
•regulatory authorities may withdraw, suspend or limit approvals of such product or seek an injunction against its manufacture or distribution;
•we may be required to recall a product;
•regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the labels, such as a boxed warning or a contraindication;
•we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients;
•we may be required to change the way a product is distributed or administered, conduct additional clinical trials or change the labeling of a product or be required to conduct additional post-marketing studies or surveillance;
•we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients;
•sales of the product may decrease significantly or the product could become less competitive;
•we may not be able to achieve or maintain third-party payor coverage and adequate reimbursement; and
•our reputation and physician or patient acceptance of our products may suffer.
There can be no assurance that we will resolve any issues related to any product-related AEs to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities in a timely manner or at all. Moreover, any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of a particular product candidate, if approved, and could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.
We have obtained orphan designation for AP01 for the treatment of IPF and may in the future seek orphan drug designation for additional product candidates. Even if we obtain designation, we may be unable to maintain the benefits associated with orphan drug designation, including the potential for market exclusivity.
In July 2014, we obtained orphan drug designation from the FDA for AP01 for the treatment of IPF. We may seek orphan drug designation or exclusivity in the indications targeted by our current or future product candidates. Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. For example, under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product candidate as an orphan drug if it is intended to treat a rare disease or condition. In order for the FDA to grant orphan drug exclusivity to one of our product candidates, the agency must find that the product candidate is indicated for the treatment of a condition or disease that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the U.S. or that affects 200,000 or more individuals in the U.S. and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the product candidate available for the disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product in the U.S. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA. The FDA may conclude that the condition or disease for which we seek orphan drug exclusivity does not meet the required standard.
If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for a particular drug for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances such as if the FDA finds that the holder of the orphan drug exclusivity has not shown that it can assure the availability of sufficient quantities of the orphan drug to meet the needs of patients with the disease or condition for which the drug was designated.
In addition, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve the same product candidate for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later product candidate is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care compared with the product that has orphan exclusivity. In the U.S., orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages, and user-fee waivers. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the generic identity of the drug or biologic and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.
A similar regulatory scheme governs approval of orphan product candidates by the EMA in the European Union. Generally, if a product with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA or the EMA (as applicable) from approving another marketing application for the same or another similar product candidate for the same orphan therapeutic indication for that time period. The applicable period is seven years in the U.S. and ten years in the European Union. The exclusivity period in the European Union can be reduced to six years if at the end of the fifth year it is determined that a product no longer meets the criteria for orphan designation, including if the product is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.
While we may in the future seek designations for our product candidates with the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities that are intended to confer benefits such as a faster development process, an
accelerated regulatory pathway or priority review, there can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain such designations. In addition, even if one or more of our product candidates are granted such designations, we may not be able to realize the intended benefits of such designations.
The FDA, EMA and comparable regulatory authorities offer certain designations for product candidates that are designed to encourage the research and development of product candidates that are intended to address conditions with significant unmet medical need. These designations may confer benefits such as additional interaction with regulatory authorities, a potentially accelerated regulatory pathway and priority review of the marketing application(s). However, there can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain such designations for our product candidates. In addition, while such designations could expedite the development or approval process, they generally do not change the standards of product quality, safety or efficacy required to be demonstrated in support of approval. Even if we obtain such designations for our product candidates, there can be no assurance that we will realize their intended benefits.
For example, we may seek a Fast Track Designation for one or more of our product candidates. If a product is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need for this condition, the product sponsor may apply for Fast Track Designation. The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant this designation, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for this designation, we cannot assure you that the FDA would decide to grant it. Even if we do receive Fast Track Designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA may rescind the Fast Track Designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development activities.
We may seek Breakthrough Therapy Designation for any product candidate that we develop. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a drug that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over currently approved therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. For drugs that have been designated as breakthrough therapies, interaction and communication between the FDA and the sponsor of the trial can help to identify the most efficient path for clinical development while minimizing the number of patients placed in ineffective control regimens. Drugs designated as breakthrough therapies by the FDA are also eligible for accelerated approval and priority review.
Designation as a breakthrough therapy is within the discretion of the FDA. Accordingly, even if we believe one of our product candidates meets the criteria for designation as a breakthrough therapy, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to make such designation. Further, the receipt of Breakthrough Therapy Designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures and does not assure approval by the FDA. In addition, even if any product candidate we develop qualifies for Breakthrough Therapy Designation, the FDA may later decide that the drug no longer meets the conditions for qualification and rescind the designation.
Even in the absence of obtaining Fast Track and/or Breakthrough Therapy Designations, a sponsor can seek priority review at the time of submitting a marketing application. The FDA may designate a product for priority review if it is a product that treats a serious condition and, if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety or effectiveness when compared with other available therapies. Significant improvement may be illustrated by evidence of increased effectiveness in the treatment of a condition, elimination or substantial reduction of a treatment-limiting adverse reaction, documented enhancement of patient compliance that may lead to improvement in serious outcomes, or evidence of safety and effectiveness in a new subpopulation. A priority review designation is intended to direct overall attention and resources to the evaluation of such applications, and to shorten the FDA’s goal for taking action on a marketing application from ten months to six months from FDA’s acceptance of the application for review. Priority review designation may be rescinded if a product no longer meets the qualifying criteria.
We may not be able to submit investigational new drug, or IND, applications or IND amendments to commence clinical trials on the timelines we expect, and even if we are able to, the FDA may not permit us to proceed.
We may not be able to submit INDs, including the IND for our lead product candidates, on the timelines we expect. We may experience manufacturing delays or other delays with IND-enabling studies or it may require time to align with the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities on data packages. For example, in July 2025, the FDA commented on AP02 findings considered to be non-adverse and/or species specific in a rat toxicology study ahead of IND submission. Due to this, we proceeded to initiate our Phase 2 clinical trial outside of the United States and intend to submit such IND with the safety and efficacy data from our Phase 2 trial, if successful, to potentially enable future FDA IND clearance. If we are unable to obtain IND clearance from the FDA for AP02, our market opportunity may be adversely affected, and we may have to expend additional resources to complete additional preclinical testing if required by the FDA. There is no guarantee that our efforts or further testing, if required, will be successful or will enable the clearance of an IND by the FDA. Moreover, we cannot be sure that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin, or that, issues will not arise that suspend or terminate clinical trials. Additionally, even if such regulatory authorities agree with the design and implementation of the clinical trials set forth in an IND, we cannot guarantee that such regulatory authorities will not change their requirements in the future. These considerations also apply to new clinical trials we may submit as amendments to existing INDs.
We intend to deliver AP01 and AP02 and our other product candidates via a drug delivery device that will have its own regulatory, development, supply and other risks.
We intend to deliver AP01 and AP02 and our other product candidates via a drug delivery device, a nebulizer, and there may be unforeseen technical complications related to the development activities required to bring such a product to market, including container compatibility and/or dose volume requirements. AP01 and AP02 and our other product candidates which may be delivered via drug delivery devices may not be approved or may be substantially delayed in receiving approval if the devices do not gain and/or maintain their own regulatory approvals or clearances. Where approval of the drug product and device is sought under a single application, the increased complexity of the review process may delay approval.
We benefit from an exclusive license to PARI’s eRapid® Nebulizer System with eFlow® Technology for AP01’s delivery, and we retain an exclusive right to negotiate a separate license agreement with respect to AP02 and AP03 for exclusive licenses for PARI’s eRapid® Nebulizer System with eFlow® Technology. This exclusivity offers a key competitive advantage, as the proprietary device would be included in any potential U.S. FDA-approved product labels, however, we cannot guarantee that we will maintain preferable commercial terms for such license. We are dependent on the sustained cooperation and effort of PARI both to supply the device and, in some cases, to conduct the studies required for approval or other regulatory clearance of the device, and if received, we expect we will be dependent on PARI for continuing to maintain such approvals or clearances. Failure of PARI to supply the device, to successfully complete studies on the device or for any future devices we may utilize for any of our product candidates in a timely manner, or to obtain or maintain required approvals or clearances of the devices could result in increased development costs, delays in or failure to obtain regulatory approval, and delays in our product candidates reaching the market initially and/or expanding to new indications. For more information on the PARI Agreement, see “Business—Material Agreements”.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to substantial penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our products, when and if any of them are approved.
As part of its decision to approve or grant marketing authorization for one or more of our product candidates, the FDA, European Commission, or EC, or other regulatory agencies may require us to perform certain post-marketing activities, such as completion of ongoing or planned studies, initiation of new studies or post-marketing clinical trials (including to assess safety risks), or additional analyses of existing data. Typically, we are required to provide annual updates on the progress of such required activities and to complete the activities by the assigned completion dates. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with our product candidates, including AEs of unanticipated severity
or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in, among other things:
•restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of such products, withdrawal of the product from the market or voluntary or mandatory product recalls;
•restrictions on or revisions to the labeling or marketing of a medicine;
•restrictions on the distribution or use of a medicine, including under a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, program;
•fines, receipt of warning or untitled letters or suspension of clinical trials;
•refusal by the FDA, EC or other regulatory agencies to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us or suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;
•product seizure or detention or refusal to permit the import or export of our product candidates; and
•injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
Additionally, the FDA, EC and other regulatory agencies closely regulate the post-approval marketing and promotion of medicines to ensure that they are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. Although physicians may prescribe products for uses not described in the product’s labeling, known as off-label uses, in their professional medical judgment, the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use, and if we market our products, if approved, in a manner inconsistent with their approved labeling, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing by the FDA and other federal and state enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and other comparable foreign regulatory agencies. Violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other statutes, including the False Claims Act, relating to the promotion and advertising of prescription products may also lead to investigations or allegations of violations of federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, state consumer protection laws and laws of other comparable foreign regulatory agencies.
Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize any product candidates we develop and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment and/or retention of patients in clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected, and our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.
Successful and timely completion of clinical trials will require that we identify and enroll a sufficient number of patients. Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors, including the size and nature of the patient population and competition for patients with other trials. Trials may be subject to delays as a result of patient enrollment taking longer than anticipated or patient withdrawal. We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, or if a large number of patients withdraw.
For example, we are initially developing AP02 for the treatment of IPF, which is an orphan indication. In the United States, IPF is estimated to affect approximately 120,000 patients. As a result, we may encounter difficulties enrolling subjects in our clinical trials due, in part, to the small size of the patient population. If our target patient population is smaller than expected, we are unable to successfully enroll and retain patients in our clinical trials, or experience significant delays in doing so, we may not satisfy the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities standards for number of patients enrolled due to enrollment being too low.
We cannot predict how successful we will be at enrolling subjects in future clinical trials. We may conduct clinical trials that would require patients to discontinue standard of care therapy, and we may experience challenges finding, enrolling and retaining PF patients in our planned clinical trials who are willing to discontinue their current treatment regimens to participate in our trials. Subject enrollment is affected by other factors including:
•the patient eligibility criteria as defined in the applicable protocol;
•the size of the patient population required for analysis of the trial’s primary endpoints and the process for identifying patients;
•the actual and perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate in the trial;
•effects of global health crises, such as those related to COVID-19, on enrollment and/or completion of a trial;
•the design of the trial;
•our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience;
•competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages and risks of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including the current standard of care and any new drugs that may be approved for PF, which may vary across the jurisdictions where we plan to conduct our clinical trials;
•the willingness of patients to be enrolled in our clinical trials;
•the success of efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;
•the patient referral practices of physicians;
•the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment;
•our ability to obtain and maintain informed consent;
•the risk that patients enrolled in our clinical trials will drop out of the trials prior to completion;
•the cost to, or lack of adequate compensation for, prospective patients; and
•the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites to prospective patients.
Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for clinical trials would result in significant delays and could require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. For example, we experienced delays in enrollment for our Phase 2b MIST clinical trial at the outset, due to a variety of factors, including operational efficiencies as well as screen failure rates. Enrollment delays in these clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our product candidates, which would cause the value of our company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing. Furthermore, we expect to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and we will have limited influence over their performance.
Furthermore, even if we are able to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials, we may have difficulty maintaining enrollment of such patients. We cannot assure you that our assumptions used in determining expected clinical trial timelines are correct or that we will not experience delays or difficulties in enrollment, or be required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to increase our enrollment, which would result in the delay of completion of such trials beyond our expected timelines.
The results of clinical trials conducted at clinical trial sites outside the U.S. might not be accepted by the FDA, and data developed outside of a foreign jurisdiction similarly might not be accepted by such foreign regulatory authority.
We are currently conducting our Phase 2 clinical trial for AP01 in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Argentina, United States and other EU countries, and AP02 in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, and may conduct additional clinical trials outside of the U.S. in the future. Clinical trials conducted in Australia using “unapproved therapeutic goods,” or those that have not yet been evaluated by the Therapeutic Goods Association, or TGA, for quality, safety and efficacy, must occur pursuant to either the Clinical Trial Notification Scheme or the Clinical Trial Approval Scheme. In each case, the trial is supervised by a Human Research Ethics Committee, or HREC, an independent review committee set up under the guidelines of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council that reviews, approves and provides continuing oversight of trial protocols and amendments, and of the methods and material to be used in obtaining and documenting informed consent of the trial subjects. Although the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the relevant jurisdiction, acceptance of these data is subject to certain conditions. For example, the FDA requires that the clinical trial must be well-designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with ethical principles such as institutional review board or ethics committee approval and informed consent, the trial population must adequately represent the U.S. population and the data must
be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful. Further, the FDA may consider an on-site inspection to be necessary in which case they must be able to validate the data through such an inspection or other appropriate means. In addition, while these clinical trials are subject to the applicable local laws, acceptance of the data by the FDA will be dependent upon its determination that the trials were conducted consistent with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. There can be no assurance that the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the U.S. as adequate support of a marketing application. Similarly, any data submitted to foreign regulatory authorities may not adhere to their standards and requirements for clinical trials and data from trials conducted outside of such jurisdiction may not be accepted. Moreover, cultural and population differences across populations participating in trials conducted with sites outside the U.S. could introduce confounding factors that impact interpretation of the results from foreign clinical trial sites.
If the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the need for additional trials, which could be costly and time-consuming, and which may result in current or future product candidates that we may develop not receiving approval for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction. In addition, such foreign trials would be subject to the applicable local laws and ethics committee requirements of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted, which may increase costs or time required to complete the clinical trial.
Conducting clinical trials outside the U.S. also exposes us to additional risks, including risks associated with:
•additional foreign regulatory and ethics committee requirements;
•foreign exchange fluctuations;
•compliance with foreign manufacturing, customs, shipment and storage requirements;
•inconsistent standards for reporting and evaluating clinical data and AEs;
•varying standards or availability of PF care, resulting in data that may differ from patients who have received the U.S. standard of care therapy;
•legislative proposals that, if enacted, could require additional fees or other compliance requirements for inclusion of foreign data in marketing applications;
•any pandemic, epidemic or public health emergencies;
•diminished protection of intellectual property in some countries; and
•political instability, civil unrest, war or similar events that may jeopardize our ability to commence, conduct or complete a clinical trial and evaluate resulting data.
If any third-party manufacturer of our product candidates is unable to increase the scale of its production of our product candidates or increase the product yield of its manufacturing, then our manufacturing costs may increase and commercialization may be delayed.
In order to produce sufficient quantities to meet the demand for clinical trials and, if approved, subsequent commercialization of our product candidates, our third-party manufacturers will be required to increase their production and optimize their manufacturing processes while maintaining the quality of our product candidates. The transition to larger scale production could prove difficult. In addition, if our third-party manufacturers are not able to optimize their manufacturing processes to increase the product yield for our product candidates, or if they are unable to produce increased amounts of our product candidates while maintaining the same quality, then we may not be able to meet the demands of clinical trials or market demands, which could decrease our ability to generate profits and have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations. Additionally, if any such third-party manufacturer cannot achieve compliance with import and export requirements or build a sufficient network of partners for the storage and distribution of our product candidates, our future global commercialization prospects could be materially harmed.
Changes in methods of product candidate manufacturing or formulation may result in additional costs or delay.
As product candidates proceed through preclinical studies to late-stage clinical trials towards potential approval and commercialization, various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods and formulation, may be altered in an effort to optimize processes and product characteristics, and such optimization may not be achieved. Any of these changes could cause our product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of our current or future clinical trials. Such changes may also require additional testing, or notification to or approval by the FDA, EMA or another comparable regulatory authority. This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and jeopardize our ability to commence sales and generate revenue.
We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Because we have limited financial and management resources, we are initially focused on IPF and PPF, and we focus our research and development efforts on certain selected development programs and product candidates. We are currently primarily focused on the development of AP01, AP02 and AP03. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate.
We intend to develop AP03 as a fixed-dose combination of pirfenidone and nintedanib. Developing combination treatments increases complexity and risk, including risks of drug-drug interactions, unforeseen side effects or failures in our clinical trials that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit the commercial profile of an approved label. Additionally, certain regulatory authorities may require a demonstration that each component makes a contribution to the claimed effects in addition to demonstrating that the combination is safe and effective for the intended population.
Under the FDA’s combination rule, the FDA generally will not file or approve an NDA for a fixed-dose combination product unless each component of a proposed drug product is shown to make a contribution to the claimed effects and the dosage of each component (amount, frequency, duration) is safe and effective for the intended population. If the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities require us to conduct one or more clinical trials to support such a demonstration, such as a factorial study, the design, duration, and scope of such clinical trials will be decided upon after further discussions with those agencies and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. As a result, we are unable to predict with certainty the estimated timing or scope of any future clinical trials of AP03 we may be required to conduct to satisfy these requirements governing fixed dose combination products in various jurisdictions.
The development of AP03 as a combination of pirfenidone and nintedanib in an inhaled formulation may subject us to risks that we would not face if AP03 was being developed as a monotherapy. For example, combining pirfenidone and nintedanib with each other in oral formulation has not been feasible due to their additive side effect profiles. Combination of the two molecules in an inhaled formulation may result in adverse side effects or toxicities that pirfenidone and nintedanib do not produce when used alone (orally or in an inhaled formulation). In addition, pirfenidone and nintedanib may interact with each other in undesirable ways that could negatively impact the efficacy of AP03. Testing products in combination with each other may increase the risk of significant adverse effects or failed clinical trials.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We are dependent on licensed intellectual property rights pursuant to the PARI Agreement relating to the PARI eFlow® Technology and eRapid® Nebulizer System and we may in the future enter into additional intellectual property licensing agreements on which we could similarly become dependent. If we were to lose our rights to licensed intellectual property, we may not be able to continue developing or commercializing our product candidates, if approved, on the intended timeline. If we breach the PARI Agreement or any other future agreements in which we license the use, development and commercialization rights to our product candidates from third parties or, in certain cases, we fail to meet certain deadlines, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We are a party to the PARI License Agreement under which we are granted rights to intellectual property that are important to our business and we may enter into additional license agreements in the future with PARI or other third parties. Pursuant to the PARI License Agreement, we have secured an exclusive license to develop and commercialize our inhaled candidates with PARI’s eFlow® Technology and eRapid® Nebulizer System. The PARI License Agreement imposes, and we expect that future license agreements will impose on us, various development, regulatory and/or commercial diligence obligations, payment of milestones and/or royalties and other obligations. If we fail to comply with our obligations under such agreements, or we are subject to a bankruptcy, the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to market products covered by the license. Our business could suffer, for example, if any current or future licenses terminate, if the licensors fail to abide by the terms of the license, if the licensed patents or other rights are found to be invalid or unenforceable, or if we are unable to enter into necessary licenses on acceptable terms. See “Business—Material Agreements” for additional information on the PARI License Agreement.
We may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates, and we cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist that might be enforced against our current product candidates or future products in the absence of such a license. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same intellectual property licensed to us. In that event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license replacement intellectual property. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates, which could materially harm our business and the third parties owning such intellectual property rights could seek either an injunction prohibiting our sales, or, with respect to our sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation.
In some circumstances, we may not have the right to control the maintenance, prosecution, preparation, filing, enforcement, defense or litigation of patents and patent applications that we license from or license to third parties and may be reliant on our licensors or licensees to do so. We thus cannot be certain that activities such as patent maintenance and prosecution by our licensors have been or will be conducted consistent with our best interests or in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, or will result in valid and enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights. It is possible that our licensors’ infringement proceedings or defense activities may be less vigorous than had we conducted them ourselves or may not be conducted in accordance with our best interests. If our licensors fail to maintain such patents or patent applications, or lose rights to those patents or patent applications, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated, and our right to develop and commercialize any product candidates that are the subject of such licensed rights and our right to exclude third parties from commercializing competing products could be adversely affected.
Disputes may arise between us and our licensors regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including:
•the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;
•whether and the extent to which our product candidates and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;
•our right to sublicense patent and other rights to third parties under collaborative development relationships;
•our diligence obligations with respect to the use of the licensed intellectual property in relation to our development and commercialization of our product candidates, and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;
•our financial or other obligations under the licensing agreement;
•the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners; and
•the priority of invention of patented technology.
If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates. In addition, we may seek to obtain additional licenses from our licensors and, in connection with obtaining such licenses, we may agree to amend our existing licenses in a manner that may be more favorable to the licensors, including by agreeing to terms that could enable third parties, including our competitors, to receive licenses to a portion of the intellectual property that is subject to our existing licenses and to compete with our product candidates.
Furthermore, if our licenses are terminated, or if the underlying patents fail to provide the intended exclusivity, competitors or other third parties would have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of, and to market, products identical or competitive to ours and we may be required to cease our development and commercialization of certain of our product candidates. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we license prevent or impair our ability to maintain other licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates. In addition, certain of these license agreements, may not be assignable by us without the consent of the respective licensor, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to engage in certain transactions.
The PARI License Agreement is, and future license agreements that we enter into are likely to be, complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We currently rely on, and in the future intend to rely on, third parties to conduct a significant portion of our clinical trials and potential future clinical trials for product candidates, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such trials.
We currently engage CROs and other vendors to conduct our ongoing clinical trials, including our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials of AP01 and AP02, and similarly expect to engage CROs and other vendors for future clinical trials for these and other product candidates that we may progress to clinical development. We expect to continue to rely on third parties, including but not limited to clinical data management organizations, healthcare institutions operating as clinical sites and clinical investigators, to conduct those clinical trials. Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us, some in the event of an uncured material breach and some at any time for convenience. If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to timely enter into arrangements with alternative third parties or to do so on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Switching or adding CROs or other vendors involves substantial cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO or vendor commences work. As a result, delays may occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. We may encounter challenges or delays in our CRO/vendor relationships in the future which may cause a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
In addition, any third parties conducting our clinical trials will not be our employees, and, except for including contractual obligations and remedies for breach of such obligations in our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical programs. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. Consequently, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase substantially and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed significantly. In addition, many of the third parties with whom we contract may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other development activities that could harm our competitive position.
We rely on these parties for execution of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and generally do not directly control their businesses or related activities. Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities will reduce our control over these activities but will not relieve us of our responsibilities. For example, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the trial. Moreover, the FDA requires us to comply with GCPs for conducting, recording and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. We also are required to register certain ongoing clinical trials and post the results of completed clinical trials on a government-sponsored database, ClinicalTrials.gov, within specified timeframes. Failure to do so can result in fines, adverse publicity and civil and criminal sanctions. If we or any of our CROs or other third parties, including trial sites, fail to comply with applicable GCPs, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. Further, upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority may not agree with our determination that any of our clinical trials complies with GCP requirements. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under cGMP conditions. Our failure to comply with these requirements may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.
We also expect to rely on other third parties to store and distribute product supplies for our clinical trials. Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development or marketing approval of our product candidates or commercialization of our products, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential revenue.
We contract with third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for clinical drug and device supply and expect to continue to do so for commercialization, if our product candidates are approved. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or such quantities at an acceptable cost or quality, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.
We do not have any cGMP manufacturing facilities and have no plans to develop our own clinical or commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on contract development and manufacturing organizations, or CDMOs, for the cGMP manufacture of our product candidates and related raw materials for clinical development. In addition, we expect to rely on CDMOs for the commercial supply of any products for which we receive marketing approval. This reliance increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products, if approved, or such quantities at an acceptable cost or quality, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts. For example, any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time or may face production shortages or other supply interruptions or otherwise be unable to secure the requisite raw materials to support our planned clinical activities. In addition, the availability of CDMOs to manufacture our product candidates/drugs may depend in part on the CDMOs’ schedules for manufacturing other companies’ products or product candidates. If we need to modify our development plans or enter into alternative arrangements, which may not be readily available or available on acceptable terms, it could delay our product development activities and increase our expenses.
Our reliance on CDMOs for manufacturing activities will reduce our control over these activities, but will not relieve us of our responsibility to ensure compliance with all required regulations. In particular, we do not have control over a supplier’s or manufacturer’s compliance with laws, regulations and applicable cGMP standards or similar regulatory requirements and other laws and regulations, such as those related to environmental health and safety matters. If our CDMOs cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval of our potential future marketing applications. In addition, although we conduct routine qualification audits and have quality agreements in place with our CDMOs, we have no direct operational control over their ability to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. Our CDMOs may face manufacturing or quality control problems causing production and shipment delays, or CDMOs may fail to maintain compliance with the applicable cGMP requirements. The facilities used by our CDMOs are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority finds deficiencies with or does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including clinical holds, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of product candidates or drugs, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supply of our products.
Our use of foreign CROs and CDMOs in some jurisdictions may be or may become subject to U.S. legislation, including sanctions, trade restrictions and other regulatory requirements, which may increase the cost of and cause delays in the procurement or supply of materials for, or manufacture of, our product candidates or have an adverse effect on our ability to secure significant commitments from governments to purchase its potential therapies.
Moreover, we rely on sole suppliers for certain steps in the manufacturing supply chain of pirfenidone and nintedanib. If these sole suppliers are unable to supply to us in the quantities we require, or at all, or otherwise defaults on their supply obligations to us, we may not be able to obtain alternative supplies from other suppliers on acceptable terms, in a timely manner, or at all. We also do not have long-term supply agreements with any of our suppliers. Our current contracts with certain suppliers may be canceled or not extended by such suppliers and, therefore, do not afford us with protection against a reduction or interruption in supplies. Moreover, in the event any of these suppliers breach their contracts with us, our legal remedies associated with such a breach may be insufficient to compensate us for any damages we may suffer.
Any performance failure on the part of our existing or future manufacturers could delay clinical development or marketing approval. If our current CDMOs cannot perform as agreed, we may be required to replace such manufacturers. We may incur added costs and delays in identifying and qualifying any such replacement. In addition, our current and anticipated dependence upon others for the manufacture of our product candidates may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize any products that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.
We may seek to establish collaborations, license agreements and other similar arrangements with third parties for the development or commercialization of our product candidates. If we are not able to establish them on commercially reasonable terms, or if those arrangements are not successful, we may have to alter our development and commercialization plans.
The development and potential commercialization of our product candidates will require substantial additional funding. For some of our product candidates, we may seek to collaborate with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates, including for the commercialization of any of our product candidates that are approved for marketing outside the U.S. If we enter into any such additional arrangements with any third parties, we will likely have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our future collaborators dedicate to the development or commercialization of our product candidates. Collaboration agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of product candidates in the
most efficient manner or at all. If any future collaborator of ours is involved in a business combination, it could decide to delay, diminish or terminate the development or commercialization of any product candidate licensed to it by us.
We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators, and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for any collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the potential differentiation of our product candidate from competing product candidates, the design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities outside the U.S., the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to patients, and industry and market conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product candidate. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators.
Collaborations involving our product candidates would pose the following risks to us:
•collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations;
•collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected, or at all;
•collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities;
•collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;
•collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours;
•a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such products;
•disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to product candidates, or might result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time-consuming and expensive;
•collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our or their intellectual property rights or may use our or their proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate such intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation;
•collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability;
•collaborations may be terminated, including for the convenience of the collaborator and, if terminated, we could be required to raise additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates; and
•we may be required to invest resources and attention into such collaboration, which could distract from other business objectives.
We may not be able to negotiate future collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of any product candidate that we planned to collaborate on, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market and generate revenue, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
In addition, any future collaborations that we enter into may not be successful. The success of our future collaboration arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our future collaborators. Collaborators generally have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations. Disagreements between parties to a collaboration arrangement regarding clinical development and commercialization matters can lead to delays in the development process or commercializing the applicable product candidate and, in some cases, termination of the collaboration arrangement. These disagreements can be difficult to resolve if neither of the parties has final decision-making authority. If conflicts arise between any future collaborators and us, the other party may act in a manner adverse to us and could limit our ability to implement our strategies. For example, our future collaborators could conduct multiple product development efforts and could develop, either alone or with others, products in related fields that are competitive with the product candidates we may develop. In addition, collaborations with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies and other third parties often are terminated or allowed to expire by the other party, and any such termination or expiration may adversely affect us financially or harm our business.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for any products we develop and for our technology, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors or other third parties could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to commercialize any product candidates we may develop, and our technology may be adversely affected.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries for our product candidates and their uses, as well as our ability to operate without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the proprietary rights of others. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel discoveries and technologies that are important to our business. Although we own issued patents, our pending and future patent applications, may not result in issued patents. Even if our owned or licensed patent applications result in issued patents, we cannot assure you that such issued patents will afford sufficient protection of our product candidates or their intended uses against competitors, nor can there be any assurance that the patents issued will not be infringed, designed around, or invalidated by third parties, or that they will effectively prevent others from commercializing competing technologies, products, or product candidates.
Obtaining and enforcing patents is expensive, complex, and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce, or license all necessary or desirable patent applications or maintain and/or enforce patents that may issue based on our owned or licensed patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. We may not be able to obtain or maintain patent applications and patents due to the subject matter claimed in such patent applications and patents being in disclosures in the public domain. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development results before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Although we may have the right to have some input in connection with such activities, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing, and prosecution of patent applications that are licensed to us by third parties, or to control prosecution and maintenance of patents that we out-license to third parties. For example, we do not control the
prosecution or enforcement of certain intellectual property licensed from PARI. Therefore, patents and applications that are relevant to our product candidates may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to confidential or patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, CROs, CMOs, consultants, advisors, and other third parties, any of these parties may breach these agreements and disclose such results before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent any third parties from using any of our technology that is in the public domain to compete with our technologies or product candidates.
Composition of matter patents for pharmaceutical product candidates often provide a strong form of intellectual property protection for those types of products, as such patents provide protection without regard to any method of use. Similarly, patents for pharmaceutical formulations containing pharmaceutical product candidates may provide an additional form of intellectual property protection, as such patents provide protection without regard to any method of use. However, we cannot be certain that the claims in our pending patent applications directed to the pharmaceutical formulations of our product candidates will be considered patentable by the USPTO or by patent offices in foreign countries, or that such claims in any of our issued patents will be considered valid and enforceable by courts in the United States or foreign countries. In addition, we cannot be certain that the claims of such patents, and applications if granted, will be sufficiently broad to effectively prevent competitors from working around our claimed inventions by developing an alternative formulation and thereby competing with us without infringing our patent rights. Method of use patents protect the use of a product for the specified method or indication. In the absence of separate composition of matter protection, this type of patent does not prevent a competitor from making and marketing a product that is identical to our product candidates for an indication that is outside methods of use included in our owned or licensed patents. Moreover, even if competitor products are not approved for use in our patented indications, and our competitors do not actively promote their product for indications that are covered by our owned or licensed patents, clinicians may prescribe these competitor products “off-label.” Although off-label prescriptions may infringe or contribute to the infringement of method of use patents, such infringement is difficult to prevent or prosecute.
The issued patents we own or license that cover our pharmaceutical product candidates may expire at such a date that such patents may not prevent competitors from developing, making and marketing a product that is identical to our product candidates after expiration of any applicable regulatory exclusivities.
The patent position of biopharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions, and has in recent years been the subject of much litigation, resulting in court decisions, including Supreme Court decisions, which have increased uncertainties as to the ability to enforce patent rights in the future. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of any patent rights are highly uncertain. Our pending and future owned and in-licensed patent applications may not result in patents being issued that protect our technologies or product candidates, effectively prevent others from commercializing our technologies or product candidates or otherwise provide any competitive advantage. In fact, patent applications may not issue as patents at all. The coverage claimed in a patent application can also be significantly reduced before the patent is issued, and its scope can be reinterpreted after issuance. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, or vice versa.
The patent application process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in protecting our product candidates by obtaining and defending patents. For example, we may not be aware of all third-party intellectual property rights potentially relating to our product candidates or their intended uses, and as a result the impact of such third-party intellectual property rights upon the patentability of our own patents and patent applications, as well as the impact of such third-party intellectual property upon our freedom to operate, is highly uncertain. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing or, in some cases, not at all. Therefore, we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. If a third party can establish that we were not the first to make or the first to file for patent protection of such inventions, our owned patent applications may not issue as patents and
even if issued, may be challenged and invalidated or rendered unenforceable. As a result, the issuance, inventorship, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain.
The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity, or enforceability, and our owned or licensed patents and pending patent applications may be challenged in patent offices in the United States and abroad. Even issued patents may later be found invalid or unenforceable or may be modified or revoked in proceedings instituted by third parties before various patent offices or in courts. For example, our owned or licensed pending patent applications may be subject to third-party pre-issuance submissions of prior art to the USPTO, and our issued patents may be subject to post-grant review proceedings, oppositions, derivations, reexaminations, interferences, inter partes review proceedings, or other similar proceedings, in the United States or elsewhere, challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. Such submissions may also be made prior to a patent’s issuance, precluding the granting of a patent based on one or more of our owned pending patent applications. An adverse determination in any such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and product candidates, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and product candidates. Such challenges also may result in substantial cost and require significant time from our scientists and management, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
A third party may also claim that our owned patent rights are invalid or unenforceable in a litigation. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. An adverse result in any legal proceeding could put one or more of our owned patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could allow third parties to commercialize our products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize our technology, products, or product candidates without infringing third-party patent rights.
In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing, and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. Further, if we encounter delays in our clinical trials, the period of time during which we could market our product candidates under patent protection would be reduced. The degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain. Only limited protection may be available and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any competitive advantage. Any failure to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to our product candidates or their uses could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
If our efforts to protect the proprietary nature of the intellectual property related to our technologies are not adequate, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
We rely upon a combination of patents, confidentiality agreements, and trade secret protection to protect the intellectual property related to our technologies. Any disclosure to or misappropriation by third parties of our confidential proprietary information could enable competitors to quickly duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market. We, or any future partners, collaborators, licensors or licensees, may fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. Therefore, we may miss potential opportunities to strengthen our patent position.
It is possible that defects of form in the preparation or filing of our owned or licensed patents or patent applications may exist, or may arise in the future, for example with respect to proper priority claims, inventorship, claim scope, or requests for patent term adjustments. If we or our future partners, collaborators, licensees or licensors fail to establish, maintain or protect such patents and other intellectual property rights, such rights may be reduced or eliminated. If our future partners, collaborators, licensees or licensors are not fully cooperative or disagree with us as to the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of any patent rights, such patent rights could be compromised. If there are material defects in the form, preparation, prosecution, or enforcement of our owned or licensed patents or patent applications, such patents may be invalid and/or unenforceable, and such applications may never result in valid,
enforceable patents. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business.
We anticipate additional patent applications will be filed both in the United States and in other countries, as appropriate. However, we cannot predict:
•if additional patent applications covering new technologies related to our product candidates will be filed;
•if and when patents will issue;
•the degree and range of protection any issued patents will afford us against competitors, including whether third parties will find ways to invalidate or otherwise circumvent our owned or licensed patents;
•whether any of our intellectual property will provide any competitive advantage;
•whether any of our owned or licensed patents that may be issued may be challenged, invalidated, modified, revoked, circumvented, found to be unenforceable or otherwise may not provide any competitive advantage;
•whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our owned or licensed patents and patent applications; or
•whether we will need to initiate or defend litigation or administrative proceedings which may be costly regardless of whether we win or lose.
Additionally, we cannot be certain that the claims in our pending and future patent applications covering our product candidates will be considered patentable by the USPTO, or by patent offices in foreign countries, or that the claims in any of our issued patents will be considered valid or patentable by courts in the United States or foreign countries.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
Patents are of national or regional effect. Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on all of our research programs and product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States, even in jurisdictions where we do pursue patent protection. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, even in jurisdictions where we or our licensors do pursue patent protection, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. In some cases, we or our licensors may not be able to obtain patent protection for certain technology outside the United States. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we and our licensors have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These competitor products may compete with our product candidates, and our owned or licensed patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Various companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of many countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to pharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our owned or licensed patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights. Proceedings to enforce our or our licensors’ patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our owned or licensed patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our owned or licensed patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We or our licensors may not prevail in any lawsuits that we or our licensors initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful.
Various countries outside the United States have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. As a result, a patent owner may have limited remedies in certain circumstances, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors is forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.
Further, the standards applied by the USPTO and foreign patent offices in granting patents are not always applied uniformly or predictably. As such, we do not know the degree of future protection that we will have on our technologies and product candidates. While we will endeavor to try to protect our technologies and product candidates with intellectual property rights such as patents, as appropriate, the process of obtaining patents is time consuming, expensive, and unpredictable.
In addition, geopolitical actions in the United States and in foreign countries could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution or maintenance of our owned or licensed patent applications or those of any future licensors and the maintenance, enforcement, or defense of our issued patents or those of any future licensors. As a result, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.
Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation, or other violation may prevent or delay our product discovery and development efforts.
Our commercial success depends in part on our ability and the ability of our future collaborators to develop, manufacture, market, and sell our product candidates without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. We may analyze patents or patent applications of our competitors that we believe are relevant to our activities, and consider that we are free to operate in relation to our product candidates, but our competitors may obtain issued claims, including in patents we consider to be unrelated to our products or activities, which block our efforts or may potentially result in our product candidates or our activities infringing such claims.
There is a substantial amount of litigation involving the infringement of patents and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. We may be exposed to, or threatened with, future litigation by third parties having patent or other intellectual property rights and who allege that our product candidates, uses and/or other proprietary technologies infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing our product candidates. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk that our product candidates may give rise to claims of infringement of the patent rights of others increases. Moreover, it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents exist which may be found to cover various types of drugs, products or their methods of use or manufacture. Moreover, we may face patent infringement claims from nonpracticing entities that have no relevant product revenue and against whom our owned or licensed patent portfolio may therefore have no deterrent effect. Thus, because of the large number of patents issued and patent applications currently pending in our fields, there may be a risk that third parties may allege they have patent rights which are infringed by our product candidates, technologies or methods.
If a third party alleges that we infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate its intellectual property rights, we may face a number of issues, including, but not limited to:
•infringement and other intellectual property misappropriation which, regardless of merit, may be expensive and time-consuming to litigate and may divert our management’s attention from our core business;
•substantial damages for infringement or misappropriation, which we may have to pay if a court decides that the product candidate or technology at issue infringes on or violates the third-party’s rights, and, if
the court finds we have willfully infringed intellectual property rights, we could be ordered to pay treble damages and the patent owner’s attorneys’ fees;
•an injunction prohibiting us from manufacturing, marketing or selling our product candidates, or from using our proprietary technologies, unless the third party agrees to license its patent rights to us;
•even if a license is available from a third party, we may have to pay substantial royalties, upfront fees and other amounts, and/or grant cross-licenses to intellectual property rights protecting our products; and
•we may be forced to try to redesign our product candidates or processes so they do not infringe third-party intellectual property rights, an undertaking which may not be possible or which may require substantial monetary expenditures and time.
Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations or could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. Generally, conducting preclinical and clinical trials and other development activities in the United States is not considered an act of infringement. If a product candidate is approved by the FDA, a third party may then seek to enforce its patent by filing a patent infringement lawsuit against us. There may be issued third-party patents of which we are currently unaware with claims to compositions, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our product candidates. There may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that may be infringed by our product candidates. Moreover, we may fail to identify relevant patents or incorrectly conclude that a patent is invalid, not enforceable, exhausted, or not infringed by our activities.
Patent and other types of intellectual property litigation can involve complex factual and legal questions, and their outcome is uncertain. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that third-party patents are valid, enforceable, and infringed, which could adversely affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates. In order to successfully challenge the validity of any such U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a presumption of validity. As this burden is a high one requiring us to present clear and convincing evidence as to the invalidity of any such U.S. patent claim, there is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent or find that our product candidates or technology did not infringe any such claims.
Parties making claims against us may seek and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize our product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, could involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could adversely affect the price of shares of our common stock. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign our infringing products, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. We cannot predict whether any such license would be available at all or whether it would be available on commercially reasonable terms. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need or may choose to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize our product candidates, which could harm our business significantly.
We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our owned or licensed patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors or other third parties may infringe, misappropriate, or violate our owned or licensed patents, trademarks, or other intellectual property. To counter infringement, misappropriation, or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Our pending patent applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless and until a patent issues from such applications. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our owned or licensed patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, non-enablement, insufficient written description, or failure to claim patent-eligible subject matter. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO or made a misleading statement during prosecution. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. In any patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will construe the patent’s claims narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover the invention, or decide that the other party’s use of our patented technology falls under the safe harbor to patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. §271(e)(1). An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against those parties or other competitors and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competing products. Any of these occurrences could adversely affect our competitive position, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Similarly, if we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks.
Even if we establish infringement, misappropriation, or violation, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could adversely affect the price of shares of our common stock. Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement, misappropriation, or violation claims, which typically last for years before they are concluded. Even if we ultimately prevail in such claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings.
Issued patents covering our product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad.
If we or one of our current or future licensors initiates legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering our product candidates, or our other proprietary technologies, the defendant could counterclaim that such patent is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution.
In addition to such counterclaims, third parties may raise claims challenging the validity or enforceability of a patent before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in the revocation of, cancellation of, or amendment to our patent rights in such a way that they no longer cover our product candidates, and any other proprietary or platform technologies we may develop. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art of which we or our licensors and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection provided to our product candidates, or other components of our programs, as applicable. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Furthermore, for U.S. applications in which all claims are entitled to a priority date before March 16, 2013, an interference proceeding can be provoked by a third-party or instituted by the USPTO to determine who was the first to invent any of the subject matter covered by the patent claims. We cannot be certain that we are the first to invent the inventions covered by pending patent applications and, if we are not, we may be subject to priority disputes. We may be required to disclaim part or all of the term of certain patents or all of the term of certain patent applications.
No assurance can be given that, if challenged, our owned or licensed patents would be declared by a court or an administrative body to be valid or enforceable.
Changes in patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.
Our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining, defending, maintaining, and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents, and may diminish our ability to protect our inventions, obtain, maintain, enforce and protect our intellectual property rights and, more generally, could affect the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our future owned and licensed patents. Patent reform legislation in the United States and other countries, including the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, signed into law on September 16, 2011, could increase those uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our patents and future issued patents. The Leahy-Smith Act includes a number of significant changes to United States patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted, redefine prior art, and provide more efficient and cost-effective avenues for competitors to challenge the validity of patents. These include allowing third-party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent by USPTO administered post-grant proceedings, including post-grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings.
Further, because of a lower evidentiary standard in these USPTO post-grant proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in United States federal courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action. Accordingly, a third party may attempt to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. Thus, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our patents and future issued patents, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
After March 2013, under the Leahy-Smith Act, the United States transitioned to a first inventor to file system in which, assuming that the other statutory requirements are met, the first inventor to file a patent application will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether a third-party was the first to invent the claimed invention.
Consequently, if a third party files a patent application in the USPTO before we file an application covering the same invention, the third party could be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we had made the invention before it was made by such third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application. Since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing or until issuance, we cannot be certain that we were the first to either (i) file any patent application related to our product candidates and other proprietary technologies we may develop or (ii) invent any of the inventions claimed in our patents or patent applications. Even where we have a valid and enforceable patent, we may not be able to exclude others from practicing the claimed invention where the other party can show that they used the invention in commerce before our filing date or the other party benefits from a compulsory license. The Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our patents and future issued patents, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
In addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. Depending on future actions by the United States Congress, the United States courts, the USPTO, and the relevant law-making bodies in other countries, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to enforce patents or obtain new patents. We cannot predict how future decisions by the courts, the United States Congress, or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents. Any similar adverse change in the patent laws of other jurisdictions could also adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Similarly, changes in patent law and regulations in other countries or jurisdictions or changes in governmental bodies that enforce them or changes in how the relevant governmental authority enforces patent laws or regulations may weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce patents that we may obtain in the future. For example, the complexity and uncertainty of European patent laws have also increased in recent years. In Europe, a unitary patent system took effect on June 1, 2023. Under the unitary patent system, all European patents, including those issued prior to June 1, 2023, now by default automatically fall under the jurisdiction of a new European Unified Patent Court, or the UPC, for litigation involving such patents. As the UPC is a new court system, there is no precedent for the court, increasing the uncertainty of any litigation. Our European patent applications, if issued, could be challenged in the UPC. During the first seven years of the UPC’s existence, the UPC legislation allows a patent owner to opt its European patents out of the jurisdiction of the UPC. We may decide to opt out our future European patents from the UPC, but doing so may preclude us from realizing the benefits of the UPC. Moreover, if we do not meet all of the formalities and requirements for opt-out under the UPC, our European patents could remain under the jurisdiction of the UPC. The UPC will provide our competitors with a new forum to centrally revoke our European patents, and allow for the possibility of a competitor to obtain pan-European injunctions. It is uncertain how the UPC will impact granted European patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
We may become subject to claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our patents and other intellectual property.
We may be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. The failure to name the proper inventors on a patent application can result in the patents issuing thereon being unenforceable. Inventorship disputes may arise from conflicting views regarding the contributions of different individuals named as inventors, the effects of foreign laws where foreign nationals are involved in the development of the subject matter of the patent, conflicting obligations of third parties involved in developing our product candidates, or as a result of questions regarding co-ownership of potential joint inventions. Litigation may be necessary to resolve these and other claims challenging inventorship or ownership. Alternatively, or additionally, we may enter into agreements to clarify the scope of our rights in such intellectual property. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could adversely affect our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.
Our future licensors may have relied on third-party consultants or collaborators or on funds from third parties, such as the United States government, such that our future licensors are not the sole and exclusive owners of the patents we may in-licensed. If other third parties have ownership rights or other rights to our future in-licensed patents, they may be able to license such patents to our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. This could adversely affect our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. Individuals executing agreements with us may have preexisting or competing obligations to a third party and thus an agreement with us may be ineffective in perfecting ownership of inventions developed by that individual. The assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. Such claims could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope, or expiration of a third-party patent, which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our product candidates.
As the biopharmaceutical industry expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties. There can be no assurance that our operations do not, or will not in the future, infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate existing or future third-party patents or other intellectual property rights. Identification of third-party patent rights that may be relevant to our operations is difficult because patent searching is imperfect due to differences in terminology among patents, incomplete databases, and the difficulty in assessing the meaning of patent claims. We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses, including the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims, or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete or thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every third-party patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our product candidates in any jurisdiction.
Numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications exist in our market that are owned by third parties. Our competitors in both the United States and abroad, many of which have substantially greater resources and have made substantial investments in patent portfolios and competing technologies, may have applied for or obtained or may in the future apply for and obtain, patents that will prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use, and sell our product candidates. We do not always conduct independent reviews of pending patent applications of and patents issued to third parties. Patent applications in the United States and elsewhere are typically published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing for which priority is claimed, with such earliest filing date being commonly referred to as the priority date. Certain United States applications that will not be filed outside the United States can remain confidential until patents issue. In addition, patent applications in the United States and elsewhere can be pending for many years before issuance, or unintentionally abandoned patents or applications can be revived. Furthermore, pending patent applications that have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our technologies, product candidates, or the use of our product candidates. As such, there may be applications of others now pending or recently revived patents of which we are unaware. These patent applications may later result in issued patents, or the revival of previously abandoned patents may result in revived patents, that may be infringed by the manufacture, use, or sale of our technologies or product candidates or will prevent, limit, or otherwise interfere with our ability to make, use, or sell our technologies and product candidates.
The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent, and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect. For example, we may incorrectly determine that our product candidates are not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third-party’s pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect. Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our product candidates.
We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents and other intellectual property rights do not exist which might be enforced against our product candidates, their respective methods of use, manufacture, and formulations thereof, and could result in either an injunction prohibiting our manufacture or future sales, or, with respect to our future sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties, which could be significant.
Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on products or product candidates for a sufficient amount of time.
Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, if all maintenance fees are timely paid, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years from its earliest United States non-provisional or international patent application filing date. Various extensions may be available, but the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering our products or product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired, we may be open to competition from competing products, including generics. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing, and regulatory review of products or new product candidates, patents protecting such products or candidates might expire before or shortly after such products or candidates are commercialized. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient and continuing rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.
Obtaining and maintaining patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated as a result of noncompliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees, and various other government fees on patents and/or applications will be due to be paid to the USPTO and various government patent agencies outside of the United States over the lifetime of our owned patents and patent applications. We rely on our outside counsel, or third party vendors, to pay these fees due to United States and non-United States patent agencies. The USPTO and various non-United States government patent agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We are also dependent on PARI to take the necessary action to comply with these requirements with respect to the intellectual property licensed under the PARI License Agreement and may be similarly dependent on licensors in the future. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. There are situations, however, in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, potential competitors might be able to enter the market and this circumstance could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.
In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce, and any other elements of our discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information, or technology that is not covered by patents. We may also rely on trade secret protection as temporary protection for concepts that may be included in a future patent filing. However, trade secret protection will not protect us from innovations that a competitor develops independently of our proprietary know-how. If a competitor independently develops a technology that we protect as a trade secret and files a patent application on that technology, then we may not be able to patent that technology in the future, may require a license from the competitor to use our own know-how, and if the license is not available on commercially-viable terms, then we may not be able to launch our product candidate. Additionally, trade secrets can be difficult to protect and some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws within the United States. We may need to share our trade secrets and proprietary know-how with current or future partners, collaborators, contractors, and others located in countries at heightened risk of theft of trade secrets, including through direct
intrusion by private parties or foreign actors, and those affiliated with or controlled by state actors. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. Additionally, although we require all of our employees to assign their inventions to us, and require all of our employees, consultants, advisors, and any third parties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot be certain that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed, whether inadvertently or through intentional acts of current or departing employees, or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets. If any of the employees, consultants or advisors who are parties to these agreements breach or violate the terms of any of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation. We cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or has had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems; however, such systems and security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. If our trade secrets are not adequately protected, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be adversely affected.
If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.
Our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented, or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. During trademark registration proceedings, we may receive rejections of our applications by the USPTO or in other foreign jurisdictions. Although we are given an opportunity to respond to such rejections, we may be unable to overcome them. In addition, in the USPTO and in comparable agencies in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, which may not survive such proceedings. Moreover, any name we have proposed to use with our product candidate in the United States must be approved by the FDA, regardless of whether we have registered it, or applied to register it, as a trademark. Similar requirements exist in Europe. The FDA typically conducts a review of proposed product names, including an evaluation of potential for confusion with other product names. If the FDA or an equivalent administrative body in a foreign jurisdiction objects to any of our proposed proprietary product names, we may be required to expend significant additional resources in an effort to identify a suitable substitute name that would qualify under applicable trademark laws, not infringe the existing rights of third parties, and be acceptable to the FDA. Furthermore, in many countries, owning and maintaining a trademark registration may not provide an adequate defense against a subsequent infringement claim asserted by the owner of a senior trademark.
We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition among potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors or other third parties may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, if we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade names, domain names, or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
We may be subject to claims asserting that our employees, consultants, or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their current or former employers or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.
Certain of our employees, consultants, or advisors have in the past and may in the future be employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants, and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that these individuals or we have used or
disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. An inability to incorporate such technologies or features would harm our business and may prevent us from successfully commercializing our technologies or product candidates. In addition, we may lose personnel as a result of such claims and any such litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability to hire employees or contract with independent contractors. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our technologies or product candidates, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.
In addition, we or our licensors may in the future be subject to claims by former employees, consultants, or other third parties asserting an ownership right in our owned or licensed patents or patent applications. An adverse determination in any such submission or proceeding may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar technology and therapeutics, without payment to us, or could limit the duration of the patent protection covering our technologies and product candidates. Such challenges may also result in our inability to develop, manufacture, or commercialize our technologies and product candidates without infringing third-party patent rights. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided by our owned or licensed patents and patent applications is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop, or commercialize current or future technologies and product candidates. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats.
The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:
•others may be able to make products that are similar to ours, but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we license or may own in the future;
•if and when patents will issue;
•we, or our licensors or collaborators, might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patent or pending patent applications that we license or may own in the future;
•we, or our licensors or collaborators, might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our or their inventions;
•others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our owned or licensed intellectual property rights;
•it is possible that our pending owned or licensed patent applications will not lead to issued patents;
•issued patents that we hold rights to now or in the future may be held invalid or unenforceable, including as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;
•others may have access to the same intellectual property rights licensed to us in the future on a nonexclusive basis;
•our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;
•we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;
•the patents or other intellectual property rights of others may have an adverse effect on our business; or
•we may choose not to file a patent for certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a patent covering such intellectual property.
Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Compliance Matters
Our business operations and our relationships with healthcare providers, third-party payors, patients and other parties in the healthcare industry are subject, directly or indirectly, to significant regulation under a broad range of healthcare laws, including fraud and abuse laws. Any action against us for violation of such laws could harm our reputation and require significant resources for defense. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the parties with which such manufacturers interact, are subject to extensive and complex regulation under a broad range of healthcare laws. Such laws, some of which will apply only if and when we have a marketed product, constrain our business operations, including the research and development, manufacturing, distribution, sales and promotion of our product candidates and products, if any are approved in the future, as well as educational and charitable activities. Arrangements with healthcare provider, third-party payors, patients and other parties in the healthcare industry professionals, which may have a significant impact on our business, are regulated by fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws. For more information, see the section titled “Business—Government Regulation—Other U.S. Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements.”
Healthcare laws regulating our business activities are broad and any exceptions may be narrow. Requirements may differ across jurisdictions. There may be limited guidance on the interpretation of the laws and their application to our specific activities. Interpretations of these laws by government enforcement agencies and courts are evolving. Efforts to ensure that our business operations will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. We will need to develop and implement robust compliance policies and processes to seek to prevent and detect non-compliance and update such policies and processes as our operations and government expectations evolve, which will involve substantial and ongoing costs, and even with such policies and processes we cannot be certain to prevent non-compliance.
Given the broad scope, limited guidance and evolving government interpretations, our business activities may nonetheless potentially be subject to challenge under these healthcare laws despite efforts to ensure compliance. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. Such an action could also harm our reputation and adversely affect our business as a result. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including, without limitation, civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participating in federal and state funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, contractual damages, diminished profits and future earnings, reputational harm, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could harm our business.
Even if we obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates or any future product candidates, they will remain subject to ongoing regulatory oversight.
Even if we obtain any regulatory approvals for our product candidates or any future product candidates, such product candidates, once approved, will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements applicable to manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promoting, sampling, record-keeping and post-marketing activities, among other things. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMP and GCP requirements for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. Manufacturers of approved products and their facilities are subject to continual review and periodic and unannounced inspections by the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations and standards. Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates or any future product candidates may also be subject to a REMS, limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the drug may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or requirements that we conduct potentially costly post-marketing testing, including additional trials and heightened surveillance to monitor the quality, safety and efficacy of the drug. An unsuccessful post-marketing study or failure to complete such a study could result in the withdrawal of marketing approval. We will further be required to promptly report any serious and unexpected adverse drug experiences and certain quality or production problems with our products to regulatory authorities along with other periodic reports.
Any new legislation addressing drug safety issues could result in delays in product development or commercialization, or increased costs to ensure compliance. We will also have to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotion for our products. Promotional communications with respect to prescription drug products are subject to a variety of legal and regulatory restrictions and must be consistent with the information in the product’s approved label. As such, we will not be allowed to promote our products for indications or uses for which they do not have approval, commonly known as off-label promotion. Physicians, on the other hand, may prescribe products for off-label uses. Although the FDA, EMA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician’s choice of drug treatment made in the physician’s independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companies, including their sales force, with respect to off-label uses of products for which marketing approval has not been issued. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA approved labeling. The holder of an approved NDA must submit new or supplemental applications and obtain prior approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling, or manufacturing process. A company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses of their products may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties.
In addition, drug manufacturers are subject to payment of annual fees and continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP requirements and adherence to commitments made in the NDA or foreign marketing application. If we, or a regulatory authority, discover previously unknown problems with any product, if approved, such as adverse experiences of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured or if a regulatory authority disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of that product, a regulatory authority may impose restrictions relative to that product, the manufacturing facility or us, including requesting revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information, imposing of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks or imposing distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program, requesting a recall or requiring withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements following approval of any of our product candidates, a regulatory authority may:
•issue an untitled letter or warning letter asserting that we are in violation of the law;
•seek an injunction or impose administrative, civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines, disgorgement or profits or revenue, warning letters or adverse publicity requirements;
•suspend or withdraw regulatory approvals;
•restrict product distribution or use, including full or partial holds on any ongoing or planned clinical trials;
•refuse to approve a pending NDA or comparable foreign marketing application (or any supplements thereto) submitted by us or our strategic partners;
•restrict the marketing or manufacturing of the drug;
•seize or detain the drug or otherwise require the withdrawal of the drug from the market;
•refuse to permit the import or export of product candidates; or
•refuse to allow us to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts.
Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize our product candidates and harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Healthcare and other reform initiatives may have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
In the U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been and continue to be ongoing efforts to implement legislative and regulatory changes regarding the healthcare system. Such changes could prevent or delay marketing approval of any product candidates that we may develop; restrict or regulate post-approval activities; and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. These reform efforts may result in more rigorous coverage criteria, additional downward pressure on the price that we, or our future collaborators, may receive for any approved products, or in other consequences that may adversely affect our ability to achieve or maintain profitability. For more information, see the section titled “Business—Government Regulation—Healthcare Reform.”
There is no assurance that federal or state healthcare reform will not adversely affect our future business and financial results. The implementation of healthcare reform measures, including drug price negotiation programs, pricing transparency requirements, and state-level pricing controls, could significantly reduce the prices we are able to charge for any approved products, limit our commercial opportunities, or impose substantial compliance costs. We may be required to provide significant discounts or rebates, participate in government price negotiation programs on unfavorable terms, or face restrictions on product access that limit our ability to commercialize our products successfully. Additionally, implementation by third party payors of policies and practices to limit coverage, manage utilization, reduce payment of drug products could adversely affect our ability to sell our products profitably. The effect of these pricing pressures and access restrictions may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our drugs.
Further, we cannot predict the likelihood, nature, or extent of healthcare reform initiatives that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, which could impose additional restrictions or costs on our business that we have not anticipated.
General legislative cost control measures may also affect reimbursement for our product candidates. The Budget Control Act, for example, resulted in the imposition of reductions in Medicare (but not Medicaid) payments to providers in 2013 and will remain in effect into 2032 unless additional Congressional action is taken. Any significant spending reductions affecting Medicare, Medicaid or other publicly funded or subsidized health programs that may be implemented and/or any significant taxes or fees that may be imposed on us could have an adverse impact on our ability to obtain adequate reimbursement for any approved products and on our results of operations.
Risks Related to the Commercialization of Our Product Candidates
We face substantial competition and we may not be able to compete successfully in this environment.
We face significant competition in an environment of rapid change, and there is a possibility that our competitors may achieve regulatory approval before us or develop therapies that are safer or more advanced or effective than ours, or that we are unable to compete with existing entities that have made substantial investment into novel treatments for disease, which may harm our financial condition and our ability to successfully market or commercialize any product candidates we may develop. The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We will face competition with respect to our product candidates and any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent or other intellectual property protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. There are larger pharmaceuticals that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of the disease indications for which we have research programs. Some of these competitive products and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, while others are based on entirely different approaches. For more information, see “Business–Competition.” Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future that are approved to treat the same diseases for which we may obtain approval for any product candidates we may develop.
Many of our current or potential competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, may have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize product candidates that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient, or are less expensive than any product candidates that we may develop or that would render any product candidates that we may develop obsolete or non-competitive. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our product candidates uneconomical or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing any product candidates we may develop against competitors.
In addition, as a result of the expiration or successful challenge of our patent or other intellectual property rights, we could face risks relating to our ability to successfully prevent or delay launch of competitors’ products. The availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge for any product candidates that we may develop and commercialize. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by rapid advances, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary and novel products and product candidates. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from many different sources, including major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, governmental agencies, consortiums and public and private research institutions.
Even if any of our product candidates receive marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
If any of our product candidates receive marketing approval, they may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community. There is currently a well-established oral standard of care for PF: pirfenidone (ESBRIET®, marketed by Legacy Pharma Inc. in the U.S. and Genentech/Roche globally), nintedanib (OFEV®, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim), and nerandomilast (JASCAYD®, initially marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim) with which physicians, PF patients and payors are very familiar and for which an established benefit-risk profile exists. Even if our product candidates are successful in registrational clinical trials, they may not be successful in displacing the current standard of care if we are unable to demonstrate competitive efficacy, safety, ease of administration and/or cost-effectiveness. For example, physicians may be reluctant or unwilling to take their patients off their current medication, and switch their treatment regimen to our product candidates or add-on our product to their treatment regimen, if approved, if the current medication is effective. Further, patients often acclimate to the treatment regimen that they are currently taking and may not want to switch or add-on unless recommended to do so by their physician for clinical reasons or required to do so due to lack of coverage and adequate reimbursement. Even if we are able to demonstrate our product candidates’ safety and efficacy to the FDA, EMA and other regulators and receive approval, concerns in the medical community related to the comparative efficacy or side effect profile of our products may hinder market acceptance and uptake.
Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors regarding the benefits of our product candidates, if approved, may require significant resources, including management time and financial resources, and may not be successful. If our product candidates do not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance, we may not generate significant revenue and we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:
•the efficacy, safety and potential advantages compared to alternative treatments;
•whether a product candidate is approved, if ever, as an add-on to standard of care or as part of a proprietary combination therapy;
•the prevalence and severity of any side effects;
•our ability to offer our products at competitive prices;
•the convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;
•product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including any limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling, including any boxed warning;
•the product’s acceptance into current standard of care treatment algorithms by medical societies that could affect payor and physician uptake;
•the impact of the combination of our product candidates with a drug delivery device on cost of treatment with our products or the convenience for patients, if approved;
•the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts, and the strength of sales, marketing and distribution support;
•the availability of third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement for any product candidates, once approved;
•the willingness of the target patient population to try, and of physicians to prescribe, the product;
•any restrictions on the use of our products together with other medications; and
•potential product liability claims and unfavorable publicity related to our products.
Any failure by one or more of our product candidates that obtains regulatory approvals to achieve market acceptance or commercial success would adversely affect our business prospects.
Due to the significant resources required for the development of our pipeline, and depending on our ability to access capital, we must prioritize the development of certain product candidates over others. Moreover, we may fail to expend our limited resources on product candidates or indications that may have been more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Due to the significant resources required for the development of our product candidates, we must decide which product candidates and indications to pursue and advance and the amount of resources to allocate to each. Our decisions concerning the allocation of research, development, collaboration, management and financial resources toward particular product candidates, therapeutic areas or indications may not lead to the development of viable commercial products and may divert resources away from better opportunities. If we make incorrect determinations regarding the viability or market potential of either lead product candidate, or any of our other current or future product candidates, or misread trends in the pharmaceutical industry, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. As a result, we may fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities, be required to forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or other diseases and disease pathways that may later prove to have greater commercial potential than those we choose to pursue, or relinquish valuable rights to such product candidates through collaboration, licensing or royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been advantageous for us to invest additional resources to retain sole development and commercialization rights.
We owe royalty payments to a third party pursuant to the terms of a confidential settlement agreement.
Pursuant to the terms of a confidential settlement agreement, for a period beginning upon first commercial sale and ending on the later of the expiration of the last to expire patent right or twenty years after such first commercial sale, we are obligated to pay a third party royalties in the amount of 0.25% of net sales on any pirfenidone product, including AP01, and 0.5% of net sales of any nintedanib product, including AP02, although the agreement specifically excludes any percentage of net sales on AP03 as a combination product. The payment of the royalties will impact our future revenue and may make it more difficult to engage in collaborations, licenses or the acquisition of certain product candidates, and may result in us ceasing to develop certain product candidates or all of our product candidates if we determine that it will not be financially profitable to do so.
We currently have no commercial marketing and sales organization and have no experience as a company in commercializing products, and we may have to invest significant resources to develop these capabilities. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our products, we may not be able to generate product revenue.
We have no internal sales, marketing or distribution capabilities, nor have we commercialized a product. If any of our product candidates ultimately receives regulatory approval, we expect to establish a marketing and sales organization with technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities to commercialize each such product in major markets, which will be expensive and time consuming. We have no prior experience as a company in the marketing, sale and distribution of pharmaceutical products and there are significant risks involved in building and managing a sales organization, including our ability to hire, retain and incentivize qualified individuals, generate sufficient sales leads, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel and effectively manage a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of these products. We may also choose to collaborate with third parties that have direct sales forces and established distribution systems, either to augment our own sales force and distribution systems or in lieu of our own sales force and distribution systems. We may not be able to enter into collaborations or hire consultants or external service providers to assist us in sales, marketing and distribution functions on acceptable financial terms, or at all. In addition, our product revenues and our profitability, if any, may be lower if we rely on third parties for these functions than if we were to market, sell and distribute any products that we develop ourselves. We likely will have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively. If we are not successful in commercializing our products, either on our own or through arrangements with one or more third parties, we may not be able to generate any future product revenue and we would incur significant additional losses.
The success of our product candidates or any future product candidate will depend significantly on coverage and adequate reimbursement by third party payors or the willingness of patients to pay for these products if not covered.
We believe that for any product candidates which may be approved, our success depends on obtaining and maintaining coverage and adequate reimbursement for such products for their respective approved indications, and the extent to which patients will be willing to pay out-of-pocket for such products in the absence of reimbursement for all or part of the cost. Accordingly, we will need to establish a coverage and reimbursement strategy for any approved product candidate. In the U.S. and markets in other countries, patients generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Adequate coverage and reimbursement from governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and commercial payors is critical to new product acceptance. Government and private third-party payors decide which products they will cover and establish reimbursement levels. Coverage and reimbursement varies among third party payors and new products face significant challenges in obtaining and maintaining coverage and adequate reimbursement, particularly if approved for indications with established treatments already on the market. For more information, see the section titled “Business—Government Regulation—Coverage and Reimbursement.”
A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Government authorities and third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage for certain products, managing utilization of covered products and restricting the amount of reimbursement for covered products. Within the U.S., net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or requested by private payors in exchange for favorable coverage. The process of obtaining coverage and reimbursement determinations from third-party payors can be lengthy, unpredictable, and costly, with no guarantee of success. Even if we obtain favorable coverage decisions, payors may subsequently revise their policies in ways that adversely affect our products. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved products that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition. For more information, see the section titled “Business—Government Regulation—Healthcare Reform.”
There can be no assurance that our product candidates, even if they are approved for sale in the U.S. or in other countries, will be considered medically reasonable and necessary for a specific indication or cost-effective by third-party payors, or that coverage and an adequate level of reimbursement will be available or that third-party payors’ reimbursement policies will not adversely affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably.
The market for our product candidates may be smaller than we estimate.
Our estimates of the potential market opportunity for our product candidates include several key assumptions, based on our industry knowledge, industry publications and third-party research reports. These assumptions include the number of patients who have PF, as well as the estimated reimbursement levels for each product candidate, if approved. While we believe our assumptions and the data underlying our estimates are reasonable, and believe that the assumptions and data underlying the estimates of third-party led market research are similarly reasonable and accurate, we have not independently verified the accuracy of the third-party data on which we have based our assumptions and estimates, and these assumptions and estimates may not be correct and the conditions supporting our assumptions or estimates may change at any time, including as a result of factors outside our control, thereby reducing the predictive accuracy of these underlying factors. Further, new studies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of these diseases, and the potentially addressable patient population for our product candidates may not ultimately be amenable to treatment with our product candidates. If the actual market for any product candidates we may develop is smaller than we estimate, our revenues, if any, may be limited and it may be more difficult for us to achieve or maintain profitability.
Clinical trial and product liability lawsuits against us could divert our resources, cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.
We face an inherent risk of clinical trial and product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in human clinical trials and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any products that we may develop, especially if our products are prescribed for off-label uses (even if we do not promote such uses). For example, we may be sued if our product candidates allegedly cause injury or are found to be otherwise unsuitable during product testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale.
Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product candidate, negligence, strict liability and a breach of warranties. Claims may be brought against us by clinical trial participants, patients or others using, administering or selling products that may be approved in the future. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that our product candidates caused injuries, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
•decreased demand for any product candidates that we may develop;
•termination of clinical trials;
•injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;
•withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
•significant costs to defend the related litigation;
•substantial monetary awards paid to trial participants or patients;
•product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;
•reduced resources of our management to pursue our business strategy;
•the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop; and
•a decline in our stock price.
Although we maintain clinical trial liability insurance coverage, such insurance may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. We may need to increase our insurance coverage as we expand our clinical trials. We intend to expand our insurance coverage for products to include the sale of commercial products if we obtain marketing approval on any current or potential product candidates, but we may be unable to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any products approved for marketing. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations, Employee Matters and Managing Our Growth
Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
Our success depends in part on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management, clinical and scientific personnel. Each of our executive officers may currently terminate their employment with us at any time. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any of our executives or employees. This lack of insurance means that we may not have adequate compensation for the loss of the services of these individuals.
The loss of the services of our executive officers or other key employees could impede the achievement of our development and commercialization objectives and seriously harm our ability to successfully implement our business strategy. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience
required to successfully develop, gain regulatory approvals of and commercialize products. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will be limited.
Further, job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the stock awards they receive in connection with their employment. If the perceived benefits of our stock awards decline, either because we are a public company or for other reasons, it may harm our ability to recruit and retain highly skilled employees. Our employees may be more likely to leave us if the shares they own have significantly appreciated in value relative to the original purchase prices of the shares, or if the exercise prices of the options that they hold are significantly below the market price of our common stock, particularly after the expiration of the lock-up agreements described herein.
We may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
As of December 31, 2025, we had 50 full-time employees, including 31 who were engaged in research and development activities. As we continue to build our organization and execute on our strategy, we expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of clinical development, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management, business, and development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations. Our future financial performance and our ability to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to manage our growth effectively.
Our business could be affected by litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions.
We currently operate and plan to operate in a highly regulated industry and we could now or in the future be subject to litigation, government investigation and enforcement actions on a variety of matters in the U.S. or foreign jurisdictions, including, without limitation, intellectual property, regulatory, product liability, environmental, whistleblower, false claims, privacy, anti-kickback, anti-bribery, securities, commercial, employment and other claims and legal proceedings which may arise from conducting our business. Any determination that our operations or activities are not in compliance with existing laws or regulations could result in the imposition of fines, civil and criminal penalties, equitable remedies, including disgorgement, injunctive relief and/or other sanctions against us, and remediation of any such findings could have an adverse effect on our business operations.
Legal proceedings, government investigations and enforcement actions can be expensive and time-consuming. An adverse outcome resulting from any such proceedings, investigations or enforcement actions could result in significant damages awards, fines, penalties, exclusion from the federal healthcare programs, healthcare debarment, injunctive relief, product recalls, reputational damage and modifications of our business practices, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Even if such a proceeding, investigation or enforcement action is ultimately decided in our favor, the investigation and defense thereof could require substantial financial and management resources and cause reputational harm.
Inadequate funding for the FDA, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies, including from government shut downs, or other disruptions to these agencies’ operations, could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner or otherwise prevent those agencies from performing normal business functions on which the operation of our business may rely, which could negatively impact our business.
The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, and statutory, regulatory, and policy changes. In addition, government funding of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and other government agencies on which our operations may rely, including those that fund research and development activities, is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable.
Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for new product candidates to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and the SEC, have had to furlough critical employees and stop critical activities. If another prolonged government shutdown occurs, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, future government shutdowns could impact our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations.
Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial collaborators, principal investigators, CROs, suppliers and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements.
Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial collaborators, principal investigators, CROs, suppliers and vendors may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates FDA or other comparable regulatory authority regulations, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to the FDA or other comparable regulatory authority, manufacturing standards, foreign, federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, and laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data.
In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud and abuse, such as the payment of kickbacks in return for business. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Misconduct by these parties could also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of individually identifiable information, including, without limitation, information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. In addition, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, including, without limitation, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Any of these could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
If our third-party manufacturers or suppliers do not comply with laws regulating the protection of the environment and health and human safety, our business could be affected adversely.
We and any CDMOs and suppliers we engage are subject to numerous federal, state and local environmental, health, and safety laws, regulations and permitting requirements, including those governing laboratory procedures; the generation, handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous and regulated materials and wastes; the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air and water; and employee health and safety. Manufacturing operations for our product candidates involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials. These operations also produce hazardous waste products. We or the manufacturers we contract with generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from the use of hazardous materials by us or by one of our third party-manufacturers, we could be held liable for any resulting damages or be penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources, and our clinical trials or regulatory approvals could be suspended. We and our third-party manufacturers and suppliers cannot eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials or wastes. Although we maintain general liability insurance as well as workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities.
In addition, we and our third-party manufacturers and suppliers may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, which may increase the cost of their services to us. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions or liabilities for us or our third-party manufacturers and suppliers, or adversely impact our supply chain or reputation, which could in turn materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our insurance policies are expensive and only protect us from some business risks, which will leave us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities.
We do not carry insurance for all categories of risk that our business may encounter. Some of the policies we currently maintain include property, general liability, employment directors’ and officers’ and employment practices insurance, however, we may not be able to maintain adequate levels of insurance coverage in the future. Further, an insurance carrier may seek to cancel or deny coverage after a claim has occurred.
We may engage in strategic transactions that could increase our capital requirements, dilute our stockholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, subject us to other risks, adversely affect our liquidity, increase our expenses, present significant distractions to our management and harm our financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we may consider strategic transactions, such as acquisitions of companies, asset purchases and strategic partnerships or out-licensing or in-licensing of intellectual property, product candidates or products. Additional potential transactions that we may consider in the future include a variety of business arrangements, including spin-offs, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, restructurings, divestitures, business combinations and investments. We may not be able to find suitable partners or acquisition candidates, and we may not be able to complete such transactions on favorable terms, if at all. Any future transactions could increase our near and long-term expenditures, result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, including our common stock, or the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or acquired in-process research and development expenses, any of which could affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Future acquisitions may also require us to obtain additional financing, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all. These transactions may never be successful and may require significant time and attention of our management. In addition, the integration of any licensed assets that we may acquire rights to in the future may disrupt our existing business, may cause delays related to the integration of any licensed or acquired assets, and may be a complex, risky and costly endeavor for which we may never realize the full benefits. Furthermore, we may experience losses related to our entry
into any licensing or partnerships, including as a result of failure to realize expected benefits or the materialization of unexpected liabilities or risks, which could have a material negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Accordingly, although there can be no assurance that we will undertake or successfully complete any additional transactions of the nature described above, any additional transactions that we do complete could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.
Our operations and the operations of our suppliers, CROs, CDMOs and clinical sites could be subject to earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications or infrastructure failures, cybersecurity incidents, physical security breaches, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, blizzards, and other extreme weather conditions, fires, public health pandemics or epidemics and other natural or manmade disasters or business interruptions, for which we are predominantly self-insured. We rely or expect to rely on third-party manufacturers or suppliers to produce our product candidates and their components and on CROs and clinical sites to conduct our clinical trials, and do not currently have a redundant source of supply for all components of our product candidates. Our ability to obtain clinical or, if approved, commercial, supplies of our product candidates or any future product candidates could be disrupted if the operations of these suppliers were affected by a man-made or natural disaster or other business interruption, and our ability to commence, conduct or complete our clinical trials in a timely manner could be similarly adversely affected by any of the foregoing. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.
Risks Related to This Offering, Ownership of Our Common Stock and Our Status as a Public Company
There has been no prior public market for our common stock. An active trading market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price for our common stock was determined through negotiations with the underwriters and may vary from the price of our common stock after the closing of this offering. An active trading market for our shares may never develop or, if it does develop, be sustained following this offering. If an active market for our common stock does not develop or is not sustained, the value of your shares may be impaired, and it may be difficult for you to sell shares you purchased in this offering at an attractive price or at all. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling shares, which in turn could materially adversely affect our business.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations.
Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. These fluctuations may occur due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including:
•the timing and success or failure of clinical trials for our product candidates or competing product candidates or any other change in the competitive landscape of our industry;
•our ability to successfully recruit and retain subjects for clinical trials and any delays caused by difficulties in such efforts;
•the timing and cost of, and level of investment in, research, development, regulatory approvals and commercialization activities relating to our product candidates, which may change from time to time;
•the cost of manufacturing our product candidates, which may vary depending on the quantity of production and the terms of our agreements with manufacturers;
•expenditures that we may incur to acquire, develop or commercialize additional product candidates;
•the level of demand and the indication for any approved products, which may vary significantly;
•the risk/benefit profile, cost, coverage, and reimbursement policies with respect to our product candidates, if approved, and existing and potential future drugs that compete with our product candidates;
•the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
•changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
•the timing and amount of any milestone, royalty or other payments payable by us or due to us under any collaboration, licensing or other agreements; and
•general market and economic conditions, including market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
The cumulative effects of these factors could result in large fluctuations and unpredictability in our quarterly and annual operating results. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. Investors should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance.
This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failing to meet the expectations of industry or financial analysts or investors for any period. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of analysts or investors or below any forecasts we may provide to the market, or if the forecasts we provide to the market are below the expectations of analysts or investors, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur even if we have met any previously publicly stated revenue or earnings guidance.
The trading price of the shares of our common stock may be volatile, and purchasers of our common stock could lose all or part of their investment.
The market price for our stock is likely to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which we cannot control. The stock market in general and the market for biopharmaceutical companies in particular have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their common stock at or above the price paid for the shares. These factors include:
•the commencement, enrollment or results of our current or future clinical trials of our product candidates;
•adverse results from, delays in, suspension or termination of current or future clinical trials or preclinical studies of our product candidates, or any delay in advancing a clinical candidate;
•the success of competitive products gaining approvals or announcements by current and future competitors of their product development efforts;
•any delay in our regulatory filings for our product candidates or any other product candidate we may develop, and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority’s review of such filings;
•adverse regulatory decisions, including the failure to authorize or approve the conduct of one or more clinical trials of our product candidates, the failure to receive regulatory approvals of our product candidates, or the failure of a regulatory authority to accept data from clinical trials conducted in other countries;
•the reporting of unfavorable preclinical or clinical results;
•our success or failure to identify, develop, acquire or license additional product candidates;
•the degree and rate of physician and market adoption of any of our current and future product candidates, if successfully developed and approved;
•manufacturing, supply or distribution delays or shortages, including our inability to obtain adequate supply of drug product, drug substance, raw materials or any commercially available product to be used in our clinical trials, at acceptable prices, or at all;
•developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;
•unanticipated serious safety concerns related to the use of our product candidates or any other product candidate;
•our cash position, and any changes in financial estimates by us or by any equity research analysts who might cover our stock;
•changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities and the incurrence of additional debt;
•conditions or trends in our industry;
•investors’ general perception of our company and our business;
•our ability to effectively manage our growth;
•overall performance of the equity markets;
•changes in the market valuations and stock market price and volume fluctuations of comparable companies and, in particular, those that operate in the biopharmaceutical industry;
•publication of research reports about us or our industry or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;
•announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures, capital commitments or divestitures;
•third-party publications and discussions about our business on social media, forums and other websites;
•recruitment or departure of key personnel;
•trading volume of our common stock;
•sales of common stock by us or our stockholders in the future;
•disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our product candidates;
•significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;
•changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
•changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles;
•regulatory or legal developments in the U.S. and foreign countries;
•general political and economic conditions; and
•other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control.
The stock market in general, and the market for biotechnology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The realization of any of the risks described in this section, or any of a broad range of other risks, could have a material adverse impact on the market price of our common stock. In the past, stockholders have initiated class action lawsuits against pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies following periods of volatility in the market prices of these companies’ stock. Such litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources.
We may not be able to satisfy listing requirements of Nasdaq or obtain or maintain a listing of our common stock on Nasdaq.
If our common stock is listed on Nasdaq, we must meet certain financial and liquidity criteria to maintain such listing. If we violate Nasdaq’s listing requirements, our common stock may be delisted. If we fail to meet any of Nasdaq’s listing standards, our common stock may be delisted. In addition, our board of directors may determine that the cost of maintaining our listing on a national securities exchange outweighs the benefits of such listing. A delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq may materially impair our stockholders’ ability to buy and sell our common stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of, and the efficiency of the trading market for, our common stock. The delisting of our common stock could significantly impair our ability to raise capital and the value of your investment.
If you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of your investment.
The initial public offering price of our common stock is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after the completion of this offering. Therefore, if you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering. Based on the initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, you will experience immediate dilution of $ per share, representing the difference between our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2025 and the initial public offering price. For a further description of the dilution that you will face immediately after this offering, see “Dilution.”
A significant portion of our total outstanding shares are restricted from immediate resale but may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. If our stockholders sell, or the market perceives that our stockholders intend to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly and impair our ability to raise adequate capital through the sale of additional equity or equity-linked securities.
Upon the closing of this offering, we will have shares of common stock outstanding (or shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares from us in full), based on the number of shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025 and after giving effect to the automatic conversion of our redeemable convertible preferred stock outstanding immediately prior to this offering into shares of our common stock. Of these, the shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable immediately after this offering and substantially all of the additional shares of common stock will be available for sale in the public market beginning 180 days after the date of this prospectus following the expiration of lock-up agreements between our directors, officers, substantially all of our stockholders and the underwriters. The foregoing agreements are subject to certain limited exceptions, and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC and Evercore Group L.L.C. may release these stockholders from their lock-up agreements with the underwriters at any time and without notice, which would allow for earlier sales of shares in the public market. See “Underwriting.”
In addition, promptly following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we intend to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, registering the issuance of shares of common stock subject to options or other equity awards issued or reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans. Shares registered under these registration statements on Form S-8 will be available for sale in the public market subject to vesting arrangements and exercise of options, the lock-up agreements described above and the restrictions of Rule 144 in the case of our affiliates.
Additionally, after this offering, the holders of an aggregate of shares of our common stock, or their transferees, will have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file one or more registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. If we were to register the resale of these shares, they could be freely sold in the public market. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law may prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to change our management and hinder efforts to acquire a controlling interest in us, and the market price of our common stock may be lower as a result.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will become effective immediately prior to the closing of this offering, and amended and restated bylaws that will become effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, may significantly reduce the value of our shares to a potential acquirer or make it difficult for a third party to acquire, or attempt to acquire, control of our company, even if a change of control was considered favorable by you and other stockholders. For example, our board of directors will have the authority to issue up to shares of preferred stock and may fix the price, rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions of the preferred stock without any further vote or action by our stockholders. The issuance of shares of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change of control transaction. As a result, the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of our stockholders may be adversely affected. An issuance of shares of preferred stock may result in the loss of voting control to other stockholders.
Our charter documents will also contain other provisions that could have an anti-takeover effect, including:
•only one of our three classes of directors will be elected each year;
•stockholders will not be entitled to remove directors other than by a two-thirds (2/3) vote and only for cause;
•stockholders will not be permitted to take actions by written consent;
•stockholders cannot call a special meeting of stockholders; and
•stockholders must give advance notice to nominate directors or submit proposals for consideration at stockholder meetings.
In addition, we are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which regulates corporate acquisitions by prohibiting Delaware corporations from engaging in specified business combinations with particular stockholders of those companies. These provisions could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change of control transaction. They could also have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our common stock, including transactions that may be in your best interests. These provisions may also prevent changes in our management or limit the price that investors are willing to pay for our stock.
Concentration of ownership of our common stock among our existing executive officers, directors and principal stockholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.
Following the completion of this offering, our executive officers, directors and current beneficial owners of 5% or more of our common stock and their respective affiliates will beneficially own approximately % of our outstanding common stock (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares and no exercise of outstanding options and without giving effect to (i) any potential purchases by such persons in this offering or (ii) issuance of options to be granted to certain of our employees and non-employee directors upon pricing of this offering). As a result, these persons, acting together, would be able to control all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election and removal of directors, any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other significant corporate transactions.
Some of these persons or entities may have interests different than yours. For example, because many of these stockholders purchased their shares at prices substantially below the current market price of our common stock and have held their shares for a longer period, they may be more interested in selling our company to an acquirer than other investors, or they may want us to pursue strategies that deviate from the interests of other stockholders.
Participation in this offering by our existing stockholders and their affiliated entities may reduce the public float for our common stock.
To the extent certain of our existing stockholders and their affiliated entities participate in this offering, such purchases would reduce the non-affiliate public float of our shares, meaning the number of shares of our common stock that are not held by officers, directors and principal stockholders. A reduction in the public float could reduce the number of shares that are available to be traded at any given time, thereby adversely impacting the liquidity of our common stock and depressing the price at which you may be able to sell shares of common stock purchased in this offering.
We will have broad discretion in the use of proceeds from this offering and may invest or spend the proceeds in ways with which you do not agree and in ways that may not increase the value of your investment.
We will have broad discretion over the use of proceeds from this offering, including for any purposes described under “Use of Proceeds.” We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments to fund the continued development of AP01 and AP02, our two clinical stage programs, and AP03, our preclinical stage program. See the section titled “Use of Proceeds” for additional information. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, their ultimate use may vary substantially from their currently intended use. You may not agree with our decisions, and our use of the proceeds may not yield any return on your investment and the failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. Our failure to apply the net proceeds from this offering effectively could compromise our ability to pursue our growth strategy and we might not be able to yield a significant return, if any, on our investment of these net proceeds. You will not have the opportunity to influence our decisions on how to use our net proceeds from this offering.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation of our common stock, if any, will be your sole source of gains and you may never receive a return on your investment.
You should not rely on an investment in our common stock to provide dividend income. We have not declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock to date. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. There is no guarantee that shares of our common stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which stockholders have purchased their shares.
Our bylaws that will become effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will designate certain courts as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.
Pursuant to our amended and restated bylaws that will become effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for any state law claims for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of or based on a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of ours to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, our fourth amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws or as to which the DGCL confers
jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, or the Delaware Forum Provision. The Delaware Forum Provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the respective rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or the Federal Forum Provision. In addition, our amended and restated bylaws will provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision; provided, however, that stockholders cannot and will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
We recognize that the Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision in our amended and restated bylaws may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware. Additionally, the forum selection clauses in our amended and restated bylaws may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage the filing of lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees, even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. In addition, while the Delaware Supreme Court and other state courts have upheld the validity of federal forum selection provisions purporting to require claims under the Securities Act be brought in federal court, there is uncertainty as to whether other courts will enforce our Federal Forum Provision. If the Federal Forum Provision is found to be unenforceable, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters. The Federal Forum Provision may also impose additional litigation costs on stockholders who assert that the provision is not enforceable or invalid. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders.
General Risk Factors
If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, or fail, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, or failure, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; and other adverse consequences.
In the ordinary course of our business, we and the third parties upon which we rely, process, collect, receive, store, use, transfer, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share collectively referred to as processing, data and information, including proprietary, confidential, and sensitive data, including personal data (such as health-related data), intellectual property and trade secrets, collectively referred to as sensitive information. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of sensitive information is critical to our operations. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure, and that of the third parties upon which we rely, may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or other third parties or breaches due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions.
Cyber-attacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, security breaches and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties upon which we rely. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, “hacktivists,” organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states and nation-state-supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-attacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities.
These risks, as well as the number and frequency of cybersecurity events globally, may also be heightened during times of war or other major conflicts. We and the third parties upon which we rely are subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing attacks), credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software, or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, electrical and telecommunications failures, earthquakes, fires, floods, and other similar threats. In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of sensitive data and income, reputational harm and diversion of funds.
We have a hybrid in-office/remote work environment, which, like other companies that have incorporated remote working, has increased risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations.
Future business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program.
We currently rely on third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts, including, without limitation, cloud-based infrastructure, employee email, and other functions. We also currently rely on commercially available tools from third-party service providers to process and safeguard our sensitive information and business data. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if our third-party service providers fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award.
Although, to our knowledge, we have not experienced any material security breach to date, we have experienced and may continue to experience threats or system failures which could cause a security incident or other interruption that could result in unauthorized, unlawful or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive information or our information technology systems, or those of the third parties upon whom we rely. We have not yet conducted any internal audits or penetration tests on our information technology systems, however, we have enlisted a third-party to conduct security audits or penetration tests on our behalf, and such testing will be undertaken in the first half of . Such assessments, when conducted, could indicate vulnerabilities in our information technology systems which we may not be able to effectively remediate. If a security incident were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or ongoing or planned clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approvals efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption, security breach, or other incident results in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, other data or applications relating to our technology, or our current or future product candidates, we could incur liabilities and the further development of our current or future product candidates could be compromised or delayed. We may expend significant resources or modify our business activities (including our clinical trial activities) to try to protect against security incidents.
Certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures or industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information. While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures have been or will be effective. Additionally, certain federal, state and foreign government requirements include obligations of companies to notify individuals of security breaches involving
particular categories of personally identifiable information, which could result from breaches experienced by us or the third parties upon whom we rely. Such disclosures are costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences.
We may not be able to detect and remediate vulnerabilities in our information technology systems because the threats and techniques used to exploit the vulnerability change frequently and are often sophisticated in nature. Therefore, such vulnerabilities could be exploited but may not be detected until after a security incident has occurred. These vulnerabilities pose material risks to our business. Further, we may experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities. It is not possible to prevent all threats to our information technology systems and those of our third-party service providers, over which we exert less control, and any controls we implement to do so may prove to be ineffective.
If we (or a third party upon whom we rely) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience adverse consequences, such as government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal data); litigation (including class claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Security incidents and attendant consequences may cause delays or disruptions in our clinical trials and development of product candidates, deter customers from using our products, and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business.
Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims. In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect or infer sensitive information about us from public sources, data brokers or other means that reveals competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position.
We are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. laws and regulations and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profits, and other adverse business consequences.
In the ordinary course of business, we and the third parties on which we rely process personal data and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, data we collect about clinical trial participants and sensitive third-party data. Our data processing activities may subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements, and other obligations relating to data privacy and security.
The legislative and regulatory framework for the processing of personal data worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. In the U.S., there are numerous federal and state privacy and data security laws and regulations governing the collection, use, disclosure, transfer, security and processing of personal information, including federal and state health information privacy laws, federal and state security breach notification laws, federal and state consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). In addition, we may obtain health information from third parties (including research institutions from which we obtain clinical trial data) that are subject to HIPAA, which imposes specific requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we could be subject to criminal penalties under certain privacy laws, including under HIPAA, for example, if we knowingly obtain, use or disclose individually identifiable health information maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity in a manner that is not authorized or permitted by HIPAA.
At the state level, numerous U.S. states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording individuals certain rights concerning their personal data. Similar laws are being considered in several other states, as well as at the federal and local levels, and we expect more states to pass similar laws in the future. While these states exempt some data processed in the context of clinical trials, these developments may further complicate compliance efforts, and increase legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties upon whom we rely. Furthermore, other states have proposed or enacted legislation that is focused on more narrow aspects of privacy. For example, a number of states have passed laws that protect biometric information and a smaller number of states have passed or are considering laws that are specifically focused upon health privacy, such as Washington’s My Health My Data Act. The My Health My Data Act imposes new state restrictions and requirements on the processing and sale of consumer health data and creates a private right of action. In addition, all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have enacted breach notification laws that may require us to notify patients, employees or regulators in the event of unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal or confidential information experienced by us or our collaborators or third-party service providers. The effects of state and federal privacy laws are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and potential liability in an effort to comply with such legislation.
Outside the U.S., an increasing number of laws, regulations, and industry standards may govern data privacy and security. For example, in our clinical trials in Europe and/or the UK, our processing of personal data is subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, EU GDPR, and/or the United Kingdom’s so-called “UK GDPR”, together, the GDPR. The GDPR is wide-ranging in scope and imposes numerous requirements on companies that are subject to it, including relating to having a legal basis for processing personal data, relating to the processing of sensitive data (such as health data), obtaining consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, providing information to individuals regarding data processing activities, implementing safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of personal data, notification of data breaches, requiring data protection impact assessments for high risk processing and taking certain measures when engaging third-party processors. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data to countries outside the European Union and the UK, including the U.S., and permits data protection authorities to impose large penalties for violations of the GDPR, including potential fines of up to €20 million (£17.5 million) or 4% of annual global revenues, whichever is greater. The GDPR also confers a private right of action on data subjects and consumer associations to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies, and obtain compensation for damages resulting from violations of the GDPR.
In addition, we may be unable to transfer personal data from Europe and other jurisdictions to the U.S. or other countries due to data localization requirements or limitations on cross-border data flows. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the European Economic Area, or EEA, and the United Kingdom, or UK, have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the U.S. and other countries whose privacy laws it considers inadequate. Other jurisdictions may adopt similarly stringent data localization and cross-border data transfer laws. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data from the EEA and UK to the U.S. in compliance with law, such as the EEA’s standard contractual clauses, the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK extension thereto (which allows for transfers to relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the Framework), these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal data to the U.S. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, the UK or other jurisdictions to the U.S., or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions (such as Europe) at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business. Additionally, companies that transfer personal data out of the EEA and UK to other jurisdictions, particularly to the U.S., are subject to increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants, and activist groups. Some European regulators have ordered certain companies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers of personal data out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations.
Through executive and legislative action, the U.S. federal government has also taken steps to restrict data transactions involving persons affiliated with countries of concern such as China and Russia. For example, Executive Order 14117 on "Preventing Access to Americans' Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern" as implemented by Department of Justice regulations (issued in December 2024, with the final rule effective April 2025) prohibits data brokerage transactions involving certain sensitive personal data categories to countries of concern. The regulations also restrict certain investment agreements, employment agreements and vendor agreements involving such data and countries of concern, absent specified cybersecurity controls. Actual or alleged violations of these regulations may be punishable by criminal and/or civil sanctions. The evolving complexity of privacy and data security legislation in the U.S. may complicate our compliance efforts and further increase our risk of regulatory enforcement, penalties and litigation.
We are also bound by contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful. If any privacy policies, marketing materials and other statements regarding data privacy and security that we publish are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, or other adverse consequences.
Laws and regulations related to privacy, data protection and security are continuing to evolve and are becoming increasingly stringent. Additionally, these laws may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflict among jurisdictions, creating uncertainty. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources, which may necessitate changes to the ways in which we collect and process data, our information technologies, systems and to exercise greater oversight and control over third parties that process personal data on our behalf.
We may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties on whom we rely may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations. If we or the third parties we rely on fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable data privacy and security obligations, we may face significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-action claims); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; bans on processing personal data; orders to destroy or not use personal data; and imprisonment of company officials. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including but not limited to: loss of customers; interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including, as relevant, clinical trials and development of product candidates); inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions; limited ability to develop or commercialize our products; expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.
Our use of new and evolving technologies, such as AI, may present risks and challenges that can impact our business, including by posing cybersecurity and other risks to our confidential and/or proprietary information, including personal information, and as a result we may be exposed to reputational harm and liability
The use of artificial intelligence in our operations and products may introduce new cybersecurity and data privacy risks, including vulnerabilities in artificial intelligence algorithms, unauthorized data access, unintended bias in automated decision-making, potential for artificial intelligence systems to process or generate personal data in ways that violate data privacy regulations, inadvertent exposure of confidential business information or trade secrets, and potential liability for discriminatory outcomes from artificial intelligence systems. In addition, if we enable or use solutions that draw controversy due to perceived or actual negative societal impact or otherwise cause harm, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, legal liability, and defensive costs and expenses. These artificial intelligence-related risks may be difficult to detect, prevent, or remediate, and could result in regulatory investigations, fines, litigation, reputational damage, and increased compliance costs as well as impact our financial condition and results of operations.
A growing number of lawmakers are adopting laws and regulations addressing, and have focused enforcement efforts on, the development and adoption of AI technologies and use of such technologies in compliance with ethical standards and societal expectations. In the U.S., several states have passed laws to regulate various uses of AI, including to make consequential decisions, among other requirements, that were set to take effect in 2026. In addition, it is possible that U.S. states and the federal government will adopt new laws and regulations in the near future, and that existing laws and regulations may be interpreted in ways that would affect our business and the ways in which we and our customers use our AI technologies. The Executive Order on Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, which was signed on December 11, 2025, raises significant questions regarding the future of these state laws and it is likely that companies making use of AI technologies will face a uncertain legal framework for the near future,
Outside the U.S., lawmaking and regulation relating to AI is proceeding at a similar pace. In Europe, for example, the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, or AI Act, entered into force on August 1, 2024 and, with some exceptions, will begin to apply as of August 2, 2026. This legislation imposes significant obligations on providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems, and encourages providers and deployers of AI systems to account for EU ethical principles in their development and use of these systems. As we continue to develop and use AI systems that are governed by the AI Act or other emerging regulations, it may necessitate ensuring higher standards of data quality, transparency, and human oversight, as well as adhering to specific ethical, accountability, and administrative requirements, some of which may increase our costs and compliance obligations. Further, potential government regulation related to AI use and ethics may also increase the cost of research and development in this area, and failure to properly remediate AI usage or ethics issues may cause public confidence in AI to be undermined, which could slow adoption of AI in our products and services.
The rapid evolution of AI technologies and the applicable regulatory frameworks governing AI will require the application of significant resources to design, develop, test and maintain such systems to help ensure that AI is implemented in a legally compliant and socially responsible manner and to minimize any real or perceived unintended harmful impacts of the use of such technologies. The use of certain AI technologies can also give rise to intellectual property risks, including by disclosing or otherwise compromising our confidential or proprietary intellectual property, or by undermining our ability to assert or defend ownership rights in intellectual property created with the assistance of AI tools. Our vendors may also incorporate AI tools into their offerings, and the providers of these AI tools may not meet existing or rapidly evolving regulatory or industry standards, including with respect to privacy and data security. Further, bad actors around the world use increasingly sophisticated methods, including through the use of AI, to engage in illegal activities involving the theft and misuse of personal information, confidential information and intellectual property. Any of these effects could damage our reputation, result in the loss of valuable property and information, cause us to breach applicable laws and regulations, and adversely impact our business.
We are subject to governmental export and import controls, economic sanctions, anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. and other jurisdictions. We can face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations of these laws and regulations, which could harm our business.
We are subject to and required to comply with various export control, import and trade and economic sanctions laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations and sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls. These laws may prohibit or restrict our ability to transfer, sell or supply, our products to certain governments, persons, entities, countries, and territories, including those that are the target of comprehensive sanctions or an embargo.
We are also subject to anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, and other state and national anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in the countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA, generally prohibit companies and their employees, agents, CROs, contractors and other partners from offering, promising, giving, soliciting or authorizing others to give or receive anything of value, either directly or indirectly, to or from a non-U.S. government official in order to influence official action, or otherwise obtain or retain business. The FCPA also requires public companies to make and keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of the corporation and to devise and maintain an
adequate system of internal accounting controls. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees, agents, CROs, contractors, and other partners, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violation of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm, and other consequences.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired.
After the closing of this offering, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the rules and regulations of the stock market on which our common stock is listed. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting.
Commencing with our second annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, , we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our Form 10-K filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This will require that we incur substantial additional professional fees and internal costs to expand our accounting and finance functions and that we expend significant management efforts. Prior to this offering, we have never been required to test our internal control within a specified period, and, as a result, we may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner. In addition, when we lose our status as an “emerging growth company” and if we do not otherwise qualify as a “non-accelerated filer,” our independent registered public accounting firm will be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, which will require additional expense, resources and management commitment.
We may identify material weaknesses in our system of internal controls over financial reporting that could result in a material misstatement of our consolidated financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.
If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate consolidated financial statements. If that were to happen, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.
Upon completion of this offering, we will become subject to certain reporting requirements of the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements or insufficient disclosures due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
We might not be able to utilize a significant portion of our net operating loss carryforwards, which could harm our profitability.
We have generated, and expect to continue to generate, significant federal and state net operating loss, or NOL, carryforwards. As of December 31, 2025, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $ million and $ million, respectively. Under current tax laws and regulations, these NOL carryforwards could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as modified by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, federal NOLs incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 generally may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal NOLs is limited.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership by one or more “5 percent shareholders” over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change NOLs and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research and development tax credits) to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. A corporation that experiences an ownership change will generally be subject to an annual limitation on the use of its pre-ownership change NOLs equal to the value of the corporation immediately before the ownership change, multiplied by the long-term tax-exempt rate (subject to certain adjustments). We may have experienced ownership changes in the past and may experience ownership changes as a result of this offering and/or subsequent shifts in our stock ownership (some of which are outside our control). There is also a risk that due to regulatory changes, such as suspensions on the use of NOLs by federal or state taxing authorities or other unforeseen reasons, portions of our existing NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable to reduce future income tax liabilities. As a result, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs and tax credits to offset future taxable income, if any, or taxes could be subject to limitations. Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply. As a result, even if we attain profitability, we may be unable to use a material portion of our NOLs and tax credits.
Changes in tax law could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign tax laws, regulations and administrative guidance are subject to change as a result of the legislative process and review and interpretation by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, the U.S. Treasury Department and other taxing authorities. Changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application), including with respect to net operating losses and research and development tax credits, could adversely affect us or holders of our common stock. For example, on July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Key tax provisions included the restoration of 100% bonus depreciation for certain qualified property, immediate expensing for domestic research and experimental expenditures and the ability to make elective adjustments for prior years, changes to the Section 163(j) interest limitations and updates to net CFC tested income (formerly GILTI) and FDII rules. In recent years, many other similar changes have been made and changes are likely to continue to occur in the future. Future changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flow. We urge investors to consult with their legal and tax advisers regarding the implications of potential changes in tax laws on an investment in our common stock.
We are eligible to be treated as an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” and, as a result of the reduced disclosure and governance requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, our common stock may be less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including:
•not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting; providing only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements and a correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure in this prospectus;
•not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor's report on the financial statements;
•reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and
•not being required to hold a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means, among other conditions, that the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Under Section 107(b) of the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies, and we expect to rely on this exemption. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may, under certain circumstances, still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements.
We will incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of being a public company.
As a public company, we will incur significant additional legal, accounting and other costs that we did not incur as a private company. We will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, which will require, among other things, that we file with the SEC annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as rules subsequently adopted by the SEC and Nasdaq to implement provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, impose significant requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and certain corporate governance practices. Further, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the SEC has adopted additional rules and regulations in these areas, such as mandatory “say on pay” voting requirements that will apply to us when we cease to be an emerging growth company. Stockholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate. We expect the rules and regulations applicable to public companies to substantially increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. If these requirements divert the attention of our management and personnel from other business concerns, they could have an adverse effect on our business. The increased costs will increase our net loss, and may require us to reduce costs in other areas of our business.
Unfavorable global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets and uncertainty about economic stability. The global economy and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, inflation, declines in economic growth, global supply chain disruptions, and uncertainty about economic stability. The global economy and financial markets may also be adversely affected by the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, terrorism or other geopolitical events, including the ongoing war in Ukraine
and the increasingly strained relationship between the U.S. and China. Sanctions or tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other countries in response to such conflicts may adversely impact the financial markets and the global economy, and the economic countermeasures by the affected countries or others could exacerbate market and economic instability.
There can be no assurance that further deterioration in credit and financial markets and confidence in economic conditions will not occur. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of risks to our business, including weakened demand for any product candidates we may develop and our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all. A weak or declining economy could also strain our suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption. If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary equity or debt financing more difficult, more costly, and more dilutive. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could impair our ability to achieve our growth strategy, could harm our financial performance and stock price and could require us to delay or abandon clinical development plans. In addition, there is a risk that our current or future service providers, manufacturers or other collaborators may not survive such difficult economic times, which could directly affect our ability to attain our operating goals on schedule and on budget. We cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.
We may become involved in litigation that could divert management’s attention and harm our business, and insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all costs and damages.
We have in the past and may in the future be subject to litigation claims through the ordinary course of our business operations regarding, but not limited to, securities litigation, employment matters, security of patient and employee personal data, contractual relations with collaborators and licensors and intellectual property rights. For example, on June 1, 2017, Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company, LLC filed a lawsuit against us for trademark infringement which resulted in our company changing its name to the current name. Additionally, from November 2020 through July 2024, Avalyn was involved in a dispute on matters related to a Stock Purchase Agreement that concluded in a confidential settlement agreement. We may be exposed to similar litigation even if no wrongdoing on our part has occurred. Litigation to defend ourselves against claims by third parties, or to enforce any rights that we may have against third parties, could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, causing a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, and we may not have insurance coverage for such claims or our insurance coverage may not adequately cover all costs and damages related to such claims. Moreover, adverse publicity about legal action against us could damage our reputation and brand image, even if the legal action is unfounded or not material to our operations.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, product candidates, planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of preclinical studies, clinical trials, research and development costs, regulatory approvals, commercial strategy, timing and likelihood of success, as well as plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that are in some cases beyond our control and may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•the initiation, timing, progress and results of our current and future research and development programs, preclinical studies and clinical trials;
•our ability to successfully complete our clinical trials;
•our ability to advance any product candidates that we may identify and successfully complete any clinical studies, including the manufacture of any such product candidates;
•our ability to quickly leverage programs within our target indications and to progress additional programs to further develop our pipeline;
•the prevalence of certain diseases and conditions we intend to treat and the size of the market opportunity for our product candidates;
•estimates of the number of patients with certain diseases and conditions we intend to treat and the number of patients that we will enroll in our clinical trials;
•the likelihood of our clinical trials demonstrating safety and efficacy of our product candidates;
•the timing of our investigational new drug application, or IND, submissions;
•the implementation of our strategic plans for our business, programs and technology;
•the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights;
•developments related to our competitors and our industry;
•the success of competing therapies that are or may become available;
•our ability to leverage the clinical, regulatory, and manufacturing advancements to accelerate our clinical trials and approval of product candidates;
•our ability to meet future regulatory standards with respect to our product candidates, if approved;
•our ability to identify and enter into future license agreements and collaborations;
•our reliance on third parties to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates;
•our reliance on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates and our device related thereto;
•regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries;
•our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities;
•our expectations regarding the period during which we will qualify as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act or a smaller reporting company;
•our ability to attract and retain key scientific and management personnel; and
•our anticipated cash runway, use of proceeds from this offering, our financial performance, estimates of our expenses, capital requirements, and needs for additional financing.
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about our business, the industry in which we operate and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or development. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein until after we distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, collaborations, joint ventures or investments that we may make or enter into.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in full) based on an assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the net proceeds to us from this offering by $ million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase or decrease of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares of common stock offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the net proceeds to us from this offering by $ million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share remains the same, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The principal purposes of this offering are to create a public market for our common stock and thereby facilitate future access to the public equity markets, increase our visibility in the marketplace, and obtain additional capital to support our operations. We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, as follows:
•approximately $ million to advance development of AP01 through and ;
•approximately $ million to advance development of AP02 through and ;
•approximately $ million to advance development of AP03 through ; and
•the remainder for research and development activities for additional programs, working capital and general corporate purposes.
We may use a portion of the remaining net proceeds and our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments to in-license, acquire, or invest in complementary businesses, technologies, products, or assets. However, we have no current commitments, agreements, understandings or obligations to do so.
We believe, based on our current operating plan, that the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, will be sufficient to fund our operations through . We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. We do not have any committed external source of funds.
Our expected use of proceeds from this offering along with our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments described above represents our current intentions based on our present plans and business condition. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot predict with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to be received upon the completion of this offering or the actual amounts that we will spend on the uses set forth above. We expect that we will require additional funds in order to fully accomplish the specified uses of the proceeds of this offering. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including progress of our research and development, the status of and results from preclinical studies and clinical trials that we are conducting or may conduct in the future, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” as well as the amount of cash used in our operations and any unforeseen cash needs. Therefore, our actual expenditures may differ materially from the estimates described above. Moreover, our estimates of the costs to fund our trials are based on the current designs of the trials. If we were to modify the design of any of these trials, for instance, to increase the number of patients in the trials, our costs to fund the trials could increase. We may find it necessary or advisable to use the net proceeds for other purposes.
We will have broad discretion over how to use the net proceeds to us from this offering and investors will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds. Pending our use of the net proceeds from this offering, we intend to invest the net proceeds in a variety of capital preservation instruments, including short-term and long-term interest-bearing instruments, investment-grade securities, and direct or guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government. We cannot predict whether the proceeds invested will yield a favorable return.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We do not anticipate declaring or paying, in the foreseeable future, any cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, to fund the development and expansion of our business. Any future determination regarding the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on then-existing conditions, including our financial condition, operating results, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects, and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant. Investors should not purchase our common stock with the expectation of receiving cash dividends. In addition, our ability to pay cash dividends on our capital stock in the future may be limited by the terms of any future debt or preferred securities we issue or any credit facilities we enter into.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and our capitalization as of December 31, 2025:
•on a pro forma basis, giving effect to (i) the Preferred Stock Conversion and (ii) the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and
•on a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to (i) the pro forma adjustments set forth above and (ii) the issuance and sale of shares of common stock in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The pro forma as adjusted information below is illustrative only, and our capitalization following the completion of this offering will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are not components of our capitalization.
You should read this information together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, and the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
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As of December 31, 2025 |
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Actual |
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Pro Forma |
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Pro Forma As adjusted (1) |
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(in thousands, except share and per share data) |
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Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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Convertible preferred stock (Series A, B, C-1, C-2, D), $0.001 par value; 462,178,988 shares authorized and 460,228,341 shares issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued or outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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Stockholders’ equity (deficit): |
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Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; no shares authorized, issued or outstanding, actual; shares authorized, and no shares issued or outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted |
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Common stock, $0.001 par value; 575,000,000 shares authorized and shares issued and outstanding, actual; shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma; shares authorized, shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
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Accumulated deficit |
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Total stockholders’ (deficit) equity |
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Total capitalization |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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(1)Each $1.00 increase or decrease, as applicable, in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity and total capitalization by $ million, assuming that the number of shares of common stock offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and
estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase or decrease, as applicable, of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares of common stock offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity and total capitalization by $ million, assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price per share, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The number of shares of our common stock that will be outstanding after this offering on a pro forma and pro forma as adjusted basis is based on shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025, after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion, and excludes:
• shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2025 under our 2012 Plan with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share;
• shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2025 under our 2022 Plan with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share and shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options granted after December 31, 2025 pursuant to our 2022 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share;
•4,287,641 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025, which warrant shall become exercisable upon completion of the offering, with an exercise price of $0.29 per share;
•432,939 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase shares of common stock issued subsequent to December 31, 2025, with an exercise price of $0.51 per share;
• shares of common stock reserved for future issuance as of December 31, 2025 under the 2022 Plan, which will cease to be available for issuance at the time that our 2026 Plan becomes effective;
• shares of our common stock that will become available for future issuance under our 2026 Plan, which will become effective on the date immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the 2026 Plan and any shares underlying outstanding stock awards granted under the 2012 Plan and 2022 Plan that expire or are repurchased, forfeited, cancelled, or withheld; and
• shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our ESPP which will become effective on the date immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the ESPP.
DILUTION
If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering.
Our historical net tangible book value (deficit) as of December 31, 2025 was $ million, or $ per share of our common stock. Our historical net tangible book value (deficit) represents the amount of our total tangible assets less our total liabilities and the carrying value of our convertible preferred stock, which is not included within stockholders’ deficit. Historical net tangible book value (deficit) per share represents historical net tangible book value (deficit) divided by shares of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025.
Our pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) as of December 31, 2025 was $ million, or $ per share. Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets less our total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of our common stock as of December 31, 2025, after giving effect to (i) the Preferred Stock Conversion and (ii) the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share represents pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) divided by the total number of shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025, after giving effect to the pro forma adjustments described above.
After giving further effect to the issuance and sale of shares of common stock that we are offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) as of December 31, 2025 would have been $ million, or $ per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) of $ per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) of $ per share to new investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering.
Dilution per share to new investors is determined by subtracting pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering from the initial public offering price per share paid by new investors. The following table illustrates this dilution (without giving effect to any exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares):
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Assumed initial public offering price per share |
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$ |
Historical net tangible book value (deficit) per share as of December 31, 2025 |
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$ |
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Increase per share as of December 31, 2025 attributable to the pro forma adjustment described above |
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Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share as of December 31, 2025 |
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Increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) per share attributable to new investors participating in this offering |
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Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering |
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Dilution per share to new investors participating in this offering |
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$ |
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The dilution information discussed above is illustrative only and may change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering. Each $1.00 increase or decrease, as applicable, in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by $ , and dilution per share to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering by $ , assuming that the number of shares of common stock offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase or decrease, as applicable, of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares of common stock offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma as adjusted net
tangible book value (deficit) per share after this offering by $ per share, in each case, and increase or decrease, as applicable, the dilution to investors participating in this offering by $ per share, assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in full, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) after the offering would be $ per share, representing an immediate increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) of $ per share to existing stockholders and immediate dilution in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value (deficit) dilution of $ per share to new investors, in each case assuming an initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The following table summarizes on the pro forma as adjusted basis described above, as of December 31, 2025, the total number of shares of common stock purchased from us on an as-converted basis, the total consideration paid or to be paid to us, and the average price per share paid by existing stockholders or to be paid by new investors in this offering, based on the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. New investors purchasing shares of our common stock in this offering will pay an average price per share substantially higher than our existing stockholders paid.
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|
|
|
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|
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|
|
|
|
Shares Purchased |
|
|
Total Consideration |
|
|
Weighted- Average Price Per |
|
|
Number |
|
Percentage |
|
|
Amount |
|
Percentage |
|
|
Share |
Existing stockholders |
|
|
|
|
|
% |
|
$ |
|
|
|
% |
|
$ |
New investors purchasing shares in this offering |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
$ |
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
$ |
The table above assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares in this offering. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of common stock from us in full, our existing stockholders would own %, and new investors purchasing shares of our common stock in this offering would own %, of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering.
The number of shares of our common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025, after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion, and excludes:
• shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2025 under our 2012 Plan with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share;
• shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2025 under our 2022 Plan with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share and shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options granted after December 31, 2025 pursuant to our 2022 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share;
•4,287,641 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025, which warrant shall become exercisable upon completion of the offering, with an exercise price of $0.29 per share;
•432,939 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase shares of common stock issued subsequent to December 31, 2025, with an exercise price of $0.51 per share;
• shares of common stock reserved for future issuance as of December 31, 2025 under the 2022 Plan, which will cease to be available for issuance at the time that our 2026 Plan becomes effective;
• shares of our common stock that will become available for future issuance under our 2026 Plan, which will become effective on the date immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the 2026 Plan and any shares underlying outstanding stock awards granted under the 2012 Plan and 2022 Plan that expire or are repurchased, forfeited, cancelled, or withheld; and
• shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our ESPP which will become effective on the date immediately prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the ESPP.
To the extent any outstanding options or warrants are exercised, new options or other equity awards are issued under our equity incentive plans, or we issue additional shares of common stock in the future, there will be further dilution to new investors. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital because of market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. If we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2025, and related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion and analysis and other parts of this prospectus contain forward-looking statements based upon our current plans and expectations that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements regarding our plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions and beliefs. The historical results are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected in the future. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Please also see “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any period in the future.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company on a mission to revolutionize the current treatment landscape for rare respiratory diseases, including progressive pulmonary fibrosis, or PPF, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, and other interstitial lung diseases, or ILDs.
Since our inception in 2011, we have incurred significant operating losses and have not generated any revenue. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with aggregate gross proceeds of $388.8 million from the sale and issuance of our preferred stock and convertible notes.
Due to our significant research, development, and manufacturing expenditures, we have accumulated substantial losses and negative cash flows since our inception, including a net loss of $49.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $180.2 million.
We expect our expenses and operating losses will increase substantially as we:
•continue to advance clinical development of our lead candidates, AP01 and AP02, and other current and future product candidates, including conducting our ongoing clinical trials;
•continue to advance our research activities and seek to discover and develop additional product candidates to expand our pipeline;
•pursue regulatory approvals for any current or future product candidates, including our lead PPF product candidate, that successfully complete clinical trials;
•continue to utilize third parties to manufacture our product candidates;
•continue to develop, maintain, expand, enforce, defend and protect our intellectual property portfolio (including intellectual property obtained through license agreements) and provide reimbursement of third-party expenses related to our intellectual property portfolio;
•attract, hire and retain additional qualified personnel;
•add operational, financial and management information systems;
•undertake pre-commercial activities, and scale-up external commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities, to commercialize any current or future product candidates which may receive regulatory approval;
•ultimately establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any current or future product candidates which may receive regulatory approval; and
•incur additional audit, legal, regulatory, tax and other expenses associated with being a public company.
In addition, we have several clinical development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as royalty payment obligations under our licensing arrangement and other agreements. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year, depending on the timing of our ongoing and planned clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities.
We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales. We will not generate revenue from product sales unless and until we successfully complete clinical development and obtain regulatory approval for our current and any future product candidates, which we expect will take a number of years or may never occur. As a result, we will need substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings or other capital sources, potentially including collaborations, licenses, or other strategic arrangements. See the section titled “—Liquidity and Capital Resources.” We may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements or arrangements when needed on favorable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise capital or enter into such agreements as, and when, needed, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, or grant rights to develop and market our product candidates even if we would otherwise prefer to develop and market such product candidates ourselves.
Due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with drug development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or the timing of when, or if, we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we generate product sales, we may not become profitable. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or terminate our operations.
As of December 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $118.1 million. During 2025, we received aggregate gross proceeds of $100.4 million from the issuance of 126,036,334 shares of Series D preferred stock. We believe, based on our current operating plans, that the estimated net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditures through . We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. See the sections titled “—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Limited Operating History, Financial Condition and Need for Additional Capital” included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Material Agreements
Below is a summary of the key terms for our material agreements. For a more detailed description of the agreements, see the section titled “Business—Material Agreement.”
PARI License Agreement and Material Transfer Agreement
As consideration for the PARI License Agreement, we paid a non-refundable up-front initial payment of 400 thousand EUR ($0.4 million). To date, we have met one developmental milestone, for which the payment of 500 thousand EUR ($0.6 million) was expensed to research and development when the milestone was met. There were no regulatory milestones achieved for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Settlement Agreement
The Company was a party to a lawsuit filed in November 2020, in which the counterparty alleged that the Company had not used commercially reasonable efforts to investigate certain patent rights and develop a compound covered by those patent rights that were sold to the Company in March 2017 through a Stock Purchase Agreement, or SPA. In May 2024, the Company and the counterparty agreed to a final and binding term sheet to resolve the litigation. The settlement required the Company to pay the counterparty $4 million within 15 days of the parties’ execution of a definitive agreement, which occurred in July 2024 and was previously included in litigation liability as of December 31, 2023. In addition, the Company agreed to pay the counterparty royalties (less than 1%) on net sales of the monotherapy assets AP01 (inhaled pirfenidone) and AP02 (inhaled nintedanib). As part of the agreement, the parties released all claims related to the litigation, the SPA, or any other agreement related to counterparty and the Company. To date, the Company has incurred a total of $9.6 million of legal expenses related to the lawsuit, including $1.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The expenses are included in general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
Components of Results of Operations
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses consist of (i) research and development expenses and (ii) general and administrative expenses.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs associated with the preclinical and clinical development of our current and potential future product candidates. Our research and development expenses include direct costs specifically attributable to our programs including external expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as contract research organizations, or CROs, contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, consultants and our scientific advisors, and the manufacturing expenditures, including costs for laboratory supplies, research materials and reagents, as well as indirect costs that are not directly attributable to a specific program such as:
•personnel-related costs, including salaries, payroll tax, bonuses, benefits and stock-based compensation for employees engaged in research and development functions, and;
•facility costs, depreciation and other expenses.
We recognize research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. Most of our research and development expenses have been related to identifying and developing our product candidates. Typically, external expenses are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to us by our service providers as of each reporting date. Advance payments that we make for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses, which are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed, or when it is no longer expected that the goods will be delivered, or the services rendered. Significant judgments and estimates are made in determining the accrued, or prepaid expense balances at the end of any reporting period.
External costs represent a significant portion of our research and development expenses, which we track on a program-by-program basis following the nomination of a product candidate. Our internal research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation expenses and allocated expenses. We do not track our internal research and development expenses on a program-by-program basis as they relate to costs that are deployed across multiple programs.
Product candidates in later stages of development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages resulting from larger and more complex clinical trials, manufacturing scale-up and an increase in research and development headcount to oversee these activities. As a result, management expects that our research and development expenses will increase substantially over the next several years as we potentially advance our product candidates into later-stage development efforts.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, payroll tax, bonuses, benefits and stock-based compensation charges for those individuals in executive, legal, finance, human resources, information technology, and other administrative functions. Other significant costs include professional service fees, including legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters, and auditing, accounting, tax, and consulting services, as well as facilities and depreciation expense, and other general and administrative expenses that are allocated. We recognize general and administrative expenses in the periods in which they are incurred.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase following this offering, as a result of increased personnel costs, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation expense, patent costs for our product candidates, expanded infrastructure and higher legal, consulting and accounting services associated with maintaining compliance with the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC and rules and regulations promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, investor relations costs and director and officer insurance premiums associated with being a public company.
Other Income (Expense)
Our other income (expense) consists primarily of interest income which is interest earned and the amortization or accretion of discounts or premiums on our cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
Interest Income
Interest income consists primarily of interest earned and the amortization or accretion of discounts or premiums on our cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities.
Other Expense
Other expense consists of realized and unrealized foreign currency gains and losses, as well as gains and losses on disposals of fixed assets.
Income Taxes
Since our inception, we have not recorded any income tax benefits or expenses for the net losses we have incurred in each period or for our earned research and development tax credits, as we believe, based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all of our net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits will not be realized. As of December 31, 2024, we had net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, for federal and state income tax purposes of $98.9 million and $2.4 million, respectively. The federal NOLs are not subject to expiration and the state NOLs begin to expire in 2043. These loss carryforwards are available to reduce future federal taxable income, if any. As of December 31, 2024, we have recorded a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
The following table summarizes our results of operations (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
|
|
2025 |
|
2024 |
|
|
Change |
Operating expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development |
|
|
|
$ |
45,759 |
|
|
|
General and administrative |
|
|
|
|
11,362 |
|
|
|
Total operating expenses |
|
|
|
|
57,121 |
|
|
|
Loss from operations |
|
|
|
|
(57,121 |
) |
|
|
Total other income |
|
|
|
|
7,377 |
|
|
|
Net loss |
|
|
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
|
|
Research and Development Expenses
The following table summarizes our research and development expenses (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
|
|
2025 |
|
2024 |
|
|
Change |
Direct research and development expenses by program: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AP01 |
|
|
|
$ |
30,781 |
|
|
|
AP02 |
|
|
|
|
4,223 |
|
|
|
AP03 |
|
|
|
|
330 |
|
|
|
Unallocated research and development expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Personnel-related (including stock-based compensation) |
|
|
|
|
10,056 |
|
|
|
Facility and depreciation |
|
|
|
|
192 |
|
|
|
Other R&D related costs |
|
|
|
|
178 |
|
|
|
Total research and development expenses |
|
|
|
$ |
45,759 |
|
|
|
Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $45.8 million, and were primarily attributed to:
•$30.8 million of direct costs associated with our AP01 program costs driven by progression of the Phase 2b clinical trial and the commencement of our OLE trial;
•$4.2 million of direct costs associated with our AP02 program costs associated with the Phase 1b clinical trial;
•$0.3 million of direct costs with our AP03 program due primarily to IND-enabling and scale-up activities;
•$10.1 million in personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation;
•$0.2 million in facility and depreciation expense; and
•$0.2 million in other unallocated R&D related costs.
General and Administrative Expenses
The following table summarizes our general and administrative expenses (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
Change |
|
|
2025 |
|
2024 |
|
|
|
Personnel-related (including stock-based compensation) |
|
|
|
$ |
5,335 |
|
|
|
Professional services & fees |
|
|
|
|
5,624 |
|
|
|
General corporate and facility expenses |
|
|
|
|
403 |
|
|
|
Total general and administrative expenses |
|
|
|
$ |
11,362 |
|
|
|
General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $11.4 million, and were primarily attributable to:
•$5.3 million in personnel-related expenses, including stock-based compensation;
•$5.6 million in professional services and fees primarily driven by external legal and consulting costs; and
•$0.4 million in general corporate facility expenses primarily associated with lease costs.
Other Income
Other income for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $7.4 million and was primarily attributed to interest income earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
Since our inception, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we advance the clinical development of our product candidates and any future product candidates. As such, we expect our research and development and general and administrative costs will continue to increase significantly, including the costs associated with operating as a public company following the completion of this offering. As a result, we will need additional capital to fund our operations, which we may obtain from additional equity, debt financings, or strategic agreements.
To date, we have funded our operations primarily from the sale of proceeds of preferred stock and convertible notes. As of December 31, 2024, we had $118.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. In 2025, we entered into the Series D preferred stock Purchase Agreement with new and existing investors. During 2025, we issued and sold 126,036,334 shares of Series D preferred stock for aggregate gross proceeds of $100.4 million. To date, we have received aggregate gross proceeds of $388.8 million from the sale of our preferred stock and convertible notes. In February 2026, the Company entered into a loan and security agreement to borrow up to $30 million. The interest rate on amounts borrowed will be equal to the greater of the prime rate then in effect, or 5%. The maturity date for the loan is June 30, 2030. As of February 6, 2026, no amounts have been borrowed under the facility.
Future Funding Requirements
Due to the inherently unpredictable nature of preclinical and clinical development and given the early stage of our programs and product candidates, we cannot reasonably estimate the costs we will incur and the timelines that will be required to complete development, obtain any marketing approval, and commercialize our products, if and when approved. For the same reasons, we are also unable to predict when, if ever, we will generate revenue from product sales or whether, or when, if ever, we may achieve profitability. Clinical and preclinical development timelines, the probability of success, and development costs can differ materially from expectations. In addition, we cannot forecast which products, if approved, may be subject to future collaborations, when such arrangements will be
secured, if at all, and to what degree such arrangements would affect our development plans and capital requirements. We will need to raise substantial additional capital in the future.
Based upon our current operating plans, we believe that the estimated net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities, will be sufficient to fund our operations into . Our primary uses of capital are to fund research and development activities, compensation and related expenses, and general overhead costs. We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance our current and future product candidates through discovery, preclinical studies, and clinical trials.
Our future funding requirements will depend largely on:
•the type, number, scope, progress, expansions, results, costs and timing of, discovery, preclinical studies and clinical trials of our current and future product candidates;
•the costs and timing of manufacturing for our current and future product candidates and commercial manufacturing;
•the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our current and future product candidates;
•the timing and amount of milestones, royalties, or other payments we may be required to make to third parties, including PARI, and the terms and timing of establishing and maintaining any other similar arrangements we may enter in the future;
•the legal costs of obtaining, maintaining and enforcing our patents and other intellectual property rights;
•our efforts to enhance operational systems and hire additional personnel to satisfy our obligations as a public company;
•the costs associated with hiring additional personnel and consultants as our clinical activities increase;
•the costs and timing of establishing or securing sales and marketing capabilities if any current or future product candidate is approved;
•our ability to achieve sufficient market acceptance, coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors and adequate market share and revenue for any approved products;
•the financial terms of any such agreement that we may enter into, including if we in-license or acquire additional product candidates or intellectual property; and
•costs to add additional operational, financial, clinical, quality and management information systems.
We have no committed sources of capital other than the $30 million loan facility. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue to support our cost structure, we expect to finance our cash needs through equity offerings, debt financings, or other capital sources, potentially including collaborations, licenses, or other strategic arrangements. However, we may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other arrangements when needed on favorable terms or at all. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our existing common stockholders. In addition, debt financing and equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through a strategic agreement, we may have to grant rights to develop and market our current and future product candidates even if we would otherwise prefer to develop and market such product candidates ourselves. Our failure to raise capital or enter into such other arrangements when needed could have a negative impact on our financial condition and on our ability to pursue our business plans and strategies.
If we are unable to raise additional funds, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts. See “Risk Factors — Even if this offering is successful, we will need substantial additional funding. We may be unable to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, and, as a result,
we may be required to delay, reduce, or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization
efforts.”
Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of the net cash flow activity (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2025 |
|
2024 |
|
Net cash (used in) operating activities |
|
|
|
$ |
(48,368 |
) |
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities |
|
|
|
|
(91,474 |
) |
Net cash provided by financing activities |
|
|
|
|
89 |
|
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash |
|
|
|
$ |
(139,753 |
) |
Operating Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2024 , net cash used in operating activities was $48.4 million primarily due to our net loss of $49.7 million and changes in our operating assets and liabilities of $1.4 million, partially offset by $16 thousand of non-cash charges related to stock-based compensation, depreciation and loss on disposal of property and equipment, non-cash operating lease expense, and accretion of premiums on marketable securities.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $91.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, which was primarily driven by net purchases and maturities of marketable securities of $91.4 million and purchases of property and equipment of $0.1 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $0.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 , which was related to the proceeds of stock option exercises and from the issuance of Series C-2 preferred stock, net of issuance costs.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Research and Development and Manufacturing Agreements
We enter into contracts in the normal course of business with CROs, CMOs and other vendors to assist in the research and development activities and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination at any time upon a certain amount of prior notice, and therefore are cancelable contracts which are not included in contractual obligations and commitments. Upon termination for convenience, we would be required to pay amounts for services performed through the termination date and, in certain cases, a termination fee equal to 8% of the remaining contractual value for services terminated but not yet performed.
Leases
In September 2025, we relocated our headquarters and executed a non-cancelable operating sublease in Boston, Massachusetts, or the Boston Sublease. Total fixed payments in connection with the Boston Sublease will be $1.9 million over the term of the agreement ending in 2029. This includes our share of facility operating expenses, real-estate taxes, but excludes our share of property management fees that are reimbursable to the landlord under the lease.
Material Agreements
Our agreements with certain third parties to license intellectual property include potential milestone fees, sublicense fees, and royalty fees. The milestone fees are dependent upon the development of our drug products using the intellectual property licensed under the arrangements and contingent upon the achievement of development or regulatory approval milestones, as well as commercial milestones. These potential obligations are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the timing and likelihood of such potential obligations are not known with certainty. For further information regarding these agreements, please see “Business—Material Agreements.”
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, costs and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, we believe that our critical accounting estimates are as follows.
Research and Development Expenses and Accruals
In preparing the consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our accrued research and development expenses as of each balance sheet date. In accruing service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort to be expended in each period. This process involves reviewing open contracts, communicating with internal personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of the actual cost. We periodically confirm the accuracy of our estimates with our service providers and make adjustments, if necessary. The majority of our service providers invoice in arrears for services performed or when contractual milestones are met. The financial terms of agreements with these service providers are subject to negotiation, vary from contract-to-contract and may result in uneven payment flows. In circumstances where amounts have been paid in excess of costs incurred, we record a prepaid expense.
Contingent milestone payments, if any, are expensed when the milestone results are probable and estimable, which is generally upon the achievement of the milestone.
Although we do not expect our estimates to be materially different from amounts incurred, if our estimates of the status and timing of services performed differ from the actual status and timing of services performed, it could result in us reporting amounts that are too high or too low in any particular period. To date, there have been no material differences between our estimates of such expenses and the amounts incurred.
Stock-Based Compensation Expense
We measure stock-based awards granted to employees, directors and certain consultants based on their fair value on the date of the grant. We recognize compensation expense for awards to employees and directors over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award. Compensation expense for awards to non-employees with service-based vesting conditions is recognized in the same manner as if we had paid cash in exchange for the goods or services, which is generally over the vesting period of the award. For stock-based awards with service-based vesting conditions, we recognize compensation expense using the straight-line method. The fair
value of each stock option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires inputs based on certain subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility, the expected term of the option, fair value of the underlying common stock, the risk-free interest rate for a period that approximates the expected term of the option and our expected dividend yield. Changes in the assumptions can materially affect the fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized. These inputs are subjective and generally require judgment to develop. See Note 11, “Stock Option Plan” in our annual consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for information concerning certain of the specific assumptions we used in applying the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the estimated fair value of our stock options granted for the year ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. The expected term of stock options granted to non-employees is equal to the contractual term of the option award.
Determination of Fair Value of Common Stock Valuations
As there has been no public market for our common stock to date, the estimated fair value of our common stock has been determined by our board of directors as of the date of each option grant with input from management, considering our most recently available third-party valuations of common stock, and our board of directors’ assessment of additional objective and subjective factors that it believed were relevant and which may have changed from the date of the most recent valuation through the date of the grant. These third-party valuations were performed in accordance with the guidance outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Accounting and Valuation Guide, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Our common stock valuation was prepared using either the option-pricing method, or OPM, or the hybrid method, both of which used a market approach to estimate our equity value. The OPM treats common stock and convertible preferred stock as call options on the equity value of a company, with exercise prices based on the value thresholds at which the allocation among the various holders of a company’s securities changes. Under the OPM, the common stock has value only if the funds available for distribution to stockholders exceeded the value of the convertible preferred stock liquidation preferences at the time of the liquidity event, such as a strategic sale or a merger. The hybrid method consists of a probability-weighted expected return method, or PWERM, where the company has insight into one or more near-term exits (e.g., IPO scenario using a PWERM) but is unsure about what will occur if the current plan falls through (e.g., sale scenario using an OPM). The PWERM is a scenario-based methodology that estimates the fair value of common stock based upon an analysis of future values for us, assuming various outcomes. The common stock value in the PWERM scenario is based on the expected future investment returns considering each of the possible outcomes available as well as the rights of each class of stock. The future value of the common stock under in the PWERM scenario is discounted back to the valuation date at an appropriate risk-adjusted discount rate and probability weighted to arrive at an indication of value for the common stock. The OPM is used when specific future liquidity events are difficult to forecast (e.g. sale scenario) as the enterprise’s value depends on how well it follows an uncharted path through the various possible opportunities and challenges. A discount for lack of marketability of the common stock is then applied to arrive at an indication of value for the common stock in each respective scenario, and weightings are applied to arrive at the concluded indication of value for the common stock.
These third-party valuations were performed at various dates. The fair value of our common stock was determined by our board of directors, with input from management and considering the independent third-party valuations and various objective and subjective factors as of each grant date, including:
•the prices at which we sold preferred stock and the superior rights and preferences of the preferred stock relative to our common stock at the time of each grant;
•our ability to raise future financings;
•the progress of our research and development efforts, including the status of clinical trials for our product candidates;
•the lack of liquidity of our equity as a private company;
•our stage of development and business strategy and the material risks related to our business and industry;
•the achievement of enterprise milestones, including entering into collaboration and license agreements;
•the valuation of publicly traded companies in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors, as well as recently completed mergers and acquisitions of peer companies;
•any external market conditions affecting the biotechnology industry and trends within the biotechnology industry;
•the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event for the holders of our preferred stock and holders of our common stock, such as an initial public offering, or a sale of our company, given prevailing market conditions; and
•the analysis of IPOs and the market performance of similar companies in the biopharmaceutical industry.
The assumptions underlying these valuations were highly complex and subjective and represented management’s best estimates, which involved inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. As a result, if we had used significantly different assumptions or estimates, the fair value of our common stock and our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different.
Once a public trading market for our common stock has been established in connection with the completion of this offering, it will no longer be necessary for our board of directors to estimate the fair value of our common stock in connection with our accounting for granted stock options and other such awards we may grant, as the fair value of our common stock will be determined based on the quoted market price of our common stock.
The following table summarizes by grant date the number of shares subject to awards granted between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025, the per share exercise price of the awards and the fair value of common stock underlying the awards on each grant date:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grant Date (2) |
|
Type of award |
|
Number of common stock subject to award |
|
|
Per share exercise price of award |
|
|
Per share fair value of common stock on grant date |
|
|
Range of per share estimated fair value on award on grant date(1) |
|
01/25/2024 |
|
Option |
|
|
29,181,114 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.17-0.18 |
|
02/14/2024 |
|
Option |
|
|
989,689 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.17-0.18 |
|
06/11/2024 |
|
Option |
|
|
5,308,930 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.18 |
|
07/24/2024 |
|
Option |
|
|
845,267 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.17 |
|
08/29/2024 |
|
Option |
|
|
416,333 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
$ |
0.18 |
|
10/30/2024 |
|
Option |
|
|
1,374,063 |
|
|
$ |
0.29 |
|
|
$ |
0.29 |
|
|
$ |
0.21 |
|
05/29/2025 |
|
Option |
|
|
6,119,299 |
|
|
$ |
0.25 |
|
|
$ |
0.25 |
|
|
$ |
0.16 |
|
09/11/2025 |
|
Option |
|
|
22,676,091 |
|
|
$ |
0.25 |
|
|
$ |
0.25 |
|
|
$ |
0.16 |
|
12/10/2025 |
|
Option |
|
|
3,782,351 |
|
|
$ |
0.25 |
|
|
$ |
0.25 |
|
|
$ |
0.15-0.16 |
|
(1)The per share estimated fair value of options reflects the fair value of options granted on each grant date determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.
(2)Grant dates exclude 4,287,641 warrants to purchase shares of common stock issued to our former CEO in January 2025 that have an exercise price of $0.29 per share, which were in exchange for 4,935,717 stock options that were cancelled and forfeited.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
A description of recently issued accounting pronouncements that may potentially impact our financial position and results of operations is disclosed in Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this Item.
Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company Status
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period afforded by the JOBS Act for the implementation of new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and as a result of this election, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. We may take advantage of these exemptions up until the time that we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the SEC, which means, among other things, the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies for so long as either (i) our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.
BUSINESS
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering inhaled therapies to transform the treatment paradigm of serious, rare respiratory diseases with significant unmet needs. Our approach is designed to address the limitations of current oral therapies by delivering optimized inhaled formulations of approved oral medicines directly to the lungs to enhance efficacy and minimize systemic exposure that contributes to side effects and treatment discontinuation.
Our current pipeline is focused on treating pulmonary fibrosis, a life-threatening disease with a median survival of three to five years, which is a significantly shorter prognosis than that observed for many forms of cancer. Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by scarring of the lungs, which can lead to a decline in lung function, progressive shortness of breath, reduced quality of life, and increased mortality risk. There are currently three approved oral antifibrotic therapies for pulmonary fibrosis: pirfenidone, or ESBRIET®; nintedanib, or OFEV®; and nerandomilast, or JASCAYD®. While these oral antifibrotics slow fibrosis progression, none stop progression entirely. In addition, their use is frequently limited by tolerability challenges associated with their systemic delivery. Due to their side effects, around 50% of patients who start treatment with available therapies discontinue within one year. Despite limited use, ESBRIET® and OFEV® generated more than $4.0 billion in gross global sales in 2024.
Our most clinically advanced candidates, AP01 and AP02, are inhaled formulations of pirfenidone and nintedanib for the treatment of progressive pulmonary fibrosis, or PPF, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, respectively. We have completed ATLAS, a Phase 1b clinical trial of AP01 in patients with IPF. Patients from ATLAS transitioned into an ongoing open-label extension, or OLE, trial, along with compassionate-use cohorts of patients with IPF and PPF. We currently have over four and a half years of data demonstrating safety and clinical activity, including near-stabilization of lung function.
AP01 is currently being evaluated in MIST, a global Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of PPF. We have also completed Phase 1 trials of AP02 in healthy adult volunteers and patients with IPF. AP02 is currently being evaluated in AURA, a global Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of IPF. We are also advancing AP03 into a Phase 1 clinical trial. AP03 is a fixed-dose combination of inhaled pirfenidone and nintedanib designed to deliver dual antifibrotic mechanisms with the potential for additive or synergistic benefit. We believe our inhaled therapies may offer improved tolerability and efficacy for long-term treatment. These programs are intentionally designed, leveraging our deep expertise in rare respiratory diseases, advanced inhaled drug formulation, and our exclusive license to customize the delivery device.
Our Pipeline
Our wholly owned pipeline is summarized below:

AP01 (Inhaled Pirfenidone)
Our wholly owned product candidate, AP01, is an optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone that we are advancing as a treatment for PPF. AP01 has demonstrated encouraging safety and clinical activity in ATLAS, a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with IPF, and an OLE trial in IPF and PPF patients, which has supported development in PPF. ATLAS was a randomized, open-label trial comparing AP01 50 mg once-daily, or QD, and AP01 100 mg twice-daily, or BID. Both dose regimens showed lowered rates of side effects commonly associated with oral pirfenidone, including gastrointestinal, or GI, toxicities and liver enzyme elevations, compared to historical data with the oral product. At 48 weeks, the high-dose AP01 achieved near stabilization of lung function, as measured by forced vital capacity, or FVC. In addition, analyses of high-resolution computed tomography, or HRCT, imaging indicated fibrosis stabilization or improvement in over 70% of patients evaluated, with reduced lung scarring and improved lung volume, suggesting a potential disease-modifying effect.
An ongoing OLE trial of AP01 has further supported its long-term safety and the potential to stabilize lung function decline. Patients from ATLAS transitioned into the OLE trial with AP01 100 mg BID treatment, along with compassionate-use cohorts of patients with IPF and PPF. Long-term data show consistent safety and FVC trends as ATLAS. The OLE trial has now been underway for more than four and a half years, with 23 patients continuing to receive AP01 100 mg BID treatment. Many of these patients are surpassing six years post-diagnosis, exceeding the three to five years median survival for patients with pulmonary fibrosis after diagnosis.
These results supported our initiation of MIST, a global, randomized, 52-week Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating AP01 in PPF. We strategically selected PPF for Phase 2b development based on the clinical activity and observed anatomical changes seen with AP01; the higher global prevalence of PPF, which is nearly double that of IPF; and a potentially more efficient development and regulatory path. MIST enrollment is ongoing, with initial data expected in .
AP02 (Inhaled Nintedanib)
AP02, our inhaled formulation of nintedanib, has completed a Phase 1 single-ascending dose, or SAD, trial in healthy volunteers and patients with IPF and a Phase 1 SAD and multiple-ascending dose, or MAD, trial in healthy volunteers. AP02 was generally well-tolerated following single doses and throughout 7 days BID, up to the highest dose of 8 mg BID. AP02 also showed favorable pharmacokinetic, or PK, properties, notably no difference in systemic exposure between healthy volunteers and IPF patients, and an increase in pulmonary exposure and significantly lower systemic exposure with AP02 compared to oral nintedanib, supporting its targeted lung delivery. Based on these data, we initiated AURA, a global Phase 2 clinical trial of AP02 in patients with IPF. Data from AURA is expected .
AP03 (Inhaled Fixed-Dose Combination of Pirfenidone and Nintedanib)
Combination therapies targeting multiple mechanisms are well established in other chronic lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. We designed AP03 as a fixed-dose combination of inhaled pirfenidone and inhaled nintedanib, leveraging the two complementary antifibrotic mechanisms of action that have shown signals of enhanced efficacy in pulmonary fibrosis, but have been historically limited by overlapping systemic toxicities. A historical, independent clinical trial in IPF demonstrated that combined use of oral pirfenidone and oral nintedanib exhibit potential for additive or even synergistic effects, improving lung function decline more than monotherapy. However, the challenging systemic side effects have limited the clinical feasibility of oral combination, given the overlapping adverse event, or AE, profiles of nintedanib and pirfenidone. We believe that delivering both molecules via inhalation has the potential to be transformative in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, where treatment options remain limited. AP03 reflects our initial effort to advance the treatment algorithm in pulmonary fibrosis. We are advancing manufacturing activities through a CMO for AP03. Pending alignment with regulatory authorities, we plan to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of AP03 as an inhaled fixed-dose combination in .
Our Lung-Targeted Inhalation Delivery Method
Our pipeline benefits from an exclusive license to PARI Technology Services’, or PARI’s, eRapid® Nebulizer System with eFlow® Technology for their delivery. PARI’s eFlow® Technology nebulizers are clinically and commercially validated, with five drug-device combinations products using their nebulizers approved by regulatory authorities in North America, Europe, and Japan, including LAMIRA® for ARIKAYCE® and ALTERA® for CAYSTON®. Our PARI exclusivity offers a key competitive advantage, as we are not taking any incremental device risk and the proprietary device would be included in any potential product labels approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, and other foreign regulatory authorities.
We have chosen nebulized delivery for our current programs, as we believe it offers the best solution for patients with pulmonary fibrosis, who often suffer from chronic cough and compromised lung function. Nebulized formulation produces a soft, gentle mist that allows for normal tidal breathing without requiring forceful inhalation. This minimizes cough induction and improves usability for the vast majority of patients. In contrast, other approaches like dry powder inhalers, or DPIs, require a powder formulation that is aerosolized through the device and depend on patients initiating a deep, vigorous inhalation to deliver the dose. Such inhalation can trigger cough, and if the patient coughs immediately afterward, much of the drug may be expelled, reducing efficacy. While a segment of the population with pulmonary fibrosis could successfully use a DPI, the size of that segment remains uncertain. We believe that nebulization offers a more reliable and patient-friendly solution.
By advancing a portfolio of optimized inhaled therapies, we aim to deliver transformative, patient-centered treatment solutions for pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases, or ILDs, setting a new standard of care for these underserved populations.
Our Team
We have a seasoned leadership team with deep experience in developing and commercializing respiratory medicines and inhaled therapeutics. Collectively, our team members have played key roles in the development, regulatory review, and commercial launches of several respiratory and inhaled therapeutics, including ESBRIET®, OFEV®, JASCAYD®, BREZTRI®, BEVESPI®, XOLAIR®, TOBI®, and BAXDELA®.
Our key leadership team consists of:
•Lyn Baranowski, our Chief Executive Officer, has over 20 years of experience in biopharmaceuticals and venture capital, with a significant focus on the immunology and respiratory therapeutic areas. Throughout her career, Ms. Baranowski has played pivotal roles in the development and commercialization of market-shaping therapies, including BREZTRI®, BEVESPI®, XOLAIR®, TOBI®, RECLAST®, and BAXDELA®. She previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Altavant, overseeing development of therapies for rare respiratory diseases and culminating in the company’s acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon in 2019.
Prior to Altavant, she served as Vice President of Commercial Development at Pearl Therapeutics, which successfully developed a portfolio of inhaled respiratory medicines that led to its $1.15 billion acquisition by AstraZeneca. The products developed at Pearl and acquired by AstraZeneca are approved, including BREZTRI® and BEVESPI®, and serve as the foundation of AstraZeneca’s respiratory portfolio. Her prior roles include senior roles at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and a healthcare-focused venture capital firm.
•Douglas Carlson, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer has more than 23 years of corporate finance, M&A, business development and commercial experience in public and private biopharma companies. He was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Avenge Bio and Ikena Oncology, where he led the Series B and initial public offering for Ikena. In addition, Mr. Carlson held senior positions at Collegium Pharmaceutical, BTG plc (acquired by Boston Scientific), and Lundbeck Inc. (formerly Ovation Pharmaceuticals acquired by H. Lundbeck A/S). Early in his career, Mr. Carlson held roles in venture capital and investment banking at Pequot Capital and Cowen & Co., respectively.
•Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., our Chief Operating Officer has extensive operational and clinical development expertise in respiratory medicine. She previously held leadership roles at Kriya Therapeutics, Aerami Therapeutics, and Altavant, focusing on the development of inhaled therapies. Her career also includes roles in nonclinical development at Roivant, GlaxoSmithKline, and Erimos Pharmaceuticals.
•Howard Lazarus, M.D., FCCP, our Chief Medical Officer is a board-certified pulmonary and critical care physician with more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical and academic experience. Prior to Avalyn, he served as Chief Medical Officer of Altavant. In this role, he was responsible for developing and implementing the clinical development plans for candidates addressing PAH, and chronic lung allograft dysfunction, or CLAD. In his career, he was a key contributor to the development of OFEV® for its non-IPF ILD indications at Boehringer Ingelheim and contributed to the development of Gilead’s PAH and IPF portfolios. Earlier, Dr. Lazarus practiced at Oregon Pulmonary Associates, diagnosing and treating patients with complex pulmonary vascular and ILDs.
•Craig Conoscenti, M.D., FCCP, ATSF, our SVP of Clinical Development has deep experience in respiratory and pulmonary drug development. He oversaw ILD drug development and medical affairs at Boehringer Ingelheim for over 20 years, where he played a critical role in the development and commercial launch of OFEV® for IPF and other ILDs. Before his industry career, Dr. Conoscenti was a senior pulmonary critical care consultant for over 17 years.
Since our inception, we have raised approximately $389 million in equity capital from a syndicate of premier investors in healthcare and life sciences, including Novo Holdings A/S; SR One; F-Prime; Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds; Norwest Venture Funds; Eventide Asset Management; Wellington Management; Vida Ventures; Catalio Capital Management; RiverVest Venture Partners; Pivotal bioVenture Partners; TPG Biotech; Suvretta Capital Management; Hamilton Square Partners Management; Rock Springs Capital; Surveyor Capital (a Citadel Company); funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.; and Piper Heartland. Potential investors should not consider investments made by our existing investors as a factor when making a decision to purchase shares in this offering since our existing investors likely have different risk tolerances and paid significantly less per share than the price at which the shares are being offered in this offering.
Our Strategy
Our mission is to transform the lives of patients with serious, rare respiratory diseases through innovative inhaled therapies, beginning with pulmonary fibrosis. To achieve our mission, we are focused on the following strategic priorities:
•Continue to rapidly advance AP01, our optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone, through late-stage clinical development for the treatment of PPF. We purposefully designed AP01 to be the optimal inhaled formulation of pirfenidone for the treatment of PPF. We believe AP01 can overcome the historical off-tissue safety limitations of oral pirfenidone, enabling improved efficacy and tolerability for more durable outcomes for patients relative to current standard of care. To date, we have completed ATLAS, a
Phase 1b clinical trial, and have an ongoing OLE trial of AP01 among patients with IPF and PPF, which has demonstrated durable clinical proof-of-concept, including preservation of patient lung function for over four and a half years. We are currently evaluating AP01 in MIST, a global Phase 2b trial in PPF, with data expected in .
•Efficiently progress clinical development of AP02, our optimized inhaled formulation of nintedanib, for the treatment of IPF. We purposefully designed AP02 to be the optimal inhaled formulation of nintedanib for the treatment of IPF, using the same delivery device as AP01 to maximize its potential use in future fixed-dose combinations. We believe AP02 overcomes the historical off-tissue safety limitations of oral nintedanib by preferentially delivering treatment directly to the lungs, offering more durable outcomes for patients relative to current standard of care. In two completed Phase 1 trials, AP02 demonstrated encouraging safety and tolerability, with a PK profile consistent with highly lung-favored tissue distribution and low systemic exposure. AP02 is now currently being evaluated in AURA, a global Phase 2 clinical trial in IPF, with data expected in .
•Unlock the potential of combination therapy with AP03, our first-in-kind inhaled fixed-dose combination therapy. We designed AP03 as a fixed-dose combination of inhaled pirfenidone and inhaled nintedanib, leveraging the two complementary antifibrotic mechanisms of action that have long been established to enable enhanced efficacy, but have been historically limited by overlapping systemic toxicities. By delivering both agents directly to the lungs simultaneously, AP03 has the potential to provide additive or synergistic efficacy with improved tolerability, analogous to combination regimens that have transformed treatment paradigms in other pulmonary diseases, such as COPD and asthma. We have intentionally sequenced development of AP03 following inhaled monotherapy validations to support regulatory requirements for fixed-dose combinations. Manufacturing activities are underway to support the initiation of a Phase 1 trial of AP03, which we plan to initiate in , with data expected in .
•Maintain our competitive advantage through proprietary drug-device combinations and intellectual property. Our proprietary drug-device combinations create high regulatory and technical barriers to entry. The regulatory pathway for generic inhaled products is exceptionally complex, often requiring large clinical trials due to the need to demonstrate therapeutic equivalence and drug-device performance equivalence, such as particle size distribution and lung deposition pattern. This has historically resulted in very few approved and commercialized generic products in the U.S. We have built a robust intellectual property portfolio covering drug compositions, formulations, and drug-device combinations, with issued patents extending beyond 2035, and pending patent applications that may extend protection beyond 2040. We also hold exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize our inhaled therapies using PARI’s eFlow® Nebulizer System. Therefore, even after existing patents expire after commercialization, we have exclusivity in the device for inhaled pirfenidone and nintedanib. Any company would need to develop a generic version of the device, a complex and costly technical challenge. These protections create high technical, regulatory, and manufacturing barriers to entry that we believe will support prolonged effective market exclusivity and a durable competitive advantage, well beyond patent expiries.
•Establish Avalyn as a leader in developing and delivering transformative therapies to patients suffering from a broad range of rare pulmonary diseases. We are and plan to continue advancing a pipeline of innovative therapeutics that address the underlying drivers of rare and serious respiratory diseases. We see significant opportunities to apply our expertise in pulmonary biology, inhaled therapeutic delivery, and translational science and clinical development, to extend our platform into additional ILDs beyond our initial focus of IPF and PPF. By leveraging de-risked molecules, validated inhaled technologies, and emerging clinical data, we intend to identify optimal patient populations and indications where lung-targeted intervention may meaningfully alter disease trajectory. These include diseases with high unmet needs before or at early stages of fibrosis, such as rheumatoid arthritis-associated ILD, or RA-ILD, and chronic lung allograft dysfunction, or CLAD. These efforts, combined with continued advancement in operational, regulatory, manufacturing and commercial capabilities, position us to efficiently progress our therapeutic candidates through clinical development and into commercialization.
We believe in the value our approach could unlock and are committed to growing into a company fully capable of realizing that potential opportunity.
Our Focus on Interstitial Lung Diseases
ILDs are a heterogeneous group of rare pulmonary disorders, comprising over 200 distinct conditions, many of which lack approved or effective treatments. ILDs are characterized by varying degrees of inflammation, fibrosis, or both. These conditions impair gas exchange and patients’ quality of life, or QoL, by causing chronic breathlessness, fatigue, coughing, and reduced ability to perform daily activities.
Treatment and management of ILDs vary based on the specific underlying disease and patient characteristics. Historically, the treatment of many ILDs has primarily relied on systemic therapies, including oral antifibrotics, corticosteroids, and other immunomodulatory therapies. These systemic treatments are often associated with tolerability limitations that can affect long-term use. We believe we may be able to address certain limitations of systemic ILD therapies, initially focusing on pulmonary fibrosis, through the development of optimized inhaled formulations of established oral antifibrotic agents. By delivering drugs directly to the lungs, our approach is designed to fundamentally improve the benefit-risk profile of antifibrotic therapy by achieving higher drug concentration at the site of disease while substantially reducing systemic exposure. We believe this lung-targeted delivery strategy enables sustained long-term treatment, addressing key limitations of existing systemic therapies and supporting better treatment adherence and long-term disease management for patients with interstitial lung disease.
Pulmonary Fibrosis Background
Pulmonary fibrosis is a pathologic phenotype observed across a substantial subset of ILDs and is characterized by chronic injury, aberrant repair, and progression, typically irreversible fibrosis and stiffening of lung tissue. Although different ILDs have distinct underlying etiologies, pathophysiology, and clinical courses, many forms of ILD can ultimately result in pulmonary fibrosis. Once pulmonary fibrosis develops, disease progression may continue even if the underlying cause of ILD is treated or removed. ILDs represent a significant global health burden, affecting about five million people worldwide and over 650,000 in the U.S. alone, of which approximately 300,000 have pulmonary fibrosis. The median survival of pulmonary fibrosis has historically been estimated at approximately three to five years, which is a significantly shorter prognosis than that observed for many forms of cancer.
Pulmonary fibrosis is often caused by repeated injury to the lungs and results from a dysregulated tissue repair response. Recurrent damage to the alveolar epithelial cells disrupts the epithelium, triggers recruitment of platelets and inflammatory cells, and subsequently promotes chronic inflammation and progressive fibrosis through excessive deposition of extracellular matrix components. Over time, this fibrotic remodeling disrupts normal lung architecture and impairs gas exchange, compromising the lung’s ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream and leading to worsening respiratory symptoms, including persistent dry cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Cough is among the most common and distressing symptoms, affecting more than 70% of patients with pulmonary fibrosis, often refractory to standard therapies, and significantly impairs quality of life. These symptoms typically worsen in parallel with declining pulmonary function test results and frequently ultimately result in acute respiratory deterioration or death. Current treatment approaches for pulmonary fibrosis focus on antifibrotic therapies to slow disease progression, along with supportive care.
There are two primary clinical forms of pulmonary fibrosis: IPF and PPF. IPF is an ILD of unknown etiology characterized by progressive fibrotic remodeling of the lungs over time. Patients with IPF typically present with a chronic, dry cough and progressively worsening shortness of breath, with symptoms advancing over months to years. IPF affects an estimated three million people worldwide and approximately 120,000 people in the U.S. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in men aged 65 years and older and has been associated with environmental exposures, such as smoking, chronic viral infections, abnormal gastroesophageal reflux, as well as certain genetic predispositions.
PPF, by contrast, refers to ILDs with a known etiological factor, such as autoimmune disease or exposure to allergens, asbestos, or certain drugs where a subset of patients develop a progressive pulmonary fibrotic phenotype. Patients with PPF also experience chronic cough and breathlessness, although the rate and severity of progression may vary based on the underlying etiology. Consequently, management of PPF typically requires treatment of the underlying disease in combination with antifibrotic therapy. PPF represents a more prevalent form of pulmonary fibrosis, affecting an estimated six million people worldwide and approximately 180,000 people in the U.S.
Types of Interstitial Lung Disease

Sources: 1. Jeganathan et al., 2024; 2. Avalyn Market Research; 3. Olson et al., 2021.
PPF, previously referred to as Progressive Fibrosing ILD (PF-ILD)
If left untreated, patients with IPF and PPF will experience a decline in FVC, a measure of the total amount of air an individual can breathe out after taking the deepest breath possible. Change in FVC is a widely accepted measure of disease progression and a surrogate endpoint associated with increased mortality risk. Patients with IPF and PPF typically experience a decline of approximately 4 to 7%, or approximately 200 mL, per year. By comparison, average FVC decline among healthy adults over 40 years of age is approximately 20 mL to 50 mL per year. With IPF patients, such accelerated decline in FVC is associated with clinically significant consequences. These include increased risk of hospitalization, overall decreased health-related quality of life, or HRQoL, due to worsening symptoms, such as cough and shortness of breath, and mortality risk. Despite the availability of approved therapies, the prognosis of pulmonary fibrosis remains poor, with a median survival of three to five years, a significantly shorter prognosis than that observed for many forms of cancers. As a result, there remains a critical need for new treatment options that offer improved tolerability, efficacy, and patient convenience to enable long-term disease management.
Natural History of Baseline FVC Changes in Healthy Subjects and IPF Patients

Source: Raghu et al., 2017
Our Approach to Transforming the Treatment Paradigm for ILDs
The change we aim to make in the treatment paradigm of pulmonary fibrosis and other ILDs parallels the transformation seen in the treatment of asthma and COPD over the past six decades, where treatment progressed through successive waves of therapeutic innovation.
The first generation of treatments for managing asthma and COPD were systemic oral drugs like prednisone which first emerged in the 1960s. By the 1990s, the introduction of inhaled corticosteroids such as Flovent® shifted the treatment toward targeted pulmonary delivery, which enabled improved efficacy and tolerability. As inhaler devices with diverse mechanisms became available, physicians began combining medications to better manage patients’ conditions. In the early 2000s, dual combination inhalers like ADVAIR® and SYMBICORT® set a new benchmark by combining two antifibrotic agents with distinct mechanisms of action in a single device. Today, triple combination therapies such as TRELEGY® and BREZTRI® represent the latest standard-of-care, providing further enhanced efficacy and convenience compared to previous generations.
Evolution of Asthma and COPD Treatment Landscape

Today, the pulmonary fibrosis market is currently in “Generation One,” relying on oral systemic medications: pirfenidone, nintedanib, and nerandomilast. We aim to usher in “Generation Two” developing and commercializing inhaled formulations of these two oral antifibrotic medicines, as AP01 and AP02, and potentially improving safety and efficacy. Beyond AP01 and AP02 we aspire to also deliver “Generation Three,” with AP03, a dual fixed-dose combination of drugs with complementary mechanisms for even greater therapeutic impact. Looking ahead, we also aspire to deliver “Generation Four,” building on AP03 by incorporating other approved distinct mechanisms into triple fixed-dose combinations.
Potential Evolution of IPF and PPF Treatment Landscape

If successful, we believe our approach would meaningfully enhance patient outcomes and redefine the future treatment paradigm of pulmonary fibrosis.
Antifibrotic Treatment Landscape for Pulmonary Fibrosis
There are currently three FDA-approved antifibrotic therapies for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis: pirfenidone, or ESBRIET®, marketed by Legacy Pharma Inc. and Genentech/Roche; nintedanib, or OFEV®, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim; and nerandomilast, or JASCAYD®, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim. These current standard-of-care oral antifibrotic therapies slow but do not halt nor reverse disease progression. As a result, current oral antifibrotic therapies expose patients to chronic systemic drug exposure without directly targeting the site of disease, contributing to significant limitations, including safety concerns, tolerability issues, and tablet burden. Importantly, most investigational therapies for pulmonary fibrosis, including those targeting novel biological pathways, are in development as potential add-on treatments to existing oral antifibrotics. Given we are developing inhaled formulations of these background standard-of-care antifibrotics, we believe our product candidates could be used as standalone therapies or in combination with other approved medicines. While lung transplants can be performed for pulmonary fibrosis patients at an increased risk of death, this option is only viable for a very small subset of patients due to age, comorbidities, and limited organ availability.
Oral Pirfenidone (ESBRIET®) for IPF
Oral pirfenidone is a small molecule inhibitor that has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects through modulation of a broad range of cytokines and growth factors. ESBRIET® was approved for the treatment of IPF initially by the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in 2011 followed by the FDA in 2014. The FDA approval of pirfenidone was based on data from the CAPACITY (Studies 004 and 006) and ASCEND (Study 016) clinical trials. These randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials collectively enrolled more than 1,200 patients with IPF. The ASCEND trial and CAPACITY-004 trial demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in FVC decline at 52 weeks (ASCEND: -118 mL vs -265 mL, p<0.001; CAPACITY-004: -181mL vs -350 mL, p<0.001). Additionally, pooled analyses of the CAPACITY and ASCEND trials showed improved progression-free survival and a trend toward reduced all-cause mortality.
Oral pirfenidone is prescribed using a dose-escalation regimen over a 14-day period, culminating in a target dose of 801 mg three times daily for a total daily dose of 2,403 mg. This is typically achieved through the administration of nine 267 mg capsules per day.
Common AEs for pirfenidone include GI intolerance characterized by nausea, vomiting, indigestion, and diarrhea. In registration trials, 19% of patients required dose reductions or treatment interruptions due to GI events. In addition, due to photosensitivity reactions and rashes, patients on oral pirfenidone are advised to take precautions against sun exposure.
Oral Nintedanib (OFEV®) for IPF and PPF
Oral nintedanib is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that was approved for the treatment of IPF by the FDA in 2014 and subsequently by the EMA in 2015. FDA approval of nintedanib for IPF was based on clinical results from a pair of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trials (INPULSIS-1 and INPULSIS-2) that demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the annual rate of FVC decline over a 52-week period compared to placebo (-113.6 mL/year vs. -223.5 mL/year, p<0.001).
By 2020, nintedanib gained additional approvals from both the FDA and EMA for the treatment of two types of PPF: chronic fibrosing ILDs with a progressive phenotype, and systemic sclerosis-associated ILD. These approvals were supported by clinical data from the INBUILD and SENSCIS trials, where both of the studies demonstrated that oral nintedanib significantly reduced the annual rate of FVC decline in patients compared to placebo (SENSCIS: -52.4 mL/year vs. -93.3 mL/year, p=0.04; INBUILD: -80.8 mL/year vs. -187.8 mL/year, p<0.001).
Similar to oral pirfenidone, oral nintedanib is also associated with multiple serious side effects, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, hyperbilirubinemia (which can lead to jaundice), GI perforation, as well as cardiovascular events, including high blood pressure, increased risk of myocardial infarction, and arterial thromboembolism. Across all registrational studies, 61-76% of patients experienced diarrhea, which can be severe enough to lead to treatment discontinuation.
Current Utility of Oral Pirfenidone and Nintedanib Hindered by Systemic Toxicities
Although oral pirfenidone and nintedanib are approved for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, their clinical utility is significantly limited by systemic AEs and modest efficacy. Both agents are associated with high rates of GI and other treatment-limiting toxicities that frequently require dose reductions, treatment interruptions, or permanent discontinuations. In addition to the toxicities of the systemic therapies, patients also continue to experience worsening respiratory symptoms and declining quality of life while on treatment. As a result, only approximately 30% of patients with IPF are actively treated with antifibrotics and 50% of patients discontinue within one year of treatment.
Both oral pirfenidone and nintedanib have warnings for elevated liver enzymes and liver abnormalities, which further limits their long-term use. Routine monitoring of liver function is recommended to mitigate risks with both agents, with the potential for dose reduction or treatment discontinuation. Particularly for nintedanib that is metabolized in the liver, its use in patients with moderate-to-severe hepatic impairment is not recommended due to increased drug exposure and potential toxicity. Caution is advised in patients with coagulation disorders or those on anticoagulant therapy as nintedanib may increase the risk of bleeding.
Despite these safety and tolerability limitations, oral pirfenidone, or ESBRIET®, and oral nintedanib, or OFEV®, remain commercially significant products. ESBRIET® and OFEV® experienced comparable global adoption following their initial launches through 2018. However, OFEV® generated substantial incremental revenue following its label expansion to include PPF beginning in 2019. In 2024, global sales of OFEV® exceeded $4.0 billion. These limitations and the commercial performance highlight the significant unmet medical need and commercial opportunity for antifibrotic therapies that preserve lung function while offering a more favorable tolerability profile that supports sustained long-term use in this progressive and ultimately fatal disease.
Oral Nerandomilast (JASCAYD®) for IPF and PPF
Nerandomilast is an oral, small molecule, selective phosphodiesterase-4B inhibitor that was approved by the FDA in 2025 for the treatment of IPF and PPF. FDA approval of nerandomilast was based on clinical results from two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trials (FIBRONEER-IPF and FIBRONEER-ILD) that demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the annual rate of FVC decline over a 52-week period compared to placebo (IPF: -114.7 mL/year vs. -183.5 mL/year, p<0.001; PPF: -98.6 mL/year vs. -165.8 mL/year).
Similar to oral nintedanib, nerandomilast is also associated with GI AEs, most notably diarrhea, which occurred in approximately 40% of patients. The incidence of diarrhea was higher among patients receiving nerandomilast in combination with background oral nintedanib, affecting approximately 50–60% of such patients. Diarrhea was the most frequently reported adverse reaction leading to treatment discontinuation, again most common when nerandomilast was used in combination with nintedanib.
Other Developmental Treatments for IPF and PPF
Beyond pirfenidone, nintedanib, and nerandomilast, there are also other product candidates in various stages of development for IPF and PPF. All of the companies actively conducting trials of novel mechanisms of action allow patients to remain on background oral antifibrotics. If these novel mechanisms are successful, they may benefit from combination with inhaled, tissue-specific therapies in the future.
Our Expertise Enables Differentiated Inhaled Therapeutic Solutions
By leveraging our expertise in inhaled drug formulation, delivery systems, and customization, we aim to provide effective, patient-centric therapeutic solutions that address the unmet needs in respiratory disease treatment. Key aspects of our patented formulation process include:
•Particle Engineering: We focus on optimizing particle size, morphology, and aerodynamic properties to ensure efficient deposition in the lungs. Fine-tuning particle size is critical for achieving deep lung penetration while minimizing oropharyngeal deposition.
•Carrier Agents and Excipients: Our formulations incorporate excipients that facilitate uniform drug distribution, enhance solubility, and improve stability. The selection and distribution of carrier agents are tailored to support optimal aerosolization and drug absorption in the respiratory tract.
•PK Optimization: Our inhaled therapies are developed to deliver high concentrations of drug directly to the lungs while minimizing systemic absorption. This targeted approach enhances local activity, particularly for diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, where achieving higher drug concentrations at the site of disease can maximize antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory activities while reducing systemic side effects. Importantly, we can measure drug exposure in the target tissue of the lungs by collecting epithelial lining fluid, or ELF, via bronchoalveolar lavage, or BAL. These PK assessments have been performed across our clinical programs and have consistently demonstrated substantially higher lung exposure with inhaled delivery compared to oral administration at a fraction of the dose, reinforcing the rationale for inhaled therapy in pulmonary fibrosis.
•Optimized Delivery Systems: Our inhaled therapies are initially designed for nebulized administration, with a focus on the PARI eRapid® Nebulizer System for AP01, AP02, and AP03. The device is optimized to deliver drug formulation efficiently, with the nebulization time for AP01 taking approximately nine minutes. We have and will continue to work closely with device manufacturers such as PARI to ensure our formulations are optimized for specific delivery platforms, enabling consistent aerosol performance and efficient lung deposition. In addition to nebulizers, we will continue to evaluate other inhalation methods, taking into account formulation considerations, disease rationale, and patient usability. For example, we have successfully developed nintedanib in a DPI formulation; however, we are prioritizing nebulized delivery for now, given that AP03 can only be used in solution for nebulization and our belief that DPI administration may be challenging for the majority of patients with pulmonary fibrosis. This nintedanib DPI formulation, however, provides us flexibility to enable future product candidates as part of our long-term strategy.
•Solubility and Stability: We employ advanced formulation techniques to enhance drug solubility in aqueous and non-aqueous environments, thereby ensuring consistent dosing and prolonged shelf-life. Storage conditions and packaging are carefully considered to accommodate real-world storage conditions, ensuring that our therapies maintain formulation integrity and effectiveness under varying environmental conditions.
•User Experience & Compliance: Long-term patient adherence is critical for treatment success, particularly in chronic conditions like pulmonary fibrosis. We prioritize factors such as ease of use, treatment duration, and portability to enhance patient compliance. The eRapid® Nebulizer System, for example, provides a shorter nebulization time compared to traditional jet nebulizers, reducing the treatment burden and improving convenience. Importantly, the nebulized approach is designed to be responsive to a patient’s normal breathing pattern and does not require a vigorous inhalation to deliver the dose. This is a key advantage because forceful inhalation often triggers coughing, which is already a primary and distressing symptom of pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, pulmonary fibrosis patients have reduced lung capacity and later-stage patients do not always have the capacity to absorb an adequate dose through DPI dosing. The nebulized approach helps ensure comfort, reduces cough exacerbation, and support consistent adherence to therapy.
We believe there is a significant and urgent opportunity for new inhaled therapies that are more tolerable and effective, that better align with patient needs, and support improved adherence.
Our Solution: Inhaled Therapies Designed to Deliver Enhanced Therapeutic Benefits
By leveraging optimized inhaled formulations of existing oral treatments for respiratory diseases, we aim to provide a differentiated therapeutic approach that offers multiple, clinically meaningful advantages:
•Targeted Delivery to the Lungs for Enhanced Efficacy and Improved Safety and Tolerability: Our inhaled therapies are designed to deliver drug directly to the lungs. This localized delivery approach to the primary site of disease is intended to provide two important benefits: (1) enhanced efficacy, including the potential for disease-modifying effect, and (2) improved safety and tolerability. Our approach is designed to increase pulmonary drug exposure and may improve lung function at substantially lower doses than required with oral formulations. In addition, inhaled delivery is intended to reduce systemic exposure, which may mitigate side effects commonly associated with oral antifibrotic treatments that often lead to treatment discontinuation.
•Support for Long-term Adherence: We expect inhaled therapies will enable a more tolerable and patient-friendly treatment, promoting long-term adherence for sustained therapeutic benefit. The OLE trial has now been underway for more than four and a half years, with 23 patients continuing to receive AP01 100 mg BID treatment. Many of these patients are now surpassing six years post-diagnosis, exceeding the three to five years median survival for patients with pulmonary fibrosis after diagnosis. Such long-term data are not available for oral pirfenidone or oral nintedanib, as systemic toxicities with these therapies often limit patients’ treatment duration to less than one year.
•Expanding the Total Addressable Patient Population: Inhaled therapies have the potential to significantly expand the current treatment landscape by addressing two key underserved patient groups. First, patients who are unable to tolerate or have discontinued oral antifibrotic therapies may benefit from our inhaled therapeutic programs. Second, patients who are newly diagnosed may also benefit from an earlier intervention to halt fibrosis progression.
•High Barriers to Entry Create Durable Competitive Advantage: We believe we hold a uniquely defensible market position, since our proprietary drug-device combinations create high technical and regulatory barriers of entry. To date, only a very small number of generic inhaled products have ever been approved and commercially marketed in the U.S., underscoring the exceptionally high hurdles for follow-on competitors. Development of a generic inhaled therapy is complex, often requiring large clinical trials to demonstrate therapeutic equivalence. In addition, we hold exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize our inhaled candidates with PARI’s eFlow® Nebulizer System. Because the device is included in the label of the product and licensed under an exclusive agreement, we have exclusivity in the device for inhaled pirfenidone and nintedanib even after existing patents expire. Any company would need to develop a generic version of the device and demonstrate drug-device equivalence, such as particle size distribution and lung deposition patterns, a complex and costly technical challenge. These protections create high technical, regulatory, and manufacturing barriers to entry that we believe will support prolonged effective market exclusivity and a durable competitive advantage, well beyond patent expiries.
Our initial development candidates are all in development for nebulized lung delivery using PARI’s eFlow® Technology nebulizers. These nebulizers are clinically and commercially validated, with five drug-device combination products approved by regulatory authorities in North America, Europe, and Japan, including LAMIRA® for ARIKAYCE® and ALTERA® for CAYSTON®. Our current product candidates benefit from an exclusive license to the PARI eRapid® Nebulizer System with eFlow® Technology, a convenient, handheld nebulizer device intended for their delivery. Our exclusivity to the eRapid® Nebulizer System provides a significant advantage for intellectual property protection, as the device would be included in any potential product labels approved by the FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities.
AP01: Optimized Inhaled Formulation of Pirfenidone
AP01 is an optimized inhaled formulation of pirfenidone, being developed as a potential next-generation standard-of-care treatment for patients with PPF. Pirfenidone is a small molecule inhibitor that has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects and is therefore well suited to address a broad range of molecular pathways driving
pathogenesis. It modulates numerous cytokines and growth factors involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, resulting in reduced fibroblast proliferation, collagen production, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects.
We selected PPF as the primary indication for the development of AP01 based on multiple criteria, including expert advisor feedback, demonstrated lung function stabilization in patients with PPF in the ongoing OLE trial, the unmet need in PPF given the large population, and a potentially more efficient development and regulatory path.
Oral pirfenidone has demonstrated the ability to reduce lung function decline and mortality in patients with IPF. However, its low efficacy and systemic exposure cause significant side effects which limit its long-term tolerability and use. Delivering inhaled AP01 bypasses the GI tract and first-pass metabolism and results in a high local lung concentration and maintains low systemic exposure while using lower doses as compared, in a non-head-to-head comparison, to oral. These characteristics are designed to enable AP01 to reduce the known side effects associated with oral pirfenidone and enable targeted drug delivery directly to the lung for maximal efficacy. Over time, we believe AP01 may serve as a foundational treatment for inhaled fixed-dose combination regimens for PPF and other ILDs.
ATLAS Phase 1b Clinical Trial and OLE Trial
We have successfully completed ATLAS, a Phase 1b randomized, open-label clinical trial designed to evaluate the preliminary safety and tolerability of AP01 in patients with IPF. Although ATLAS was not designed or powered to assess efficacy, metrics including spirometry, respiratory rate, and oxygenation were collected throughout the study and provided descriptive insights into potential efficacy including function changes during treatment. ATLAS was conducted across 25 sites in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Patients enrolled in ATLAS were randomized to receive either 50 mg AP01 QD or 100 mg BID over a 72-week treatment period. At Week 24, an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board, or DSMB, reviewed safety and potential efficacy data, observed a greater treatment effect with AP01 100 mg BID dosing, and recommended transitioning all patients to the higher BID regimen for the remainder of the trial, which took time to implement and was accomplished after week 48. At the conclusion of the 72-week treatment period, all patients remaining on trial were eligible to continue receiving AP01 100 mg BID in an OLE trial. Recognizing the limited access to oral therapies for some patients with IPF and PPF, we expanded the OLE to include two additional compassionate-use cohorts: (1) patients with IPF who met the original eligibility criteria and (2) patients with PPF.
The OLE trial has now been underway for more than four and a half years, with 23 patients continuing to receive AP01 100 mg BID treatment. This ongoing study underscores the potential for sustained, long-term use of AP01 as a treatment option for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
ATLAS Phase 1b Clinical Trial Followed by Open-Label Extension (OLE) Trial

ATLAS Patient Demographics
ATLAS enrolled 91 adult patients with IPF who were either intolerant to or ineligible for oral pirfenidone or nintedanib. Patients were diagnosed with IPF according to American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society criteria within the prior five years, had FVC values of >40% but <90% of predicted, and had a FEV1/FVC ratio >0.7. Patients were excluded from the trial if they were on either oral pirfenidone or nintedanib at the time of enrollment. Patients in ATLAS were, on average, older and had more advanced disease compared to those enrolled in the pivotal trials for oral pirfenidone or oral nintedanib. Patients in ATLAS had a lower mean FVC % predicted (71.9% compared to 67.8-80.0%) and an average disease duration of two years since diagnosis compared to 1.2-1.7 years since diagnosis.
ATLAS was conducted between 2019-2021. During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted trial operations with several countries implementing various lockdown policies that led to a temporary shutdown of many of the 25 clinical trial sites. These disruptions affected patients’ ability to attend scheduled clinical assessments, resulting in missed visits for many participants. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, many patients returned to trial sites following the lockdown period, and data collection on these patients resumed.
AP01: Generally Well-Tolerated and Favorable Safety Profile Observed in ATLAS
AP01 was generally well-tolerated, with no reported AEs related to respiratory rate, spirometry, or oxygen desaturation during or following in-clinic administration. AEs reported in 10% or more of patients included cough, rash, shortness of breath (dyspnea), nausea, IPF progression or exacerbation, fatigue, lower respiratory tract infection, and upper respiratory tract infection.
Safety results from ATLAS demonstrated a favorable safety profile with AP01 at both the 50 mg QD and 100 mg BID doses, compared, in a non-head-to-head comparison, to historical data of oral pirfenidone. The chart below illustrates pooled AE rates for oral pirfenidone in pivotal trials (dark blue bars) and placebo (light gray bars), compared to AE rates for AP01 50 mg QD (light purple bars) and AP01 100 mg BID (dark purple bars) from ATLAS. AP01 demonstrated a substantially lower incidence of AEs across categories. In pivotal trials and real-world use, oral pirfenidone is associated with high rates of GI-related AEs, including nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, vomiting and anorexia, as well as dermatologic-related AEs, such as rash and photosensitivity. These were the most clinically consequential toxicities frequently cited as leading cause of dose reduction and treatment discontinuation. In contrast, these GI- and skin-related AEs occurred at meaningfully lower rates with AP01 in ATLAS. Hepatic AEs also occurred less frequently with AP01. Elevations in liver enzymes, which are a known risk with oral pirfenidone and require routine monitoring and potential treatment interruptions or discontinuation, were infrequent with AP01. In ATLAS, there was one Grade 2 treatment-related increase in liver enzymes, which resolved following dose interruption. Overall, the majority of treatment-related AEs, or TEAEs, observed with AP01, were mild or moderate in severity. There was one Grade 3 event of parainfluenza virus infection, which was considered a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction and resolved following dose interruption.
Top 10 AEs for Oral Pirfenidone (ESBRIET®) Compared to AP01

Sources: 1. Pirfenidone (ESBRIET®) Prescribing Information; 2. West et al., Thorax 2023; 0: 1-8.
*Decreased Appetite is classified as Anorexia in ESBRIET® Prescribing Information
AEs leading to AP01 treatment discontinuation were infrequent and included cough (n=2), progression of IPF (n=2), pneumonia (n=1), rash (n=1), and an abnormal chest computed tomography (CT) scan (n=1), which was observed in a patient suspected of having lung carcinoma who also had abnormal tumor markers at the time. There were four deaths among trial participants; two deaths in the first 24 weeks (one in the 50 mg QD from embolic stroke/septic embolus and another in the 100 mg BID from IPF), and additional two deaths between Week 24 and Week 48 (one in the 50 mg QD from IPF and another in the 100 mg BID from pulmonary embolism).
Cough is one of the most common and distressing symptoms, affecting more than 70% of patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Airway irritation is also a potential risk with inhaled administration, which can be manifested by coughing, increased secretions, or bronchospasm. ATLAS did not discern between different types of cough, including (1) cough due to nebulization of the aerosol and its effect on the pharynx and retropharyngeal space, (2) cough as a part of the background disease, and (3) cough as an AE. In ATLAS, cough occurred in 25/91 (27.5%) of patients; however, only 14/91 (15.4%) cases were considered treatment-related cough. There was no increase or progression of cough rates over the duration of the trial. Importantly, there was no bronchospasm observed in ATLAS or in the subsequent OLE trial. To understand the different types of cough, MIST is designed to discern cough related to nebulization through a cough and bronchospasm assessment completed during the screening phase prior to randomization. This will enable establishment of baseline cough levels prior to drug treatment so we understand cough levels attributable to the background disease prior to beginning treatment.
The safety findings for AP01 are particularly encouraging given that patients in ATLAS were comparatively older, had more advanced disease as measured by baseline FVC, and had been diagnosed with IPF for a longer duration compared to participants in oral pirfenidone pivotal trials.
AP01 Has Demonstrated Near Stabilization of Lung Function in ATLAS
Although ATLAS was not designed or powered to assess efficacy, metrics including spirometry, respiratory rate, and oxygenation were collected throughout the study and provided descriptive insights into lung‑function changes during treatment. The absolute change from baseline to Week 24 in FVC % predicted was also analyzed using a slope analysis to model the linear trajectory of changes over time. Data from ATLAS indicate that the magnitude of
FVC declines in patients treated with AP01 was less than those from in pivotal clinical trials of oral pirfenidone. At the higher 100 mg BID dose, AP01 had a change in FVC % predicted of only -0.4% (-34 mL) at Week 48. Comparatively, in the Phase 3 ASCEND trial, oral pirfenidone demonstrated a more pronounced decline of -3.0% (-118 mL) after 52 weeks of treatment.
Changes in Lung Function (FVC) with AP011 vs. Oral Pirfenidone2

Sources: 1. West et al., Thorax 2023; 0: 1-8.; 2. King et al., N Engl J Med 2014
* Through 48 weeks, 100 mg BID vs. 50 mg QD p=0.0222 (24-week p=0.133). Historic oral and AP01 data are non-imputed.
Placebo cohorts from registrational antifibrotic studies and natural history studies demonstrate that patients with IPF and PPF will experience a decline in FVC of approximately 4-7%, or approximately 200 mL, per year. Based on the published literature, the effect observed with AP01 100 mg BID over 48 weeks represents the first clinical evidence of near stabilization of lung function in this patient population. This is comparable to the expected decline in FVC among healthy adults over 40 years of age, who typically lose on average 20 mL to 50 mL per year.
The chart below compares FVC declines across placebo (gray bars) and approved agents in patients with no background antifibrotics from published pivotal trial results. The results demonstrate that treatment with oral antifibrotics approximately halves the 52-week FVC decline of patients compared to placebo. Declines in 52-week FVC ranged from 118 mL to 220 mL for oral pirfenidone, and 81 mL to 115 mL for oral nintedanib. In contrast, AP01 100 mg BID (dark purple bar) achieved a decline of only 34 mL, further supporting its potential for stabilization or near-stabilization of lung function in patients with IPF.
FVC Decline for AP01, Oral Pirfenidone, Oral Nintedanib, and Oral Nerandomilast in IPF and PPF

Sources: 1. West et al., Thorax 2023; 2. Pirfenidone NDA – Medical Reviews; 3. Pirfenidone NDA – Statistical Reviews; 4. Richeldi et al., N Engl J Med 2014; 5. Flaherty et al., N Engl J Med 2019; 6. Richeldi et al., N Engl J Med 2025; 7. Maher et al., N Engl J Med 2025. *Per protocol set in 48-week trial. ASCEND, INPULSIS, ATLAS, and INBUILD data are non-imputed. CAPACITY and FIBRONEER data are imputed.
Note: FIBRONEER data represent patients on no background antifibrotics
To confirm the robustness of the results from ATLAS, we conducted a post-hoc assessment using the mixed model of repeated measures, or MMRM, to analyze changes in FVC % predicted.
In a random slopes model, we assume linear trends for the mean FVC at each visit, meaning each individual’s FVC measurements follow a straight line plus measurement error. Compared to the slopes model, MMRM assumes no particular form for the individual or the overall pattern of mean FVC at each visit. Hence, MMRM is particularly advantageous in handling repeated measures over time without requiring imputation for missing data, making it a current FDA standard for analyzing longitudinal data in pulmonary fibrosis trials. The chart below supports that the changes in FVC % predicted as measured by MMRM were consistent with the findings from our slopes analysis for both AP01 100 mg BID (dark purple line) with a mean change of -0.35% and AP01 50 mg QD (light purple line) with a mean change of -5.20% at 48 weeks.
MMRM Analysis of Change from Baseline in FVC Across AP01 100 mg BID and 50 mg QD

These findings highlight the potential of AP01 as an inhaled therapy that delivers targeted treatment with improved efficacy and tolerability compared to oral options. This advantage could translate into better long-term outcomes for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
HRCT Imaging Correlates with FVC Changes and Fibrosis Improvement in ATLAS
HRCT is considered the gold-standard for diagnosing pulmonary fibrosis, as it can detect specific fibrosis patterns, such as honeycombing, reticulations, or ground-glass opacities, the latter often indicative of inflammation and fine fibrosis associated with early-stage disease. Using HRCT imaging, we can numerically quantify regions as fibrotic or nonfibrotic and identify specific fibrosis patterns.
The images below illustrate the response of a patient treated with AP01 100 mg BID in ATLAS who showed a meaningful improvement in their FVC. The image on the left shows an HRCT scan of the patient’s lungs at baseline, while the image on the right shows the same patient’s lung after 24 weeks of treatment. Quantitative lung fibrosis, or QLF, is represented by yellow, blue, and red dots, where different colors represent different types of fibrosis. An increased QLF score has been associated with worsening of pulmonary fibrosis. As shown below, there is a reduction in lung fibrosis from baseline to Week 24 (15.2% vs 11.0%) and an increase in whole lung volume (3.9L to 4.1L). In this patient, their QLF reduction correlated with FVC lung function and quality of life measures.
Changes in Whole Lung Volume, QLF, and QLF Volume with AP01 100 mg BID

Source: Poster Presentations at ERS 2022, PPF Summit 2023
*Red, yellow, and blue dots indicate reticulation (QLF), ground glass (QGG), and honeycombing (QHC).
To date, data on QLF with existing oral antifibrotic treatments is limited. Studies of nintedanib and other investigational therapies for IPF have shown either an increase or stabilization of QLF scores, with no evidence of fibrosis reduction or correlation with clinical activity. As shown in the graph below, HRCT imaging data from ATLAS showed stabilization or reversal of fibrosis in over 70% of patients treated with AP01 100 mg BID, suggesting AP01’s disease modifying potential.
Change from Baseline in QLF (%) Across AP01 100 mg BID1,2

Sources: 1. Poster Presentation at ERS 2022; 2.PFF Summit 2023
This finding on the correlation between lung fibrosis and lung function was observed across patients studied in ATLAS. As shown in the graph below, change in the QLF score negatively correlated with change in FVC for AP01 100 mg BID cohort. We believe these are the first reported data to demonstrate a correlation between observed changes in lung function and lung fibrosis using HRCT imaging.
Correlations of FVC and QLF Across AP01 100 mg BID and 50 mg QD

Source: West et al., Thorax 2023
A second patient case study from ATLAS showed a meaningful improvement in FVC, and a reduction in ground-glass opacities, a specific fibrosis pattern (shown in yellow), that was even more pronounced after 24 weeks of treatment with AP01 100 mg BID. Ground glass opacities can represent areas of inflammation and fine fibrosis, preceding reticulation or honeycombing. This characteristic suggests that AP01 may effectively target earlier stages of fibrosis before progression to advanced, irreversible scarring, which may be particularly beneficial in newly diagnosed patients. By doing so, it may significantly expand the potential total addressable market for PPF therapies, because evidence of disease modification could be a compelling driver for early intervention in ILD patients before their fibrosis advances.
Changes in Quantitative Lung Fibrosis with AP01 100 mg BID

Source: Poster Presentation at ERS 2024
*Red, yellow, and blue dots indicate reticulation (QLF), ground glass (QGG), and honeycombing (QHC).
Patient-reported Outcomes Demonstrate Symptomatic Improvement with AP01 in ATLAS
In ATLAS, patient-reported outcomes, or PROs, were assessed using clinically validated questionnaires: King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease, or K-BILD, a validated tool designed to measure health-related quality of life specifically in patients with ILDs, and the Leicester Cough Questionnaire, or LCQ, which assesses the impact of cough on patients’ quality of life. PRO results remained stable over 48 weeks in both AP01 dose groups for both LCQ and K-BILD assessments. These data indicate that patients did not experience a significant decline in their perceived health status while on either the AP01 100 mg BID or 50 mg QD, which correlated with the changes in their lung function and lung fibrosis as measured by HRCT scans.
The ATLAS data in totality provide clinical proof-of-concept on the safety and disease modifying potential with AP01 and support its continued development as a treatment for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
AP01 OLE Trial Supports Long-term Safety and Clinical Activity of AP01
An ongoing OLE trial of AP01 has reinforced its long-term safety and activity in patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Patients who completed study visits through the 72-week treatment period in ATLAS were eligible to enroll in an OLE trial to receive AP01 100 mg BID.
The OLE trial enrolled 41 patients with IPF who completed ATLAS, along with an additional 28 patients with IPF and 31 patients with PPF who were AP01-naïve. The safety and lung function results from all cohorts of this trial remain consistent with those observed in ATLAS. The trial remains ongoing, with 23 patients receiving AP01 100 mg BID and some patients on AP01 for more than four and a half years. Given the patients enrolled in ATLAS had an average of two years disease duration since diagnosis when they were first treated, many of these patients have now experienced survival of six or more years, exceeding the median survival of three to five years typically reported for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. This reinforces AP01’s potential for disease modification over a long-term for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
Long-term Safety and Clinical Activity Observed with AP01 in the Ongoing OLE Trial
AP01 administered at 100 mg BID has been generally well-tolerated across all cohorts in the OLE trial. The safety profile of AP01 to date remains generally consistent with the safety observed in ATLAS, without the emergence of any serious safety events. Our tolerability data of AP01 for more than four and a half years is unprecedented, as there are no long-term tolerability data with orals. Similarly, the AEs commonly associated with oral pirfenidone, such as nausea, rash, and diarrhea occurred at a much lower frequency in the compassionate-use cohorts compared to historical data. To date, the most frequently reported TEAEs include lower respiratory tract infections and cough. Importantly, no AEs of changes in respiratory rate, spirometry, or oxygenation have been observed during or following AP01 administration.
In addition to safety advantages, stabilization of lung function observed with AP01 in ATLAS has been consistent with that observed in the OLE. Compared to the change in FVC after 48 weeks of AP01 100 mg BID in ATLAS (blue line), the compassionate-use cohorts – IPF (green line) and PPF (purple line) – demonstrate reproducible results, with the majority experiencing on average near stabilization in lung function across all three cohorts and study populations.
Change in FVC % Predicted from Baseline Across AP01 Cohorts

All patients in all cohorts were on 100 mg BID dose throughout
Sources: 1. West et al., Thorax 2023; 0: 1-8.; 2. Poster Presentation at ATS/RIS 2024
Further analysis from the ongoing OLE trial suggests that AP01 has the potential to deliver meaningful long-term benefit, offering a viable therapeutic option for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. As shown in the chart below, the lung function of patients who initially received AP01 100 mg BID in ATLAS and subsequently transitioned into the OLE trial demonstrated on average sustained stabilization, as shown by the near flat trendline, extending beyond four and a half years.
Change in FVC % Predicted from Baseline Among ATLAS AP01 100 mg
BID Patients Who Rolled Over into OLE Trial

Data downloaded October 15, 2024. Source: Presentation at ATS 2025
A similar trendline is also observed in the OLE cohorts of IPF and PPF patients. As shown in the chart below, lung function of PPF patients from the OLE trial similarly demonstrates mean sustained stabilization, as shown by the near flat trendline, extending nearly three years.
Change in FVC % Predicted from Baseline Among PPF Patients in the OLE Trial

Data downloaded October 15, 2024. Source: Presentation at ATS 2025
These findings demonstrate signals of durable benefit and a well-tolerated safety profile, supportive of the long-term treatment. To our knowledge, this magnitude of long-term data is unavailable for oral pirfenidone or oral nintedanib, as systemic toxicities associated with these therapies limit patients’ ability to remain on treatment or because patients succumb to disease progression.
These positive data on safety and antifibrotic activity seen in ATLAS, together with accumulating long-term data from the OLE trial, support our belief that AP01 has the potential to be a next-generation disease modifying standard-of-care treatment for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. The trial findings have informed the design and initiation of MIST, a global Phase 2b clinical trial in patients with PPF.
MIST Global Phase 2b Clinical Trial of AP01 in Patients with PPF Ongoing
In June 2024, we initiated MIST, the global, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AP01 in patients with PPF.
MIST is expected to enroll 375 patients with PPF, randomized 2:1:2 into three cohorts: AP01 100 mg BID, AP01 50 mg BID, and placebo. Patients are allowed to continue their immunosuppressive standard-of-care for other underlying conditions, and up to 50% of patients may be prescribed oral nintedanib and oral nerandomilast as background standard-of-care. Studying the treatment effect of AP01 in combination with oral nintedanib is strategically important to guide our future development plans in pulmonary fibrosis. At the time of enrollment, the remaining patients enrolled in MIST are either treatment-naïve or have previously discontinued nintedanib or nerandomilast and completed the required washout period. We believe this trial design is sufficient to evaluate the effect of AP01 on the key endpoints and is designed to support registration. The trial is being conducted at ILD Centers of Excellence across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
The primary endpoint of the trial is the change from baseline in FVC at Week 52. The study is designed with 90% power to detect a meaningful difference in the change in FVC at Week 52 for the 100 mg BID dose compared to placebo. Secondary endpoints include quality of life measurements, time to disease progression, and change in lung fibrosis score based on HRCT. Additionally, exploratory outcomes, including respiratory hospitalization, will be evaluated. Patients who remain on study at Week 52 will then be eligible to transition into a long-term extension trial and will receive AP01 100 mg BID, assuming the safety profile of this dose remains favorable.
Enrollment in MIST is ongoing, and we expect to report topline data from this trial in . Based on the results from MIST, we plan to determine the optimal dosing regimen for future development of AP01. Pending the successful completion of MIST and alignment with regulatory authorities, we intend to conduct a single Phase 3 clinical trial to support the potential approval of AP01 in the U.S. and select foreign countries.
SAIL: Long-Term Extension Clinical Trial of AP01
In April 2025, we initiated SAIL, a global, open-label, long-term extension clinical trial designed to evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of AP01 in patients with IPF and PPF. IPF and PPF patients from the OLE trial and PPF patients from MIST are eligible to enroll in the SAIL trial to receive AP01 100 mg BID. The primary endpoint is the long-term safety and tolerability of AP01. Secondary endpoints include changes in lung function, changes in lung fibrosis score based on HRCT, and quality of life measurements.
SAIL has enrolled 27 IPF and PPF patients from the previous ongoing OLE trial and is actively enrolling patients who have completed MIST. Of the 27 patients from the previous OLE trial, 23 patients remain on trial, with some patients on AP01 for more than four and a half years. Given the average of two years disease duration since diagnosis when they were first treated, many of these patients have now experienced survival of six or more years, exceeding the median survival of three to five years typically reported for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. This reinforces the potential of AP01 as a long-term therapeutic option for patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
AP02: Optimized Inhaled Formulation of Nintedanib
AP02 is an optimized, inhaled formulation of nintedanib and builds on the proven efficacy and well-validated antifibrotic mechanism of action of oral nintedanib (commercialized under OFEV® for treatment of IPF and PPF).
Leveraging our expertise in inhalation development, we optimized AP02 to address limitations associated with systemic exposure by delivering drug directly to the lung at doses approximately 50-fold lower than those required for oral administration. Despite the substantially lower dose, AP02 has demonstrated markedly higher lung exposure than oral nintedanib. With localized delivery in the target organ, this approach has the potential to deliver disease-modifying effects directly to the lungs while minimizing the AEs associated with systemic delivery. Given our experience and demonstrated activity and safety with AP01, we believe our ability to achieve proof-of-concept with AP02 has been increased. A global Phase 2 clinical program has been initiated, with a data readout expected in .
We are developing AP02 as a BID regimen, aligning it with AP01 to enable advancement of AP03 as a fixed-dose combination, in a BID regimen. However, given the half-life of nintedanib, we may explore a QD dosing regimen for nintedanib as part of our long-term strategy.
AP02 First Phase 1 Clinical Trial Completed in Healthy Volunteers and IPF Patients
In 2022, we completed an open-label Phase 1 clinical trial of AP02 in healthy volunteers and patients with IPF. The primary objectives were to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and PK of AP02 across single-ascending doses up to 2 mg. A total of 38 adult participants were enrolled, including 32 healthy volunteers and six patients diagnosed with IPF. Participants received a single nebulized dose of AP02 at 0.5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg, or placebo, and four additional healthy volunteers received marketed dose of 150 mg oral nintedanib for comparative analysis.
In both healthy volunteers and patients with IPF, AP02 was generally well-tolerated with no serious adverse events, no bronchospasm, no meaningful clinical changes in oxygen saturation, and no maximum-tolerated dose was identified. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events, or TEAEs, were headache, nausea, and cough, all of which were mild, except for one moderate TEAE of headache by an IPF patient, and all resolved during the study.
AP02 also showed favorable PK properties. As shown in the chart below, AP02 demonstrated a dose-related increase in systemic exposure (left panel). There was also no difference in systemic exposure between healthy volunteers and patients with IPF (middle panel). Notably, AP02 had an approximately 15-fold lower Cmax and 68-fold lower AUC0-24 than the oral nintedanib approved dosage, exhibiting significantly lower systemic exposure (right panel).
Change in Nintedanib Plasma Concentrations Over Time Across AP02 Cohorts

Source: Poster Presentation at ATS 2025
Additionally, 2 mg of AP02 demonstrated approximately 9-fold higher ELF exposure, measured by BAL, than oral administration. This highlights nebulization as an optimized delivery approach to increase lung exposure while reducing systemic exposure, thereby potentially improving efficacy and tolerability of the therapy relative to oral nintedanib.
Given the observed dose-dependent effects and safety profile in both healthy individuals and patients with IPF, we conducted a subsequent Phase 1 trial to assess AP02 at higher doses to understand the potential maximal therapeutic benefit.
Completed Second Phase 1 Clinical Trial Further Validates Safety and Antifibrotic Activity of AP02
In early 2025, we completed a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 1 clinical trial designed to further evaluate the safety, tolerability, and PK of AP02 in healthy volunteers. The trial consisted of a SAD portion, which assessed AP02 at 2 mg, 4 mg, and 8 mg QD, and a MAD portion, which evaluated BID dosing at the same dose levels over a period of seven days. An additional cohort underwent BAL following a single 4 mg dose, and nintedanib in ELF was evaluated at 45 minutes, 4 hours, or 12 hours post dose.
AP02 was well-tolerated following single doses and seven days BID, up to the highest dose (8 mg BID). There were no cases of bronchospasm, cough, oxygen desaturation, or diarrhea observed in the study, and there were no meaningful clinical changes in oxygen saturation. The most common TEAEs were mild and transient, consistent with the previous Phase 1 clinical trial findings, and included throat irritation and dizziness. The data demonstrated an ability to minimize the AE burden associated with systemic exposure of oral nintedanib.
As shown in the figure below, AP02 also demonstrated significantly improved exposure in the lungs as measured by BAL compared to oral nintedanib. Compared to the 150 mg oral dose (purple line), a single 4.0 mg AP02 dose (blue line) delivered 27-fold higher lung Cmax and 27-fold higher lung AUC0-24. In addition, based on the lung exposure data, we estimate that nintedanib in ELF clears from lungs with a half-life of approximately 8 hours.
ELF Comparison Over Time Across AP02 4 mg
and Oral Nintedanib 150 mg

Source: Poster Presentation at ATS 2025
Data are not directly comparable due to differences in product formulations, trial protocols, dosing regimens, and patient populations and characteristics. Accordingly, cross-trial comparisons may not be reliable.
Consistent with the previous Phase 1 clinical trial findings, AP02 treatment had substantially lower systemic exposures compared to historical data with oral nintedanib. Plasma exposures at steady state for AP02 4 mg BID were approximately 5% of oral nintedanib 150 mg BID, representing 17-fold and 26-fold decreases in Cmax and AUC, respectively.
AP02 Lung Concentration Surpasses IC50 For Key Targets

Data are not directly comparable due to differences in product formulations, trial protocols, dosing regimens, and patient populations and characteristics. Accordingly, cross-trial comparisons may not be reliable.
Sustained lung exposure of nintedanib above the half-maximal inhibition concentration, or IC50, of key pro-fibrotic signaling pathways is believed to be important for inhibiting fibroblast activation and extracellular matrix production, which are central drivers of fibrotic progression. In clinical studies of oral nintedanib, systemic exposure has been associated with reductions in the rate of decline in FVC. This study suggests that AP02 can achieve sustained concentrations in the lungs above the IC50 of key tyrosine kinases and known pulmonary fibrosis marker Type I collagen alpha-1, or Col1a1, which could lead to improved antifibrotic activity as compared to the oral nintedanib while reducing systemic exposure and the underlying AEs.
Plans for AURA Phase 2 Development of AP02 in IPF
In December 2025, we initiated AURA, a global randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AP02 in patients with IPF.
We expect to enroll approximately 160 patients with IPF in AURA, randomized 3:2:3 into three cohorts: AP02 4 mg BID, AP02 2 mg BID, and placebo. This is a global clinical trial being conducted at ILD Centers of Excellence.
The primary endpoint of the trial is the change from baseline in FVC at Week 12. This 12-week timeframe is based on historical clinical trials of oral nintedanib, including TOMORROW, INPULSIS, and INBUILD, which consistently demonstrated separation in lung function decline between the nintedanib and placebo arms before Week 12. Secondary endpoints include quality of life measurements, time to disease progression, and changes in lung fibrosis score based on HRCT. Additionally, exploratory outcomes such as respiratory hospitalization will also be evaluated.
Our development strategy for AP02 enables parallel advancement toward regulatory approval. Pending the successful completion of the planned Phase 2 trial and alignment with regulatory authorities, AP02 has the potential to begin Phase 3 alongside the AP01 Phase 3 trial.
AP03: Fixed-Dose Combination of Inhaled Pirfenidone and Inhaled Nintedanib
Across multiple pulmonary diseases, treatment paradigms have evolved toward combination regimens to improve efficacy and extend durability of benefit. In IPF, however, the shortcomings associated with systemic exposure have historically limited the feasibility of combining the two approved antifibrotic agents, pirfenidone and nintedanib. Our inhalation platform enables targeted delivery to the lung at substantially lower doses. This has opened the opportunity to pursue a next-generation combination approach with complementary mechanisms of action, with the objective of further increasing both efficacy and duration of treatment while minimizing tolerability issues associated with current oral antifibrotic therapies. We believe an inhaled fixed-dose combination has the potential to overcome the historical trade-off between efficacy and tolerability that has constrained combination antifibrotic therapy in pulmonary fibrosis and represents a natural extension of our lung-targeted inhalation platform. AP03 is our “Generation-Three” fixed-dose combination of inhaled pirfenidone and inhaled nintedanib, and represents a key strategic initiative in our portfolio, with potential to transform the treatment paradigm for pulmonary fibrosis. AP03 is designed to minimize systemic exposure and the associated risk of side effects, while further improving tolerability, with the potential for additive, or even synergistic, efficacy compared to monotherapies.
Validated Approach to Combining Pirfenidone and Nintedanib
Preclinical studies in IPF have demonstrated that pirfenidone and nintedanib exhibit additive or synergistic effects when used together, reducing fibrosis and improving lung function. An in vitro assay using human lung cells from healthy donors and IPF patients demonstrates that combination of pirfenidone and nintedanib may provide enhanced efficacy in suppressing the proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. Studies in murine models of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, a widely used preclinical model in pulmonary fibrosis, have shown that oral pirfenidone and nintedanib, when administered together, reduce key markers of fibrosis, such as collagen deposition and TGF-β expression, more effectively than either drug alone. Together, these preclinical findings support the biological rationale for combining pirfenidone and nintedanib to more comprehensively inhibit fibrotic pathways implicated in disease progression.
Data from the INJOURNEY Phase 4 open-label, 12-week exploratory trial of oral nintedanib and oral pirfenidone in patients with IPF also showed the combination reduced lung function decline more than oral nintedanib alone. Reductions in fibrosis-related biomarkers, such as surfactant protein D and Krebs von den Lungen-6 were observed, further suggesting potential additive effects of the combination therapy.
Change in FVC Across Oral Nintedanib Only and Oral Pirfenidone + Nintedanib Combination at Week 12

Source: Adapted from Vancheri et al., 2018
Clinically, the combination approach is limited by the oral agents’ additive side effect profiles. As shown in the table below, the most common AEs with the oral combination were nausea, and diarrhea, each of which affected about 40% of patients, followed by vomiting and fatigue. Elevated liver enzyme levels were reported in about 20% of patients receiving combination therapy. In the nintedanib monotherapy cohort, similar AEs were observed, including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, but with lower rates than seen with the combination. Liver enzyme elevations were also less frequent than in the combination group. These AEs led approximately a third of patients in the combination group to discontinue treatment during a 12-week study period.
Adverse Events Across Oral Nintedanib Monotherapy and Oral Pirfenidone + Nintedanib Combination

Source: Vancheri et al., 2018
Data are shown as n (%) of patients with at least one such adverse event.
* Adverse events reported in greater than 10% of patients in either treatment group by preferred term in the Medical Dictionary for
Regulatory Activities (MedDRA)
An adverse event that resulted in death, was life threatening, required hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization,
resulted in persistent or significant disability or incapacity, was a congenital anomaly or birth defect, or was deemed serious for
any other reason.
While the combination of pirfenidone and nintedanib is an opportunity to enhance therapeutic effects, challenging systemic side effects have limited the clinical feasibility of oral combinations.
Our data to date from clinical trials of AP01 and AP02 have demonstrated favorable safety, tolerability, and PK profiles for each agent with potential for higher or lower dosing regimen, providing a solid foundation and critically reducing risk that supports continued development of AP03.
Development and Regulatory Strategy for AP03
We are actively advancing manufacturing activities to support the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of AP03 , pending alignment with regulatory authorities. These efforts are focused on validating the safety and PK profiles of the fixed-dose combination, paving the way for future clinical development. Importantly, under the FDA’s combination product guidance, pivotal studies must demonstrate the combination is superior to its monotherapy components, requiring the robust clinical development of each of the monotherapy components. This means AP03 will need to be compared against its individual AP01 and AP02 components in late-stage trials, following a development pathway similar to ADVAIR®, SYMBICORT®, BEVESPI®, and BREZTRI®.
Our ongoing nonclinical research leverages a precision cut lung slice, or PCLS, ex vivo model of human explanted lungs from patients with IPF to evaluate drug levels for the two monotherapy components, as well as their fixed-dose combination. While the initial assumption is that the AP03 dose will consist of the two monotherapy doses
combined, it is possible that the combination may allow for dose reductions due to synergistic effects. Nonclinical data are expected to inform dose selection and delineate the contribution of each component for the planned Phase 1 and subsequent Phase 2 clinical trials, an essential element of the FDA’s recommendations for combination products.
By combining two antifibrotic agents with distinct mechanisms of action into a single inhaled formulation, AP03 has the potential to set a new standard of care for patients with pulmonary fibrosis, offering enhanced efficacy, improved tolerability, and improved patient experience.
Pipeline Expansion
ILDs encompass more than 200 diseases, many of which lack any approved treatments. We believe there is a compelling market opportunity for a company focused on enhancing the treatment paradigm for ILDs, particularly those characterized by lung fibrosis, and the tremendous value our approach could unlock.
We have identified numerous molecules that could be adapted for inhaled delivery to address a broad range of conditions. Candidate selection is guided by biological relevance to fibrotic pathways, feasibility of lung-targeted delivery, and the availability of clinical or safety data to support efficient development. By leveraging de-risked molecules with established safety and efficacy profiles, and applying innovative inhaled delivery technologies, we intend to maximize therapeutic benefits for patients, families, and caregivers.
Our decision-making will be guided by data from our ongoing and planned clinical programs and through engagement with the scientific and patient communities. Insights from ATLAS, for example, suggest that AP01 may play a key role in addressing early-stage fibrosis, as evidenced by the observed reduction in ground-glass opacities, which is linked to inflammatory cascades that drive fibrosis. These data indicate the potential for AP01 to treat pre-fibrotic conditions, such as interstitial lung abnormalities or connective tissue diseases like RA-ILD, where severe inflammation often progresses into fibrosis. By intervening early, our inhaled therapies might not only slow disease progression but also delay or prevent it entirely, preserving lung function in a range of high-risk populations.
By integrating data-driven insights with our expertise in ILDs and inhaled drug development, we are well-positioned to build a robust and diversified pipeline that targets the underlying mechanisms of disease. This approach reflects our commitment to meaningfully improve care for patients and addressing critical gaps in the treatment landscape for rare respiratory diseases.
Competition
While there is no cure for pulmonary fibrosis, there are three FDA-approved therapies to treat pulmonary fibrosis: pirfenidone, or ESBRIET®, marketed by Legacy Pharma Inc. and Genentech/Roche; nintedanib, or OFEV®, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim; and nerandomilast, or JASCAYD®, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim. In addition, there are a number of companies developing drug candidates for pulmonary fibrosis utilizing approaches with various mechanisms of action including but not limited to United Therapeutics, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Insmed, Celea Therapeutics, Vicore Pharma, Endeavor Biomedicines, Contineum Therapeutics, Eli Lilly and Company in collaboration with Mediar Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, Insilico Medicine, MannKind, Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Roche, Calluna Pharma, and Rein Therapeutics. All of the companies in active clinical development of novel mechanisms of action allow patients to remain on background oral antifibrotics. We aim to improve safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the standard of care agents by leveraging our inhaled delivery system that allows for direct delivery to the lungs. In the future, we envision any approved novel mechanism of action to be used in combination with our inhaled background standard of care. Given these factors, we believe that our portfolio is advantageously positioned relative to competitive agents on the market or in clinical development.
Intellectual Property
We strive to protect the proprietary technology that we believe is important to our business, including seeking and maintaining patents intended to cover our product candidates, their methods of use, and any other aspects of
inventions that are commercially important to the development of our business. We also rely on trade secrets to protect aspects of our business that are not amenable to, or that we do not consider appropriate for, patent protection.
We plan to continue to expand our intellectual property estate by filing patent applications directed to formulations, methods of treatment and patient selection created or identified from our ongoing development of our product candidates. Our success will depend on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for commercially important technology, inventions and know-how related to our business, defend and enforce our patents and other proprietary rights, preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets and operate without infringing or otherwise violating the valid and enforceable patents and proprietary rights of third parties. We also rely on know-how, continuing technological innovation and in-licensing opportunities to develop and maintain our proprietary position. We seek to obtain domestic and international patent protection, and endeavor to promptly file patent applications for new commercially valuable inventions.
The patent positions of biopharmaceutical companies like us are generally uncertain and involve complex legal, scientific and factual questions. In addition, the coverage claimed in a patent application can be significantly reduced before the patent is issued, and patent scope can be reinterpreted by the courts after issuance. Moreover, many jurisdictions permit third parties to challenge issued patents in administrative proceedings, which may result in further narrowing or even cancellation of patent claims. We cannot predict whether the patent applications we are currently pursuing will issue as patents in any particular jurisdiction or whether the claims of any issued patents will provide sufficient protection from competitors.
Because patent applications in the United States and certain other jurisdictions are maintained in secrecy for 18 months or potentially even longer, and since publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain of the priority of inventions covered by any of our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications. A discussion of risks relating to intellectual property is provided under the section titled “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.”
Patents
As of January 15, 2026, our owned patent portfolio included over 10 issued U.S. patents, over 10 pending U.S. patent applications, over 70 granted foreign patents, and over 50 pending foreign patent applications.
AP01 (Pirfenidone)
In regards to AP01, we own two patent families with claims directed to aqueous formulations of pirfenidone which includes 6 granted U.S. patents, 2 pending U.S. patent applications, 5 pending foreign patent applications, and over 45 granted foreign patents in various jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada, a European patent validated in over 20 counties, a European patent validated in over 5 countries, Japan, and New Zealand, where the patents and patent applications, if issued, are expected to expire between January 2032 and July 2033, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
We own a patent family with claims directed to additional formulations of pirfenidone, which includes 5 granted U.S. patents, 1 pending U.S. patent applications, 4 pending foreign patent applications, and over 10 granted foreign patents in various jurisdictions, such as Australia, Canada, a Unitary European patent also validated in 4 countries, Japan, and New Zealand, where the patents and patent applications, if issued, are expected to expire in January 2035, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
We own a patent family with drug (pirfenidone)-device claims, which includes 2 pending U.S. patent applications and 10 pending foreign patent applications, where the patents and patent applications, if issued, are expected to expire in September 2041, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
AP02 (Nintedanib)
We own a patent family with claims directed to tyrosine kinase inhibitors which includes 1 granted U.S. patent, 3 pending U.S. patent applications, 8 pending foreign patent applications, and over 5 granted foreign patents in various jurisdictions, such as Canada, a Unitary European patent also validated in 2 countries, Japan, and New Zealand, where the patents and patent applications, if issued, are expected to expire in July 2034, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
We also own a patent family with claims directed to formulations of nintedanib which includes 2 granted U.S. patents, 1 pending U.S. patent applications, over 10 pending foreign patent applications, and over 5 granted foreign patents in various jurisdictions, such as Australia, Israel, India, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand, where the patents and patent applications, if issued, are expected to expire in August 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
We also own a patent family with claims directed to dry powder formulations of nintedanib which includes 2 pending U.S. patent applications and over 10 pending foreign patent applications, where the patents and patent applications, if issued, are expected to expire in May 2043, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
We also own three pending U.S. provisional patent applications, where patent applications claiming priority to these applications, if issued, are expected to expire in March 2046, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees.
Material Agreements
On April 3, 2017, our predecessor, Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., entered into a license agreement, or the PARI License Agreement, with PARI Pharma GmbH, or PARI, to develop and commercialize liquid formulations of pirfenidone, certain N-aryl-pyridones, and combinations thereof, or Licensed Products, for pulmonary delivery exclusively using PARI’s proprietary nebulizer that is based on the eFlow® Technology, or the Device. We also receive an option to expand our license grant to include PARI’s closed system nebulizer based on a perforated vibrating membrane technology and includes the mixing chamber and valve system, or eFlow® Technology Nebulizer, and PARI agreed to discuss options to include certain other drug products of interest to us under such licenses.
Under the terms of the PARI License Agreement, we are solely responsible for the development of Licensed Products. PARI continues to conduct certain development and feasibility work, including at our request upon mutual consent, on the Device and certain accessories thereto, or Device Accessories, under one or more development plans. We are responsible for the costs of such work that are specific to our Licensed Products, but not those that are related to general development of the Device. PARI controls manufacturing and regulatory activities related to the Device and the Device Accessories, provided that we control regulatory activities related to the Device and/or the Device Accessories as a combination product together with Licensed Products. We have exclusive rights to commercialize the Device (whether individually or together with the Device Accessories) for pulmonary delivery with Licensed Products, provided that we have agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and commercialize at least one product using the Device for pulmonary delivery of Licensed Products.
As partial consideration for the rights and licenses under the PARI License Agreement, we paid to PARI a non-refundable upfront payment of €400,000. As partial consideration for the rights and licenses under the PARI License Agreement, we are also required to pay certain milestone payments upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones, up to an aggregate low-mid single‑digit million‑euro amount for products using the Device and, separately, up to an aggregate total mid single‑digit million‑euro amount for products using PARI’s closed system eFlow® Technology Nebulizer, if we exercise such option. We also are obligated to pay to PARI mid-single digit royalties on net sales of Licensed Products, on a country-by-country basis, subject to standard reductions. A single, annual minimum royalty payment, ranging from $0.0 million to mid single‑digit million‑USD amount depending on the year of sale and whether the Device or PARI’s closed system eFlow® Technology Nebulizer is used, is payable by us to PARI for each year of sales of Licensed Products in at least one specified major market. Under the PARI License Agreement, if, following the first commercial sale of a Licensed Product in a major market, we decide to no longer exclusively use the Device, then we may elect to either continue to pay royalties (including annual minimum royalties) or to terminate the PARI License Agreement and pay to PARI a one-time lump sum payment ranging from low single‑digit million‑USD amounts to a mid‑teen million‑USD amount, depending on the proximity of the date of such termination to such first commercial sale.
Under the PARI License Agreement, we receive an exclusive, sublicensable, transferable, in each case subject to certain conditions, royalty-bearing license under certain of PARI’s and its affiliates’ owned or controlled patents, know-how, information and improvements to exploit the Device for exclusive use with Licensed Products. We also receive a non-exclusive, sublicensable, transferable, in each case subject to certain conditions, royalty-free license under such intellectual property owned or controlled by PARI or its affiliates to exploit the Device Accessories that are owned or controlled by PARI for exclusive use with the Device solely for use with Licensed Products. Notwithstanding the licenses we are granted, our licenses under the patents licensed to PARI by a third-party are non-sublicensable, but PARI agrees to grant a direct sublicense under such patents to any potential sublicensee we request. Under the PARI License Agreement, we and PARI grant to the other certain rights of references solely for regulatory purposes. We also grant to PARI a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicensable, transferable, fully paid-up, royalty-free license under intellectual property related to Licensed Products that are developed by us or our affiliates or PARI or its affiliates under the PARI License Agreement to exploit such licensed intellectual property as it relates to the use of any PARI nebulizer (including the Device) or any Device Accessory for any use during the term of the PARI License Agreement other than pulmonary delivery of the related Licensed Product, and for any use thereafter.
PARI agreed under the PARI License Agreement that, during the term of the PARI License Agreement, neither PARI nor any of its affiliates would itself exploit or license or grant to or affirmatively facilitate any third party in exploiting the Device for pulmonary delivery of Licensed Products. PARI’s non-compete obligations are discontinued in certain European countries in which we fail to submit for marketing approval within 18 months of receiving regulatory approval by FDA or in which we fail to continue to use commercially reasonable efforts to seek regulatory approval after filing. We agreed under the PARI License Agreement that we would not develop, copy, make or have made, make derivative works of, or seek regulatory approvals for the Device or the Device Accessories as long as PARI fulfills its clinical supply requirements under the supply agreement between PARI and us. The maximum prices for supply by PARI of the Device and the Device Accessories are set forth in the PARI License Agreement, which prices we have amended in two amendments with PARI as our product pipeline has further developed.
Unless earlier terminated, the PARI License Agreement will continue until the end of the royalty term. Either party may terminate the PARI License Agreement upon the other party’s material breach, subject to specified notice and cure provisions. In addition, PARI may terminate the PARI License Agreement immediately if we notify PARI of our election to cease development or commercialization of, or if we fail, without cure, to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize, Licensed Products. PARI may also terminate in the event of our bankruptcy. Prior to the first commercial sale of Licensed Products using the Device, we may terminate the PARI License Agreement for any reason upon 60 days’ notice. Following first commercial sale, we may terminate with notice, subject to paying PARI a lump-sum payment.
Upon expiration of the royalty term, all licenses to us become non-exclusive, irrevocable, fully paid-up and royalty free on a country-by-country basis.
On January 23, 2020, we entered into a material transfer agreement with PARI, or the PARI MTA, for the evaluation of PARI’s investigational eFlow® nebulizer systems, or the Investigational Device, and eFlow® nebulizer handsets for delivery purposes with our liquid formulation which contains Imatinib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone. We agreed to pay to PARI a technology access fee on a per-control unit or per-nebulizer handset basis. Under the PARI MTA, we receive from PARI a limited non-exclusive license to temporarily maintain and conduct certain evaluation studies using the Investigational Device. Under the PARI MTA, we agree not to file any patent applications or amendments in a manner that make certain disclosures related to PARI confidential information, PARI intellectual property, PARI’s proprietary nebulizer devices, including the Investigational Device unless we enter into a separate license agreement with respect to (i) Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient, or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone, or (ii) Imatinib as the sole active ingredient, with terms substantially similar to the PARI License Agreement. Under the MTA, as amended in 2021, 2023 and 2025, PARI performs certain services on our behalf related to liquid formulation which contains Imatinib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone. We pay PARI at an hourly rate and reimburse for expenses. Unless earlier terminated, the PARI MTA continues until December 31, 2027. We may terminate the PARI MTA for any reason upon 30 days’ notice. Either party may terminate the PARI MTA upon the other party’s material breach, subject to specified notice and cure provisions.
On January 1, 2024, we and PARI entered into an option agreement, or the Option Agreement, under which PARI granted us an exclusive option to negotiate a separate license agreement to develop and commercialize our proprietary liquid formulation of nintedanib or our fixed combination of nintedanib and pirfenidone with PARI’s eFlow® Technology Nebulizer on substantially the same terms and conditions as the PARI License Agreement. In consideration of the option grant, we paid a one-time upfront fee of €50,000, and we must pay an annual option fee in the tens of thousands of Euros for each 12 month period following the effective date of the Option Agreement until expiration of the option period or termination of the option. We may exercise our option any time before January 1, 2028 by providing notice in writing to PARI. PARI may terminate the Option Agreement and our option if (i) we fail to pay the option fee on time, (ii) we and PARI fail to execute a license agreement before January 1, 2028 (iii) we and PARI fail to negotiate a license agreement within 6 months following our exercise of the option, (iv) we give PARI written notice during the option period that we are no longer interested in negotiating the license agreement, or (v) we commence a clinical trial for inhaled delivery of our proprietary liquid formulation of nintedanib or our fixed combination of nintedanib and pirfenidone without use of the optioned device. Either party may terminate the Option Agreement upon the other party’s material breach, subject to notice and cure procedures. Either party may also terminate the Option Agreement if the PARI License Agreement or PARI MTA is terminated for breach by the other party.
Government Regulation
The FDA and comparable regulatory authorities in federal, state and local jurisdictions and in other foreign countries impose extensive requirements upon companies involved in the clinical development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of drugs, such as those we are developing. These agencies and other federal, state and local entities extensively regulate, among other things, the research and development, testing, manufacture, quality control, safety, effectiveness, labeling, packaging, storage, record keeping, approval, advertising and promotion, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling and export and import of drugs. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals in the U.S. and in foreign countries and jurisdictions, along with subsequent compliance with applicable federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations, requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant and/or sponsor to a variety of sanctions. For example, failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements may result in administrative or judicial sanctions including refusal by FDA to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of warning letters and untitled letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil or criminal investigations and penalties brought by the FDA and the Department of Justice or other governmental entities.
Review and Approval of Drugs in the United States
In the U.S., the FDA regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, and its implementing regulations. Drugs are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations.
The process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the U.S. generally involves the following:
•completion of extensive nonclinical, or preclinical, laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies in compliance with the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, regulations;
•submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin and must be updated annually and when certain changes are made;
•approval by an institutional review board, or IRB, or independent ethics committee, or IEC, at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated at that site;
•performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with Good Clinical Practices, or GCP, requirements and other clinical trial-related regulations to establish the safety and efficacy of the investigational drug product for each proposed indication;
•preparation and submission to the FDA of an NDA after completion of all pivotal trials, together with the payment of application user fees, as applicable;
•a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of an NDA to accept the marketing application for review;
•satisfactory completion of an FDA advisory committee review, if applicable;
•satisfactory completion of one or more FDA inspections of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the product is produced to assess compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, requirements and to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity;
•satisfactory completion of FDA audits of clinical trial sites to assure compliance with GCPs and the integrity of the clinical data; and
•FDA review and approval of the NDA.
Preclinical Studies
Before testing any drug product candidate, including our product candidates, in humans, the product candidate must undergo rigorous preclinical testing. Preclinical studies include laboratory evaluations of the product’s chemistry, purity, toxicity, formulation, and stability as well as in vitro and animal studies to assess potential safety and efficacy and in some cases to establish the rationale for therapeutic use. The conduct of preclinical studies is subject to federal regulations and requirements, including GLP regulations for safety and toxicology studies.
The IND and IRB Process
Prior to beginning the first clinical trial with a product candidate in the U.S., we must submit an IND to the FDA. An IND sponsor must submit a protocol for each clinical trial, the results of the preclinical tests, manufacturing information, analytical data and any available clinical data or literature and plans for clinical studies, among other things, to the FDA as part of an IND. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to grant an exemption that allows an unapproved drug to be shipped in interstate commerce for use and administration in an investigational clinical trial for humans. The IND must become effective before human clinical trials may begin in the U.S. Some preclinical testing, such as animal tests of reproductive adverse events and carcinogenicity, may continue even after the IND is submitted. An IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions related to one or more proposed clinical trials and places the clinical trial on a clinical hold. A clinical hold is an order issued by the FDA to the sponsor to delay a proposed clinical investigation or to suspend an ongoing clinical trial. Clinical holds may be imposed by the FDA when there is concern for patient
safety, and may be a result of new data, findings or developments in clinical, nonclinical, and/or chemistry, manufacturing and controls or where there is non-compliance with regulatory requirements. A partial clinical hold is a delay or suspension of only part of the clinical work requested under the IND. Following issuance of a clinical hold or partial clinical hold, an investigation (or full investigation in the case of a partial clinical hold) may only resume after the FDA has notified the sponsor that the investigation may proceed. As a result, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to initiate.
A separate submission to an existing IND must also be made for each successive clinical trial to be conducted, and the FDA must grant permission, either explicitly or implicitly by not objecting, before each clinical trial can begin.
A sponsor may choose, but is not required, to conduct a foreign clinical trial under an IND. When a foreign clinical trial is conducted under an IND, all FDA IND requirements must be met unless waived. When the foreign clinical trial is not conducted under an IND, the sponsor must ensure that the study is conducted in accordance with GCP, including review and approval by an IEC and informed consent from subjects. FDA must be able to validate the data from the study through an on-site inspection if necessary.
In addition to the foregoing IND requirements, an IRB representing each institution participating in the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that institution, and the IRB must conduct continuing review of the study. The IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB must review and approve, among other things, the study protocol and informed consent information to be provided to study subjects and must monitor the clinical trial until completion. An IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution, or an institution it represents, if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the product candidate has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
Clinical Trials in Support of an NDA
Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigator in accordance with GCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects, or their legal representative, provide their informed consent in writing for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under written study protocols detailing, among other things, the exclusion and inclusion criteria, the objectives of the trial, dosing procedures, subject selection, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. As part of an IND, a protocol for each clinical trial and any subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA.
Regulatory authorities, the IRB or the sponsor may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk or that the trial is unlikely to meet its stated objectives. Some studies also include oversight by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical study sponsor, known as a data and safety monitoring board, or the DSMB, which provides authorization for whether or not a study may move forward at designated check points based on access to certain data from the study and may halt the clinical trial if it determines that there is an unacceptable safety or health risk for subjects or other grounds, such as no demonstration of efficacy.
Information about certain clinical trials must be submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, for public dissemination on their www.clinicaltrials.gov website. Information related to the investigational product, patient population, phase of investigation, study sites and investigators and other aspects of the clinical trial is made public as part of the registration of the clinical trial. Although sponsors are obligated to disclose the results of their clinical trials after completion, disclosure of the results can be delayed in some cases for some time. Failure to timely register a covered clinical study or to submit study results as provided for in the law can give rise to civil monetary penalties and also prevent the non-compliant party from receiving future grant funds from the federal government.
Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases, which may overlap or be combined:
•Phase 1: The investigational drug is initially introduced into a limited population of healthy human subjects or, in certain indications such as cancer, patients with the target disease or condition and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution, excretion, side effects, and, if possible, to gain an early indication of its effectiveness or determine optimal dosage.
•Phase 2: The investigational drug is administered to a limited patient population with a specified disease or condition to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance and optimal dosage. Multiple Phase 2 clinical trials may be conducted to obtain information prior to beginning Phase 3 clinical trials.
•Phase 3: The investigational drug is administered to an expanded patient population, generally at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites, in well-controlled clinical trials to generate enough data to statistically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the product for approval, to establish the overall risk/benefit profile of the product, and to provide adequate information for product approval and labeling of the product. Generally, two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials are required by the FDA for approval of an NDA.
Post-approval trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication and are commonly intended to generate additional safety data regarding use of the product in a clinical setting. In certain instances, the FDA may mandate the performance of Phase 4 clinical trials as a condition of approval on an NDA.
Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA and more frequently if serious adverse events occur. In addition, within 15 calendar days after the sponsor determines that the information qualifies for reporting, written IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and investigators for serious and unexpected suspected adverse events, findings from other studies or animal or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk for human subjects and any clinically important increase in the rate of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure. The sponsor also must notify the FDA of any unexpected fatal or life-threatening suspected adverse reaction within seven calendar days after the sponsor’s initial receipt of the information. The FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP and the integrity of the clinical data submitted.
During the development of a new drug, sponsors are given opportunities to meet with the FDA at certain points. These points may be prior to submission of an IND, at the end of Phase 2, and before an NDA is submitted. Meetings at other times may be requested. These meetings can provide an opportunity for the sponsor to share information about the data gathered to date and for the FDA to provide advice.
Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the product candidate and finalize a process for manufacturing the drug product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and manufacturers must develop, among other things, methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final drug product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
FDA Review of an NDA Submission and FDA Approval
Assuming successful completion of the required clinical testing, the results of the preclinical and clinical studies, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacture, controls and proposed labeling, among other things, are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. An NDA is a request for approval to market a new drug for one or more specified indications and must contain proof of the drug’s safety and efficacy for the requested indications. FDA must approve an NDA before
a drug may be marketed in the U.S. For companies, the marketing application is required to include both negative and ambiguous results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, as well as positive findings. Data may come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and effectiveness of a use of a product, or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. To support marketing approval, the data submitted must be sufficient in quality and quantity to establish the safety and effectiveness of the investigational drug product for the proposed indication to the satisfaction of the FDA. In most cases, the submission of an NDA is subject to a significant application user fee. Fee exceptions or fee waivers may be obtained under certain limited circumstances.
The FDA conducts a preliminary review of all NDAs within the first 60 days of its receipt, before accepting them for filing, to determine whether they are sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept an NDA for filing. In this event, the application must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review. The FDA reviews an NDA to determine, among other things, whether the drug is safe and effective and whether the facility in which it is manufactured, processed, packaged or held meets standards designed to assure the product’s continued safety, quality and purity.
During its review of an NDA, the FDA typically will inspect the facility or facilities where the product is or will be manufactured. These pre-approval inspections may cover all facilities associated with an NDA, including drug component manufacturing (such as APIs), finished drug product manufacturing and control testing laboratories. The FDA will not approve an NDA unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications.
In addition, as a condition of approval, or post-approval if it becomes aware of a serious risk associated with the use of the product, the FDA may require the submission of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, if it determines that a REMS is necessary to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks and to assure the safe use of the drug. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the NDA must submit a proposed REMS. The FDA will not approve the NDA without a REMS, if required. A REMS may include one or more elements, including medication guides, physician communication plans, patient package insert and/or elements to assure safe use, such as special training or certification for prescribing or dispensing, restricted distribution methods, special monitoring, patient registries or other risk minimization tools.
Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, guidelines that are currently in effect, the FDA has a goal of ten months from the date of “filing” of a standard NDA, for a new molecular entity, to review and act on the submission, and six months from the filing date of a new molecular entity NDA with priority review. Accordingly, this review process typically takes 12 months and eight months, respectively, from the date the NDA is submitted to the FDA. The FDA does not always meet its PDUFA goal dates for standard or priority NDAs, and the review process is often extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification.
In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003, as amended, or PREA, certain NDAs or supplements to an NDA must contain data that are adequate to assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may, on its own initiative or at the request of the applicant, grant deferrals for submission of some or all pediatric data until after approval of the product for use in adults, or full or partial waivers from the pediatric data requirements. A sponsor who is planning to submit a marketing application for a drug that includes a new active ingredient, new indication, new dosage form, new dosing regimen or new route of administration must submit an initial Pediatric Study Plan, or the PSP, within 60 days of an end-of-Phase 2 meeting or, if there is no such meeting, as early as practicable before initiation of the Phase 3 or Phase 2/3 study. The initial PSP must include an outline of the pediatric study or studies that the sponsor plans to conduct, including study objectives and design, age groups, relevant endpoints and statistical approach, or a justification for not including such detailed information, and any request for a deferral of pediatric assessments or a full or partial waiver of the requirement to provide data from pediatric studies along with supporting information. The FDA and the sponsor must reach an agreement on the PSP. A sponsor can submit amendments to an agreed-upon initial PSP at any time if changes
to the pediatric plan need to be considered based on data collected from preclinical studies, early phase clinical trials and/or other clinical development programs.
The FDA may refer an application for a novel drug or a drug that presents difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee. An advisory committee is a panel of independent experts, including clinicians and other scientific experts, that reviews, evaluates and provides a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.
After evaluating the NDA and all related information, including the advisory committee recommendation, if any, and inspection reports regarding the manufacturing facilities and clinical trial sites, the FDA may issue an approval letter, or, in some cases, a Complete Response Letter. A Complete Response Letter indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete, and the application will not be approved in its present form. A Complete Response Letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and contains a statement of specific conditions that must be met in order to secure final approval of the NDA and it may require additional clinical or preclinical testing in order for FDA to reconsider the application. If a Complete Response Letter is issued, the applicant may resubmit the NDA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, withdraw the application, or request a hearing. Even with submission of this additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval. If and when those conditions have been met to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA will typically issue an approval letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications.
Even if the FDA approves a product, depending on the specific risk(s) to be addressed, it may limit the approved indications for use of the product, require that contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling, require that post-approval studies, including Phase 4 clinical trials, be conducted to further assess a drug’s safety after approval, require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the product after commercialization or impose other conditions, including distribution and use restrictions or other risk management mechanisms under a REMS, which can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the product. The FDA may prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the results of post-marketing studies or surveillance programs. After approval, some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and approval.
Orphan Drug Designation and Exclusivity
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug product intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects either (i) fewer than 200,000 individuals in the U.S. or (ii) more than 200,000 individuals in the U.S. and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the product available in the U.S. for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product. A company must request orphan drug designation before submitting an NDA. If the request is granted, the FDA will disclose the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential use. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.
If a product with orphan status receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation or for a select indication or use within the rare disease or condition for which it was designated, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity. Orphan product exclusivity means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same product for the same indication for seven years, except in certain limited circumstances, including if a subsequent product with the same active ingredient for the same indication is shown to be clinically superior to the approved product on the basis of greater efficacy or safety, or providing a major contribution to patient care, or if the company with orphan drug exclusivity is not able to meet market demand. Further, the FDA may approve more than one product for the same orphan indication or disease as long as the products contain different active ingredients. Moreover, competitors may receive approval of different products for the indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for
which the orphan drug has exclusivity. Orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages, and user-fee waivers.
A designated orphan drug may not receive orphan drug exclusivity if it is approved for a use that is broader than the indication for which it received orphan designation. In addition, orphan drug exclusive marketing rights in the U.S. may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or, as noted above, if a second applicant demonstrates that its product is clinically superior to the approved product with orphan exclusivity or the manufacturer of the approved product is unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.
The FDA has historically taken the position that the scope of orphan exclusivity aligns with the approved indication or use of a product, rather than the disease or condition for which the product received orphan designation. However, in Catalyst Pharms., Inc. v. Becerra, 14 F.4th 1299 (11th Cir. 2021), the court disagreed with this position, holding that orphan-drug exclusivity blocked the FDA’s approval of the same drug for all uses or indications within the same orphan-designated disease. On January 24, 2023, the FDA published a notice in the Federal Register to clarify that the FDA intends to continue to apply its longstanding interpretation of the regulations to all matters outside of the scope of the Catalyst order and will continue tying the scope of orphan drug exclusivity to the uses or indications for which a drug is approved. It is unclear how future litigation, legislation, agency decisions and administrative actions will impact the scope of orphan drug exclusivity.
Expedited Development and Review Programs for Drugs
The FDA maintains several programs intended to facilitate and expedite development and review of new drugs that were intended to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions. Some of these programs are referred to as Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, Priority Review and Accelerated Approval, and the purpose of these programs is to either expedite the development or review of important new drugs to get them to patients earlier than under standard FDA development and review procedures.
The FDA has a Fast Track designation program that is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new drugs that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended, whether alone or in combination with one or more other products, to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. Fast Track designation applies to both the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor can request that the FDA grant the product Fast Track designation any time before receiving NDA approval but ideally no later than the pre-NDA meeting. Fast Track designation provides increased opportunities for sponsor interactions with the FDA review team to expedite development and review of the product. The FDA may also review sections of the NDA for a Fast Track designated product on a rolling basis before the completed application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the application, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the application and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the application. The FDA’s goal for reviewing a Fast Track application does not begin until the last section of the NDA is submitted. Fast Track designation may be lost if the designation is no longer supported by data emerging in the clinical trial process.
Additionally, a drug may be eligible for designation as a Breakthrough Therapy if the product is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other products, to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product may demonstrate substantial improvement over currently approved therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. The benefits of Breakthrough Therapy designation include the same benefits as Fast Track designation, plus intensive guidance from the FDA to ensure an efficient drug development program. Breakthrough Therapy designation comes with all of the benefits of Fast Track designation, which means that the sponsor may file sections of the NDA for review on a rolling basis if certain conditions are satisfied, including an agreement with the FDA on the proposed schedule for submission of portions of the application and the payment of applicable user fees before the FDA may initiate a review. The FDA may take certain actions with respect to Breakthrough Therapies, including holding meetings with the sponsor throughout the development process; providing timely advice to the product
sponsor regarding development and approval; involving more senior staff in the review process; assigning a cross-disciplinary project lead for the review team; or taking other steps to design the clinical trials in an efficient manner.
A product may also be eligible for priority review if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition and, if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety and effectiveness compared to available therapies. The FDA determines at the time that the marketing application is submitted, on a case-by-case basis, whether the proposed drug represents a significant improvement in treatment, prevention or diagnosis of disease when compared with other available therapies. Significant improvement may be demonstrated by evidence of increased effectiveness in the treatment of a condition, elimination or substantial reduction of a treatment-limiting product reaction, documented enhancement of patient compliance that may lead to improvement in serious outcomes and evidence of safety and effectiveness in a new subpopulation. A priority review designation is intended to direct overall attention and resources to the evaluation of such applications and to shorten the FDA’s goal for taking action on a marketing application from ten months to six months for an NDA for a new molecular entity from the date of filing. If criteria are not met for priority review, the application for a new molecular entity is subject to the standard FDA review period of ten months after FDA accepts the application for filing. Priority review designation does not change the scientific/medical standard for approval or the quality of evidence necessary to support approval.
A product may also be eligible for accelerated approval if it treats a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, generally provides a meaningful advantage over available therapies and demonstrates an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, or IMM, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. Accelerated approval by the FDA is generally contingent on a sponsor’s agreement to conduct, in an adequate and diligent manner, additional post-approval confirmatory studies to verify and describe the product’s clinical benefit. These confirmatory trials must be completed with due diligence, and, under the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022, or FDORA, the FDA is now permitted to require, as appropriate, that such trials be underway prior to approval or within a specific time period after the date of approval for a product granted accelerated approval. Under FDORA, the FDA has increased authority for expedited procedures to withdraw the product from the market (and withdraw its approval). As a result, a product candidate approved on this basis is subject to rigorous post-marketing compliance requirements, including the completion of Phase 4 or post-approval clinical trials to confirm the effect on the clinical endpoint. Failure to conduct required post-approval studies, or confirm a clinical benefit during post-marketing studies, could result in the FDA’s withdrawal of the approval and require the withdrawal of the product from the market on an expedited basis. All promotional materials for product candidates approved under accelerated regulations are subject to prior review by the FDA.
Even if a product qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened. Fast Track designation, Breakthrough Therapy designation, priority review and accelerated approval do not change the standards for approval and may not ultimately expedite the development or approval process.
Hatch-Waxman Amendments
Section 505 of the FDCA describes three types of marketing applications that may be submitted to the FDA to request marketing authorization for a new drug. A Section 505(b)(1) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and efficacy. A 505(b)(2) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and efficacy but where at least some of the information required for approval comes from investigations that were not conducted by or for the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference or use from the person by or for whom the investigations were conducted. This regulatory pathway enables the applicant to rely, in part, on the FDA’s prior findings of safety and efficacy for an existing product, or published literature, in support of its application. Section 505(j) establishes an abbreviated approval process for a generic version of approved drug products through the submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA. An ANDA provides for marketing of a generic drug product that has the same active ingredients, dosage form, strength, route of administration, labeling, performance characteristics and intended use, among other things, to a previously approved product, known as a reference listed drug, or RLD. ANDAs are termed “abbreviated” because they are generally not
required to include preclinical (animal) and clinical (human) data to establish safety and efficacy. Instead, generic applicants must scientifically demonstrate that their product is bioequivalent to, or performs in the same manner as, the innovator drug through in vitro, in vivo or other testing.
U.S. Non-Patent Exclusivity
Under the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, the FDA may not approve (or in some cases accept) an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application until any applicable period of non-patent exclusivity for the RLD has expired. Market exclusivity provisions under the FDCA can delay the submission or the approval of certain follow-on applications. The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent data exclusivity within the U.S. to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity, or NCE. A drug is an NCE if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the physiological or pharmacological action of the drug substance. In cases where such NCE exclusivity has been granted, the FDA may not accept for review an ANDA, for a generic version of the drug or a 505(b)(2) NDA for another version of such drug where the applicant does not own or have a legal right of reference to all the data required for approval, until the expiration of five years unless the submission is accompanied by a paragraph IV certification, which states the proposed generic drug will not infringe one or more of the already approved product’s listed patents or that such patents are invalid or unenforceable, in which case the applicant may submit its application four years following the original product approval.
The FDA has previously taken the position that NCE exclusivity is not available for fixed-dose combination products if one of the active moieties in the combination product had been previously approved in a drug product. In October 2014, however, the FDA reversed that position when it issued final guidance stating that an application for a fixed-dose combination product will be eligible for 5-year NCE exclusivity if it contains a drug substance with a single, new active moiety, even if the fixed-combination also contains a drug substance with a previously approved active moiety.
The FDCA also provides three years of market exclusivity for non-NCE NDAs, 505(b)(2) NDA or supplement to an existing NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example, new indications, dosages or strengths of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity period covers only the conditions of use associated with the new clinical investigations and often protects changes to a previously approved drug product, such as a new dosage form, route of administration, combination or indication, but it generally would not protect the original, unmodified product from generic competition. In other words, it does not prohibit the FDA from approving follow-on applications that do not reference the protected clinical data. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA. However, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.
Pediatric exclusivity is another type of regulatory market exclusivity in the U.S. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing regulatory exclusivity periods for all formulations, dosage forms, indications of the active moiety, and listed patent terms. This six-month exclusivity, which runs from the end of other exclusivity protection or patent term, may be granted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric trial in accordance with an FDA-issued “Written Request” for such a trial, provided that at the time pediatric exclusivity is granted there is not less than nine months of term remaining. The issuance of a Written Request does not require the sponsor to undertake the described clinical trials.
Hatch-Waxman Patent Certification and the 30-Month Stay
In seeking approval of an NDA or a supplement thereto, NDA sponsors are required to list with the FDA each patent with claims that cover the applicant’s product or an approved method of using the product. Upon approval, each of the patents listed by the NDA sponsor is published in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. Upon submission of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA, an applicant is required to certify to the FDA concerning any patents listed for the RLD in the Orange Book that:
•no patent information on the drug product that is the subject of the application has been submitted to the FDA;
•such patent has expired;
•the date on which such patent expires; or
•such patent is invalid, unenforceable or will not be infringed upon by the manufacture, use or sale of the drug product for which the application is submitted.
Generally, the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA cannot be approved until all listed patents have expired, except where the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant challenges a listed patent through the last type of certification, also known as a paragraph IV certification. If the applicant does not challenge the listed patents or indicates that it is not seeking approval of a patented method of use, the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA application will not be approved until all of the listed patents claiming the referenced product have expired. If the ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant has provided a paragraph IV certification the applicant must send notice of the paragraph IV certification to the NDA and patent holders once the application has been accepted for filing by the FDA. The NDA and patent holders may then initiate a patent infringement lawsuit in response to the notice of the paragraph IV certification. If the paragraph IV certification is challenged by an NDA holder or the patent owner(s) asserts a patent challenge to the paragraph IV certification, the FDA may not approve that application until the earlier of 30 months from the receipt of the notice of the paragraph IV certification, the expiration of the patent, when the infringement case concerning each such patent was favorably decided in the applicant’s favor or settled, or such shorter or longer period as may be ordered by a court. This prohibition is generally referred to as the 30-month stay. In instances where an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA applicant files a paragraph IV certification, the NDA holder or patent owner(s) regularly take action to trigger the 30-month stay, recognizing that the related patent litigation may take many months or years to resolve. Thus, approval of an ANDA or 505(b)(2) NDA could be delayed for a significant period of time depending on the patent certification the applicant makes and the reference drug sponsor’s decision to initiate patent litigation. If the drug has NCE exclusivity and the ANDA is submitted four years after approval, the 30-month stay is extended so that it expires seven and a half years after approval of the innovator drug, unless the patent expires or there is a decision in the infringement case that is favorable to the ANDA applicant before then.
Patent Term Restoration and Extension
A patent claiming a new drug product may be eligible for a limited patent term extension under the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, which permits a patent term restoration of up to five years for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review. The restoration period granted is typically one-half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of an NDA, plus the time between the submission date of an NDA and the ultimate approval date, provided the sponsor acted with diligence. Patent term restoration cannot be used to extend the remaining term of a patent past a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug product is eligible for the extension, and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent in question and within 60 days of drug approval. A patent that covers multiple drugs for which approval is sought can only be extended in connection with one of the approvals. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration in consultation with the FDA.
Regulation of Combination Products in the United States
Certain products may be comprised of components, such as drug components and device components, that would normally be regulated under different types of regulatory authorities, and frequently by different centers at the FDA. These products are known as combination products. Specifically, under regulations issued by the FDA, a combination product may be:
•a product comprised of two or more regulated components that are physically, chemically, or otherwise combined or mixed and produced as a single entity;
•two or more separate products packaged together in a single package or as a unit and comprised of drug and device products, device and biological products, or biological and drug products;
•a drug, or device, or biological product packaged separately that according to its investigational plan or proposed labeling is intended for use only with an approved individually specified drug, or device, or biological product where both are required to achieve the intended use, indication, or effect and where upon approval of the proposed product the labeling of the approved product would need to be changed, e.g., to reflect a change in intended use, dosage form, strength, route of administration, or significant change in dose; or
•any investigational drug, or device, or biological product packaged separately that according to its proposed labeling is for use only with another individually specified investigational drug, device, or biological product where both are required to achieve the intended use, indication, or effect.
Under the FDCA and its implementing regulations, the FDA is charged with assigning a center with primary jurisdiction, or a lead center, for review of a combination product. The designation of a lead center generally eliminates the need to receive approvals from more than one FDA component for combination products, although it does not preclude consultations by the lead center with other components of FDA. The determination of which center will be the lead center is based on the “primary mode of action” of the combination product. Thus, if the primary mode of action of a drug-device combination product is attributable to the drug product, the FDA center responsible for premarket review of the drug product would have primary jurisdiction for the combination product. The FDA has also established an Office of Combination Products to address issues surrounding combination products and provide more certainty to the regulatory review process. That office serves as a focal point for combination product issues for agency reviewers and industry. It is also responsible for developing guidance and regulations to clarify the regulation of combination products, and for assignment of the FDA center that has primary jurisdiction for review of combination products where the jurisdiction is unclear or in dispute.
A combination product with a drug primary mode of action generally would be reviewed and approved pursuant to the drug approval processes under the FDCA. In reviewing the NDA application for such a product, however, FDA reviewers in the drug center could consult with their counterparts in the device center to ensure that the device component of the combination product met applicable requirements regarding safety, effectiveness, durability and performance. In addition, under FDA regulations, combination products are subject to current GMP requirements applicable to both drugs and devices, including the Quality System, or QS, regulations applicable to medical devices.
Combination Therapy
Combination therapy is a treatment modality that involves the use of two or more drugs to be used in combination to treat a disease or condition. If those drugs are combined in one dosage form, that is known as a fixed-dose combination product and it is reviewed pursuant to the FDA’s Combination Rule at 21 CFR 300.50 (Combination Rule). The Combination Rule provides that two or more drugs may be combined in a single dosage form when each component contributes to the claimed effects and the dosage of each component (amount, frequency and duration) is such that the combination is safe and effective for a significant patient population requiring such concurrent therapy as defined in the labeling for the drug. Similar requirements may be imposed on us by comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions.
Post-Approval Requirements
Drugs manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling, and distribution, advertising and promotion and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications or other labeling claims are subject to prior FDA review and approval. There are also annual prescription drug product program fee requirements for marketed products.
The FDA may impose a number of post-approval requirements as a condition of approval of an NDA. For example, the FDA may require post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization.
FDA regulations require that products be manufactured in specific facilities and in accordance with cGMP regulations which require, among other things, quality control and quality assurance, the maintenance of records and documentation and the obligation to investigate and correct any deviations from cGMP.
In addition, drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs and those supplying products, ingredients and components of them are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state agencies and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and these state agencies for compliance with cGMP requirements. Manufacturers and other parties involved in the drug supply chain for prescription drug products must also comply with product tracking and tracing requirements and for notifying FDA of counterfeit, diverted, stolen and intentionally adulterated products or products that are otherwise unfit for distribution in the U.S. Changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated and often require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP requirements and impose reporting and documentation requirements upon the sponsor and any third-party manufacturers that the sponsor may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance.
Once an approval of a drug is granted, the FDA may withdraw the approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in mandatory revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution or other restrictions under a REMS program. Any of these limitations on approval or marketing could restrict the commercial promotion, distribution, prescription or dispensing of products. Other potential consequences include, among other things:
•restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls;
•fines, warning letters or clinical holds on post-approval clinical trials;
•refusal of the FDA to approve pending NDAs or supplements to approved NDAs, or suspension or withdrawal of product approvals;
•product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products;
•consent decrees, corporate integrity agreements, debarment or exclusion from federal healthcare programs;
•mandated modification of promotional materials and labeling and the issuance of corrective information;
•issuance of safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases and other communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product; and
•injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted by a manufacturer and any third parties acting on behalf of a manufacturer only for the approved indications and in a manner consistent with the approved label for the product. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability.
In addition, the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical products is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or PDMA, which regulates the distribution of drugs and drug samples at the federal level and sets minimum standards for the registration and regulation of drug distributors by the states. Both the PDMA and state laws limit the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical product samples and impose requirements to ensure accountability in distribution.
Failure to comply with any of these requirements can result in, among other things, adverse publicity, warning letters, corrective advertising and potential civil and criminal penalties. Physicians may prescribe, in their independent professional medical judgment, legally available products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those evaluated by us and approved by the FDA. Physicians may believe that such off-label uses are the best treatment for many patients in varied circumstances. The FDA does not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments. The FDA does, however, restrict manufacturer’s communications on the subject of off-label use of their products. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion of off-label use and has enjoined companies from engaging in off-label promotion. The FDA and other regulatory agencies have also required that companies enter into consent decrees and/or imposed permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed.
Review and Approval of Drugs in the European Union
In the EU, the research, development and commercialization of medicinal products are also subject to extensive regulatory requirements. As in the U.S., medicinal products can only be marketed if a marketing authorization, or MA, from the competent regulatory agencies has been obtained.
Clinical Trial Approval
In April 2014, the European Union adopted the Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) No 536/2014, or the Clinical Trials Regulation, which replaced the previous Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC on January 31, 2022. The Clinical Trials Regulation is directly applicable in all European Union Member States, meaning no national implementing legislation in each European Union Member State is required. The legislation aims at simplifying and streamlining the approval of clinical trials in the European Union, simplifying adverse-event reporting procedures, improving the supervision of clinical trials and increasing their transparency. For instance, the Clinical Trials Regulation provides for a streamlined application procedure for a clinical trial authorization application, or CTA, via a single entry point, rules on the protection of subjects and informed consent, transparency requirements, and strictly defined deadlines for the assessment of clinical trial applications. The transition period under the Clinical Trials Regulation ended on January 31, 2025, and all clinical trials (and related applications) are now fully subject to the provisions of the Clinical Trials Regulation.
While the Clinical Trials Directive required a separate CTA to be submitted in each EU Member State in which the clinical trial was to take place, to both the competent national health authority and an independent ethics committee, the Clinical Trials Regulation introduces a centralized process and only requires the submission of a single application for multi-center trials. The Clinical Trials Regulation allows sponsors to make a single submission to both the competent authority and an ethics committee in each EU Member State, leading to a single decision per Member State. The CTA must include, among other things, a copy of the trial protocol and an investigational medicinal product dossier containing information about the manufacture and quality of the medicinal product under investigation. The assessment procedure of the CTA has been harmonized as well, including a joint assessment by all EU Member States concerned, and a separate assessment by each EU Member State with respect to specific requirements related to its own territory, including ethics rules. Each EU Member State’s decision is communicated to the sponsor via Clinical Trials Information System. Once the CTA is approved, clinical study development may proceed.
Drug Review and Approval
In the European Union, medicinal products can only be commercialized after obtaining an MA. There are two types of MA:
The centralized MA, which is issued by the European Commission through the centralized procedure, based on the opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the EMA, or CHMP. A centralized MA is valid throughout the EEA, which is comprised of the Member States of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The centralized procedure is mandatory for certain types of products, including medicines produced by certain biotechnological processes, advanced therapy medicinal products (gene-therapy, somatic cell-therapy or tissue-engineered medicines), products designated as orphan medicinal products and products containing a new active substance indicated for the treatment of HIV, AIDS, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, auto-immune, and other immune dysfunctions and viral diseases. The centralized procedure is optional for products containing a new active substance not yet authorized in the European Union, or for products that constitute a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation or which are in the interest of public health in the European Union.
National MAs, which are issued by the competent authorities of the Member States of the European Union and only cover their respective territory, are available for products not falling within the mandatory scope of the centralized procedure. Where a product has already been authorized for marketing in a Member State of the European Union, this national MA can be recognized in another Member State through the mutual recognition procedure. If the product has not received a national MA in any Member State at the time of application, it can be approved simultaneously in various Member States through the decentralized procedure.
Under the above described procedures, before granting the MA, the EMA or the competent authorities of the Member States of the European Union make an assessment of the risk-benefit balance of the product on the basis of scientific criteria concerning its quality, safety and efficacy.
Data and Market Exclusivity
In the European Union, innovative medicinal products approved on the basis of a complete and independent data package qualify for eight years of data exclusivity upon marketing authorization and an additional two years of market exclusivity. The data exclusivity, if granted, prevents generic applicants from referencing the innovator’s preclinical and clinical trial data contained in the dossier of the reference product when applying for a generic (abbreviated) MA, for eight years from the date on which the reference product was first authorized in the European Union. During an additional two-year period of market exclusivity, a generic marketing authorization application can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but no generic or medicinal product can be placed on the European Union market until the expiration of the market exclusivity. The overall ten-year period may be extended to a maximum of 11 years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the MA holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are determined to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. There is no guarantee that a product will be considered by the EMA to be an innovative medicinal product, and products may not qualify for data exclusivity. Even if a product is considered to be an innovative medicinal product so that the innovator gains the prescribed period of data exclusivity, another company could nevertheless also market another version of the product if such company obtained an MA based on an application with a complete and independent data package of pharmaceutical tests, preclinical tests and clinical trials.
PRIME scheme
In March 2016, the EMA launched an initiative to facilitate development of product candidates in indications, often rare, for which few or no therapies currently exist, by, amongst other things, offering early dialogue with, and regulatory support from, the EMA. The scheme is intended to stimulate innovation, optimize development and enable accelerated assessment of PRIority Medicines, or PRIME, by building upon the scientific advice scheme and accelerated assessment procedure offered by EMA. The scheme is voluntary and eligibility criteria must be met for a medicine to qualify for PRIME.
The PRIME scheme is open to medicines under development and for which the applicant intends to submit an initial marketing authorization application through the centralized procedure. Eligible products must target conditions for which there is an unmet medical need (meaning there is no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment in the European Union or, if there is, the new medicine will bring a major therapeutic advantage) and they must demonstrate the potential to address the unmet medical need by introducing new methods of therapy or improving existing ones. Applicants will typically be at the exploratory clinical trial phase of development, and will have preliminary clinical evidence in patients to demonstrate the promising activity of the medicine and its potential to address, to a significant extent, an unmet medical need. In exceptional cases, applicants from the academic sector or SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) may submit an eligibility request at an earlier stage of development if compelling non-clinical data in a relevant model provide early evidence of promising activity, and first-in-human studies indicate adequate exposure for the desired pharmacotherapeutic effects and tolerability.
If a medicine is selected for the PRIME scheme, the EMA:
•appoints a rapporteur from the CHMP or from the CAT to provide continuous support and to build up knowledge of the medicine in advance of the filing of a marketing authorization application;
•issues guidance on the applicant’s overall development plan and regulatory strategy;
•organizes a kick-off meeting with the rapporteur and experts from relevant EMA committees and working groups;
•provides a dedicated EMA contact person; and
•provides scientific advice at key development milestones, involving additional stakeholders, such as health technology assessment bodies and patients, as needed.
Medicines that are selected for the PRIME scheme are also expected to benefit from the EMA’s accelerated assessment procedure at the time of application for marketing authorization. Where, during the course of development, a medicine no longer meets the eligibility criteria, support under the PRIME scheme may be withdrawn.
Orphan Drug Designation and Exclusivity
A product can be designated as an orphan medicinal product by the European Commission if its sponsor can establish that: (1) the product is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition; (2) either (a) such condition affects no more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union when the application is made or (b) it is unlikely that the product, without the benefits derived from orphan status, would generate sufficient return in the European Union to justify the necessary investment in its development; and (3) there exists no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of such condition authorized for marketing in the European Union or, if such method exists, the product will be of significant benefit to those affected by that condition. Orphan medicinal products are eligible for financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers. The application for orphan designation must be submitted before the application for marketing authorization. The applicant will receive a fee reduction for the MA application if the orphan designation has been granted, but not if the orphan designation is still pending at the time the MA application is submitted. Orphan designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.
Products receiving orphan designation in the European Union can receive ten years of market exclusivity for the authorized orphan indication, during which time the EMA and the competent authorities of the Member States cannot accept or grant a marketing authorization for the same therapeutic indication in respect of a “similar medicinal product”, subject to certain exceptions. A “similar medicinal product” is defined as a medicinal product containing a similar active substance or substances as contained in an authorized orphan medicinal product, and which is intended for the same therapeutic indication. However, an MA may be granted to a similar medicinal product for the same indication as an authorized orphan product during the ten-year exclusivity period with the consent of the MA holder for the original orphan medicinal product or if the marketing authorization holder for the original orphan medicinal product is unable to supply sufficient quantities of such product. Marketing authorization may also be granted to a similar medicinal product for the same indication as an authorized orphan product if the second applicant can establish
that its product is safer, more effective or otherwise clinically superior to the original orphan medicinal product. The period of market exclusivity may be reduced to six years if, at the end of the fifth year, it is established that the product no longer meets the criteria for orphan designation, for example, if the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity. The market exclusivity period may also be extended by two additional years in connection with pediatric development under certain circumstances.
The aforementioned European Union rules are generally applicable in the EEA, which consists of the European Union Member States, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Reform of the Regulatory Framework in the European Union
The European Commission introduced legislative proposals in April 2023 that, if implemented, will replace the current regulatory framework in the European Union for all medicines (including those for rare diseases and for children). The European Commission has provided the legislative proposals to the European Parliament and the European Council for their review and approval. A common position on the text has been agreed upon on December 11, 2025, in the context of subsequent inter-institutional trilogue negotiations. The proposed revisions remain to be adopted, and are not expected to become applicable before 2028.
Regulation of Combination Products in the European Union
The EU regulates medical devices and medicinal products separately, through different legislative instruments, and the applicable requirements will vary depending on the type of drug-device combination product. EU guidance has been published to help manufacturers select the right regulatory framework. In the case of drug-delivery products intended to administer a medicinal product where the device and the medicinal product do not form a single integral product (i.e. where the medicinal product and the device do not form a single product which is intended exclusively for use in the given combination and which is not reusable, such as a pre-filled syringe), the medicinal product is regulated in accordance with the aforementioned rules while the device part is regulated as a medical device and will have to comply with all the applicable requirements set forth by Regulation (EU) 2017/745, or the Medical Devices Regulation (which became applicable on May 26, 2021 and repealed the EU Council Directive 93/42/EEC, or the Medical Devices Directive).
The characteristics of non-integral devices used for the administration of medicinal products may impact the quality, safety and efficacy profile of the medicinal products. To the extent that administration devices are co-packaged with the medicinal product or, in exceptional cases, where the use of a specific type of administration device is specifically provided for in the product information of the medicinal product, additional information may need to be provided in the MAA for the medicinal product on the characteristics of the medical device(s) that may impact on the quality, safety and/or efficacy of the medicinal product. The requirements regarding quality aspects for medical devices used in combination with medicinal products (including integral, co-packaged, or separately obtained devices referenced in the product information), are outlined in an EMA guideline which came into effect on January 1, 2022.
For a manufacturer to affix a CE mark to a medical device in accordance with the Medical Devices Regulation, the device must meet the relevant general safety and performance requirements laid down in Annex I of the Medical Devices Regulation. The most fundamental requirement is that a medical device must be designed and manufactured in such a way that it will not compromise the clinical condition or safety of patients, or the safety and health of users and others. In addition, the device must achieve the performances intended by the manufacturer and be designed, manufactured, and packaged in a suitable manner. To demonstrate compliance with the general safety and performance requirements laid down in Annex I to the Medical Devices Regulation, medical device manufacturers must undergo a conformity assessment procedure, which varies according to the type of medical device and its (risk) classification. Conformity assessment procedures require an assessment of available clinical evidence, literature data for the product, and post-market experience in respect of similar products already marketed. For most medical devices (except certain, low risk, class I medical devices), a conformity assessment procedure requires the intervention of a notified body. Notified bodies are independent organizations designated by EU countries to assess the conformity of devices before being placed on the market. If satisfied that the relevant product conforms to the relevant general safety and performance requirements, the notified body issues a certificate of conformity, which the manufacturer uses as a basis
for its own declaration of conformity. The manufacturer may then apply the CE mark to the device, which allows the device to be placed on the market throughout the EU.
As a general rule, demonstration of conformity of medical devices and their manufacturers with the general safety and performance requirements must be based, among other things, on the evaluation of clinical data supporting the safety and performance of the products during normal conditions of use. Specifically, a manufacturer must demonstrate that the device achieves its intended performance during normal conditions of use, that the known and foreseeable risks, and any adverse events, are minimized and acceptable when weighed against the benefits of its intended performance, and that any claims made about the performance and safety of the device are supported by suitable evidence.
The aforementioned EU rules are generally applicable in the EEA.
Fixed-Dose Combination Guideline
As with the FDA, the EMA has also issued guidelines to address review and approval of fixed-dose combination products. The EMA guideline on clinical development of fixed combination medicinal products came into force on October 1, 2017. The basic scientific requirements for any fixed combination medicinal product are justification of the pharmacological and medical rationale for the combination, and establishment of the evidence base for the relevant contribution of all active substances to the desired therapeutic effect (efficacy and/or safety) and a positive benefit-risk for the combination in the targeted indication. For products that involve initial combination of two active ingredients, the EMA has indicated that the design of clinical efficacy/safety studies to support a fixed combination medicinal product application for initial treatment will depend on its rationale, specifically to achieve superior efficacy or improved safety compared to use of the single active substances. In situations when it has been established that monotherapy will not be adequate, appropriate or ethical to reach the desired therapeutic effect, initial use of combination therapy should be easily justified (e.g., HIV).
Brexit and the regulatory framework in the United Kingdom
Following the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1, 2021 and the implementation of the Windsor Framework on January 1, 2025, the UK is not generally subject to EU laws in respect of medicines. The EU laws that have been transposed into UK law through secondary legislation remain applicable in the UK, however, new legislation such as the EU Clinical Trials Regulation is not applicable in the UK.
As of January 1, 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, is the UK’s standalone medicines and medical devices regulator. On January 1, 2025 a new arrangement called the “Windsor Framework” came into effect and reintegrated Northern Ireland under the regulatory authority of the MHRA with respect to medicinal products. The Windsor Framework removes EU licensing processes and EU labeling and serialization requirements in relation to Northern Ireland and introduces a UK-wide licensing process for medicines.
The UK regulatory framework in relation to clinical trials is governed by the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004, as amended, which are derived from the EU Clinical Trials Directive, as implemented into UK national law through secondary legislation. In April 2025, the UK introduced the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 will take full effect from April 28, 2026, and aim to create a streamlined, risk-proportionate system that accelerates approvals while maintaining robust safety standards. In addition, in October 2023, the MHRA announced a new Notification Scheme for clinical trials which enables a more streamlined and risk-proportionate approach to initial clinical trial applications for Phase 4 and low-risk Phase 3 clinical trial applications.
In order to obtain a UK marketing authorization to commercialize medicinal products in the UK, an applicant must follow one of the UK national authorization procedures or one of the remaining post-Brexit international cooperation procedures. The MHRA has introduced changes to national licensing procedures, including procedures to prioritize access to new medicines that will benefit patients, a 150-day assessment procedure (subject to clock-stops) and a rolling review procedure. In addition, since January 1, 2024, the MHRA introduced a new International Recognition Procedure, or IRP, which enables the MHRA when reviewing certain types of marketing authorization applications to take into account the expertise and decision-making of trusted regulatory partners (e.g. the medicines regulatory authorities in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, the U.S.A. and the EMA in the EU). The MHRA will conduct a targeted assessment of IRP applications but retain the authority to reject applications if the evidence provided is considered insufficiently robust.
There is no pre-marketing authorization orphan designation in the UK. Instead, the MHRA reviews applications for orphan designation in parallel to the corresponding marketing authorization application. The criteria are essentially the same as in the EU, but have been tailored for the market, i.e., the prevalence of the condition in the UK, rather than the EU, must not be more than five in 10,000. Should an orphan designation be granted, the period or market exclusivity will be set from the date of first approval of the product in the UK.
Other U.S. Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements
Healthcare providers, including physicians, and third-party payors play a significant role in determining what drug products are used by patients. Our current and future arrangements with healthcare providers, third party payors, patients and other parties within the healthcare industry as well as our business operations more generally may implicate broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations. Within the U.S., restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, including certain laws and regulations applicable only if we have marketed products, include the following:
•the federal healthcare anti-kickback statute prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made under federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the anti-kickback statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;
•the federal False Claims Act, or FCA, which imposes criminal and civil penalties on individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government and actions under the FCA may be brought by private whistleblowers as well as the government. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items and services resulting from a violation of the federal anti-kickback statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA;
•the federal civil monetary penalties laws, which impose civil fines for, among other things, the offering or transfer of remuneration to a Medicare or state healthcare program beneficiary if the person knows or should know it is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider, practitioner or supplier of services reimbursable by Medicare or a state healthcare program;
•the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, as amended, which imposes criminal and civil liability for executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program and also establishes requirements related to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information which apply to many healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors with whom we interact;
•the federal false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services;
•the FDCA, which, among other things, strictly regulates drug product and medical device marketing, prohibits manufacturers from marketing such products for off-label use and regulates the distribution of samples;
•federal laws, such as the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, that require pharmaceutical manufacturers to report certain calculated product prices to the government or provide certain discounts or rebates to government authorities or private entities, often as a condition of reimbursement under governmental healthcare programs;
•federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers;
•the so-called federal “sunshine law” or Open Payments which requires manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics, and medical supplies to report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information related to payments and other transfers of value to teaching hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare practitioners, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and
•analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non- governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, and state laws which regulate interactions between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers, require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, require pharmaceutical companies to report information on transfers of value to other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures or pricing information and/or require licensing of sales representatives. State laws also govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
The distribution of pharmaceutical products is subject to additional requirements and regulations, including extensive record-keeping, licensing, storage and security requirements intended to prevent the unauthorized sale of pharmaceutical products. Some states also impose requirements on manufacturers and distributors to establish the pedigree of product in the chain of distribution, including some states that require manufacturers and others to adopt new technology capable of tracking and tracing product as it moves through the distribution chain.
Given the breadth of the laws and regulations and narrowness of any exceptions, limited guidance for certain laws and regulations and evolving government interpretations of the laws and regulations, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including, without limitation, civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participating in federal and state funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, contractual damages, diminished profits and future earnings, reputational harm and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could harm our business.
Payments made to physicians in certain European Union Member States must be publicly disclosed. Moreover, agreements with physicians often must be the subject of prior notification and approval by the physician’s employer, his or her competent professional organization, and/or the regulatory authorities of the individual European Union Member States. These requirements are provided in the national laws, industry codes or professional codes of conduct applicable in the European Union Member States. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in reputational risk, public reprimands, administrative penalties, exclusion from participation in governmental healthcare programs, disgorgement, fines or imprisonment.
Healthcare Reform
In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been and continue to be significant legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of product candidates that we may develop, restrict or regulate post-approval activities, and affect the ability to profitably sell product candidates for which marketing approval is obtained. Among policy makers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and/or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives.
For example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2020, or ACA, substantially changed healthcare financing and delivery by both governmental and private insurers.
Among the ACA provisions of importance to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, in addition to those otherwise described above, are the following:
•Increased the minimum level of Medicaid rebates payable by manufacturers of brand name drugs from 15.1% to 23.1% of the average manufacturer price;
•Required collection of rebates for drugs paid by Medicaid managed care organizations;
•Required manufacturers to participate in a coverage gap discount program, under which they must agree to offer 70 percent point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer's outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D (a requirement later replaced under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA, by the Medicare Part D manufacturer discount program); and
•Imposed a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell “branded prescription drugs” to specified federal government programs.
There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. Both the Trump administration and Congress have indicated that they will continue to seek new legislative and executive measures to control drug costs.
In addition, other legislative and regulatory changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted:
•The U.S. Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, included aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year that remain in effect through 2031.
•The U.S. American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years.
•The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 eliminated the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, previously set at 100% of a drug’s average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, beginning January 1, 2024.
•Due to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, estimated budget deficit increases resulting from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and subsequent legislation, Medicare payments to providers were further reduced starting in 2025 absent further legislation.
•The IRA also includes several provisions that will impact our business to varying degrees, including provisions that create a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D beneficiaries, impose new manufacturer financial liability on all drugs in Medicare Part D, allow the U.S. government to negotiate Medicare Part B and Part D pricing for certain high-cost drugs and biologics without generic or biosimilar competition, require companies to pay rebates to Medicare for drug prices that increase faster than inflation, and delay the rebate rule that would require pass through of pharmacy benefit manager rebates to beneficiaries. Further, under the IRA, orphan drugs are exempted from the Medicare drug price negotiation program (regardless of the number of orphan designations) provided that the drug is only approved for rare disease indications. The implementation of the IRA is currently subject to ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the IRA's Medicare drug price negotiation program. The effect of IRA on our business and the healthcare industry in general is not yet known.
•The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was enacted in July 2025, imposes significant reductions in the funding of the Medicaid program. Such reductions are expected to apply significant funding pressure on state Medicaid budgets, decrease the number of persons enrolled in Medicaid, and reduce the services covered by Medicaid.
Further, the Trump Administration has issued several Executive Orders in 2025 that could have an impact on the prices that we, or any collaborators, may receive for any approved products. On April 15, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that included directives to the federal government to lower drug prices, including directing HHS to issue updated IRA drug price negotiation guidance, eliminating the so-called “pill penalty” under the IRA that creates a distinction between small molecule and large molecule products for purposes of determining when a drug may be eligible for drug price negotiation, and evaluating the role of pharmacy benefit managers. The Trump Administration may pursue new or different drug pricing, trade, social, and other policy objectives from prior administrations, which introduces further uncertainty as to how future legislative or regulatory changes may impact our business. On May 12, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of HHS to set and communicate most-favored-nation, or MFN, price targets to manufacturers and propose a rulemaking plan to impose MFN pricing if “significant progress” is not made, and also directs the federal government to support regulatory paths to allow direct-to-patient sales for companies that meet these targets. The executive order states that the Administration will take additional action (for example, examining whether marketing approvals should be modified or rescinded or opening the door for individual drug importation waivers) should manufacturers fail to offer American consumers the MFN lowest price. In July 2025, President Trump sent letters to 17 pharmaceutical companies demanding that these companies extend MFN pricing to Medicaid and newly launched drugs as well as move to direct-to-consumer models priced at MFN pricing, and soliciting binding commitments by September 29, 2025. Since this time, multiple drug manufacturers have announced plans to, for certain of their drugs, lower prices to reflect similar pricing around the world, and to sell these reduced-price drugs on a direct-to-consumer purchasing platform that is yet to be developed by the federal government, though it is not known what results will occur to the extent the recipients of these letters do not reduce their U.S. prices.
Consistent with these policy initiatives, in December 2025, CMS released proposed rules that would operationalize MFN-based pricing concepts through new federal reimbursement models, including the Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing, or GLOBE, Model for Medicare Part B and the Guarding U.S. Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs, GUARD, Model for Medicare Part D. As proposed, these models would apply to certain qualifying single-source drugs or biologics and would require manufacturers to make additional payments or rebates based on international reference pricing benchmarks, subject to specified eligibility and spending thresholds. CMS has indicated that GLOBE would begin a multi-year performance period starting in October 2026 and GUARD would begin in 2027, although these models remain subject to further rulemaking and potential legal or policy challenges.
In addition, CMS announced in 2025 the GENEROUS Model, launching in 2026, which will allow participating state Medicaid programs to purchase certain drugs at internationally-aligned prices through CMS-negotiated agreements with manufacturers, potentially impacting Medicaid reimbursement and pricing.
The Trump Administration may pursue new or different drug pricing, trade, social, and other policy objectives from prior administrations, which introduces further uncertainty as to how future legislative or regulatory changes may impact our business.
At the state level, individual states are increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for our products, once approved, or put pressure on our product pricing. We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures.
In the European Union, similar political, economic and regulatory developments may affect our ability to profitably commercialize our potential product candidates. Recently, many countries in the European Union have increased the amount of discounts required on pharmaceuticals and these efforts could continue as countries attempt to manage healthcare expenditures, especially in light of the severe fiscal and debt crises experienced by many countries in the European Union. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription products, has become intense. Political, economic and regulatory developments may further complicate pricing negotiations, and pricing negotiations may continue after reimbursement has been obtained. Reference pricing used by various Member States, and parallel trade, i.e., arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced Member States, can further reduce prices. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of our products, if approved in those countries.
Coverage and Reimbursement
The regulations that govern marketing approvals, pricing, coverage and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country. Current and future legislation may significantly change the approval requirements in ways that could involve additional costs and cause delays in obtaining approvals. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, and negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates, even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval.
Our ability to commercialize any product candidates successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. Government authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which medications they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon a number of factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that use of a product is:
•a covered benefit under its health plan;
•safe, effective and medically necessary;
•appropriate for the specific patient;
•neither experimental nor investigational.
In the U.S., there is no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products among third-party payors. As a result, obtaining coverage and reimbursement approval of a product from a government or other third-party payor is a time-consuming and costly process that could require us to provide to each payor supporting scientific, clinical and cost-effectiveness data for the use of our products on a payor-by-payor basis, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be obtained. The availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement by governmental healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurers and other third-party payors are essential for most patients to be able to afford our product candidates, if approved, and so will significantly affect our ability to successfully commercialize any such product candidates.
A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Government authorities and third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. Coverage may not be available for any product that we commercialize or may be subject to controls imposed by third party payors to manage utilization (e.g., requiring specific approval for use of a product in a particular patient for coverage). Even if coverage is available, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require patient out-of-pocket costs that patients find unacceptably high. Reimbursement may affect the demand for, or the price of, any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval. Obtaining and maintaining adequate reimbursement for our products may be difficult. We may be required to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies to justify coverage and reimbursement or the level of reimbursement relative to other therapies. If coverage and adequate reimbursement are not available or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval. Additionally, we, or our collaborators, will be required to obtain coverage and reimbursement for any companion diagnostic tests developed separate and apart from the coverage and reimbursement we may seek for our product candidates, once approved.
There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug is approved by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside of the U.S. Moreover, eligibility for coverage and reimbursement does not imply that a drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution expenses. Interim reimbursement levels for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or requested by private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the U.S. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved products that we develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.
In some foreign countries, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, the European Union provides options for its Member States to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. A Member State may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. Historically, products launched in the European Union do not follow price structures of the U.S. and generally prices tend to be significantly lower.
There can be no assurance that our product candidates, even if they are approved for sale in the U.S. or in other countries, will be considered medically reasonable and necessary for a specific indication or cost-effective by third-party payors, or that coverage and an adequate level of reimbursement will be available or that third-party payors’ reimbursement policies will not adversely affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably.
Data Privacy and Security Laws
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, transmit, store, use, disclose, transfer, maintain and otherwise process sensitive information, including personal data. Accordingly, we are, or may be become, subject to numerous data protection, privacy, and security obligations, including global, federal, state, and local laws, rules, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements and other obligations related to data protection, privacy, and security. Similarly, these legal requirements may apply to the operations of our partners with which we exchange personal data or otherwise do business. More specifically, in the U.S., numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including data breach notification laws, health information privacy and security laws and consumer protection laws and regulations govern the collection, use, disclosure, protection, and other processing of health-related and other personal information. In addition, certain foreign laws and regulations govern the privacy and security of personal data, including health-related data. Data protection, privacy and security laws, regulations and other obligations are constantly evolving, and may conflict with each other to complicate compliance. These data protection, privacy, and security laws and regulations impose significant and complex compliance obligations on entities that are subject to those laws, as more fully discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Facilities
Our corporate headquarters are located in Boston, Massachusetts, where we sublease and occupy approximately 8,774 square feet of office space. Our Boston sublease expires in January 2029, with the option to extend for an additional three years.
We believe our existing facilities in Boston are sufficient for our needs for the foreseeable future. To meet the future needs of our business, we may lease additional or alternate space, and we believe suitable additional or alternative space will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms.
Employees and Human Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2025, we had 50 full-time employees. Within our workforce, 31 employees are engaged in research and development and 19 are engaged in business development, finance, legal, and general management and administration. Our human capital resources objectives include identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and new employees, advisors and consultants. The principal purposes of our equity incentive plans are to attract, retain and reward personnel through the granting of equity-based compensation awards in order to increase shareholder value and the success of our company by motivating such individuals to perform to the best of their abilities and achieve our objectives. None of our employees is represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may become involved in litigation or other legal proceedings. We are not currently a party to any litigation or legal proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, are probable to have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.
MANAGEMENT
Executive Officers and Directors
The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors as of the date of this prospectus:
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Name |
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Age |
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Position |
Executive Officers: |
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Lyn Baranowski |
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50 |
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Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Douglas Carlson |
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47 |
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Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer |
Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T |
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48 |
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Chief Operating Officer |
Howard M. Lazarus, M.D., FCCP |
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60 |
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Chief Medical Officer |
Non-Employee Directors: |
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Heather Turner |
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52 |
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Director and Board Chair |
Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D. |
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50 |
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Director |
Jill Carroll |
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50 |
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Director |
David Friedman, M.D. |
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50 |
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Director |
Gianna Hoffman-Luca, Ph.D. |
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41 |
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Director |
Erin Lavelle |
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48 |
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Director |
Jonathan Leff, M.D. |
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68 |
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Director |
Ketan Patel, M.D. |
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49 |
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Director |
(1)Member of the compensation committee.
(2)Member of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
(3)Member of the audit committee.
Executive Officers
Lyn Baranowski. Ms. Baranowski has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since October 2022. Prior to joining us, Ms. Baranowski served as Chief Operating Officer of Altavant, from its formation in October 2018 until October 2022. At Altavant, Ms. Baranowski oversaw the development of therapies for rare respiratory diseases and contributed to the company’s $3 billion acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon in 2019. Prior to Altavant, Ms. Baranowski served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy at Melinta Therapeutics, LLC (formerly, Nasdaq: MLNT) from August 2013 to July 2018. From May 2011 to August 2013, Ms. Baranowski served as Vice President of Commercial Development at Pearl Therapeutics, Inc., which successfully developed a portfolio of inhaled respiratory medicines that led to its $1.15 billion acquisition by AstraZeneca. Ms. Baranowski also served as Vice President at a healthcare-focused venture capital firm based in New York, and served in senior roles in business development, marketing, and public affairs at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in both the U.S. and Switzerland. Throughout her career, Ms. Baranowski has played pivotal roles in the development and commercialization of market-shaping therapies, including BREZTRI®, BEVESPI®, XOLAIR®, TOBI®, RECLAST®, and BAXDELA®, and has helped companies she worked for raise over $750 million in private and public financings. Ms. Baranowski served as a member of the Board of Directors of Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: RANI) from November 2021 to May 2023 and serves on the Board of Advisors for Life Science Cares and is a key member of the planning committee for the American Thoracic Society’s Respiratory Innovation Summit. Ms. Baranowski holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from American University. Our board of directors believes that Ms. Baranowski is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of her extensive experience and leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry and her role as our company’s chief executive officer.
Douglas Carlson. Mr. Carlson has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer since May 2024. Prior to joining us, Mr. Carlson served as the Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Avenge Bio, Inc. from February 2022 to May 2024. Prior to that, he served as Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Ikena Oncology, Inc.,
or Ikena, (Nasdaq: IKNA) from February 2021 to February 2022 and Chief Financial Officer from January 2019 to February 2021. Prior to Ikena, Mr. Carlson held roles of increasing responsibility at Collegium Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: COLL), including as Vice President, Commercial Operations, Corporate Strategy & Business Development from March 2013 to January 2019. Prior to joining Collegium, Mr. Carlson was Senior Director of Business Development at BTG International, Inc. (LSE: BTG), or BTG, a publicly-traded, international specialist healthcare company, where he was responsible for global specialty pharmaceutical M&A and licensing, from August 2011 to March 2013. Prior to BTG, Mr. Carlson was Senior Director and Head of Business Development for Lundbeck Inc., or Lundbeck, the U.S. Headquarters of H. Lundbeck A/S, from December 2009 to August 2011. Prior to Lundbeck, Mr. Carlson was Director of Corporate Development and M&A at Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Ovation, where he played an integral role in the sale of Ovation to H. Lundbeck A/S in March 2009. Prior to Ovation, Mr. Carlson was an Associate in the healthcare group at Pequot Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pequot Capital Management, Inc. Mr. Carlson began his career in the healthcare investment banking group of Cowen. Mr. Carlson holds a B.A. from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T. Dr. Rhodes has served as our Chief Operating Officer since September 2023. Prior to joining us, Dr. Rhodes served in various roles at Kriya Therapeutics, Inc. from February 2020 to July 2023, most recently as President & Chief Development Officer, Metabolic Diseases & Neurology. From February 2019 to February 2020, Dr. Rhodes served as Chief Development Officer at Aerami Therapeutics, Inc., which focused on the delivery of inhaled medicines. Dr. Rhodes completed her Ph.D. at Duke University, focusing on pharmacology and toxicology, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and received a B.S. from North Carolina State University.
Howard M. Lazarus, M.D., FCCP. Dr. Lazarus has served as our Chief Medical Officer since August 2023. Dr. Lazarus formerly served as the Chief Medical Officer of Enzyvant Therapeutics, Inc. from December 2022 to July 2023, and Chief Medical Officer of Altavant from February 2020 to November 2022, after its acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon in 2019. In this role, he was responsible for developing and implementing the clinical development plans for candidates addressing pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Prior to Altavant, Dr. Lazarus has held senior roles in clinical development and medical affairs teams at Boehringer Ingelheim and Gilead Sciences. Dr. Lazarus holds a B.Sc. and an M.D. from McGill University and he completed his internal medicine training at Boston University. His fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine was obtained at the University of California, San Diego. He is a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of the American Thoracic and European Respiratory Societies.
Non-Executive Directors
Heather Turner Ms. Turner has been the chair of our board of directors since October 2024. Ms. Turner has served as Chief Executive Officer of LB Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: LBRX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company since November 2024. Prior to joining LB Pharmaceuticals, Ms. Turner was President and Chief Executive Officer of Carmot Therapeutics Inc., or Carmot (acquired by Roche) from January 2023 to June 2024 and Chief Operating Officer from September 2022 to December 2022. Prior to Carmot, Ms. Turner served as Chief Legal Officer at Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. from April 2019 to May 2022. Prior to Lyell, Ms. Turner served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO), a publicly-traded gene therapy and gene editing company, from February 2018 to March 2019, and served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary, and Head of Portfolio Strategy at Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), or Atara, a publicly-traded allogeneic cell therapy company, from September 2016 to February 2018 and as Vice President and General Counsel of Atara from June 2015 to September 2016. Prior to that, Ms. Turner served as General Counsel and Secretary at Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. a company focused on metabolic diseases, from June 2007 to June 2015. Ms. Turner has served as a member of the board of directors of Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TERN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, since November 2024. Ms. Turner started her career at Cooley LLP as a corporate securities associate. Ms. Turner received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law and her B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Our board of directors believes that Ms. Turner’s extensive experience as an executive and director of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry provides her with the qualifications to serve on our board of directors.
Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D. Dr. Aynechi has been a member of our board of directors since March 2017. Since December 2021, Dr. Aynechi has been a General Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, a venture and growth equity investment firm. Prior to Norwest, from March 2010 through joining Norwest, Dr. Aynechi was a senior partner at Novo Ventures (US) Inc., or Novo Ventures. Prior to joining Novo Ventures, Dr. Aynechi was employed by Burrill & Company, a financial firm specializing in biotechnology and life sciences investment, in various positions, including as a director in merchant banking where she was responsible for regional and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, licensing, and financing transactions. Dr. Aynechi currently serves on the boards of directors of MBX Biosciences (Nasdaq: MBX), Avalyn Pharma, Engrail Therapeutics, Mosanna Therapeutics, Nuvig Therapeutics, Ray Therapeutics and Rezo Therapeutics. She has previously served on various public and private boards of directors including Spruce BioSciences (Nasdaq: SPRB) from May 2016 to December 2025, iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: IRTC) from May 2014 to April 2017, Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIRM) from October 2018 to August 2021, Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX) from August 2015 to June 2022, Aristea Therapeutics, Inc. from August 2018 to December 2021 and MDLive Inc. from July 2018 to May 2021. Dr. Aynechi has extensive expertise in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and an illustrious track record of contributing to innovative healthcare solutions. Dr. Aynechi also has experience fostering partnerships that accelerate the development and commercialization of medical therapies. Dr. Aynechi received her Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of California, San Francisco, where her research involved developing computational methods for drug discovery. She received her B.S. in physics from the University of California, Irvine. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Aynechi is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her significant leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and her deep familiarity with our company.
Jill Carroll. Ms. Carroll has been a member of our board of directors since September 2023. Ms. Carroll joined S.R. One Ltd in 2011 and SR One Capital Management, LP in 2020 with a background in biotech partnering and corporate development. Previously, Ms. Carroll completed multiple pharma partnerships and substantial private and public financings for Dynavax Technologies (Nasdaq: DVAX) as the Senior Director, Strategic Planning & Corporate Development. Ms. Carroll was formerly a biopharmaceutical industry consultant with Clearview Projects and Mercer Management Consulting. Currently, Ms. Carroll is on the boards of directors of Arcellx, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACLX), HotSpot Therapeutics, Inc., TBIO, LLC, Odyssey Therapeutics, Inc., Poplar Therapeutics, Inc., and AirNexis Therapeutics, Inc., and previously served on the board of Nkarta, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKTX) from 2017 to 2020. Ms. Carroll received her B.S. in Chemistry from Duke University and her M.S. in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University. Our board of directors believes that Ms. Carroll is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive experience and leadership roles in the biopharmaceutical industry and expertise in biotech investing.
David Friedman, M.D. Dr. Friedman has been a member of our board of directors since April 2025. Since January 2020, Dr. Friedman has served as a Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Suvretta Capital Management, LLC, or Suvretta, for its healthcare and biotech-focused Averill investment strategies. Prior to Suvretta, Dr. Friedman was a Healthcare Analyst at Scopia Capital Management from the beginning of 2014 to December 2019 and worked in biotechnology equity research at Morgan Stanley from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2014. Dr. Friedman received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, an M.D. from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a B.S. from Duke University in Biology. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Friedman is qualified to serve on the Board due to his significant venture capital experience as a director and investor in the healthcare and biotechnology industry.
Gianna Hoffman-Luca, Ph.D. Dr. Hoffman-Luca has served as a member of our board of directors since September 2023. Dr. Hoffman-Luca joined Perceptive Advisors to support the firm's venture fund strategy, including continued investment in companies seeded and incubated at Xontogeny. Since September 2019, she has served as a Partner at Xontogeny, LLC and as Senior Principal, Venture at Perceptive Advisors, LLC, where she assists in managing investments of the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds across the life sciences sector. Prior to joining Perceptive and Xontogeny, Dr. Hoffman-Luca built competitive intelligence capabilities at gene therapy company Solid Biosciences and began her industry career as a patent agent at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, where she advised pharmaceutical and academic clients. Dr. Hoffman-Luca currently serves on the board of directors of Adaptilens, Inc., a position she has held since April 2024 and also serves on the boards of directors of CereVasc, Inc. since 2025 and Lonestar Medicines since January 2026. Previously, she served on the board of directors of CARGO Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: CRGX) from February 2023 to October 2023, prior to its public listing. Dr. Hoffman-Luca earned her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan Medical School and holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Hoffman-Luca is well-qualified to serve as a director based on her extensive experience in life sciences strategy and business development, as well as her significant venture capital expertise.
Erin Lavelle. Ms. Lavelle has been a member of our board of directors since July 2024. From October 2023 until July 2024, Ms. Lavelle served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at ProfoundBio, Inc., a private biotechnology company that was acquired by Genmab A/S in May 2024. Prior to ProfoundBio, Ms. Lavelle served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Climb Bio, Inc. (formerly Eliem Therapeutics, Inc.) (Nasdaq: CLYM), a biotechnology company, from October 2020 to March 2023, where she assisted with the company’s IPO. From April 2018 to February 2020, Ms. Lavelle served as the Chief Operating Officer at Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., or AlderBio, a Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company that was acquired by H. Lundbeck A/S in October 2019. In addition to that role, she served as Alder’s appointed director for Vitaeris Inc., a privately held biotechnology company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to that, Ms. Lavelle served in various roles at Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) from 2003 to 2018, most recently serving as General Manager Taiwan from September 2017 to April 2018, as Executive Director, Japan Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) from May 2016 to September 2017, and Executive Director, Global Marketing Business Analytics and Insights from June 2014 to May 2016. Ms. Lavelle has a decade of M&A and licensing experience at Amgen and also led negotiations for the successful sales of two companies (AlderBio and ProfoundBio). She started her career as an investment banker in the healthcare group at Merrill Lynch & Co. Ms. Lavelle currently serves as a member of the board of directors of AusperBio Therapeutics Inc., Expedition Therapeutics Inc., Aviceda Therapeutics, Inc. and Rivus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She has served as a member of the board of directors of Jade Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: JADE) since September 2024 and served as a member of the board of directors of Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical company, which later became Neurogene Inc. (Nasdaq: NGNE), from May 2020 to December 2023. Ms. Lavelle holds a B.A. in economics from Yale University. Our board of directors believes that Ms. Lavelle is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive expertise and leadership roles at various biotechnology companies.
Jonathan Leff, M.D. Dr. Leff has been a member of our board of directors since March 2017. Dr. Leff has 32 years of experience in drug development. Dr. Leff has served as an Executive Partner at Sofinnova Investments, Inc., or Sofinnova, since March 2020. Prior to Sofinnova, Dr. Leff served as Chief Medical Officer of Ascendis Pharma A/S (Nasdaq: ASND), or Ascendis, from February 2016 to October 2019. From March 2015 until joining Ascendis, Dr. Leff consulted with various clients in the field of clinical development. Prior to joining Ascendis, Dr. Leff served as the Executive Vice President, Research and Development for InterMune, Inc., a biotechnology company, from February 2012 to March 2015, where he led the effort and approval of oral pirfenidone for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Prior to InterMune, Dr. Leff served as Chief Medical Officer from February 2011 to February 2012 at KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, and previously served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. from July 2009 to October 2010. Prior to joining Halozyme, from July 2007 to July 2009, Dr. Leff was Vice President and Global Head of Inflammation Clinical Development at Roche. From June 2002 to June 2007, Dr. Leff held various positions at Amgen Inc., including Vice President, North American Medical Affairs. Dr. Leff previously served as a member of the board of directors of Aerovate Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly, Nasdaq: AVTE) from August 2020 to April 2021 and currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Expedition Therapeutics since September 2025, Axonis Therapeutics since October 2024, and NorthSea
Therapeutics B.V. since February 2022. Dr. Leff received a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Leff is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience as an executive in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.
Ketan Patel, M.D. Dr. Patel has been a member of our board of directors since March 2017. Dr. Patel serves as a Managing Partner with F-Prime Capital, or F-Prime, where he has worked since 2007. He has worked in the healthcare sector as an investor, consultant, and physician. Prior to joining F-Prime in 2007, Dr. Patel advised biopharmaceutical and medical device companies on brand strategy, clinical development plans, and business development activities in the corporate consulting division of Leerink Swann & Company. Dr. Patel has in the past served as a member of the board of directors of the following entities, each as director of the private company: ABK Biomedical, Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRS), Avivomed, Bicara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCAX), Caplin Steriles, Comanche Biopharma, Eywa Pharma, Ivenix (acquired by Fresenius Kabi), Laurus Labs (NYSE: LAURUSLABS), Medwell Ventures, Menlo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNLO), NextWave Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), NFlection Therapeutics, Pediatrix Therapeutics, Rallybio Corporation (Nasdaq: RLYB), and Vicept Therapeutics (acquired by Allergan). Dr. Patel holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.D. and M.B.A. from Tufts University School of Medicine. He served as a physician at the VA Boston Healthcare System and at Weill Cornell Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he completed his internal medicine training. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Patel is qualified to serve as a member of the Board due to his leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry and his extensive experience in regulatory affairs.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors.
Composition of Our Board of Directors
Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our board of directors, which currently consists of ten members. The primary responsibilities of our board of directors are to provide oversight, strategic guidance, counseling and direction to our management. Our board of directors meets on a regular basis and additionally as required.
Certain members of our board of directors were elected under the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and agreements with our stockholders. These board composition provisions will terminate upon the completion of this offering. Upon the termination of these provisions, there will be no further contractual obligations regarding the election of our directors. Our nominating and corporate governance committee and our board of directors may therefore consider a broad range of factors relating to the qualifications and background of nominees. Our nominating and corporate governance committee’s and our board of directors’ priority in selecting board members is the identification of persons who will further the interests of our stockholders through their established record of professional accomplishment, the ability to contribute positively to the collaborative culture among board members, knowledge of our business, understanding of the competitive landscape, professional and personal experiences, and expertise relevant to our growth strategy. Our directors hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified or until the earlier of their resignation or removal. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and our amended and restated bylaws, which will become effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, will also provide that our directors may be removed only for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the votes that all our stockholders would be entitled to cast in an annual election of directors, and that any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.
Staggered Board
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and our amended and restated bylaws, which will be effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, will permit our board of directors to establish the authorized number of directors from time to time by resolution. Each director serves until the expiration of the term for which such director was elected or appointed, or until such director’s earlier death, resignation or removal. In accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors will be divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. At each annual meeting of stockholders, the successors to directors whose terms then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following election. Our directors will be divided among the three classes as follows:
•the Class I directors will be and , and their terms will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders following this offering, to be held in ;
•the Class II directors will be and , and their terms will expire at our second annual meeting of stockholders following this offering, to be held in ; and
•the Class III directors will be and , and their terms will expire at our third annual meeting of stockholders following this offering, to be held in .
We expect that any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one third of the directors. The division of our board of directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control.
Director Independence
Under the listing standards, requirements and rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or the Nasdaq Listing Rules, independent directors must comprise a majority of our board of directors as a listed company within one year of the listing date. In addition, the Nasdaq Listing Rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees be independent within twelve months from the date of listing. Audit committee members must also satisfy additional independence criteria, including those set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act, and compensation committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10C-1 under the Exchange Act. Under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of that company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In order to be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act, a member of an audit committee of a listed company may not, other than in his or her capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of directors, or any other board committee: (i) accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries, other than compensation for board service; or (ii) be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries. In order to be considered independent for purposes of Rule 10C-1 under of the Exchange Act, the board of directors must consider, for each member of a compensation committee of a listed company, all factors specifically relevant to determining whether a director has a relationship to such company which is material to that director’s ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a compensation committee member, including, but not limited to: the source of compensation of the director, including any consulting advisory or other compensatory fee paid by such company to the director, and whether the director is affiliated with the company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.
Our board of directors has undertaken a review of the independence of each director. Based on information provided by each director concerning her or his background, employment, and affiliations, including family relationships, our board of directors has determined that , and do not have relationships that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of these directors is “independent” as that term is defined under the Nasdaq Listing Rules. Our board of directors has determined that are not independent under applicable rules and regulations of the
SEC and the Nasdaq Listing Rules. In making these determinations, our board of directors considered the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our board of directors deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of our shares by each non-employee director and the transactions described in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions.”
Board Policies
In connection with this offering, we intend to adopt policies and procedures for director candidates for our nominating and corporate governance committee, which will provide that factors, such as a candidate’s character, judgment, skills, education, expertise, and absence of conflicts of interest should be considered in determining director candidates. Our priority in selection of board members will be identification of members who will further the interests of our stockholders through their established records of professional accomplishment, their ability to contribute positively to the collaborative culture among board members, and their knowledge of our business and understanding of the competitive landscape in which we operate and adherence to high ethical standards.
Board Leadership Structure and Board’s Role in Risk Oversight
Currently, the role of chair of our board of directors is separated from the role of chief executive officer. We believe that separating these positions allows our chief executive officer to focus on our day-to-day business, while allowing the chairman of our board to lead the board of directors in its fundamental role of providing advice to and independent oversight of management. Our board of directors recognizes the time, effort and energy that the chief executive officer is required to devote to her position in the current business environment, as well as the commitment required to serve as our chair of our board of directors, particularly as the board of directors’ oversight responsibilities continue to grow. While our amended and restated bylaws and corporate governance guidelines will not require that our board chair and chief executive officer positions be separate, our board of directors believes that having separate positions is the appropriate leadership structure for us at this time and demonstrates our commitment to good corporate governance. Our board of directors will adopt, effective prior to the completion of this offering, corporate governance guidelines that will provide that the board of directors may appoint a lead independent director. The lead independent director will be responsible for calling and presiding over separate meetings of the independent directors. The lead independent director will preside over periodic meetings of independent directors, serve as a liaison between the chair and the independent directors and perform such additional duties as the board of directors may otherwise determine and delegate.
Risk is inherent with every business, and how well a business manages risk can ultimately determine its success. We face a number of risks, including risks relating to our financial condition, development and commercialization activities, operations, strategic direction, and intellectual property as more fully discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors.” Management is responsible for the day-to-day management of risks we face, while our board of directors, as a whole and through its committees, has responsibility for the oversight of risk management. In its risk oversight role, our board of directors has the responsibility to satisfy itself that the risk management processes designed and implemented by management are adequate and functioning as designed.
The role of the board of directors in overseeing the management of our risks is conducted primarily through committees of the board of directors, as disclosed in the descriptions of each of the committees below and in the charters of each of the committees. The full board of directors (or the appropriate board committee in the case of risks that are under the purview of a particular committee) discusses with management our major risk exposures, their potential impact on us, and the steps we take to manage them. When a board committee is responsible for evaluating and overseeing the management of a particular risk or risks, the chairperson of the relevant committee reports on the discussion to the full board of directors during the committee reports portion of the next board meeting. This enables the board of directors and its committees to coordinate the risk oversight role, particularly with respect to risk interrelationships.
Committees of Our Board of Directors
Our board of directors will establish upon the completion of this offering an audit committee, a compensation committee, and a nominating and corporate governance committee. The composition and responsibilities of each of the committees of our board of directors are described below. Members serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by our board of directors. Each committee will operate under a written charter that satisfies the application rules and regulation of the SEC and the Nasdaq Listing Rules, which we will post to our website at www.avalynpharma.com upon the completion of this offering. Information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of this prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is only an inactive textual reference. Our board of directors may establish other committees as it deems necessary or appropriate from time to time.
Audit Committee
Upon the completion of this offering, our audit committee will consist of , and , and the chair of our audit committee will be . Our board of directors has determined that each member of the audit committee is independent under Nasdaq Listing Rules and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act and can read and understand fundamental financial statements in accordance with applicable requirements. Our board of directors has also determined that is an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations. In arriving at these determinations, our board of directors has examined each audit committee member’s scope of experience and the nature of their employment in the corporate finance sector.
The primary purpose of the audit committee will be to discharge the responsibilities of our board of directors with respect to our corporate accounting and financial reporting processes, systems of internal control and financial-statement audits, and to oversee our independent registered public accounting firm. Specific responsibilities of our audit committee will include:
•helping our board of directors oversee our corporate accounting and financial reporting processes;
•coordinating the oversight and reviewing the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting;
•managing the selection, engagement, qualifications, independence and performance of a qualified firm to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial statements;
•discussing the scope and results of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm, and reviewing, with management and the independent accountants, our interim and year-end operating results;
•developing procedures for employees to submit concerns anonymously about questionable accounting or audit matters;
•reviewing related person transactions;
•establishing insurance coverage for our officers and directors;
•overseeing the preparation of our annual proxy statement, reviewing with management our financial statements to be included in our quarterly reports to be filed with the SEC, and reviewing with management the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosures in our periodic reports filed with the SEC;
•approving, or, as permitted, pre-approving, audit and permissible non-audit services to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm; and
•reviewing our major risk exposures, including financial, operational, cybersecurity, competition, legal and regulatory exposures.
Our audit committee will operate under a written charter, which will be effective upon the completion of this offering, that satisfies the applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules.
Compensation Committee
Upon the completion of this offering, our compensation committee will consist of , and , and the chair of our compensation committee will be . Our board of directors has determined that each member of the compensation committee is independent under the Nasdaq Listing Rules and is a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.
The primary purpose of our compensation committee will be to discharge the responsibilities of our board of directors in overseeing our compensation policies, plans, and programs and to review and determine the compensation to be paid to our executive officers, directors, and other senior management, as appropriate. Specific responsibilities of our compensation committee will include:
•reviewing and approving the compensation of our chief executive officer, other executive officers, and senior management;
•reviewing and recommending to our board of directors the compensation paid to our directors;
•reviewing and approving the compensation arrangements with our executive officers and other senior management;
•administering our equity incentive plans and other benefit programs;
•reviewing, adopting, amending, and terminating incentive compensation and equity plans, severance agreements, profit sharing plans, bonus plans, change-of-control protections, and any other compensatory arrangements for our executive officers and other senior management;
•reviewing, evaluating and recommending to our board of directors succession plans for our executive officers; and
•reviewing and establishing general policies relating to compensation and benefits of our employees, including our overall compensation philosophy.
Our compensation committee will operate under a written charter, which will be effective upon the completion of this offering, that satisfies the applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the completion of this offering, our nominating and corporate governance committee will consist of , and , and the chair of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be . Our board of directors has determined that each member of the nominating and corporate governance committee is independent under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, a non-employee director, and free from any relationship that would interfere with the exercise of his or her independent judgment.
The primary purpose of the nominating and corporate governance committee will be to discharge the responsibilities of our board of directors with respect to our corporate governance functions and to identify, communicate with, evaluate and recommend candidates for our board of directors. Specific responsibilities of our nominating and corporate governance committee will include:
•identifying and evaluating candidates, including the nomination of incumbent directors for reelection and nominees recommended by stockholders, to serve on our board of directors;
•considering and making recommendations to our board of directors regarding the composition and chairmanship of the committees of our board of directors;
•instituting plans or programs for the continuing education of our board of directors and orientation of new directors;
•developing and making recommendations to our board of directors regarding corporate governance guidelines and matters; and
•overseeing periodic evaluations of the board of directors’ performance, including committees of the board of directors and management.
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will operate under a written charter, which will be effective upon the completion of this offering, that satisfies the applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
In connection with this offering, we intend to adopt a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all our employees, officers, and directors. This includes our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. The full text of our code of business conduct and ethics will be posted on our website at www.avalynpharma.com. We intend to disclose on our website any future amendments of our code of business conduct and ethics or waivers that exempt any principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, persons performing similar functions, or our directors from provisions in the code of business conduct and ethics. Information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of this prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is only an inactive textual reference.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of the members of the compensation committee is currently, or has been at any time, one of our officers or employees. None of our officers currently serves, or has served during the last calendar year, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our board of directors or compensation committee.
Compensation Recovery
In connection with this offering, we intend to adopt a compensation recovery policy that is compliant with the Nasdaq Listing Rules, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, to be effective in connection with the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification Agreements
As permitted by Delaware law, provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering and upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, respectively, limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors and officers for a breach of their fiduciary duty of care as a director or officer. The duty of care generally requires that, when acting on behalf of the corporation, a director and / or officer exercise an informed business judgment based on all material information reasonably available to him or her. Consequently, a director or officer will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages or breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, except for liability for:
•any breach of the director or officer’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;
•any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
•for our directors, unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL;
•for our officers, any derivative action by or in the right of the corporation; or
•any transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal benefit.
These limitations of liability do not limit or eliminate our rights or any stockholder’s rights to seek non-monetary relief, such as injunctive relief or rescission. These provisions will not alter a director or officer’s liability under other laws, such as the federal securities laws or other state or federal laws. Our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation that will become effective upon the closing of this offering also will authorize us to indemnify our officers, directors and other agents to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law.
As permitted by Delaware law, our amended and restated bylaws to be effective immediately upon effectiveness of the registration statement will provide that:
•we will indemnify our directors, officers, employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by law;
•we must advance expenses to our directors and officers, and may advance expenses to our employees and other agents, in connection with a legal proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by law; and
•the rights provided in our amended and restated bylaws are not exclusive.
If Delaware law is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director or officer, then the liability of our directors or officers will be so eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, as so amended. Our amended and restated bylaws will also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in connection with their services to us, regardless of whether our amended and restated bylaws permit such indemnification. We intend to obtain such insurance.
In addition to the indemnification that will be provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, we plan to enter into separate indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers, which may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the DGCL. These indemnification agreements may require us, among other things, to indemnify our directors and executive officers for some expenses, including attorneys’ fees, expenses, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by a director or executive officer in any action or proceeding arising out of his service as one of our directors or executive officers or any other company or enterprise to which the person provides services at our request. We believe that these provisions and agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.
This description of the indemnification provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and our indemnification agreements is qualified in its entirety by reference to these documents, each of which is attached as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is, therefore, unenforceable.
There is no pending litigation or proceeding naming any of our directors or officers as to which indemnification is being sought, nor are we aware of any pending or threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification by any director or officer.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that are based on our current plans, considerations, expectations and determinations regarding future compensation programs. The actual amount and form of compensation and the compensation policies and practices that we adopt in the future may differ materially from currently planned programs as summarized in this discussion.
As an emerging growth company, we have opted to comply with the executive compensation disclosure rules applicable to “smaller reporting companies” as such term is defined in the rules promulgated under the Securities Act. Our named executive officers, or NEOs, for the year ended December 31, 2025, which consist of our principal executive officer and our three most highly compensated executive officers (other than our Chief Executive Officer), are:
•Lyn Baranowski, our Chief Executive Officer;
•Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., our Chief Operating Officer; and
•Douglas Carlson, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer; and
•Howard Lazarus, M.D., our Chief Medical Officer.
2025 Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth information regarding compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to our NEOs for services rendered to us in all capacities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
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Name and principal position |
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Year |
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Salary ($) |
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Option awards ($)(1) |
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Non-equity incentive plan compensation ($)(2) |
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All other compensation ($)(3) |
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Total ($) |
Lyn Baranowski Chief Executive Officer |
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2025 |
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510,000 |
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1,252,225 |
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280,500 |
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14,000 |
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2,056,725 |
Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T. Chief Operating Officer |
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2025 |
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421,200 |
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332,268 |
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200,000 |
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14,000 |
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967,468 |
Douglas Carlson Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer |
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2025 |
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442,000 |
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249,900 |
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200,000 |
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14,000 |
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905,900 |
Howard Lazarus, M.D. Chief Medical Officer |
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2025 |
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457,600 |
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73,449 |
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195,853 |
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14,000 |
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740,902 |
(1)The amounts reported in this column represent the aggregate grant date fair value of stock options awarded to our NEOs in fiscal year 2025, calculated in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC Topic 718, disregarding estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting. For a discussion of the assumptions and methodologies used to calculate the amounts referred to above, please see the discussion of option awards contained in Note 11, Stock Based Compensation, to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The amounts reported in this column reflect the accounting value of the options and do not correspond to the actual economic value that may be received by our NEOs upon the exercise of the options or any sale of the underlying shares.
(2)The amounts reported represent the annual bonuses each NEO earned during the applicable fiscal year based on achievement of company performance and individual performance, which were paid in the first quarter of the following fiscal year. For fiscal year 2025, the amounts reported in this column represent the estimated amount of annual bonuses such NEOs are anticipated to earn for such fiscal year. The 2025 bonus amounts will be paid in March 2026. For more information on these bonuses, see a description of the annual performance bonuses under the section titled “Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table –Annual Cash Bonus Opportunities” below.
(3)The amounts reported reflect matching 401(k) contributions.
Narrative Disclosure to the Summary Compensation Table
Elements of Compensation
The compensation of our NEOs generally consists of three key elements: (i) base salary; (ii) annual cash bonus opportunities; and (iii) long-term incentive compensation in the form of equity awards.
Base Salaries
The base salary payable to each NEO is intended to provide a fixed component of compensation reflecting the executive’s skill set, experience, role, responsibilities, and contributions. Each NEO’s initial base salary was specified in his or her offer letter or employment agreement, as described below, and is reviewed (and, if applicable, adjusted) from time to time by our board of directors or compensation committee.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, the annual base salaries for Ms. Baranowski, Dr. Rhodes, Mr. Carlson, and Dr. Lazarus were $510,000, $421,200, $442,000, and $457,600, respectively. Effective January 1, 2026, the annual base salaries for Ms. Baranowski, Dr. Rhodes, Mr. Carlson, and Dr. Lazarus were increased to $531,300, $438,048, $459,680, and $471,328, respectively.
Annual Cash Bonus Opportunities
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, each of our NEOs was eligible to earn an annual bonus based on the Company’s achievement of certain performance objectives. The target annual bonus for Ms. Baranowski, Dr. Rhodes, Mr. Carlson, and Dr. Lazarus were 50%, 40%, 40%, and 40% of their respective base salaries.
The goals applicable to our NEOs’ 2025 annual cash bonuses related to the achievement of certain company and individual performance milestones. Following a review of 2025 performance, our compensation committee determined that we had achieved our 2025 corporate goals at 110% and approved 2025 cash incentive payments to Ms. Baranowski, Dr. Rhodes, Mr. Carlson, and Dr. Lazarus equal to 55%, 47%, 45%, and 43% of their respective base salaries, respectively.
Equity-based Compensation
Although we do not have a formal policy with respect to the grant of equity incentive awards to our executive officers, we believe that equity grants provide our executives with a strong link to our long-term performance, create an ownership culture and help to align the interests of our executives and our stockholders. In addition, we believe that equity grants promote executive retention because they incentivize our executive officers to remain in our employment during the vesting period.
Accordingly, our board of directors or our compensation committee periodically reviews the equity incentive compensation of our NEOs and may grant equity incentive awards to them from time to time. See “—Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End” for more information regarding equity awards made to our NEOs.
Perquisites/Personal Benefits
Perquisites or other personal benefits are not a significant component of our executive compensation program. Accordingly, we generally do not provide significant perquisites or other personal benefits to our executive officers, including our named executive officers.
401(k) Plan
We currently maintain a tax-qualified, safe harbor 401(k) plan for our employees, including our NEOs, who satisfy certain eligibility requirements. Our NEOs are eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan on the same terms as other full-time employees. Our 401(k) plan is intended to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 401(a) of the Code, and contains a cash or deferred feature that is intended to meet the requirements of Section 401(k) of the Code. We make safe harbor matching contributions equal to 100% of employees’ salary deferrals that do not exceed 4% of their annual salary up to the annual limit set by the IRS.
Compensation Recovery Policy
In accordance with the requirements of the SEC and Nasdaq Listing Rules, our board of directors plans to adopt a compensation recovery policy, which will become effective upon the date on which the registration statement of which this prospectus is part is declared effective by the SEC. The compensation recovery policy will provide that in the event we are required to prepare a restatement of financial statements due to material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement under securities laws, we will seek to recover any incentive-based compensation that was based upon the attainment of a financial reporting measure and that was received by any current or former executive officer during the three-year period preceding the date that the restatement was required if such compensation exceeds the amount that the executive officers would have received based on the restated financial statements.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The following table provides information regarding the outstanding equity awards held by our NEOs as of December 31, 2025. All awards were granted pursuant to the 2022 Plan. See “—Equity Incentive Plans—2022 Plan” below for additional information.
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Name and Principal Position |
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Grant Date |
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Vesting Start Date |
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Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options Exercisable (#)(1)(2) |
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Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options Unexercisable (#)(1)(2) |
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Option Exercise Price ($) |
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Option Expiration Date |
Lyn Baranowski Chief Executive Officer |
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11/18/2022 |
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10/1/2022 |
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3,905,146 |
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1,027,670 |
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0.37 |
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11/17/2032 |
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1/25/2024 |
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10/1/2022 |
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10,104,564 |
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2,659,097 |
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0.24 |
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1/24/2034 |
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9/11/2025 |
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5/29/2025 |
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- |
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8,058,312 |
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0.25 |
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9/10/2035 |
Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D, D.A.B.T Chief Operating Officer |
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1/25/2024 |
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9/11/2023 |
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1,990,853 |
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1,548,442 |
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0.24 |
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1/24/2034 |
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9/11/2025 |
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5/29/2025 |
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- |
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2,138,208 |
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0.25 |
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9/10/2035 |
Douglas Carlson Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer |
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6/11/2024 |
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5/1/2024 |
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2,060,251 |
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3,144,596 |
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0.24 |
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6/10/2034 |
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9/11/2025 |
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5/29/2025 |
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- |
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1,608,157 |
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0.25 |
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9/10/2035 |
Howard Lazarus, M.D. Chief Medical Officer |
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1/25/2024 9/11/2025 |
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8/07/2023 5/29/2025 |
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3,036,160 - |
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2,168,686 472,657 |
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0.24 0.25 |
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1/24/2034 9/10/2035 |
(1)The shares underlying each stock option vest as follows: 25% on the first anniversary of the vesting start date and the remaining 75% in 36 equal monthly installments thereafter. Vesting of the award requires continued employment through the applicable vesting date.
(2)In the event that the NEO is terminated by the Company without “cause” or by such NEO for “good reason” (each term, as defined in the applicable offer letter), together, a Qualifying Termination, in each case, during the period beginning 3 months prior to and ending 12 months following the Company’s consummation of an “acquisition” (as defined in the 2022 Plan), the vesting of all then-unvested shares of common stock shall accelerate in full and become immediately exercisable, subject to the NEO’s execution of a general release of claims in favor of the Company.
Employment Arrangements with our NEOs
We entered into employment offer letters with each of Ms. Baranowski, Dr. Rhodes, Mr. Carlson, and Dr. Lazarus, or collectively, the NEO Offer Letters. The NEO Offer Letters provide for each NEO’s at-will employment and set forth each NEO’s initial annual base salary, initial target annual bonus opportunity, and an initial equity incentive award in the form of stock options.
Each NEO Offer Letter provides that, in the event the applicable NEO experiences a Qualifying Termination, and subject to the NEO’s execution and delivery of a general release of claims in the Company’s favor, the NEO will be entitled to receive: (i) a lump-sum payment equal to (A) for Ms. Baranowski, Dr. Rhodes, Mr. Carlson, and Dr. Lazarus, 12 months, 9 months, 6 months, and 12 months, respectively, or each, the applicable Severance Period, of the NEO’s then-current base salary and (B) the NEO’s annual target bonus (which, in the case of Drs. Rhodes and Lazarus, will be prorated for the year in which the Qualifying Termination occurs); (ii) for Dr. Lazarus only, his annual bonus for the year prior in which the Qualifying Termination occurs; (iii) upon a timely election to enroll in COBRA, reimbursement of health insurance premiums for the NEO and the NEO’s dependents, as if the NEO remained employed with the Company through the earliest of (A) the end of the applicable Severance Period, (B) the date the NEO becomes eligible for health benefits under a subsequent employer’s health plan, or (C) the date the NEO ceases to be eligible for COBRA coverage; and (iv) an extension of the post-termination exercise period for vested option awards until the second anniversary of the NEO’s termination date, or collectively, the NEO Severance.
If the NEO experiences a Qualifying Termination during the period commencing three months prior to and 12 months following an Acquisition (as defined in the 2022 Plan), then, in addition to the NEO Severance and subject to the NEO’s execution and delivery of a general release of claims in the Company’s favor, the NEO will be entitled to receive (A) for Ms. Baranowski and Mr. Carlson only, payment equal to 1.5 times the COBRA health premium reimbursements as described in clause (ii) above (and, for the avoidance of doubt, this payment will be in lieu of (ii) above) and (B) accelerated vesting of all unvested shares subject to any outstanding stock options.
Senior Executive Cash Incentive Bonus Plan
On , 2026, our board of directors adopted the Senior Executive Cash Incentive Bonus Plan (the Bonus Plan). The Bonus Plan provides for cash bonus payments based upon company and individual performance targets established by our compensation committee. The payment targets will be related to financial and operational measures or objectives with respect to our company, or the corporate performance goals, as well as individual performance objectives.
Our compensation committee may select corporate performance goals from among the following: , any of which may be (A) measured in absolute terms, as compared to any incremental increase, (B) measured in terms of growth, as compared to results of a peer group, (C) measured against the market as a whole, compared to applicable market indices and/or measured on a pre-tax or post-tax basis.
Each executive officer who is selected to participate in the Bonus Plan will have a target bonus opportunity set for each performance period. The bonus formulas will be adopted in each performance period by the compensation committee and communicated to each executive. The corporate performance goals will be measured at the end of each performance period after our financial reports have been published or such other appropriate time as the compensation committee determines. If the corporate performance goals and individual performance objectives are met, payments will be made as soon as practicable following the end of each performance period. Subject to the rights contained in any agreement between the executive officer and us, an executive officer shall be required to be employed by us on the bonus payment date to be eligible to receive a bonus payment under the Bonus Plan. The Bonus Plan also permits the compensation committee to approve additional bonuses to executive officers in its sole discretion.
Equity Incentive Plans
2012 Equity Incentive Plan
The 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, or, as amended from time to time, the 2012 Plan, was approved by the Company’s Board and Stockholders and became effective for the Company in October 2012 and was subsequently amended in June 2015, March 2017, December 2022, November 2019 and April 2020 to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance thereunder. Under the 2012 Plan, as amended, we have reserved for issuance an aggregate of 14,434,936 shares of our common stock. These numbers are subject to adjustment in the event of a stock dividend, stock split, spin-off, recapitalization, or other similar equity restructuring. Our board of directors has determined not to issue any further awards under the 2012 Plan following the approval of the 2022 Plan. The following summary describes the material terms of the 2012 Plan. This summary is not a complete description of all provisions of the 2012 Plan and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the 2012 Plan, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
The shares of common stock underlying any awards that are expired, lapsed, terminated, surrendered, cancelled without having been fully exercised, or are forfeited in whole or in part (including repurchased by us at or below the original issuance price), and shares that are withheld upon exercise of an option or settlement of an award to cover the exercise price or tax withholding under our 2012 Plan were added back to the shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2012 Plan (and, following the approval of the 2022 Plan, are added back to the shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2022 Plan).
Our board of directors has acted as administrator of the 2012 Plan. The administrator has full power to, among other things, select, from among the individuals eligible for awards, determine the specific terms and conditions of each award, adopt, amend, and repeal rules as it deems advisable, and accelerate at any time the exercisability or vesting of any award, subject to the provisions of the 2012 Plan. Persons eligible to participate in our 2012 Plan are our employees, consultants and directors.
The 2012 Plan permits the granting of (1) options to purchase common stock intended to qualify as incentive stock options under Section 422 of the Code and (2) options that do not so qualify. The option exercise price of each option is determined by the administrator but may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the common stock on the date of grant or, in the case of an incentive stock option granted to an owner who owns more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock, the exercise price shall not be less than 110% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. The term of each option is fixed by the administrator and may not exceed ten years from the date of grant (or five years in the case of certain incentive stock option grants). The administrator determines at what time or times each option may be exercised.
The administrator of the 2012 Plan may award restricted shares of common stock and restricted stock units subject to such conditions and restrictions as it determines.
The administrator of the 2012 Plan may also grant other stock-based awards to be delivered in the future. The awards may be paid in shares of common stock, cash, or other forms of property, as determined by the administrator.
The awards under the 2012 Plan are subject to certain restrictions, including, without limitation, transfer restrictions, a lock-up period, and the Company’s right of first refusal.
In the event of certain equity restructuring, including stock dividend, stock split, spin-off, recapitalization or other similar change to the Company’s capital structure, the administrator of the 2012 Plan shall make appropriate adjustments to the maximum number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2012 Plan, the number and type of securities subject to outstanding awards under the 2012 Plan, the exercise price of any outstanding awards under the 2012 Plan and the terms and conditions of any awards.
The 2012 Plan provides that in the event of a “change in control” (as defined in the 2012 Plan), the administrator is authorized to take various actions, including, but not limited to: (i) canceling any award in exchange for cash or property, (ii) accelerating the vesting of any award, (iii) providing for the assumption or substitution of awards by the
successor entity, (iv) adjusting the number and type of shares subject to outstanding awards, (v) replacing the award with other rights or property selected by the administrator, and (vi) terminating the award. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a change in control occurs and the participant’s awards are not continued, converted, assumed or replaced with substantially similar awards by the Company or any successor entity or its affiliates, and provided that the participant continues services through such change in control, then immediately prior to the change in control, the outstanding and unvested awards shall become fully vested, exercisable and/or payable, as applicable, and all forfeiture, repurchase and other restrictions shall lapse.
Our board of directors may amend, suspend or terminate the 2012 Plan at any time, subject to stockholder approval where required by applicable law. The administrator of the 2012 Plan may also amend, modify or terminate any outstanding award. The participant’s consent to such action will be required unless (i) the administrator determines that the action would not materially and adversely affect the participant, or (ii) the change is permitted under the 2012 Plan.
No awards may be granted under our 2012 Plan after the date that is ten years from the date our 2012 Plan was adopted by our board of directors. As described above, our board of directors has determined not to issue any further awards under our 2012 Plan following the completion of this offering.
As of December 31, 2025, options to purchase up to 5,269,073 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $0.28 per share and 0 shares of restricted stock were outstanding under the 2012 Plan.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
The 2022 Plan was approved by the Company’s Board and Stockholders and became effective for the Company in February 2022 and was subsequently amended in November 2022, September 2023, April 2025 and January 2026 to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance thereunder. This summary is not a complete description of all provisions of the 2022 Plan and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the 2022 Plan, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
The 2022 Plan authorizes the award of both equity-based and cash-based incentive awards, including: (i) stock options (both incentive stock options and nonqualified stock options), (ii) stock appreciation rights, or SARs, (iii) restricted stock awards, and (iv) restricted stock units, or RSUs. Incentive stock options may be granted only to employees. All other types of awards may be issued to employees, directors and consultants, including employees and consultants of any parent or subsidiary.
Shares Subject to 2022 Plan. Under the 2022 Plan, as amended, we have reserved for issuance an aggregate of 74,840,074 shares of our common stock. These numbers are subject to adjustment in the event of a stock dividend, stock split, spin-off, recapitalization, or other similar equity restructuring. The shares of common stock underlying any awards under the 2022 Plan and the 2012 Plan that are expired, lapsed, terminated, surrendered, cancelled, or is forfeited in whole or in part (including repurchased by us), and shares that are withheld upon exercise of an option or settlement of an award to cover the exercise price or tax withholding are currently added back to the shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2012 Plan (and, following closing of this offering, will be added back to the shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2026 Plan).
Administration. Our board or a duly authorized committee of our board administers our 2022 Plan and the awards granted under it. Under our 2022 Plan, the administrator has the authority to, among other things, determine who will be granted stock awards, to determine the terms and conditions of each stock award (including the number of shares subject to the stock award, when the stock award will vest and, as applicable, become exercisable), to accelerate the time(s) at which a stock award may vest or be exercised, and to construe and interpret the terms of our 2022 Plan and stock awards granted thereunder.
Options. The 2022 Plan permits the granting of (1) options to purchase common stock intended to qualify as incentive stock options under Section 422 of the Code and (2) options that do not so qualify. The option exercise price of each option is determined by the administrator but may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the
common stock on the date of grant or, in the case of an incentive stock option granted to an owner who owns more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock, the exercise price shall not be less than 110% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. The term of each option is fixed by the administrator and may not exceed ten years from the date of grant (or five years in the case of certain incentive stock option grants). The administrator determines at what time or times each option may be exercised.
Adjustment of Shares. In the event there is a specified type of change in our capital structure, such as a stock split, reverse stock split, or recapitalization, proportionate adjustments will be made to (i) the class and maximum number of shares reserved for issuance under our 2022 Plan, and (ii) the class and number of shares and exercise price or purchase price, if applicable, of all outstanding stock awards.
Corporate Transactions. Our 2022 Plan provides that in the event of an acquisition or other combination (such terms as defined under our 2022 Plan), stock awards outstanding under our 2022 Plan will be treated as provided in the agreement evidencing such acquisition or other combination, which may provide for one or more of the following: (i) continuation of outstanding stock awards, if we are the successor entity; (ii) assumption or substitution of outstanding stock awards by the successor or acquiring entity in accordance with the terms of the 2022 Plan; (iii) the full or partial exercisability or vesting and accelerated expiration of outstanding stock awards; (iv) the settlement of the fair market value of such stock awards (whether or not then vested or exercisable) in cash, cash equivalents, or securities of the successor entity (or its parent if any) (or the cancellation without consideration of any awards without value); or (v) the termination of outstanding stock awards, without the payment of any consideration that are not exercised upon or prior to the acquisition or other combination within such time specified by the administrator. Immediately following an acquisition or other combination, outstanding stock awards will terminate and cease to be outstanding, except to the extent such stock awards, have been continued, assumed or substituted, as described above.
Repricing Without Stockholder Approval. Our board of directors or our compensation committee may, without obtaining prior approval of our stockholders, reprice options or stock appreciation rights (and where such repricing is a reduction in the exercise price of outstanding options or stock appreciation rights, the consent of the affected participant is not required as long as we provide written notice to them).
Transferability. Except for certain estate planning transfers authorized by the compensation committee, awards granted under the 2022 Plan are generally nontransferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution.
Plan Amendment or Termination. Our board has the authority to terminate or amend our 2022 Plan at any time, except any amendment of our 2022 Plan will be subject to stockholder approval if required by applicable law. The termination or amendment of our 2022 Plan will not affect any share previously issued or any stock award previously granted under our 2022 Plan. As described above, our 2022 Plan will be terminated upon the effective date of the 2026 Plan and no future awards will be granted under the 2022 Plan following such termination.
Our board of directors has determined not to issue any further awards under the 2022 Plan following closing of this offering, but all outstanding awards under the 2022 Plan will continue to be governed by their existing terms. In connection with this offering, we intend to adopt a new incentive equity plan under which we will grant equity-based awards following this offering, as described below under “2026 Equity Incentive Plan.”
As of December 31, 2025, options to purchase up to 73,410,032 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $0.25 per share and 0 shares of restricted stock were outstanding under the 2022 Plan.
2026 Equity Incentive Plan
The 2026 Plan was adopted by our board of directors on 2026, approved by our stockholders on , 2026 and will become effective on the date immediately preceding the date on which the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part is declared effective by the SEC. The 2026 Plan will allow us to make equity-based and cash-based incentive awards to our officers, employees, directors, and consultants. The following summary describes the material terms of the 2026 Plan. This summary is not a complete description of all provisions of the 2026
Plan and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the 2026 Plan, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Authorized Shares. We have initially reserved shares of our common stock for the issuance of awards under the 2026 Plan, or the Initial Limit. The 2026 Plan provides that the number of shares reserved and available for issuance under the 2026 Plan will automatically increase on January 1, 2027 and each January thereafter during the term of the 2026 Plan, by % of the outstanding number of shares of our common stock on the immediately preceding December 31 (including, for this purpose, shares underlying any outstanding prefunded warrants) or such lesser number of shares as determined by our compensation committee, or the Annual Increase. The number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2026 Plan will be subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split, stock dividend, or other change in our capitalization.
The shares we issue under the 2026 Plan will be authorized but unissued shares or shares that we reacquire. The shares of common stock underlying any awards under the 2026 Plan, the 2022 Plan, and the 2012 Plan that are forfeited, cancelled, held back upon exercise or settlement of an award to satisfy the exercise price or tax withholding, reacquired by us prior to vesting, satisfied without the issuance of stock, expire, or are otherwise terminated (other than by exercise) will be added back to the shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2026 Plan. The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued pursuant to incentive stock options shall not exceed the Initial Limit, cumulatively increased on January 1, 2027 and on each January 1 thereafter by the lesser of the Annual Increase for such year or shares of common stock.
Non-Employee Director Limit. The grant date fair value of all awards under the 2026 Plan and all other cash compensation paid by us to any non-employee director during any one calendar year for services as a non-employee director may not exceed $ ; provided, however, that such amount shall be $ for the calendar year in which the applicable non-employee director is initially elected or appointed to our board of directors.
Plan Administration. The 2026 Plan will be administered by our compensation committee. Our compensation committee will have full power to select, from among the individuals eligible for awards, the individuals to whom awards will be granted and the number of shares subject to such awards, to make any combination of awards to participants, to accelerate at any time the exercisability or vesting of any award, and to determine the specific terms and conditions of each award, subject to the provisions of the 2026 Plan. The compensation committee is specifically authorized to exercise its discretion to reduce the exercise price of outstanding stock options and stock appreciation rights or effect the repricing of such awards through cancellation and re-grants without stockholder consent.
Eligibility. Persons eligible to participate in the 2026 Plan will be those employees, non-employee directors, and consultants selected from time to time by our compensation committee in its discretion.
Stock Options. The 2026 Plan permits the granting of both options to purchase common stock intended to qualify as incentive stock options under Section 422 of the Code and options that do not so qualify. The option exercise price of each option will be determined by our compensation committee but may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant unless the option (i) is granted pursuant to a transaction described in and in a manner consistent with, Section 424(a) of the Code, (ii) is granted to an individual who is not subject to United States income tax, or (iii) complies with or is exempt from Section 409A of the Code. The term of each option will be fixed by our compensation committee and may not exceed ten years from the date of grant (or five years in the case of certain incentive stock options). Our compensation committee will determine at what time or times each option may be exercised.
Stock Appreciation Rights. Our compensation committee may award stock appreciation rights under the 2026 Plan subject to such conditions and restrictions as it determines. Stock appreciation rights entitle the recipient to shares of common stock, or cash, equal to the value of the appreciation in our stock price over the exercise price. The exercise price of each stock appreciation right may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant unless the stock appreciation right (i) is granted pursuant to a transaction described in, and in a manner consistent with, Section 424(a) of the Code, (ii) is granted to an individual who is not subject to United States income tax, or (iii) complies with or is exempt from Section 409A of the Code. The term of each stock appreciation right will
be fixed by our compensation committee and may not exceed ten years from the date of grant. Our compensation committee will determine at what time or times each stock appreciation right may be exercised.
Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units. Our compensation committee may award restricted shares of common stock and restricted stock units to participants subject to such conditions and restrictions as it determines. These conditions and restrictions may include the achievement of certain performance goals and/or continued employment or other service relationship with us through a specified vesting period.
Unrestricted Stock Awards. Our compensation committee may grant shares of common stock that are free from any restrictions under the 2026 Plan. Unrestricted stock may be granted to participants in recognition of past services or for other valid consideration and may be issued in lieu of cash compensation due to such participant.
Dividend Equivalent Rights. Our compensation committee may grant dividend equivalent rights to participants that entitle the recipient to receive credits for dividends that would be paid if the recipient had held a specified number of shares of common stock.
Cash-Based Awards. Our compensation committee may grant cash bonuses under the 2026 Plan to participants, subject to the achievement of certain performance goals.
Sale Event. The 2026 Plan provides that, upon the effectiveness of a “sale event” (as defined in the 2026 Plan), an acquirer or successor entity may assume, continue, or substitute outstanding awards under the 2026 Plan. To the extent that awards granted under the 2026 Plan are not assumed, continued, or substituted by the successor entity, the 2026 Plan and all awards granted under the 2026 Plan will terminate. In such case, except as may be otherwise provided in the relevant award agreement, all awards with time-based vesting, conditions, or restrictions will become fully vested and exercisable or nonforfeitable as of the effective time of the sale event and all awards with conditions and restrictions relating to the attainment of performance goals may become vested and exercisable or nonforfeitable in connection with the sale event in the plan administrator’s discretion or to the extent specified in the relevant award agreement. In the event of such termination, (i) individuals holding options and stock appreciation rights will be permitted to exercise any options and stock appreciation rights (to the extent exercisable) within a specified time period, as determined by the compensation committee, prior to the sale event or (ii) we may make or provide for a payment, in cash or in kind, to participants holding vested and exercisable options and stock appreciation rights equal to the difference between the per share consideration payable to stockholders in the sale event and the exercise price of the options or stock appreciation rights; provided, that any options or stock appreciation rights with exercise prices equal to or greater than such per share consideration will be cancelled for no consideration. In addition, we may make or provide for a payment, in cash or in kind, to the participants holding other awards in an amount equal to the per share consideration payable to stockholders in the sale event multiplied by the number of vested shares of common stock under such awards.
Amendment. Our board of directors may amend or discontinue the 2026 Plan and our compensation committee may amend or cancel outstanding awards for purposes of satisfying changes in law or any other lawful purpose, but no such action may materially and adversely affect rights under an award without the holder’s consent. Certain amendments to the 2026 Plan require the approval of our stockholders. The compensation committee is specifically authorized to exercise its discretion to reduce the exercise price of outstanding stock options and stock appreciation rights or effect the repricing of such awards through cancellation and re-grants without stockholder consent.
No awards may be granted under the 2026 Plan after the date that is ten years from the effective date of the 2026 Plan. No awards have been made under the 2026 Plan prior to the date hereof.
2026 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The ESPP was adopted by our board of directors on , 2026, approved by our stockholders on , 2026, and will become effective on the date immediately preceding the date on which the registration statement of which this prospectus is part is declared effective by the SEC. The ESPP has two components: a component intended to qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” within the meaning of Section 423 of the Code, or the 423 Component, and a component that is not intended to so qualify, or the Non-423 Component. Except as otherwise provided, the Non-423 Component will be operated and administered in the same manner as the 423 Component, except where prohibited by law. The following summary describes the material terms of the ESPP. This summary is not a complete description of all provisions of the ESPP and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the ESPP, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Authorized Shares. The ESPP initially reserves and authorizes the issuance of up to a total of shares of our common stock to participating employees. The ESPP provides that the number of shares reserved and available for issuance will automatically increase on January 1, 2027 and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2036, by the least of (i) % of the outstanding number of shares of our common stock on the immediately preceding December 31 (including, for this purpose, shares underlying any outstanding prefunded warrants), (ii) shares of common stock, or (iii) such number of shares of common stock as determined by the administrator of the ESPP. The number of shares reserved under the ESPP is subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split, stock dividend, or other change in our capitalization.
Eligibility. All individuals classified as employees on the payroll records of the Company or a “designated company” (as defined in the ESPP) as of the first day of the applicable offering period are eligible to participate in the ESPP, provided that the ESPP administrator may determine in advance of an offering that employees are eligible only if, as of the first day of the offering, they (a) are customarily employed by us or a designated company for more than 20 hours a week (or such lesser amount determined by the ESPP administrator), (b) are customarily employed by us or a designated company for more than five months per calendar year, (c) have completed a minimum period of employment as determined by the ESPP administrator, provided such service requirement does not exceed two years of employment, and/or (d) they are not highly compensated employees. However, any employee who owns, or as a result of participation in the ESPP would own or hold, 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of our stock will not be eligible to purchase shares of common stock under the ESPP.
Offerings. We may make one or more offerings each year to our employees to purchase shares of our common stock under the ESPP, each of which may consist of one or more purchase periods. Offerings will begin and end on the dates determined by the ESPP administrator, except that no offering will exceed 27 months in duration. Each eligible employee may elect to participate in any offering by submitting an enrollment form by the deadline established by the ESPP administrator.
Each employee who is a participant in the ESPP may purchase shares by authorizing payroll deductions at a minimum of % and up to a maximum of % of such participant’s eligible compensation during an offering period (or such other minimum and maximum as determined by the administrator in advance of an offering). Unless the participating employee has previously withdrawn from the offering, such participant’s accumulated payroll deductions will be used to purchase shares of our common stock on the last day of each purchase period at a price equal to 85% of the fair market value of the shares on the first day or the last day of the purchase period, whichever is lower, provided that no more than the number of shares of common stock determined by dividing $25,000 by the fair market value of our common stock on the first day of such offering period (or such other maximum number of shares as may be established by the administrator) may be purchased by any one employee during any purchase period. Under applicable tax rules, an employee may purchase no more than $25,000 worth of shares of our common stock, valued at the start of the offering period, under the ESPP for each calendar year during which any option granted to the employee is outstanding at any time.
The accumulated payroll deductions of any employee who is not a participant on the last day of an offering period will be refunded. An employee’s rights under the ESPP terminate upon voluntary withdrawal from the plan or when the employee ceases employment with us for any reason.
Sale Event. In the case of and subject to the consummation of a “sale event” (as defined in the ESPP), the administrator of the ESPP, in its discretion, and on such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate, is authorized to take any one or more of the following actions under the ESPP or with respect to any right under the ESPP to facilitate such transactions or events: (i) provide for either (A) termination of any outstanding option in exchange for an amount of cash, if any, equal to the amount that would have been obtained upon the exercise of such option had such option been currently exercisable or (B) the replacement of such outstanding option with other options or property selected by the administrator of the ESPP in its sole discretion; (ii) provide that the outstanding options under the ESPP shall be assumed by the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, or shall be substituted for similar options covering the stock of the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of shares and prices; (iii) make adjustments in the number and type of shares of common stock (or other securities or property) subject to outstanding options under the ESPP and/or in terms and conditions of outstanding options and options that may be granted in the future; (iv) provide that the offering with respect to which an option relates will be shortened by setting a new exercise date on which such offering period will end; and (v) provide that all outstanding options shall terminate without being exercised and all amounts in the accounts of participants shall be promptly refunded.
Amendment. The ESPP may be terminated or amended by our board of directors at any time. An amendment that increases the number of shares of our common stock authorized under the ESPP and certain other amendments require the approval of our stockholders.
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
2025 Director Compensation Table
The following table presents the compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to each person who served as a non-employee member of our board of directors for their services to us during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. During fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, Ms. Baranowski served as a member of our board of directors and received no additional compensation for her service as a member of our board of directors. The compensation for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 received by Ms. Baranowski as our Chief Executive Officer is presented in the “2025 Summary Compensation Table” above.
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Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($)(1) |
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Option Awards ($) |
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Total ($) |
Name |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D. |
|
- |
|
- |
(2) |
|
- |
Scott A. Beardsley |
|
- |
|
- |
(2) |
|
- |
Jill Carroll |
|
- |
|
- |
(2) |
|
- |
David Friedman, M.D. |
|
- |
|
- |
(2) |
|
- |
Gianna Hoffman-Luca, Ph.D. |
|
- |
|
- |
(2) |
|
- |
Erin Lavelle |
|
25,000 |
|
- |
(3) |
|
25,000 |
Jonathan Leff, M.D |
|
30,000 |
|
- |
(4) |
|
30,000 |
Ketan Patel, MD. |
|
- |
|
- |
(2) |
|
- |
Heather Turner |
|
40,000 |
|
- |
(5) |
|
40,000 |
(1)The amounts reported represent the fees each director received for their services to our board of directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
(2)As of December 31, 2025, Dr. Aynechi, Mr. Beardsley, Ms. Carroll, Dr. Friedman, Dr. Hoffman-Luca and Dr. Patel did not hold any outstanding equity.
(3)As of December 31, 2025, Ms. Lavelle held outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 845,267 shares of our common stock under our 2022 Plan, and did not hold any other unvested stock awards.
(4)As of December 31, 2025, Mr. Leff held outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of (i) 236,002 shares of our common stock under our 2012 Plan and (ii) 609,265 shares of our common stock under our 2022 Plan, and did not hold any other unvested stock awards.
(5)As of December 31, 2025, Ms. Turner held outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 1,249,163 shares of our common stock under our 2022 Plan, and did not hold any other unvested stock awards.
Director Offer Letters
We entered into director offer letters with each of Ms. Lavelle and Ms. Turner, pursuant to which each serves as a member of our board of directors. In accordance with the offer letters, we granted initial option awards to each of Ms. Lavelle and Ms. Turner, which vest in eight quarterly installments over a two-year period following the grant date, subject to the applicable director’s continuous service with us through each applicable vesting date. In addition, Ms. Turner is entitled to an annual cash retainer of $40,000 for her role as chair of the board of directors and Ms. Lavelle is entitled to an annual cash retainer of $25,000 for her role as a member of our board of directors and chair
of the audit committee, in each case, payable in arrears, as well as reimbursement for reasonable travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Ms. Turner for her attendance at meetings of our board of directors.
Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy
In connection with this offering, we intend to adopt a new non-employee director compensation policy that will become effective upon the completion of this offering and is designed to enable us to attract and retain, on a long-term basis, highly qualified non-employee directors. Under the policy, each director who is not an employee will be paid cash compensation from and after the completion of this offering, as set forth below, which amounts will be payable quarterly in arrears and prorated for partial years of service:
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Board of Directors: |
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Annual Retainer |
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Members |
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$ |
|
|
Additional retainer for non-executive chair |
|
$ |
|
|
Additional retainer for lead independent director |
|
$ |
|
|
Audit Committee: |
|
|
|
|
Members (other than chair) |
|
$ |
|
|
Retainer for chair |
|
$ |
|
|
Compensation Committee: |
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|
|
|
Members (other than chair) |
|
$ |
|
|
Retainer for chair |
|
$ |
|
|
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee: |
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|
|
|
Members (other than chair) |
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$ |
|
|
Retainer for chair |
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$ |
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|
In addition, the non-employee director compensation policy will provide that, upon initial election to our board of directors, each non-employee director will be granted an option to purchase shares of our common stock, or the Initial Grant. The Initial Grant will vest in equal monthly installments over three years following the grant date, subject to continued service as a director through the applicable vesting date.
Furthermore, on the date of each annual meeting of stockholders following the completion of this offering, each non-employee director who continues as a non-employee director following such meeting will be granted an option to purchase shares of our common stock, or the Annual Grant. The Annual Grant will vest in full upon the earlier of (i) the first anniversary of the date of grant or (ii) the date of the next annual meeting of stockholders, subject to continued service through the applicable vesting date. The Initial Grant and the Annual Grant are subject to full accelerated vesting upon the sale of the company.
The aggregate amount of compensation, including both equity compensation and cash compensation, paid to any non-employee director for service as a non-employee director in a calendar year period will not exceed $ (or $ for the calendar year in which the applicable non-employee director is initially elected or appointed to our board of directors).
We will reimburse all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by non-employee directors in attending meetings of the board of directors and committees thereof.
In addition to the compensation arrangements, including employment, termination of employment and change in control arrangements, and indemnification arrangements discussed, when required, in the sections titled “Management,” “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation” and the registration rights described in the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights,” the following is a description of all transactions since January 1, 2023 and each currently proposed transaction in which:
•we have been or are to be a participant;
•the amounts involved exceeded or will exceed the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years; and
•any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% or more of our outstanding capital stock, or any immediate family member of, or person sharing the household with, any of these individuals or entities or affiliated entities, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.
Series C Preferred Stock Financing
In September 2023 and January 2024, we issued and sold to certain investors an aggregate of 239,016,017 shares of Series C-1 convertible preferred stock at a price per share of $0.7323, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $175.0 million, and issued an aggregate of 24,207,788 shares of Series C-2 convertible preferred stock upon conversion of outstanding convertible notes. Each outstanding share of Series C-1 convertible preferred stock and Series C-2 convertible preferred stock will convert into one share of common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering. The following table summarizes the shares of our Series C-1 convertible preferred stock and Series C-2 convertible preferred stock issued to our related parties:
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Purchasers (1) |
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Series C-1 Convertible Preferred Stock |
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|
Total Purchase Price |
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Series C-2 Convertible Preferred Stock |
|
|
Total Convertible Note Amount |
F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP (2) |
|
16,795,477 |
|
$ |
12,299,999 |
|
4,345,612 |
|
$ |
2,545,964 |
Mutual Fund Series Trust, on behalf of Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund (3) |
|
20,482,289 |
|
$ |
14,999,999 |
|
- |
|
|
- |
Norwest Venture Partners XV, LP (4) |
|
17,751,317 |
|
$ |
12,999,999 |
|
3,554,116 |
|
$ |
2,082,250 |
Novo Holdings A/S (5) |
|
25,899,284 |
|
$ |
18,967,081 |
|
5,587,603 |
|
$ |
3,273,609 |
Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, LP (6) |
|
34,137,149 |
|
$ |
24,999,999 |
|
- |
|
|
- |
SR One Capital Fund II Aggregator, LP (7) |
|
27,309,719 |
|
$ |
19,999,999 |
|
- |
|
|
- |
AMZL, LP (7) |
|
6,827,429 |
|
$ |
4,999,999 |
|
- |
|
|
- |
Vida Ventures III, LP (8) |
|
20,435,180 |
|
$ |
14,965,499 |
|
- |
|
|
- |
Vida Ventures III-A, LP (8) |
|
47,109 |
|
$ |
34,499 |
|
- |
|
|
- |
Wellington Biomedical Innovation Master Investors (Cayman) II L.P. (9) |
|
20,482,289 |
|
$ |
14,999,999 |
|
- |
|
|
|
(1)Additional details regarding these stockholders and their equity holdings are included in the section titled “Principal Stockholders.”
(2)F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP, or F-Prime, beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Ketan Patel, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of F-Prime and is a Managing Partner at F-Prime Capital.
(3)Mutual Fund Series Trust, on behalf of Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund, beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
(4)Norwest Venture Partners XV, LP, or Norwest, beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Tiba Aynechi, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of Norwest and is a General Partner at Norwest.
(5)Novo Holdings A/S, or Novo, beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
(6)Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, LP, or Perceptive, beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Gianna Hoffman-Luca, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of Perceptive and is a Partner at Perceptive Advisors, LLC.
(7)SR One Capital Fund II Aggregator, LP, or SR One, and AMZL, LP beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Jill Carroll, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of SR One and is a partner of SR One Capital Management, LP.
(8)Vida Ventures III, LP and Vida Ventures III-A, LP collectively beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
(9)Wellington Biomedical Innovation Master Investors (Cayman) II L.P. beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
Series D Convertible Preferred Stock Financing
In April 2025, June 2025, and July 2025, we issued and sold to certain investors an aggregate of 126,036,334 shares of Series D convertible preferred stock at a price per share of $0.7963, for an aggregate purchase price of $100.4 million. Each outstanding share of Series D convertible preferred stock will convert into one share of common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering. The following table summarizes the shares of our Series D convertible preferred stock issued to our related parties:
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|
|
|
|
Purchasers (1) |
|
Series D Convertible Preferred Stock |
|
Total Purchase Price |
F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP (2) |
|
7,272,371 |
$ |
5,790,989 |
Mutual Fund Series Trust, on behalf of Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund (3) |
|
4,060,259 |
$ |
3,233,184 |
Norwest Venture Partners XV, LP (4) |
|
6,743,517 |
$ |
5,369,862 |
Novo Holdings A/S (5) |
|
12,558,081 |
$ |
9,999,999 |
Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, LP (6) |
|
9,162,385 |
$ |
7,296,007 |
SR One Capital Fund II Aggregator, LP (7) |
|
9,418,561 |
$ |
7,500,000 |
AMZL, LP (7) |
|
9,418,560 |
$ |
|
Vida Ventures III, LP (8) |
|
4,050,920 |
$ |
3,225,747 |
Vida Ventures III-A, LP (8) |
|
9,339 |
$ |
7,436 |
Wellington Biomedical Innovation Master Investors (Cayman) II L.P. (9) |
|
4,060,259 |
$ |
3,233,184 |
(1)Additional details regarding these stockholders and their equity holdings are included in the section titled “Principal Stockholders.”
(2)F-Prime beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Ketan Patel, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of F-Prime and is a Managing Partner at F-Prime Capital.
(3)Mutual Fund Series Trust, on behalf of Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund, beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
(4)Norwest beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Tiba Aynechi, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of Norwest and is a General Partner at Norwest.
(5)Novo beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
(6)Perceptive beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Gianna Hoffman-Luca, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of Perceptive and is a Partner at Perceptive Advisors, LLC.
(7)SR One and AMZL, LP beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. Jill Carroll, a member of our board of directors, was appointed to our board of directors as a representative of SR One and is a partner of SR One Capital Management, LP.
(8)Vida Ventures III, LP and Vida Ventures III-A, LP collectively beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
(9)Wellington Biomedical Innovation Master Investors (Cayman) II L.P. beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock.
Consulting and Other Arrangements
Agreements with Bruce Montgomery, M.D.
In January 2025, we entered into an option cancellation and replacement agreement and warrant agreement with Bruce Montgomery, M.D., our former Chief Executive Officer, to exchange options to purchase 4,935,717 shares of our common stock for a warrant to purchase 4,287,641 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.29, with an aggregate value of $1,243,415.89. In October 2023, we entered into an advisory agreement with Dr. Montgomery, as amended in January 2025. Pursuant to the advisory agreement, Dr. Montgomery’s equity continued to vest and we are obligated to pay Dr. Montgomery an hourly rate for his services. As of the year ended December 31, 2025, we have paid Dr. Montgomery $133,800 pursuant to the advisor agreement. This agreement can be terminated by either party at any time.
Separation Agreement with Mark Surber
In January 2024, we entered into a transition and separation agreement with Mark Surber, one of our founders and former chief scientific officer, pursuant to which, among other things, Mr. Surber’s equity would continue to vest for an additional period of time and we agreed to continue to pay Mr. Surber compensation for transition services through the earlier of June 2024, an earlier date of termination pursuant to the terms of the agreement or such date as may be agreed to by the parties. We paid Mr. Surber an aggregate of $513,246 pursuant to such agreement.
Agreements with Stockholders
In connection with our Series C and Series D convertible preferred stock financings, we entered into investors’ rights, voting and right of first refusal and co-sale agreements containing registration rights and information rights, among other things, with certain holders of our preferred stock and certain holders of our common stock, including holders of more than 5% of our capital stock and entities with which certain of our directors or officers are affiliated. These agreements will terminate upon the closing of this offering, except for the registration rights granted under our amended and restated investors’ rights agreement, as more fully described in “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights.”
Management Rights and Side Letters
In connection with the initial issuance and sale of our convertible preferred stock, we entered into management rights and side letters with certain purchasers of our convertible preferred stock, including holders of more than 5% of our capital stock and entities with which certain of our directors or officers are affiliated, pursuant to which such entities were granted certain management rights, among other things, including the right to consult with and advise our management on significant business issues, review our operating plans, examine our books and records and inspect our facilities. These management rights letters will terminate upon completion of this offering.
Employment and Benefit Arrangements
We have entered into offer letter or employment agreements with our executive officers as more fully described in the section titled “Executive Compensation.”
Equity Grants
We have granted options to purchase shares of our common stock to certain of our executive officers and directors. For more information regarding the options granted to our executive officers and directors, see the sections titled “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation.”
Indemnification Agreements
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions limiting the liability of directors and officers, and our amended and restated bylaws will provide that we will indemnify each of our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will also provide our board of directors with discretion to indemnify our employees and other agents when determined appropriate by our board of directors. In addition, we have entered into or intend to enter into an indemnification agreement with each of our directors and executive officers, which will require us to indemnify them. For more information regarding these agreements, see the section titled “Management—Limitations on Liability and Indemnification Agreements.”
Directed Share Program
At our request, the underwriters have reserved for sale, at the initial public offering price, up to approximately shares of our common stock being offered hereby (approximately %) for directors, executive officers, employees and business associates. The directed share program will not limit the ability of our directors, officers and their family members, or holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, to purchase more than $120,000 in value of our common stock. We do not currently know the extent to which these related persons will participate in our directed share program, if at all, or the extent to which they will purchase more than $120,000 in value of our common stock.
Policies and Procedures for Transactions with Related Persons
Prior to completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a written policy that our executive officers, directors, nominees for election as a director, beneficial owners of more than 5% of any series of our common stock, and any members of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons are not permitted to enter into a related person transaction with us without the approval or ratification of our board of directors or our audit committee. Any request for us to enter into a transaction with an executive officer, director, nominee for election as a director, beneficial owner of more than 5% of any series of our common stock, or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 (or, if less, 1% of the average of our total assets in a fiscal year) and such person would have a direct or indirect interest, must be presented to our board of directors or our audit committee for review, consideration, and approval. In approving or rejecting any such proposal, our board of directors or our audit committee is to consider the material facts of the transaction, including whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third party under the same or similar circumstances and the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction.
PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our capital stock as of , 2026 by:
•each person, or group of affiliated persons, known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our common stock;
•each of our named executive officers; and
•all of our current executive officers and directors as a group.
We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares of common stock as to which the individual or entity has sole or shared voting power or investment power. Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge the persons and entities named in the table have sole voting and sole investment power with respect to all shares that they beneficially owned, subject to community property laws where applicable. We have deemed shares of common stock subject to options that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of to be outstanding and to be beneficially owned by the person holding the option for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of that person but have not treated them as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.
Applicable percentage ownership before the offering is based on an aggregate of shares of common stock deemed to be outstanding as of , after giving effect to the Preferred Stock Conversion.
Applicable percentage ownership after the offering is based on shares of common stock assumed to be outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering (assuming the sale of shares of common stock in this offering based on an initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares).
The following table does not reflect any shares of common stock that may be purchased pursuant to our directed share program described under “Underwriting—Directed Share Program.” If any shares are purchased by our existing principal stockholders, directors or their affiliated entities, the number and percentage of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by them after this offering will differ from those set forth in the following table.
Unless otherwise indicated, the address for each beneficial owner listed in the table below is c/o Avalyn Pharma Inc., 105 W First Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02127.
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Percentage of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Name of Beneficial Owner |
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Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
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Before Offering |
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After Offering |
5% or Greater Shareholders: |
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F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP (1) |
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Mutual Fund Series Trust, on behalf of Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund |
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Norwest Venture Partners XV, LP (2) |
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Novo Holdings A/S (3) |
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Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, LP |
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Entities affiliated with SR One Capital (4) |
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Entities affiliated with Vida Ventures |
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Wellington Biomedical Innovation Master Investors (Cayman) II L.P. |
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Named Executive Officers and Directors: |
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Lyn Baranowski, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
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Douglas Carlson, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer |
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Melissa Rhodes, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., Chief Operating Officer |
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Howard Lazarus, M.D., Chief Medical Officer |
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Heather Turner |
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Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D. |
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Jill Carroll |
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David Friedman, M.D. |
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Gianna Hoffman-Luca, Ph.D. |
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Erin Lavelle |
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Jonathan Leff, M.D. |
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Ketan Patel, M.D. |
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All executive officers and directors as a group (12 persons) |
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* Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%.
(1) Consists of (i) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series A preferred stock held by F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP, or F-Prime, (ii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series B preferred stock held by F-Prime, (iii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-1 preferred stock held by F-Prime, (iv) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-2 preferred stock held by F-Prime, and (v) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series D preferred stock held by F-Prime. F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Advisors Fund V LP is the general partner of F-Prime. F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Advisors Fund V LP is solely managed by Impresa Management LLC, the managing member of its general partner and its investment manager. Impresa Management LLC is owned, directly or indirectly, by various shareholders and employees of FMR LLC. Each of the entities listed above expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed above except to the extent of any pecuniary interest therein. The address of these entities is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.
(2) Consists of (i) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series B preferred stock held by Norwest Venture Partners XV, LP, or Norwest, (ii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-1 preferred stock held by Norwest, (iii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-2 preferred stock held by Norwest, and (iv) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series D preferred stock held by Norwest. Genesis VC Partners XV, LLC, or Genesis XV, is the general partner of NVP XV and NVP Associates, LLC, or NVP Associates, is the managing member of Genesis XV. Genesis XV, NVP Associates and Jeffrey Crowe and Jon E. Kossow, as co-chief executive officers of NVP Associates,
and Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D., as an officer of NVP Associates and director of the Company, may be deemed to share voting and dispositive power over the shares held by NVP XV. Each of Genesis XV, NVP Associates, Messrs. Crowe and Kossow and Dr. Aynechi disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities held by NVP XV, except to the extent of its, his or her respective pecuniary interest therein. The address of the foregoing entities and individuals is 1300 El Camino Real, Suite 200 Menlo Park, CA 94025.
(3) Consists of (i) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series A preferred stock held directly by Novo Holdings A/S, or Novo, (ii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series B preferred stock held by Novo, (iii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-1 preferred stock held by Novo, (iv) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-2 preferred stock held by Novo, and (v) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series D preferred stock held by Novo. Novo has the sole power to vote and dispose of the shares, and no individual or other entity is deemed to hold any beneficial ownership in the shares. The address of Novo is Tuborg Havnevej 19, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark.
(4) Consists of (i) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-1 preferred stock held by SR One Capital Fund II Aggregator, LP, or SR One Capital Fund, (ii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series D preferred shares held by SR One Capital Fund, (iii) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series C-1 preferred stock held by AMZL, LP, or AMZL, and (iv) shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of Series D preferred stock held by AMZL. SR One Capital Fund is directly controlled by its general partner, SR One Capital Partners II, LP, or SR One Capital Partners. AMZL is directly controlled by its general partner, SR One Capital SMA Partners, LP, or SMA Partners. SMA Partners and SR One Capital Partners are directly controlled by their general partners, SR One Capital Management, LLC, or SR One Capital Management, and Simeon George, M.D. controls SR One Capital Management. Accordingly, each of SR One Capital Management and Simeon George, M.D. may be deemed to have voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares held of record by SR One Fund II Aggregator and AMZL. Jill Carroll is a partner at SR One Capital Management, LP and is a member of our board of directors, but does not have voting and investment power over any of the above-referenced shares held directly by SR One Capital Fund or AMZL. The address of the foregoing entities and individuals is 929 Main Street, Suite 200, Redwood City, California, 94063.
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
General
The following description of our capital stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws are summaries and are qualified by reference to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and the amended and restated bylaws, which will become effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Copies of these documents have been filed with the SEC as exhibits to our registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The descriptions of the common stock and preferred stock reflect changes to our capital structure that will be in effect on the completion of this offering.
Upon filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the completion of this offering, our authorized capital stock will consist of shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, all of which shares of preferred stock will be undesignated.
As of December 31, 2025, there were shares of common stock outstanding, assuming the Preferred Conversion, held of record by stockholders.
Common Stock
Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. The holders of our common stock do not have any cumulative voting rights. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any outstanding preferred stock. Our common stock has no preemptive rights, conversion rights or other subscription rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions.
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of all debts and other liabilities and any liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred stock. The shares to be issued by us in this offering will be, when issued and paid for, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
Preferred Stock
Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock will be converted into shares of our common stock. Upon the consummation of this offering, our board of directors will have the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences, and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms, and the number of shares constituting, or the designation of, such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. The issuance of our preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon our liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our Company or other corporate action. Immediately after consummation of this offering, no shares of preferred stock will be outstanding, and we have no present plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.
Stock Options
As of December 31, 2025, shares of common stock were issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options under the 2022 Plan, at a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share and , shares of common stock were issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options under the 2012 Plan, at a weighted-average exercise price of $ per share; no shares of common stock were issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options outside of our 2012 Plan and 2022 Plan; and shares of our common stock will be reserved for future issuance under
the 2026 Plan, which will become effective once the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part is declared effective, as well as any future automatic annual increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2026 Plan and any shares underlying outstanding stock awards granted under the 2012 Plan or 2022 Plan, that expire or are repurchased, forfeited, cancelled, or withheld. For additional information regarding terms of our equity incentive plans, see the section titled “Executive Compensation—Employee Incentive Plans.”
Registration Rights
Upon the completion of this offering and subject to the lock-up agreements entered into in connection with this offering and federal securities laws, certain holders of shares of our common stock, including those shares of our common stock that will be issued upon the Preferred Stock Conversion in connection with this offering, will initially be entitled to certain rights with respect to registration of such shares under the Securities Act. These shares are referred to as registrable securities. The holders of these registrable securities will possess these registration rights pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated investors’ rights agreement and are described in additional detail below. The registration of shares of our common stock pursuant to the exercise of the registration rights described below would enable the holders to trade these shares without restriction under the Securities Act when the applicable registration statement is declared effective. We will pay all registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts, selling commissions and stock transfer taxes, of the shares registered pursuant to the demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registrations described below.
Generally, in an underwritten offering, the managing underwriter, if any, has the right, subject to specified conditions and limitations, to limit the number of shares the holders may include. The demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registration rights described below will expire no later than four years after the completion of this offering.
Demand Registration Rights
Upon the completion of this offering, holders of shares of our common stock, including those issuable upon the Preferred Stock Conversion, will be entitled to certain demand registration rights pursuant to that certain investors’ rights agreement, by and between us and the investors party thereto, dated as of April 25, 2025, or the investors’ rights agreement. At any time beginning 180 days after the completion of this offering, the holders of at least 25% of these registrable securities may request that we register all or a portion of their shares. We are not required to effect more than two registration statements which are declared or ordered effective pursuant to these demand registration rights. Such request for registration must cover shares with an anticipated aggregate offering price of at least $5 million, net of any underwriting discounts, selling commissions and other related expenses. With certain exceptions, we are not required to effect the filing of a registration statement during the period starting with the date of the filing of, and ending on a date 60 days following the effective date of the registration statement for this offering.
Piggyback Registration Rights
In connection with this offering, holders of shares of our common stock, including those issuable upon the Preferred Stock Conversion, were entitled to, and the necessary percentage of holders waived, their rights to notice of this offering and to include their shares of registrable securities in this offering pursuant to the investors’ rights agreement. After this offering, in the event that we propose to register any of our securities under the Securities Act, either for our own account or for the account of other security holders, the holders of these registrable securities will be entitled to certain piggyback registration rights allowing such holders to include their shares in such registration, subject to certain marketing and other limitations.
Form S-3 Registration Rights
Upon the completion of this offering, holders of shares of our common stock, including those issuable upon the Preferred Stock Conversion, will be entitled to certain Form S-3 registration rights pursuant to the investors’ rights agreement. Holders of at least 15% of these registrable securities can make a request that we register their shares on Form S-3 if we are qualified to file a registration statement on Form S-3 (which qualification may occur no sooner than twelve calendar months after the date of this offering) and if the reasonably anticipated aggregate net proceeds of the shares offered would equal or exceed $5 million, net of any underwriting discounts, selling commissions and other related expenses. We will not be required to effect more than two registrations on Form S-3 within any twelve-month period. The right to have such shares registered on Form S-3 is further subject to other specified conditions and limitations.
Expiration of Registration Rights
The demand registration rights and Form S-3 registration rights granted under our investor rights agreement’ will terminate upon the earliest of (i) the closing of a “Deemed Liquidation Event,” as such term is defined in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (as currently in effect), (ii) such date after the completion of this offering when each holder may immediately sell all registrable securities held by such holder pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act without any volume limitations, or another similar exemption, during any three month period without registration, and (iii) the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and Delaware Law
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will include a number of provisions that may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing another party from acquiring control of us and encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral takeover proposals to negotiate with our board of directors rather than pursue non-negotiated takeover attempts. These provisions include the items described below.
Board Composition and Filling Vacancies
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide for the division of our board of directors into three classes serving staggered three-year terms, with one class being elected each year. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also will provide that directors may be removed only for cause and then only by the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds or more of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors. Furthermore, any vacancy on our board of directors, however occurring, including a vacancy resulting from an increase in the size of our board, may only be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of our directors then in office even if less than a quorum. The classification of directors, together with the limitations on removal of directors and treatment of vacancies, has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors.
No Written Consent of Stockholders
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that all stockholder actions are required to be taken by a vote of the stockholders at an annual or special meeting, and that stockholders may not take any action by written consent in lieu of a meeting. This limit may lengthen the amount of time required to take stockholder actions and would prevent the amendment of our amended and restated bylaws or removal of directors by our stockholders without holding a meeting of stockholders.
Meetings of Stockholders
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will provide that only a majority of the members of our board of directors then in office may call special meetings of stockholders and only those matters set forth in the notice of the special meeting may be considered or acted upon at a special meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws will limit the business that may be conducted at an annual meeting of stockholders to those matters properly brought before the meeting.
Advance Notice Requirements
Our amended and restated bylaws will establish advance notice procedures with regard to stockholder proposals relating to the nomination of candidates for election as directors or new business to be brought before meetings of our stockholders. These procedures will provide that notice of stockholder proposals must be timely given in writing to our corporate secretary prior to the meeting at which the action is to be taken. Generally, to be timely, notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the annual meeting for the preceding year. Our amended and restated bylaws will specify the requirements as to form and content of all stockholders’ notices. These requirements may preclude stockholders from bringing matters before the stockholders at an annual or special meeting.
Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation must first be approved by a majority of our board of directors and, if required by law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, must thereafter be approved by a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment and a majority of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class, except that the amendment of the provisions relating to stockholder action, board composition, and limitation of liability must be approved by not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, and not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class. Our amended and restated bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, subject to any limitations set forth in the amended and restated bylaws; and may also be amended by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, voting together as a single class, except that the amendment of the provisions relating to notice of stockholder business and nominations and special meetings must be approved by not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, and not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class, or, if our board of directors recommends that the stockholders approve the amendment, by the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on the amendment, in each case voting together as a single class.
Undesignated Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide for authorized shares of preferred stock. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock may enable our board of directors to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest, or otherwise. For example, if in the due exercise of its fiduciary obligations, our board of directors were to determine that a takeover proposal is not in the best interests of our stockholders, our board of directors could cause shares of preferred stock to be issued without stockholder approval in one or more private offerings or other transactions that might dilute the voting or other rights of the proposed acquirer or insurgent stockholder or stockholder group. In this regard, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will grant our board of directors broad power to establish the rights and preferences of authorized and unissued shares of preferred stock. The issuance of shares of preferred stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of shares of common stock. The issuance may also adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of these holders and may have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that this stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Under Section 203, a business combination between a corporation and an interested stockholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions:
•before the stockholder became interested, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
•upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and employee stock plans, in some instances, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder; or
•at or after the time the stockholder became interested, the business combination was approved by our board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
•Section 203 defines a business combination to include:
•any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;
•any sale, transfer, lease, pledge, or other disposition involving the interested stockholder of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation;
•subject to exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;
•subject to exceptions, any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; and
•the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges, or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.
In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by the entity or person.
Choice of Forum
Our amended and restated bylaws will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for the following claims or causes of action under the Delaware statutory or common law: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of, or a claim based on, a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers, or other employees or stockholders to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws (including the interpretation, validity or enforceability thereof) or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
However, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Consequently, this choice of forum provision would not apply to claims or causes of action brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction or the Securities Act. Moreover, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
In addition, our amended and restated bylaws will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action arising under the Securities Act, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant to such complaint. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors, the underwriters to any offering giving rise to such complaint, and any other professional entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering.
While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Additionally, our amended and restated bylaws will provide that any person or entity holding, owning or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification
See the section titled “Management—Limitations on Liability and Indemnification Agreements.”
Exchange Listing
Our common stock is currently not listed on any securities exchange. We intend to apply to have our common stock approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “AVLN.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Upon the completion of this offering, the transfer agent and registrar for our common stock will be . The transfer agent’s address is .
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. Future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, including shares issued on the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market after this offering, or the possibility of these sales or issuances occurring, could adversely affect the prevailing market price for our common stock or impair our ability to raise equity capital. Although we intend to apply to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market, we cannot assure you that there will be an active public market for our common stock.
Following the completion of this offering, based on our shares outstanding as of December 31, 2025, a total of shares of common stock will be outstanding, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares and no exercise of outstanding options. Of the outstanding shares, all of the shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable, except that any shares held by our affiliates, as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, may only be sold in compliance with the limitations described below.
Rule 144
In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, once we have been subject to public company reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act for at least 90 days, an eligible stockholder is entitled to sell such shares without complying with the manner of sale, volume limitation, or notice provisions of Rule 144, subject to compliance with the public information requirements of Rule 144. To be an eligible stockholder under Rule 144, such stockholder must not be deemed to have been one of our affiliates for purposes of the Securities Act at any time during the 90 days preceding a sale and must have beneficially owned the shares proposed to be sold for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than our affiliates. If such a person has beneficially owned the shares proposed to be sold for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than our affiliates, then such person is entitled to sell such shares without complying with any of the requirements of Rule 144, subject to the expiration of the lock-up agreements described below.
In general, under Rule 144, as currently in effect, our affiliates or persons selling shares on behalf of our affiliates are entitled to sell shares on expiration of the lock-up agreements described below. Beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, within any three-month period, such stockholders may sell a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of:
•1% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal approximately shares immediately after this offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of common stock from us; or
•the average weekly trading volume of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to such sale.
Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates or persons selling shares on behalf of our affiliates are also subject to certain manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Rule 701
Rule 701 under the Securities Act, or Rule 701, generally allows a stockholder who was issued shares under a written compensatory plan or contract and who is not deemed to have been an affiliate of our company during the immediately preceding 90 days, to sell these shares in reliance on Rule 144, but without being required to comply with the public information, holding period, volume limitation, or notice provisions of Rule 144. Rule 701 also permits affiliates of our company to sell their Rule 701 shares under Rule 144 without complying with the holding period requirements of Rule 144. All holders of Rule 701 shares, however, are required by that rule to wait until 90 days after the date of this prospectus before selling those shares under Rule 701, subject to the expiration of the lock-up agreements described below.
Form S-8 Registration Statements
We intend to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act with the SEC to register the offer and sale of shares of our common stock that are issuable under the 2012 Plan, 2022 Plan, the 2026 Plan, and the ESPP. These registration statements will become effective immediately upon filing. Shares covered by these registration statements will then be eligible for sale in the public markets, subject to vesting restrictions, any applicable lock-up agreements described below, and Rule 144 limitations applicable to affiliates.
Lock-up Arrangements
We, all of our directors and executive officers, and the holders of substantially all of our capital stock and securities convertible into or exchangeable for our capital stock have entered into lock-up agreements with the underwriters and/or are subject to market standoff agreements or other agreements with us, which prevent them from selling any of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock for a period of not less than 180 days from the date of this prospectus without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC and Evercore Group L.L.C., subject to certain exceptions. For more information, see the section titled “Underwriting.”
After the offering, certain of our employees, including our executive officers and/or directors, may enter into written trading plans that are intended to comply with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act. Sales under these trading plans would not be permitted until the expiration of the lock-up agreements relating to the offering described above.
Registration Rights
Upon completion of this offering, certain holders of our securities will be entitled to various rights with respect to registration of their shares under the Securities Act. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in these shares becoming fully tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. For more information, see the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights.”
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following discussion is a summary of material U.S. federal income tax consequences to non-U.S. holders (as defined below) of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering. This discussion is based on the Code, Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the IRS, and judicial decisions, all as in effect on the date hereof. These authorities are subject to differing interpretations and may change, possibly with retroactive effect, resulting in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. We have not requested a ruling from the IRS with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in the following summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will agree with such statements and conclusions.
This discussion is limited to non-U.S. holders who purchase our common stock pursuant to this offering and who hold our common stock as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion is not a complete analysis of all potential U.S. federal income tax consequences relating thereto, does not address the potential application of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income, the alternative minimum tax, or the special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code, and also does not address any U.S. federal non-income tax consequences, such as estate or gift tax consequences, or any tax consequences arising under any state, local or non-U.S. tax laws. This discussion does not address all of the U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to a non-U.S. holder in light of such non-U.S. holder’s particular circumstances. This discussion also does not consider any specific facts or circumstances that may be relevant to non-U.S. holders subject to special rules under the U.S. federal income tax laws, including:
•certain former citizens, or long-term residents of the United States;
•partnerships or other entities or arrangements treated as pass-through or disregarded entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein);
•“controlled foreign corporations”;
•“passive foreign investment companies”;
•corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;
•banks, mutual funds, financial institutions, investment funds, insurance companies, brokers, dealers or traders in stock, securities, commodities or currencies;
•tax-exempt organizations and governmental organizations;
•tax-qualified retirement plans;
•persons who acquire our common stock through the exercise of an option or otherwise as compensation;
•qualified foreign pension funds as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds;
•persons that own, or have owned, actually or constructively, more than 5% of our common stock by vote or value;
•persons who have elected to mark securities to market; and
•persons holding our common stock as part of a hedging or conversion transaction or straddle, or synthetic security or a constructive sale, or other risk reduction strategy or integrated investment.
If an entity or arrangement that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Partnerships holding our common stock and the partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their tax advisors about the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences to them of acquiring, owning, and disposing of our common stock.
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TAX ADVICE. PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE PARTICULAR U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF ACQUIRING, OWNING AND DISPOSING OF OUR COMMON STOCK, AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES ARISING UNDER ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAX LAWS AND ANY OTHER U.S. FEDERAL TAX LAWS OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Definition of Non-U.S. Holder
For purposes of this discussion, a non-U.S. holder is any beneficial owner of our common stock that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
•a non-resident alien individual;
•a corporation or any organization taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is not created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia; or
•a foreign trust or estate, the income of which is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis.
Distributions on Our Common Stock
As described under “Dividend Policy,” we do not currently anticipate declaring or paying, for the foreseeable future, any distributions on our capital stock. However, if we were to distribute cash or other property on our common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Amounts not treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes will then constitute a return of capital and will first be applied against and reduce a holder’s tax basis in our common stock, but not below zero. Any amounts distributed in excess of basis will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of our common stock and will be treated as described under “—Gain on sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock” below.
Subject to the discussions below regarding effectively connected income, backup withholding and FATCA (as defined below), dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder of our common stock generally will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividends or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty. To receive the benefit of a reduced treaty rate, a non-U.S. holder must timely furnish to us or our withholding agent with a valid IRS Form W-8BEN (in the case of individuals) or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (in the case of entities), or other appropriate form, certifying such holder’s qualification for the reduced rate. This certification must be provided to us or our withholding agent before the payment of the dividends and must be updated periodically. If the non-U.S. holder holds our common stock through a financial institution or other agent acting on the non-U.S. holder’s behalf, the non-U.S. holder will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the agent, which then will be required to provide certification to us or our withholding agent, either directly or through other intermediaries.
If a non-U.S. holder holds our common stock in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, and dividends paid on our common stock are effectively connected with such holder’s U.S. trade or business (and, if required by an applicable tax treaty, are attributable to such holder’s permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States), such non-U.S. holder generally will be exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax. To claim the exemption, the non-U.S. holder generally must furnish a valid IRS Form W-8ECI (or applicable successor form), certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States to the applicable withholding agent.
However, any such effectively connected dividends paid on our common stock generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular U.S. federal income tax rates in the same manner as if such holder were a resident of the United States. A non-U.S. holder that is a corporation also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax equal to 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) of its effectively connected dividends, as adjusted for certain items.
Non-U.S. holders that do not provide the required certification on a timely basis, but that qualify for a reduced treaty rate, may obtain a refund or credit of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim with the IRS. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Gain on Disposition of Our Common Stock
Subject to the discussions below regarding backup withholding and FATCA (as defined below), a non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized on the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock, unless:
•the gain is effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the non-U.S. holder in the United States;
•the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition, and certain other requirements are met; or
•our common stock constitutes a “United States real property interest” by reason of our status as a United States real property holding corporation, or USRPHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or the non-U.S. holder’s holding period for our common stock, and our common stock is not “regularly traded” on an “established securities market” within the meaning of applicable Treasury Regulations, during the calendar year in which the sale or other disposition occurs.
Gain described in the first bullet point above generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular U.S. federal income tax rates in the same manner as if such holder were a resident of the United States. A non-U.S. holder that is a corporation also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax equal to 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) of its effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year, as adjusted for certain items.
Gain derived by a non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet point above will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a flat 30% rate (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty), but may be offset by certain U.S.-source capital losses of the non-U.S. holder (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided that the non-U.S. holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses.
Determining whether we are a USRPHC depends on the fair market value of our United States real property interests relative to the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests and our other trade or business assets. We believe that we are not currently and we do not anticipate becoming a USRPHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, although there can be no assurance we have not been, are not currently or will not in the future become a USRPHC. Even if we are treated as a USRPHC, gain realized by a non-U.S. holder on a disposition of our common stock will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax so long as (1) the non-U.S. holder owned, directly, indirectly and constructively, no more than 5% of our common stock at all times within the shorter of (a) the five-year period preceding the disposition or (b) the holder’s holding period and (2) our common stock is “regularly traded” on an “established securities market,” within the meaning of applicable Treasury Regulations. There can be no assurance that our common stock qualifies as regularly traded on an established securities market for purposes of the rules
described above. Prospective investors are encouraged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible consequences to them if we have been, are or were to become a USRPHC.
Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Annual reports are required to be filed with the IRS and provided to each non-U.S. holder indicating the amount of distributions on our common stock paid to such holder and the amount of any tax withheld with respect to those distributions. These information reporting requirements apply even if no withholding was required because the distributions were effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business, or withholding was reduced or eliminated by an applicable income tax treaty. This information also may be made available under a specific treaty or agreement with the tax authorities in the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is established. Backup withholding, currently at a 24% rate, generally will not apply to payments to a non-U.S. holder of distributions on or the gross proceeds of a disposition of our common stock provided the non-U.S. holder furnishes the required certification for its non-U.S. status, such as by providing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or IRS Form W-8ECI, or otherwise establishes an exemption, and if the payor does not have actual knowledge, or reason to know, that the holder is a U.S. person who is not an exempt recipient.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. If any amount is withheld under the backup withholding rules, the non-U.S. holder should consult with a U.S. tax advisor regarding the possibility of and procedure for obtaining a refund or a credit against the non-U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, if any.
Withholding on Foreign Entities
Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, which are commonly referred to as FATCA, impose a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on certain payments made to a “foreign financial institution” (as defined under these rules) unless such institution enters into an agreement with the U.S. government to withhold on certain payments and to collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities substantial information regarding certain U.S. account holders of such institution (which includes certain equity and debt holders of such institution, as well as certain account holders that are foreign entities with U.S. owners) or an exemption applies. FATCA also generally imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on certain payments made to a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specially defined under these rules) unless such entity provides the withholding agent a certification that it does not have any “substantial United States owners” or provides information identifying certain direct and indirect U.S. owners of the entity or an exemption applies. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify these requirements. Under certain circumstances, a non-U.S. holder might be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. FATCA currently applies to dividends paid on our common stock and would have applied also to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock. However, proposed regulations under FATCA provide for the elimination of the federal withholding tax of 30% applicable to gross proceeds of a sale or other disposition of property of a type that can produce U.S.-source dividends or interest. Under these proposed Treasury Regulations (which may be relied upon by taxpayers prior to finalization), FATCA withholding does not apply to gross proceeds from sales or other dispositions of our common stock.
Prospective investors are encouraged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of FATCA on their investment in our common stock.
EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR SHOULD CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF ACQUIRING, OWNING AND DISPOSING OF OUR COMMON STOCK, INCLUDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY RECENT AND PROPOSED CHANGE IN APPLICABLE LAW, AS WELL AS TAX CONSEQUENCES ARISING UNDER ANY STATE, LOCAL, NON-U.S. OR U.S. FEDERAL NON-INCOME TAX LAWS.
UNDERWRITING
Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for whom Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C. and Guggenheim Securities, LLC are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of shares indicated below:
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Name |
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Number of Shares |
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC |
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|
Jefferies LLC |
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Evercore Group L.L.C. |
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Guggenheim Securities, LLC |
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Total |
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|
The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the “underwriters” and the “representatives,” respectively. The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus if any such shares are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the shares covered by the underwriters’ over-allotment option described below. The offering of the shares of common stock by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.
The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the shares of common stock directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of $ per share under the public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representative. Sales of common stock made outside of the United States may be made by affiliates of the underwriters.
We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to additional shares of common stock at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, made in connection with the offering of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus. To the extent the over-allotment option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase about the same percentage of the additional shares of common stock as the number listed next to the underwriter’s name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares of common stock listed next to the names of all underwriters in the preceding table.
The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds, before expenses, to us. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option.
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|
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Total |
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Per Share |
|
No Exercise |
|
Full Exercise |
Public offering price |
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$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by us |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
|
$ |
|
$ |
|
$ |
The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately $ . We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for their expenses relating to clearance of this offering with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority up to $ .
The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of shares of common stock offered by them.
We intend to apply to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “AVLN.”
We and each of our directors and executive officers and the holders of substantially all of our outstanding stock and stock options have agreed, pursuant to a lock-up agreement, or the Lock-Up Agreement, that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC, and Evercore Group L.L.C. on behalf of the underwriters, we and they will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus (the “Restricted Period”):
•offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or
contract to sell, grant any option, right, or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock;
•file any registration statement with the SEC relating to the offering of any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock; or
•enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of our common stock,
whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. In addition, we and each such person have agreed, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC, and Evercore Group L.L.C. on behalf of the underwriters, we or such other person will not, during the Restricted Period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock.
The restrictions on issuances by us during the Restricted Period are subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to:
•the sale of shares to the underwriters;
•the issuance of our common stock upon the exercise of an option or a warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date of this prospectus of which the underwriters have been advised in writing; or
•facilitating the establishment of a trading plan on behalf of a shareholder, officer or director of the Company pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of common stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of common stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by the Company regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of common stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period.
The restrictions imposed by the Lock-up Agreements with our directors, executive officers and stockholders are subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to:
•transactions relating to shares of common stock or other securities acquired in this offering or in open market transactions after the completion of this offering, provided that no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act shall be required or shall be voluntarily made in connection with subsequent sales of
common stock or other securities acquired in this offering or such open market transactions during the Restricted Period;
•transfers of shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock as a bona fide gift or to a charitable organization or educational institution in a transfer not involving a disposition for value;
•transfers or distributions of shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock to any member of the immediate family of the lock-up party or any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the lock-up party or the immediate family of the lock-up party in a transaction not involving a disposition for value;
•distributions of shares of common stock or any security convertible into common stock to limited and/or general partners, members, beneficiaries or other equity holders or stockholders of the lock-up party its direct or indirect affiliates or to an investment fund or other entity that controls or manages, or is under common control with, the lock-up party;
•transfers or dispositions of shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock (i) by will, other testamentary document or intestate succession to the legal representative, heir, beneficiary or a member of the immediate family of the lock-up party upon the death of the lock-up party or (ii) by operation of law pursuant to orders of a court or regulatory agency, in connection with a negotiated divorce settlement or pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order;
•transfers or dispositions of shares of common stock or other securities to us in connection with the conversion of any convertible security into, or the exercise of any option or warrant for, shares of common stock (including by way of “net” or “cashless” exercise solely to cover withholding tax obligations in connection with such exercise or transfer to us for the payment of taxes as a result of such exercise); provided that (i) such convertible security, option or warrant is described herein and is outstanding on the date thereof, (ii) any such shares of Common Stock received by the lock-up party shall be subject to the terms of such Lock-up Agreement and (iii) no filing under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of shares of common stock, shall be required or shall be voluntarily made during the Restricted Period, other than a filing on a Form 4 that reports such disposition under the transaction code “F”, in which case the filing or announcement shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto or comments section thereof that the filing relates to the exercise of a stock option or warrant, as the case may be, that no shares of common stock were sold by the reporting person and that the shares of common stock received upon exercise of the stock option or warrant are subject to a lock-up agreement with the underwriters of this offering);
•the establishment of a trading plan on behalf of our shareholder, officer or director pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of shares of common stock, provided that (i) such plan does not provide for the transfer of common stock during the Restricted Period and (ii) to the extent a public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, if any, is required of or voluntarily made by or on behalf of the lock-up party or us regarding the establishment of such plan, such announcement or filing shall include a statement to the effect that no transfer of common stock may be made under such plan during the Restricted Period; or
•transfers of shares of common stock (or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock) pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer for shares of our capital stock made to all holders of our securities, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction approved by the our board of directors and occurring after the closing of this offering, the result of which is that any person (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than us, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of more than 50% of the total voting power of our voting stock; provided that in the event that such change of control transaction is not completed, the shares of common stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock) owned by the lock-up party shall remain subject to the restrictions contained in the Lock-up Agreement and title to the lock-up party’s shares shall remain with the lock-up party.
provided that in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (2), (3), (4), or (5), (i) each donee or distributee shall sign and deliver a lock‑up agreement substantially in the form of the Lock-up Agreement and (ii) any Form 4 or Form 5 required to be filed under the Exchange Act if the lock-up party is subject to Section 16 reporting with respect us under the Exchange Act, will indicate by footnote disclosure or otherwise the nature of the transfer or disposition).
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Jefferies LLC and Evercore Group L.L.C., in their sole discretion, may release our common stock and other securities subject to the Lock-Up Agreements described above in whole or in part at any time.
In order to facilitate the offering of our common stock, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain, or otherwise affect the price of our common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more shares than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of shares available for purchase by the underwriters under the over-allotment option described above. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the over-allotment option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of shares compared to the price available under the over-allotment option. The underwriters may also sell shares in excess of the over-allotment option, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase shares of common stock in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of common stock in the open market to stabilize the price of our common stock. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of our common stock above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of our common stock. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time.
We and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representative may agree to allocate a number of shares of common stock to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representative to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing, and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investment and securities activities may involve our securities and instruments. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Pricing of the Offering
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between us and the representative. Among the factors to be considered in determining the initial public offering price will be our future prospects and those of our industry in general, our sales, earnings, and certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, and the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios, market prices of securities, and certain financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to ours.
Directed Share Program
At our request, the underwriters have reserved of the shares of common stock to be issued by the Company and offered by this prospectus for sale, at the initial public offering price, to our directors, officers, employees, business associates and related persons. If purchased by these persons, these shares will be subject to a 180-day lock-up restriction. The number of shares of common stock available for sale to the general public will be reduced to the extent these individuals purchase such reserved shares. Any reserved shares that are not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same basis as the other shares offered by this prospectus.
Selling Restrictions
European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area, each, a “Member State”, no shares of our common stock have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offering to the public in that Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to our common stock which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of our common stock may be made to the public in that Member State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
a.to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation;
b.to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives; or
c.in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of shares shall require us or any of the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation, and each person who initially acquires any shares or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged, and agreed to and with each of the representatives and us that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(e) in the Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any shares being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 5 of the Prospectus Regulation, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged, and agreed that the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a nondiscretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any shares to the public other than their offer or resale in a Member State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of shares to the public” in relation to any shares in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the shares of our common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any shares of our common stock, the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended).
United Kingdom
This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that the offering of our common stock falls within one of the exceptions specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024, POATRs, and accordingly there will not be a prospectus prepared or published for the purposes of the POATRs. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus for the purposes of the POATRs.
Each underwriter has represented and agreed that it has not made and will not make an offer of our common stock which are the subject of this Prospectus to the public in the United Kingdom except that it may make an offer:
(a)at any time to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 to the POATRs;
(b)at any time to fewer than 150 persons (other than qualified investors as defined in paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 to the POATRs) in the United Kingdom subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant underwriter or underwriters nominated by the Issuer for any such offer; or
(c)at any time in any other circumstances falling within Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the POATRs.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer of our common stock to the public in relation to any of our common stock means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and our common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to buy or subscribe for our common stock and the expression “POATRs” means the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024.
Japan
No registration pursuant to Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) (the “FIEL”) has been made or will be made with respect to the solicitation of the application for the acquisition of the shares of common stock.
Accordingly, the shares of common stock have not been, directly or indirectly, offered or sold and will not be, directly or indirectly, offered or sold in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan) or to others for re-offering or re-sale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEL and the other applicable laws and regulations of Japan.
For Qualified Institutional Investors or“QII”
Please note that the solicitation for newly-issued or secondary securities (each as described in Paragraph 2, Article 4 of the FIEL) in relation to the shares of common stock constitutes either a “QII only private placement” or a “QII only secondary distribution” (each as described in Paragraph 1, Article 23-13 of the FIEL). Disclosure regarding any such solicitation, as is otherwise prescribed in Paragraph 1, Article 4 of the FIEL, has not been made in relation to the shares of common stock. The shares of common stock may only be transferred to QIIs.
For Non-QII Investors
Please note that the solicitation for newly-issued or secondary securities (each as described in Paragraph 2, Article 4 of the FIEL) in relation to the shares of common stock constitutes either a “small number private placement” or a “small number private secondary distribution” (each as is described in Paragraph 4, Article 23-13 of the FIEL). Disclosure regarding any such solicitation, as is otherwise prescribed in Paragraph 1, Article 4 of the FIEL, has not been made in relation to the shares of common stock. The shares of common stock may only be transferred en bloc without subdivision to a single investor.
Brazil
The offer and sale of our shares of common stock has not been, and will not be, registered (or exempted from registration) with the Brazilian securities commission, Comissão de Valores Mobiliários or “CVM”, and, therefore, will not be carried out by any means that would constitute a public offering in Brazil under CVM resolution No. 160, dated July 13, 2022, as amended or “CVM Resolution 160” or unauthorized distribution under Brazilian laws and regulations. The shares of our common stock will be authorized for trading on organized non-Brazilian securities markets and may only be offered to Brazilian professional investors (as defined by applicable CVM regulation), who may only acquire our shares of common stock through a non-Brazilian account, with settlement outside Brazil in non-Brazilian currency. The trading of these securities on regulated securities markets in Brazil is prohibited.
Switzerland
The shares of common stock may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or SIX, or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland.
This document does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of, and has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under, art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares of our common stock or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, us, or the shares of our common stock have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of our common stock will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, or FINMA, and the offer of common stock has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes, or CISA. The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares of our common stock.
Canada
The shares of common stock may be sold only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the shares of common stock must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 (or, in the case of securities issued or guaranteed by the government of a non-Canadian jurisdiction, section 3A.4) of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
Hong Kong
Shares of our common stock may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.
32, Laws of Hong Kong), (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation, or document relating to shares of our common stock may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares of our common stock which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
Singapore
This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of shares of our common stock may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares of common stock be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor pursuant to Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where shares of common stock are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is:
a.a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
b.a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities or securities based derivatives contracts (each as defined in Section 2(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired shares of common stock under Section 275 of the SFA except:
(1)to an institutional investor or to a relevant person, or to any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA;
(2)where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
(3)where the transfer is by operation of law;
(4)as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
(5)as specified in Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities based Derivatives Contracts) Regulation 2018.
Solely for purposes of the notification requirements under Section 309B(1)(c) of the SFA, we have determined, and hereby notify all relevant persons, that the shares are “prescribed capital markets products” (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018) and Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).
Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement, or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or ASIC, in relation to the offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement, or other disclosure document under the
Corporations Act 2001, or the Corporations Act, and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement, or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons, or the“Exempt Investors, who are “sophisticated investors” (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act), or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus contains general information only and does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate for their needs, objectives, and circumstances and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, or the DFSA. This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus. The shares of common stock to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus, you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the shares of our common stock being offered in this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Goodwin Procter LLP. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, New York, New York.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Avalyn Pharma Inc. as of December 31, 2024, and for the year ended December 31, 2024, included in this Prospectus, have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report. Such financial statements are included in reliance upon the report of such firm given their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 (File Number 333- ) under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement, some of which is contained in exhibits to the registration statement as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information with respect to us and our common stock, we refer you to the registration statement, including the exhibits filed as a part of the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus concerning the contents of any contract or any other document are not necessarily complete. If a contract or document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, please see the copy of the contract or document that has been filed. Each statement in this prospectus relating to a contract or document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit. The SEC also maintains an internet website that contains reports and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov/edgar.
We currently do not file periodic reports with the SEC. Upon the completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and we will file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. These reports, proxy statements and other information will be available for review at the website of the SEC referred to above.
We also maintain a website at www.avalynpharma.com. Information contained in, or accessible through, our website is not a part of this prospectus, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is only as an inactive textual reference. Upon completion of this offering, you may access, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendment to those reported filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.
INDEX TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
table of contents
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of Avalyn Pharma Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Avalyn Pharma Inc. and subsidiary (the "Company") as of December 31, 2024, the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, changes in redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders' deficit, and cash flows, for the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Seattle, WA
February 6, 2026
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2022.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
ASSETS |
|
|
|
CURRENT ASSETS: |
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
$ |
23,955 |
|
Marketable securities, current |
|
|
86,671 |
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
|
3,761 |
|
Total current assets |
|
|
114,387 |
|
NON-CURRENT ASSETS: |
|
|
|
Property and equipment, net |
|
|
94 |
|
Marketable securities, noncurrent |
|
|
7,489 |
|
Other assets |
|
|
2,549 |
|
Total long-term assets |
|
|
10,132 |
|
TOTAL ASSETS |
|
$ |
124,519 |
|
LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT |
|
|
|
CURRENT LIABILITIES: |
|
|
|
Accounts payable |
|
$ |
2,277 |
|
Accrued liabilities |
|
|
6,467 |
|
Total current liabilities |
|
|
8,744 |
|
TOTAL LIABILITIES |
|
|
8,744 |
|
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 8) |
|
|
|
REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK |
|
|
|
Series A redeemable convertible preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 65,213,004 shares authorized, issued, and outstanding; liquidation preference of $65,213, net of issuance costs of $475 |
|
|
64,738 |
|
Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 25,210,789 shares authorized, issued, and outstanding; liquidation preference of $35,696, net of issuance costs of $317 |
|
|
35,379 |
|
Series C-1 redeemable convertible preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 239,092,424 shares authorized, 239,016,017 shares issued and outstanding; liquidation preference of $175,041, net of issuance costs of $547 |
|
|
174,494 |
|
Series C-2 redeemable convertible preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 24,207,788 shares authorized, issued, and outstanding; liquidation preference of $14,183, net of issuance costs of $49 |
|
|
15,686 |
|
STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT |
|
|
|
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 438,400,000 shares authorized; 5,326,439 shares issued and outstanding |
|
|
5 |
|
Additional paid in capital |
|
|
5,429 |
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
|
|
202 |
|
Accumulated deficit |
|
|
(180,158 |
) |
Total stockholders' deficit |
|
|
(174,522 |
) |
TOTAL LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT |
|
$ |
124,519 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
OPERATING EXPENSES: |
|
|
|
Research and development |
|
$ |
45,759 |
|
General and administrative |
|
|
11,362 |
|
Total operating expenses |
|
|
57,121 |
|
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS |
|
|
(57,121 |
) |
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE): |
|
|
|
Interest income |
|
|
7,439 |
|
Other expense |
|
|
(62 |
) |
Total other income |
|
|
7,377 |
|
NET LOSS |
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS: |
|
|
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME: |
|
|
|
Unrealized gains on marketable securities |
|
|
202 |
|
Total other comprehensive loss |
|
|
202 |
|
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE LOSS |
|
$ |
(49,542 |
) |
Net loss per share of common stock, basic and diluted |
|
$ |
(9.57 |
) |
Weighted-average number of common stock used in net loss per share, basic and diluted |
|
|
5,197,971 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT
(In thousands, except share amounts)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Series A |
|
|
Series B |
|
|
Series C-1 |
|
|
Series C-2 |
|
|
|
Common |
|
|
Additional |
|
|
Accumulated Other |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
|
Preferred Stock |
|
|
Preferred Stock |
|
|
Preferred Stock |
|
|
Preferred Stock |
|
|
|
Stock |
|
|
Paid-In |
|
|
Comprehensive |
|
|
Accumulated |
|
|
Stockholders' |
|
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
|
Shares |
|
|
Amount |
|
|
Capital |
|
|
Income |
|
|
Deficit |
|
|
Deficit |
|
BALANCES - December 31, 2023 |
|
|
65,213,004 |
|
|
$ |
64,738 |
|
|
|
25,210,789 |
|
|
$ |
35,379 |
|
|
|
238,960,033 |
|
|
$ |
174,456 |
|
|
|
24,207,788 |
|
|
$ |
15,686 |
|
|
|
|
5,086,517 |
|
|
$ |
5 |
|
|
$ |
2,907 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(130,414 |
) |
|
$ |
(127,502 |
) |
Issuance of Series C-1 preferred stock for cash, net issuance costs of $2 |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
55,984 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Stock options exercised |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
239,922 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
51 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
51 |
|
Stock-based compensation |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,471 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,471 |
|
Other comprehensive income |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
202 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
202 |
|
Net loss |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(49,744 |
) |
|
|
(49,744 |
) |
BALANCES - December 31, 2024 |
|
|
65,213,004 |
|
|
$ |
64,738 |
|
|
|
25,210,789 |
|
|
$ |
35,379 |
|
|
|
239,016,017 |
|
|
$ |
174,494 |
|
|
|
24,207,788 |
|
|
$ |
15,686 |
|
|
|
|
5,326,439 |
|
|
$ |
5 |
|
|
$ |
5,429 |
|
|
$ |
202 |
|
|
$ |
(180,158 |
) |
|
$ |
(174,522 |
) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
OPERATING ACTIVITIES: |
|
|
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
|
|
Depreciation |
|
|
29 |
|
Loss on disposal of property and equipment |
|
|
45 |
|
Amortization of right-of-use assets |
|
|
50 |
|
Stock-based compensation expense |
|
|
2,471 |
|
Amortization and accretion of premiums/discounts on marketable securities |
|
|
(2,579 |
) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
|
3,395 |
|
Other assets |
|
|
(1,488 |
) |
Accounts payable |
|
|
231 |
|
Litigation liability |
|
|
(4,000 |
) |
Accrued liabilities |
|
|
3,279 |
|
Operating lease liability |
|
|
(57 |
) |
Net cash used in operating activities |
|
|
(48,368 |
) |
Purchases of property and equipment |
|
|
(95 |
) |
Purchases of marketable securities |
|
|
(131,379 |
) |
Maturities of marketable securities |
|
|
40,000 |
|
Net cash used in investing activities |
|
|
(91,474 |
) |
FINANCING ACTIVITIES: |
|
|
|
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options |
|
|
51 |
|
Proceeds from the issuance of Series C-1 preferred stock, net of issuance costs |
|
|
38 |
|
Net cash provided by financing activities |
|
|
89 |
|
DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS |
|
|
(139,753 |
) |
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS: |
|
|
|
Beginning of year |
|
|
163,708 |
|
End of year |
|
$ |
23,955 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AS OF AND FOR THE YEAR ENDED December 31, 2024
1.Description of Business
Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company” or “Avalyn”), is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing inhaled medicines to treat rare respiratory diseases, including progressive pulmonary fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and other interstitial lung diseases. The Company was incorporated in the state of Delaware on May 27, 2011, and has its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
As used in these consolidated financial statements, unless the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company” or “Avalyn”, refer to Avalyn Pharma Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Avalyn Pharma Pty. Ltd.
Risks and Uncertainties
The Company is subject to the risks and challenges associated with other biopharmaceutical companies at a similar stage of development, including dependence on key individuals, successful development of its products and services, dependence on key vendors, compliance with government regulations, protection of proprietary technology, competition from substitute products and services and larger companies which have greater financial resources, technical management, and the ability to secure adequate financing to support future growth. There can be no assurance that any future products or services can be developed or manufactured at an acceptable cost and with appropriate performance characteristics, or that such products or services will be successfully marketed, if at all. These factors could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s future operating results, financial position and cash flow.
Existing or future products developed by the Company will require approvals or clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or other international regulatory agencies prior to commercial sales. If the Company were denied or delayed in receiving such approvals or clearances, it would have a material adverse effect on the Company.
Going Concern
The Company has evaluated whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the consolidated financial statements are issued.
Since its inception, the Company has funded its operations with proceeds from convertible notes, and with proceeds from the issuance of Series A, Series B, Series C-1 and Series D preferred stock. The Company has incurred net losses, and utilized cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities in operations since inception, has an accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2024, of $180.2 million, and expects to incur future additional losses. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of approximately $118.1 million. Additionally, the Company completed a Series D preferred stock financing beginning on April 2025 issuing shares at $0.7963 per share for total gross proceeds of $100.4 million across multiple closings through July 2025. We determined that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities along with the proceeds from the Series D preferred stock financing will be sufficient to fund the Company’s operating expenses and capital expenditures requirements for at least 12 months from the issuance date of these consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.
2.Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Avalyn Pharma Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Avalyn Pharma Pty. Ltd. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expense during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Management evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Significant estimates and assumptions relied upon in preparing these financial statements include, but are not limited to, research and development expenses and related prepaid or accrued costs, and the valuation of common stock and related stock-based compensation expense. The Company’s actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Loss Contingencies
The Company may be involved in legal proceedings, claims and regulatory, tax or governmental inquiries and investigations that arise in the ordinary course of business resulting in loss contingencies. Loss contingencies are accrued when losses become probable and are reasonably estimable. If the reasonable estimate of the loss is a range and no amount within the range is a better estimate, the minimum amount of the range is recorded as a liability. The Company does not accrue contingent losses that, in its judgment, are considered reasonably possible, but not probable; however, the range of such reasonably possible losses would be disclosed. Loss contingencies considered remote are generally not disclosed.
Fair Value Measurements
The Company determines the fair value of financial and non-financial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value using the fair value hierarchy, which establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value, as follows:
•Level 1: Inputs which include quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.
•Level 2: Inputs other than Level 1 inputs that are either directly or indirectly observable, such as quoted market prices, interest rates and yield curves.
•Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
The Company’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities are carried at fair value, determined according to the fair value hierarchy described above. For additional information on the Company’s fair value hierarchy, refer to Note 4, Fair Value Measurements. The carrying amounts of the Company’s prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values due to their short-term nature.
Foreign Currency
The Company’s reporting currency is the U.S. dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiary is the U.S. dollar since the U.S. dollar is the currency of the principal economic environment in which the Company’s foreign subsidiary operates. Consequently, all assets and liabilities of the subsidiary are recorded in U.S. dollars. Foreign currency gains and losses arising from transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the entity involved are included within other expense as a foreign currency gain (loss) in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. Foreign currency transaction gains or losses for the year ended December 31, 2024 was immaterial.
Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss consists of two components, net loss and other comprehensive income, net of tax. Other comprehensive income, net of tax, refers to revenue, expenses, gains, and losses that, under U.S. GAAP, are recorded as an element of equity but are excluded from net loss. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company’s only element of other comprehensive income is unrealized gains and losses on its marketable securities.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash deposited with banks and funds invested in readily available money market accounts. The carrying amount of cash equivalents invested in money market funds was $19.9 million of the total $24.0 million cash and cash equivalents on hand as of December 31, 2024. The money markets are valued using quoted market prices with no valuation adjustments applied and are categorized as a Level 1 financial asset.
Marketable Securities
As of December 31, 2024, the Company classifies marketable securities with a remaining maturity greater than three months at the time of purchase and less than one year from the balance sheet date as current. Marketable securities would be classified as long-term assets on the consolidated balance sheet if the maturity exceeded one year, and the Company did not intend to utilize the marketable securities to fund current operations.
The Company classifies all of its investments as available-for-sale securities. Accordingly, these investments are recorded at fair value. Realized gains and losses and amortization and accretion of discounts and premiums are included in interest income, which is a component of other income (expense). Unrealized gain and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in accumulated other comprehensive income as a component of stockholders’ deficit until realized.
At each balance sheet date, the Company assesses available-for-sale debt securities in an unrealized loss position to determine whether the unrealized loss or any potential credit losses should be recognized. The Company evaluates whether it intends to sell, or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis. The Company also evaluates whether the decline in fair value has resulted from credit losses or other factors. In making this assessment, the Company considers the severity of the impairment, any changes in interest rates, changes to the underlying credit ratings and forecasted recovery, among other factors. The credit-related portion of unrealized losses, and any subsequent improvements, are recorded in other expense. There have been no impairments or credit losses recognized during 2024.
Accrued interest receivable related to the Company's available-for-sale securities is presented within prepaid expenses and other current assets on the Company's consolidated balance sheet. The Company has elected the practical expedient available to exclude accrued interest receivable from both the fair value and the amortized cost basis of available-for-sale debt securities for the purposes of identifying and measuring any impairment. The Company writes off accrued interest receivable once and if it has determined that the asset is not realizable. Any write offs of accrued interest receivable are recorded by reversing interest income, recognizing credit loss expense, or a combination of
both. To date, the Company has not written off any accrued interest receivable associated with its marketable securities.
Concentration of Credit Risk and Significant Suppliers
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The balance of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents exceed those that are federally insured. To date, the Company has not recognized any losses caused by uninsured balances.
The Company is dependent on third-party contract research organizations (“CROs”) and contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) to supply certain intellectual property and services for research activities in its product candidates. In particular, the Company relies and expects to continue to rely on a small number of these organizations to supply it with its requirements for key raw materials related to research activities. These product candidates could be adversely affected by a significant interruption in the supply of key raw materials.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The Company uses an estimated useful life of three years for computers and software, five years for office equipment, and seven years for furniture and fixtures. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the lease-term or the estimated useful life of the related asset. Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Gains and losses from the disposal of property and equipment are reflected in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss in the year of disposal.
Leases
The Company determines if an arrangement is or contains a lease at its inception. The Company has elected not to recognize leases with terms of one year or less on the balance sheet as a practical expedient.
For leases with terms greater than 12 months, the Company records an operating lease right-of-use asset or finance lease asset and related lease liability at the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The implicit rate for individual leases is generally not readily determinable; therefore, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate at lease commencement to determine the present value of lease payments. Leases with an option to extend the related lease term are reflected in the lease term when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise such option. Leases with an option to terminate early are reflected in the lease term when it is reasonably certain that the Company will not exercise such option. The Company recognizes expense for operating leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term plus any variable lease costs.
The Company recognizes expense on short-term leases in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss equal to the payment amount.
The Company has included additional disclosures about its operating leases in Note 8.
Classification of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock
The Company has classified redeemable convertible preferred stock ("preferred stock") outside of stockholders' deficit in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet due to terms that allow for redemption of the shares in cash upon the occurrence of a Deemed Liquidation Event (see Note 9). The Company determined that the occurrence of a Deemed Liquidation Event, which includes the sale or transfer of control of the Company, is a contingent redemption feature not solely within the control of the Company.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, payroll tax, bonuses, benefits and stock-based compensation charges for those individuals in executive, legal, finance, human resources, information technology, and other administrative functions. Other significant costs include professional service fees, including legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters, and auditing, accounting, tax, and consulting services, as well as facilities and depreciation expense, and other general and administrative expenses that are allocated.
Research and Development
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Our research and development expenses include direct costs specifically attributable to our programs including external expenses, including expenses incurred under arrangements with third parties, such as CROs, CMOs, consultants and our scientific advisors, and the manufacturing expenditures, including costs for laboratory supplies, research materials and reagents, as well as indirect costs that are not directly attributable to a specific program. Costs incurred in obtaining technology licenses through asset acquisitions are charged to research and development expense if the licensed technology has not reached technological feasibility and has no alternative future use.
The Company has entered into various research and development related contracts with external parties. We recognize research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. Most of our research and development expenses have been related to identifying and developing our product candidates. Typically, external expenses are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to us by our service providers as of each reporting date. Advance payments that we make for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses, which are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed, or when it is no longer expected that the goods will be delivered, or the services rendered. Significant judgments and estimates are made in determining the accrued, or prepaid expense balances at the end of any reporting period.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. The carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. The amount of impairment loss, if any, is measured as the difference between the carrying value of the asset and its estimated fair value. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values, and third-party independent appraisals, as considered necessary. For the year ended December 31, 2024, no impairment charge was recorded.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes using an asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is recorded if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the net deferred tax asset will not be realized.
The Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not to be sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense based on the grant date fair value of stock options granted to employees, directors, and certain consultants. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense
over the requisite service period of the individual grant, generally equal to the vesting period and uses the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation expense. The Company assesses modifications to stock-based compensation awards in accordance with ASC 718. For awards that are modified, the Company remeasures the fair value of the modified award on the date of modification and compares it to the fair value of the original award immediately before modification. Any incremental increase in fair value resulting from the modification is recognized as additional compensation expense. For equity-classified awards, incremental compensation expense is recognized over the remaining requisite service period, and for modifications that accelerate vesting, expense may be recognized immediately.
The fair value of each stock option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model (“Black-Scholes”), which requires inputs based on certain subjective assumptions, including the fair value of common stock, expected stock price volatility, the expected term of the award, the risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends. As there is no public market for the Company’s common stock, the estimated fair value of common stock was determined by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) as of the date of each stock option grant, with inputs from management, considering third-party valuations of its common stock as well as the Board’s assessment of additional objective and subjective factors that it believed were relevant and which may have changed from the date of the most recent third-party valuation through the date of the grant. These third-party valuations were performed in accordance with the guidance outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Accounting and Valuation Guide: Valuation of Privately Held Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. The Company's common stock valuation used either the option‑pricing method (OPM) or a hybrid method, both based on a market approach. The OPM models common and preferred stock as call options on the Company’s equity value and allocates value only when proceeds exceed preferred liquidation preferences at a liquidity event. The hybrid method incorporates a probability‑weighted expected return method (PWERM) for scenarios where potential near‑term exits (e.g., IPO scenario using a PWERM), can be reasonably assessed, while relying on the OPM for less predictable outcomes, such as a sale scenario. Under the PWERM, common stock value is estimated by evaluating possible future outcomes, weighting them by probability, and discounting expected returns to present value. A discount for lack of marketability is applied to each scenario, and the results are weighted to determine the final common stock value. The Company estimates its expected stock price volatility based on the historical volatility of publicly traded peer companies. The Company uses the simplified method as prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 107, Share-Based Payment, to calculate the expected term for stock options granted to employees, directors, and certain consultants as the Company does not have sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate the expected term. The risk-free interest rate is determined by reference to the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant of the award for time periods approximately equal to the expected term of the award. There is no expected dividend yield since the Company has never paid cash dividends on common stock and does not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.
Segment Information
Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company has one operating and reportable segment, which is the business of developing and commercializing targeted therapies for rare lung diseases. The Company’s CODM, its chief executive officer, manages the Company’s operations on a consolidated basis for the purpose of allocating resources. All of the Company’s long lived assets are held in the United States. See Note 12 – Segment Information, for further disclosure regarding the Company’s segment information.
Net Loss Per Share
The Company calculates basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities. The Company considers its preferred stock to be participating securities as in the event a dividend is paid for common stock, the holders of preferred stock would be entitled to receive dividends on a basis consistent with the common stockholder. Under the two-class method the net
loss attributable to common stockholders is not allocated to preferred stockholders as the holders of preferred stock do not have a contractual obligation to share in losses.
Under the two-class method, net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common stock outstanding during the reporting period, without consideration for potentially dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common stock and potentially dilutive securities outstanding during the period determined using the treasury-stock and if-converted methods. For purposes of the diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders calculation, preferred stock, and stock options considered to be potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders because their effect would be anti-dilutive and therefore, basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders were the same.
Deferred Offering Costs
The Company capitalizes certain legal, professional accounting and other third-party fees that are incremental costs and directly associated with in-process equity financings as deferred offering costs within non-current assets on the consolidated balance sheet until such time the equity financings are consummated. After consummation of an equity financing, these costs are recorded as a reduction of the proceeds from the offering, either as a reduction to the carrying value of the preferred stock or, for the issuances of common stock, in stockholders’ deficit as a reduction of additional paid-in capital generated as a result of the offering. Should the in-process equity financing be abandoned, the deferred offering costs will be expensed immediately as a charge to operating expenses in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. There were no deferred offering costs as of December 31, 2024.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an emerging growth company (“EGC”), as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”) and may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not EGCs. The Company may take advantage of these exemptions until it is no longer an EGC under Section 107 of the JOBS Act and has elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. As a result of this election, the Company’s consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company FASB standards’ effective dates. The Company intends to take advantage of the reduced reporting requirements and exemptions up until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of an offering or such earlier time that it is no longer an EGC.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280: Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures) (“ASU 2023-07”). The amendments in this update improve reportable segment disclosure requirements through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. All disclosure requirements under ASU 2023-07 are also required for public entities with a single reportable segment. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023 and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company adopted this accounting standard during the year ended December 31, 2024, which is the same year reportable segments were initially identified. Required disclosures have been included in Note 12 – Segment Information.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (“ASU 2024-03”), which requires disclosures about specific types of expenses included in the expense captions presented on the face of the income statement as well as disclosures about selling expenses. The requirements of ASU 2024-03 are
effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with early adoption permitted. The requirements will be applied prospectively with the option for retrospective application. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the effects of this pronouncement on its related disclosures.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes: Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures which includes amendments that further enhance income tax disclosure, primarily through standardization and disaggregation of rate reconciliation categories and income taxes paid by jurisdiction. The new standard is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company has adopted the new guidance in the first quarter of 2025, as permissible by the ASU. The effects of adopting the amendments in ASU 2023-09 will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statement disclosures.
The following table summarizes the amortized cost and estimated fair value of the Company’s marketable securities, which are considered to be available-for-sale investments (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2024 |
|
|
|
Amortized Cost |
|
|
Unrealized Gain |
|
|
Unrealized Loss |
|
|
Fair Value |
|
Marketable securities, current: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
$ |
19,362 |
|
|
$ |
62 |
|
|
$ |
(6 |
) |
|
$ |
19,418 |
|
Commercial paper |
|
|
30,416 |
|
|
|
34 |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
30,438 |
|
Corporate debt securities |
|
|
24,379 |
|
|
|
64 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
24,443 |
|
U.S. government agency debt securities |
|
|
12,350 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
12,372 |
|
Total marketable securities, current |
|
|
86,507 |
|
|
|
182 |
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
86,671 |
|
Marketable securities, noncurrent: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
|
7,451 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
7,489 |
|
Total marketable securities, noncurrent |
|
|
7,451 |
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
7,489 |
|
Total marketable securities |
|
$ |
93,958 |
|
|
$ |
220 |
|
|
$ |
(18 |
) |
|
$ |
94,160 |
|
As of December 31, 2024, all marketable securities held by the Company had remaining contractual maturities of one year or less, except for U.S. Treasury securities that had maturities of two years or less.
The Company has determined that there were no material changes in the credit risk, therefore no impairment was recognized on its debt securities.
4.Fair Value Measurements
The following table presents information about the Company’s financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2024 |
|
|
|
Level 1 |
|
|
Level 2 |
|
|
Level 3 |
|
|
Total |
|
Assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash equivalents: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Money market funds |
|
$ |
19,893 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
19,893 |
|
Marketable securities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
26,907 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
26,907 |
|
Commercial paper |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
30,438 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
30,438 |
|
Corporate debt securities |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
24,443 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
24,443 |
|
U.S. government agency debt securities |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
12,372 |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
12,372 |
|
Total financial assets |
|
$ |
19,893 |
|
|
$ |
94,160 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
114,053 |
|
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had cash equivalents consisting of money market funds classified as Level 1 financial assets, as these assets are valued using quoted market prices in active markets without any valuation adjustments. The Company classifies its investments in U.S. Treasury securities (Treasury bills, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds), U.S. non-treasury securities (government agency debt), commercial paper, and corporate debt securities as Level 2 instruments. The Company estimates the fair value of these marketable securities by taking into consideration valuations obtained from third-party pricing sources. These pricing sources utilize industry standard valuation models, including both income and market-based approaches, for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly to estimate fair value. These inputs include market pricing based on real time trade data for the same or similar securities, issuer credit spreads, benchmark yields, and other observable inputs.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, there were no transfers or reclassifications between fair value measurement levels of assets or liabilities.
5.Prepaid Expenses And Other Current Assets
Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following, (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Prepaid research and development expenses |
|
$ |
2,857 |
|
Interest receivable |
|
|
591 |
|
Prepaid insurance |
|
|
31 |
|
Deposits |
|
|
5 |
|
Other prepaid assets |
|
|
277 |
|
Total prepaid expenses and other current assets |
|
$ |
3,761 |
|
Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Computers, software, and office equipment |
|
$ |
96 |
|
Lab equipment |
|
|
10 |
|
Total property and equipment |
|
|
106 |
|
Less: Accumulated depreciation |
|
|
(12 |
) |
Property and equipment, net |
|
$ |
94 |
|
Total depreciation expense for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $29 thousand.
Accrued liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Employee compensation and vacation accrual |
|
$ |
2,751 |
|
Accrued legal and professional fees |
|
|
324 |
|
Accrued research and development costs |
|
|
3,392 |
|
Total accrued liabilities |
|
$ |
6,467 |
|
8.Commitments And Contingencies
Leases
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company had operating leases for two office facilities. The Seattle office lease was a month-to-month lease that was terminated and vacated in March 2024. The San Diego office lease term expired and the property was vacated in November 2024.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company incurred total operating lease expense of $101 thousand, consisting of lease cost of $98 thousand and variable payments associated with common area maintenance and similar expenses of $3 thousand. Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2024 was $57 thousand. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company did not recognize any impairment losses on its ROU assets.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, the Company is subject to various claims that arise in the ordinary course of business. Management believes that any liability of the Company that may arise out of or with respect to these matters will not materially adversely affect the financial position, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company.
The Company was a party to a lawsuit filed in November 2020, in which the counterparty alleges that the Company has not used commercially reasonable efforts to investigate certain patent rights and develop a compound covered by those patent rights that were sold to the Company in March 2017 through a Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA). In May 2024, the Company and the counterparty agreed to a final and binding term sheet to resolve the dispute. The settlement required the Company to pay the counterparty $4 million within 15 days of the parties’ execution of a definitive agreement, which occurred in July 2024 and was previously included in litigation liability as of December 31, 2023. In addition, the Company agrees to pay the representative royalties (less than 1%) on net sales of the monotherapy assets AP01 (inhaled pirfenidone) and AP02 (inhaled nintedanib). As part of the agreement, the parties released all claims related to the litigation, the SPA, or any other agreement related to the counterparty and the Company. To date, the Company has incurred a total of $9.6 million of legal expenses related to the lawsuit, including $1.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The expenses are included in general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.
9.Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock
As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s Redeemable Convertible preferred stock, referred to as preferred stock, consisted of the following (in thousands, except share amounts).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred Stock Authorized |
|
|
Preferred Stock Issued and Outstanding |
|
|
Carrying Value |
|
|
Liquidation Value |
|
Series A |
|
|
65,213,004 |
|
|
|
65,213,004 |
|
|
$ |
64,738 |
|
|
$ |
65,213 |
|
Series B |
|
|
25,210,789 |
|
|
|
25,210,789 |
|
|
|
35,379 |
|
|
|
35,696 |
|
Series C-1 |
|
|
239,092,424 |
|
|
|
239,016,017 |
|
|
|
174,494 |
|
|
|
175,041 |
|
Series C-2 |
|
|
24,207,788 |
|
|
|
24,207,788 |
|
|
|
15,686 |
|
|
|
14,183 |
|
Total |
|
|
353,724,005 |
|
|
|
353,647,598 |
|
|
$ |
290,297 |
|
|
$ |
290,133 |
|
The following is a summary of terms for the preferred stock:
Voting
Each share of preferred stock has voting rights equal to an equivalent number of shares of common stock into which it is convertible and votes together as one class with the common stock, except as below:
The holders of record of the shares of Series A preferred stock and Series B preferred stock, voting together as a single separate class, are entitled to elect three directors of the Company.
The holders of record of the shares of Series C preferred stock, exclusively and as a single separate class, are entitled to elect two directors of the Company.
Dividends
The holders of preferred stock are entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board, out of funds legally available, noncumulative dividends prior and in preference to any dividends paid on the common stock, at the rate of 8% per annum for each share of preferred stock at the original issue price, as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, combinations, or other similar recapitalizations. To date, no dividends have been declared or paid on the Company’s preferred stock.
Liquidation Preference
In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the corporation, or upon the occurrence of a Deemed Liquidation Event (defined below), the holders of preferred stock are entitled to be paid out of the assets of the Company available for distribution to its stockholders before any payment is made to holders of common stock, an amount per share equal to the issuance price of $1.00 with respect to the Series A, $1.4159 for Series B, $0.7323 for Series C-1, and $0.5859 for Series C-2, plus any dividends declared but unpaid. If upon any such liquidation, dissolution, or winding-up of the Company, the assets of the Company available for distribution to its stockholders is insufficient to pay the preferred stockholders the full amount they are entitled, the holders of preferred stock shall share ratably in any distribution of the assets available for distribution in proportion to the respective amounts which would otherwise be entitled to receive. After the payment of all preferential amounts required to be paid to holders of shares of preferred stock, the remaining assets available for distribution shall be distributed among the holders of shares of preferred stock and common stock, pro rata based on the number of common stock (on an as converted basis) held by each such holder.
Unless the holders of a majority in voting power of the then outstanding shares of preferred stock elect otherwise, a Deemed Liquidation Event shall include a merger or consolidation (other than one in which stockholders of the Company own a majority by voting power of the outstanding shares of the surviving or acquiring corporation) or sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets.
Redemption
The preferred stock does not contain any mandatory redemption features and the preferred stock is not currently redeemable. In accordance with ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”), preferred stock issued with redemption provisions that are outside of the control of the Company, including a deemed liquidation event, is required to be presented outside of stockholders’ deficit on the face of the consolidated balance sheet. The Company’s preferred stock contains redemption provisions that require it to be presented outside of stockholders’ deficit in temporary equity. The Company did not accrete the carrying values of the preferred stock to the redemption values since a Deemed Liquidation Event was not considered probable during the year ended December 31, 2024. Subsequent adjustments of the carrying values to the ultimate redemption values will be made only when it becomes probable that such a Deemed Liquidation Event will occur.
Conversion
Each share of preferred stock is convertible at the option of the holder, at any time and from time to time, and without the payment of additional consideration by the holder, into shares of common stock as is determined by dividing the original purchase issue price of preferred stock by the conversion price in effect at the time of conversion. The conversion price per share shall be $1.00 with respect to the Series A, $1.4159 for Series B, $0.7323 for Series C-1, and $0.5859 for Series C-2, as defined by the Company’s certificate of incorporation, as amended. As of December 31, 2024, the conversion ratio for preferred stock was one-to-one basis.
All outstanding shares of preferred stock shall automatically be converted into shares of common stock, at the then-effective conversion rate upon either (a) the closing of the sale of shares of common stock to the public at a price at least equal to $2.20 per share in a firm-commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, resulting in at least $50 million of net proceeds to the Company or (b) the date and time, or the occurrence of an event specified by vote or written consent of (i) the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of preferred stock voting together as a single separate class and on as-converted to common stock basis and (ii) the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Series C preferred stock voting together as a single separate class and on as-converted to common stock basis.
Common Stock
The Company’s certificate of incorporation, as amended and restated, authorizes the Company to issue 438,400,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001. The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held.
The number of shares of common stock that have been reserved for the potential conversion of preferred stock, outstanding stock options granted, and stock options available for grant under the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
|
2024 |
|
|
Conversion of Series A |
|
|
65,213,004 |
|
|
Conversion of Series B |
|
|
25,210,789 |
|
|
Conversion of Series C-1 |
|
|
239,092,424 |
|
|
Conversion of Series C-2 |
|
|
24,207,788 |
|
|
Outstanding common stock options |
|
|
53,124,653 |
|
|
Common stock options available for grant |
|
|
4,289,036 |
|
|
Total |
|
|
411,137,694 |
|
|
Stock Option Plans
On February 10, 2022, the Company adopted the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, which has been subsequently amended (the “Plan”). The Plan provides for the issuance of incentive and nonqualified common stock options to employees, directors, and certain consultants of the Company. The Plan is administered by the Company’s Board of Directors which determines the types of awards to be granted, including the number of shares subject to the awards, the exercise price and the vesting schedule. The total number of shares reserved and available for grant and issuance under the Plan is 43,481,297 shares plus (a) shares that are subject to issuance under the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) but cease to be subject to an award for any reason other than exercise of an option or settlement of such award and (b) shares that were issued under the Prior Plan which are repurchased by the Company or which are forfeited, used to pay withholding obligations with respect to any award granted under the Prior Plan or pay the exercise price of an option granted under the Prior Plan.
Stock options must be granted with an exercise price equal to the common stock’s fair market value at the date of grant. Stock options generally have 10-year terms and vest over a four-year period starting from the date specified in each agreement. Certain stock options are subject to accelerated vesting upon a change in control, as defined in the respective grant agreements. As of December 31, 2024, there were 4,289,036 shares of common stock available for the Company to grant under the Plan.
Employee Stock Options Valuation
The Company estimates the fair value of stock options on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires estimates of highly subjective assumptions, which affect the fair value of each stock option. The assumptions used to determine the fair values of stock options granted to employees, directors, and certain consultants, are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
2024 |
Risk-free interest rate |
|
3.7% - 4.4% |
Expected life of options (in years) |
|
5.4 - 6.1 |
Expected volatility of underlying stock |
|
81.7% - 84.6% |
Fair value of underlying common stock |
|
$0.24 - 0.29 |
Expected dividend yield |
|
- % |
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company modified the terms of certain outstanding stock options upon the termination of certain employees of the Company to immediately vest any unvested options upon separation and extend the exercise period of the stock options to three years. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recognized additional stock-based compensation expense of $99 thousand as a result of the stock option modifications.
The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of the stock options modified are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Risk-free interest rate |
|
4.5% - 5.5% |
|
Expected life of options (in years) |
|
0.3 - 3 |
|
Expected volatility of underlying stock |
|
52.9% - 63.1% |
|
Fair value of underlying common stock |
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
Expected dividend yield |
|
- % |
|
The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option activity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Options |
|
|
Weighted Average Exercise Price (per share) |
|
|
Remaining Contractual Life (in years) |
|
|
Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) |
|
Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 |
|
|
16,011,432 |
|
|
$ |
0.30 |
|
|
|
6.55 |
|
|
$ |
141 |
|
Options granted |
|
|
38,115,396 |
|
|
$ |
0.24 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options exercised |
|
|
(239,922 |
) |
|
|
0.22 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options forfeited |
|
|
(200,388 |
) |
|
|
0.25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options expired |
|
|
(561,865 |
) |
|
|
0.26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding as of December 31, 2024 |
|
|
53,124,653 |
|
|
$ |
0.26 |
|
|
|
8.09 |
|
|
|
2,233 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options exercisable as of December 31, 2024 |
|
|
22,375,553 |
|
|
$ |
0.27 |
|
|
|
6.71 |
|
|
$ |
883 |
|
The weighted-average grant date fair value of stock options granted in the year ended December 31, 2024 was $0.17. The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2024 was $18 thousand. As of December 31, 2024, total stock-based compensation cost not yet recognized related to unvested stock options was $5.3 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.67 years. Stock-based compensation expense recognized in the accompanying consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2024, included the following (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
General and administrative |
|
$ |
1,528 |
|
Research and development |
|
|
943 |
|
Total |
|
$ |
2,471 |
|
The Company operates and manages its business as one operating segment and one reportable segment, which is focused on developing targeted therapies to treat rare lung diseases. The CODM manages the Company’s operations on a consolidated basis, assesses performance for the operating segment and decides how to allocate resources based on consolidated operating results, which is reported on the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.
The CODM manages the Company’s operations on a consolidated basis and assesses performance based on consolidated net loss, which is reported on the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. The monitoring of budgeted versus actual results is used in assessing the performance of the operating segment and in establishing resource allocation across the organization. Depreciation expense, amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, and non-cash lease expense are significant noncash items included in consolidated net loss and reported on the consolidated statements of cash flows. The measure of segment assets is reported on the consolidated balance sheet as total assets. Expenditures for additions to long-lived assets, which include purchases of property and equipment, are included in total assets, reviewed by the CODM, and are reported on the consolidated statements of cash flows.
The following table represents information about segment loss and significant segment expenses (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Direct research and development expenses by program: |
|
|
|
AP01 |
|
$ |
30,781 |
|
AP02 |
|
|
4,223 |
|
AP03 |
|
|
330 |
|
Unallocated research and development expenses: |
|
|
|
Personnel-related (excluding stock-based compensation) |
|
|
9,113 |
|
Facility and information technology allocated expenses and other R&D costs |
|
|
366 |
|
General and administrative expenses: |
|
|
|
Personnel-related (excluding stock-based compensation) |
|
|
3,968 |
|
Facility expenses and information technology |
|
|
378 |
|
General corporate expenses and professional fees |
|
|
5,462 |
|
Other segment items (1) |
|
|
(4,877 |
) |
Net loss |
|
$ |
49,744 |
|
(1)For the year ended December 31, 2024, other segment items consist of $7.4 million of interest income, $2.5 million of stock-based compensation expense, and less than $0.1 million of depreciation expense and other expenses.
Direct research and development expenses by program consist primarily of costs paid to third-parties including CROs, CMOs, consultants, advisors and other clinical study-related vendors.
Unallocated research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-rated expenses and allocated information technology and facility expenses and other R&D related costs, excluding non-cash items, such as stock-based compensation and depreciation.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-rated expenses, including salaries, payroll tax, bonuses, and benefits, and professional services fees for legal, finance, human resources, in addition to information technology expenses, rent expense, and other administrative functions, excluding non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation and depreciation.
Other segment items consist primarily of interest income on cash and cash equivalents, partially offset by non-cash expenses, such as stock-based compensation and depreciation, and amortization of discounts and premiums on marketable securities.
Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders was calculated as follows (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Numerator: |
|
|
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
Net loss attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted |
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
Denominator: |
|
|
|
Weighted-average number of common stock used in net loss per share, basic and diluted |
|
|
5,197,971 |
|
Net loss per share of common stock, basic and diluted |
|
$ |
(9.57 |
) |
The Company’s potentially dilutive securities, which include preferred stock and stock options, have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share as the effect would be to reduce the net loss per share. Therefore, the weighted-average number of common stock outstanding used to calculate both basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is the same. The following table summarizes the shares excluded from the computation of diluted net loss:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Redeemable convertible preferred stock |
|
|
353,647,598 |
|
Options to purchase common stock |
|
|
53,124,653 |
|
Total |
|
|
406,772,251 |
|
Loss before provision for income taxes consisted of the following (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Domestic |
|
$ |
(50,068 |
) |
Foreign (Australia) |
|
|
324 |
|
Loss before income taxes |
|
$ |
(49,744 |
) |
Due to its net operating losses and full valuation allowance, the Company did not record a provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2024.
A reconciliation of the Company's statutory income tax rate to the Company's effective income tax rate is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
|
|
|
|
Federal statutory income tax rate |
|
|
21.0 |
% |
State income taxes, net of federal benefit |
|
|
0.8 |
% |
Federal and state research and development tax credits |
|
|
4.8 |
% |
Stock-based compensation |
|
|
(0.4 |
%) |
Permanent differences |
|
|
(0.2 |
%) |
Other |
|
|
(2.2 |
%) |
Change in deferred tax asset valuation allowance |
|
|
(23.8 |
%) |
Effective income tax rate |
|
|
0.0 |
% |
The effective income tax rate in calendar year 2024 differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to a current period loss in the United States that requires an additional valuation allowance.
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. The significant components of the Company’s net deferred income taxes are as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
|
2024 |
|
Total Deferred Tax Assets |
|
|
|
Domestic and foreign NOL carryforwards |
|
$ |
20,878 |
|
Research and experimental expenditures |
|
|
13,692 |
|
R&D credit carryovers |
|
|
3,518 |
|
Property and equipment |
|
|
35 |
|
Accruals and reserves |
|
|
70 |
|
Stock options |
|
|
630 |
|
Other |
|
|
4 |
|
Gross deferred tax assets |
|
$ |
38,827 |
|
Valuation allowance |
|
|
(38,827 |
) |
Net Deferred Tax Asset |
|
$ |
— |
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred Tax Liabilities |
|
|
|
Right-of-use asset |
|
|
— |
|
Total Net Deferred Tax Asset |
|
$ |
— |
|
Valuation Allowance (in millions):
The Company’s provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2024 related to state and foreign income taxes. The Company has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon the realizability of its deferred tax assets. Based on this, the Company has provided a valuation allowance for the full amount of the net deferred tax assets as the realization of the deferred tax assets is not determined to be more likely than not. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the valuation allowance increased by $11.9 million from $26.9 million to $38.8 million, primarily due to the increase in the Company’s net operating loss, capitalized expenditures, and tax credit carryforwards during the period.
The Company has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon its ability to realize its deferred tax assets, which are comprised primarily of net operating loss carryforwards, the capitalization of research and experimental (“R&E”) expenditures, and tax credits. Management has considered the Company’s history of cumulative net losses in the United States, estimated future taxable income, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies and has concluded that it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize the benefits of its U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets. Accordingly, a full valuation allowance of $38.8 million has been established against these net deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2024. The Company reevaluates the positive and negative evidence at each reporting period. The Company’s valuation allowance increased during 2024 by approximately $11.9 million, primarily due to the capitalization of R&E expenditures and the increase in net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had approximately $98.9 million and $2.4 million of federal and state net operating loss carryforwards, respectively. Of this amount, $9.9 million of the net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2031, and the remainder are indefinite lived. The net state operating loss carryforwards will begin to expire in 2043. The net operating loss carryforwards are available to reduce future taxable income, if any. The Company also has research credit carryforwards available to offset any future income tax that would be due. As of December 31, 2024, the remaining federal research credits carryforwards were $3.5 million, and begin to expire in 2031.
However, the Company may have experienced IRC Section 382 ownerships changes in its history, which could limit the amount available for use in a future period. These net operating loss carryforwards are also subject to review and possible adjustment by the appropriate taxing authorities.
Ownership changes may limit the amount of net operating loss carryforwards or research and development tax credit carryforwards that can be utilized to offset future taxable income or tax liability. In general, an ownership change, as defined by Sections 382 and 383 of the Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), results from transactions increasing the ownership of certain shareholders or public groups in the stock of a corporation by more than 50% over a three-year period. If the Company has experienced a change of control, utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards or research and development tax credit carryforwards would be subject to an annual limitation under Section 382 and 383 of the Code. Any limitation may result in expiration of a portion of the net operating loss carryforwards or research and development tax credit carryforwards before utilization. The Company has not yet completed a change in control analysis, as defined under Section 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code, through December 31, 2024, and the Company has not determined whether the future utilization of net operating loss carryforwards and R&D credit carryforwards may be materially limited based on past financings. In addition, the Company may complete future financings that could result in a change in control which may limit the amount of tax attributes available to offset future tax liabilities. However, a full valuation allowance has been provided against the deferred tax assets related to the Company’s net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and, if an adjustment is required, this adjustment would be offset by an adjustment to the valuation allowance.
Beginning in 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) amended Section 174 and now requires U.S.-based and non-U.S.-based research and experimental R&E expenditures to be capitalized and amortized over a period of five or 15 years, respectively, for amounts paid in tax years starting after December 31, 2021. Prior to the TCJA amendment, Section 174 allowed taxpayers to immediately deduct R&E expenditures in the year paid or incurred. The Company has applied this required change in accounting method beginning in 2022, and the computation may be adjusted pending future IRS guidance. As a result, the Company has capitalized research and development costs of $40.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The Company will amortize these costs for tax purposes over five years if the research and development was performed in the U.S. and over 15 years if the research and development was performed outside the U.S.
ASC 740-10 specifies how tax benefits for uncertain tax positions are to be recognized, measured, and recorded in financial statements; requires certain disclosures of uncertain tax matters; specifies how reserves for uncertain tax positions should be classified on the balance sheet; and provides transition and interim period guidance, among other provisions. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has not recorded any amounts for uncertain tax positions. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties accrued on any uncertain tax positions as a component of
income tax expense, if any, in its statement of comprehensive loss. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company had no reserves for uncertain tax positions and no estimated interest or penalties were recognized on uncertain tax positions.
The Company's tax returns for the years ended December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2024 remain open and subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. The Company is subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service, Massachusetts taxing authorities, and other State's taxing authorities for the years ended December 31, 2021 through present. To the extent that the Company has tax attribute carryforwards, the tax year in which the attributes were generated may still be adjusted upon examination by the U.S. Internal Revenue Services or state tax authorities to the extent utilized in a future period. The Company is not currently under examination by any tax authorities.
In April 2017, the Company entered into a license agreement (the “PARI License Agreement”) with PARI Pharma GmbH (“PARI”). Pursuant to the PARI License Agreement, PARI granted the Company an exclusive, sublicensable license to use its nebulizer devices for the development and commercialization of certain inhalant drug products as outlined in the PARI License Agreement. PARI additionally granted the Company a non-exclusive, sublicensable license to use certain proprietary accessories owned or controlled by PARI with the nebulizer devices for development of the drug products, as well as a non-sublicensable, exclusive sublicense to use certain Novartis patent rights which PARI licensed from Novartis for use with the nebulizer devices. PARI also granted the Company certain options to expand the licenses granted which would separately require amendments to the PARI License Agreement.
As consideration for the PARI License Agreement, the Company paid a non-refundable up-front initial payment of 400 thousand EUR ($0.4 million). In addition, the Company agreed to make payments upon the achievement of certain developmental and regulatory milestones as it relates to its Drug Product, including initiation of Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials, acceptance for filing by either the FDA or the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”), and approval by either the FDA or the EMA. Upon the achievement of these development and regulatory milestones, the Company is required to make payments up to, in aggregate, a low-mid single‑digit million‑euro amount for products using the device. The Company is additionally required to pay a mid six‑figure‑euro amount in the event that the Company consolidates or merges in a transaction in which 50% of the voting power of the Company is sold. After approval occurs, the Company is also required to pay PARI royalties equal to mid-single-digit percentage of net sales over a certain period. Further, following the first year of commercial sales in a major market, the Company shall pay a minimum annual royalty equal to a mid-single-digit percentage through the end of the relevant royalty term. Through December 31, 2024, the Company has met one developmental milestone, for which the payment was expensed to research and development when incurred. There were no regulatory milestones achieved for the year ended December 31, 2024.
16.Other Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events through February 6, 2026, the date these financial statements were issued, for events requiring recording or disclosure in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. Except as noted below, the Company concluded that no subsequent events have occurred that require disclosure.
Stock Option Cancellations and Warrant Issuances
In January 2025, the Company canceled and forfeited 4,935,717 stock options previously granted to its former CEO under its Equity Incentive Plan and issued a warrant to purchase 4,287,641 shares of common stock, at an exercise price of $0.29 per share, which shall be exercisable, in whole or in part, during the period commencing on the earliest to occur of an IPO, a SPAC, or a change of control.
Conversion of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock
In April 2025, certain investors voluntarily converted shares of Series A and Series C-2 preferred stock into common stock. Pursuant to the voluntary conversion terms of the associated preferred stock agreements, the investors received one (1) share of common stock for every one (1) share of preferred stock converted. As a result of the voluntary conversion, 17,891,429 shares of preferred stock were converted into 17,891,429 shares of common stock.
Series D Preferred Stock Financing
In April 2025, the Company entered into the Series D Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with new and existing investors by authorizing the issuance and sale of up to 126,346,412 shares of the Company’s Series D preferred stock. On April 25, 2025 (the “Initial Closing”), the Company issued and sold 105,928,407 shares of Series D preferred stock at a purchase price of $0.7963 per share for gross proceeds of $84.4 million. Subsequent to the Initial Closing, in June and July of 2025, the Company completed two additional closings and the Company issued and sold an additional 20,107,927 shares of Series D preferred stock at a purchase price of $0.7963 per share for gross proceeds of $16.0 million.
In the event that any holder of shares of preferred stock did not participate in sale and issuance of Series D preferred stock by purchasing such holder’s pro rata share, the portion of the shares of preferred stock held by such holder were shall automatically converted into shares of the Company’s common stock. Upon such conversion, five (5) shares of preferred stock were converted into one (1) share of common stock. Upon the closing of the Series D preferred stock financing, 1,564,162 shares of Series A and Series B preferred stock were automatically converted into 312,824 shares of common stock from non-participating preferred stock holders.
The Company is required to obtain the consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Company’s preferred stock, voting as a single class, including the majority of the outstanding shares of Series D preferred stock, if a deemed liquidation event would result in a per-share payment to the Series D preferred stock that is less than the original issuance price of the Series D preferred stock. All other material terms are substantively similar to the preferred stock (see Note 9). In connection with the financing, the Company increased its authorized shares to 575,000,000 of common stock. Following the close of the Series D preferred stock financing, the Company granted stock options to employees to purchase an aggregate of 22,676,091 shares of common stock at $0.25 per share.
Boston Sublease
In September 2025, the Company entered into a non-cancelable operating sublease in Boston, Massachusetts (the “Boston Sublease”) to rent out 8,774 square feet of office space and relocated our headquarters to Boston in September 2025. Total fixed payments to be made in connection with entering into the Boston Sublease will be $1.9 million over the term of the agreement ending in 2029.
Stock Option Issuance
During the period from December 31, 2024 to the date that these financial statements were issued, the Company granted stock options to employees to purchase an aggregate of 37,371,109 shares of common stock at a $0.26 weighted average exercise price under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan.
In January 2026, the Company increased the number of shares of common stock available and reserved for issuance under the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan by 9,068,823 shares. In conjunction, the Company increased the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock to 585,000,000 shares.
Debt Financing
In February 2026, the Company entered into a loan and security agreement (the “Debt Financing”) to borrow up to $30 million. The interest rate on amounts borrowed will be equal to the greater of the prime rate then in effect, or 5%. The maturity date for the loan is June 30, 2030.
In connection with the Debt Financing, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 432,939 shares of common stock, with an exercise price of $0.51. The warrant will expire on ten years from the date of issuance. As of the date of issuance of these financial statements, no amounts have been borrowed under the facility.
******
Shares
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
Common Stock

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Morgan Stanley |
Jefferies |
Evercore ISI |
Guggenheim Securities |
Through and including , 2026 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in our common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Unless otherwise indicated, all references to “Avalyn,” the “company,” “we,” “our,” “us” or similar terms refer to Avalyn Pharma Inc. and its wholly owned, consolidated subsidiary, or either or both of them as the context may require.
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The following table sets forth all expenses to be paid by us, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, in connection with this offering. All amounts shown are estimates except for the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, registration fee, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, filing fee and the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, listing fee.
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SEC registration fee |
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$ |
* |
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FINRA filing fee |
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* |
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Nasdaq listing fee |
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* |
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Printing and mailing expenses |
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* |
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Legal fees and expenses |
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* |
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Accounting fees and expenses |
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* |
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Custodian transfer agent and registrar fees and expenses |
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* |
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Miscellaneous expenses |
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* |
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Total |
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$ |
* |
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* To be provided by amendment.
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, authorizes a corporation to indemnify its directors and officers against liabilities arising out of actions, suits and proceedings to which they are made or threatened to be made a party by reason of the fact that they have served or are currently serving as a director or officer to a corporation. The indemnity may cover expenses (including attorneys’ fees) judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the director or officer in connection with any such action, suit or proceeding. Section 145 permits corporations to pay expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by directors and officers in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding. In addition, Section 145 provides that a corporation has the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of its directors and officers against any liability asserted against them and incurred by them in their capacity as a director or officer, or arising out of their status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify the director or officer against such liability under Section 145.
We will adopt provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and the amended and restated bylaws, which will become effective upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, that will limit or eliminate the personal liability of our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. Consequently, our directors and officers will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages or breach of fiduciary duty as directors or officers, except for liability for:
•any breach of their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;
•any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
•for our directors, any unlawful payments related to dividends or unlawful stock purchases, redemptions or other distributions;
•any transaction from which they derived an improper personal benefit; or
•for our officers, any derivative action by or in the right of the corporation.
These limitations of liability do not alter director and officer liability under the federal securities laws and do not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as an injunction or rescission.
In addition, our amended and restated bylaws will provide that:
•we will indemnify our directors, officers and, in the discretion of our board of directors, certain employees to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as it now exists or may in the future be amended; and
•we will advance reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, to our directors and, in the discretion of our board of directors, to our officers and certain employees, in connection with legal proceedings relating to their service for or on behalf of us, subject to limited exceptions.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and intend to enter into such agreements with our executive officers. These agreements provide that we will indemnify each of our directors, our executive officers and, at times, their affiliates to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. We will advance expenses, including attorneys’ fees (but excluding judgments, fines and settlement amounts), to each indemnified director, executive officer or affiliate in connection with any proceeding in which indemnification is available and we will indemnify our directors and officers for any action or proceeding arising out of that person’s services as a director or officer brought on behalf of us or in furtherance of our rights. Additionally, certain of our directors or officers may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance provided by their affiliates or other third parties, which indemnification relates to and might apply to the same proceedings arising out of such director’s or officer’s services as a director referenced herein. Nonetheless, we have agreed in the indemnification agreements that our obligations to those same directors or officers are primary and any obligation of such affiliates or other third parties to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the expenses or liabilities incurred by those directors are secondary.
We also maintain general liability insurance which covers certain liabilities of our directors and officers arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or Securities Act.
The underwriting agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement provides for indemnification of us and our directors and officers by the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
Set forth below is information regarding securities we have issued within the past three years that were not registered under the Securities Act.
(a) Warrant Issuances
In January 2025, we issued a warrant to purchase 4,287,641 shares of common stock to an accredited investor, with an exercise price of $0.29.
In February 2026, we issued a warrant to purchase 432,939 shares of common stock to an accredited investor in connection with our loan and security agreement, with an exercise price of $0.51.
(b) Grants and exercises of stock options
Since January 2023, we have granted certain employees, consultants, and directors options to purchase an aggregate of 75,486,505 shares of our common stock under our 2022 Plan, at exercise prices ranging from $0.24 to $0.51 per share.
Since January 2023, 167,418 stock options have been exercised under our 2022 Plan at a weighted average purchase price of $0.24 per share and 232,180 stock options have been exercised under our 2012 Plan at a weighted average purchase price of $0.22 per share.
(c) Preferred Stock Issuances
In September 2023 and January 2024, we issued and sold to certain accredited investors an aggregate of 239,016,017 shares of Series C-1 convertible preferred stock at a price per share of $0.7323, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $175.0 million and issued an aggregate of 24,207,788 shares of Series C-2 convertible preferred stock upon conversion of outstanding convertible notes.
In April 2025, June 2025, and July 2025, we issued and sold to certain accredited investors an aggregate of 126,036,334 shares of Series D convertible preferred stock at a price per share of $0.7963, for an aggregate purchase price of $100.4 million.
None of the foregoing transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, or any public offering. Unless otherwise specified above, the Registrant believes these transactions were exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (and Regulation D or Regulation S promulgated thereunder) or Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering or under benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation as provided under Rule 701. The recipients of the securities in each of these transactions represented their intentions to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were placed on the share certificates issued in these transactions. All recipients had adequate access, through their relationships with the Registrant, to information about the Registrant. The sales of these securities were made without any general solicitation or advertising.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Exhibits.
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Exhibit Number |
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Description |
1.1* |
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Form of Underwriting Agreement. |
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3.1 |
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Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, as currently in effect. |
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3.2 |
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Certificate of Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended. |
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3.3* |
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Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, to be in effect immediately prior to the completion of this offering. |
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3.4 |
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Amended and Restated Bylaws, as currently in effect. |
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3.5* |
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Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws, to be in effect as of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. |
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4.1* |
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Specimen Common Stock Certificate. |
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4.2+ |
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Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement, by and between the Registrant and certain of its stockholders, dated as of April 25, 2025. |
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4.3 |
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Warrant to Purchase Stock, dated January 13, 2025, by and between the Registrant and Bruce Montgomery. |
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4.4* |
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Warrant to Purchase Stock, dated February 3, 2026, by and between the Registrant and Banc of California. |
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5.1* |
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Opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP. |
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10.1# |
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2012 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and form of award agreements thereunder. |
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10.2# |
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2022 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and form of award agreements thereunder. |
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10.3*# |
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2026 Equity Incentive Plan and form of award agreements thereunder. |
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10.4*# |
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2026 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. |
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10.5*# |
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Form of Indemnification Agreement, by and between the Registrant and its directors and executive officers. |
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10.6*# |
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Senior Executive Cash Incentive Bonus Plan. |
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10.7*# |
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Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy. |
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10.8*# |
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Employment Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Lyn Baranowski, to be in effect upon the closing of this offering. |
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10.9*# |
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Employment Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Douglas Carlson, to be in effect upon the closing of this offering. |
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10.10*# |
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Employment Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Melissa Rhodes, to be in effect upon the closing of this offering. |
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10.11*# |
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Employment Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Howard Lazarus, to be in effect upon the closing of this offering. |
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10.12+ |
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License Agreement dated April 3, 2017, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
10.13+ |
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Amendment No. 1 to License Agreement dated October 15, 2020, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
10.14+ |
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Amendment No. 2 to License Agreement dated February 9, 2021, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
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10.15+ |
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Material Transfer Agreement, dated January 23, 2020, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
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10.16+ |
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Amendment No. 1 to Material Transfer Agreement, dated November 22, 2021, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
10.17+ |
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Amendment No. 2 to Material Transfer Agreement, dated January 22, 2023, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
10.18+ |
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Amendment No. 3 to Material Transfer Agreement, dated March 20, 2025, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services, as amended. |
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10.19+ |
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Option Agreement, dated January 1, 2024, by and between the Registrant and PARI Technology Services. |
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10.20*+ |
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Sublease Agreement, by and between the Registrant and CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., dated as of August 29, 2025. |
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10.21*+ |
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Loan and Security Agreement, dated February 3, 2026, by and between the Registrant and Banc of California. |
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21.1 |
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Subsidiaries of Registrant. |
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23.1* |
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Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. |
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23.2* |
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Consent of Goodwin Procter LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1). |
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24.1* |
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Power of Attorney (included on signature page). |
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107* |
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Filing Fee Table. |
* To be filed by amendment.
# Indicates a management contract or any compensatory plan, contract or arrangement.
Certain portions of this document that constitute confidential information have been redacted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K.
+ Certain exhibits and schedules to these agreements have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) and (6) of Regulation S-K. The registrant will furnish copies of any of the exhibits and schedules to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.
(b) Financial Statement Schedules.
All financial statement schedules are omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the financial statements or the notes thereto.
Item 17. Undertakings.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The registrant hereby undertakes that:
(a)For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the information omitted from a form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in the form of prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h)
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(b)For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-1 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, on the of , 2026.
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AVALYN PHARMA INC. |
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By: |
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Name: Lyn Baranowski |
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Title: Chief Executive Officer and Director |
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POWER OF ATTORNEY AND SIGNATURES
Each individual whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Lyn Baranowski and Douglas Carlson as such person’s true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person in such person’s name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement (or any Registration Statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission granting unto each said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that any said attorney-in-fact and agent, or any substitute or substitutes of any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement and Power of Attorney has been signed by the following person in the capacities and on the date indicated.
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Signature |
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Title |
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Date |
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Lyn Baranowski |
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Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
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, 2026 |
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Douglas Carlson |
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Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
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, 2026 |
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Heather Turner |
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Director and Chairman |
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, 2026 |
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Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D. |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
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Jill Carroll |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
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David Friedman, M.D. |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
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Gianna Hoffman-Luca, Ph.D. |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
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Erin Lavelle |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
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Jonathan Leff, M.D. |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
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Ketan Patel, M.D. |
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Director |
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, 2026 |
EX-3.1
Exhibit 3.1
AMENDED AND RESTATED
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
(Pursuant to Sections 242 and 245 of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware)
Avalyn Pharma Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “General Corporation Law”),
DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:
1.That the name of this corporation is Avalyn Pharma Inc., and that this corporation was originally incorporated pursuant to the General Corporation Law on May 27, 2011 under the name Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
2.That a Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation was filed on April 28, 2017, a Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation was filed on July 26, 2017, an Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was filed on April 23, 2020, a Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was filed on November 18, 2022, an Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was filed on June 29, 2023, an Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was filed on September 22, 2023, a Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was filed on January 8, 2024 and Certificate of Amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was filed on April 8, 2025.
3.That the Board of Directors duly adopted resolutions proposing to amend and restate the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of this corporation, declaring said amendment and restatement to be advisable and in the best interests of this corporation and its stockholders, and authorizing the appropriate officers of this corporation to solicit the consent of the stockholders therefor, which resolution setting forth the proposed amendment and restatement is as follows:
RESOLVED, that the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of this corporation be amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:
FIRST: The name of this corporation is Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Corporation”).
SECOND: The address of the registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware is 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.
THIRD: The nature of the business or purposes to be conducted or promoted is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law.
FOURTH: The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is (i) 575,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0,001 per share (“Common Stock”) and (ii) 462,178,988 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0,001 per share.
The following is a statement of the designations and the powers, preferences and special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof in respect of each class of capital stock of the Corporation.
1.General. The voting, dividend and liquidation rights of the holders of the Common Stock are subject to and qualified by the powers, preferences and special rights of the holders of the Preferred Stock set forth herein.
2.Voting. Except as otherwise provided herein or by applicable law, the holders of the Common Stock are entitled to one (1) vote for each share of Common Stock held as of the applicable record date for each meeting of stockholders (and written actions in lieu of meetings); provided, however, that, except as otherwise required by law, holders of Common Stock, as such, shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Restated Certificate”) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to the Restated Certificate or pursuant to the General Corporation Law. There shall be no cumulative voting. The number of authorized shares of Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by (in addition to any vote of the holders of one or more series of Preferred Stock that may be required by the terms of the Restated Certificate) the affirmative vote of the holders of shares of capital stock of the Corporation representing a majority of the votes represented by all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the General Corporation Law.
51,213,004 shares of the authorized Preferred Stock of the Corporation are hereby designated “Series A Preferred Stock,” 25,210,789 shares of the authorized Preferred Stock of the Corporation are hereby designated “Series B Preferred Stock,” 239,092,424 shares of the authorized Preferred Stock of the Corporation are hereby designated “Series C-l Preferred Stock,” 20,316,359 shares of the authorized Preferred Stock of the Corporation are hereby designated “Series C-2 Preferred Stock” and 126,346,412 shares of the authorized Preferred Stock of the Corporation are hereby designated “Series D Preferred Stock” (collectively with the Series A Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock, the Series C-l Preferred Stock and the Series C-2 Preferred Stock, the “Preferred Stock”); each with the following rights, preferences, powers, privileges and restrictions, qualifications and limitations. As used herein, the term “Series C
Preferred Stock” used without reference to Series C-l Preferred Stock or Series C-2 Preferred Stock shall mean the shares of Series C-l Preferred Stock and Series C-2 Preferred Stock collectively and without distinction. Unless otherwise indicated, references to “sections” or “subsections” in this Part B of this Article Fourth refer to sections and subsections of Part B of this Article Fourth.
The holders of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive a non-cumulative dividend of eight percent (8%) per annum of the applicable Original Issue Price (as defined below) (the “Preferred Dividend”); provided, however, such Preferred Dividend shall be payable only when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) and the Corporation shall be under no obligation to declare or pay any such dividends. The Corporation shall not declare, pay or set aside any dividends on shares of any other class or series of capital stock of the Corporation (other than dividends on shares of Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock) in any calendar year unless (in addition to the obtaining of any consents required elsewhere in the Restated Certificate) the holders of Preferred Stock then outstanding shall first receive, or simultaneously receive, a dividend on each outstanding share of Preferred Stock in an amount at least equal to the greater of (i) the amount of the aggregate Preferred Dividends then declared on such share of Preferred Stock and not previously paid and (ii) (A) in the case of a dividend on Common Stock or any class or series that is convertible into Common Stock, that dividend per share of Preferred Stock as would equal the product of (1) the dividend payable on each share of such class or series determined, if applicable, as if all shares of such class or series had been converted into Common Stock and (2) the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of a share of such series of Preferred Stock, in each case calculated on the record date for determination of holders entitled to receive such dividend or (B) in the case of a dividend on any class or series that is not convertible into Common Stock, at a rate per share of Preferred Stock determined by (1) dividing the amount of the dividend payable on each share of such class or series of capital stock by the original issuance price of such class or series of capital stock (subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of any stock dividend, stock split, combination or other similar recapitalization with respect to such class or series) and (2) multiplying such fraction by an amount equal to the applicable Original Issue Price; provided that, if the Corporation declares, pays or sets aside, on the same date, a dividend on shares of more than one (1) class or series of capital stock of the Corporation, the dividend payable to the holders of Preferred Stock pursuant to this Section 1 shall be calculated based upon the dividend on the class or series of capital stock that would result in the highest Preferred Stock dividend. The “Original Issue Price” shall mean $1,00 per share with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock, $1,4159 per share with respect to the Series B Preferred Stock, $0,73234 per share with respect to the Series C-l Preferred Stock, $0,58587 per share with respect to the Series C-2 Preferred Stock and $0,7963 per share with respect to the Series D Preferred Stock, subject in each case to appropriate adjustment in the event of any stock dividend, stock split, combination or other similar recapitalization with respect to the applicable series of Preferred Stock.
2.Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up; Certain Mergers, Consolidations and Asset Sales.
2.1Preferential Payments to Holders of Preferred Stock. In the event of
any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation or Deemed Liquidation Event (as defined below), the holders of shares of Preferred Stock then outstanding shall be entitled to be paid out of the assets of the Corporation and, if applicable, consideration, available for distribution to its stockholders before any payment shall be made to the holders of Common Stock by reason of their ownership thereof, an amount per share equal to the applicable Original Issue Price, plus any dividends declared but unpaid thereon. If upon any such liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation or Deemed Liquidation Event, the assets of the Corporation and, if applicable, consideration, available for distribution to its stockholders shall be insufficient to pay the holders of shares of Preferred Stock the full amount to which they shall be entitled under this Section 2,1, the holders of shares of Preferred Stock shall share ratably in any distribution of the assets and, if applicable, consideration, available for distribution in proportion to the respective amounts which would otherwise be payable in respect of the shares held by them upon such distribution if all amounts payable on or with respect to such shares were paid in full.
2.2Distribution of Remaining Assets. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation or Deemed Liquidation Event, after the payment of all preferential amounts required to be paid to the holders of shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to Section 2.1 of this Restated Certificate have been paid in full, the remaining assets of the Corporation, and, if applicable, consideration, available for distribution to its stockholders shall be distributed among the holders of shares of Preferred Stock and Common Stock, pro rata based on the number of shares held by each such holder, treating for this purpose all such securities as if they had been converted to Common Stock pursuant to the terms of the Restated Certificate immediately prior to such liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation or Deemed Liquidation Event; provided, however, that if the aggregate amount which the holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to receive under Sections 2.1 and 2.2 shall exceed an amount equal to three (3) times the applicable Original Issue Price per share (with respect to each series of Preferred Stock, the “Maximum Participation Amount”), each holder of a series of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive only up to the Maximum Participation Amount applicable to such series of Preferred Stock pursuant to Sections 2.1 and 2.2. The aggregate amount which a holder of a share of Preferred Stock is entitled to receive under Sections 2.1 and 2.2 is hereinafter referred to as the “Liquidation Amount.”
2.3Deemed Conversion. Notwithstanding Sections 2,1 and 2.2 above, for purposes of determining the amount each holder of shares of Preferred Stock is entitled to receive in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation or Deemed Liquidation Event, each holder of shares of a series of Preferred Stock shall be deemed to have converted (regardless of whether such holder actually converted) such holder’s shares of such series of Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock immediately prior to the Deemed Liquidation Event if, as a result of an actual conversion, such holder would receive, in the aggregate, an amount greater than the amount that would be distributed to such holder if such holder did not convert such series of Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock, If any such holder shall be deemed to have converted shares of a series of Preferred Stock into Common Stock pursuant to this Section 2.3, then such holder shall not be entitled to receive any distribution 4 that would otherwise be made to holders of shares of such series of Preferred Stock pursuant to Sections 2.1 and 2.2 above.
2.4Deemed Liquidation Events.
2.4.1Definition. Each of the following events shall be considered a “Deemed Liquidation Event” unless the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, voting together as a single separate class and on an as-converted to Common Stock basis (the “Requisite Holders”), elect otherwise by written notice sent to the Corporation prior to the effective date of any such event:
(a)a merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, transfer, domestication, or continuance in which:
(i) the Corporation is a constituent party, or
(ii) a subsidiary of the Corporation is a constituent party and the Corporation issues shares of its capital stock pursuant to such merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, transfer, domestication, or continuance,
(iii) except any such merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, transfer, domestication, or continuance involving the Corporation or a subsidiary in which the shares of capital stock of the Corporation outstanding immediately prior to such merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, transfer, domestication, or continuance continue to represent, or are converted into or exchanged for shares of capital stock or other equity interests that represent, immediately following such merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, transfer, domestication, or continuance, at least a majority, by voting power, of the capital stock or other equity interests of (1) the surviving or resulting corporation or entity; or (2) if the surviving or resulting corporation or entity is a wholly owned subsidiary of another corporation or entity immediately following such merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, transfer, domestication, or continuance, the parent corporation or entity of such surviving or resulting corporation or entity; or
(b)the sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition, in a single transaction or series of related transactions, by the Corporation or any subsidiary of the Corporation of all or substantially all the assets of the Corporation and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, or the sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition (whether by merger, consolidation, statutory conversion, domestication, continuance or otherwise and whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions) of one or more subsidiaries of the Corporation if substantially all of the assets of the Corporation and its subsidiaries taken as a whole are held by such subsidiary or subsidiaries, except where such sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition is to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation;
(c)any other transaction or series of transactions pursuant to, or as a result of, which a single person (or group of Affiliated persons) acquires (from the Corporation or directly from the stockholders of the Corporation) or holds capital stock of the Corporation representing a majority of the Corporation’s outstanding voting power; or
(d)a transaction or series of related transactions in which the Corporation’s outstanding shares of capital stock are exchanged for or otherwise converted into securities that are publicly listed on a securities exchange, including, without limitation, through a merger, acquisition, business combination or similar transaction with a “special purpose
acquisition company” or its subsidiary or affiliate.
As used herein, “Affiliate” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement dated on or about the Series D Original Issue Date by and among the Corporation and in the stockholder parties thereto, as may be amended and/or restated from time to time.
2.4.2Effecting a Deemed Liquidation Event.
(a)The Corporation shall not have the power to effect a Deemed Liquidation Event referred to in Section 2.4.1(a)(i) unless the agreement or plan with respect to such transaction, or terms of such transaction (any such agreement, plan or terms, the “Transaction Document”) provide that the consideration payable to the stockholders of the Corporation in such Deemed Liquidation Event shall be allocated to the holders of capital stock of the Corporation in accordance with Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 hereof.
(b)In the event of a Deemed Liquidation Event referred to in Section 2,4,1 (a)(ii), 2,4,1(b) or 2,4,1 (c), if the Corporation does not effect a dissolution of the Corporation under the General Corporation Law within ninety (90) days after such Deemed Liquidation Event, then (i) the Corporation shall send a written notice to each holder of Preferred Stock no later than the ninetieth (90th) day after the Deemed Liquidation Event advising such holders of their right (and the requirements to be met to secure such right) pursuant to the terms of the following clause (ii) to require the redemption of such shares of Preferred Stock, and (ii) if Requisite Holders so request in a written instrument delivered to the Corporation not later than one hundred twenty (120) days after such Deemed Liquidation Event, the Corporation shall use the consideration received by the Corporation for such Deemed Liquidation Event (net of any retained liabilities associated with the assets sold or technology licensed, any other expenses reasonably related to such Deemed Liquidation Event or any other expenses incident to the dissolution of the Corporation as provided herein, in each case as determined in good faith by the Board, together with any other assets of the Corporation available for distribution to its stockholders, all to the extent permitted by Delaware law governing distributions to stockholders (the “Available Proceeds”), on the one hundred fiftieth (150th) day after such Deemed Liquidation Event (the “DLE Redemption Date”), to redeem all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock at a price per share equal to the applicable Liquidation Amount; provided, that if the definitive agreements governing such Deemed Liquidation Event contain contingent indemnification obligations on the part of the Corporation and prohibit the Corporation from distributing all or a portion of the Available Proceeds while such indemnification obligations remain outstanding, then the DLE Redemption Date shall automatically be extended to the date that is ten business days following the date on which such prohibition expires, Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of a redemption pursuant to the preceding sentence, if the Available Proceeds are not sufficient to redeem all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, the Corporation shall ratably redeem each holder’s shares of Preferred Stock to the fullest extent of such Available Proceeds, and shall redeem the remaining shares as soon as it may lawfully do so under Delaware law governing distributions to 6 stockholders. Prior to the distribution or redemption provided for in this Section 2.4.2(b), the Corporation shall not expend or dissipate the Available Proceeds for any purpose, except to discharge expenses incurred in connection with such Deemed Liquidation Event or in the ordinary course of business. In connection with a distribution or redemption provided for in this Subsection
2.4.2, the Corporation shall send written notice of the redemption (the “Redemption Notice”) to each holder of record of Preferred Stock. Each Redemption Notice shall state:
(i) the number of shares of each series of Preferred Stock held by the holder that the Corporation shall redeem on the date specified in the Redemption Notice;
(ii) the redemption date and the price per share at which the shares of Preferred Stock are being redeemed;
(ii) for holders of shares in certificated form, that the holder is to surrender to the Corporation, in the manner and at the place designated, his, her or its certificate or certificates representing the shares of Preferred Stock to be redeemed.
If the Redemption Notice shall have been duly given, and if payment is tendered or deposited with an independent payment agent so as to be available therefor in a timely manner, then notwithstanding that any certificates evidencing any of the shares of Preferred Stock so called for redemption shall not have been surrendered, all rights with respect to such shares shall forthwith after the redemption date terminate, except only the right of the holders to receive the payment without interest upon surrender of any such certificate or certificates therefor.
2.4.3Amount Deemed Paid or Distributed. The amount deemed paid or distributed to the holders of capital stock of the Corporation upon any such merger, consolidation, sale, transfer, exclusive license, other disposition or redemption shall be the cash or the value of the property, rights or securities paid or distributed to such holders by the Corporation or the acquiring person, firm or other entity. The value of such property, rights or securities shall be determined in good faith by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then- serving.
2.4.4Allocation of Escrow and Contingent Consideration. In the event of a Deemed Liquidation Event pursuant to Section 2.4.1(a)(i) if any portion of the consideration payable to the stockholders of the Corporation is payable only upon satisfaction of contingencies (the “Additional Consideration”), the Transaction Document shall provide that (a) the portion of such consideration that is not Additional Consideration (such portion, the “Initial Consideration”) shall be allocated among the holders of capital stock of the Corporation in accordance with Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 as if the Initial Consideration were the only consideration payable in connection with such Deemed Liquidation Event; and (b) any Additional Consideration which becomes payable to the stockholders of the Corporation upon satisfaction of such contingencies shall be allocated among the holders of capital stock of the Corporation in accordance with Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 after taking into account the previous payment of the Initial Consideration as part of the same transaction. For the purposes of this Section 2.4.4, consideration placed into escrow or retained as a holdback to be available for satisfaction of indemnification or similar obligations in connection with such Deemed Liquidation Event shall be deemed to be Additional Consideration.
2.4.5Other Distributions of Proceeds. In the event that the Board determines to distribute the proceeds (cash or otherwise) resulting from any sale or other transfer
of a significant portion of the Corporation’s or its subsidiary’s assets (which would not be a Deemed Liquidation Event), or the proceeds from an option to acquire securities or assets of the Corporation or its subsidiary, the proceeds resulting therefrom (including in respect of any ongoing payments, such as a royalty or milestone payment), shall be distributed as proceeds from a Deemed Liquidation Event in accordance with this Section 2 and not as a dividend and shall be deemed to count as a payment towards the applicable Liquidation Amount.
3.1General. On any matter presented to the stockholders of the Corporation for their action or consideration at any meeting of stockholders of the Corporation (or by written consent of stockholders in lieu of meeting), each holder of outstanding shares of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to cast the number of votes equal to the number of whole shares of Common Stock into which the shares of Preferred Stock held by such holder are convertible as of the record date for determining stockholders entitled to vote on such matter. Except as provided by law or by the other provisions of the Restated Certificate, holders of Preferred Stock shall vote together with the holders of Common Stock as a single class.
3.2Election of Directors. The holders of record of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock, voting together as a single separate class, shall be entitled to elect three (3) directors of the Corporation (each, a “Series A/B Preferred Director” and collectively, the “Series A/B Preferred Directors”), the holders of record of the shares of Series C Preferred Stock, exclusively and as a single separate class, shall be entitled to elect two (2) directors of the Corporation (each, a “Series C Preferred Director” and collectively, the “Series C Preferred Directors”) and the holders of record of the shares of Series D Preferred Stock, exclusively and as a single separate class, shall be entitled to elect one (1) director of the Corporation (the “Series D Preferred Director”, together with the Series C Preferred Directors, the “Series C/D Preferred Directors” and, together with the Series A/B Preferred Directors, the “Preferred Directors”); provided, however, for administrative convenience, the initial Series D Preferred Director may also be appointed by the Board in connection with the approval of the initial issuance of Series D Preferred Stock without separate action by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, Any director elected as provided in the preceding sentence may be removed without cause (consistent with Delaware law) by, and only by, the affirmative vote of the holders of the applicable series of Preferred Stock, given either at a special meeting of such stockholders duly called for that purpose or pursuant to a written consent of stockholders, If the holders of shares of Preferred Stock fail to elect a sufficient number of directors to fill all directorships for which they are entitled to elect directors, voting exclusively and as a single separate class, pursuant to the first sentence of this Section 3.2, then any directorship not so filled shall remain vacant until such time as the holders of the applicable series of Preferred Stock elect a person to fill such directorship by vote or written consent in lieu of a meeting; and no such directorship may be filled by stockholders of the Corporation other than by the holders of the applicable series of Preferred Stock, voting exclusively and as a single separate class. The holders of record of the shares of Common Stock and of any other class or series of voting stock (including the Preferred Stock), voting together as a single class on an as-converted basis, shall be entitled to elect the balance of the total number of directors of the Corporation, At any meeting of the Board, the presence of a majority of directors, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, shall constitute a quorum. At any meeting held for the purpose of electing a director, the presence in person or by
proxy of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the class or series entitled to elect such director shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of electing such director. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 3.2, a vacancy in any directorship filled by the holders of any class or series shall be filled only by vote or written consent in lieu of a meeting of the holders of such class or series or by any remaining director or directors elected by the holders of such class or series pursuant to this Section 3.2.
3.3Preferred Stock Protective Provisions. At any time when at least 1,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock are outstanding (subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of any stock dividend, stock split, combination or other similar recapitalization with respect to the Preferred Stock), the Corporation shall not, either directly or indirectly by amendment, merger, consolidation, domestication, transfer, continuance, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, waiver, statutory conversion or otherwise, do any of the following without (in addition to any other vote required by law or the Restated Certificate) the written consent or affirmative vote of the Requisite Holders, and any such act or transaction entered into without such consent or vote shall be null and void ab initio, and of no force or effect:
(a)liquidate, dissolve or wind-up the business and affairs of the Corporation or effect any merger or consolidation or other Deemed Liquidation Event;
(b)amend, alter or repeal any provision of the Restated Certificate or the bylaws of the Corporation (the “Bylaws”) in a manner that adversely alters or affects the voting or other powers, preferences or other rights or privileges of the Preferred Stock or any series thereof;
(c)increase or decrease the number of authorized shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock or any series thereof;
(d)create or authorize the creation of, or issue or obligate itself to issue shares of, any additional class or series of capital stock (or any security convertible into or exercisable for any equity security) having rights, preferences or privileges senior to or on parity with the Preferred Stock with respect to the distribution of assets on the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, the payment of dividends, rights of redemption or otherwise;
(e)(i) reclassify, alter or amend any existing security of the Corporation that is pari passu with the Preferred Stock in respect of the distribution of assets on the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, the payment of dividends, rights of redemption or otherwise, if such reclassification, alteration or amendment would render such other security senior to the Preferred Stock in respect of any such right, preference or privilege, or (ii) reclassify, alter or amend any existing security of the Corporation that is junior to the Preferred Stock in respect of the distribution of assets on the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, the payment of dividends, rights of redemption or otherwise, if such reclassification, alteration or amendment would render such other security senior to or pari passu with the Preferred Stock in respect of any such right, preference or privilege;
(f)purchase or redeem (or permit any subsidiary to purchase or redeem) or pay or declare any dividend or make any distribution on, any shares of capital stock of the Corporation other than (i) redemptions of or dividends or distributions on the Preferred Stock as expressly authorized herein, (ii) repurchases of Common Stock from former employees, officers, directors, consultants or other persons who performed services for the Corporation or any subsidiary in connection with the cessation of such employment or service or (iii) the Corporation’s exercise of contractual rights of first refusal, in each case as approved by the Board, including the approval of a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving;
(g)create, or authorize the creation of, or issue, or authorize the issuance of any debt security, or permit any subsidiary to take any such action with respect to any debt security, unless approved by the Board, including the approval of a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, other than equipment leases, bank lines of credit or trade payables incurred in the ordinary course;
(h)increase or decrease the authorized number of directors constituting the Board;
(i)issue equity to acquire all of the equity, capital stock or other interests, or all or substantially all of the assets, of another entity in an amount that exceeds 10% of the shares of the Corporation’s outstanding stock immediately prior to such issuance (treating for this purpose as outstanding all shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of options, or upon conversion or exchange of convertible securities, outstanding immediately prior to such issue);
(j)create, or hold capital stock in, any subsidiary that is not wholly owned (either directly or through one or more other subsidiaries) by the Corporation, or sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any capital stock of any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Corporation, or permit any direct or indirect subsidiary to sell, lease, transfer, exclusively license or otherwise dispose (in a single transaction or series of related transactions) of all or substantially all of the assets of such subsidiary or permit any direct or indirect subsidiary to sell, transfer or otherwise issue any of its securities other than to the Corporation or to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Corporation; or
(k)establish any new stock employee option or similar plan or increase the number of shares reserved for issuance under the Corporation’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (as currently amended) or any similar equity incentive or compensation arrangement unless approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then- serving.
3.4Series B Preferred Stock Protective Provisions. For so long as at least 250,000 shares of the Series B Preferred Stock remain outstanding (as such number is adjusted for stock splits, combinations of shares and for dividends paid on the Series B Preferred Stock in shares of such stock), the Corporation shall not, either directly or indirectly by amendment, merger, consolidation, domestication, transfer, continuance, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, waiver, statutory conversion or otherwise, do any of the following without (in addition to any other vote required by law or this Restated Certificate) the written
consent, or affirmative vote at a meeting and evidenced in writing, of at least forty-five percent (45%) of the then-outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock, consenting or voting as a separate class on an as-converted basis (the “Requisite Series B Holders”):
(a)alter, amend or waive any provision of this Restated Certificate or the Bylaws, as then in effect, in a way that adversely affects the rights, preferences, or privileges of the Series B Preferred Stock in a manner different than the other series of Preferred Stock, it being understood that the creation, authorization or issuance of a new series of Preferred Stock shall not be deemed to adversely affect the holders of the Series B Preferred Stock; or
(b)increase or decrease the authorized number of shares of Series B Preferred Stock.
3.5Series C Preferred Stock Protective Provisions. For so long as at least 65,791,955 shares of the Series C Preferred Stock remain outstanding (as such number is adjusted for stock splits, combinations of shares and for dividends paid on the Series C Preferred Stock in shares of such stock), the Corporation shall not, either directly or indirectly by amendment, merger, consolidation, domestication, transfer, continuance, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, waiver, statutory conversion or otherwise, do any of the following without (in addition to any other vote required by law or this Restated Certificate) the written consent, or affirmative vote at a meeting and evidenced in writing, of at least a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Series C Preferred Stock, consenting or voting as a separate class on an as-converted basis (the “Requisite Series C Holders”):
(a)alter, amend or waive any provision of this Restated Certificate or the Bylaws, as then in effect, in a way that adversely affects the rights, preferences, or privileges of the Series C Preferred Stock in a manner different than the other series of Preferred Stock, it being understood that the creation, authorization or issuance of a new series of Preferred Stock shall not be deemed to adversely affect the holders of the Series C Preferred Stock; or
(b)increase or decrease the authorized number of shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
3.6Series D Preferred Stock Protective Provisions. For so long as at least 31,586,603 shares of the Series D Preferred Stock remain outstanding (as such number is adjusted for stock splits, combinations of shares and for dividends paid on the Series D Preferred Stock in shares of such stock), the Corporation shall not, either directly or indirectly by amendment, merger, consolidation, domestication, transfer, continuance, reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, waiver, statutory conversion or otherwise, do any of the following without (in addition to any other vote required by law or this Restated Certificate) the written consent, or affirmative vote at a meeting and evidenced in writing, of at least a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Series D Preferred Stock, consenting or voting as a separate class on an as-converted basis (the “Requisite Series D Holders”):
(a)alter, amend or waive any provision of this Restated Certificate or the Bylaws, as then in effect, in a way that adversely affects the rights, preferences, or privileges of the Series D Preferred Stock in a manner different than the other series of Preferred
Stock, it being understood that the creation, authorization or issuance of a new series of Preferred Stock shall not be deemed to adversely affect the holders of the Series D Preferred Stock; or
(b)increase or decrease the authorized number of shares of Series D Preferred Stock.
The holders of the Preferred Stock shall have conversion rights as follows (the “Conversion Rights”):
4.1.1Conversion Ratio. Each share of Preferred Stock shall be convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, at any time and from time to time, and without the payment of additional consideration by the holder thereof, into such whole number of fully paid and nonassessable shares of Common Stock as is determined by dividing the applicable Original Issue Price by the applicable Conversion Price (as defined below) in effect at the time of conversion; provided that such holder may waive such option to convert upon written notice to the Corporation. The “Conversion Price” shall initially mean $1,00 per share with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock, $1,4159 per share with respect to the Series B Preferred Stock, $0,73234 per share with respect to the Series C-1 Preferred Stock, $0,58587 per share with respect to the Series C-2 Preferred Stock and $0,7963 per share with respect to the Series D Preferred Stock, Such initial Conversion Prices, and the rate at which shares of Preferred Stock may be converted into shares of Common Stock, shall be subject to adjustment as provided below. Notwithstanding the foregoing and notwithstanding Section 4,3.1, the optional right to convert shares of Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock pursuant to the first sentence of this Section 4,1.1 shall be suspended, and no optional conversion may be effective, from and after April 8, 2025 until immediately after the earlier of (x) the Additional Closing Outside Date (as defined in that certain Series D Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated on or about the date hereof, by and among the Corporation and the investors party thereto (as may be amended from time to time) (the “Series D Purchase Agreement”)) and associated Special Mandatory Conversion or (y) termination of the Qualified Financing; provided, however, that the foregoing limitation on the right to optionally convert shares into Common Stock pursuant to this Section 4,1.1 shall not affect the calculation of the number of shares deemed issuable upon conversion of such shares for purposes of (A) voting rights under this Restated Certificate, or (B) determining amounts payable in respect of shares of Preferred Stock in connection with a dissolution, liquidation, or winding up of the Corporation or pursuant to a Deemed Liquidation Event.
4.1.2Termination of Conversion Rights. In the event of a notice of redemption of any shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to Section 2.4.2, the Conversion Rights of the shares designated for redemption shall terminate at the close of business on the last full day preceding the date fixed for redemption, unless the redemption price is not fully paid on such redemption date, in which case the Conversion Rights for such shares shall continue until such price is paid in full. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation or a Deemed Liquidation Event, the Conversion Rights shall terminate at the close of business on the
last full day preceding the date fixed for the payment of any such amounts distributable on such event to the holders of Preferred Stock.
4.2Fractional Shares. No fractional shares of Common Stock shall be issued upon conversion of the Preferred Stock, In lieu of any fractional shares to which the holder would otherwise be entitled, the Corporation shall pay cash equal to such fraction multiplied by the fair market value of a share of Common Stock as determined in good faith by the Board. Whether or not fractional shares would be issuable upon such conversion shall be determined on the basis of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock the holder is at the time converting into Common Stock and the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon such conversion.
4.3Mechanics of Conversion.
4.3.1Notice of Conversion. In order for a holder of Preferred Stock to voluntarily convert shares of Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock, such holder shall (a) provide written notice to the Corporation’s transfer agent at the office of the transfer agent for the Preferred Stock (or at the principal office of the Corporation if the Corporation serves as its own transfer agent) that such holder elects to convert all or any number of such holder’s shares of Preferred Stock and, if applicable, any event on which such conversion is contingent and (b), if such holder’s shares are certificated, surrender the certificate or certificates for such shares of Preferred Stock (or, if such registered holder alleges that such certificate has been lost, stolen or destroyed, a lost certificate affidavit and agreement reasonably acceptable to the Corporation to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of such certificate), at the office of the transfer agent for the Preferred Stock (or at the principal office of the Corporation if the Corporation serves as its own transfer agent). Such notice shall state such holder’s name or the names of the nominees in which such holder wishes the shares of Common Stock to be issued, If required by the Corporation, any certificates surrendered for conversion shall be endorsed or accompanied by a written instrument or instruments of transfer, in form satisfactory to the Corporation, duly executed by the registered holder or his, her or its attorney duly authorized in writing, The close of business on the date of receipt by the transfer agent (or by the Corporation if the Corporation serves as its own transfer agent) of such notice and, if applicable, certificates (or lost certificate affidavit and agreement) shall be the time of conversion (the “Conversion Time”), and the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the specified shares shall be deemed to be outstanding of record as of such date, The Corporation shall, as soon as practicable after the Conversion Time (i) issue and deliver to such holder of Preferred Stock, or to his, her or its nominees, a certificate or certificates for the number of full shares of Common Stock issuable upon such conversion in accordance with the provisions hereof and a certificate for the number (if any) of the shares of Preferred Stock represented by the surrendered certificate that were not converted into Common Stock, (ii) pay in cash such amount as provided in Section 4.2 in lieu of any fraction of a share of Common Stock otherwise issuable upon such conversion and (iii) pay all declared but unpaid dividends on the shares of Preferred Stock converted.
4.3.2Reservation of Shares. The Corporation shall at all times when the Preferred Stock shall be outstanding, reserve and keep available out of its authorized but unissued capital stock, for the purpose of effecting the conversion of the Preferred Stock, such
number of its duly authorized shares of Common Stock as shall from time to time be sufficient to effect the conversion of all outstanding Preferred Stock; and if at any time the number of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock shall not be sufficient to effect the conversion of all then outstanding shares of the Preferred Stock, the Corporation shall take such corporate action as may be necessary to increase its authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock to such number of shares as shall be sufficient for such purposes, including, without limitation, engaging in best efforts to obtain the requisite stockholder approval of any necessary amendment to the Restated Certificate, Before taking any action which would cause an adjustment reducing the applicable Conversion Price below the then par value of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Preferred Stock, the Corporation will take any corporate action which may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary in order that the Corporation may validly and legally issue fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock at such adjusted applicable Conversion Price.
4.3.3Effect of Conversion. All shares of Preferred Stock which shall have been surrendered for conversion as herein provided shall no longer be deemed to be outstanding and all rights with respect to such shares shall immediately cease and terminate at the Conversion Time, except only the right of the holders thereof to receive shares of Common Stock in exchange therefor, to receive payment in lieu of any fraction of a share otherwise issuable upon such conversion as provided in Section 4.2 and to receive payment of any dividends declared but unpaid thereon. Any shares of Preferred Stock so converted shall be retired and cancelled and may not be reissued as shares of such series, and the Corporation may thereafter take such appropriate action (without the need for stockholder action) as may be necessary to reduce the authorized number of shares of Preferred Stock accordingly.
4.3.4No Further Adjustment. Upon any such conversion, no adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price shall be made for any declared but unpaid dividends on the Preferred Stock surrendered for conversion or on the Common Stock delivered upon conversion.
4.3.5Taxes. The Corporation shall pay any and all issue and other similar taxes that may be payable in respect of any issuance or delivery of shares of Common Stock upon conversion of shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to this Section 4. The Corporation shall not, however, be required to pay any tax which may be payable in respect of any transfer involved in the issuance and delivery of shares of Common Stock in a name other than that in which the shares of Preferred Stock so converted were registered, and no such issuance or delivery shall be made unless and until the person or entity requesting such issuance has paid to the Corporation the amount of any such tax or has established, to the satisfaction of the Corporation, that such tax has been paid.
4.4Adjustments to Conversion Price for Diluting Issues.
4.4.1Special Definitions. For purposes of this Article Fourth, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)“Option” shall mean rights, options or warrants to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire Common Stock or Convertible Securities,
(b)“Series D Original Issue Date” shall mean the date on which the first share of Series D Preferred Stock was issued,
(c)“Convertible Securities” shall mean any evidences of indebtedness, shares or other securities directly or indirectly convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, but excluding Options.
(d)“Additional Shares of Common Stock” shall mean all shares of Common Stock issued (or, pursuant to Section 4.4.3 below, deemed to be issued) by the Corporation on or after the Series D Original Issue Date, other than (1) the following shares of Common Stock and (2) shares of Common Stock deemed issued pursuant to the following Options and Convertible Securities (clauses (1) and (2), collectively, “Exempted Securities”):
(i) shares of Common Stock, Options or Convertible Securities issued as a dividend or distribution on the Preferred Stock;
(ii) shares of Common Stock or Convertible Securities actually issued upon the exercise of Options or shares of Common Stock actually issued upon the conversion or exchange of Convertible Securities, in each case provided such issuance is pursuant to the terms of such Option or Convertible Security;
(iii) shares of Common Stock, Options or Convertible Securities issued by reason of a dividend, stock split, split-up or other distribution on shares of Common Stock that is covered by Section 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 or 4.8;
(iv) shares of Common Stock or Options issued to employees or directors of, or consultants or advisors to, the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to (A) the Corporation’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (as may be amended and/or restated from time to time) or (B) any other plan, agreement or arrangement approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving;
(v) shares of Common Stock, Options or Convertible Securities issued to banks, equipment lessors or other financial institutions pursuant to a debt financing, equipment lease financing arrangements, credit agreements or other commercial transactions approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving;
(vi) shares of Common Stock, Options or Convertible Securities issued in connection with research and development partnerships, licensing, corporate partnering, collaborative arrangements or similar transactions approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving;
(vii) shares of Common Stock, Options or Convertible Securities issued in connection with the acquisition of another corporation by the Corporation by merger, purchase of substantially all the assets, reorganization, consolidation, acquisition or similar business combination approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving; or
(viii) shares of Series D Preferred Stock issued pursuant to the Series D Purchase Agreement.
4.4.2No Adjustment of Conversion Price. No adjustment in the Conversion Price applicable to a series of Preferred Stock shall be made as the result of the issuance or deemed issuance of Additional Shares of Common Stock if the Corporation receives written notice from (i) the holders of at least sixty percent (60%) of the Series A Preferred Stock, voting as a separate class, with respect to any adjustment to the Conversion Price of the Series A Preferred Stock, (ii) the Requisite Series B Holders, with respect to any adjustment to the Conversion Price of the Series B Preferred Stock, (iii) the Requisite Series C Holders, with respect to any adjustment to the Conversion Price of the Series C Preferred Stock and (iv) the Requisite Series D Holders, with respect to any adjustment to the Conversion Price of the Series D Preferred Stock, in each case agreeing that no such adjustment shall be made as the result of the issuance or deemed issuance of such Additional Shares of Common Stock.
4.4.3Deemed Issue of Additional Shares of Common Stock.
(a)If the Corporation at any time or from time to time after the Series D Original Issue Date shall issue any Options or Convertible Securities (excluding Options or Convertible Securities which are themselves Exempted Securities) or shall fix a record date for the determination of holders of any class of securities entitled to receive any such Options or Convertible Securities, then the maximum number of shares of Common Stock (as set forth in the instrument relating thereto, assuming the satisfaction of any conditions to exercisability, convertibility or exchangeability but without regard to any provision contained therein for a subsequent adjustment of such number) issuable upon the exercise of such Options or, in the case of Convertible Securities and Options therefor, the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities, shall be deemed to be Additional Shares of Common Stock issued as of the time of such issue or, in case such a record date shall have been fixed, as of the close of business on such record date.
(b)If the terms of any Option or Convertible Security, the issuance of which resulted in an adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price pursuant to the terms of Section 4.4.4, are revised as a result of an amendment to such terms or any other adjustment pursuant to the provisions of such Option or Convertible Security (but excluding automatic adjustments to such terms pursuant to anti-dilution or similar provisions of such Option or Convertible Security) to provide for either (1) any increase or decrease in the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise, conversion and/or exchange of any such Option or Convertible Security or (2) any increase or decrease in the consideration payable to the Corporation upon such exercise, conversion and/or exchange, then, effective upon such increase or decrease becoming effective, the applicable Conversion Price computed upon the original issue of such Option or Convertible Security (or upon the occurrence of a record date with respect thereto) shall be readjusted to such applicable Conversion Price as would have obtained had such revised terms been in effect upon the original date of issuance of such Option or Convertible Security, Notwithstanding the foregoing, no readjustment pursuant to this clause (b) shall have the effect of increasing the applicable Conversion Price to an amount which exceeds the lower of (i) the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to the original adjustment made as a result of the issuance of such Option or Convertible Security, or (ii) the applicable Conversion Price that
would have resulted from any issuances of Additional Shares of Common Stock (other than deemed issuances of Additional Shares of Common Stock as a result of the issuance of such Option or Convertible Security) between the original adjustment date and such readjustment date.
(c)If the terms of any Option or Convertible Security (excluding Options or Convertible Securities which are themselves Exempted Securities), the issuance of which did not result in an adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price pursuant to the terms of Section 4.4,4 (either because the consideration per share (determined pursuant to Section 4,4,5) of the Additional Shares of Common Stock subject thereto was equal to or greater than the applicable Conversion Price then in effect, or because such Option or Convertible Security was issued before the Series D Original Issue Date), are revised after the Series D Original Issue Date as a result of an amendment to such terms or any other adjustment pursuant to the provisions of such Option or Convertible Security (but excluding automatic adjustments to such terms pursuant to anti-dilution or similar provisions of such Option or Convertible Security) to provide for either (1) any increase in the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of any such Option or Convertible Security or (2) any decrease in the consideration payable to the Corporation upon such exercise, conversion or exchange, then such Option or Convertible Security, as so amended or adjusted, and the Additional Shares of Common Stock subject thereto (determined in the manner provided in Section 4.4.3(a) shall be deemed to have been issued effective upon such increase or decrease becoming effective.
(d)Upon the expiration or termination of any unexercised Option or unconverted or unexchanged Convertible Security (or portion thereof) which resulted (either upon its original issuance or upon a revision of its terms) in an adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price pursuant to the terms of Section 4.4.4, the applicable Conversion Price shall be readjusted to such applicable Conversion Price as would have obtained had such Option or Convertible Security (or portion thereof) never been issued.
(e)If the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise, conversion and/or exchange of any Option or Convertible Security, or the consideration payable to the Corporation upon such exercise, conversion and/or exchange, is calculable at the time such Option or Convertible Security is issued or amended but is subject to adjustment based upon subsequent events, any adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price provided for in this Section 4.4.3 shall be effected at the time of such issuance or amendment based on such number of shares or amount of consideration without regard to any provisions for subsequent adjustments (and any subsequent adjustments shall be treated as provided in clauses (b) and (c) of this Section 4.4.3). If the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise, conversion and/or exchange of any Option or Convertible Security, or the consideration payable to the Corporation upon such exercise, conversion and/or exchange, cannot be calculated at all at the time such Option or Convertible Security is issued or amended, any adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price that would result under the terms of this Section 4.4.3 at the time of such issuance or amendment shall instead be effected at the time such number of shares and/or amount of consideration is first calculable (even if subject to subsequent adjustments), assuming for purposes of calculating such adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price that such issuance or amendment took place at the time such calculation can first be made.
4.4.4Adjustment of Conversion Price Upon Issuance of Additional Shares of Common Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at any time or from time to time after the Series D Original Issue Date issue Additional Shares of Common Stock (including Additional Shares of Common Stock deemed to be issued pursuant to Section 4,4,3). without consideration or for a consideration per share less than the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to such issuance or deemed issuance, then the applicable Conversion Price shall be reduced, concurrently with such issuance or deemed issuance, to a price (calculated to the nearest one-hundredth of a cent) determined in accordance with the following formula:
CP2= CP1* (A+B) - (A+C).
For purposes of the foregoing formula, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)“CP2” shall mean the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately after such issuance or deemed issuance of Additional Shares of Common Stock
(b)“CP1” shall mean the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately prior to such issuance or deemed issuance of Additional Shares of Common Stock;
(c)“A” shall mean the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to such issuance or deemed issuance of Additional Shares of Common Stock (treating for this purpose as outstanding all shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of Options outstanding immediately prior to such issuance or deemed issuance or upon conversion or exchange of Convertible Securities (including the Preferred Stock) outstanding (assuming exercise of any outstanding Options therefor) immediately prior to such issuance or deemed issuance);
(d)“B” shall mean the number of shares of Common Stock that would have been issued if such Additional Shares of Common Stock had been issued at a price per share equal to CPI (determined by dividing the aggregate consideration received by the Corporation in respect of such issuance or deemed issuance by CP1); and
(e)“C” shall mean the number of such Additional Shares of Common Stock issued or deemed issued in such transaction;
4.4.5Determination of Consideration. For purposes of this Section 4.4, the consideration received by the Corporation for the issue of any Additional Shares of Common Stock shall be computed as follows:
(a)Cash and Property: Such consideration shall:
(i) insofar as it consists of cash, be computed at the aggregate amount of cash received by the Corporation, excluding amounts paid or payable for accrued interest;
(ii) insofar as it consists of property other than cash, be computed at the fair market value thereof at the time of such issue, as determined in good faith by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving; and
(iii) in the event Additional Shares of Common Stock are issued together with other shares or securities or other assets of the Corporation for consideration which covers both, be the proportion of such consideration so received, computed as provided in clauses (i) and (ii) above, as determined in good faith by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving.
(b)Options and Convertible Securities. The consideration per share received by the Corporation for Additional Shares of Common Stock deemed to have been issued pursuant to Section 4.4.3, relating to Options and Convertible Securities, shall be determined by dividing:
(i) The total amount, if any, received or receivable by the Corporation as consideration for the issue of such Options or Convertible Securities, plus the minimum aggregate amount of additional consideration (as set forth in the instruments relating thereto, without regard to any provision contained therein for a subsequent adjustment of such consideration) payable to the Corporation upon the exercise of such Options or the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities, or in the case of Options for Convertible Securities, the exercise of such Options for Convertible Securities and the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities, by
(ii) the maximum number of shares of Common Stock (as set forth in the instruments relating thereto, without regard to any provision contained therein for a subsequent adjustment of such number) issuable upon the exercise of such Options or the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities, or in the case of Options for Convertible Securities, the exercise of such Options for Convertible Securities and the conversion or exchange of such Convertible Securities.
4.4.6Multiple Closing Dates. In the event the Corporation shall issue on more than one date Additional Shares of Common Stock that are a part of one transaction or a series of related transactions and that would result in an adjustment to the applicable Conversion Price pursuant to the terms of Section 4.4.4, and such issuance dates occur within a period of no more than ninety (90) days from the first such issuance to the final such issuance, then, upon the final such issuance, the applicable Conversion Price shall be readjusted to give effect to all such issuances as if they occurred on the date of the first such issuance (and without giving effect to any additional adjustments as a result of any such subsequent issuances within such period).
4.5Adjustment for Stock Splits and Combinations. If the Corporation shall at any time or from time to time after the Series D Original Issue Date effect a subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock, the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately before that subdivision shall be proportionately decreased so that the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on conversion of each share of such series shall be increased in proportion to such increase in the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. If the Corporation shall at any
time or from time to time after the Series D Original Issue Date combine the outstanding shares of Common Stock, the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately before the combination shall be proportionately increased so that the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on conversion of each share of such series shall be decreased in proportion to such decrease in the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. Any adjustment under this Section 4,5 shall become effective at the close of business on the date the subdivision or combination becomes effective.
4.6Adjustment for Certain Dividends and Distributions. In the event the Corporation at any time or from time to time after the Series D Original Issue Date shall make or issue, or fix a record date for the determination of holders of Common Stock entitled to receive, a dividend or other distribution payable on the Common Stock in additional shares of Common Stock, then and in each such event the applicable Conversion Price in effect immediately before such event shall be decreased as of the time of such issuance or, in the event such a record date shall have been fixed, as of the close of business on such record date, by multiplying the applicable Conversion Price then in effect by a fraction:
(1)the numerator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance or the close of business on such record date, and
(2)the denominator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance or the close of business on such record date plus the number of shares of Common Stock issuable in payment of such dividend or distribution.
Notwithstanding the foregoing (a) if such record date shall have been fixed and such dividend is not fully paid or if such distribution is not fully made on the date fixed therefor, the applicable Conversion Price shall be recomputed accordingly as of the close of business on such record date and thereafter the applicable Conversion Price shall be adjusted pursuant to this Section 4,6 as of the time of actual payment of such dividends or distributions; and (b) that no such adjustment shall be made if the holders of Preferred Stock simultaneously receive a dividend or other distribution of shares of Common Stock in a number equal to the number of shares of Common Stock as they would have received if all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock had been converted into Common Stock on the date of such event.
4.7Adjustments for Other Dividends and Distributions. In the event the Corporation at any time or from time to time after the Series D Original Issue Date shall make or issue, or fix a record date for the determination of holders of Common Stock entitled to receive, a dividend or other distribution payable in securities of the Corporation (other than a distribution of shares of Common Stock in respect of outstanding shares of Common Stock) or in other property and the provisions of Section 1 do not apply to such dividend or distribution, then and in each such event the holders of Preferred Stock shall receive, simultaneously with the distribution to the holders of Common Stock, a dividend or other distribution of such securities or other property in an amount equal to the amount of such securities or other property as they would have received if all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock had been converted into Common Stock on the date of such event.
4.8Adjustment for Merger or Reorganization, etc. Subject to the provisions of Section 2.4, if there shall occur any reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, consolidation, merger or statutory conversion involving the Corporation in which the Common Stock (but not the Preferred Stock) is converted into or exchanged for securities, cash or other property (other than a transaction covered by Sections 4.4, 4.6 or 4.7), then, following any such reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, consolidation, merger or statutory conversion, each share of Preferred Stock shall thereafter be convertible in lieu of the Common Stock into which it was convertible prior to such event into the kind and amount of securities, cash or other property which a holder of the number of shares of Common Stock of the Corporation issuable upon conversion of one share of such series of Preferred Stock immediately prior to such reorganization, recapitalization, reclassification, consolidation, merger or statutory conversion would have been entitled to receive pursuant to such transaction; and, in such case, appropriate adjustment (as determined in good faith by the Board) shall be made in the application of the provisions in this Section 4 with respect to the rights and interests thereafter of the holders of the Preferred Stock, to the end that the provisions set forth in this Section 4 (including provisions with respect to changes in and other adjustments of the applicable Conversion Price) shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to any securities or other property thereafter deliverable upon the conversion of the Preferred Stock. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 4.8 shall be construed as preventing the holders of Preferred Stock from seeking any appraisal rights to which they are otherwise entitled under the General Corporation Law in connection with a merger or statutory conversion triggering an adjustment hereunder, nor shall this Section 4.8 be deemed conclusive evidence of the fair value of the shares of Preferred Stock in any such appraisal proceeding.
4.9Certificate as to Adjustments. Upon the occurrence of each adjustment or readjustment of the applicable Conversion Price pursuant to this Section 4, the Corporation at its expense shall, as promptly as reasonably practicable (but in any event not later than twenty (20) days thereafter), compute such adjustment or readjustment in accordance with the terms hereof and furnish to each holder of Preferred Stock a certificate setting forth such adjustment or readjustment (including the kind and amount of securities, cash or other property into which each series of Preferred Stock is convertible) and showing in detail the facts upon which such adjustment or readjustment is based. The Corporation shall, as promptly as reasonably practicable after the written request at any time of any holder of Preferred Stock (but in any event not later than twenty (20) days thereafter), furnish or cause to be furnished to such holder a certificate setting forth (i) the applicable Conversion Price(s) then in effect, and (ii) the number of shares of Common Stock and the amount, if any, of other securities, cash or property which then would be received upon the conversion of Preferred Stock.
4.10Notice of Record Date. In the event:
(a)the Corporation shall take a record of the holders of its Common Stock (or other capital stock or securities at the time issuable upon conversion of the Preferred Stock) for the purpose of entitling or enabling them to receive any dividend or other distribution, or to receive any right to subscribe for or purchase any shares of capital stock of any class or any other securities, or to receive any other security; or
(b)of any capital reorganization of the Corporation, any
reclassification of the Common Stock of the Corporation, or any Deemed Liquidation Event; or
(c)of the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Corporation,
then, and in each such case, the Corporation will send or cause to be sent to the holders of the Preferred Stock a notice specifying, as the case may be, (i) the record date for such dividend, distribution or right, and the amount and character of such dividend, distribution or right, or (ii) the effective date on which such reorganization, reclassification, consolidation, merger, transfer, dissolution, liquidation or winding up is proposed to take place, and the time, if any is to be fixed, as of which the holders of record of Common Stock (or such other capital stock or securities at the time issuable upon the conversion of the Preferred Stock) shall be entitled to exchange their shares of Common Stock (or such other capital stock or securities) for securities or other property deliverable upon such reorganization, reclassification, consolidation, merger, transfer, dissolution, liquidation or winding up, and the amount per share and character of such exchange applicable to the Preferred Stock and the Common Stock. Such notice shall be sent at least ten (10) days prior to the record date or effective date for the event specified in such notice; provided that, in either case, such notice may be shortened and/or notice may be waived upon the Corporation’s receipt of written consent of the Requisite Holders.
5.1Trigger Events. Upon either (a) the closing of the sale of shares of Common Stock to the public at a price at least equal to $2,39 per share (subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of any stock dividend, stock split, combination or other similar recapitalization with respect to the Common Stock) in a firm-commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, resulting in at least $50,000,000 of net proceeds to the Corporation and in connection with such offering the shares of Common Stock are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the New York Stock Exchange or another exchange or marketplace approved by the Board (a “Qualified IPO”) or (b) the date and time, or the occurrence of an event, specified by vote or written consent of (i) the Requisite Holders and (ii) the holders of at least a majority of the then- outstanding shares of Series C Preferred Stock and Series D Preferred Stock, voting together on an as-converted basis (the time of such closing or the date and time specified or the time of the event specified in such vote or written consent is referred to herein as the “Mandatory Conversion Time”), then (A) all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock shall automatically be converted into shares of Common Stock, at the then effective conversion rate as calculated pursuant to Section 4.1.1 and (B) such shares may not be reissued by the Corporation.
5.2Procedural Requirements. All holders of record of shares of Preferred Stock shall be sent written notice of the Mandatory Conversion Time and the place designated for mandatory conversion of all such shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to this Section 5. Such notice need not be sent in advance of the occurrence of the Mandatory Conversion Time, Upon receipt of such notice, each holder of shares of Preferred Stock in certificated form shall surrender his, her or its certificate or certificates for all such shares (or, if such holder alleges that such certificate has been lost, stolen or destroyed, a lost certificate affidavit and agreement reasonably acceptable to the Corporation to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may
be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of such certificate) to the Corporation at the place designated in such notice. If so required by the Corporation, any certificates surrendered for conversion shall be endorsed or accompanied by written instrument or instruments of transfer, in form satisfactory to the Corporation, duly executed by the registered holder or by his, her or its attorney duly authorized in writing. All rights with respect to the Preferred Stock converted pursuant to Section 5.1, including the rights, if any, to receive notices and vote (other than as a holder of Common Stock), will terminate at the Mandatory Conversion Time (notwithstanding the failure of the holder or holders thereof to surrender any certificates at or prior to such time), except only the rights of the holders thereof, upon surrender of any certificate or certificates of such holders (or lost certificate affidavit and agreement) therefor, to receive the items provided for in the next sentence of this Section 5.2. As soon as practicable after the Mandatory Conversion Time and, if applicable, the surrender of any certificate or certificates (or lost certificate affidavit and agreement) for the Preferred Stock, the Corporation shall (a) issue and deliver to such holder, or to his, her or its nominees, a certificate or certificates for the number of full shares of Common Stock issuable on such conversion in accordance with the provisions hereof and (b) pay cash as provided in Section 4.2 in lieu of any fraction of a share of Common Stock otherwise issuable upon such conversion and the payment of any declared but unpaid dividends on the shares of Preferred Stock converted. Such converted Preferred Stock shall be retired and cancelled and may not be reissued as shares of such series, and the Corporation may thereafter take such appropriate action (without the need for stockholder action) as may be necessary to reduce the authorized number of shares of Preferred Stock accordingly.
5.ASpecial Mandatory Conversion.
5.A.1. Trigger Event. In the event that any holder of shares of Preferred Stock, determined as of immediately prior to the Series D Original Issue Date, or its Affiliates (as defined below) does not participate in a Qualified Financing (as defined below) by purchasing in the aggregate, in such Qualified Financing and on or by the Additional Closing Outside Date or within the time period specified by the Corporation (provided that, the Corporation has sent to each holder of Preferred Stock at least 10 days written notice of, and the opportunity to purchase its Pro Rata Amount (as defined below) of, the Qualified Financing), such holder’s Pro Rata Amount, then the Applicable Portion (as defined below) of the shares of Preferred Stock held by such holder and its Affiliates shall automatically, and without any further action on the part of such holder and its Affiliates, be converted into shares of Common Stock on a five-to-one basis whereby each five (5) shares of Preferred Stock held by such holder immediately prior to the Additional Closing Outside Date (as defined in the Series D Purchase Agreement) of the Qualified Financing is converted into one (1) share of Common Stock, effective upon, subject to, and concurrently with, the Additional Closing Outside Date (as defined in the Series D Purchase Agreement) of the Qualified Financing. For purposes of determining the number of shares of Preferred Stock owned by a holder, and for determining the number of Offered Securities (as defined below) a holder of Preferred Stock has purchased in a Qualified Financing, all shares of Preferred Stock held by Affiliates of such holder shall be aggregated with such holder’s shares and all Offered Securities purchased by Affiliates of such holder shall be aggregated with the Offered Securities purchased by such holder (provided that no shares or securities shall be attributed to more than one entity or person within any such group of affiliated entities or persons). Such conversion is referred to as a
“Special Mandatory Conversion.” For the avoidance of doubt, a Special Mandatory Conversion shall not apply with respect to any Series D Preferred Stock.
5.A.2Procedural Requirements. Upon a Special Mandatory Conversion, each holder of shares of Preferred Stock converted pursuant to Section 5A.1 shall be sent written notice of such Special Mandatory Conversion and the place designated for mandatory conversion of all such shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to this Section 5 A, Upon receipt of such notice, each holder of such shares of Preferred Stock in certificated form shall surrender his, her or its certificate or certificates for all such shares (or, if such holder alleges that any such certificate has been lost, stolen or destroyed, a lost certificate affidavit and agreement reasonably acceptable to the Corporation to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of such certificate) to the Corporation at the place designated in such notice. If so required by the Corporation, any certificates surrendered for conversion shall be endorsed or accompanied by written instrument or instruments of transfer, in form satisfactory to the Corporation, duly executed by the registered holder or by his, her or its attorney duly authorized in writing, All rights with respect to the Preferred Stock converted pursuant to Section 5A.1, including the rights, if any, to receive notices and vote (other than as a holder of Common Stock), will terminate at the time of the Special Mandatory Conversion (notwithstanding the failure of the holder or holders thereof to surrender any certificates for such shares at or prior to such time), except only the rights of the holders thereof, upon surrender of any certificate or certificates of such holders therefor (or lost certificate affidavit and agreement), to receive the items provided for in the next sentence of this Section 5A.2, As soon as practicable after the Special Mandatory Conversion and, if applicable, the surrender of any certificate or certificates (or lost certificate affidavit and agreement) for Preferred Stock so converted, the Corporation shall (a) issue and deliver to such holder, or to his, her or its nominees, a certificate or certificates for the number of full shares of Common Stock issuable on such conversion in accordance with the provisions hereof, (b) pay any declared but unpaid dividends on the shares of Preferred Stock converted and (c) a new certificate for the number of shares, if any, of Preferred Stock represented by such surrendered certificate and not converted pursuant to Section 5A.1.
5.A.3Definitions. For purposes of this Section 5A, the following definitions shall apply:
5A.3.1 “Affiliate” shall mean, with respect to any holder of shares of Preferred Stock, any person, entity or firm which, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such holder, including, without limitation, any entity of which the holder is a partner or member, any partner, officer, director, member or employee of such holder and any venture capital fund or other investment fund now or hereafter existing of which the holder is a partner or member which is controlled by or under common control with one or more general partners, managing members or investment advisors of such holder or shares the same management company or investment advisor with such holder.
5A.3.2 “Applicable Portion” shall mean, with respect to any holder of shares of Preferred Stock, a number of shares of Preferred Stock calculated by multiplying the aggregate number of shares of Preferred Stock held by such holder immediately prior to a Qualified Financing by a fraction, the numerator of which is equal to the amount, if positive, by which such holder’s Pro Rata Amount exceeds the number of Offered Securities actually purchased by such holder in such Qualified Financing, and the denominator of which is equal to such holder’s Pro Rata Amount.
5A.3.3 “Offered Securities” shall mean the equity securities of the Corporation set aside by the Board of Directors for purchase by holders of outstanding shares of Preferred Stock in connection with a Qualified Financing, and offered to such holders.
5A.3.4 “Pro Rata Amount” shall mean, with respect to any holder of Preferred Stock, the lesser of (a) a number of Offered Securities calculated by multiplying the aggregate number of Offered Securities by a fraction, the numerator of which is equal to the number of shares of Preferred Stock owned by such holder, and the denominator of which is equal to the aggregate number of outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, or (b) the maximum number of Offered Securities that such holder is permitted by the Corporation to purchase in such Qualified Financing, after giving effect to any cutbacks or limitations established by the Board of Directors and applied on a pro rata basis to all holders of Preferred Stock.
5A.3.5 “Qualified Financing” shall mean the sale and issuance of Series D Preferred Stock pursuant to the Series D Purchase Agreement that results in at least $10,000,000 in gross proceeds to the Corporation.
6.Redemption. Except as expressly provided herein, the Preferred Stock is not redeemable at the option of the holder thereof.
7.Redeemed or Otherwise Acquired Shares. Any shares of Preferred Stock or Common Stock that are not reserved for issuance under the Corporation’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (as may be amended and/or restated from time to time) or 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (as may be amended and/or restated from time to time) that are redeemed or otherwise acquired by the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries shall be automatically and immediately cancelled and retired and shall not be reissued, sold or transferred. Neither the Corporation nor any of its subsidiaries may exercise any voting or other rights granted to the holders of Preferred Stock or Common Stock following redemption.
8.Waiver. Except for any consent, approval threshold, right or vote that is specific to fewer than all series of Preferred Stock, any of the rights, powers, preferences and other terms of the Preferred Stock set forth herein may be waived on behalf of all holders of Preferred Stock by the affirmative written consent or vote of the Requisite Holders.
9.Notices. Any notice required or permitted by the provisions of this Article Fourth to be given to a holder of shares of Preferred Stock shall be mailed, postage prepaid, to the post office address last shown on the records of the Corporation, or given by electronic communication in compliance with the provisions of the General Corporation Law, and shall be deemed sent upon the first business day after such mailing or electronic transmission.
FIFTH: Subject to any additional vote required by the Restated Certificate or Bylaws, in furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute, the Board is expressly authorized to make, repeal, alter, amend and rescind any or all of the Bylaws of the Corporation.
SIXTH: Subject to any additional vote required by the Restated Certificate, the number of directors of the Corporation shall be determined in the manner set forth in the Bylaws of the Corporation, Each director shall be entitled to one (1) vote on each matter presented to the Board; provided, however, that, so long as the holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to elect a Preferred Director, the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the Preferred Directors, including a majority of the Series C/D Preferred Directors then serving, shall be required for the authorization by the Board of any of the matters set forth in Section 5,4 of the Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement, dated on or about the date of the filing of this Restated Certificate, by and among the Corporation and the other parties thereto, as such agreement may be amended from time to time.
SEVENTH: Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws of the Corporation shall so provide.
EIGHTH: Meetings of stockholders may be held within or without the State of Delaware, as the Bylaws of the Corporation may provide. The books of the Corporation may be kept outside the State of Delaware at such place or places as may be designated from time to time by the Board or in the Bylaws of the Corporation.
NINTH:.To the fullest extent permitted by law, a director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director. If the General Corporation Law or any other law of the State of Delaware is amended after approval by the stockholders of this Article Ninth to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law as so amended.
Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article Ninth by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of, or increase the liability of any director of the Corporation with respect to any acts or omissions of such director occurring prior to, such repeal or modification.
TENTH: The following indemnification provisions shall apply to the persons enumerated below.
1.Right to Indemnification of Directors and Officers. The Corporation shall indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any person (an “Indemnified Person”) who was or is made or is
threatened to be made a party or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person, or a person for whom such person is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, enterprise or nonprofit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Person in such Proceeding, Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, except as otherwise provided in Section 3 of this Article Tenth, the Corporation shall be required to indemnify an Indemnified Person in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) commenced by such Indemnified Person only if the commencement of such Proceeding (or part thereof) by the Indemnified Person was authorized in advance by the Board.
2.Prepayment of Expenses of Directors and Officers. The Corporation shall pay the expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an Indemnified Person in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that, to the extent required by law, such payment of expenses in advance of the final disposition of the Proceeding shall be made only upon receipt of an undertaking by the Indemnified Person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be ultimately determined that the Indemnified Person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article Tenth or otherwise.
3.Claims by Directors and Officers. If a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Article Tenth is not paid in full within 30 days after a written claim therefor by the Indemnified Person has been received by the Corporation, the Indemnified Person may file suit to recover the unpaid amount of such claim and, if successful in whole or in part, shall be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting such claim, In any such action the Corporation shall have the burden of proving that the Indemnified Person is not entitled to the requested indemnification or advancement of expenses under applicable law.
4.Indemnification of Employees and Agents. The Corporation may indemnify and advance expenses to any person who was or is made or is threatened to be made or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by reason of the fact that such person, or a person for whom such person is the legal representative, is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation or, while an employee or agent of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, enterprise or nonprofit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including attorney’s fees) reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding, The ultimate determination of entitlement to indemnification of persons who are non-director or officer employees or agents shall be made in such manner as is determined by the Board in its sole discretion, Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the Corporation shall not be required to indemnify a person in connection with a Proceeding initiated by such person if the Proceeding was not authorized in advance by the Board.
5.Advancement of Expenses of Employees and Agents. The Corporation may pay the expenses (including attorney’s fees) incurred by an employee or agent in defending any
Proceeding in advance of its final disposition on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Board.
6.Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights conferred on any person by this Article Tenth shall not be exclusive of any other rights which such person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the certificate of incorporation, the Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
7.Other Indemnification. The Corporation’s obligation, if any, to indemnify any person who was or is serving at its request as a director, officer or employee of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, organization or other enterprise shall be reduced by any amount such person may collect as indemnification from such other corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, organization or other enterprise.
8.Insurance. The Board may, to the full extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists, or may hereafter be amended from time to time, authorize an appropriate officer or officers to purchase and maintain at the Corporation’s expense insurance: (a) to indemnify the Corporation for any obligation which it incurs as a result of the indemnification of directors, officers and employees under the provisions of this Article Tenth; and (b) to indemnify or insure directors, officers and employees against liability in instances in which they may not otherwise be indemnified by the Corporation under the provisions of this Article Tenth.
9.Amendment or Repeal. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article Tenth shall not adversely affect any right or protection hereunder of any person in respect of any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification. The rights provided hereunder shall inure to the benefit of any Indemnified Person and such person’s heirs, executors and administrators.
ELEVENTH: The Corporation renounces, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any interest or expectancy of the Corporation in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any Excluded Opportunity, An “Excluded Opportunity” is any matter, transaction or interest that is presented to, or acquired, created or developed by, or which otherwise comes into the possession of, (i) any director of the Corporation who is not an employee of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, or (ii) any holder of Preferred Stock or any partner, member, director, stockholder, employee or agent of any such holder, other than someone who is an employee of the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries (collectively, “Covered Persons”), unless such matter, transaction or interest is presented to, or acquired, created or developed by, or otherwise comes into the possession of, a Covered Person expressly and solely in such Covered Person’s capacity as a director of the Corporation.
TWELFTH: Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for any stockholder (including a beneficial owner) to bring (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation, its directors,
officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or the Restated Certificate or Bylaws of the Corporation or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation, its directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine, except for, as to each of (i) through (iv) above, any claim as to which the Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten (10) days following such determination), which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If any provision or provisions of this Article Twelfth shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any person or entity or circumstance for any reason whatsoever, then, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the validity, legality and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Article Twelfth (including, without limitation, each portion of any sentence of this Article Twelfth containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) and the application of such provision to other persons or entities and circumstances shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
THIRTEENTH: For purposes of Section 500 of the California Corporations Code (to the extent applicable), in connection with any repurchase of shares of Common Stock permitted under this Restated Certificate from employees, officers, directors or consultants of the Corporation in connection with a termination of employment or services pursuant to agreements or arrangements approved by the Board (in addition to any other consent required under this Restated Certificate), such repurchase may be made without regard to any “preferential dividends arrears amount” or “preferential rights amount” (as those terms are defined in Section 500 of the California Corporations Code), Accordingly, for purposes of making any calculation under California Corporations Code Section 500 in connection with such repurchase, the amount of any “preferential dividends arrears amount” or “preferential rights amount” (as those terms are defined therein) shall be deemed to be zero (0).
3.That the foregoing amendment and restatement was approved by the holders of the requisite number of shares of this corporation in accordance with Section 228 of the General Corporation Law.
4.That this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which restates and integrates and further amends the provisions of the Corporation’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, has been duly adopted in accordance with Sections 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation has been executed by a duly authorized officer of this corporation on this 25th day of April, 2025.
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
By: /s/ Lyn Baranowski
Lyn Baranowski
Chief Executive Officer
EX-3.2
Exhibit 3.2
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT TO
AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”), hereby certifies that:
1. The name of the corporation is Avalyn Pharma Inc., and the corporation was originally incorporated pursuant to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) on May 27, 2011 under the name Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
2. The following amendments to the Corporation’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Current Certificate”), have been duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 242 of the DGCL, with the approval of such amendments by the Corporation’s stockholders having been given by written consent without a meeting in accordance with Sections 228 and 242 of the General Corporation Law.
3. The Current Certificate is hereby amended by deleting Article Fourth and replacing it with the following:
FOURTH: The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is (i) 585,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0,001 per share (“Common Stock”) and (ii) 462,178,988 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0,001 per share.
4. This Certificate of Amendment to the Current Certificate shall be effective as of the date of filing.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Certificate of Amendment has been executed by a duly authorized officer of the Corporation on this 2nd day of January, 2026.
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By: |
/s/ Lyn Baranowski |
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Name: Lyn Baranowski |
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Title: Chief Executive Officer |
EX-3.4
Exhibit 3.4
AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
OF
GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
BYLAWS
OF
GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Page |
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Article I OFFICES |
1 |
Section 1. |
REGISTERED OFFICE |
1 |
Section 2. |
OTHER OFFICES |
1 |
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Article II MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS |
1 |
Section 1. |
PLACE OF MEETINGS |
1 |
Section 2. |
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS |
1 |
Section 3. |
QUORUM; ADJOURNED MEETINGS AND NOTICE THEREOF |
1 |
Section 4. |
VOTING |
2 |
Section 5. |
PROXIES |
2 |
Section 6. |
SPECIAL MEETINGS |
2 |
Section 7. |
NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS |
2 |
Section 8. |
MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF STOCKHOLDER LIST |
3 |
Section 9. |
STOCKHOLDER ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING |
3 |
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Article III DIRECTORS |
4 |
Section 1. |
THE NUMBER OF DIRECTORS |
4 |
Section 2. |
VACANCIES |
4 |
Section 3. |
POWERS |
4 |
Section 4. |
PLACE OF DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS |
5 |
Section 5. |
REGULAR MEETINGS |
5 |
Section 6. |
SPECIAL MEETINGS |
5 |
Section 7. |
QUORUM |
5 |
Section 8. |
ACTION WITHOUT MEETING |
5 |
Section 9. |
TELEPHONIC MEETINGS |
5 |
Section 10. |
COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS |
5 |
Section 11. |
MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS |
6 |
Section 12. |
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD |
6 |
Section 13. |
COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS |
6 |
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Article IV OFFICERS |
6 |
Section 1. |
OFFICERS |
6 |
Section 2. |
ELECTION OF OFFICERS |
7 |
Section 3. |
SUBORDINATE OFFICERS |
7 |
Section 4. |
COMPENSATION OF OFFICERS |
7 |
Section 5. |
TERM OF OFFICE; REMOVAL AND VACANCIES |
7 |
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Section 6. |
PRESIDENT |
7 |
Section 7. |
VICE PRESIDENTS |
7 |
Section 8. |
SECRETARY |
7 |
Section 9. |
ASSISTANT SECRETARY |
8 |
Section 10. |
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OR TREASURER |
8 |
Section 11. |
ASSISTANT TREASURER |
8 |
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Article V INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS |
8 |
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Article VI INDEMNIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS |
11 |
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Article VII CERTIFICATES OF STOCK |
11 |
Section 1. |
CERTIFICATES |
11 |
Section 2. |
SIGNATURES ON CERTIFICATES |
11 |
Section 3. |
STATEMENT OF STOCK RIGHTS, PREFERENCES, PRIVILEGES |
11 |
Section 4. |
LOST CERTIFICATES |
12 |
Section 5. |
TRANSFERS OF STOCK |
12 |
Section 6. |
FIXED RECORD DATE |
12 |
Section 7. |
REGISTERED STOCKHOLDERS |
12 |
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Article VIII GENERAL PROVISIONS |
12 |
Section 1. |
DIVIDENDS |
12 |
Section 2. |
PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS; DIRECTORS’ DUTIES |
13 |
Section 3. |
CHECKS |
13 |
Section 4. |
FISCAL YEAR |
13 |
Section 5. |
CORPORATE SEAL |
13 |
Section 6. |
MANNER OF GIVING NOTICE |
13 |
Section 7. |
WAIVER OF NOTICE |
13 |
Section 8. |
ANNUAL STATEMENT |
13 |
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Article IX AMENDMENTS |
13 |
Section 1. |
AMENDMENT BY DIRECTORS OR STOCKHOLDERS |
13 |
Section 2. |
AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT |
14 |
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Article X RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL |
14 |
Section 1. |
RESTRICTION ON TRANSFER |
14 |
Section 2. |
NOTICE REQUIREMENT |
14 |
Section 3. |
OPTION OF THE CORPORATION |
14 |
Section 4. |
SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING EXCHANGES |
15 |
Section 5. |
EFFECT OF PURCHASE |
15 |
Section 6. |
CERTAIN TRANSFERS EXEMPT |
15 |
Section 7. |
LIMITATIONS ON RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL |
16 |
Section 8. |
WAIVER |
16 |
Section 9. |
ASSIGNMENT; ALTERNATIVE RIGHTS |
16 |
Section 10. |
LEGEND |
16 |
AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
OF
GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
ARTICLE I
OFFICES
Section 1.REGISTERED OFFICE. The registered office shall be in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, State of Delaware.
Section 2.OTHER OFFICES. The corporation may also have offices at such other places both within and without the State of Delaware as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine or the business of the corporation may require.
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS
Section 1.PLACE OF MEETINGS. Meetings of stockholders shall be held at any place within or outside the State of Delaware designated by the Board of Directors. In the absence of any such designation, stockholders’ meetings shall be held at the principal executive office of the corporation.
Section 2.ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS. The annual meeting of stockholders shall be held each year on a date and a time designated by the Board of Directors. At each annual meeting directors shall be elected in the manner provided in the certificate of incorporation of the corporation, as amended from time to time (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) and in these Bylaws, and any other proper business may be transacted.
Section 3.QUORUM; ADJOURNED MEETINGS AND NOTICE THEREOF. A majority of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders, the holders of which are present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business except as otherwise provided by law, by the Certificate of Incorporation, or by these Bylaws. A quorum, once established, shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum and the votes present may continue to transact business until adjournment. If, however, such quorum shall not be present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders, a majority of the voting stock represented in person or by proxy may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present or represented. At such adjourned meeting at which a quorum shall be present or represented, any business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the meeting as originally notified. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote thereat.
Section 4.VOTING. When a quorum is present at any meeting, in all matters other than the election of directors, the vote of the holders of a majority of the stock having voting power present in person or represented by proxy shall decide any question brought before such meeting, unless the question is one upon which by express provision of the statutes, or the Certificate of Incorporation, or these Bylaws, a different vote is required in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question. Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors.
Section 5.PROXIES. At each meeting of the stockholders, each stockholder having the right to vote may vote in person or may authorize another person or persons to act for him or her by proxy appointed by an instrument in writing subscribed by such stockholder and bearing a date not more than three (3) years prior to said meeting, unless said instrument provides for a longer period. All proxies must be filed with the Secretary of the corporation at the beginning of each meeting in order to be counted in any vote at the meeting. Except as may be otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, each stockholder shall have one vote for each share of stock having voting power, registered in his or her name on the books of the corporation on the record date set by the Board of Directors as provided in Article VII, Section 6 hereof.
Section 6.SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special meetings of the stockholders, for any purpose, or purposes, unless otherwise prescribed by statute or by the Certificate of Incorporation, may be called by the President and shall be called by the Chairman of the Board, President or the Secretary at the request in writing of a majority of the Board of Directors, or at the request in writing of stockholders owning a majority in amount of the entire capital stock of the corporation issued and outstanding, and entitled to vote. Such request shall state the purpose or purposes of the proposed meeting. Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to the purposes stated in the notice.
Section 7.NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS. Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting shall be given which notice shall state the place, date and hour of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. The written notice of any meeting shall be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting. If mailed, notice is given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed to the stockholder at his or her address as it appears on the records of the corporation. If electronically transmitted, then notice is deemed given when transmitted and directed to a facsimile number or electronic mail address at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice. An affidavit of the secretary or an assistant secretary or of the transfer agent or other agent of the corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
Section 8.MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION OF STOCKHOLDER LIST. The officer who has charge of the stock ledger of the corporation shall prepare and make, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours, for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting, either at a place within the city where the meeting is to be held, which place shall be specified in the notice of the meeting, or, if not so specified, at the place where the meeting is to be held. The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present.
Section 9.STOCKHOLDER ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the corporation, or any action which may be taken at any annual or special meeting of such stockholders, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the corporation by delivery to its registered office in Delaware, its principal place of business, or to an officer or agent of the corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Except with respect to any telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission, delivery made to a corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. Every written consent shall bear the date of signature of each stockholder who signs the consent and no written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within sixty (60) days of the earliest dated consent delivered to the corporation in the manner required by this Section 9, written consents signed by a sufficient number of holders to take such corporate action are delivered to the corporation by delivery to its registered office in Delaware, its principal place of business or to an officer or agent of the corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded.
A telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission consenting to an action to be taken and transmitted by a stockholder or proxyholder, or by a person or persons authorized to act for a stockholder or proxyholder, shall be deemed to be written, signed and dated for the purposes of this Section 9, provided that any such telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission sets forth or is delivered with information from which the corporation can determine (i) that the telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission was transmitted by the stockholder or proxyholder or by a person or persons authorized to act for the stockholder or proxyholder and (ii) the date on which such stockholder or proxyholder or authorized person or persons transmitted such telegram, cablegram or electronic transmission. The date on which such telegram, cablegram or electronic transmission is transmitted shall be deemed to be the date on which such consent was signed. Consents given by telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission shall be deemed delivered if transmitted to the principal place of business of the corporation or to an officer or agent of the corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded, and the telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission is
reproduced in paper form and filed with the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded.
Any copy, facsimile or other reliable reproduction of a consent in writing may be substituted or used in lieu of the original writing for any and all purposes for which the original writing could be used, provided that such copy, facsimile or other reproduction shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original writing. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given to those stockholders who have not consented in writing.
ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS
Section 1.THE NUMBER OF DIRECTORS. Unless otherwise provided by law, the number of directors which shall constitute the whole Board of Directors shall be determined from time to time solely by resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors, subject to any restrictions set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation. The directors need not be stockholders. The directors shall be elected at the annual meeting of the stockholders, except as provided in Section 2 of this Article, and each director elected shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified; provided, however, that unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or by law, any director or the entire Board of Directors may be removed, either with or without cause, from the Board of Directors at any meeting of stockholders by a majority of the stock represented and entitled to vote thereat.
Section 2.VACANCIES. Vacancies on the Board of Directors by reason of death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal from office, or otherwise, and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. The directors so chosen shall hold office until the next annual election of directors and until their successors are duly elected and shall qualify, unless sooner displaced. If there are no directors in office, then an election of directors may be held in the manner provided by statute. If, at the time of filling any vacancy or any newly created directorship, the directors then in office shall constitute less than a majority of the whole Board of Directors (as constituted immediately prior to any such increase), the Court of Chancery may, upon application of any stockholder or stockholders holding at least ten percent of the total number of the shares at the time outstanding having the right to vote for such directors, summarily order an election to be held to fill any such vacancies or newly created directorships, or to replace the directors chosen by the directors then in office.
Section 3.POWERS. The property and business of the corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of its Board of Directors. In addition to the powers and authorities by these Bylaws expressly conferred upon them, the Board of Directors may exercise all such powers of the corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by statute or by the Certificate of Incorporation or by these Bylaws directed or required to be exercised or done by the stockholders.
Section 4.PLACE OF DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS. The directors may hold their meetings and have one or more offices, and keep the books of the corporation outside of the State of Delaware.
Section 5.REGULAR MEETINGS. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors may be held without notice at such time and place as shall from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors.
Section 6.SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the President on forty-eight (48) hours notice to each director, either personally or by mail, email or by telegram; special meetings shall be called by the Chairman of the Board, President or the Secretary in like manner and on like notice on the written request of two directors unless the Board of Directors consists of only one director; in which case special meetings shall be called by the Chairman of the Board, President or Secretary in like manner or on like notice on the written request of the sole director.
Section 7.QUORUM. At all meetings of the Board of Directors a majority of the authorized number of directors shall be necessary and sufficient to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which there is a quorum, shall be the act of the Board of Directors, except as may be otherwise specifically provided by statute, by the Certificate of Incorporation or by these Bylaws. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board of Directors, the directors present at such meeting may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present. If only one director is authorized, such sole director shall constitute a quorum.
Section 8.ACTION WITHOUT MEETING. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof may be taken without a meeting, if all members of the Board of Directors or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board of Directors or committee.
Section 9.TELEPHONIC MEETINGS. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, members of the Board of Directors, or any committee designated by the Board of Directors, may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors, or any committee, by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a meeting shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.
Section 10.COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS. The Board of Directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the whole Board of Directors, designate one or more committees, each such committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the corporation. The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not he or she or they constitute a
quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in the place of any such absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board of Directors, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the corporation, and may authorize the seal of the corporation to be affixed to all papers which may require it; but no such committee shall have the power or authority in reference to amending the Certificate of Incorporation, adopting an agreement of merger or consolidation, recommending to the stockholders the sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially al! of the corporation’s property and assets, recommending to the stockholders a dissolution of the corporation or a revocation of a dissolution, or amending the Bylaws of the corporation; and, unless the resolution or the Certificate of Incorporation expressly so provide, no such committee shall have the power or authority to declare a dividend or to authorize the issuance of stock.
Section 11.MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board of Directors when required.
Section 12.CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. The Board of Directors may designate one of its members to serve as Chairman of the Board, and if so, the Chairman of the Board shall, if present, preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and stockholders, and exercise and perform such other powers and duties as may be from time to time assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or prescribed by these Bylaws.
Section 13.COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to fix the compensation of directors. The directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors and may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors or a stated salary as director. No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor. Members of special or standing committees may be allowed like compensation for attending committee meetings.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section 1.OFFICERS. The officers of this corporation shall be chosen by the Board of Directors and shall include a President and a Secretary. The corporation may also have at the discretion of the Board of Directors such other officers as are desired, including a Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer, one or more Vice Presidents, one or more Assistant Secretaries and Assistant Treasurers, and such other officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 hereof. In the event there are two or more Vice Presidents, then one or more may be designated as Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, or other similar or dissimilar title. At the time of the election of officers, the directors may by resolution determine the order of their rank. Any number of offices may be held by the same person, unless the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws otherwise provide.
Section 2.ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The Board of Directors, at its first meeting after each annual meeting of stockholders, shall choose the officers of the corporation.
Section 3.SUBORDINATE OFFICERS. The Board of Directors may appoint such other officers and agents as it shall deem necessary who shall hold their offices for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
Section 4.COMPENSATION OF OFFICERS. The salaries of all officers and agents of the corporation shall be fixed by the Board of Directors.
Section 5.TERM OF OFFICE; REMOVAL AND VACANCIES. The officers of the corporation shall hold office until their successors are chosen and qualify in their stead. Any officer elected or appointed by the Board of Directors may be removed at any time by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Directors. If the office of any officer or officers becomes vacant for any reason, the vacancy shall be filled by the Board of Directors.
Section 6.PRESIDENT. Subject to such supervisory powers, if any, as may be given by the Board of Directors to the Chairman of the Board, the President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation and shall, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, have general supervision, direction and control of the business and officers of the corporation. In the absence of the Chairman of the Board, the President shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and at all meetings of the Board of Directors. He or she or they shall be an ex-officio member(s) of all committees and shall have the general powers and duties of management usually vested in the office of President and Chief Executive Officer of corporations, and shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or these Bylaws.
Section 7.VICE PRESIDENTS. In the absence or disability of the President, the Vice Presidents in order of their rank as fixed by the Board of Directors, or if not ranked, the Vice President designated by the Board of Directors, shall perform all the duties of the President, and when so acting shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. The Vice Presidents shall have such other duties as from time to time may be prescribed for them, respectively, by the Board of Directors.
Section 8.SECRETARY. The Secretary shall attend all sessions of the Board of Directors and all meetings of the stockholders and record all votes and the minutes of all proceedings in a book to be kept for that purpose; and shall perform like duties for the standing committees when required by the Board of Directors. He or she shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the stockholders and of the Board of Directors, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or these Bylaws. He or she shall keep in safe custody the seal of the corporation, and when authorized by the Board of Directors, affix the same to any instrument requiring it, and when so affixed it shall be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of an Assistant Secretary. The Board of Directors may give general
authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the corporation and to attest the affixing by his or her signature.
Section 9.ASSISTANT SECRETARY. The Assistant Secretary, or if there be more than one, the Assistant Secretaries in the order determined by the Board of Directors, or if there be no such determination, the Assistant Secretary designated by the Board of Directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the Secretary, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Secretary and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.
Section 10.CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OR TREASURER. The Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the corporation and shall deposit all moneys, and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the corporation, in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Directors. He or she shall disburse the funds of the corporation as may be ordered by the Board of Directors, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements, and shall render to the Board of Directors, at its regular meetings, or when the Board of Directors so requires, an account of all his or her transactions as Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer and of the financial condition of the corporation. If required by the Board of Directors, he or she shall give the corporation a bond, in such sum and with such surety or sureties as shall be satisfactory to the Board of Directors, for the faithful performance of the duties of his or her office and for the restoration to the corporation, in case of his or her death, resignation, retirement or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in his or her possession or under his or her control belonging to the corporation.
Section 11.ASSISTANT TREASURER. The Assistant Treasurer, or if there shall be more than one, the Assistant Treasurers in the order determined by the Board of Directors, or if there be no such determination, the Assistant Treasurer designated by the Board of Directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.
ARTICLE V
INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
(a)The corporation shall indemnify to the maximum extent permitted by law any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or
proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
(b)The corporation shall indemnify to the maximum extent permitted by law any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no such indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery of Delaware or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c)To the extent that a director or officer of the corporation shall be successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b), or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he or she shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith.
(d)Any indemnification under paragraphs (a) and (b) (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director or officer is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b). Such determination shall be made (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (3) by the stockholders. The corporation, acting through its Board of Directors or otherwise, shall cause such determination to be made if so requested by any person who is indemnifiable under this Article V.
(e)Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding shall be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this Article V.
(f)The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other paragraphs of this Article V shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in his or her official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office.
(g)The Board of Directors may authorize, by a vote of a majority of a quorum of the Board of Directors, the corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability under the provisions of this Article V.
(h)For the purposes of this Article V, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors or officers so that any person who is or was a director or officer of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article V with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as he or she would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i)For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to an employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include service as a director or officer of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director or officer with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j)The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article V shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k)The corporation shall be required to indemnify a person in connection with an action, suit or proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if the action, suit or proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the corporation.
ARTICLE VI
INDEMNIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS
The corporation may indemnify every person who was or is a party or is or was threatened to be made a party to any action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was an employee or agent of the corporation or, while an employee or agent of the corporation, is or was serving at the request of the corporation as an employee or agent or trustee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
ARTICLE VII
CERTIFICATES OF STOCK
Section 1.CERTIFICATES. Every holder of stock of the corporation shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the corporation by, the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, or the President or a Vice President, and by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary, or the Chief Financial Officer or Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer of the corporation, certifying the number of shares represented by the certificate owned by such stockholder in the corporation.
Section 2.SIGNATURES ON CERTIFICATES. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent, or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent, or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the corporation with the same effect as if he or she were such officer, transfer agent, or registrar at the date of issue.
Section 3.STATEMENT OF STOCK RIGHTS, PREFERENCES, PRIVILEGES. If the corporation shall be authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights shall be set forth in full or summarized on the face or back of the certificate which the corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock, provided that, except as otherwise provided in Section 202 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, there may be set forth on the face or back of the certificate which the corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock, a statement that the corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.
Section 4.LOST CERTIFICATES. The Board of Directors may direct a new certificate or certificates to be issued in place of any certificate or certificates theretofore issued by the corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen or destroyed. When authorizing such issue of a new certificate or certificates, the Board of Directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate or certificates, or his or her legal representative, to advertise the same in such manner as it shall require and/or to give the corporation a bond in such sum as it may direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against the corporation with respect to the certificate alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed.
Section 5.TRANSFERS OF STOCK. Upon surrender to the corporation, or the transfer agent of the corporation, of a certificate for shares duly endorsed or accompanied by proper evidence of succession, assignation or authority to transfer, it shall be the duty of the corporation to issue a new certificate to the person entitled thereto, cancel the old certificate and record the transaction upon its books.
Section 6.FIXED RECORD DATE. In order that the corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of the stockholders, or any adjournment thereof, or entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights, or entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board of Directors may fix a record date which shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall not be more than sixty nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting. In order that the corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the Board of Directors may fix a record date which shall not be more than ten (10) days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors.
Section 7.REGISTERED STOCKHOLDERS. The corporation shall be entitled to treat the holder of record of any share or shares of stock as the holder in fact thereof and accordingly shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim or interest in such share on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, save as expressly provided by the laws of the State of Delaware.
ARTICLE VIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1.DIVIDENDS. Dividends upon the capital stock of the corporation, subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, if any, may be declared by the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting, pursuant to and subject to law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the capital stock, subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation.
Section 2.PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS; DIRECTORS’ DUTIES. Before payment of any dividend there may be set aside out of any funds of the corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the directors from time to time, in their absolute discretion, think proper as a reserve fund to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the corporation, or for such other purpose as the directors shall think conducive to the interests of the corporation, and the directors may abolish any such reserve.
Section 3.CHECKS. All checks or demands for money and notes of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.
Section 4.FISCAL YEAR. The fiscal year of the corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Section 5.CORPORATE SEAL. The corporate seal shall contain two concentric circles with the name of the corporation between the two circles and the date and state of incorporation appearing in the inner circle.
Section 6.MANNER OF GIVING NOTICE. Whenever, under the provisions of the statutes or of the Certificate of Incorporation or of these Bylaws, notice is required to be given to any director or stockholder, it shall not be construed to mean personal notice, but such notice may be given in writing, by mail, addressed to such director or stockholder, at his or her address as it appears on the records of the corporation, with postage thereon prepaid, and such notice shall be deemed to be given at the time when the same shall be deposited in the United States mail. Notice to directors may also be given by telegram.
Section 7.WAIVER OF NOTICE. Whenever any notice is required to be given under the provisions of the statutes or of the Certificate of Incorporation or of these Bylaws, a waiver thereof in writing or by electronic transmission to the extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, signed by the person or persons entitled to said notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto.
Section 8.ANNUAL STATEMENT. The Board of Directors shall present at each annual meeting, and al any special meeting of the stockholders when called for by vote of the stockholders, a full and clear statement of the business and condition of the corporation.
ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS
Section 1.AMENDMENT BY DIRECTORS OR STOCKHOLDERS. Subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed or new Bylaws may be adopted by the stockholders or by the Board of Directors, when such power is conferred upon the Board of Directors by the Certificate of Incorporation, at any regular meeting of the stockholders or of the Board of Directors or at any special meeting of the stockholders or of the Board of Directors if notice of such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption of new Bylaws be contained in the notice of such special meeting. If the power to adopt, amend or repeal Bylaws is conferred upon the Board of Directors by the Certificate of
Incorporation it shall not divest or limit the power of the stockholders to adopt, amend or repeal Bylaws.
Section 2.AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT. These Bylaws amend and restate in their entirety the Bylaws adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation on May 27, 2011.
ARTICLE X
RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL
Section 1.RESTRICTION ON TRANSFER. No stockholder of the corporation shall transfer, assign, hypothecate, encumber, pledge or otherwise alienate (hereinafter “Transfer”) any shares of Common Stock of the corporation (the “Common Stock”) owned by such stockholder unless such stockholder previously complied with all provisions of this Article X. Any Transfer not made in accordance with this Article X shall be void, and the corporation shall not treat the transferee in such transaction as a stockholder for any purpose.
Section 2.NOTICE REQUIREMENT. If a stockholder seeks to Transfer any Common Stock, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, such stockholder (the “Offering Stockholder”) shall first give simultaneous written notice of such intention (“Notice of Transfer”) to the Secretary of the corporation. The Notice of Transfer shall specify the number of shares of Common Stock to be transferred (the “Offered Shares”), and state the price and all other terms of the proposed transaction. The Notice of Transfer shall constitute an irrevocable offer to sell the Offered Shares during the periods described below.
Section 3.OPTION OF THE CORPORATION. For twenty-five (25) days following the delivery of a Notice of Transfer (the “Option Period”), the corporation shall have an irrevocable right to purchase all or a portion of the Offered Shares in accordance with the terms stated in the Notice of Transfer. The right may be exercised by a written notice, signed by the President of the corporation (the “Corporation Notice”), stating that the corporation desires to purchase the Offered Shares and tendering the purchase price therefor. Such notice and the purchase price for the Offered Shares shall be delivered to the Offering Stockholder before expiration of the Option Period. Failure to so respond within the Option Period to the Notice of Transfer shall be deemed an irrevocable waiver by the corporation of its right to acquire the Offered Shares. The corporation shall effect the purchase of the Offered Shares, including payment of the purchase price, not more than five (5) business days after delivery of the Corporation Notice, and at such time the Offering Stockholder shall deliver to the corporation the certificate(s) representing the Offered Shares to be purchased by the corporation, each certificate to be properly endorsed for transfer. Any Common Stock so purchased by the corporation shall thereupon be cancelled and cease to be issued and outstanding shares of the corporation’s Common Stock.
Section 4.SPECIAL PROVISIONS REGARDING EXCHANGES. If the Notice of Transfer specifies consideration other than cash, then the Offered Shares may be purchased in cash for the fair market value of such property, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors. In the event that the Board of Directors decides to hire an independent appraiser in connection with such determination, all expenses for such independent appraiser shall be borne by the Offering Stockholder.
Section 5.EFFECT OF PURCHASE. For purposes of Section 3 of this Article X, the purchase price for Offered Shares shall be deemed tendered, and said Offered Shares shall be deemed purchased, at such time as the Offering Stockholder receives written notice enclosing a cashier’s check for the purchase price or stating that the purchase price has been delivered to a third party (such as counsel to the corporation) with instructions to deliver such amount to the Offering Stockholder upon surrender of certificates representing the Offered Shares, duly endorsed with signatures guaranteed. All rights accorded the Offering Stockholder with respect to the Offered Shares, other than the right to payment therefor, shall cease at that time. If payment is tendered directly to the Offering Stockholder, the Offering Stockholder shall promptly, but in no event later than five (5) business days, cause to be delivered certificate(s) representing the Offered Shares, duly endorsed with signatures guaranteed, to the corporation’s transfer agent for cancellation or transfer.
Section 6.CERTAIN TRANSFERS EXEMPT. Notwithstanding anything else contained in this Article X to the contrary, an Offering Stockholder shall be permitted to make Transfers of certain shares of Common Stock held by such Offering Stockholder without complying with the provisions of Sections 1 through 5 of this Article X above if such Transfer is:
(a)to the Offering Stockholder’s spouse, parents, children, or siblings or other members of the Offering Stockholder’s family (including relatives by marriage), or to a trust for the benefit of the Offering Stockholder or any of the foregoing members of his or her family, or to a custodian, trustee or other fiduciary for the account of the Offering Stockholder or any of the foregoing members of his or her family in connection with a bona fide estate planning transaction; provided, however, that this Section shall not permit any Transfer to be made by the Offering Stockholder in connection with the dissolution of the Offering Stockholder’s marriage or the legal separation of the Offering Stockholder and Offering Stockholder’s spouse to such spouse on the account of any settlement of any community property or other marital property rights such spouse may have in such shares;
(b)by way of bequest or inheritance upon death;
(c)to any person, association or entity that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, has voting control or has its voting controlled by, or is under common voting control with, such Offering Stockholder;
(d)by way of a bona fide gift;
(e)in connection with a Change of Control (as defined in Section 7 of this Article X below); or
(f)subject to an alternative right of first refusal or similar right granted by the Offering Stockholder to the corporation, including in certain circumstances, but not limited to, restricted stock purchase agreements, co-sale agreements and equity incentive award plans.
Any Transfer set forth in clauses (a) through (f) of this Section 6 may be referred to herein as a “Permitted Transfer.”
Section 7.LIMITATIONS ON RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. The restrictions imposed by this Article X shall not apply to and shall terminate upon (i) the closing of a firmly underwritten public offering of the Corporation’s Common Stock or (ii) the closing of any transaction or series of related transactions constituting (a) a reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of the corporation’s stock, as a result of which transaction or series of related transactions the corporation’s stockholders of record as constituted immediately prior to such transaction or series of related transactions hold less than a majority of the outstanding voting power of the surviving or acquiring entity after the consummation of such transaction or series of related transactions; or (b) a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the corporation (each of clauses (a) and (b) a “Change of Control”).
Section 8.WAIVER. The provisions of this Article X may be waived with respect to any Transfer only in writing signed by the corporation.
Section 9.ASSIGNMENT; ALTERNATIVE RIGHTS. The corporation may assign its rights under this Article X or grant alternative rights of first refusal or similar rights to a third party or parties.
Section 10.LEGEND. Any and all certificates representing any shares of Common Stock shall bear a legend referring to the restrictions imposed by this Article X in substantially the form below:
“THE SHARES EVIDENCED HEREBY ARE SUBJECT TO A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL OPTION IN FAVOR OF THE CORPORATION AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S), AS PROVIDED IN THE BYLAWS OF THE CORPORATION, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION.”
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CERTIFICATE OF SECRETARY
I, the undersigned, do hereby certify:
(1)That I am the duly elected and acting Secretary of Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”); and
(2)That the foregoing bylaws constitute the bylaws of the Corporation as duly adopted at a meeting held by the Board of Directors of the Corporation on November 4, 2011.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 4th day of November, 2011.
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/s/ Mark W. Surber |
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Mark W. Surber, Ph.D., Secretary |
EX-4.2
Exhibit 4.2
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
AMENDED AND RESTATED INVESTORS’ RIGHTS AGREEMENT
This Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made as of April 25, 2025 by and among Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and each of the investors listed on Schedule A hereto (the “Preferred Investors”) and each of the Company’s stockholders, who are Fully Converted Preferred Holders (as defined herein), listed on Schedule B hereto (together with the Preferred Investors and any subsequent investors or transferees who become parties hereto are referred to in this Agreement as the “Investors”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, certain of the Investors (the “Existing Investors”) hold shares of the Company’s Preferred Stock and possess registration rights, information rights, rights of first offer, and other rights pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement dated as of September 22, 2023, by and among the Company and such Existing Investors (as amended, the “Prior Agreement”);
WHEREAS, the undersigned Existing Investors are holders of at least a majority of the Registrable Securities (as defined in the Prior Agreement), and desire to amend and restate the Prior Agreement in its entirety and to accept the rights created pursuant to this Agreement in lieu of the rights granted to them under the Prior Agreement; and
WHEREAS, certain of the Investors are parties to that certain Series D Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement of even date herewith by and among the Company and such Investors (the “Purchase Agreement”), under which certain of the Company’s and such Investors’ obligations are conditioned upon the execution and delivery of this Agreement by such Investors, Existing Investors holding at least a majority of the Registrable Securities, and the Company.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Company and the Existing Investors hereby agree that the Prior Agreement shall be amended and restated, and the parties to this Agreement further agree as follows:
1.Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement:
1.1“Affiliate” means, with respect to any specified Person or its successor(s), any other Person who, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Person or its successor(s), including, without limitation, any general partner, managing member, limited partner, member, manager, officer, director or trustee of such Person or its successor(s), or any venture capital fund or other investment fund now or hereafter existing that is managed by
such Person or its successors(s), controlled by one or more general partners, managing members or investment managers or advisers of, or shares the same management company or investment manager or adviser with, such Person or its successor(s). For purposes of this definition, the term “control” when used with respect to any Person shall mean the power to direct the management or policies of such Person, directly or indirectly, whether through ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise, and the terms “controlling” and “controlled” shall have meanings correlative to the foregoing.
1.2“Board” means the Company’s Board of Directors.
1.3“CFIUS” means the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or any member agency thereof acting in such capacity.
1.4“Change of Control” means a transaction or series of related transactions in which a Person, or a group of related Persons, acquires from stockholders of the Company shares representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding voting power of the Company.
1.5“Common Stock” means shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share.
1.6“Competitor” means a Person engaged, directly or indirectly (including through any partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture or similar arrangement (whether now existing or formed hereafter)), in the business of the Company, but shall not include (i) any financial investment firm or collective investment vehicle that, together with its Affiliates, holds less than twenty percent (20)% of the outstanding equity of any Competitor and does not, nor do any of its Affiliates, have a right to designate any members of the board of directors of any Competitor, or (ii) any of the Investing Funds (as defined below).
1.7“Damages” means any loss, damage, claim or liability (joint or several) to which a party hereto may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other federal or state law, insofar as such loss, damage, claim or liability (or any action in respect thereof) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any registration statement of the Company, including any preliminary prospectus or final prospectus contained therein or any amendments or supplements thereto; (ii) an omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein, or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or (iii) any violation or alleged violation by the indemnifying party (or any of its agents or Affiliates) of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, any state securities law, or any rule or regulation promulgated under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any state securities law.
1.8“Derivative Securities” means any securities or rights convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for (in each case, directly or indirectly), Common Stock, including options and warrants.
1.9“DPA” means Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. § 4565), and all rules and regulations thereunder, including as codified at 31 C.F.R. Part 800 and Part 801.
1.10“Eventide” means Mutual Fund Series Trust, on behalf of Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund.
1.11“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
1.12“Excluded Registration” means (i) a registration relating to the sale or grant of securities to employees of the Company or a subsidiary pursuant to a stock option, stock purchase, or similar plan; (ii) a registration relating to an SEC Rule 145 transaction; (iii) a registration on any form that does not include substantially the same information as would be required to be included in a registration statement covering the sale of the Registrable Securities; or (iv) a registration in which the only Common Stock being registered is Common Stock issuable upon conversion of debt securities that are also being registered.
1.13“F-Prime” means F-Prime Capital Partners Healthcare Fund V LP.
1.14“Form S-1” means such form under the Securities Act as in effect on the date hereof or any successor registration form under the Securities Act subsequently adopted by the SEC.
1.15“Form S-3” means such form under the Securities Act as in effect on the date hereof or any registration form under the Securities Act subsequently adopted by the SEC that permits incorporation of substantial information by reference to other documents filed by the Company with the SEC.
1.16“Fully Converted Preferred Holder” means any Investor with respect to whom all shares of Preferred Stock were converted to shares of Mandatory Conversion Common Stock pursuant to the Special Mandatory Conversion, as defined and as set forth in Article Fourth, Part B, Section 5A of the Restated Certificate.
1.17“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.
1.18“Holder” means (a) any Investor owning Registrable Securities and (b) solely for the purposes of Sections 2.11 and 2.12, any Fully Converted Preferred Holder.
1.19“Immediate Family Member” means a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, life partner or similar statutorily recognized domestic partner, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in- law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships, of a natural person referred to herein.
1.20“Initiating Holders” means, collectively, Holders who properly initiate a registration request under this Agreement.
1.21“IPO” means the Company’s first underwritten public offering of its Common Stock under the Securities Act.
1.22“Major Investor” means (i) any Investor that, individually or together with such Investor’s Affiliates, holds at least 11,453,189 shares of Common Stock issuable or issued upon conversion of the Preferred Stock (as adjusted for any stock split, stock dividend, combination or
other recapitalization or reclassification effected after the date hereof) other than Mandatory Conversion Common Stock; and (ii) without limitation to the rights of any such Investor pursuant to clause (i), (a) each of Suvretta and SR One shall be considered a Major Investor for so long as such Investor or its Affiliates continues to hold that number of shares of Series D Preferred Stock held on the date of this Agreement (as adjusted for any stock split, stock dividend, combination or other recapitalization or reclassification effected after the date hereof), or shares of Common Stock issued upon conversion of such shares of Series D Preferred Stock, (b) each of F-Prime, RiverVest and Novo shall be considered a Major Investor for so long as such Investor continues to hold the aggregate number of shares of Series C Preferred Stock purchased by such Investor pursuant to the terms of that certain Series C Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of September 22, 2023 by and among the Company and certain Investors (as adjusted for any stock split, stock dividend, combination or other recapitalization or reclassification effected after the date hereof), or shares of Common Stock issued upon conversion of such shares of Series C Preferred Stock other than Mandatory Conversion Common Stock and (c) each of Norwest and Pivotal shall be considered a Major Investor for so long as such Investor continues to hold the aggregate number of shares of Series B Preferred Stock purchased by such Investor pursuant to the terms of that certain Series B Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of April 24, 2020, by and among the Company and certain Investors (as adjusted for any stock split, stock dividend, combination or other recapitalization or reclassification effected after the date hereof), or shares of Common Stock issued upon conversion of such shares of Series B Preferred Stock other than Mandatory Conversion Common Stock; provided, that no shares of Mandatory Conversion Common Stock issued to a Converted Preferred Holder shall be aggregated with any shares of Common Stock issued or issuable upon conversion of Preferred Stock held by such Converted Preferred Holder or such Converted Preferred Holder’s Affiliates for the purposes of determining whether such Converted Preferred Holder or any of its Affiliates constitutes a Major Investor.
1.23“Mandatory Conversion Common Stock” means shares of Common Stock issued upon the conversion shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to a Special Mandatory Conversion, as defined and as set forth in Article Fourth, Part B, Section 5A of the Restated Certificate.
1.24“New Securities” means, collectively, equity securities of the Company or its subsidiaries, whether or not currently authorized, as well as rights, options, or warrants to purchase such equity securities, or securities of any type whatsoever that are, or may become, convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for such equity securities.
1.25“Norwest” means Norwest Venture Partners XV, LP, together with its Affiliates.
1.26“Novo” means Novo Holdings A/S.
1.27“PXV” means Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund II, LP.
1.28“Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company, association or other entity.
1.29“Pivotal” means Pivotal bioVenture Partners Fund I, L.P., together with its Affiliates.
1.30“Preferred Director” means each Series A/B Director, Series C Director and Series D Director.
1.31“Preferred Stock” means, collectively, the Series A Preferred Stock, the Series B Preferred Stock, the Series C Preferred Stock and the Series D Preferred Stock.
1.32“Registrable Securities” means (a) the Common Stock issuable or issued upon conversion of the Preferred Stock, excluding, other than for the purposes of Sections 2.11 and 2.12 herein, any Mandatory Conversion Common Stock; (b) any Common Stock, or any Common Stock issued or issuable (directly or indirectly) upon conversion and/or exercise of any other securities of the Company, acquired by the Investors after the date hereof, excluding, other than for the purposes of Sections 2.11 and 2.12 herein, any Mandatory Conversion Common Stock; and (c) any Common Stock issued as (or issuable upon the conversion or exercise of any warrant, right, or other security that is issued as) a dividend or other distribution with respect to, or in exchange for or in replacement of, the shares referenced in clauses (a) and (b) above; excluding in all cases, however, any Registrable Securities sold by a Person in a transaction in which the applicable rights under this Agreement are not assigned pursuant to Section 6.1, and excluding for purposes of Section 2 any shares for which registration rights have terminated pursuant to Section 2.13 of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, any shares of Mandatory Conversion Common Stock shall be deemed Registrable Securities solely for the purposes of Sections 2.11 and 2.12 of this Agreement.
1.33“Registrable Securities then outstanding” means the number of shares determined by adding the number of shares of outstanding Common Stock that are Registrable Securities and the number of shares of Common Stock issuable (directly or indirectly) pursuant to then exercisable and/or convertible securities that are Registrable Securities.
1.34“Restated Certificate” means the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as it may be amended and/or restated from time to time).
1.35“Restricted Securities” means the securities of the Company required to bear the legend set forth in Section 2.12 hereof.
1.36“RiverVest” means RiverVest Venture Fund IV, L.P., RiverVest Venture Fund III,
L.P. and RiverVest Venture Fund III (Ohio), L.P.
1.37“Rock Springs” means Rock Springs Capital Master Fund LP and Four Pines Master Fund LP.
1.38“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.
1.39“SEC Rule 144” means Rule 144 promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act.
1.40“SEC Rule 145” means Rule 145 promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act.
1.41“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
1.42“Selling Expenses” means all underwriting discounts, selling commissions, and stock transfer taxes applicable to the sale of Registrable Securities, and fees and disbursements of counsel for any Holder, except for the fees and disbursements of the Selling Holder Counsel borne and paid by the Company as provided in Section 2.6.
1.43“Series A/B Director” means any director of the Company that the holders of record of the Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to elect, voting together as a separate series, pursuant to the Restated Certificate.
1.44“Series C Director” means any director of the Company that the holders of record of the Series C Preferred Stock are entitled to elect, voting exclusively and as a separate series, pursuant to the Restated Certificate.
1.45“Series D Director” means any director of the Company that the holders of record of the Series D Preferred Stock are entitled to elect, voting exclusively and as a separate series, pursuant to the Restated Certificate.
1.46“Series C/D Directors” means, collectively, the Series C Directors and Series D Director.
1.47“Series A Preferred Stock” means shares of the Company’s Series A Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share.
1.48“Series B Preferred Stock” means shares of the Company’s Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share.
1.49“Series C Preferred Stock” means shares of the Company’s Series C-1 Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share, and Series C-2 Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share.
1.50“Series D Preferred Stock” means shares of the Company’s Series D Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share.
1.51“SR One” means SR One Capital Fund II Aggregator, LP and AMZL, LP.
1.52“Suvretta” means Suvretta Capital Management, LLC and its Affiliates.
1.53“Surveyor” means Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities Master Fund Ltd. and its Affiliates.
1.55“Vida” means Vida Ventures III, LP and Vida Ventures III-A, LP.
2.Registration Rights. The Company covenants and agrees as follows:
(a)Form S-1 Demand. If at any time after the earlier of (i) three (3) years after the date of this Agreement or (ii) one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of the registration statement for the IPO, the Company receives a request from Holders of at least twenty- five percent (25%) of the Registrable Securities then outstanding that the Company file a Form S- 1 registration statement with respect to outstanding Registrable Securities of such Holders having an anticipated aggregate offering price, net of Selling Expenses, of at least $5,000,000, then the Company shall (i) within ten (10) days after the date such request is given, give notice thereof (the “Demand Notice”) to all Holders other than the Initiating Holders; and (ii) as soon as practicable, and in any event within sixty (60) days after the date such request is given by the Initiating Holders, file a Form S-1 registration statement under the Securities Act covering all Registrable Securities that the Initiating Holders requested to be registered and any additional Registrable Securities requested to be included in such registration by any other Holders, as specified by notice given by each such Holder to the Company within twenty (20) days of the date the Demand Notice is given, and in each case, subject to the limitations of Section 2.1(c) and Section 2.3.
(b)Form S-3 Demand. If at any time when it is eligible to use a Form S-3 registration statement, the Company receives from any Holder or Holders of at least fifteen percent (15%) of the Registrable Securities then outstanding a request that the Company file a Form S-3 registration statement with respect to outstanding Registrable Securities of such Holder or Holders having an anticipated aggregate offering price, net of Selling Expenses, of at least $5,000,000, then the Company shall (i) within ten (10) days after the date such request is given, give a Demand Notice to all Holders other than the Initiating Holders; and (ii) as soon as practicable, and in any event within forty-five (45) days after the date such request is given by the Initiating Holders, file a Form S-3 registration statement under the Securities Act covering all Registrable Securities requested to be included in such registration by any other Holders, as specified by notice given by each such Holder to the Company within twenty (20) days of the date the Demand Notice is given, and in each case, subject to the limitations of Section 2.1(c) and Section 2.3.
(c)Notwithstanding the foregoing obligations, if the Company furnishes to Holders requesting a registration pursuant to this Section 2.1 a certificate signed by the Company’s chief executive officer stating that in the good faith judgment of the Board it would be materially detrimental to the Company and its stockholders for such registration statement to be filed, to become effective or to remain effective for as long as such registration statement would otherwise be required to remain effective, because such action would (i) materially interfere with a significant acquisition, corporate reorganization, or other similar transaction involving the Company; (ii) require premature disclosure of material information that the Company has a bona fide business purpose for preserving as confidential; or (iii) render the Company unable to comply with requirements under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, then the Company shall have the right to defer taking action with respect to such filing, and any time periods with respect to filing or effectiveness thereof shall be tolled correspondingly, for a period of not more than ninety (90) days after the request of the Initiating Holders is given for any registration pursuant to Section 2.1(a) or 2.1(b); provided, however, that the Company may not invoke this right more than once in any twelve (12) month period; and provided further that the Company shall not register any securities
for its own account or that of any other stockholder during such ninety (90) day period, other than an Excluded Registration.
(d)The Company shall not be obligated to effect, or to take any action to effect, any registration pursuant to Section 2.1(a): (i) during the period that is sixty (60) days before the Company’s good faith estimate of the date of filing of, and ending on a date that is one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of, a Company-initiated registration, provided, that the Company is actively employing in good faith commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective; (ii) after the Company has effected two (2) registrations pursuant to Section 2.1(a); or (iii) if the Initiating Holders propose to dispose of shares of Registrable Securities that may be immediately registered on Form S-3 pursuant to a request made pursuant to Section 2.1(b). The Company shall not be obligated to effect, or to take any action to effect, any registration pursuant to Section 2.1(b): (i) during the period that is thirty (30) days before the Company’s good faith estimate of the date of filing of, and ending on a date that is ninety (90) days after the effective date of, a Company-initiated registration, provided, that the Company is actively employing in good faith commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective; or (ii) if the Company has effected two (2) registrations pursuant to Section 2.1(b) within the twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the date of such request. A registration shall not be counted as “effected” for purposes of this Section 2.1(d) until such time as the applicable registration statement covering all Registrable Securities requested to be registered pursuant to Section 2.1(a) or (b), as applicable, has been declared effective by the SEC, unless the Initiating Holders withdraw their request for such registration (other than a withdrawal following a material adverse change to the Company), elect not to pay the registration expenses therefor, and forfeit their right to one demand registration statement pursuant to Section 2.6, in which case such withdrawn registration statement shall be counted as “effected” for purposes of this Section 2.1(d).
2.2Company Registration. If the Company proposes to register (including, for this purpose, a registration effected by the Company for stockholders other than the Holders) any of its Common Stock under the Securities Act in connection with the public offering of such securities solely for cash (other than in an Excluded Registration), the Company shall, at such time, promptly give each Holder notice of such registration. Upon the request of each Holder given within twenty (20) days after such notice is given by the Company, the Company shall, subject to the provisions of Section 2.3, cause to be registered all of the Registrable Securities that each such Holder has requested to be included in such registration. The Company shall have the right to terminate or withdraw any registration initiated by it under this Section 2.2 before the effective date of such registration, whether or not any Holder has elected to include Registrable Securities in such registration. The expenses (other than Selling Expenses) of such withdrawn registration shall be borne by the Company in accordance with Section 2.6.
2.3Underwriting Requirements.
(a)If, pursuant to Section 2.1, the Initiating Holders intend to distribute the Registrable Securities covered by their request by means of an underwriting, they shall so advise the Company as a part of their request made pursuant to Section 2.1, and the Company shall include such information in the Demand Notice. The underwriter(s) will be selected by the Company and shall be reasonably acceptable to a majority in interest of the Initiating Holders. In such event, the
right of any Holder to include such Holder’s Registrable Securities in such registration shall be conditioned upon such Holder’s participation in such underwriting and the inclusion of such Holder’s Registrable Securities in the underwriting to the extent provided herein. All Holders proposing to distribute their securities through such underwriting shall (together with the Company as provided in Section 2.4(e) enter into an underwriting agreement in customary form with the underwriter(s) selected for such underwriting. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 2.3, if the managing underwriter(s) advise(s) the Initiating Holders in writing that marketing factors require a limitation on the number of shares to be underwritten, then the Initiating Holders shall so advise all Holders of Registrable Securities that otherwise would be underwritten pursuant hereto, and the number of Registrable Securities that may be included in the underwriting shall be allocated among such Holders of Registrable Securities, including the Initiating Holders, in proportion (as nearly as practicable) to the number of Registrable Securities owned by each Holder or in such other proportion as shall mutually be agreed to by all such selling Holders; provided, however, that the number of Registrable Securities held by the Holders to be included in such underwriting shall not be reduced unless all other securities are first entirely excluded from the underwriting. To facilitate the allocation of shares in accordance with the above provisions, the Company or the underwriters may round the number of shares allocated to any Holder to the nearest one hundred (100) shares.
(b)In connection with any offering involving an underwriting of shares of the Company’s capital stock pursuant to Section 2.2, the Company shall not be required to include any of the Holders’ Registrable Securities in such underwriting unless the Holders accept the terms of the underwriting as agreed upon between the Company and its underwriters, and then only in such quantity as the underwriters in their sole discretion determine will not jeopardize the success of the offering by the Company. If the total number of securities, including Registrable Securities, requested by stockholders to be included in such offering exceeds the number of securities to be sold (other than by the Company) that the underwriters in their reasonable discretion determine is compatible with the success of the offering, then the Company shall be required to include in the offering only that number of such securities, including Registrable Securities, which the underwriters and the Company in their sole discretion determine will not jeopardize the success of the offering. If the underwriters determine that less than all of the Registrable Securities requested to be registered can be included in such offering, then the Registrable Securities that are included in such offering shall be allocated among the selling Holders in proportion (as nearly as practicable to) the number of Registrable Securities owned by each selling Holder or in such other proportions as shall mutually be agreed to by all such selling Holders. To facilitate the allocation of shares in accordance with the above provisions, the Company or the underwriters may round the number of shares allocated to any Holder to the nearest one hundred (100) shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall (i) the number of Registrable Securities included in the offering be reduced unless all other securities (other than securities to be sold by the Company) are first entirely excluded from the offering, or (ii) the number of Registrable Securities included in the offering be reduced below thirty percent (30%) of the total number of securities included in such offering, unless such offering is the IPO, in which case the selling Holders may be excluded further if the underwriters make the determination described above and no other stockholder’s securities are included in such offering. For purposes of the provision in this Section 2.3(b) concerning apportionment, for any selling Holder that is a partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, the partners, members, retired partners, retired members, stockholders, and Affiliates of such Holder, or the estates and Immediate Family Members of any such partners, retired
partners, members, and retired members and any trusts for the benefit of any of the foregoing Persons, shall be deemed to be a single “selling Holder,” and any pro rata reduction with respect to such “selling Holder” shall be based upon the aggregate number of Registrable Securities owned by all Persons included in such “selling Holder,” as defined in this sentence.
(c)For purposes of Section 2.1, a registration shall not be counted as “effected” if, as a result of an exercise of the underwriter’s cutback provisions in Section 2.3(a), fewer than fifty percent (50%) of the total number of Registrable Securities that Holders have requested to be included in such registration statement are actually included.
2.4Obligations of the Company. Whenever required under this Section 2 to effect the registration of any Registrable Securities, the Company shall, as expeditiously as reasonably possible:
(a)prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement with respect to such Registrable Securities and use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective and, upon the request of the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities then outstanding registered thereunder, keep such registration statement effective for a period of up to one hundred twenty (120) days or, if earlier, until the distribution contemplated in the registration statement has been completed; provided, however, that (i) such one hundred twenty (120) day period shall be extended for a period of time equal to the period the Holder refrains, at the request of an underwriter of Common Stock (or other securities) of the Company, from selling any securities included in such registration and (ii) in the case of any registration of Registrable Securities on Form S-3 that are intended to be offered on a continuous or delayed basis, subject to compliance with applicable SEC rules, such one hundred twenty (120) day period shall be extended for up to ninety (90) days, if necessary, to keep the registration statement effective until all such Registrable Securities are sold;
(b)prepare and file with the SEC such amendments and supplements to such registration statement, and the prospectus used in connection with such registration statement, as may be necessary to comply with the Securities Act in order to enable the disposition of all securities covered by such registration statement;
(c)furnish to the selling Holders such numbers of copies of a prospectus, including a preliminary prospectus, as required by the Securities Act, and such other documents as the Holders may reasonably request in order to facilitate their disposition of their Registrable Securities;
(d)use its commercially reasonable efforts to register and qualify the securities covered by such registration statement under such other securities or blue-sky laws of such jurisdictions as shall be reasonably requested by the selling Holders; provided that the Company shall not be required to qualify to do business or to file a general consent to service of process in any such states or jurisdictions, unless the Company is already subject to service in such jurisdiction and except as may be required by the Securities Act;
(e)in the event of any underwritten public offering, enter into and perform its obligations under an underwriting agreement, in usual and customary form, with the underwriter(s) of such offering;
(f)use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause all such Registrable Securities covered by such registration statement to be listed on a national securities exchange or trading system and each securities exchange and trading system (if any) on which similar securities issued by the Company are then listed;
(g)provide a transfer agent and registrar for all Registrable Securities registered pursuant to this Agreement and provide a CUSIP number for all such Registrable Securities, in each case not later than the effective date of such registration;
(h)promptly make available for inspection by the selling Holders, any underwriter(s) participating in any disposition pursuant to such registration statement, and any attorney or accountant or other agent retained by any such underwriter or selected by the selling Holders, all financial and other records, pertinent corporate documents, and properties of the Company, and cause the Company’s officers, directors, employees, and independent accountants to supply all information reasonably requested by any such seller, underwriter, attorney, accountant, or agent, in each case, as necessary or advisable to verify the accuracy of the information in such registration statement and to conduct appropriate due diligence in connection therewith;
(i)notify each selling Holder, promptly after the Company receives notice thereof, of the time when such registration statement has been declared effective or a supplement to any prospectus forming a part of such registration statement has been filed;
(j)after such registration statement becomes effective, notify each selling Holder of any request by the SEC that the Company amend or supplement such registration statement or prospectus; and
(k)use best efforts to furnish, at the request of any Holder requesting registration of Registrable Securities pursuant to this Section 2, on the date that such Registrable Securities are delivered to the underwriters for sale in connection with a registration pursuant to this Section 2, if such securities are being sold through underwriters, or, if such securities are not being sold through underwriters, on the date that the registration statement with respect to such securities becomes effective, (i) an opinion, dated such date, of the counsel representing the Company for the purposes of such registration, in form and substance as is customarily given to underwriters in an underwritten public offering, addressed to the underwriters, if any, and to the Holders requesting registration of Registrable Securities and (ii) a letter, dated such date, from the independent certified public accountants of the Company, in form and substance as is customarily given by independent certified public accountants to underwriters in an underwritten public offering, addressed to the underwriters, if any, and to the Holders requesting registration of Registrable Securities (to the extent the then-applicable standards of professional conduct permit said letter to be addressed to the Holders).
In addition, the Company shall ensure that, at all times after any registration statement covering a public offering of securities of the Company under the Securities Act shall have become effective, its insider trading policy shall provide that the Company’s directors may implement a trading program under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act, subject to customary limitations with respect to the possession of material, non-public information and trading black-out periods.
2.5Furnish Information. It shall be a condition precedent to the obligations of the Company to take any action pursuant to this Section 2 with respect to the Registrable Securities of any selling Holder that such Holder shall furnish to the Company such information regarding itself, the Registrable Securities held by it, and the intended method of disposition of such securities as is reasonably required to effect the registration of such Holder’s Registrable Securities.
2.6Expenses of Registration. All expenses (other than Selling Expenses) incurred in connection with registrations, filings, or qualifications pursuant to Section 2, including all registration, filing, and qualification fees; printers’ and accounting fees; fees and disbursements of counsel for the Company; and the reasonable fees and disbursements, not to exceed $25,000 per registration, of one counsel for the selling Holders (“Selling Holder Counsel”), shall be borne and paid by the Company; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to pay for any expenses of any registration proceeding begun pursuant to Section 2.1 if the registration request is subsequently withdrawn at the request of the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities to be registered (in which case all selling Holders shall bear such expenses pro rata based upon the number of Registrable Securities that were to be included in the withdrawn registration), unless the Holders of a majority of the Registrable Securities agree to forfeit their right to one registration pursuant to Section 2.1(a) or Section 2.1(b), as the case may be; provided further that if, at the time of such withdrawal, the Holders shall have learned of a material adverse change in the financial condition, business, or prospects of the Company from that known to the Holders at the time of their request and have withdrawn the request with reasonable promptness after learning of such information, then the Holders shall not be required to pay any of such expenses and shall not forfeit their right to one registration pursuant to Section 2.1(a) or Section 2.1(b). All Selling Expenses relating to Registrable Securities registered pursuant to this Section 2 shall be borne and paid by the Holders pro rata on the basis of the number of Registrable Securities registered on their behalf.
2.7Delay of Registration. No Holder shall have any right to obtain or seek an injunction restraining or otherwise delaying any registration pursuant to this Agreement as the result of any controversy that might arise with respect to the interpretation or implementation of this Section 2.
2.8Indemnification. If any Registrable Securities are included in a registration statement under this Section 2:
(a)To the extent permitted by law, the Company will indemnify and hold harmless each selling Holder, and the partners, members, officers, directors, and stockholders of each such Holder; legal counsel, accountants and investment managers for each such Holder; any underwriter (as defined in the Securities Act) for each such Holder; and each Person, if any, who controls such Holder or underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, against any Damages, and the Company will pay to each such Holder, underwriter, controlling Person, or other aforementioned Person any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred thereby
in connection with investigating or defending any claim or proceeding from which Damages may result, as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 2.8(a) shall not apply to amounts paid in settlement of any such claim or proceeding if such settlement is effected without the consent of the Company, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, nor shall the Company be liable for any Damages to the extent that they arise out of or are based upon actions or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished by or on behalf of any such Holder, underwriter, controlling Person, or other aforementioned Person expressly for use in connection with such registration.
(b)To the extent permitted by law, each selling Holder, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless the Company, and each of its directors, each of its officers who has signed the registration statement, each Person (if any), who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, legal counsel and accountants for the Company, any underwriter (as defined in the Securities Act), any other Holder selling securities in such registration statement, and any controlling Person of any such underwriter or other Holder, against any Damages, in each case only to the extent that such Damages arise out of or are based upon actions or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished by or on behalf of such selling Holder expressly for use in connection with such registration; and each such selling Holder will pay to the Company and each other aforementioned Person any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred thereby in connection with investigating or defending any claim or proceeding from which Damages may result, as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 2.8(b) shall not apply to amounts paid in settlement of any such claim or proceeding if such settlement is effected without the consent of the Holder, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld; and provided further that in no event shall the aggregate amounts payable by any Holder by way of indemnity or contribution under Sections 2.8(b) and 2.8(d) exceed the proceeds from the offering received by such Holder (net of any Selling Expenses paid by such Holder), except in the case of fraud or willful misconduct by such Holder.
(c)Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 2.8 of notice of the commencement of any action (including any governmental action) for which a party may be entitled to indemnification hereunder, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against any indemnifying party under this Section 2.8, give the indemnifying party notice of the commencement thereof. The indemnifying party shall have the right to participate in such action and, to the extent the indemnifying party so desires, participate jointly with any other indemnifying party to which notice has been given, and to assume the defense thereof with counsel mutually satisfactory to the parties; provided, however, that an indemnified party (together with all other indemnified parties that may be represented without conflict by one counsel) shall have the right to retain one separate counsel, with the fees and expenses to be paid by the indemnifying party, if representation of such indemnified party by the counsel retained by the indemnifying party would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between such indemnified party and any other party represented by such counsel in such action. The failure to give notice to the indemnifying party within a reasonable time of the commencement of any such action shall relieve such indemnifying party of any liability to the indemnified party under this Section 2.8, to the extent that such failure materially prejudices the indemnifying party’s ability to defend such action. The failure to give notice to the indemnifying party will not relieve it of any liability that it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 2.8.
(d)To provide for just and equitable contribution to joint liability under the Securities Act in any case in which either (i) any party otherwise entitled to indemnification hereunder makes a claim for indemnification pursuant to this Section 2.8 but it is judicially determined (by the entry of a final judgment or decree by a court of competent jurisdiction and the expiration of time to appeal or the denial of the last right of appeal) that such indemnification may not be enforced in such case, notwithstanding the fact that this Section 2.8 provides for indemnification in such case, or (ii) contribution under the Securities Act may be required on the part of any party hereto for which indemnification is provided under this Section 2.8, then, and in each such case, such parties will contribute to the aggregate losses, claims, damages, liabilities, or expenses to which they may be subject (after contribution from others) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative fault of each of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party in connection with the statements, omissions, or other actions that resulted in such loss, claim, damage, liability, or expense, as well as to reflect any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the indemnifying party and of the indemnified party shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or allegedly untrue statement of a material fact, or the omission or alleged omission of a material fact, relates to information supplied by the indemnifying party or by the indemnified party and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information, and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission; provided, however, that, in any such case, (1) no Holder will be required to contribute any amount in excess of the public offering price of all such Registrable Securities offered and sold by such Holder pursuant to such registration statement, and (2) no Person 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; and provided further that in no event shall a Holder’s liability pursuant to this Section 2.8(d), when combined with the amounts paid or payable by such Holder pursuant to Section 2.8(b), exceed the proceeds from the offering received by such Holder (net of any Selling Expenses paid by such Holder), except in the case of willful misconduct or fraud by such Holder.
(e)Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that the provisions on indemnification and contribution contained in the underwriting agreement entered into in connection with the underwritten public offering are in conflict with the foregoing provisions, the provisions in the underwriting agreement shall control.
(f)Unless otherwise superseded by an underwriting agreement entered into in connection with the underwritten public offering, the obligations of the Company and Holders under this Section 2.8 shall survive the completion of any offering of Registrable Securities in a registration under this Section 2, and otherwise shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
2.9Reports Under Exchange Act. With a view to making available to the Holders the benefits of SEC Rule 144 and any other rule or regulation of the SEC that may at any time permit a Holder to sell securities of the Company to the public without registration or pursuant to a registration on Form S-3, the Company shall:
(a)make and keep available adequate current public information, as those terms are understood and defined in SEC Rule 144, at all times after the effective date of the registration statement filed by the Company for the IPO;
(b)use commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC in a timely manner all reports and other documents required of the Company under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (at any time after the Company has become subject to such reporting requirements); and
(c)furnish to any Holder, so long as the Holder owns any Registrable Securities, forthwith upon request (i) to the extent accurate, a written statement by the Company that it has complied with the reporting requirements of SEC Rule 144 (at any time after ninety (90) days after the effective date of the registration statement filed by the Company for the IPO), the Securities Act, and the Exchange Act (at any time after the Company has become subject to such reporting requirements), or that it qualifies as a registrant whose securities may be resold pursuant to Form S-3 (at any time after the Company so qualifies) and (ii) such other information as may be reasonably requested in availing any Holder of any rule or regulation of the SEC that permits the selling of any such securities without registration (at any time after the Company has become subject to the reporting requirements under the Exchange Act) or pursuant to Form S-3 (at any time after the Company so qualifies to use such form).
2.10Limitations on Subsequent Registration Rights. From and after the date of this Agreement, the Company shall not, without the prior written consent of the Holders of at least a majority of the Registrable Securities then outstanding, enter into any agreement with any holder or prospective holder of any securities of the Company that would (a) allow such holder or prospective holder to include such securities in any registration unless, under the terms of such agreement, such holder or prospective holder may include such securities in any such registration only to the extent that the inclusion of such securities will not reduce the number of the Registrable Securities of the Holders that are included or (b) allow such holder or prospective holder to initiate a demand for registration of any securities held by such holder or prospective holder; provided that this limitation shall not apply to any additional Investor who becomes a party to this Agreement in accordance with Section 6.9.
2.11“Market Stand-off” Agreement. Each Holder hereby agrees that it will not, without the prior written consent of the managing underwriter, during the period commencing on the date of the final prospectus relating to IPO, and ending on the date specified by the Company and the managing underwriter (such period not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days): (a) lend; offer; pledge; sell; contract to sell; sell any option or contract to purchase; purchase any option or contract to sell; grant any option, right, or warrant to purchase; or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable (directly or indirectly) for Common Stock held immediately before the effective date of the registration statement for the IPO or (b) enter into any swap or other arrangement that
transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of such securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (a) or (b) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or other securities, in cash, or otherwise. The foregoing provisions of this Section 2.11 shall apply only to the IPO, shall not apply to distributions to current or former partners, members or stockholders of a Holder or to the transfer of any shares owned by a Holder in the Company to its Affiliates or any of the Holder’s stockholders, members, partners or other equity holders; provided that the Affiliate, stockholder member, partner or other equity holder of the Holder agrees to be bound in writing by the restrictions set forth herein, shall not apply to transactions (including, without limitation, any swap, hedge or similar agreement or arrangement) or announcements, in each case, relating to securities acquired in the IPO or in open market or other transactions from and after the IPO or that otherwise do not involve or relate to shares of Common Stock owned by a Holder prior to the IPO, shall not apply to the sale of any shares to an underwriter pursuant to an underwriting agreement and shall be applicable to the Holders only if all officers, directors and all stockholders individually owning more than one percent (1%) of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock (after giving effect to the conversion into Common Stock of all outstanding Preferred Stock) are subject to the same restrictions. The underwriters in connection with such registration are intended third-party beneficiaries of this Section 2.11 and shall have the right, power and authority to enforce the provisions hereof as though they were a party hereto. Each Holder further agrees to execute such agreements as may be reasonably requested by the underwriters in connection with such registration that are consistent with this Section 2.11 or that are necessary to give further effect thereto. In the event that the Company or the managing underwriter waives or terminates any of the restrictions contained in this Section 2.11 or in a lock-up agreement with respect to the securities of any Holder, officer, director or greater than one percent stockholder of the Company (in any such case, the “Released Securities”), the restrictions contained in this Section 2.11 and in any lock-up agreements executed by the Holders shall be waived or terminated, as applicable, to the same extent and with respect to the same percentage of securities of each Holder as the percentage of Released Securities represent with respect to the securities held by the applicable Holder, officer, director or greater than one percent stockholder.
2.12Restrictions on Transfer.
(a)The Preferred Stock and the Registrable Securities shall not be sold, pledged, or otherwise transferred, and the Company shall not recognize and shall issue stop-transfer instructions to its transfer agent with respect to any such sale, pledge, or transfer, except upon the conditions specified in this Agreement, which conditions are intended to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act. A transferring Holder will cause any proposed purchaser, pledgee, or transferee of the Preferred Stock and the Registrable Securities held by such Holder to agree to take and hold such securities subject to the provisions and upon the conditions specified in this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not require any transferee of shares pursuant to an effective registration statement or, following the IPO, pursuant to SEC Rule 144, in each case, to be bound by the terms of this Agreement.
(b)Each certificate, instrument or book entry representing (i) the Preferred Stock, (ii) the Registrable Securities, and (iii) any other securities issued in respect of the securities referenced in clauses (i) and (ii), upon any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, or similar event, shall (unless otherwise permitted by the provisions of Section 2.12(c)) be notated with a legend substantially in the following form:
THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT AND HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED. SUCH SHARES MAY NOT BE SOLD, PLEDGED, OR TRANSFERRED IN THE ABSENCE OF SUCH REGISTRATION OR A VALID EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION AND PROSPECTUS DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS OF SAID ACT.
THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY BE TRANSFERRED ONLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF AN INVESTORS’ RIGHTS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND THE STOCKHOLDER, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY.
The Holders consent to the Company making a notation in its records and giving instructions to any transfer agent of the Restricted Securities in order to implement the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Section 2.12.
(c)The holder of such Restricted Securities, by acceptance of ownership thereof, agrees to comply in all respects with the provisions of this Section 2. Before any proposed sale, pledge, or transfer of any Restricted Securities, unless there is in effect a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the proposed transaction, or following the IPO, the transfer is made pursuant to SEC Rule 144, the Holder thereof shall give notice to the Company of such Holder’s intention to effect such sale, pledge, or transfer; provided that no such notice shall be required if the intended sale, pledge or transfer complies with SEC Rule 144. Each such notice shall describe the manner and circumstances of the proposed sale, pledge, or transfer in sufficient detail and, if reasonably requested by the Company, shall be accompanied at such Holder’s expense by either (i) a written opinion of legal counsel who shall, and whose legal opinion shall, be reasonably satisfactory to the Company, addressed to the Company, to the effect that the proposed transaction may be effected without registration under the Securities Act; (ii) a “no action” letter from the SEC to the effect that the proposed sale, pledge, or transfer of such Restricted Securities without registration will not result in a recommendation by the staff of the SEC that action be taken with respect thereto; or (iii) any other evidence reasonably satisfactory to counsel to the Company to the effect that the proposed sale, pledge, or transfer of the Restricted Securities may be effected without registration under the Securities Act, whereupon the Holder of such Restricted Securities shall be entitled to sell, pledge, or transfer such Restricted Securities in accordance with the terms of the notice given by the Holder to the Company. The Company will not require such a notice, legal opinion or “no action” letter (1) in any transaction in compliance with SEC Rule 144 or (2) in any transaction in which such Holder distributes Restricted Securities to an Affiliate of such Holder for no consideration; provided that, other than in connection with a transaction in compliance with SEC Rule 144 following the IPO, each transferee agrees in writing to be subject to the terms of this Section 2.12. Each certificate, instrument, or book entry representing the Restricted Securities transferred as above provided shall bear, except if such
transfer is made pursuant to SEC Rule 144 or an effective registration statement, the appropriate restrictive legend set forth in Section 2.12(b), except that such certificate, instrument, or book entry shall not bear such restrictive legend if, in the opinion of counsel for such Holder and the Company, such legend is not required in order to establish compliance with any provisions of the Securities Act.
(d)The Company shall, if requested by the Holder, use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) cause the removal of any restrictive legend related to compliance with the federal securities laws set forth on the Registrable Securities, (ii) cause its legal counsel to deliver an opinion, if necessary, to the transfer agent in connection with the instruction under clause (i) to the effect that removal of such legends in such circumstances may be effected in compliance under the Securities Act, and (iii) issue Registrable Securities without any such legend in certificated or book-entry form or by electronic delivery (if then eligible for such delivery through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company), at the Holder’s option, within two (2) trading days of such request, if (A) the Registrable Securities are registered for resale under the Securities Act pursuant to an effective registration statement and the Holder has sold or transferred such Registrable Securities pursuant to such then-effective Registration Statement (in which case the Holder shall submit a letter agreement reasonably satisfactory to the Company and its transfer agent with respect to such sale pursuant to such then-effective Registration Statement), (B) the Registrable Securities may be sold by the Holder without restriction under SEC Rule 144(b)(1) (as evidenced by customary non-affiliate certifications), including without limitation, any volume and manner of sale restrictions and without any requirement that “current public information” (within the meaning of SEC Rule 144 under the Securities Act) be available at the time of sale of such securities, including as a result of SEC Rule 144(i) under the Securities Act, or (C) the Holder has sold or transferred Registrable Securities in compliance with SEC Rule 144 (in which case the Holder shall submit a letter agreement reasonably satisfactory to the Company and its transfer agent with respect to ongoing compliance with SEC Rule 144 under the Securities Act).
2.13Termination of Registration Rights. The right of any Holder to request registration or inclusion of Registrable Securities in any registration pursuant to Section 2.1 or Section 2.2 shall terminate upon the earliest to occur of: (a) the closing of a Deemed Liquidation Event (as defined in the Restated Certificate); (b) at such time as Rule 144 or another similar exemption under the Securities Act is available for the sale of all of such Holder’s shares without limitation during a three-month period without registration; and (c) the fifth anniversary of the consummation of the IPO.
3.Information and Observer Rights.
3.1Delivery of Financial Statements. The Company shall deliver to each Major Investor, provided that the Board has not reasonably determined that such Major Investor is a Competitor of the Company:
(a)as soon as practicable, but in any event within one hundred twenty (120) days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, (A) a balance sheet as of the end of such year, (B) statements of income and of cash flows for such year and (C) a statement of stockholders’ equity as of the end of such year, all such financial statements audited and certified by an independent public accountant selected by the Board; provided, however, that the Board (including
a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving) may waive the audit requirement in any given fiscal year for the financial statements set forth in this Section 3.1;
(b)as soon as practicable, but in any event within forty-five (45) days after the end of each quarter of each fiscal year of the Company, unaudited statements of income and of cash flows for such fiscal quarter, and an unaudited balance sheet as of the end of such fiscal quarter all prepared in accordance with GAAP (except that such financial statements may (A) be subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and (B) not contain all notes thereto that may be required in accordance with GAAP);
(c)as soon as practicable, but in any event no later than thirty (30) days before the end of each fiscal year, a budget and business plan for the next fiscal year (collectively, the “Budget”), prepared on a monthly basis, including balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flow for such months and, promptly after prepared, any other budgets or revised budgets prepared by the Company; and
(d)as soon as practicable, but in any event within forty-five (45) days after the end of each quarter of each fiscal year of the Company, a statement showing the number of shares of each class and series of capital stock and securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of capital stock outstanding at the end of the period, the Common Stock issuable upon conversion or exercise of any outstanding securities convertible or exercisable for Common Stock and the exchange ratio or exercise price applicable thereto, and the number of shares of issued stock options and stock options not yet issued but reserved for issuance, if any, all in sufficient detail as to permit the Major Investors to calculate their respective percentage equity ownership in the Company.
(e)such other information relating to the financial condition, business, prospects, or corporate affairs of the Company as any Major Investor may from time-to-time reasonably request; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated under this Section 3.1 to provide information (i) that the Company reasonably determines in good faith to be a trade secret or similar highly confidential information (unless covered by an enforceable confidentiality agreement, in a form reasonably acceptable to the Company); or (ii) the disclosure of which would adversely affect the attorney-client privilege between the Company and its counsel.
(f)Subsidiaries. If, for any period, the Company has any subsidiary whose accounts are consolidated with those of the Company, then in respect of such period the financial statements delivered pursuant to the foregoing sections shall be the consolidated and consolidating financial statements of the Company and all such consolidated subsidiaries.
(g)Registration. Notwithstanding anything else in this Section 3.1 to the contrary, the Company may cease providing the information set forth in this Section 3.1 during the period starting with the date sixty (60) days before the Company’s good-faith estimate of the date of filing of a registration statement if it reasonably concludes it must do so to comply with the SEC rules applicable to such registration statement and related offering; provided that the Company’s covenants under this Section 3.1 shall be reinstated at such time as the Company is no longer actively employing its commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective.
3.2Inspection. The Company shall permit each Major Investor (provided that the Board of Directors has not reasonably determined that such Major Investor is a Competitor of the Company), or any of its authorized representatives, at such Major Investor’s expense, to visit and inspect the Company’s properties; examine its corporate and financial records; and discuss the Company’s affairs, finances, and accounts with its officers, during normal business hours of the Company as may be reasonably requested by the Major Investor in connection with monitoring or making decisions with respect to its investment in the Company; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated pursuant to this Section 3.2 to provide access to any information that it reasonably and in good faith considers to be a trade secret or confidential information (unless covered by an enforceable confidentiality agreement, in form acceptable to the Company) or the disclosure of which would adversely affect the attorney-client privilege between the Company and its counsel.
3.3Observer Right. As long as Eventide owns not less than 10,241,145 shares of Preferred Stock (or an equivalent amount of Common Stock issued upon conversion thereof other than Mandatory Conversion Common Stock) (in each case as adjusted for any stock split, stock dividend, combination or other recapitalization or reclassification effected after the date hereof), the Company shall invite a representative of Eventide to attend all meetings of the Board in a nonvoting observer capacity and, in this respect, shall give such representative copies of all notices, minutes, consents, and other materials that it provides to the Board at the same time and in the same manner as provided to the Board; provided, however, that such representative shall agree to hold in confidence and trust and to act in a fiduciary manner with respect to all information so provided; and provided further, that the Company reserves the right to withhold any information and to exclude such representative from any meeting or portion thereof if access to such information or attendance at such meeting could adversely affect the attorney-client privilege between the Company and its counsel or result in disclosure of trade secrets or a conflict of interest.
3.4Termination of Information and Inspection Rights and Observer Rights. The covenants set forth in Section 3.1, Section 3.2 and Section 3.3 shall terminate and be of no further force or effect: (a) immediately before the consummation of the IPO; (b) when the Company first becomes subject to the periodic reporting requirements of Section 12(g) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; (c) upon the consummation of a Deemed Liquidation Event (as defined in the Restated Certificate); or (d) upon a Change of Control.
3.5Confidentiality. Each Investor agrees that such Investor will keep confidential and will not disclose, divulge, or use for any purpose (other than to monitor its investment in the Company) any confidential information obtained from the Company pursuant to the terms of this Agreement (including notice of the Company’s intention to file a registration statement), unless such confidential information (a) is known or becomes known to the public in general (other than as a result of a breach of this Section 3.5 by such Investor), (b) is or has been independently developed or conceived by the Investor without use of the Company’s confidential information, or (c) is or has been made known or disclosed to the Investor by a third party without a breach of any obligation of confidentiality such third party may have to the Company; provided, however, that an Investor may disclose confidential information (i) to its attorneys, accountants, consultants, and other professionals to the extent reasonably necessary to obtain their services in connection with monitoring its investment in the Company, if such person is bound by an ethical duty to keep such information confidential or such person agrees to be bound by the provisions of this Section 3.5;
(ii) to any prospective purchaser of any Registrable Securities from such Investor, if such prospective purchaser agrees to be bound by the provisions of this Section 3.5; (iii) to any existing or prospective Affiliate, partner, member, stockholder, or wholly owned subsidiary of such Investor in the ordinary course of business, provided that such Investor informs such Person that such information is confidential and directs such Person to maintain the confidentiality of such information; (iv) as may otherwise be required by law, regulation, rule, court order or subpoena, provided that the Investor promptly notifies the Company of such disclosure and takes reasonable steps to minimize the extent of any such required disclosure or (v) to the extent required in connection with any routine or periodic examination or similar process by any regulatory or self- regulatory body or authority not specifically directed at the Company or the confidential information obtained from the Company pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, including, without limitation, quarterly or annual reports.
4.Rights to Future Stock Issuances.
4.1Right of First Offer. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Section 4 and applicable securities laws, if the Company proposes to offer or sell any New Securities, the Company shall first offer such New Securities to each of the Major Investors. The Major Investors shall be entitled to apportion the right of first offer hereby granted to them in such proportions as the Major Investors deem appropriate, among (a) the Major Investors, (b) Affiliates of the Major Investors and (c) the beneficial interest holders, such as limited partners, members or any other Person having “beneficial ownership,” as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, of any Major Investor (“Investor Beneficial Owners”); provided that, each such Affiliate or Investor Beneficial Owner (y) is not a Competitor, unless such party’s purchase of New Securities is otherwise consented to by the Board of Directors, (z) agrees to enter into this Agreement and each of the Amended and Restated Voting Agreement and the Amended and Restated Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Agreement of even date herewith among the Company, the Investors and the other parties named therein, as an “Investor” under each such agreement.
4.2Offer Notice. The Company shall give notice (the “Offer Notice”) to each Major Investor, stating (a) its bona fide intention to offer such New Securities, (b) the number of such New Securities to be offered, and (c)the price and terms, if any, upon which it proposes to offer such New Securities.
4.3Election to Purchase. By notification to the Company within twenty (20) days after the Offer Notice is given, each Major Investor may elect to purchase or otherwise acquire, at the price and on the terms specified in the Offer Notice, up to that portion of such New Securities which equals the proportion that the Common Stock then held by such Major Investor (including all shares of Common Stock then outstanding or issuable (directly or indirectly) upon conversion and/or exercise, as applicable, of the Preferred Stock and any other Derivative Securities then held by such Major Investor, but excluding any Mandatory Conversion Common Stock held by such Major Investor) bears to the total Common Stock of the Company then outstanding, or issuable (directly or indirectly) upon conversion and/or exercise, as applicable, of the Preferred Stock and any other Derivative Securities then outstanding. At the expiration of such twenty (20) day period, the Company shall promptly notify each Major Investor that elects to purchase or acquire all the shares available to it (each, a “Fully Exercising Investor”) of any other Major Investor’s failure
to do likewise. During the ten (10) day period commencing after the Company has given such notice, each Fully Exercising Investor may, by giving notice to the Company, elect to purchase or acquire, in addition to the number of shares specified above, up to that portion of the New Securities for which Major Investors were entitled to subscribe but that were not subscribed for by the Major Investors which is equal to the proportion that the Common Stock issued and held, or issuable (directly or indirectly) upon conversion and/or exercise, as applicable, of Preferred Stock and any other Derivative Securities then held, by such Fully Exercising Investor bears to the Common Stock issued and held, or issuable (directly or indirectly) upon conversion and/or exercise, as applicable, of the Preferred Stock and any other Derivative Securities then held, by all Fully Exercising Investors who wish to purchase such unsubscribed shares. The closing of any sale pursuant to this Section 4 shall occur within the later of one hundred and twenty (120) days of the date that the Offer Notice is given and the date of initial sale of New Securities pursuant to this Section 4.
4.4Failure to Purchase. If all New Securities referred to in the Offer Notice are not elected to be purchased or acquired as provided in this Section 4, the Company may, during the ninety (90) day period following the expiration of the period provided in Section 4.3, offer and sell the remaining unsubscribed portion of such New Securities to any Person or Persons at a price not less than, and upon terms no more favorable to the offeree than, those specified in the Offer Notice. If the Company does not enter into an agreement for the sale of the New Securities within such period, or if such agreement is not consummated within thirty (30) days of the execution thereof, the right provided hereunder shall be deemed to be revived and such New Securities shall not be offered unless first reoffered to the Major Investors in accordance with this Section 4.
4.5Exceptions to Right of First Offer. The right of first offer in this Section 4 shall not be applicable to: (a) Exempted Securities (as defined in the Restated Certificate); (b) shares of Common Stock issued in the IPO; (c) the issuance of shares of Series D Preferred Stock to Additional Purchasers (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) pursuant to Section 1.3 of the Purchase Agreement; and (d) transactions which have been waived in accordance with Section 6.6 hereof.
4.6Termination. The covenants set forth in this Section 4 shall terminate and be of no further force or effect: (a) immediately before the consummation of the IPO; (b) when the Company first becomes subject to the periodic reporting requirements of Section 12(g) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; (c) upon a Deemed Liquidation Event, as such term is defined in the Restated Certificate, whichever event occurs first.
5.1Insurance. The Company shall at all times maintain director and officer liability insurance in an amount and on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving). The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to cause such insurance policy to be maintained until such time as the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, determines that such insurance should be discontinued. The policy shall not be cancelable by the Company without prior approval by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving.
5.2Employee Agreements. The Company will cause each person now or hereafter employed by it or by any subsidiary (or engaged by the Company or any subsidiary as a consultant/independent contractor) with access to confidential information and/or trade secrets to enter into a nondisclosure and proprietary rights assignment agreement, which shall include a one (1) year non-solicitation agreement. In addition, the Company shall not amend, modify, terminate, waive, or otherwise alter, in whole or in part, any of the above-referenced agreements or any restricted stock agreement between the Company and any employee, without the consent of a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving.
5.3Employee Stock. Unless otherwise approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, all future employees and consultants of the Company who purchase, receive options to purchase, or receive awards of shares of the Company’s capital stock after the date hereof shall be required to execute restricted stock or option agreements, as applicable, providing for (i) vesting of shares over a four (4) year period, with the first twenty-five percent (25%) of such shares vesting following twelve (12) months of continued employment or service, and the remaining shares vesting in equal monthly installments over the following thirty- six (36) months, without any vesting acceleration rights, and (ii) a market stand-off provision substantially similar to that in Section 2.11 of this Agreement. In addition, unless otherwise approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, the Company shall retain a “right of first refusal” on employee transfers and shall have the right to repurchase unvested shares at cost upon termination of employment or service of a holder of restricted stock.
5.4Board Matters Requiring Approval of Preferred Directors. The Company hereby covenants and agrees with each of the Investors that it shall not, without approval of the Board, which approval must include the affirmative vote of a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, including the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the Series C/D Directors then- serving:
(a)make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance to, or own any stock or other securities of, any subsidiary or other corporation, partnership, or other entity unless it is wholly owned by the Company;
(b)make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance to any Person, including, without limitation, any employee or director of the Company or any subsidiary, except advances and similar expenditures in the ordinary course of business or under the terms of an employee stock or option plan previously approved by the Board or approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors subsequent to the date hereof;
(c)guarantee, directly or indirectly, or permit any subsidiary to guarantee, directly or indirectly, any indebtedness except for trade accounts of the Company or any subsidiary arising in the ordinary course of business;
(d)make any investment other than investments in prime commercial paper, money market funds, certificates of deposit in any United States bank having a net worth in excess of $100,000,000 or obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States of America, in each case having a maturity not in excess of one year, or that are otherwise consistent with an investment policy approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors;
(e)incur any aggregate indebtedness in excess of $250,000 that is not already included in a budget approved by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors, other than trade credit incurred in the ordinary course of business;
(f)otherwise enter into or be a party to any transaction with any director, officer, or employee of the Company or any “associate” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of any such Person, except for transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Purchase Agreement, and the other Transaction Agreements (as defined in the Purchase Agreement);
(g)hire, terminate, or change the compensation of the executive officers, including approving any option grants or stock awards to executive officers;
(h)change the principal business of the Company, enter new lines of business, or exit the current line of business;
(i)sell, assign, license, pledge, or encumber material technology or intellectual property, other than immaterial licenses granted in the ordinary course of business; or
(j)increase the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan or establish a new equity incentive plan; or
(k)hire or terminate the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
5.5Board Matters. Unless otherwise determined by the Board, including a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving, the Board shall meet at least quarterly and for a total of at least four (4) Board meetings per calendar year in accordance with an agreed-upon schedule. The Company shall reimburse the non-employee directors and observers for all reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses incurred including, without limitation, airfare and hotel accommodation expenses (consistent with the Company’s travel policy), in connection with attending meetings of the Board. Upon the request of the Preferred Directors, any Board committee shall include (i) at least three (3) Preferred Directors, (ii) at least one Series A/B Director, (iii) at least one Series C Director and (iv) at least one Series D Director. The Company shall cause to be established, as soon as practicable after the request of the Preferred Directors, and will maintain, an audit and compensation committee, each of which shall consist solely of non-management directors. Each Preferred Director shall be entitled in such persons’ discretion to be a member of any Board committee established from time to time. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Company’s Bylaws or otherwise, and unless otherwise waived by the Board, including a majority
of the Preferred Directors then-serving, the presence (in-person or telephonically) of a majority of the Preferred Directors then-serving shall be required in order to convene a meeting of the Board.
5.6Sale of Company; Investor Counsel. In the event of a transaction which is a Sale of the Company (as defined in the Voting Agreement of even date herewith among the Investors and the Company), the reasonable fees and disbursements, not to exceed $25,000, of one counsel for the Major Investors (“Investor Counsel”), in their capacities as stockholders, shall be borne and paid by the Company. At the outset of considering a transaction which, if consummated would constitute a Sale of the Company, the Company shall obtain the ability to share with the Investor Counsel (and such counsel’s clients) and shall share the confidential information (including without limitation the initial and all subsequent drafts of memoranda of understanding, letters of intent and other transaction documents and related noncompete, employment, consulting and other compensation agreements and plans) pertaining to and memorializing any of the transactions which, individually or when aggregated with others would constitute the Sale of the Company.
5.7Indemnification Matters. The Company hereby acknowledges that one (1) or more of the directors nominated to serve on the Board by the Investors (each a “Fund Director”) may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by one or more of the Investors and certain of their affiliates (collectively, the “Fund Indemnitors”). The Company hereby agrees (a) that it is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to any such Fund Director are primary and any obligation of the Fund Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same expenses or liabilities incurred by such Fund Director are secondary), (b) that it shall be required to advance the full amount of expenses incurred by such Fund Director and shall be liable for the full amount of all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement by or on behalf of any such Fund Director to the extent legally permitted and as required by the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws of the Company (or any agreement between the Company and such Fund Director), without regard to any rights such Fund Director may have against the Fund Indemnitors, and, (c) that it irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases the Fund Indemnitors from any and all claims against the Fund Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of any kind in respect thereof. The Company further agrees that no advancement or payment by the Fund Indemnitors on behalf of any such Fund Director with respect to any claim for which such Fund Director has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect the foregoing and the Fund Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of such Fund Director against the Company. The Fund Directors and the Fund Indemnitors are intended third-party beneficiaries of this Section 5.7 and shall have the right, power and authority to enforce the provisions of this Section 5.7 as though they were a party to this Agreement.
5.8Successor Indemnification. If the Company or any of its successors or assignees consolidates with or merges into any other Person and is not the continuing or surviving corporation or entity of such consolidation or merger, then to the extent necessary, proper provision shall be made so that the successors and assignees of the Company assume the obligations of the Company with respect to indemnification of members of the Board as in effect immediately before such transaction, whether such obligations are contained in the Company’s Bylaws, the Restated Certificate, or elsewhere, as the case may be.
5.9Right to Conduct Activities. The Company hereby agrees and acknowledges that each of Suvretta, PXV, SR One, Eventide, Norwest, Pivotal, F-Prime, RiverVest, Novo, Vida, [***], Surveyor and Rock Springs (collectively, the “Investing Funds”) are professional investment funds, and as such (a) makes or holds investments in, or trades in public securities of, companies that are or may become engaged in activities that are competitive with the Company’s business, as it is currently conducted or as it may be conducted in the future and (b) invests in and reviews the business plans and related proprietary information of numerous portfolio companies and enterprises, some of which may be deemed competitive with the Company’s business (as currently conducted or as currently propose to be conducted). The Company hereby agrees that, to the extent permitted under applicable law, the Investing Funds shall not be liable to the Company for any claim arising out of, or based upon (i) the investment by any Investing Fund in any entity competitive with the Company, or (ii) actions taken by any partner, officer or other representative of the Investing Funds to assist any such competitive company, whether or not such action was taken as a member of the board of directors of such competitive company or otherwise, and whether or not such action has a detrimental effect on the Company; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not relieve (x) any of the Investors from liability associated with the unauthorized disclosure of the Company’s confidential information obtained pursuant to this Agreement, or (y) any director or officer of the Company from any liability associated with his or her fiduciary duties to the Company. Subject to clauses (x) and (y) above, nothing in this Agreement or any other agreement with the Company shall preclude, create an obligation or duty, or in any way restrict, the Investing Funds from evaluating or purchasing securities, including publicly traded securities, of a particular enterprise, whether or not such enterprise has products or services which compete with those of the Company.
5.10Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement Actions. The Company shall promptly notify Norwest should the Company become aware of any Enforcement Action (as defined in the Purchase Agreement).
5.11CFIUS Filing Requirement and CFIUS Satisfied Condition. If and only if (i) CFIUS requests or requires that the Company or an Investor file a notice or declaration with CFIUS pursuant to the DPA, with respect to an Investor’s investment in the Company (the “Covered Transaction”), or (ii) the Company and an Investor (each of the Investors described in (i) and (ii) a “Non-U.S. Investor”) mutually determine in good faith that a filing with CFIUS with respect to the Covered Transaction is advisable or required by applicable law, then in either case, (i) or (ii) (either to constitute a “CFIUS Filing Requirement”): (x) the Company and such Non-U.S. Investor shall, and shall cause any affiliates to, cooperate and promptly make a CFIUS filing in the requested, required or advisable form in accordance with the DPA; and (y) the Company and the Investors shall, and shall cause any affiliates to, use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain, as applicable, the CFIUS Satisfied Condition (as defined below). For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Company nor a Non-U.S. Investor shall have any obligation to accept or take any action, condition or restriction with respect to the Covered Transactions in order to achieve the CFIUS Satisfied Condition. In the event of a CFIUS Filing Requirement, no future provisions of the Restated Certificate or any other agreement serving a similar purpose with respect to a future acquisition of shares by a Non-U.S. Investor shall apply to any Non-U.S. Investor making filings pursuant to the DPA under this Section 3.6 unless and until the date that is ten (10) business days after the CFIUS Satisfied Condition is achieved. The “CFIUS Satisfied Condition” shall be achieved when (1) the Company and the Non-U.S. Investor shall have received written notification
from CFIUS stating that: (A) CFIUS has concluded that the Covered Transactions do not constitute a “covered transaction” subject to review under the DPA; or (B) the assessment, review or investigation of the Covered Transactions under the DPA has concluded, and there are no unresolved national security concerns with respect to the Covered Transaction; (2) CFIUS has sent a report to the President of the United States requesting the President’s decision with respect to the Covered Transactions and either (A) the fifteen day period under the DPA subsequent to the President’s receipt of the CFIUS report during which the President may announce his decision to take action to suspend, prohibit or place any limitations on the Covered Transaction has expired without any such action being taken or (B) the President of the United States has announced a decision not to take any action to suspend, prohibit or place any limitations on the Covered Transactions; or (3) CFIUS has provided written notice that it is not able to complete action under the DPA with respect to the Covered Transaction on the basis of a CFIUS declaration, but CFIUS has not requested that the Company and the Non-U.S. Investor submit a CFIUS notice and has not initiated a unilateral CFIUS review, and the Company and the Non-U.S. Investor reasonably decide that the notification from CFIUS that it is not able to complete action is sufficient to constitute the CFIUS Satisfied Condition.
5.12Termination of Covenants. The covenants set forth in this Section 5 shall terminate and be of no further force or effect: (a) immediately before the consummation of the IPO; (b) when the Company first becomes subject to the periodic reporting requirements of Section 12(g) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; or (c) upon the consummation of a Deemed Liquidation Event, whichever event occurs first.
6.1Successors and Assigns. The rights under this Agreement may be assigned (but only with all related obligations) by a Holder to a transferee of Registrable Securities that (a) is an Affiliate of a Holder; (b) is a Holder’s Immediate Family Member or trust for the benefit of an individual Holder or one or more of such Holder’s Immediate Family Members; or (c) after such transfer, holds at least 5,000 shares of Registrable Securities (subject to appropriate adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations, and other recapitalizations); provided, however, that (i) the Company is, within a reasonable time after such transfer, furnished with written notice of the name and address of such transferee and the Registrable Securities with respect to which such rights are being transferred; and (ii) such transferee agrees in a written instrument delivered to the Company to be bound by and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the provisions of Section 2.11. For the purposes of determining the number of shares of Registrable Securities held by a transferee, the holdings of a transferee (1) that is an Affiliate or stockholder of a Holder; (2) who is a Holder’s Immediate Family Member; or (3) that is a trust for the benefit of an individual Holder or such Holder’s Immediate Family Member shall be aggregated together and with those of the transferring Holder; provided further that all transferees who would not qualify individually for assignment of rights shall have a single attorney-in-fact for the purpose of exercising any rights, receiving notices, or taking any action under this Agreement. The terms and conditions of this Agreement inure to the benefit of and are binding upon the respective successors and permitted assignees of the parties. 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 assignees any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided herein.
6.2Governing Law. This Agreement and any controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict of law principles that would result in the application of any law other than the laws of the State of Delaware.
6.3Counterparts. 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. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
6.4Titles and Subtitles. The titles and subtitles used in this Agreement are for convenience only and are not to be considered in construing or interpreting this Agreement.
6.5Notices. All notices and other communications given or made pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effectively given upon the earlier of actual receipt or: (a) personal delivery to the party to be notified, (b) when sent, if sent by electronic mail or facsimile during normal business hours of the recipient, and if not sent during normal business hours, then on the recipient’s next business day, (c) five (5) days after having been sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or (d) one (1) business day after the business day of deposit with a nationally recognized overnight courier, freight prepaid, specifying next business day delivery, with written verification of receipt. Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 232(e) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), each Investor consents to the delivery of any notice or communications to stockholders given by the Company under this Agreement, the DGCL, the Restated Certificate or the Company’s bylaws by (i) facsimile telecommunication to the facsimile number set forth on the signature page or Schedule A or Schedule B hereto, as applicable (or to any other facsimile number for the Investor in the Company’s records), (ii) electronic mail to the electronic mail address set forth on the signature page or Schedule A or Schedule hereto, as applicable, (or to any other electronic mail address for the Investor in the Company’s records), or (iii) any other form of electronic transmission (as defined in the DGCL) directed to Investor. This consent may be revoked by an Investor by written notice to the Company and may be deemed revoked in the circumstances specified in Section 232 of the DGCL. If notice is given to the Company, it shall be sent to Avalyn Pharma Inc., 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, marked “Attention: Chief Executive Officer”, and a copy (which shall not constitute notice) shall also be sent to Goodwin Procter LLP, 100 Northern Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, Attn: Mitchell Bloom and Stephanie Richards.
6.6Amendments and Waivers. Any term of this Agreement may be amended and the observance of any term of this Agreement may be waived (either generally or in a particular instance, and either retroactively or prospectively) only with the written consent of (i) the Company and (ii) the Holders of at least a majority of the Registrable Securities then outstanding; provided, however that the Company may in its sole discretion waive compliance with Section 2.12(c) (and the Company’s failure to object promptly in writing after notification of a proposed assignment allegedly in violation of Section 2.12(c) shall be deemed to be a waiver); provided, further that any provision hereof may be waived by any waiving party on such party’s own behalf, without the consent of any other party; provided, further that any amendment, modification,
termination or waiver of Section 6.15 will only be effective against an Investor if such Investor has provided written consent with respect to such amendment, modification, termination or waiver; and provided, further, that neither the definitions of “DPA” or “CFIUS,” Section 5.11 nor this provision of this Section 6.6 may be amended without the written consent of Novo. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (a) this Agreement may not be amended or terminated and the observance of any term hereof may not be waived with respect to any Investor unless such amendment, termination, or waiver applies to all Investors in the same fashion (it being agreed that a waiver of the provisions of Section 4 with respect to a particular transaction shall be deemed to apply to all Major Investors in the same fashion if such waiver does so by its terms, notwithstanding the fact that certain Major Investors may nonetheless, by agreement with the Company, purchase securities in such transaction), (b) Sections 3.1 and 3.2, Section 4 and any other section of this Agreement applicable to the Major Investors (including this clause (b) of this Section 6.6) may be amended, modified, terminated or waived with only the written consent of the Company and the holders of at least a majority of the Registrable Securities then outstanding and held by the Major Investors. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Schedule A and Schedule B hereto may be amended by the Company from time to time to add transferees of any Registrable Securities in compliance with the terms of this Agreement without the consent of the other parties; and Schedule A hereto may also be amended by the Company after the date of this Agreement without the consent of the other parties to add information regarding any additional Investor who becomes a party to this Agreement in accordance with Section 6.9. Schedule A and Schedule B hereto may be amended by the Company after the date of this Agreement without the consent of the other parties with respect to a Preferred Investor if and when such Preferred Investor becomes a Converted Preferred Holder. The Company shall give prompt written notice of any amendment, modification or termination hereof or waiver hereunder to any party hereto whose rights and/or obligations were affected by such amendment, modification, termination, or waiver and that did not consent in writing to such amendment, modification, termination, or waiver; provided that the failure to provide such notice shall not invalidate any amendment, modification, termination or waiver in accordance with this Section 6.6. Any amendment, modification, termination, or waiver effected in accordance with this Section 6.6 shall be binding on all parties hereto, regardless of whether any such party has consented thereto or received notice thereof. No waivers of or exceptions to any term, condition, or provision of this Agreement, in any one or more instances, shall be deemed to be or construed as a further or continuing waiver of any such term, condition, or provision. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, in the event that (a) the rights of the Major Investors to purchase New Securities under Section 4 are waived with respect to a particular offering of New Securities after the date hereof and (b) certain Major Investors nonetheless purchase New Securities in such offering, each Major Investor shall be given the opportunity under Section 4 to purchase its pro rata share of any securities made available for purchase by the Major Investors in such offering.
6.7Severability. If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, illegal or otherwise unenforceable for any reason whatsoever the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, each portion of any Section of this Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and shall remain enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
6.8Aggregation of Stock. All shares of Registrable Securities held or acquired by Affiliates shall be aggregated together for the purpose of determining the availability of any rights under this Agreement and such Affiliates may apportion such rights as among themselves in any manner they deem appropriate.
6.9Additional Investors. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if the Company issues additional shares of Series D Preferred Stock after the date hereof, whether pursuant to the Purchase Agreement or otherwise, any purchaser of such shares of Series D Preferred Stock may become a party to this Agreement by executing and delivering an additional counterpart signature page to this Agreement, and thereafter shall be deemed an “Investor” for all purposes hereunder. No action or consent by the Investors shall be required for such joinder to this Agreement by such additional Investor, so long as such additional Investor has agreed in writing to be bound by all of the obligations as an “Investor” hereunder.
6.10Entire Agreement. This Agreement (including any Schedules and Exhibits hereto) constitutes the full and entire understanding and agreement among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and any other written or oral agreement relating to the subject matter hereof existing between the parties is expressly canceled. Upon the effectiveness of this Agreement, the Prior Agreement shall be deemed amended and restated and superseded and replaced in its entirety by this Agreement, and shall be of no further force or effect.
6.11Dispute Resolution. The parties (a) hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of the state courts of Delaware and to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware for the purpose of any suit, action or other proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement, (b) agree not to commence any suit, action or other proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement except in the state courts of Delaware or the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, and (c) hereby waive, and agree not to assert, by way of motion, as a defense, or otherwise, in any such suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not subject personally to the jurisdiction of the above-named courts, that its property is exempt or immune from attachment or execution, that the suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, that the venue of the suit, action or proceeding is improper or that this Agreement or the subject matter hereof may not be enforced in or by such court.
6.12WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH PARTY HEREBY WAIVES ITS RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL OF ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, THE OTHER TRANSACTION DOCUMENTS, THE SECURITIES OR THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF OR THEREOF. THE SCOPE OF THIS WAIVER IS INTENDED TO BE ALL-ENCOMPASSING OF ANY AND ALL DISPUTES THAT MAY BE FILED IN ANY COURT AND THAT RELATE TO THE SUBJECT MATTER
OF THIS TRANSACTION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CONTRACT CLAIMS, TORT CLAIMS (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF DUTY CLAIMS, AND ALL OTHER COMMON LAW AND STATUTORY CLAIMS. THIS SECTION HAS BEEN FULLY DISCUSSED BY EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO AND THESE PROVISIONS WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY EXCEPTIONS. EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY FURTHER WARRANTS AND REPRESENTS THAT SUCH PARTY HAS REVIEWED THIS WAIVER WITH ITS LEGAL COUNSEL, AND THAT SUCH PARTY KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVES ITS JURY TRIAL RIGHTS FOLLOWING CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL.
6.13Delays or Omissions. No delay or omission to exercise any right, power, or remedy accruing to any party under this Agreement, upon any breach or default of any other party under this Agreement, shall impair any such right, power, or remedy of such nonbreaching or non-defaulting party, nor shall it be construed to be a waiver of or acquiescence to any such breach or default, or to any similar breach or default thereafter occurring, nor shall any waiver of any single breach or default be deemed a waiver of any other breach or default theretofore or thereafter occurring. All remedies, whether under this Agreement or by law or otherwise afforded to any party, shall be cumulative and not alternative.
6.14Acknowledgment. The Company acknowledges that the Investors are in the business of venture capital investing and therefore review the business plans and related proprietary information of many enterprises, including enterprises which may have products or services which compete directly or indirectly with those of the Company. Nothing in this Agreement shall preclude or in any way restrict the Investors from investing or participating in any particular enterprise whether or not such enterprise has products or services which compete with those of the Company.
6.15Limitation of Liability. The total liability, in the aggregate, of each Investor and its officers, directors, affiliates, employees and agents, for any and all claims, losses, costs or damages, including attorneys’ and accountants’ fees and expenses and costs of any nature whatsoever or claims or expenses resulting from or in any way related to such Investor’s breach of any of the Transaction Agreements (other than a Management Rights Letter) (each as defined in the Purchase Agreement) shall be several and not joint with the other stockholders and shall not exceed the total purchase price paid to the Company by such Investor for shares of Preferred Stock. Nothing in any of the Transaction Agreements shall restrict any Investor’s freedom to operate any of its Affiliates.
[Signature Pages Follow]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement as of the date first written above.
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COMPANY: |
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Avalyn Pharma Inc. |
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By: |
/s/ Lyn Baranowski |
Name: |
Lyn Baranowski |
Title: |
Chief Executive Officer |
EX-4.3
Exhibit 4.3
THIS WARRANT AND THE UNDERLYING SECURITIES ISSUABLE UPON EXERCISE OF THIS WARRANT HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED. THEY MAY NOT BE SOLD, OFFERED FOR SALE, PLEDGED, HYPOTHECATED, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR AN OPINION OF COUNSEL REASONABLY SATISFACTORY TO THE COMPANY THAT REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED UNDER SUCH ACT OR UNLESS SOLD PURSUANT TO RULE 144 UNDER SUCH ACT.
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Warrant No. 1 |
Date of Issuance: January 13, 2025 |
Number of Shares: 4,287,641
(subject to adjustment)
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT
Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), for value received, hereby certifies that Bruce Montgomery, M.D. (the “Registered Holder”), is entitled, subject to the terms set forth below, to purchase from the Company, at any time after the date hereof and on or before the Expiration Date (as defined in Section 8) the number of shares set forth above of Common Stock of the Company at a price of $0.29 per share (subject to adjustment as provided herein). The shares purchasable upon exercise of this Warrant, and the purchase price per share, as adjusted from time to time pursuant to the provisions of this Warrant, are hereinafter referred to as the “Warrant Stock” and the “Purchase Price,” respectively.
1.Number of Shares. Subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, the Registered Holder is entitled, upon surrender of this Warrant, to purchase from the Company the number of shares (subject to adjustment as provided herein) of Warrant Stock first set forth above.
2.Exercise. This Warrant shall be exercisable, in whole or in part, during the period commencing on the earliest to occur of an IPO, a SPAC or a Change of Control (each as defined herein) and ending at 5:00 p.m. eastern time on the Expiration Date (as defined herein).
(a)Manner of Exercise. This Warrant may be exercised by the Registered Holder, in whole or in part, by surrendering this Warrant, with the purchase/exercise form appended hereto as Exhibit A duly executed by such Registered Holder or by such Registered Holder’s duly authorized attorney, at such office or agency as the Company may designate, accompanied by payment in full of the Purchase Price payable in respect of the number of shares of Warrant Stock purchased upon such exercise. The Purchase Price may be paid by cash, check, wire transfer, or by the surrender of promissory notes or other instruments representing indebtedness of the Company to the Registered Holder.
(b)Effective Time of Exercise. Each exercise of this Warrant shall be deemed to have been effected immediately prior to the close of business on the day on which this Warrant shall have been surrendered to the Company as provided in Section 2(a). At such time, the person or persons in whose name or names any certificates for Warrant Stock shall be issuable upon such exercise as provided in Section 2(d) shall be deemed to have become the holder or holders of record of the Warrant Stock represented by such certificates.
(i)In lieu of exercising this Warrant in the manner provided in Section 2(a), the Registered Holder may elect to receive shares equal to the value of this Warrant (or the portion thereof being canceled) by surrender of this Warrant to the Company together with notice of such election on the purchase/exercise form appended hereto as Exhibit A duly executed by such Registered Holder or such Registered Holder’s duly authorized attorney, in which event the Company shall issue to such Registered Holder a number of shares of Warrant Stock computed using the following formula:
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Where |
X = |
The number of shares of Warrant Stock to be issued to the Registered Holder. |
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Y = |
The number of shares of Warrant Stock purchasable under this Warrant (at the date of such calculation). |
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A = |
The fair market value of one share of Warrant Stock (at the date of such calculation). |
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B = |
The Purchase Price (as adjusted to the date of such calculation). |
(ii)For purposes of this Section 2(c), the fair market value of Warrant Stock on the date of calculation shall mean with respect to each share of Warrant Stock:
(A)if the exercise is in connection with an initial public offering of the Company’s Common Stock, and if the Company’s Registration Statement relating to such public offering has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission, then the fair market value shall be the initial “Price to Public” per share specified in the final prospectus with respect to the offering;
(B)if (A) is not applicable, the fair market value of Warrant Stock shall be at the highest price per share which the Company could obtain on the date of calculation from a willing buyer (not a current employee or director) for shares of Warrant Stock sold by the Company, from authorized but unissued shares, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, unless the Company is at such time subject to an acquisition as described in Section 9(b), in which case the fair market value of Warrant Stock shall be deemed to be the value received by the holders of such stock pursuant to such acquisition.
(d)Delivery to Holder. As soon as practicable after the exercise of this Warrant in whole or in part, and in any event within ten (10) days thereafter, the Company at its expense will cause to be issued in the name of, and delivered to, the Registered Holder, or as such Holder (upon payment by such Holder of any applicable transfer taxes) may direct:
(i)a certificate or certificates for the number of shares of Warrant Stock to which such Registered Holder shall be entitled, and
(ii)in case such exercise is in part only, a new warrant or warrants (dated the date hereof) of like tenor, calling in the aggregate on the face or faces thereof for the number of shares of Warrant Stock equal (without giving effect to any adjustment therein) to the number of such shares called for on the face of this Warrant minus the number of such shares purchased by the Registered Holder upon such exercise as provided in Sections 2(a) or 2(c).
(a)Stock Splits and Dividends. If the Company’s outstanding shares of the same class as the Warrant Stock shall be subdivided into a greater number of shares or a dividend in the Company’s shares of the same class as the Warrant Stock shall be paid in respect of the Company’s shares of the same class as the Warrant Stock, the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such subdivision or at the record date of such dividend shall simultaneously with the effectiveness of such subdivision or immediately after the record date of such dividend be proportionately reduced. If the Company’s outstanding shares of the same class as the Warrant Stock shall be combined into a smaller number of shares, the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such combination shall, simultaneously with the effectiveness of such combination, be proportionately increased. When any adjustment is required to be made in the Purchase Price, the number of shares of Warrant Stock purchasable upon the exercise of this Warrant shall be changed to the number determined by dividing (i) an amount equal to the number of shares issuable upon the exercise of this Warrant immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment, by (ii) the Purchase Price in effect immediately after such adjustment.
(b)Reclassification, Etc. In case there occurs any reclassification or change of the outstanding securities of the Company or of any reorganization of the Company (or any other corporation the stock or securities of which are at the time receivable upon the exercise of this Warrant) or any similar corporate reorganization on or after the date hereof, then and in each such case the Registered Holder, upon the exercise hereof at any time after the consummation of such reclassification, change, or reorganization shall be entitled to receive, in lieu of the stock or other securities and property receivable upon the exercise hereof prior to such consummation, the stock or other securities or property to which such Holder would have been entitled upon such consummation if such Holder had exercised this Warrant immediately prior thereto, all subject to further adjustment pursuant to the provisions of this Section 3.
(c)Adjustment Certificate. When any adjustment is required to be made in the Warrant Stock or the Purchase Price pursuant to this Section 3, the Company shall promptly mail to the Registered Holder a certificate setting forth (i) a brief statement of the facts requiring such adjustment, (ii) the Purchase Price after such adjustment and (iii) the kind and amount of
stock or other securities or property into which this Warrant shall be exercisable after such adjustment.
(a)Unregistered Security. Each holder of this Warrant acknowledges that none of the Company’s securities (including this Warrant and the Warrant Stock) have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and agrees not to sell, pledge, distribute, offer for sale, transfer or otherwise dispose of this Warrant or any Warrant Stock issued upon its exercise (or any securities issued by the Company upon conversion or exchange thereof) in the absence of (i) an effective registration statement under the Securities Act as to the sale of any such securities and registration or qualification of such securities under any applicable U.S. federal or state securities law then in effect, or (ii) an opinion of counsel, satisfactory to the Company, that such registration and qualification are not required. Each certificate or other instrument for Warrant Stock issued upon the exercise of this Warrant (and any securities issued by the Company upon conversion or exchange thereof) shall bear a legend substantially to the foregoing effect.
(b)Transferability. Subject to the provisions of Section 4(a) hereof and to the “Lockup” provisions in Section 6, this Warrant and all rights hereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of the Warrant with a properly executed assignment (in the form of Exhibit B hereto) to the Company.
(c)Warrant Register. The Company will maintain a register containing the names and addresses of the Registered Holder of this Warrant. Until any transfer of this Warrant is made in the warrant register, the Company may treat the Registered Holder of this Warrant as the absolute owner hereof for all purposes; provided, however, that if this Warrant is properly assigned in blank, the Company may (but shall not be required to) treat the bearer hereof as the absolute owner hereof for all purposes, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. Any Registered Holder may change such Registered Holder’s address as shown on the warrant register by written notice to the Company requesting such change.
5.Representations and Warranties of the Registered Holder. The Registered Holder hereby represents and warrants to the Company that:
(a)Authorization. The Registered Holder has full power and authority to enter into this Warrant. The Warrant, when executed and delivered by the Registered Holder, will constitute a valid and legally binding obligation of the Registered Holder, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance, and any other laws of general application affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, and as limited by laws relating to the availability of specific performance, injunctive relief, or other equitable remedies.
(b)Purchase Entirely for Own Account. This Warrant is issued to the Registered Holder in reliance upon the Registered Holder’s representation to the Company, which by the Registered Holder’s acceptance of this Warrant, the Registered Holder hereby confirms, that the Warrant to be acquired by the Registered Holder and the Warrant Stock (and any securities
issued by the Company upon conversion or exchange thereof) (collectively, the “Securities”) will be acquired for investment for the Registered Holder’s own account, not as a nominee or agent, and not with a view to the resale or distribution of any part thereof, and that the Registered Holder has no present intention of selling, granting any participation in, or otherwise distributing the same. By accepting this Warrant, the Registered Holder further represents that the Registered Holder does not presently have any contract, undertaking, agreement or arrangement with any person to sell, transfer or grant participations to such person or to any third person, with respect to any of the Securities. The Registered Holder has not been formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the Securities.
(c)Disclosure of Information. The Registered Holder has had an opportunity to discuss the Company’s business, management, financial affairs and the terms and conditions of the offering of the Securities with the Company’s management and has had an opportunity to review the Company’s facilities. The Registered Holder understands that such discussions, as well as any written information delivered by the Company to the Registered Holder, were intended to describe the aspects of the Company’s business which it believes to be material.
(d)Restricted Securities. The Registered Holder understands that the Securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act, by reason of a specific exemption from the registration provisions of the Securities Act which depends upon, among other things, the bona fide nature of the investment intent and the accuracy of the Registered Holder’s representations as expressed herein. The Registered Holder understands that the Securities are “restricted securities” under applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws and that, pursuant to these laws, the Registered Holder must hold the Securities indefinitely unless they are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and qualified by state authorities, or an exemption from such registration and qualification requirements is available. The Registered Holder acknowledges that the Company has no obligation to register or qualify the Securities for resale. The Registered Holder further acknowledges that if an exemption from registration or qualification is available, it may be conditioned on various requirements including, but not limited to, the time and manner of sale, the holding period for the Securities, and on requirements relating to the Company which are outside of the Registered Holder’s control, and which the Company is under no obligation and may not be able to satisfy.
(e)No Public Market. The Registered Holder understands that no public market now exists for any of the securities issued by the Company, and that the Company has made no assurances that a public market will ever exist for the Securities.
(f)Accredited or Sophisticated Investor. The Registered Holder is (i) an accredited investor as defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act or (ii) a sophisticated investor, experienced in investing in securities of emerging growth companies and acknowledges that the Registered Holder is able to fend for itself, can bear the economic risk of its investment and has such knowledge and experience in financial or business matters that it is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the investment in the Securities.
(a)Lock-up Period; Agreement. If so requested by the Company or the underwriters in connection with the initial public offering of the Company’s securities registered under the Securities Act, Registered Holder shall not sell, make any short sale of, loan, grant any option for the purchase of, or otherwise dispose of any securities of the Company however or whenever acquired (except for those being registered) without the prior written consent of the Company or such underwriters, as the case may be, for 180 days from the effective date of the registration statement, plus such additional period, to the extent required by FINRA rules, up to a maximum of 216 days from the effective date of the registration statement, and Registered Holder shall execute an agreement reflecting the foregoing as may be requested by the underwriters at the time of such offering.
(b)Stop-Transfer Instructions. In order to enforce the foregoing covenants, the Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to the securities of the Registered Holder (and the securities of every other person subject to the restrictions in Section 6(a)).
(c)Transferees Bound. The Registered Holder agrees that prior to the Company’s initial public offering it will not transfer securities of the Company unless each transferee agrees in writing to be bound by all of the provisions of this Section 6 and to be subject to the waiver of statutory inspection rights in Section 7.
7.Waiver of Statutory Information Rights. Registered Holder acknowledges and understands that, but for the waiver made herein, Registered Holder would be entitled, upon written demand under oath stating the purpose thereof, to inspect for any proper purpose, and to make copies and extracts from, the Company’s stock ledger, a list of its stockholders, and its other books and records, and the books and records of subsidiaries of the Company, if any, under the circumstances and in the manner provided in Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (any and all such rights, and any and all such other rights of Registered Holder as may be provided for in Section 220, the “Inspection Rights”). In light of the foregoing, until the first sale of Common Stock of the Company to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act, Registered Holder hereby unconditionally and irrevocably waives the Inspection Rights, whether such Inspection Rights would be exercised or pursued directly or indirectly pursuant to Section 220 or otherwise, and covenants and agrees never to directly or indirectly commence, voluntarily aid in any way, prosecute, assign, transfer, or cause to be commenced any claim, action, cause of action, or other proceeding to pursue or exercise the Inspection Rights. The foregoing waiver applies to the Inspection Rights of Registered Holder in Registered Holder’s capacity as a stockholder and shall not affect any rights of a director, in his or her capacity as such, under Section 220. The foregoing waiver shall not apply to any contractual inspection rights of Registered Holder under any written agreement with the Company.
8.Termination. This Warrant (and the right to purchase securities upon exercise hereof) shall terminate upon the earliest to occur of the following (the “Expiration Date”):
(b)One (1) year following the closing of a firm commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to a registration statement under the Securities Act, in connection with which all of the shares of the Company’s Preferred Stock are converted to Common Stock as set forth in the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation (an “IPO”);
(c)One (1) year following the closing of a transaction or a series of related transactions by merger, consolidation, share exchange or otherwise of the Company with a publicly traded “special purpose acquisition company” or its subsidiary (collectively, a “SPAC”), immediately following the consummation of which the common stock or share capital of the SPAC or its successor entity is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the New York Stock Exchange or another exchange or marketplace approved by the Board; or
(d)Upon (i) a consolidation or merger involving the Company, or any sale or issuance of securities of the Company, if the holders of the voting securities of the Company that are outstanding immediately prior to the consummation of such transaction do not, immediately after the consummation of such transaction, hold voting securities that collectively possess at least a majority of the voting power of all the outstanding securities of the surviving entity of such transaction or such surviving entity’s parent entity; (ii) any sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company; or (iii) an acquisition of Company directly or indirectly by a blank check company or equivalent entity incorporated, formed or organized for the purpose of effecting a merger (including a reverse merger), share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses; provided that this Section 8(d) shall not apply to a merger effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company or to an equity financing in which the Company is the surviving corporation (collectively, a “Change of Control”).
9.Notices of Certain Transactions. In case:
(a)the Company shall take a record of the holders of its outstanding stock of the same class as the Warrant Stock (or other stock or securities at the time deliverable upon the exercise of this Warrant) for the purpose of entitling or enabling them to receive any dividend or other distribution, or to receive any right to subscribe for or purchase any shares of stock of any class or any other securities, or to receive any other right,
(b)of any capital reorganization of the Company, any reclassification of the capital stock of the Company,
(c)of the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding-up of the Company,
(d)the Company shall effect an event that would trigger the Expiration Date as noted in Section 8 hereof, then, and in each such case, the Company will mail or cause to be mailed to the Registered Holder of this Warrant a notice specifying, as the case may be, (i) the date on
which a record is to be taken for the purpose of such dividend, distribution or right, and stating the amount and character of such dividend, distribution or right, or (ii) the effective date on which such reorganization, reclassification, consolidation, merger, transfer, dissolution, liquidation, winding- up, redemption, conversion or public offering is to take place, and the time, if any is to be fixed, as of which the holders of record of the Company’s outstanding stock of the same class as the Warrant Stock (or such other stock or securities at the time deliverable upon such reorganization, reclassification, consolidation, merger, transfer, dissolution, liquidation, winding-up, redemption or conversion) are to be determined. Such notice shall be mailed at least ten (10) days prior to the record date or effective date for the event specified in such notice, except in the case of (d), in which case the notice shall be mailed at least twenty-five (25) days prior to the effective date for the event specified in such notice.
10.Reservation of Stock. The Company will at all times reserve and keep available, solely for the issuance and delivery upon the exercise of this Warrant, such shares of Warrant Stock and other stock, securities and property, as from time to time shall be issuable upon the exercise of this Warrant.
11.Exchange of Warrants. Upon the surrender by the Registered Holder of any Warrant or Warrants, properly endorsed, to the Company, the Company will issue and deliver to or upon the order of such Registered Holder, at the Company’s expense, a new Warrant or Warrants of like tenor, in the name of such Registered Holder or as such Registered Holder (upon payment by such Registered Holder of any applicable transfer taxes) may direct, calling in the aggregate on the face or faces thereof for the number of shares of Warrant Stock called for on the face or faces of the Warrant or Warrants so surrendered.
12.Replacement of Warrants. Upon receipt of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant and (in the case of loss, theft or destruction) upon delivery of an indemnity agreement (with surety if reasonably required) in an amount reasonably satisfactory to the Company, or (in the case of mutilation) upon surrender and cancellation of this Warrant, the Company will issue, in lieu thereof, a new Warrant of like tenor.
13.No Rights as Stockholder. Until the exercise of this Warrant, the Registered Holder of this Warrant shall not have or exercise any rights by virtue hereof as a stockholder of the Company.
14.No Fractional Shares. No fractional shares of Warrant Stock will be issued in connection with any exercise hereunder. In lieu of any fractional shares which would otherwise be issuable, the Company shall pay cash equal to the product of such fraction multiplied by the fair market value of one share of Warrant Stock on the date of exercise, as determined in good faith by the Company’s Board of Directors.
15.Survival of Representations. Unless otherwise set forth in this Warrant, the representations, warranties and covenants contained in or made pursuant to this Warrant shall survive the execution and delivery of this Warrant.
16.Attorney’s Fees. If any action at law or in equity (including arbitration) is necessary to enforce or interpret the terms of any of this Warrant, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and necessary disbursements in addition to any other relief to which such party may be entitled.
(a)Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this Warrant, and all acts and transactions pursuant hereto and the rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be governed, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the state of Delaware, without giving effect to principles of conflicts of law.
(b)Entire Agreement. This Warrant sets forth the entire agreement and understanding of the parties relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous discussions, understandings and agreements, whether oral or written, between them relating to the subject matter hereof.
(c)Amendments and Waivers. No modification of or amendment to this Warrant, nor any waiver of any rights under this Warrant, shall be effective unless in writing signed by the Company and the Registered Holder. No delay or failure to require performance of any provision of this Warrant shall constitute a waiver of that provision as to that or any other instance.
(d)Successors and Assigns. The terms and conditions of this Warrant shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the respective successors and assigns of the parties.
(e)Notices. Any notice, demand or request required or permitted to be given under this Warrant shall be in writing and shall be deemed sufficient when delivered personally or by overnight courier or sent by email, or 48 hours after being deposited in the U.S. mail as certified or registered mail with postage prepaid, addressed to the party to be notified at such party’s address as set forth on the signature page, as subsequently modified by written notice, or if no address is specified on the signature page, at the most recent address set forth in the Company’s books and records.
(f)Severability. If one or more provisions of this Warrant are held to be unenforceable under applicable law, the parties agree to renegotiate such provision in good faith. In the event that the parties cannot reach a mutually agreeable and enforceable replacement for such provision, then (a) such provision shall be excluded from this Warrant, (b) the balance of this Warrant shall be interpreted as if such provision were so excluded and (c) the balance of this Warrant shall be enforceable in accordance with its terms.
(g)Construction. This Warrant is the result of negotiations between and has been reviewed by each of the parties hereto and their respective counsel, if any; accordingly, this Warrant shall be deemed to be the product of all of the parties hereto, and no ambiguity shall be construed in favor of or against any one of the parties hereto.
(h)Counterparts. This Warrant may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
[Signature Page Follows]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company and the Registered Holder have executed this Warrant as of the date first set forth above.
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THE COMPANY: |
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AVALYN PHARMA INC. |
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By: /s/ Lyn Baranowski |
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Name: Lyn Baranowski |
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Title: Chief Executive Officer |
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ACCEPTED AND AGREED: |
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THE REGISTERED HOLDER: |
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BRUCE MONTGOMERY, M.D. |
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/s/ Bruce Montgomery |
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(Signature) |
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EXHIBIT A
PURCHASE/EXERCISE FORM
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To: Avalyn Pharma Inc. |
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Dated:_________________ |
The undersigned, pursuant to the provisions set forth in the attached Warrant No. 1, hereby irrevocably elects to (a) purchase __________________ shares of the capital stock covered by such Warrant and herewith makes payment of $___________________, representing the full purchase price for such shares at the price per share provided for in such Warrant, or (b) exercise such Warrant for ______________________shares purchasable under the Warrant pursuant to the Net Issue Exercise provisions of Section 2(c) of such Warrant.
The undersigned acknowledges that it has reviewed the representations and warranties of the Registered Holder set forth in the Warrant and by its signature below hereby makes such representations and warranties to the Company. Defined terms contained in such representations and warranties shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Warrant.
The undersigned further acknowledges that it has reviewed the “Lockup” provisions as well as the waiver of statutory information rights set forth in the Warrant and agrees to be bound by such provisions.
ACKNOWLEDGED AND AGREED TO BY
THE REGISTERED HOLDER:
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BRUCE MONTGOMERY, M.D. |
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By: |
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EXHIBIT B
ASSIGNMENT FORM
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, BRUCE MONTGOMERY, M.D. hereby sells, assigns and transfers all of the rights of the undersigned under the attached Warrant with respect to the number of shares of capital stock covered thereby set forth below, unto:
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ACKNOWLEDGED AND AGREED TO BY
THE REGISTERED HOLDER:
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BRUCE MONTGOMERY, M.D. |
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(Signature) |
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EX-10.1
Exhibit 10.1
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
(f/k/a Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)
2012 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
as amended March 13, 2017, December 19, 2018,
November 20, 2019 and April 22, 2020
The purpose of the Plan is to advance the interests of the Company’s stockholders by enhancing the Company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate persons who make (or are expected to make) important contributions to the Company by providing such persons with equity ownership opportunities and thereby better aligning the interests of such persons with those of the Company’s stockholders. Capitalized terms used in the Plan are defined in Section 11 below.
Service Providers are eligible to be granted Awards under the Plan, subject to the limitations described herein.
3.Administration and Delegation.
(a)Administration. The Plan will be administered by the Administrator. The Administrator shall have authority to determine which Service Providers will receive Awards, to grant Awards and to set all terms and conditions of Awards (including, but not limited to, vesting, exercise and forfeiture provisions). In addition, the Administrator shall have the authority to take all actions and make all determinations contemplated by the Plan and to adopt, amend and repeal such administrative rules, guidelines and practices relating to the Plan as it shall deem advisable. The Administrator may correct any defect or ambiguity, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or any Award in the manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary or appropriate to carry the Plan and any Awards into effect, as determined by the Administrator. The Administrator shall make all determinations under the Plan in the Administrator’s sole discretion and all such determinations shall be final and binding on all persons having or claiming any interest in the Plan or in any Award.
(b)Appointment of Committees. To the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, the Board may delegate any or all of its powers under the Plan to one or more Committees. The Board may abolish any Committee at any time and re-vest in itself any previously delegated authority.
4.Stock Available for Awards.
(a)Number of Shares. Subject to adjustment under Section 8 hereof, Awards may be made under the Plan covering up to 14,434,936 shares of Common Stock. If any Award expires or lapses or is terminated, surrendered or canceled without having been fully exercised or is forfeited in whole or in part (including as the result of shares of Common Stock subject to such Award being repurchased by the Company at or below the original issuance price), in any case in a manner that results in any shares of Common Stock covered by such Award not being issued or being so reacquired by the Company, the unused Common Stock covered by such Award shall again be available for the grant of Awards under the Plan. Further, shares of Common Stock delivered (either by actual delivery or attestation) to the Company by a
Participant to satisfy the applicable exercise or purchase price of Award and/or to satisfy any applicable tax withholding obligation (including shares retained by the Company from the Award being exercised or purchased and/or creating the tax obligation) shall be added to the number of shares of Common Stock available for the grant of Awards under the Plan. However, in the case of Incentive Stock Options (as hereinafter defined), the foregoing provisions shall be subject to any limitations under the Code. Shares of Common Stock issued under the Plan may consist in whole or in part of authorized but unissued shares, shares purchased on the open market or treasury shares.
(b)Substitute Awards. In connection with a merger or consolidation of an entity with the Company or the acquisition by the Company of property or stock of an entity, the Administrator may grant Awards in substitution for any options or other stock or stock-based awards granted prior to such merger or consolidation by such entity or an affiliate thereof. Substitute Awards may be granted on such terms as the Administrator deems appropriate in the circumstances, notwithstanding any limitations on Awards contained in the Plan. Substitute Awards shall not count against the overall share limit set forth in Section 4(a) hereof, except as may be required by reason of Section 422 of the Code.
(a)General. The Administrator may grant Options to any Service Provider, subject to the limitations on Incentive Stock Options described below. The Administrator shall determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be covered by each Option, the exercise price of each Option and the conditions and limitations applicable to the exercise of each Option, including conditions relating to Applicable Laws, as it considers necessary or advisable.
(b)Incentive Stock Options. The Administrator may grant Options intended to qualify as Incentive Stock Options only to employees of the Company, any of the Company’s present or future “parent corporations” or “subsidiary corporations” as defined in Sections 424(e) or (f) of the Code, respectively, and any other entities the employees of which are eligible to receive Incentive Stock Options under the Code. All Options intended to qualify as Incentive Stock Options shall be subject to and shall be construed consistently with the requirements of Section 422 of the Code. Neither the Company nor the Administrator shall have any liability to a Participant, or any other party, (i) if an Option (or any part thereof) which is intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option fails to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option or (ii) for any action or omission by the Administrator that causes an Option not to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option, including without limitation, the conversion of an Incentive Stock Option to a Non-Qualified Stock Option or the grant of an Option intended as an Incentive Stock Option that fails to satisfy the requirements under the Code applicable to an Incentive Stock Option. Any Option that is intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option, but fails to so qualify for any reason, including without limitation, the portion of any Option becoming exercisable in excess of the $100,000 limitation described in Treasury Regulation Section 1.422-4, shall be treated as a Non-Qualified Stock Option for all purposes.
(c)Exercise Price. The Administrator shall establish the exercise price of each Option and specify the exercise price in the applicable Award Agreement. The exercise price shall be not less than 100% of the Fair Market Value on the date the Option is granted. In the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an employee who, at the time of grant of the Option, owns (or is treated as owning under Section 424 of the Code) stock representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company (or a “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof within the meaning of Sections 424(e) or 424(f) of the Code, respectively), the per share exercise price shall be no less than 110% of the Fair Market Value on the date the Option is granted.
(d)Duration of Options. Each Option shall be exercisable at such times and subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator may specify in the applicable Award Agreement, provided that the term of any Option shall not exceed ten years. In the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an employee who, at the time of grant of the Option, owns (or is treated as owning under Section 424 of the Code) stock representing more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company (or a “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof within the meaning of Sections 424(e) or 424(f) of the Code, respectively), the term of the Option shall not exceed five years.
(e)Exercise of Option; Notification of Disposition. Options may be exercised by delivery to the Company of a written notice of exercise, in a form approved by the Administrator (which may be an electronic form), signed by the person authorized to exercise the Option, together with payment in full (i) as specified in Section 5(f) hereof for the number of shares for which the Option is exercised and (ii) as specified in Section 9(e) hereof for any applicable withholding taxes. Unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, an Option may not be exercised for a fraction of a share of Common Stock. If an Option is designated as an Incentive Stock Option, the Participant shall give prompt notice to the Company of any disposition or other transfer of any shares of Common Stock acquired from the Option if such disposition or transfer is made (i) within two years from the grant date with respect to such Option or (ii) within one year after the transfer of such shares to the Participant (other than any such disposition made in connection with a Change in Control). Such notice shall specify the date of such disposition or other transfer and the amount realized, in cash, other property, assumption of indebtedness or other consideration, by the Participant in such disposition or other transfer.
(f)Payment Upon Exercise. Common Stock purchased upon the exercise of an Option granted under the Plan shall be paid for in cash or by check, payable to the order of the Company, or, to the extent permitted by the Administrator, by:
(i)(A) delivery of an irrevocable and unconditional undertaking by a broker acceptable to the Company to deliver promptly to the Company sufficient funds to pay the exercise price and any required tax withholding, or (B) delivery by the Participant to the Company of a copy of irrevocable and unconditional instructions to a broker acceptable to the Company to deliver promptly to the Company cash or a check sufficient to pay the exercise price and any required tax withholding;
(ii)delivery (either by actual delivery or attestation) of shares of Common Stock owned by the Participant valued at their Fair Market Value, provided (A) such method of payment is then permitted under Applicable Laws, (B) such Common Stock, if acquired directly from the Company, was owned by the Participant for such minimum period of time, if any, as may be established by the Company at any time, and (C) such Common Stock is not subject to any repurchase, forfeiture, unfulfilled vesting or other similar requirements;
(iii)surrendering shares of Common Stock then issuable upon exercise of the Option valued at their Fair Market Value on the date of exercise;
(iv)delivery of a promissory note of the Participant to the Company on terms determined by the Administrator;
(v)delivery of property of any other kind which constitutes good and valuable consideration as determined by the Administrator; or
(vi)any combination of the above permitted forms of payment (including cash or check).
(g)Early Exercise of Options. The Administrator may provide in the terms of an Award Agreement that the Service Provider may exercise an Option in whole or in part prior to the full vesting of the Option in exchange for unvested shares of Restricted Stock with respect to any unvested portion of the Option so exercised. Shares of Restricted Stock acquired upon the exercise of any unvested portion of an Option shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator shall determine.
6.Restricted Stock; Restricted Stock Units.
(a)General. The Administrator may grant Restricted Stock, or the right to purchase Restricted Stock, to any Service Provider, subject to the right of the Company to repurchase all or part of such shares at their issue price or other stated or formula price from the Participant (or to require forfeiture of such shares if issued at no cost) in the event that conditions specified by the Administrator in the applicable Award Agreement are not satisfied prior to the end of the applicable restriction period or periods established by the Administrator for such Award. In addition, the Administrator may grant to Service Providers Restricted Stock Units, which may be subject to vesting and forfeiture conditions during applicable restriction period or periods, as set forth in an applicable Award Agreement.
(b) Terms and Conditions for All Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit Awards. The Administrator shall determine and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement the terms and conditions applicable to each Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Unit Award, including the conditions for vesting and repurchase (or forfeiture) and the issue price, in each case, if any.
(c)Additional Provisions Relating to Restricted Stock.
(i)Dividends. Participants holding shares of Restricted Stock will be entitled to all ordinary cash dividends paid with respect to such shares, unless otherwise provided by the Administrator in the applicable Award Agreement. In addition, unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if any dividends or distributions are paid in shares, or consist of a dividend or distribution to holders of Common Stock of property other than an ordinary cash dividend, the shares or other property will be subject to the same restrictions on transferability and forfeitability as the shares of Restricted Stock with respect to which they were paid. Each dividend payment will be made as provided in the applicable Award Agreement, but in no event later than the end of the calendar year in which the dividends are paid to stockholders of that class of stock or, if later, the 15th day of the third month following the later of (A) the date the dividends are paid to stockholders of that class of stock, and (B) the date the dividends are no longer subject to forfeiture.
(ii)Stock Certificates. The Company may require that any stock certificates issued in respect of shares of Restricted Stock be deposited in escrow by the Participant, together with a stock power endorsed in blank, with the Company (or its designee).
(d)Additional Provisions Relating to Restricted Stock Units.
(i)Settlement. Upon the vesting of a Restricted Stock Unit, the Participant shall be entitled to receive from the Company one share of Common Stock or an amount of cash or other property equal to the Fair Market Value of one share of Common Stock on the settlement date, as provided in the applicable Award Agreement. The Administrator may provide that settlement of Restricted Stock Units shall occur upon or as soon as reasonably practicable after the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units or shall instead be deferred, on a mandatory basis or at the election of the Participant, in a manner that complies with Section 409A.
(ii)Voting Rights. A Participant shall have no voting rights with respect to any Restricted Stock Units unless and until shares are delivered in settlement thereof.
(iii)Dividend Equivalents. To the extent provided by the Administrator, a grant of Restricted Stock Units may provide a Participant with the right to receive Dividend Equivalents. Dividend Equivalents may be paid currently or credited to an account for the Participant, may be settled in cash and/or shares of Common Stock and may be subject to the same restrictions on transfer and forfeitability as the Restricted Stock Units with respect to which the Dividend Equivalents are paid, as determined by the Administrator, subject, in each case, to such terms and conditions as the Administrator shall establish and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.
7.Other Stock-Based Awards.
Other Stock-Based Awards may be granted hereunder to Participants, including, without limitation, Awards entitling Participants to receive shares of Common Stock to be delivered in the future. Such Other Stock-Based Awards shall also be available as a form of payment in the settlement of other Awards granted under the Plan, as stand-alone payments and/or as payment in lieu of compensation to which a Participant is otherwise entitled. Other Stock-Based Awards may be paid in shares of Common Stock, cash or other property, as the Administrator shall determine. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Administrator shall determine the terms and conditions of each Other Stock-Based Award, including any purchase price, transfer restrictions, vesting conditions and other terms and conditions applicable thereto, which shall be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.
8.Adjustments for Changes in Common Stock and Certain Other Events.
(a)In the event that the Administrator determines that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Common Stock, other securities, or other property), reorganization, merger, consolidation, combination, repurchase, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution, or sale, transfer, exchange or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, or exchange of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to purchase Common Stock or other securities of the Company, or other similar corporate transaction or event, as determined by the Administrator, affects the Common Stock such that an adjustment is determined by the Administrator to be appropriate in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended by the Company to be made available under the Plan or with respect to any Award, then the Administrator may, in such manner as it may deem equitable, adjust any or all of:
(i)the number and kind of shares of Common Stock (or other securities or property) with respect to which Awards may be granted or awarded (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Section 3 hereof on the maximum number and kind of shares which may be issued);
(ii)the number and kind of shares of Common Stock (or other securities or property) subject to outstanding Awards;
(iii)the grant or exercise price with respect to any Award; and
(iv)the terms and conditions of any Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable financial or other performance “targets” specified in an Award Agreement).
(b)In the event of any transaction or event described in Section 8(a) hereof (including without limitation any Change in Control) or any unusual or nonrecurring transaction or event affecting the Company or the financial statements of the Company, or any change in any Applicable Laws or accounting principles, the Administrator, on such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate, either by the terms of the Award or by action taken prior to the occurrence of such transaction or event and either automatically or upon the Participant’s request, is hereby authorized to take any one or more of the following actions whenever the Administrator determines that such action is appropriate in order to (i) prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended by the Company to be made available under the Plan or with respect to any Award granted or issued under the Plan, (ii) to facilitate such transaction or event or (iii) give effect to such changes in Applicable Laws or accounting principles:
(i)To provide for the cancellation of any such Award in exchange for either an amount of cash or other property with a value equal to the amount that could have been obtained upon the exercise or settlement of such Award or realization of the Participant’s rights had such Award been currently exercisable, payable and fully vested, as applicable; provided that, if the amount that could have been obtained upon the exercise or settlement of such Award or realization of the Participant’s rights, in any case, is equal to or less than zero, then such Award may be terminated without payment;
(ii)To provide that such Award shall vest and, to the extent applicable, be exercisable as to all shares covered thereby, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or the provisions of such Award;
(iii)To provide that such Award be assumed by the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, or shall be substituted for by awards covering the stock of the successor or survivor corporation, or a parent or subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of shares and applicable exercise or purchase price, in all cases, as determined by the Administrator;
(iv)To make adjustments in the number and type of shares of Common Stock (or other securities or property) subject to outstanding Awards, and/or in the terms and conditions of (including the grant or exercise price), and the criteria included in, outstanding Awards which may be granted in the future;
(v)To replace such Award with other rights or property selected by the Administrator; and/or
(vi)To provide that the Award will terminate and cannot vest, be exercised or become payable after the applicable event.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8(b) above, if a Change in Control occurs and a Participant’s Awards are not continued, converted, assumed, or replaced with a substantially similar award by (i) the Company, or (ii) a successor entity or its parent or subsidiary (an “Assumption”), and provided that the Participant has not had a Termination of Service, then immediately prior to the Change in Control such Awards shall become fully vested, exercisable and/or payable, as applicable, and all forfeiture, repurchase and other restrictions on such Awards shall lapse, in which case, such Awards shall be canceled upon the consummation of the Change in Control in exchange for the right to receive the Change in Control consideration payable to other holders of Common Stock (A) which may be on such terms and conditions as apply generally to holders of Common Stock under the Change in Control documents (including, without limitation, any escrow, earn-out or other deferred consideration provisions) or such other terms and conditions as the Administrator may provide, and (B) determined by reference to
the number of shares subject to such Awards and net of any applicable exercise price; provided that to the extent that any Awards constitute “nonqualified deferred compensation” that may not be paid upon the Change in Control under Section 409A without the imposition of taxes thereon under Section 409A, the timing of such payments shall be governed by the applicable Award Agreement (subject to any deferred consideration provisions applicable under the Change in Control documents); and provided, further, that if the amount to which a Participant would be entitled upon the settlement or exercise of such Award at the time of the Change in Control is equal to or less than zero, then such Award may be terminated without payment. The Administrator shall determine whether an Assumption of an Award has occurred in connection with a Change in Control.
(d)In connection with the occurrence of any Equity Restructuring, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 8, the Administrator will equitably adjust each outstanding Award, which adjustments may include adjustments to the number and type of securities subject to each outstanding Award and/or the exercise price or grant price thereof, if applicable, the grant of new Awards to Participants, and/or the making of a cash payment to Participants, as the Administrator deems appropriate to reflect such Equity Restructuring. The adjustments provided under this Section 8(e) shall be nondiscretionary and shall be final and binding on the affected Participant and the Company; provided that whether an adjustment is equitable shall be determined by the Administrator.
(e)In the event of any pending stock dividend, stock split, combination or exchange of shares, merger, consolidation or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to stockholders, or any other change affecting the shares of Stock or the share price of the Stock, including any Equity Restructuring, for reasons of administrative convenience the Administrator may refuse to permit the exercise of any Award during a period of up to thirty days prior to the consummation of any such transaction.
(f)Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Administrator under the Plan, no Participant shall have any rights by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of shares of stock of any class, the payment of any dividend, any increase or decrease in the number of shares of stock of any class or any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or any other corporation. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Administrator under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of shares of stock of any class, or securities convertible into shares of stock of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number of shares of Stock subject to an Award or the grant or exercise price of any Award. The existence of the Plan, any Award Agreements and the Awards granted hereunder shall not affect or restrict in any way the right or power of the Company to make or authorize (i) any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change in the Company’s capital structure or its business, (ii) any merger, consolidation dissolution or liquidation of the Company or sale of Company assets or (iii) any sale or issuance of securities, including without limitation, securities with rights superior to those of the Common Stock or which are convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock. The Administrator may treat Participants and Awards (or portions thereof) differently under this Section 8.
9.General Provisions Applicable to Awards.
(a)Transferability of Awards. Except as the Administrator may otherwise determine or provide in an Award Agreement or otherwise, in any case in accordance with Applicable Laws, Awards shall not be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered by the person to whom they are granted, either voluntarily or by operation of law, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution,
and, during the life of the Participant, shall be exercisable only by the Participant. References to a Participant, to the extent relevant in the context, shall include references to authorized transferees.
(b)Documentation. Each Award shall be evidenced in an Award Agreement, which may be in such form (written, electronic or otherwise) as the Administrator shall determine. Each Award may contain terms and conditions in addition to those set forth in the Plan.
(c)Discretion. Except as otherwise provided by the Plan, each Award may be made alone or in addition or in relation to any other Award. The terms of each Award to a Participant need not be identical, and the Administrator need not treat Participants or Awards (or portions thereof) uniformly.
(d)Termination of Status. The Administrator shall determine the effect on an Award of the disability, death, retirement, authorized leave of absence or any other change or purported change in a Participant’s Service Provider status and the extent to which, and the period during which, the Participant, the Participant’s legal representative, conservator, guardian or Designated Beneficiary may exercise rights under the Award, if applicable.
(e)Withholding. Each Participant shall pay to the Company, or make provision satisfactory to the Administrator for payment of, any taxes required by law to be withheld in connection with Awards to such Participant no later than the date of the event creating the tax liability. Except as the Administrator may otherwise determine, all such payments shall be made in cash or by certified check. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent permitted by the Administrator, Participants may satisfy such tax obligations in whole or in part by delivery of shares of Common Stock, including shares retained from the Award creating the tax obligation, valued at their Fair Market Value. The Company may, to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, deduct any such tax obligations from any payment of any kind otherwise due to a Participant.
(f)Amendment of Award. The Administrator may amend, modify or terminate any outstanding Award, including but not limited to, substituting therefor another Award of the same or a different type, changing the date of exercise or settlement, and converting an Incentive Stock Option to a Non-Qualified Stock Option. The Participant’s consent to such action shall be required unless (i) the Administrator determines that the action, taking into account any related action, would not materially and adversely affect the Participant, or (ii) the change is permitted under Section 8 and 10(f) hereof.
(g)Conditions on Delivery of Stock. The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Plan or to remove restrictions from shares previously delivered under the Plan until (i) all conditions of the Award have been met or removed to the satisfaction of the Company, (ii) in the opinion of the Company’s counsel, all other legal matters in connection with the issuance and delivery of such shares have been satisfied, including any applicable securities laws and any applicable stock exchange or stock market rules and regulations, and (iii) the Participant has executed and delivered to the Company such representations or agreements as the Administrator deems necessary or appropriate to satisfy the requirements of any Applicable Laws. The inability of the Company to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which authority is determined by the Administrator to be necessary to the lawful issuance and sale of any securities hereunder, shall relieve the Company of any liability in respect of the failure to issue or sell such shares as to which such requisite authority shall not have been obtained.
(h)Acceleration. The Administrator may at any time provide that any Award shall become immediately vested and/or exercisable in full or in part, free of some or all restrictions or conditions, or otherwise realizable in full or in part, as the case may be.
(a)No Right To Employment or Other Status. No person shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award, and the grant of an Award shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to continued employment or any other relationship with the Company. The Company expressly reserves the right at any time to dismiss or otherwise terminate its relationship with a Participant free from any liability or claim under the Plan or any Award, except as expressly provided in an applicable Award Agreement.
(b)No Rights As Stockholder; Certificates. Subject to the provisions of the applicable Award Agreement, no Participant or Designated Beneficiary shall have any rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares of Common Stock to be distributed with respect to an Award until becoming the record holder of such shares. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator or required by any Applicable Laws, the Company shall not be required to deliver to any Participant certificates evidencing shares of Common Stock issued in connection with any Award and instead such shares of Common Stock may be recorded in the books of the Company (or, as applicable, its transfer agent or stock plan administrator). The Company may place legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan deemed necessary or appropriate by the Administrator in order to comply with Applicable Laws.
(c)Effective Date and Term of Plan. The Plan shall become effective on the date on which it is adopted by the Board. No Awards shall be granted under the Plan after the completion of ten years from the earlier of (i) the date on which the Plan was adopted by the Board or (ii) the date the Plan was approved by the Company’s stockholders, but Awards previously granted may extend beyond that date in accordance with the terms of the Plan.
(d)Amendment of Plan. The Administrator may amend, suspend or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time; provided that no amendment of the Plan shall materially and adversely affect any Award outstanding at the time of such amendment without the consent of the affected Participant. Awards outstanding under the Plan at the time of any suspension or termination of the Plan shall continue to be governed in accordance with the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement, as in effect prior to such suspension or termination. The Board shall obtain stockholder approval of any Plan amendment to the extent necessary to comply with Applicable Laws.
(e)Provisions for Foreign Participants. The Administrator may modify Awards granted to Participants who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States or establish subplans or procedures under the Plan to address differences in laws, rules, regulations or customs of such foreign jurisdictions with respect to tax, securities, currency, employee benefit or other matters.
(i)General. The Company intends that all Awards be structured in compliance with, or to satisfy an exemption from, Section 409A, such that no adverse tax consequences, interest, or penalties under Section 409A apply in connection with any Awards. Notwithstanding anything herein or in any Award Agreement to the contrary, the Administrator may, without a Participant’s prior consent, amend this Plan and/or Awards, adopt policies and procedures, or take any other actions (including amendments, policies, procedures and actions with retroactive effect) as are necessary or appropriate to preserve the intended tax treatment of Awards under the Plan, including without limitation, any such actions intended to (A) exempt this Plan and/or any Award from the application of Section 409A, and/or (B) comply with the requirements of Section 409A, including without limitation any such regulations, guidance, compliance
programs and other interpretative authority that may be issued after the date of grant of any Award. The Company makes no representations or warranties as to the tax treatment of any Award under Section 409A or otherwise. The Company shall have no obligation under this Section 10(f) or otherwise to take any action (whether or not described herein) to avoid the imposition of taxes, penalties or interest under Section 409A with respect to any Award and shall have no liability to any Participant or any other person if any Award, compensation or other benefits under the Plan are determined to constitute non-compliant, “nonqualified deferred compensation” subject to the imposition of taxes, penalties and/or interest under Section 409A.
(ii)Separation from Service. With respect to any Award that constitutes “nonqualified deferred compensation” under Section 409A, any payment or settlement of such Award that is to be made upon a termination of a Participant’s Service Provider relationship shall, to the extent necessary to avoid the imposition of taxes under Section 409A, be made only upon the Participant’s “separation from service” (within the meaning of Section 409A), whether such “separation from service” occurs upon or subsequent to the termination of the Participant’s Service Provider relationship. For purposes of any such provision of this Plan or any Award Agreement relating to any such payments or benefits, references to a “termination,” “termination of employment” or like terms shall mean “separation from service.”
(iii)Payments to Specified Employees. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in the Plan or any Award Agreement, any payment(s) of “nonqualified deferred compensation” that are otherwise required to be made under an Award to a “specified employee” (as defined under Section 409A and determined by the Administrator) as a result of his or her “separation from service” shall, to the extent necessary to avoid the imposition of taxes under Code Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i), be delayed until the expiration of the six-month period immediately following such “separation from service” (or, if earlier, until the date of death of the specified employee) and shall instead be paid (in a manner set forth in the Award agreement) on the day that immediately follows the end of such six-month period or as soon as administratively practicable thereafter (without interest). Any payments of “nonqualified deferred compensation” under such Award that are, by their terms, payable more than six months following the Participant’s “separation from service” shall be paid at the time or times such payments are otherwise scheduled to be made.
(g)Limitations on Liability. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Plan, no individual acting as a director, officer, other employee or agent of the Company will be liable to any Participant, former Participant, spouse, beneficiary, or any other person for any claim, loss, liability, or expense incurred in connection with the Plan or any Award, nor will such individual be personally liable with respect to the Plan because of any contract or other instrument he or she executes in his or her capacity as an Administrator, director, officer, other employee or agent of the Company. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each director, officer, other employee and agent of the Company to whom any duty or power relating to the administration or interpretation of the Plan has been or will be granted or delegated, against any cost or expense (including attorneys’ fees) or liability (including any sum paid in settlement of a claim with the Administrator’s approval) arising out of any act or omission to act concerning this Plan unless arising out of such person’s own fraud or bad faith.
(h)Lock-Up Period. The Company may, at the request of any representative of the underwriters (the “Managing Underwriter”) or otherwise, in connection with any registration of the offering of any securities of the Company under the Securities Act, prohibit Participants from, directly or indirectly, selling or otherwise transferring any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company during a period of up to one hundred eighty days following the effective date of a registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act.
(i)Right of First Refusal.
(i)Before any shares of Common Stock held by a Participant or any permitted transferee (each, a “Holder”) may be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred, or otherwise disposed of (each, a “Transfer”), the Company or its assignee(s) shall have a right of first refusal to purchase the shares of Common Stock proposed to be Transferred on the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 10(i) (the “Right of First Refusal”). In the event that the Company’s charter, bylaws and/or a stockholders’ agreement applicable to the shares of Common Stock contain a right of first refusal with respect to the shares of Common Stock, such right of first refusal shall apply to the shares of Common Stock to the extent such provisions are more restrictive than the Right of First Refusal set forth in this Section 10(i) and the Right of First Refusal set forth in this Section 10(i) shall not in any way restrict the operation of the Company’s charter, bylaws or the operation of any applicable stockholders’ agreement.
(ii)In the event any Holder desires to Transfer any shares of Common Stock, the Holder shall deliver to the Company a written notice (the “Notice”) stating: (A) the Holder’s bona fide intention to sell or otherwise Transfer such shares of Common Stock; (B) the name of each proposed purchaser or other transferee (“Proposed Transferee”); (C) the number of shares of Common Stock to be Transferred to each Proposed Transferee; and (D) the price for which the Holder proposes to Transfer the shares of Common Stock (the “Offered Price”), and the Holder shall offer such shares of Common Stock at the Offered Price to the Company or its assignee(s).
(iii)Within twenty-five days after receipt of the Notice, the Company and/or its assignee(s) may elect in writing to purchase all, but not less than all, of the shares of Common Stock proposed to be Transferred to any one or more of the Proposed Transferees by delivery of a written exercise notice to the Holder (a “Company Notice”). The purchase price (“Purchase Price”) for the shares of Common Stock repurchased under this Section 10(i) shall be the Offered Price.
(iv)Payment of the Purchase Price shall be made, at the option of the Company or its assignee(s), in cash (by check or wire transfer), by cancellation of all or a portion of any outstanding indebtedness of the Holder to the Company (or, in the case of repurchase by an assignee, to the assignee), or by any combination thereof, within five days after delivery of the Company Notice or in the manner and at the times mutually agreed to by the Company and the Holder. Should the Offered Price specified in the Notice be payable in property other than cash, the Company or its assignee shall have the right to pay the purchase price in the form of cash equal in amount to the value of such property, as determined by the Administrator.
(v)If all or a portion of the shares of Common Stock proposed in the Notice to be Transferred are not purchased by the Company and/or its assignee(s) as provided in this Section 10(i), then the Holder may sell or otherwise Transfer such shares of Common Stock to that Proposed Transferee at the Offered Price or at a higher price; provided that such sale or other Transfer is consummated within sixty days after the date of the Notice; and provided, further, that any such sale or other Transfer is effected in accordance with any Applicable Laws and the Proposed Transferee agrees in writing that the provisions of this Plan and the applicable Award Agreement and any other applicable agreements governing the shares of Common Stock to be Transferred shall continue to apply to the shares of Common Stock in the hands of such Proposed Transferee. If the shares of Common Stock described in the Notice are not Transferred to the Proposed Transferee within such sixty-day period, a new Notice shall be given to the Company, and the Company and/or its assignees shall again be offered the Right of First Refusal, as provided
herein, before any shares of Common Stock held by the Holder may be sold or otherwise Transferred.
(vi)Anything to the contrary contained in this Section 10(i) notwithstanding and to the extent permitted by the Administrator, the Transfer of any or all of the shares of Common Stock during a Participant’s lifetime or upon a Participant’s death by will or intestacy to the Participant’s Immediate Family or a trust for the benefit of the Participant’s Immediate Family shall be exempt from the Right of First Refusal. As used herein, “Immediate Family” shall mean spouse, lineal descendant or antecedent, father, mother, brother or sister or stepchild (whether or not adopted). In such case, the transferee or other recipient shall receive and hold the shares of Common Stock so Transferred subject to the provisions of this Plan (including the Right of First Refusal), the applicable Award Agreement and any other applicable agreements governing the shares of Common Stock to be Transferred, and there shall be no further Transfer of such shares of Common Stock except in accordance with the terms of this Section 10(i) (or otherwise as expressly provided under the Plan).
(vii)The Right of First Refusal shall terminate as to all shares of Common Stock if the Company becomes a Publicly Listed Company upon such occurrence.
(j)Data Privacy. As a condition of receipt of any Award, each Participant explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of personal data as described in this paragraph by and among, as applicable, the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Participant’s participation in the Plan. The Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates may hold certain personal information about a Participant, including but not limited to, the Participant’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social security or insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title(s), any shares of stock held in the Company or any of its subsidiaries and affiliates, details of all Awards, in each case, for the purpose of implementing, managing and administering the Plan and Awards (the “Data”). The Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates may transfer the Data amongst themselves as necessary for the purpose of implementation, administration and management of a Participant’s participation in the Plan, and the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates may each further transfer the Data to any third parties assisting the Company in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. These recipients may be located in the Participant’s country, or elsewhere, and the Participant’s country may have different data privacy laws and protections than the recipients’ country. Through acceptance of an Award, each Participant authorizes such recipients to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the purposes of implementing, administering and managing the Participant’s participation in the Plan, including any requisite transfer of such Data as may be required to a broker or other third party with whom the Company or the Participant may elect to deposit any shares of Common Stock. The Data related to a Participant will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer, and manage the Participant’s participation in the Plan. A Participant may, at any time, view the Data held by the Company with respect to such Participant, request additional information about the storage and processing of the Data with respect to such Participant, recommend any necessary corrections to the Data with respect to the Participant or refuse or withdraw the consents herein in writing, in any case without cost, by contacting his or her local human resources representative. The Company may cancel Participant’s ability to participate in the Plan and, in the Administrator’s discretion, the Participant may forfeit any outstanding Awards if the Participant refuses or withdraws his or her consents as described herein. For more information on the consequences of refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, Participants may contact their local human resources representative.
(k)Severability. In the event any portion of the Plan or any action taken pursuant thereto shall be held illegal or invalid for any reason, the illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining parts of the Plan, and the Plan shall be construed and enforced as if the illegal or invalid provisions had not been included, and the illegal or invalid action shall be null and void.
(l)Governing Documents. In the event of any contradiction between the Plan and any Award Agreement or any other written agreement between a Participant and the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company that has been approved by the Administrator, the terms of the Plan shall govern, unless it is expressly specified in such Award Agreement or other written document that a specific provision of the Plan shall not apply.
(m)Governing Law. The provisions of the Plan and all Awards made hereunder shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, disregarding choice-of-law principles of the law of any state that would require the application of the laws of a jurisdiction other than such state.
(n)Restrictions on Shares; Claw-Back Provisions. Shares of Common Stock acquired in respect of Awards shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator shall determine, including, without limitation, restrictions on the transferability of shares of Common Stock, the right of the Company to repurchase shares of Common Stock, the right of the Company to require that shares of Common Stock be transferred in the event of certain transactions, tag-along rights, bring-along rights, redemption and co-sale rights and voting requirements. Such terms and conditions may be additional to those contained in the Plan and may, as determined by the Administrator, be contained in the applicable Award Agreement or in an exercise notice, stockholders’ agreement or in such other agreement as the Administrator shall determine, in each case in a form determined by the Administrator. The issuance of such shares of Common Stock shall be conditioned on the Participant’s consent to such terms and conditions and the Participant’s entering into such agreement or agreements. All Awards (including any proceeds, gains or other economic benefit actually or constructively received by Participant upon any receipt or exercise of any Award or upon the receipt or resale of any shares of Common Stock underlying the Award) shall be subject to the provisions of any claw-back policy implemented by the Company, including, without limitation, any claw-back policy adopted to comply with the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, to the extent set forth in such claw-back policy and/or in the applicable Award Agreement.
(o)Titles and Headings. The titles and headings of the Sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.
(p)Conformity to Securities Laws. Participant acknowledges that the Plan is intended to conform to the extent necessary with all provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and any and all regulations and rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder, and state securities laws and regulations. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Plan and all Awards granted hereunder shall be administered only in such a manner as to conform to such laws, rules and regulations. To the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, the Plan and all Award Agreements shall be deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to such laws, rules and regulations.
11.Definitions. As used in the Plan, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
(a)“Administrator” means the Board or a Committee to the extent that the Board’s powers or authority under the Plan have been delegated to such Committee.
(b)“Applicable Laws” means the requirements relating to the administration of equity incentive plans under U.S. federal and state securities, tax and other applicable laws, rules and regulations, the applicable rules of any stock exchange or quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted and the applicable laws and rules of any foreign country or other jurisdiction where Awards are granted or issued under the Plan.
(c) “Award” means, individually or collectively, a grant under the Plan of Options, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units or Other Stock-Based Awards.
(d)“Award Agreement” means a written agreement evidencing an Award, which agreements may be in electronic medium and shall contain such terms and conditions with respect to an Award as the Administrator shall determine, consistent with and subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
(e)“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(f)“Cause,” with respect to a Participant, means “Cause” (or any term of similar effect) as defined in such Participant’s employment agreement with the Company if such an agreement exists and contains a definition of Cause (or term of similar effect), or, if no such agreement exists or such agreement does not contain a definition of Cause (or term of similar effect), then Cause shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the Participant’s unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets of the Company or any material breach of a written agreement between the Participant and the Company, including without limitation a material breach of any employment, confidentiality, non-compete, non-solicit or similar agreement; (ii) the Participant’s commission of, indictment for or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere by the Participant to, a felony under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or any crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude (or any similar crime in any jurisdiction outside the United States); (iii) the Participant’s gross negligence or willful misconduct or the Participant’s willful or repeated failure or refusal to substantially perform assigned duties; (iv) any act of fraud, embezzlement, material misappropriation or dishonesty committed by the Participant against the Company; or (v) any acts, omissions or statements by a Participant which the Company reasonably determines to be materially detrimental or damaging to the reputation, operations, prospects or business relations of the Company.
(g) “Change in Control” means (i) a merger or consolidation of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person, (ii) a sale, lease, exchange or other transfer in one transaction or a series of related transactions of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, or (iii) any other transaction, including the sale by the Company of new shares of its capital stock or a transfer of existing shares of capital stock of the Company, the result of which is that a third party that is not an affiliate of the Company or its stockholders (or a group of third parties not affiliated with the Company or its stockholders) immediately prior to such transaction acquires or holds capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the Company’s outstanding voting power immediately following such transaction; provided that the following events shall not constitute a “Change in Control”: (A) a transaction (other than a sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets) in which the holders of the voting securities of the Company immediately prior to the merger or consolidation hold, directly or indirectly, at least a majority of the voting securities in the successor corporation or its parent immediately after the merger or consolidation; (B) a sale, lease, exchange or other transaction in one transaction or a series of related transactions of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets to an affiliate of the Company; (C) an initial public offering of any of the Company’s securities; (D) a reincorporation of the Company solely
to change its jurisdiction; or (E) a transaction undertaken for the primary purpose of creating a holding company that will be owned in substantially the same proportion by the persons who held the Company’s securities immediately before such transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Change in Control would give rise to a payment or settlement event with respect to any Award that constitutes “nonqualified deferred compensation,” the transaction or event constituting the Change in Control must also constitute a “change in control event” (as defined in Treasury Regulation §1.409A-3(i)(5)) in order to give rise to the payment or settlement event for such Award, to the extent required by Section 409A.
(h)“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations issued thereunder.
(i)“Committee” means one or more committees or subcommittees of the Board, which may be comprised of one or more directors and/or executive officers of the Company, in either case, to the extent permitted in accordance with Applicable Laws.
(j)“Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.
(k)“Company” means Avalyn Pharma Inc. (formerly Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a Delaware corporation, or any successor thereto. Except where the context otherwise requires, the term “Company” includes any of the Company’s present or future parent or subsidiary corporations as defined in Sections 424(e) or (f) of the Code and any other business venture (including, without limitation, joint venture or limited liability company) in which the Company has a significant interest, as determined by the Administrator.
(l)“Consultant” means any person, including any advisor, engaged by the Company or a parent or subsidiary of the Company to render services to such entity.
(m)“Designated Beneficiary” means the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated, in a manner determined by the Administrator, by a Participant to receive amounts due or exercise rights of the Participant in the event of the Participant’s death or incapacity In the absence of an effective designation by a Participant, “Designated Beneficiary” shall mean the Participant’s estate.
(n)“Director” means a member of the Board.
(o)“Disability” means a permanent and total disability within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, as it may be amended from time to time.
(p)“Dividend Equivalents” means a right granted to a Participant pursuant to Section 6(d)(3) hereof to receive the equivalent value (in cash or shares of Common Stock) of dividends paid on shares of Common Stock.
(q)“Employee” means any person, including officers and Directors, employed by the Company (within the meaning of Section 3401(c) of the Code) or any parent or subsidiary of the Company.
(r)“Equity Restructuring” means, as determined by the Administrator, a non-reciprocal transaction between the Company and its stockholders, such as a stock dividend, stock split, spin-off or recapitalization through a large, nonrecurring cash dividend, that affects the shares of Common Stock
(or other securities of the Company) or the share price of Common Stock (or other securities of the Company) and causes a change in the per share value of the Common Stock underlying outstanding Awards.
(s)“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(t)“Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of Stock determined as follows: (i) if the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange, its Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such Common Stock as quoted on such exchange for such date, or if no sale occurred on such date, the first market trading day immediately prior to such date during which a sale occurred, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable; (ii) if the Common Stock is not traded on a stock exchange but is quoted on a national market or other quotation system, the last sales price on such date, or if no sales occurred on such date, then on the date immediately prior to such date on which sales prices are reported, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable; or (iii) in the absence of an established market for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Administrator.
(u)“Incentive Stock Option” means an “incentive stock option” as defined in Section 422 of the Code.
(v)“Non-Qualified Stock Option” means an Option that is not intended to be or otherwise does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.
(w)“Option” means an option to purchase Common Stock.
(x)“Other Stock-Based Awards” means other Awards of shares of Common Stock, and other Awards that are valued in whole or in part by reference to, or are otherwise based on, shares of Common Stock or other property.
(y)“Participant” means a Service Provider who has been granted an Award under the Plan.
(z)“Plan” means this 2012 Equity Incentive Plan.
(aa)“Publicly Listed Company” means that the Company or its successor (i) is required to file periodic reports pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act and (ii) the Common Stock is listed on one or more National Securities Exchanges (within the meaning of the Exchange Act) or is quoted on NASDAQ or a successor quotation system.
(bb)“Restricted Stock” means Common Stock awarded to a Participant pursuant to Section 6 hereof that is subject to certain vesting conditions and other restrictions.
(cc)“Restricted Stock Unit” means an unfunded, unsecured right to receive, on the applicable settlement date, one share of Common Stock or an amount in cash or other consideration determined by the Administrator equal to the value thereof as of such payment date, which right may be subject to certain vesting conditions and other restrictions.
(dd)“Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Code and all regulations, guidance, compliance programs and other interpretative authority thereunder.
(ee)“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.
(ff)“Service Provider” means an Employee, Consultant or Director.
(gg)“Termination of Service” means the date the Participant ceases to be a Service Provider.
GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
2012 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
CALIFORNIA SUPPLEMENT
The Administrator has adopted this supplement for purposes of satisfying the requirements of Section 25102(o) of the California Corporations Code and the regulations issued thereunder (“Section 25102(o)”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Plan and except as otherwise determined by the Administrator, the provisions set forth in this supplement shall apply to all Awards granted under the Plan to a Participant who is a resident of the State of California on the date of grant (a “California Participant”) and which are intended to be exempt from registration in California pursuant to Section 25102(o). This supplement shall not apply to Awards granted to California Participants or after the date on which the Company becomes a Publicly Listed Company. Definitions in the Plan are applicable to this supplement.
1.Additional Limitations On Options.
(a)Maximum Duration of Options. No Options granted to California Participants will be granted for a term in excess of 10 years.
(b)Minimum Exercise Period Following Termination. Unless a California Participant’s Service Provider relationship is terminated for Cause, in the event of termination of such Participant’s Service Provider relationship, to the extent required by Applicable Laws, he or she shall have the right to exercise an Option, to the extent that he or she was otherwise entitled to exercise such Option on the date employment terminated, as follows: (i) at least six months from the date of termination, if termination was caused by such Participant’s death or Disability and (ii) at least 30 days from the date of termination, if termination was caused other than by such Participant’s death or Disability.
2.Additional Limitations For Restricted Stock Awards, Restricted Stock Units and Other Stock-Based Awards. The terms of all Restricted Stock Awards, Restricted Stock Units and Other Stock-Based Awards granted to California Participants shall comply, to the extent applicable, with Section 260.140.41 or Section 260.140.42 of the California Code of Regulations.
3.Adjustments. The Administrator will make such adjustments to an Award held by a California Participant as may be required by Section 260.140.41 or Section 260.140.42 of the California Code of Regulations.
4.Additional Requirement To Provide Information To California Participants. To the extent required by Section 260.140.46 of the California Code of Regulations, the Company shall provide to each California Participant and to each California Participant who acquires Common Stock pursuant to the Plan, not less frequently than annually, copies of annual financial statements (which need not be audited). The Company shall not be required to provide such statements to key persons whose duties in connection with the Company assure their access to equivalent information. In addition, this information requirement shall not apply to the Plan to the extent that it complies with all conditions of Rule 701 of the Securities Act (“Rule 701”) as determined by the Administrator; provided that for purposes of determining such compliance, any registered domestic partner shall be considered a “family member” as that term is defined in Rule 701.
5.Stockholder Approval; Additional Limitations On Timing Of Awards. The Plan will be submitted for the approval of the Company’s stockholders within twelve (12) months after the date of the Board’s adoption of the Plan. Awards may be granted or awarded prior to such stockholder approval; provided that no Award granted to a California Participant shall become exercisable, vested or realizable, as applicable to such Award, unless the Plan has been approved by the Company’s stockholders within twelve months before or after the date the Plan was adopted by the Administrator; and provided, further, that if such approval has not been obtained at the end of said twelve-month period, all Awards previously granted or awarded under the Plan to California Participants shall thereupon be canceled and become null and void.
AMENDMENTS
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Amendment No. |
Section |
Effect of Amendment |
Date Approved |
1 |
4(a) |
Increase in plan reserve to 2,393,361 shares |
March 13, 2017 |
2 |
4(a) |
Increase in plan reserve to 3,686,561 shares |
December 19, 2018 |
3 |
4(a) |
Increase in plan reserve to 9,676,105 shares |
November 20, 2019 |
4 |
4(a) |
Increase in plan reserve to 14,434,936 shares |
April 22, 2020 |
GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
2012 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE AND
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”), pursuant to its 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), hereby grants to Participant an Option to purchase the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock (referred to herein as “Shares”) set forth below. This Option is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth herein and in the Stock Option Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Agreement”) and the Plan, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. Unless otherwise defined herein, the terms defined in the Plan shall have the same defined meanings in this Stock Option Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”) and the Agreement.
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Participant: |
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Grant Date: |
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Vesting Commencement Date: |
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Exercise Price per Share: |
$ |
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Total Exercise Price: |
$ |
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Total Number of Shares Subject to Option: |
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Expiration Date: |
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Type of Option: |
☐ Incentive Stock Option ☐ Non-Qualified Stock Option |
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Exercise Schedule: |
ý Early Exercise Permitted |
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Vesting Schedule: |
[25% of the original number of Shares subject to the Option (rounded down to the next whole number of Shares) shall vest one year after the Vesting Commencement Date, and 1/48th of the original number of Shares subject to the Option (rounded down to the next whole number of Shares) shall vest on the last day of each one-month period of Participant’s service as a Service Provider thereafter, so that all of the Shares subject to the Option shall be vested on the fourth (4th) anniversary of the Vesting Commencement Date.] |
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By his or her signature and the Company’s signature below, Participant agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Plan, the Agreement and this Grant Notice. Participant has reviewed the Agreement, the Plan and this Grant Notice in their entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing this Grant Notice and fully understands all provisions of this Grant Notice, the Agreement and the Plan. Participant hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator of the Plan upon any questions arising under the Plan or the Agreement.
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GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. |
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PARTICIPANT |
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By: |
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By: |
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Print Name: |
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State of |
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Residence: |
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EXHIBIT A
TO STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Pursuant to the Grant Notice to which this Agreement is attached, the Company has granted to Participant an Option under the Plan to purchase the number of Shares indicated in the Grant Notice.
1.Grant of Option. In consideration of Participant’s past and/or continued employment with or service to the Company and for other good and valuable consideration, effective as of the Grant Date set forth in the Grant Notice, the Company irrevocably grants to Participant an Option to purchase any part or all of an aggregate of the number of Shares set forth in the Grant Notice at the Exercise Price per Share set forth in the Grant Notice, upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Plan and this Agreement.
2.Vesting. The Option shall become vested in such amounts and at such times as are set forth in the vesting schedule in the Grant Notice. The installments provided for in the vesting schedule are cumulative. No portion of the Option which has not become vested at the date Participant incurs a Termination of Service shall thereafter become vested, except as may be otherwise provided by the Administrator or as set forth in another written agreement between the Company and Participant.
(a)Any portion of the Option or the entire Option may be exercised in whole or in part at any time prior to the time when the Option or portion thereof becomes unexercisable under Section 4, provided that each unvested Share with respect to which the Option is exercised (each a “Restricted Share”) shall be subject to the Company Repurchase Right (as defined in Section 5 below) for so long as the Option shall remain unvested with respect to such Share under the terms of this Agreement. The Restricted Shares shall be released from the Company Repurchase Right as set forth in Section 5. For the avoidance of doubt, all Shares with respect to which the Option is exercised shall at all times be assumed to be Restricted Shares to the fullest extent possible under the terms of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided by the Administrator.
(b)Person Eligible to Exercise. During the lifetime of Participant, only Participant may exercise the Option or any portion thereof. After the death of Participant, any exercisable portion of the Option may, prior to the time when the Option becomes unexercisable under Section 4, be exercised by Participant’s personal representative or by any person empowered to do so under the deceased Participant’s will or under the then Applicable Laws of descent and distribution.
(c)Manner of Exercise. The Option, or any portion thereof, may be exercised solely by delivery to the Secretary of the Company or the Secretary’s office, or such other place as may be determined by the Administrator, of all of the following prior to the time when the Option or such portion thereof becomes unexercisable under Section 4:
(i)A written exercise notice in substantially in the form attached as Exhibit B to the Grant Notice (or such other form as is prescribed by the Administrator, which may be an electronic form) (the “Exercise Notice”) signed by Participant or any other person then entitled to exercise the Option or portion thereof, stating that the Option or portion thereof is thereby exercised, such Exercise Notice complying with all applicable rules established by the Administrator; and
(ii)Subject to Section 5(f) of the Plan, full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Option or portion thereof is exercised by:
(A)Cash or check, payable to the order of the Company; or
(B)With the consent of the Administrator, surrendering shares of Common Stock then issuable upon exercise of the Option valued at their Fair Market Value on the date of exercise; or
(C)On and after the date the Company becomes a Publicly Listed Company, through the (A) delivery by Participant to the Company of an irrevocable and unconditional undertaking by a creditworthy broker to deliver promptly to the Company sufficient funds to pay the exercise price or (B) delivery by Participant to the Company of a copy of irrevocable and unconditional instructions to a creditworthy broker to deliver promptly to the Company cash or a check sufficient to pay the exercise price; or
(D)With the consent of the Administrator, any other form of payment permitted under Section 5(f) of the Plan; or
(E)any combination of the above permitted forms of payment; and
(iii)Subject to Section 9(e) of the Plan, full payment for any applicable withholding taxes in cash or by check or in the form of consideration permitted by the Administrator for the payment of the exercise price pursuant to Section 3(c)(ii) above or pursuant to Section 3(d) below, which, following the date the Company becomes a Publicly Listed Company shall include the method provided for in Section 3(c)(ii)(C) above; and
(iv)In the event the Option or portion thereof shall be exercised pursuant to Section 3.1 by any person or persons other than Participant, appropriate proof of the right of such person or persons to exercise the Option; and
(v)In the event the Option or portion thereof shall be exercised as to Restricted Shares, the following (collectively, the “Additional Documents”):
(A)the stock assignment duly endorsed in blank, attached as Exhibit C to the Grant Notice (the “Stock Assignment”), executed by Participant; and
(B)if Participant has a spouse of Participant, the Consent of Spouse attached as Exhibit D to the Grant Notice, executed by Participant’s spouse.
(d)Tax Withholding. The Company shall have the authority and the right to deduct or withhold, or require Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy federal, state, local and foreign taxes (including Participant’s employment tax obligation) required by law to be withheld with respect to any taxable event concerning Participant arising as a result of the Option or otherwise under this Agreement, including, without limitation, the authority to deduct such amounts from other compensation payable to Participant by the Company.
(e)Fractional Shares. The Option may only be exercised for whole shares of Common Stock. Any fractional Shares shall be rounded down to the nearest whole share.
4.Expiration of Option. The Option may not be exercised to any extent by anyone after the first to occur of the following events:
(a)The Expiration Date set forth in the Grant Notice;
(b)The expiration of three months following the date of Participant’s Termination of Service, unless such Termination of Service occurs by reason of Participant’s death or Disability or Participant’s discharge by the Company for Cause;
(c)The expiration of one year following the date of Participant’s Termination of Service by reason of Participant’s death or Disability;
(d)The date of Participant’s Termination of Service as a result of Participant’s discharge by the Company for Cause; or
(e)With respect to any unvested portion of the Option, the date that is thirty days following Participant’s Termination of Service for any reason other than as a result of Participant’s discharge by the Company for Cause, or such shorter period as may be determined by the Administrator.
Participant acknowledges that an Incentive Stock Option exercised more than three months after Participant’s termination of status as an Employee, other than by reason of death or Disability, will be taxed as a Non-Qualified Stock Option.
5.Company Repurchase Right.
(a)Company Repurchase Right. Upon Participant’s Termination of Service for any reason, the Company shall have the right and option to repurchase all of the Restricted Shares from Participant, or Participant’s transferee or legal representative, as the case may be, for a purchase price equal to the price per Share paid for such Restricted Shares (the “Company Repurchase Right”).
(b)Exercise of Company Repurchase Right. The Company may exercise the Company Repurchase Right by delivering to Participant (or his or her transferee or legal representative, as the case may be), within ninety days of the date of Participant’s Termination of Service, a written notice indicating the Company’s intention to exercise the Company Repurchase Right and setting forth a date for closing not later than thirty days from the issuance of such notice. The closing shall take place at the Company’s office. At the closing, the holder of the certificates for the Restricted Shares shall deliver the stock certificate or certificates evidencing the Restricted Shares, and the Company shall deliver the purchase price therefore. At its option, the Company may elect to make payment for the Restricted Shares to a bank selected by the Company. The Company shall avail itself of this option by a written notice to Participant stating the name and address of the bank, date of closing, and waiving the closing at the Company’s office. If the Company does not elect to exercise the Company Repurchase Right by giving the requisite notice within ninety days following the date of Participant’s Termination of Service, the Company Repurchase Right shall terminate.
(c)Release of Restricted Shares. The Restricted Shares shall be released from the Company Repurchase Right upon vesting of the Option with respect to such Shares in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, all Shares with respect to which the Option is exercised shall at all times be assumed to be Restricted Shares to the fullest extent possible under the terms of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided by the Administrator. Fractional Shares shall be rounded down to the nearest whole share.
6.Escrow. To insure the availability for delivery of the Restricted Shares upon repurchase by the Company pursuant to the Company Repurchase Right, Participant appoints the Secretary of the Company, or such other person designated by the Administrator from time to time as escrow agent, as its attorney-in-fact to sell, assign and transfer unto the Company, such Restricted Shares, if any, repurchased by the Company pursuant to the Company Repurchase Right and shall, upon execution of the applicable Exercise Notice, deliver and deposit with the Secretary of the Company, or such other person designated by the Administrator from time to time, the share certificate(s) representing the Restricted Shares, together with the Stock Assignment. The Restricted Shares and Stock Assignment shall be held by the Secretary, or such other person designated by the Administrator from time to time, in escrow, until the Company exercises the Company Repurchase Right, until such Restricted Shares are released from the Company Repurchase Right as set forth in Section 5 or until such time as this Agreement no longer is in effect. Upon release of the Restricted Shares from the Company’s Repurchase Right, the escrow agent shall as soon as reasonably practicable deliver to Participant the certificate or certificates representing such Shares in the escrow agent’s possession belonging to Participant, and the escrow agent shall be discharged of all further obligations hereunder. The Company, or its designee, shall not be liable for any act it may do or omit to do with respect to holding the Restricted Shares in escrow and while acting in good faith and in the exercise of its judgment.
(a)Transferability of Option and Restricted Shares. Neither the Option nor the Restricted Shares shall be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered by Participant, either voluntarily or by operation of law, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and, during the life of the Participant, the Option shall be exercisable only by the Participant.
(b)Transferees Subject to Restrictions. Any transferee of the Restricted Shares shall hold such Shares subject to all of the provisions hereof and the Plan and the Exercise Notice and Additional Documents executed by Purchaser with respect to such Shares.
8.Rights as a Stockholder. Except as otherwise provided herein, upon exercise of the Option and the issuance of the Shares to Participant (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company), Participant shall have all the rights of a stockholder with respect to the Restricted Shares, including the right to receive any cash or stock dividends or other distributions paid to or made with respect to the Restricted Shares, subject to the restrictions described in the following sentence, which restrictions shall lapse when the Restricted Shares are released from the Company Repurchase Right as set forth in Section 5. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if any dividends or distributions are paid in shares, or consist of a dividend or distribution to holders of Common Stock of property other than an ordinary cash dividend, the shares or other property will be subject to same restrictions on transferability as the Restricted Shares with respect to which they were paid and shall automatically be forfeited to the Company for no consideration in the event the Company exercises the Company Repurchase Right for the Restricted Shares with respect to which they were paid. In no event shall a dividend or distribution be paid with respect to Restricted Shares later than the end of the calendar year in which the dividends are paid to holders of Common Stock or, if later, the 15th day of the third month following the later of (i) the date the dividends are paid to holders of Common Stock and (ii) the date the Restricted Shares with respect to which the dividends are paid vest. Participant shall enjoy rights as a stockholder until such time as Participant disposes of the Shares or the Company and/or its assignee(s) exercises the Right of First Refusal hereunder. Upon such exercise, Participant shall have no further rights as a holder of the Shares so purchased except the right to receive payment for the Shares so purchased in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, and Participant shall forthwith cause the certificate(s), if any issued, evidencing the Shares so purchased to be surrendered to the Company for transfer or cancellation.
9.Restrictive Legends and Stop‑Transfer Orders.
(a)Legends. Participant understands and agrees that the Company shall cause any certificates issued evidencing the Shares to have the legends set forth below or legends substantially equivalent thereto, together with any other legends that may be required by Applicable Laws:
THE SHARES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (“ACT”), NOR HAVE THEY BEEN REGISTERED OR QUALIFIED UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE. NO TRANSFER OF SUCH SECURITIES WILL BE PERMITTED UNLESS A REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE ACT IS IN EFFECT AS TO SUCH TRANSFER, THE TRANSFER IS MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULE 144 UNDER THE ACT, OR IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL (WHICH MAY BE COUNSEL FOR THE COMPANY) REGISTRATION UNDER THE ACT IS UNNECESSARY IN ORDER FOR SUCH TRANSFER TO COMPLY WITH THE ACT AND WITH APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS.
THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE MAY BE SUBJECT TO REPURCHASE PURSUANT TO, AND MAY BE TRANSFERRED ONLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE TERMS OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND THE STOCKHOLDER, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY. SUCH REPURCHASE AND/OR TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS ARE BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
(b)Stop Transfer Orders. Participant agrees that, in order to ensure compliance with the restrictions referred to in the Plan and this Agreement, the Company may issue appropriate “stop transfer” instructions to its transfer agent, if any, and that, if the Company transfers its own securities, it may make appropriate notations to the same effect in its own records.
(c)Impermissible Transfers Void. The Company shall not be required (i) to transfer on its books any Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement or (ii) to treat as owner of such Shares or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such Shares shall have been so transferred. Any transfer or attempted transfer of the Option or any of the Restricted Shares not in accordance with the terms of this Agreement shall be void
(a)Tax Consequences of Award. Participant understands that Participant may suffer adverse tax consequences as a result of Participant’s purchase or disposition of the Shares. Participant represents that Participant has consulted with any tax consultants Participant deems advisable in connection with the purchase or disposition of the Shares and that Participant is not relying on the Company for any tax advice. Participant is relying solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the Company or any of its agents. Participant understands that Participant (and not the Company) shall be responsible for Participant’s tax liability that may arise as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(b)Section 83(b) Election for Restricted Shares Purchased Pursuant to a Non-Qualified Stock Option. Participant acknowledges that, with respect to the exercise of a Non-Qualified Stock Option for Restricted Shares, unless an election is filed by Participant with the Internal Revenue Service and, if necessary, the proper state taxing authorities, within thirty days of the purchase of the Shares, electing pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Code (and similar state tax provisions if applicable) to be taxed currently on any difference between the purchase price of the Shares and their Fair Market Value on the date of purchase, there will be a recognition of taxable income to the Purchaser, measured by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares, at the time the Company Repurchase Right lapses over the purchase price for the Shares. Participant represents that Participant has consulted any tax consultant(s) Participant deems advisable in connection with the purchase of the Shares or the filing of the election under Section 83(b) of the Code and similar tax provisions.
(c)Section 83(b) Election for Restricted Shares Purchased Pursuant to an Incentive Stock Option. Participant hereby acknowledges that he or she has been informed that, with respect to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option for Restricted Shares, unless an election is filed by Participant with the Internal Revenue Service and, if necessary, the proper state taxing authorities, within thirty days of the purchase of the Shares, electing pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Code (and similar state tax provisions if applicable) to be taxed currently on any difference between the purchase price of the Shares and their Fair Market Value on the date of purchase, there will be a recognition of income to the Participant, for alternative minimum tax purposes measured by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares at the time the Company’s Repurchase Option lapses over the purchase price for the Shares. Participant further acknowledges that if an election is filed under Section 83(b) of the Code for the Unvested Shares and such shares are sold or transferred prior to the date two years following the Grant Date and one year following the purchase date of such shares, there will be a recognition of income to the Participant, for ordinary income, measured by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares at the time the Company’s Repurchase Option lapses over the purchase price for the Shares. Participant represents that Participant has consulted any tax consultant(s) Participant deems advisable in connection with the purchase of the Shares or the filing of the election under Section 83(b) and similar tax provisions.
PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT IS PARTICIPANT’S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY AND NOT THE COMPANY’S TO FILE TIMELY THE ELECTION UNDER SECTION 83(B) OF THE CODE, EVEN IF PARTICIPANT REQUESTS THE COMPANY OR ITS REPRESENTATIVE TO MAKE THIS FILING ON PARTICIPANT’S BEHALF.
(a)No Right To Employment or Other Status. No person shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award, and the grant of an Award shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to continued employment or any other relationship with the Company. The Company expressly reserves the right at any time to dismiss or otherwise terminate its relationship with a Participant free from any liability or claim under the Plan or this Agreement.
(b)Notices. Any notice to be given under the terms of this Agreement to the Company shall be addressed to the Company in care of the Secretary of the Company at the Company’s principal office or to the then-current email address for the Secretary of the Company, and any notice to be given to Participant shall be addressed to Participant at the most-recent physical or email address for Participant listed in the Company’s personnel records. By a notice given pursuant to this Section 11(b), either party may hereafter designate a different address for notices to be given to that party. Any notice which is required to be given to Participant shall, if Participant is then deceased, be given to the person entitled to exercise his or her Option by written notice under this Section 11(b). Any notice shall be deemed duly given when sent via email or when sent by certified mail (return receipt requested) and deposited (with
postage prepaid) in a post office or branch post office regularly maintained by the United States Postal Service.
(c)Successors and Assigns. The Company may assign any of its rights under this Agreement and the Exercise Notice to single or multiple assignees, and this Agreement shall inure to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the Company. Subject to the restrictions on transfer herein set forth, this Agreement shall be binding upon Participant and his or her heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns.
(d)Severability. In the event any portion of the Plan or this Agreement or any action taken pursuant thereto shall be held illegal or invalid for any reason, the illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining parts of the Plan and this Agreement, and the Plan and this Agreement shall be construed and enforced as if the illegal or invalid provisions had not been included, and the illegal or invalid action shall be null and void.
(e)Entire Agreement; Governing Documents. The Plan, the Grant Notice and this Agreement (including all Exhibits thereto) constitute the entire agreement of the parties and supersede in their entirety all prior undertakings and agreements of the Company and Participant with respect to the subject matter hereof. In the event of any contradiction between the Plan and any Award Agreement or any other written agreement between a Participant and the Company that has been approved by the Administrator, the terms of the Plan shall govern, unless it is expressly specified in such Award Agreement or other written document that a specific provision of the Plan shall not apply.
(f)Governing Law. The provisions of the Plan and all Awards made thereunder, including the Option, shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, disregarding choice-of-law principles of the law of any state that would require the application of the laws of a jurisdiction other than such state.
(g)Titles and Headings. The titles and headings of the Sections in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of this Agreement, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.
EXHIBIT B
TO STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE
FORM OF EXERCISE NOTICE
Effective as of today, , , the undersigned (“Participant”) hereby elects to exercise Participant’s option to purchase Shares of Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) under and pursuant to the Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement dated , (the “Agreement”). Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings given in the Agreement.
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Grant Date: |
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Number of Shares as to which Option is Exercised: |
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Exercise Price per Share: |
$ |
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Total Exercise Price: |
$ |
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Certificate to be issued in name of: |
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Cash Payment delivered herewith: |
$ (Representing the full Exercise Price for the Shares, as well as any applicable withholding tax) |
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Type of Option: |
☐ Incentive Stock Option |
☐ Non-Qualified Stock Option |
1.Representations of Participant. Participant acknowledges that Participant has received, read and understood the Plan and the Agreement. Participant agrees to abide by and be bound by their terms and conditions.
2.Tax Consultation. Participant understands that Participant may suffer adverse tax consequences as a result of Participant’s purchase or disposition of the Shares. Participant represents that Participant has consulted with any tax consultants Participant deems advisable in connection with the purchase or disposition of the Shares and that Participant is not relying on the Company for any tax advice. Participant is relying solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the Company or any of its agents. Participant understands that Participant (and not the Company) shall be responsible for Participant’s tax liability that may arise as a result of this investment or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
3.Participant Representations. Participant hereby makes the following certifications and representations with respect to the Shares listed above:
(a)Participant is aware of the Company’s business affairs and financial condition and has acquired sufficient information about the Company to reach an informed and knowledgeable decision to acquire the Shares. Participant is acquiring these Shares for investment for Participant’s own account only and not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any “distribution” thereof within the meaning of the Securities Act.
(b)Participant acknowledges and understands that the Shares constitute “restricted securities” under the Securities Act and have not been registered under the Securities Act in reliance upon a specific exemption therefrom, which exemption depends upon, among other things, the bona fide nature
of Participant’s investment intent as expressed herein. Participant understands that the Shares must be held indefinitely unless they are subsequently registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from such registration is available. Participant further acknowledges and understands that the Company is under no obligation to register the Shares. Participant understands that the certificate evidencing the Shares will be imprinted with a legend which prohibits the transfer of the Shares unless they are registered or such registration is not required in the opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company and any other legend required under Applicable Laws.
(c)Participant is familiar with the provisions of Rule 701 and Rule 144, each promulgated under the Securities Act, which, in substance, permit limited public resale of “restricted securities” acquired, directly or indirectly from the issuer thereof, in a non-public offering subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Rule 701 provides that if the issuer qualifies under Rule 701 at the time of the grant of the Option to Participant, the exercise will be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. In the event the Company becomes subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, ninety days thereafter (or such longer period as any market stand-off agreement may require) the securities exempt under Rule 701 may be resold, subject to the satisfaction of certain of the conditions specified by Rule 144.
(d)In the event that the Company does not qualify under Rule 701 at the time of grant of the Option, then the securities may be resold in certain limited circumstances subject to the provisions of Rule 144.
(e)Participant further understands that in the event all of the applicable requirements of Rule 701 or 144 are not satisfied, registration under the Securities Act, compliance with Regulation A, or some other registration exemption will be required; and that, notwithstanding the fact that Rules 144 and 701 are not exclusive, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has expressed its opinion that persons proposing to sell private placement securities other than in a registered offering and otherwise than pursuant to Rules 144 or 701 will have a substantial burden of proof in establishing that an exemption from registration is available for such offers or sales, and that such persons and their respective brokers who participate in such transactions do so at their own risk. Participant understands that no assurances can be given that any such other registration exemption will be available in such event.
4.Notices. Any notice required or permitted hereunder shall be given in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section 11(b) of the Agreement.
5.Entire Agreement. The Plan and Agreement are incorporated herein by reference. This Notice, the Plan and the Agreement constitute the entire agreement of the parties and supersede in their entirety all prior undertakings and agreements of the Company and Participant with respect to the subject matter hereof.
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ACCEPTED BY: Genoa Pharmaceuticals, INC. |
SUBMITTED BY PARTICIPANT: |
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EXHIBIT C
TO STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE
STOCK ASSIGNMENT
[See instructions below]
FOR VALUE RECEIVED I, , hereby sell, assign and transfer unto the shares of the Common Stock of Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. registered in my name on the books of said corporation represented by Certificate No. and do hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint to transfer the said stock on the books of the within named corporation with full power of substitution in the premises.
This Assignment Separate from Certificate may be used only in accordance with the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement between Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the undersigned dated
INSTRUCTIONS: Please do not fill in any blanks other than the signature line. The purpose of this assignment is to enable the Company to exercise the Company Repurchase Right, as set forth in the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement, without requiring additional signatures on the part of Purchaser.
EXHIBIT D
TO STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE
CONSENT OF SPOUSE
I, , spouse of , have read and approve the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement dated , between my spouse and Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In consideration of granting of the right to my spouse to purchase shares of Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. set forth in the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement, I hereby appoint my spouse as my attorney-in-fact in respect to the exercise of any rights under the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement and agree to be bound by the provisions of the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement insofar as I may have any rights in said Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement or any shares issued pursuant thereto under the community property laws or similar laws relating to marital property in effect in the state of our residence as of the date of the signing of the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement or the exercise of the option granted thereunder.
INSTRUCTIONS: Please do not fill in the blanks other than the signature line. The purpose of this assignment is to enable the Company to exercise its “Repurchase Option,” as set forth in the Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement, without requiring additional signatures on the part of Participant.
FORM OF 83(B) ELECTION AND INSTRUCTIONS
These instructions are provided to assist you if you choose to make an election under Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, with respect to the shares of common stock of Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. transferred to you. Please consult with your personal tax advisor as to whether an election of this nature will be in your best interests in light of your personal tax situation.
The executed original of the Section 83(b) election must be filed with the Internal Revenue Service not later than 30 days after the date the shares were transferred to you. There is no remedy for failure to file on time. The steps outlined below should be followed to ensure the election is mailed and filed correctly and in a timely manner. If you make the Section 83(b) election, the election is irrevocable.
Complete the Section 83(b) election form (attached as Attachment 1) and make four (4) copies of the signed election form. Your spouse, if any, should sign the Section 83(b) election form as well.
Prepare the cover letter to the Internal Revenue Service (sample letter attached as Attachment 2).
Send the cover letter with the originally executed Section 83(b) election form and one (1) copy via certified mail, return receipt requested to the Internal Revenue Service at the address of the Internal Revenue Service where you file your personal tax returns. We suggest that you have the package date-stamped at the post office. The post office will provide you with a certified receipt that includes a dated postmark. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that the Internal Revenue Service may return a date-stamped copy to you. However, your postmarked receipt is your proof of having timely filed the Section 83(b) election if you do not receive confirmation from the Internal Revenue Service.
One (1) copy must be sent to Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for its records and one (1) copy must be attached to your federal income tax return for the applicable calendar year.
Retain the Internal Revenue Service file stamped copy (when returned) for your records.
Please consult your personal tax advisor for the address of the office of the Internal Revenue Service to which you should mail your election form.
ATTACHMENT 1
ELECTION UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 83(B)
The undersigned taxpayer hereby elects, pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to include in taxpayer’s gross income for the current taxable year the amount of any compensation taxable to taxpayer in connection with taxpayer’s receipt of shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock of Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”).
The name, address and taxpayer identification number of the undersigned taxpayer are:
The name, address and taxpayer identification number of the Taxpayer’s spouse are (complete if applicable):
Description of the property with respect to which the election is being made:
( ) shares of Common Stock of the Company.
The date on which the property was transferred was . The taxable year to which this election relates is calendar year .
Nature of restrictions to which the property is subject:
The Shares are subject to repurchase by the Company or its assignee upon the occurrence of certain events. This repurchase right lapses based upon the continued performance of services by the taxpayer over time.
The fair market value at the time of transfer (determined without regard to any lapse restrictions, as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.83-3(i)) of the Shares was $ per Share.
The amount paid by the taxpayer for the Shares was per share.
A copy of this statement has been furnished to the Company.
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Taxpayer Signature |
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Dated: |
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EX-10.2
Exhibit 10.2
AVALYN PHARMA INC
AMENDMENT TO
2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) approved and adopted the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) of the Company on February 10, 2022. The Plan was first amended by the Company on November 18, 2022 and amended again on September 22, 2023 and on April 25, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors and the stockholders of the Company have determined that it is in the best interest of the Company to further amend the Plan as set forth in this Amendment (this “Amendment”).
NOW, THEREFORE, the Plan is amended as follows:
1. Amendment of the Plan
1.01. Section 2.1 of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:
“2.1 Number of Shares Available. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, the total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan will be 74,840,074 Shares, plus (a) shares that are subject to issuance under the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) but cease to be subject to an award for any reason other than exercise of an option or settlement of such award after the Effective Date (as defined in Section 13.1 hereof); and (b) shares that were issued under the Prior Plan which are repurchased by the Company or which are forfeited, used to pay withholding obligations with respect to any award granted under the Prior Plan or pay the exercise price of an option granted under the Prior Plan after the Effective Date. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, (A) in the event that Shares previously issued under the Plan are reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company, such Shares shall be added to the number of Shares then available for issuance under the Plan; (B) in the event that Shares that otherwise would have been issuable under the Plan are withheld by the Company in payment of the Purchase Price, Exercise Price or withholding obligations, such Shares shall remain available for issuance under the Plan; and (C) in the event that an outstanding Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR for any reason expires or is cancelled, forfeited or terminated, the Shares allocable to the unexercised or unsettled portion of such Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR, as applicable, shall remain available for issuance under the Plan. To the extent an Award is settled in cash, the cash settlement shall not reduce the number of Shares remaining available for issuance under the Plan. At all times the Company will reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares as will be required to satisfy the requirements of all Awards granted and outstanding under this Plan. In no event shall the total number of Shares issued (counting each reissuance of a Share that was previously issued and then reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company as a separate issuance) under the Plan upon exercise of ISOs (as defined in Section 4 hereof) exceed 748,400,740 Shares (adjusted in proportion to any adjustments under Section 2.2 hereof) over the term of the Plan.”
2. Miscellaneous.
2.01. Effect. Except as amended hereby, the Plan shall remain in full force and effect.
2.02. Defined Terms. All capitalized terms used but not specifically defined herein shall have the same meanings given such terms in the Plan unless the context clearly indicates or dictates a contrary meaning.
2.03. Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to that body of laws pertaining to conflict of laws.
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ADOPTED BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS: |
January 2, 2026 |
APPROVED BY STOCKHOLDERS: |
January 2, 2026 |
AVALYN PHARMA INC
AMENDMENT TO
2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) approved and adopted the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) of the Company on February 10, 2022. The Plan was first amended by the Company on November 18, 2022 and amended again on September 22, 2023; and WHEREAS, the Board of Directors and the stockholders of the Company have determined that it is in the best interest of the Company to further amend the Plan as set forth in this Amendment (this “Amendment”).
NOW, THEREFORE, the Plan is amended as follows:
1. Amendment of the Plan
1.01. Section 2.1 of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:
“2.1 Number of Shares Available. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, the total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan will be 65,771,251 Shares, plus (a) shares that are subject to issuance under the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) but cease to be subject to an award for any reason other than exercise of an option or settlement of such award after the Effective Date (as defined in Section 13.1 hereof); and (b) shares that were issued under the Prior Plan which are repurchased by the Company or which are forfeited, used to pay withholding obligations with respect to any award granted under the Prior Plan or pay the exercise price of an option granted under the Prior Plan after the Effective Date. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, (A) in the event that Shares previously issued under the Plan are reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company, such Shares shall be added to the number of Shares then available for issuance under the Plan; (B) in the event that Shares that otherwise would have been issuable under the Plan are withheld by the Company in payment of the Purchase Price, Exercise Price or withholding obligations, such Shares shall remain available for issuance under the Plan; and (C) in the event that an outstanding Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR for any reason expires or is cancelled, forfeited or terminated, the Shares allocable to the unexercised or unsettled portion of such Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR, as applicable, shall remain available for issuance under the Plan. To the extent an Award is settled in cash, the cash settlement shall not reduce the number of Shares remaining available for issuance under the Plan. At all times the Company will reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares as will be required to satisfy the requirements of all Awards granted and outstanding under this Plan. In no event shall the total number of Shares issued (counting each reissuance of a Share that was previously issued and then reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company as a separate issuance) under the Plan upon exercise of ISOs (as defined in Section 4 hereof) exceed 657,712,510 Shares (adjusted in proportion to any adjustments under Section 2.2 hereof) over the term of the Plan.”
2. Miscellaneous.
2.01. Effect. Except as amended hereby, the Plan shall remain in full force and effect.
2.02. Defined Terms. All capitalized terms used but not specifically defined herein shall have the same meanings given such terms in the Plan unless the context clearly indicates or dictates a contrary meaning.
2.03. Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to that body of laws pertaining to conflict of laws.
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ADOPTED BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS: |
April 25, 2025 |
APPROVED BY STOCKHOLDERS: |
April 25, 2025 |
AVALYN PHARMA INC
AMENDMENT TO
2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) approved and adopted the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) of the Company on February 10, 2022. The Plan was amended by the Company on November 18, 2022; and WHEREAS, the Board of Directors and the stockholders of the Company have determined that it is in the best interest of the Company to further amend the Plan as set forth in this Amendment (this “Amendment”).
NOW, THEREFORE, the Plan is amended as follows:
1. Amendment of the Plan
1.01. Section 2.1 of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:
“2.1 Number of Shares Available. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, the total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan will be 43,481,297 Shares, plus (a) shares that are subject to issuance under the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) but cease to be subject to an award for any reason other than exercise of an option or settlement of such award after the Effective Date (as defined in Section 13.1 hereof); and (b) shares that were issued under the Prior Plan which are repurchased by the Company or which are forfeited, used to pay withholding obligations with respect to any award granted under the Prior Plan or pay the exercise price of an option granted under the Prior Plan after the Effective Date. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, (A) in the event that Shares previously issued under the Plan are reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company, such Shares shall be added to the number of Shares then available for issuance under the Plan; (B) in the event that Shares that otherwise would have been issuable under the Plan are withheld by the Company in payment of the Purchase Price, Exercise Price or withholding obligations, such Shares shall remain available for issuance under the Plan; and (C) in the event that an outstanding Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR for any reason expires or is cancelled, forfeited or terminated, the Shares allocable to the unexercised or unsettled portion of such Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR, as applicable, shall remain available for issuance under the Plan. To the extent an Award is settled in cash, the cash settlement shall not reduce the number of Shares remaining available for issuance under the Plan. At all times the Company will reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares as will be required to satisfy the requirements of all Awards granted and outstanding under this Plan. In no event shall the total number of Shares issued (counting each reissuance of a Share that was previously issued and then reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company as a separate issuance) under the Plan upon exercise of ISOs (as defined in Section 4 hereof) exceed 434,812,970 Shares (adjusted in proportion to any adjustments under Section 2.2 hereof) over the term of the Plan.”
2. Miscellaneous.
2.01. Effect. Except as amended hereby, the Plan shall remain in full force and effect.
2.02. Defined Terms. All capitalized terms used but not specifically defined herein shall have the same meanings given such terms in the Plan unless the context clearly indicates or dictates a contrary meaning.
2.03. Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to that body of laws pertaining to conflict of laws.
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ADOPTED BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS: |
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 |
APPROVED BY STOCKHOLDERS: |
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 |
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
2022 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
As Adopted on February 10, 2022
As Amended on November 18, 2022
1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this Plan is to provide incentives to attract, retain and motivate eligible persons whose present and potential contributions are important to the success of the Company, its Parent and Subsidiaries by offering eligible persons an opportunity to participate in the Company’s future performance through the grant of Awards covering Shares. Capitalized terms not defined in the text are defined in Section 14 hereof. Although this Plan is intended to be a written compensatory benefit plan within the meaning of Rule 701, grants may be made pursuant to this Plan that do not qualify for exemption under Rule 701 or Section 25102(o). Any requirement of this Plan that is required in law only because of Section 25102(o) need not apply if the Committee so provides.
2. SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.
2.1 Number of Shares Available. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, the total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan will be 7,299,426 Shares, plus (a) shares that are subject to issuance under the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”) but cease to be subject to an award for any reason other than exercise of an option or settlement of such award after the Effective Date (as defined in Section 13.1 hereof); and (b) shares that were issued under the Prior Plan which are repurchased by the Company or which are forfeited, used to pay withholding obligations with respect to any award granted under the Prior Plan or pay the exercise price of an option granted under the Prior Plan after the Effective Date. Subject to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, (A) in the event that Shares previously issued under the Plan are reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company, such Shares shall be added to the number of Shares then available for issuance under the Plan; (B) in the event that Shares that otherwise would have been issuable under the Plan are withheld by the Company in payment of the Purchase Price, Exercise Price or withholding obligations, such Shares shall remain available for issuance under the Plan; and (C) in the event that an outstanding Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR for any reason expires or is cancelled, forfeited or terminated, the Shares allocable to the unexercised or unsettled portion of such Option, Restricted Stock Unit or SAR, as applicable, shall remain available for issuance under the Plan. To the extent an Award is settled in cash, the cash settlement shall not reduce the number of Shares remaining available for issuance under the Plan. At all times the Company will reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares as will be required to satisfy the requirements of all Awards granted and outstanding under this Plan. In no event shall the total number of Shares issued (counting each reissuance of a Share that was previously issued and then reacquired by the Company pursuant to a forfeiture provision, right of first refusal, or repurchase by the Company as a separate issuance) under the Plan upon exercise of ISOs (as defined in Section 4 hereof) exceed 72,994,260 Shares (adjusted in proportion to any adjustments under Section 2.2 hereof) over the term of the Plan.
2.2 Adjustment of Shares. In the event that the Company’s Common Stock is changed by a stock dividend, recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, subdivision, combination, reclassification or other change in the capital structure of the Company affecting Shares without consideration, then in order to prevent diminution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan (a) the number and class of Shares reserved for issuance under this Plan, (b) the Exercise Prices of and number and class of Shares subject to outstanding Options and SARs, and (c) the Purchase Prices of and/or number and class of Shares subject to other outstanding Awards will (to the extent appropriate) be proportionately adjusted, subject to any required action by the Board or the stockholders of the Company and compliance with applicable securities or other laws; provided, however, that fractions of a Share will not be issued but will either be paid in cash at the Fair Market Value of such fraction of a Share or will be rounded down to the nearest whole Share, as determined by the Committee.
3. PLAN FOR BENEFIT OF SERVICE PROVIDERS.
3.1 Eligibility. The Committee will have the authority to select persons to receive Awards. ISOs may be granted only to employees (including officers and directors who are also employees) of the Company or of a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company. NQSOs (as defined in Section 4 hereof) and all other types of Awards may be granted to employees, officers, directors and consultants of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company; provided such consultants render bona fide services not in connection with the offer and sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction when Rule 701 is to apply to the Award granted for such services. A person may be granted more than one Award under this Plan.
3.2 No Obligation to Employ. Nothing in this Plan or any Award granted under this Plan will confer or be deemed to confer on any Participant any right to continue in the employ of, or to continue any other relationship with, the Company or any Subsidiary or Parent of the Company or limit in any way the right of the Company or any Subsidiary or Parent of the Company to terminate Participant’s employment or other relationship at any time, with or without Cause.
4. OPTIONS. The Committee may grant Options to eligible persons described in Section 3 hereof and will determine whether such Options will be Incentive Stock Options within the meaning of the Code (“ISOs”) or Nonqualified Stock Options (“NQSOs”), the number of Shares subject to the Option, the Exercise Price of the Option, the period during which the Option may be exercised, and all other terms and conditions of the Option, subject to the following.
4.1 Form of Option Grant. Each Option granted under this Plan will be evidenced by an Award Agreement which will expressly identify the Option as an ISO or an NQSO (“Stock Option Agreement”), and will be in such form and contain such provisions (which need not be the same for each Participant) as the Committee may from time to time approve, and which will comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan.
4.2 Date of Grant. The date of grant of an Option will be the date on which the Committee makes the determination to grant such Option, unless a later date is otherwise specified by the Committee. The Stock Option Agreement and a copy of this Plan will be delivered to the Participant within a reasonable time after the granting of the Option.
4.3 Exercise Period. Options may be exercisable within the time or upon the events determined by the Committee in the Award Agreement and may be awarded as immediately exercisable but subject to repurchase pursuant to Section 10 hereof or may be exercisable within the times or upon the events determined by the Committee as set forth in the Stock Option Agreement governing such Option; provided, however, that (a) no Option will be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date
the Option is granted; and (b) no ISO granted to a person who directly or by attribution owns more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or of any Subsidiary or Parent of the Company (“Ten Percent Stockholder”) will be exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date the ISO is granted; but in no event shall an Option granted to an employee who is a non-exempt employee for purposes of overtime pay under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 be exercisable earlier than six (6) months after its date of grant. The Committee also may provide for Options to become exercisable at one time or from time to time, periodically or otherwise, in such number of Shares or percentage of Shares as the Committee determines.
4.4 Exercise Price. The Exercise Price of an Option will be determined by the Committee when the Option is granted and shall not be less than the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant unless expressly determined in writing by the Committee; provided that the Exercise Price of an ISO granted to a Ten Percent Stockholder will not be less than one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant. Payment for the Shares purchased must be made in accordance with Section 8 hereof.
4.5 Method of Exercise. Options may be exercised only by delivery to the Company of a stock option exercise agreement (accepted via written, electronic or other means) (the “Exercise Agreement”) in a form approved by the Committee (which need not be the same for each Participant). The Exercise Agreement will state (a) the number of Shares being purchased, (b) the restrictions imposed on the Shares purchased under such Exercise Agreement, if any, and (c) such representations and agreements regarding Participant’s investment intent and access to information and other matters, if any, as may be required or desirable by the Company to comply with applicable securities or other laws. Each Participant’s Exercise Agreement may be modified by (i) agreement of Participant and the Company or (ii) substitution by the Company, upon becoming a public company, in order to add the payment terms set forth in Section 8.1 that apply to a public company and such other terms as shall be necessary or advisable in order to exercise a public company option. Upon exercise of an Option, Participant shall execute and deliver to the Company the Exercise Agreement then in effect, together with payment in full of the Exercise Price for the number of Shares being purchased and satisfaction of any applicable Tax-Related Obligations (as defined in Section 8.2 hereof). No adjustment will be made for a dividend or other right for which the record date is prior to the date the Shares are issued, except as provided in Section 2.2 of the Plan. Exercising an Option in any manner will decrease the number of Shares thereafter available, both for purposes of the Plan and for sale under the Option, by the number of Shares as to which the Option is exercised.
4.6 Termination. Subject to earlier termination pursuant to Sections 11 and 13 hereof and subject to any longer exercise periods set forth in the Stock Option Agreement, exercise of an Option will always be subject to the following terms and conditions.
4.6.1 Other than Death or Disability or for Cause. If the Participant is Terminated for any reason other than death, Disability or for Cause, then the Participant may exercise such Participant’s Options only to the extent that such Options are exercisable as to Vested Shares upon the Termination Date, except as otherwise determined by the Committee or required by applicable law. Such Options must be exercised by the Participant, if at all, as to all or some of the Vested Shares calculated as of the Termination Date or such other date determined by the Committee, within three (3) months after the Termination Date (or within such shorter time period, not less than thirty (30) days, or within such longer time period after the Termination Date as may be determined by the Committee or required by applicable law, with any exercise beyond three (3) months after the date Participant ceases to be an employee deemed to be an NQSO) but, in any event, no later than the expiration date of the Options.
4.6.2 Death or Disability. If the Participant is Terminated because of Participant’s death or Disability (or the Participant dies within three (3) months after a Termination other
than for Cause), then Participant’s Options may be exercised only to the extent that such Options are exercisable as to Vested Shares on the Termination Date, except as otherwise determined by the Committee or required by applicable law. Such Options must be exercised by Participant (or Participant’s legal representative or authorized assignee), if at all, as to all or some of the Vested Shares calculated as of the Termination Date or such other date determined by the Committee, within twelve (12) months after the Termination Date (or within such shorter time period, not less than six (6) months, or within such longer time period, after the Termination Date as may be determined by the Committee or required by applicable law, with any exercise beyond (a) three (3) months after the date Participant ceases to be an employee when the Termination is for any reason other than the Participant’s death or disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, or (b) twelve (12) months after the date Participant ceases to be an employee when the Termination is for Participant’s disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, deemed to be an NQSO) but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.
4.6.3 For Cause. If the Participant is Terminated for Cause, the Participant may exercise such Participant’s Options, but not to an extent greater than such Options are exercisable as to Vested Shares upon the Termination Date and Participant’s Options shall expire on such Participant’s Termination Date, or at such later time and on such conditions as are determined by the Committee.
4.7 Limitations on Exercise. The Committee may specify a reasonable minimum number of Shares that may be purchased on any exercise of an Option, provided that such minimum number will not prevent Participant from exercising the Option for the full number of Shares for which it is then exercisable.
4.8 Limitations on ISOs. The aggregate Fair Market Value (determined as of the date of grant) of Shares with respect to which ISOs are exercisable for the first time by a Participant during any calendar year (under this Plan or under any other incentive stock option plan of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company) will not exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000). If the Fair Market Value of Shares on the date of grant with respect to which ISOs are exercisable for the first time by a Participant during any calendar year exceeds One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000), then the Options for the first One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) worth of Shares to become exercisable in such calendar year will be ISOs and the Options for the amount in excess of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) that become exercisable in that calendar year will be NQSOs. In the event that the Code or the regulations promulgated thereunder are amended after the Effective Date (as defined in Section 13.1 hereof) to provide for a different limit on the Fair Market Value of Shares permitted to be subject to ISOs, then such different limit will be automatically incorporated herein and will apply to any Options granted after the effective date of such amendment.
4.9 Modification, Extension or Renewal. The Committee may modify, extend or renew outstanding Options and authorize the grant of new Options in substitution therefor, provided that any such action may not, without the written consent of a Participant, impair any of such Participant’s rights under any Option previously granted, unless for the purpose of complying with applicable laws and regulations. Any outstanding ISO that is modified, extended, renewed or otherwise altered will be treated in accordance with Section 424(h) of the Code. Subject to Section 4.10 hereof, the Committee may reduce the Exercise Price of outstanding Options without the consent of Participants by a written notice to them; provided, however, that the Exercise Price may not be reduced below the minimum Exercise Price that would be permitted under Section 4.4 hereof for Options granted on the date the action is taken to reduce the Exercise Price.
4.10 No Disqualification. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan, no term of this Plan relating to ISOs will be interpreted, amended or altered, nor will any discretion or authority granted
under this Plan be exercised, so as to disqualify this Plan under Section 422 of the Code or, without the consent of the Participant, to disqualify any Participant’s ISO under Section 422 of the Code.
5. RESTRICTED STOCK. A Restricted Stock Award is an offer by the Company to sell to an eligible person Shares that are subject to certain specified restrictions. The Committee will determine to whom an offer will be made, the number of Shares the person may purchase, the Purchase Price, the restrictions to which the Shares will be subject, and all other terms and conditions of the Restricted Stock Award, subject to the following terms and conditions.
5.1 Form of Restricted Stock Award. All purchases under a Restricted Stock Award made pursuant to this Plan will be evidenced by an Award Agreement (“Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement”) that will be in such form (which need not be the same for each Participant) as the Committee will from time to time approve, and will comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan. The Restricted Stock Award will be accepted by the Participant’s execution and delivery of the Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (accepted via written, electronic or other means) and full payment for the Shares to the Company within thirty (30) days from the date the Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement is delivered to the person. If such person does not execute and deliver the Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement along with full payment for the Shares to the Company within such thirty (30) days, then the offer will terminate, unless otherwise determined by the Committee.
5.2 Purchase Price. The Purchase Price of Shares sold pursuant to a Restricted Stock Award will be determined by the Committee on the date the Restricted Stock Award is granted. Payment of the Purchase Price must be made in accordance with Section 8 hereof.
5.3 Dividends and Other Distributions. Participants holding Restricted Stock Awards will be entitled to receive all dividends and other distributions paid with respect to such Shares, unless the Committee provides otherwise at the time the Award is granted. If any such dividends or distributions are paid in Shares, the Shares will be subject to the same restrictions on transferability and forfeitability as the Restricted Stock Awards with respect to which they were paid.
5.4 Restrictions. Restricted Stock Awards may be subject to the restrictions set forth in Sections 9 and 10 hereof or, with respect to a Restricted Stock Award to which Section 25102(o) is to apply, such other restrictions not inconsistent with Section 25102(o).
6. RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS.
6.1 Awards of Restricted Stock Units. A Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) is an Award covering a number of Shares that may be settled in cash, by issuance of those Shares at a date in the future, or by a combination of cash and Shares. No Purchase Price shall apply to an RSU settled in Shares. The Committee will determine the terms of an RSU including, without limitation: (a) the number of Shares subject to the RSU, (b) the time or times during which the RSU may be settled, (c) the consideration to be distributed on settlement, and (d) the effect of the Participant’s Termination on each RSU. All grants of RSUs will be evidenced by an Award Agreement (the “RSU Agreement”) that will be in such form (which need not be the same for each Participant) as the Committee will from time to time approve, and will comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan. No RSU will have a term longer than ten (10) years from the date the RSU is granted.
6.2 Form and Timing of Settlement. Payment of earned RSUs will be made as soon as practicable after the date(s) determined by the Committee and set forth in the RSU Agreement. To the extent permissible under applicable law, the Committee may permit a Participant to defer payment (including settlement) under an RSU to a date or dates after the RSU has vested, provided that the terms of
the RSU and any deferral satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code (or any successor) and any regulations or rulings promulgated thereunder, to the extent the Participant is subject to Section 409A of the Code.
6.3 Dividend Equivalent Payments. The Board may permit Participants holding RSUs to receive dividend equivalent payments on outstanding RSUs if and when dividends are paid to stockholders on Shares. In the discretion of the Board, such dividend equivalent payments may be paid in cash or Shares and they may either be paid at the same time as dividend payments are made to stockholders or delayed until Shares are issued pursuant to the RSU grants and may be subject to the same vesting or performance requirements as the RSUs. If the Board permits dividend equivalent payments to be made on RSUs, the terms and conditions for such dividend equivalent payments will be set forth in the RSU Agreement.
7. STOCK APPRECIATION RIGHTS.
7.1 Awards of SARs. Stock Appreciation Rights (“SARs”) may be settled in cash or Shares (which may consist of Restricted Stock or RSUs) or a combination thereof, having a value equal to the value determined by multiplying the difference between the Fair Market Value on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price and the number of Shares with respect to which the SAR is being exercised. All grants of SARs made pursuant to this Plan will be evidenced by an Award Agreement (the “SAR Agreement”) that will be in such form (which need not be the same for each Participant) as the Committee will from time to time approve, and will comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan.
7.2 Exercise Period and Expiration Date. A SAR will be exercisable within the times or upon the occurrence of events determined by the Committee and set forth in the SAR Agreement. The SAR Agreement shall set forth the expiration date; provided that no SAR will be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date the SAR is granted.
7.3 Exercise Price. The Committee will determine the Exercise Price of the SAR when the SAR is granted, which may not be less than the Fair Market Value on the date of grant.
7.4 Termination. Subject to earlier termination pursuant to Sections 11 and 13 hereof and subject to any longer exercise periods set forth in the SAR Agreement, exercise of SARs will always be subject to the following terms and conditions.
7.4.1 Other than Death or Disability or for Cause. If the Participant is Terminated for any reason other than death, Disability or for Cause, then the Participant may exercise such Participant’s SARs only to the extent that such SARs are exercisable as to Vested Shares upon the Termination Date or as otherwise determined by the Committee or as required by applicable law. SARs must be exercised by the Participant, if at all, as to all or some of the Vested Shares calculated as of the Termination Date or such other date determined by the Committee, within three (3) months after the Termination Date (or within such shorter time period, not less than thirty (30) days, or within such longer time period after the Termination Date as may be determined by the Committee or as required by applicable law), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the SARs.
7.4.2 Death or Disability. If the Participant is Terminated because of Participant’s death or Disability (or the Participant dies within three (3) months after a Termination other than for Cause), then Participant’s SARs may be exercised only to the extent that such SARs are exercisable as to Vested Shares on the Termination Date or as otherwise determined by the Committee or as required by applicable law. Such SARs must be exercised by Participant (or Participant’s legal representative or
authorized assignee), if at all, as to all or some of the Vested Shares calculated as of the Termination Date or such other date determined by the Committee, within twelve (12) months after the Termination Date (or within such shorter time period, not less than six (6) months, or within such longer time period after the Termination Date as may be determined by the Committee or as required by applicable law), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the SARs.
7.4.3 For Cause. If the Participant is Terminated for Cause, the Participant may exercise such Participant’s SARs, but not to an extent greater than such SARs are exercisable as to Vested Shares upon the Termination Date and Participant’s SARs shall expire on such Participant’s Termination Date, or at such later time and on such conditions as are determined by the Committee.
8. PAYMENT FOR PURCHASES AND EXERCISES.
8.1 Payment in General. Payment for Shares acquired pursuant to this Plan may be made in cash equivalents (including by check or Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transfer) or, where expressly approved for the Participant by the Committee and subject to compliance with applicable law:
(a) by cancellation of indebtedness of the Company owed to the Participant;
(b) by surrender of shares of the Company that are clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances or security interests and: (i) for which the Company has received “full payment of the purchase price” within the meaning of SEC Rule 144 (and, if such shares were purchased from the Company by use of a promissory note, such note has been fully paid with respect to such shares) or (ii) that were obtained by Participant in the public market;
(c) by tender of a full recourse promissory note having such terms as may be approved by the Committee and bearing interest at a rate sufficient to avoid (i) imputation of income under Sections 483 and 1274 of the Code and (ii) unfavorable accounting treatment as determined by the Committee; provided, however, that Participants who are not employees or directors of the Company will not be entitled to purchase Shares with a promissory note unless the note is adequately secured by collateral other than the Shares; provided, further, that the portion of the Exercise Price or Purchase Price, as the case may be, equal to the par value (if any) of the Shares must be paid in cash or other legal consideration permitted by the laws under which the Company is then incorporated or organized;
(d) by waiver of compensation due or accrued to the Participant from the Company for services rendered;
(e) by participating in a formal cashless exercise program implemented by the Committee in connection with the Plan;
(f) provided that a public market for the Company’s common stock exists, by exercising through a “same day sale” commitment from the Participant and a broker-dealer whereby the Participant irrevocably elects to exercise the Award and to sell a portion of the Shares so purchased sufficient to pay the total Exercise Price or Purchase Price, and whereby the broker-dealer irrevocably commits upon receipt of such Shares to forward the total Exercise Price or Purchase Price directly to the Company; or
(g) by any combination of the foregoing or any other method of payment approved by the Committee.
For avoidance of uncertainty: ACH transfers that have been received by the Company into its bank account designated for receipt of such transfers under this Section 8.1 shall be deemed to have been received for all purposes under this Plan as of the date on which such transfers were initiated from the transferor’s account and made irrevocable by the transferor.
8.2 Withholding Taxes.
8.2.1 Withholding Generally. Whenever Shares are to be issued in satisfaction of Awards granted under this Plan, the Company may require the Participant to remit to the Company an amount sufficient to satisfy the maximum tax withholding requirements as to income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account and other tax-related obligations (collectively, “Tax- Related Obligations”) prior to the delivery of any written or electronic certificate or certificates for such Shares. Whenever, under this Plan, payments in satisfaction of Awards are to be made in cash by the Company, such payment will be net of an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable tax withholding requirements.
8.2.2 Stock Withholding. When, under applicable tax laws, a Participant incurs tax liability in connection with the exercise or vesting of any Award that is subject to tax withholding and the Participant is obligated to pay the Company the amount required to be withheld, the Committee may in its sole discretion allow the Participant to satisfy up to the maximum Tax-Related Obligations in the employee’s applicable jurisdictions by electing to have the Company withhold from the Shares to be issued up to the number of Shares having a Fair Market Value on the date that the amount of tax to be withheld is to be determined that is not more than the maximum Tax-Related Obligations in the employee’s applicable jurisdictions; or to arrange a mandatory “sell to cover” on Participant’s behalf (without further authorization) but in no event will the Company withhold Shares or “sell to cover” if such withholding would result in adverse accounting or compliance consequences to the Company. The maximum Tax- Related Obligations are based on the applicable rates of the relevant tax authorities (for example, federal, state and local), including the employee’s share of payroll or similar taxes, as provided in the tax law, regulations or the authority’s administrative practices, not to exceed the highest statutory rate in that jurisdiction. Any elections to have Shares withheld or sold for this purpose will be made in accordance with the requirements established by the Committee for such elections and be in writing in a form acceptable to the Committee.
8.2.3 Elections Under Section 83(i) of the Code. A Participant will not make an election under Section 83(i) of the Code if the Company determines that the Participant is then ineligible to make such an election under applicable law or without the Company’s prior written consent (which will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, but may be conditioned upon the Participant’s entry into additional commitments as determined by the Company).
9. RESTRICTIONS ON AWARDS.
9.1 Transferability. Except as permitted by the Committee, Awards granted under this Plan, and any interest therein, will not be transferable or assignable by Participant, other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and, with respect to NQSOs for Participants in the U.S., by instrument to an inter vivos or testamentary trust in which the NQSOs are to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor), or by gift to “family member” as that term is defined in Rule 701, and may not be made subject to execution, attachment or similar process. For the avoidance of doubt, the prohibition against assignment and transfer applies to Awards and any Shares underlying the Awards prior to the issuance of the Shares, and pursuant to the foregoing sentence shall be understood to include, without limitation, a prohibition against any pledge, hypothecation, or other transfer, including any short position, any “put equivalent position” or any “call equivalent position” (in each case, as defined in Rule 16a-1
promulgated under the Exchange Act). Unless an Award is transferred pursuant to the terms of this Section, during the lifetime of the Participant an Award will be exercisable only by the Participant or Participant’s legal representative and any elections with respect to an Award may be made only by the Participant or Participant’s legal representative. The terms of an Award shall be binding upon the executor, administrator, successors and assigns of the Participant who is a party thereto.
9.2 Securities Law and Other Regulatory Compliance. Although this Plan is intended to be a written compensatory benefit plan within the meaning of Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act, Awards may be made pursuant to this Plan that do not qualify for exemption under Rule 701 or Section 25102(o). Any requirement of this Plan which is required in law only because of Section 25102(o) need not apply with respect to a particular Award to which Section 25102(o) will not apply. An Award will not be effective unless such Award is in compliance with all applicable U.S. and non-U.S. federal, state and local securities laws, rules and regulations of any governmental body, and the requirements of any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Company’s equity securities may then be listed or quoted, as they are in effect on the date of grant of the Award and also on the date of exercise, settlement or other issuance. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan, the Company will have no obligation to issue Shares or deliver certificates for Shares under this Plan prior to (a) obtaining any approvals from governmental agencies that the Company determines are necessary or advisable, and/or (b) compliance with any exemption, completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares under any U.S. and non-U.S. federal, state or local law or ruling of any governmental body that the Company determines to be necessary or advisable. The Company will be under no obligation to register the Shares with the SEC or to effect compliance with the exemption, registration, qualification or listing requirements of any securities laws, stock exchange or automated quotation system, and the Company will have no liability for any inability or failure to do so.
9.3 Exchange and Buyout of Awards. The Committee may, at any time or from time to time, authorize the Company, with the consent of the respective Participants, to issue new Awards in exchange for the surrender and cancellation of any or all outstanding Awards. Without prior stockholder approval the Committee may reprice Options or SARs (and where such repricing is a reduction in the Exercise Price of outstanding Options or SARs, the consent of the affected Participants is not required provided written notice is provided to them). The Committee may at any time buy from a Participant an Award previously granted with payment in cash, Shares (including Restricted Stock) or other consideration, based on such terms and conditions as the Committee and the Participant may agree.
10. RESTRICTIONS ON SHARES.
10.1 Privileges of Stock Ownership. No Participant will have any of the rights of a stockholder with respect to any Shares until such Shares are issued to the Participant. After Shares are issued to the Participant, the Participant will be a stockholder and have all the rights of a stockholder with respect to such Shares, including the right to vote and receive all dividends or other distributions made or paid with respect to such Shares; provided, that if such Shares are Restricted Stock, then any new, additional or different securities the Participant may become entitled to receive with respect to such Shares by virtue of a stock dividend, stock split or any other change in the corporate or capital structure of the Company will be subject to the same restrictions as the Restricted Stock. The Participant will have no right to retain such stock dividends or stock distributions with respect to Unvested Shares that are repurchased as described in this Section 10.
10.2 Rights of First Refusal and Repurchase. At the discretion of the Committee, the Company may reserve to itself and/or its assignee(s) in the Award Agreement (a) a right of first refusal to purchase all Shares that a Participant (or a subsequent transferee) may propose to transfer to a third party, provided that such right of first refusal terminates upon (i) subject to any applicable market standoff
restrictions, the effective date of the first sale of common stock of the Company to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act (other than a registration statement relating solely to the issuance of common stock pursuant to a business combination or an employee incentive or benefit plan); (ii) any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger or statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations if the common stock of the surviving corporation or any direct or indirect Parent thereof is registered under the Exchange Act; or (iii) any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity if the common equity (or comparable equity security) of entity resulting from such conversion is registered under the Exchange Act; and (b) a right to repurchase Unvested Shares held by a Participant for cash and/or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness owed to the Company by the Participant following such Participant’s Termination at any time.
10.3 Agreement to Vote Shares. At the discretion of the Committee, the Company may require that, as a condition to the receipt of the Shares upon issuance of an Award, exercise of an Option or SAR or settlement of an RSU, the Participant and any transferee of the Shares agree to vote such Shares pursuant to the terms of a Voting Agreement by and between the Company and certain of its stockholders.
10.4 Escrow; Pledge of Shares. To enforce any restrictions on a Participant’s Shares, the Committee may require the Participant to deposit all written or electronic certificates representing Shares, together with stock powers or other instruments of transfer approved by the Committee, appropriately endorsed in blank, with the Company or an agent designated by the Company to hold in escrow until such restrictions have lapsed or terminated. The Committee may cause a legend or legends referencing such restrictions to be placed on the written or electronic certificate. Any Participant who is permitted to execute a promissory note as partial or full consideration for the purchase of Shares under this Plan will be required to pledge and deposit with the Company all or part of the Shares so purchased as collateral to secure the payment of Participant’s obligation to the Company under the promissory note; provided, however, that the Committee may require or accept other or additional forms of collateral to secure the payment of such obligation and, in any event, the Company will have full recourse against the Participant under the promissory note notwithstanding any pledge of the Participant’s Shares or other collateral. In connection with any pledge of the Shares, Participant will be required to execute and deliver a written pledge agreement in such form as the Committee will from time to time approve. The Shares purchased with the promissory note may be released from the pledge on a pro rata basis as the promissory note is paid.
10.5 Securities Law Restrictions. All written or electronic certificates for Shares or other securities delivered under this Plan will be subject to such stock transfer orders, legends and other restrictions as the Committee may deem necessary or advisable, including restrictions under any applicable U.S. and non-U.S. federal, state or local securities law, or any rules, regulations and other requirements of the SEC or any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Company’s equity securities may be listed or quoted.
10.6 Transfer Restrictions. All Shares or other securities delivered under this Plan will be subject to any restrictions on transfers of securities as set forth in the Company’s Bylaws, as may be amended from time to time.
11. CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS.
11.1 Acquisitions or Other Combinations. In the event that the Company is subject to an Acquisition or Other Combination, outstanding Awards acquired under the Plan shall be subject to the agreement evidencing the Acquisition or Other Combination, which need not treat all outstanding Awards
in an identical manner. Such agreement, without the Participant’s consent, shall provide for one or more of the following with respect to all outstanding Awards as of the effective date of such Acquisition or Other Combination:
(a) The continuation of such outstanding Awards by the Company (if the Company is the successor entity).
(b) The assumption of outstanding Awards by the successor or acquiring entity (if any) in such Acquisition or Other Combination (or by any of its Parents, if any), which assumption, will be binding on all Participants; provided that the exercise price and the number and nature of shares issuable upon exercise of any such option or stock appreciation right, or upon the settlement of any award that is subject to Section 409A of the Code, will be adjusted appropriately pursuant to Section 424(a) and Section 409A of the Code. For the purposes of this Section 11, an Award will be considered assumed if, following the Acquisition or Other Combination, the Award confers the right to purchase or receive, for each Share subject to the Award immediately prior to the Acquisition or Other Combination, the consideration (whether stock, cash, or other securities or property) received in the Acquisition or Other Combination by holders of Shares for each Share held on the effective date of the transaction (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares); provided, however, that if such consideration received in the Acquisition or Other Combination is not solely common stock of the successor corporation or its Parent, the Committee may, with the consent of the successor corporation, provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right or upon the settlement of an RSU, for each Share subject to such Award, to be solely common stock of the successor corporation or its Parent equal in fair market value to the per share consideration received by holders of Common Stock in the Acquisition or Other Combination.
(c) The substitution by the successor or acquiring entity in such Acquisition or Other Combination (or by any of its Parents, if any) of equivalent awards with substantially the same terms for such outstanding Awards (except that the exercise price and the number and nature of shares issuable upon exercise of any such option or stock appreciation right, or any award that is subject to Section 409A of the Code, will be adjusted appropriately pursuant to Section 424(a) and Section 409A of the Code).
(d) The full or partial exercisability or vesting and accelerated expiration of outstanding Awards.
(e) The settlement of the Fair Market Value of such outstanding Award (whether or not then vested or exercisable) in cash, cash equivalents, or securities of the successor entity (or its Parent, if any), followed by the cancellation of such Awards; provided however, that such Award may be cancelled without consideration if such Award has no value, as determined by the Committee, in its discretion. Subject to Section 409A of the Code, such payment may be made in installments and may be deferred until the date or dates when the Award would have become exercisable or vested. Such payment may be subject to vesting based on the Participant’s continued service, provided that without the Participant’s consent, the vesting schedule shall not be less favorable to the Participant than the schedule under which the Award would have become vested or exercisable. For purposes of this Section 11.1(e), the Fair Market Value of any security shall be determined without regard to any vesting conditions that may apply to such security.
(f) The termination in its entirety of any outstanding Award, without payment of any consideration, that is not exercised in accordance with its terms upon or prior to consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Acquisition or Other Combination within a time specified by the Committee, in its discretion, for such exercise, whether or not such Award is then fully exercisable.
Immediately following an Acquisition or Other Combination, outstanding Awards shall terminate and cease to be outstanding, except to the extent such Awards, have been continued, assumed or substituted, as described in Sections 11.1(a), (b) and/or (c).
11.2 Substitution or Assumption of Awards by the Company. The Company, from time to time, also may substitute or assume outstanding awards granted by another entity, whether in connection with an acquisition of such other entity or otherwise, by either (a) granting an Award under this Plan in substitution of such other entity’s award or (b) assuming and/or converting such award as if it had been granted under this Plan if the terms of such assumed award could be applied to an Award granted under this Plan. Such substitution or assumption will be permissible if the holder of the substituted or assumed award would have been eligible to be granted an Award under this Plan if the other entity had applied the rules of this Plan to such grant. In the event the Company assumes an award granted by another entity, the terms and conditions of such award will remain unchanged (except that the exercise price and the number and nature of shares issuable upon exercise of any such option or stock appreciation right, or any award that is subject to Section 409A of the Code, will be adjusted appropriately pursuant to Section 424(a) or Section 409A of the Code). In the event the Company elects to grant a new Option or SAR in substitution for and rather than assuming an existing option or stock appreciation right, such new Option or SAR may be granted with a similarly adjusted Exercise Price and number of underlying Shares and such other changes approved by the Committee, subject to the consent of the Participant.
12. ADMINISTRATION.
12.1 Committee Authority. This Plan will be administered by the Committee. Subject to the general purposes, terms and conditions of this Plan, and to the direction of the Board, the Committee will have full power to implement and carry out this Plan. Without limitation, the Committee will have the authority to:
(a) construe and interpret this Plan, any Award Agreement and any other agreement or document executed pursuant to this Plan;
(b) prescribe, amend, expand, modify and rescind or terminate rules and regulations relating to this Plan;
(c) approve persons to receive Awards;
(d) determine the form and terms of Awards;
(e) determine the number of Shares or other consideration subject to Awards granted under this Plan;
(f) determine the Fair Market Value in good faith and interpret the applicable provisions of this Plan and the definition of Fair Market Value in connection with circumstances that impact the Fair Market Value, if necessary;
(g) determine whether Awards will be granted singly, in combination with, in tandem with, in replacement of, or as alternatives to, other Awards under this Plan or awards under any other incentive or compensation plan of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company;
(h) grant waivers of any conditions of this Plan or any Award;
(i) determine the terms of vesting, exercisability, settlement and payment of Awards to be granted pursuant to this Plan;
(j) correct any defect, supply any omission, or reconcile any inconsistency in this Plan, any Award, any Award Agreement or any Exercise Agreement;
(k) determine whether an Award has vested or become exercisable;
(l) extend the vesting period beyond a Participant’s Termination Date;
(m) adopt rules and/or procedures (including the adoption of any subplan under this Plan) relating to the operation and administration of the Plan to accommodate or facilitate requirements of local law and procedures outside of the United States;
(n) delegate any of the foregoing to a subcommittee consisting of one or more directors or executive officers pursuant to a specific delegation as may otherwise be permitted by applicable law;
(o) change the vesting schedule of Awards under the Plan prospectively in the event that the Participant’s service status changes between full and part time status in accordance with Company policies relating to work schedules and vesting of Awards; and
(p) make all other determinations necessary or advisable in connection with the administration of this Plan.
12.2 Standalone, Tandem and Substitute Awards. Awards granted under the Plan may, in the sole discretion of the Committee, be granted either alone or in addition to, in tandem with, or in substitution for, any other Award granted under the Plan. Awards granted in addition to or in tandem with other Awards may be granted either at the same time as or at a different time from the grant of such other Awards.
12.3 Committee Composition and Discretion. The Board may delegate full administrative authority over the Plan and Awards to a Committee consisting of at least one member of the Board (or such greater number as may then be required by applicable law). Unless in contravention of any express terms of this Plan or Award, any determination made by the Committee with respect to any Award will be made in its sole discretion either (a) at the time of grant of the Award, or (b) subject to Section 4.9 hereof, at any later time. Any such determination will be final and binding on the Company and on all persons having an interest in any Award under this Plan. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Committee may delegate to one or more directors or officers of the Company the authority to grant an Award under this Plan.
12.4 Nonexclusivity of the Plan. Neither the adoption of this Plan by the Board, the submission of this Plan to the stockholders of the Company for approval, nor any provision of this Plan will be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board to adopt such additional compensation arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the granting of stock options and other equity awards otherwise than under this Plan, and such arrangements may be either generally applicable or applicable only in specific cases.
12.5 Governing Law. This Plan and all agreements hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to that body of laws pertaining to conflict of laws.
13. EFFECTIVENESS, AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION OF THE PLAN.
13.1 Adoption and Stockholder Approval. This Plan will become effective on the date that it is adopted by the Board (the “Effective Date”). This Plan will be approved by the stockholders of the Company (excluding Shares issued pursuant to this Plan), consistent with applicable laws, within twelve (12) months before or after the Effective Date. Upon the Effective Date, the Committee may grant Awards pursuant to this Plan; provided, however, that: (a) if stockholder approval is not obtained consistent with this paragraph, at such time as timely stockholder approval is no longer possible, no Option or SAR may thereafter be exercised and any purchased shares will revert to the Company and be refunded in full; (b) no Option or SAR granted pursuant to an increase in the number of Shares approved by the Board shall be exercised prior to the time such increase has been approved by the stockholders of the Company; (c) in the event that initial stockholder approval is not obtained within the time period provided herein, all Awards for which only the exemption from California’s securities qualification requirements provided by Section 25102(o) can apply shall be canceled, any Shares issued pursuant to any such Award shall be canceled and any purchase of such Shares issued hereunder shall be rescinded; and (d) Awards (to which only the exemption from California’s securities qualification requirements provided by Section 25102(o) can apply) granted pursuant to an increase in the number of Shares approved by the Board which increase is not approved by stockholders within the time then required under Section 25102(o) shall be canceled, any Shares issued pursuant to any such Awards shall be canceled, and any purchase of Shares subject to any such Award shall be rescinded.
13.2 Term of Plan. Unless earlier terminated as provided herein, this Plan will automatically terminate ten (10) years after the Effective Date.
13.3 Amendment or Termination of Plan. Subject to Section 4.9 hereof, the Board may at any time (a) terminate or amend this Plan in any respect, including without limitation amendment of any form of Award Agreement or instrument to be executed pursuant to this Plan and (b) terminate any and all outstanding Options, SARs or RSUs upon a dissolution or liquidation of the Company, followed by the payment of creditors and the distribution of any remaining funds to the Company’s stockholders; provided, however, that the Board will not, without the approval of the stockholders of the Company, amend this Plan in any manner that requires such stockholder approval pursuant to Section 25102(o) or pursuant to the Code or the regulations promulgated under the Code as such provisions apply to ISO plans. The termination of the Plan, or any amendment thereof, shall not affect any Share previously issued or any Award previously granted under the Plan.
14. DEFINITIONS. For all purposes of this Plan, the following terms will have the following meanings.
“Acquisition,” for purposes of Section 11, means:
(a) any consolidation or merger in which the Company is a constituent entity or is a party in which the voting stock and other voting securities of the Company that are outstanding immediately prior to the consummation of such consolidation or merger represent, or are converted into, securities of the surviving entity of such consolidation or merger (or of any Parent of such surviving entity) that, immediately after the consummation of such consolidation or merger, together possess less than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of all voting securities of such surviving entity (or of any of its Parents, if any) that are outstanding immediately after the consummation of such consolidation or merger;
(b) a sale or other transfer by the holders thereof of outstanding voting stock and/or other voting securities of the Company possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of all outstanding voting securities of the Company, whether in one transaction or in a series of
related transactions, pursuant to an agreement or agreements to which the Company is a party and that has been approved by the Board, and pursuant to which such outstanding voting securities are sold or transferred to a single person or entity, to one or more persons or entities who are Affiliates of each other, or to one or more persons or entities acting in concert; or
(c) the sale, lease, transfer or other disposition, in a single transaction or series of related transactions, by the Company and/or any Subsidiary or Subsidiaries of the Company, of all or substantially all the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole (or, if substantially all of the assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole are held by one or more Subsidiaries, the sale or disposition (whether by consolidation, merger, conversion or otherwise) of such Subsidiaries of the Company), except where such sale, lease, transfer or other disposition is made to the Company or one or more wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following transactions shall not constitute an “Acquisition”: (1) the closing of the Company’s first public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement filed under the Securities Act or (2) any transaction the sole purpose of which is to change the state of incorporation of the Company or to create a holding company that will be owned in substantially the same proportions by the persons who held the Company’s securities immediately before such transaction.
“Affiliate” of a specified person means a person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified (where, for purposes of this definition, the term “control” (including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and “under common control with”) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.
“Award” means any award pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Plan, including any Option, Restricted Stock Unit, Stock Appreciation Right or Restricted Stock Award.
“Award Agreement” means, with respect to each Award, the executed written or electronic agreement between the Company and the Participant setting forth the terms and conditions of the Award as approved by the Committee. For purposes of the Plan, the Award Agreement may be accepted by a Participant via written, electronic or other means, subject to requirements under applicable law.
“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
“Cause” means Termination because of (a) Participant’s unauthorized misuse of the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company’s trade secrets or proprietary information, (b) Participant’s conviction of or plea of nolo contendere to a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, (c) Participant’s committing an act of fraud against the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company or (d) Participant’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of his or her duties that has had or will have a material adverse effect on the Company or Parent or Subsidiary of the Company’s reputation or business.
“Code” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
“Committee” means the committee created and appointed by the Board to administer this Plan, or if no committee is created and appointed, the Board.
“Company” means Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor corporation.
“Disability” means a Participant is unable to perform the duties of his or her customary position of employment by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months. The Committee may require such medical or other evidence as it deems necessary to judge the nature and permanency of the Participant’s condition.
“Exchange Act” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“Exercise Price” means the price per Share at which a holder of an Option or a SAR may purchase Shares issuable upon exercise of the Option or the SAR.
“Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of a Share determined as follows:
(a) if such Share is then publicly traded on a national securities exchange, its closing price on the date of determination on the principal national securities exchange on which the Share is listed or admitted to trading as reported in The Wall Street Journal;
(b) if such Share is publicly traded but is not listed or admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, the average of the closing bid and ask prices on the date of determination as reported by The Wall Street Journal (or as otherwise reported by any newspaper or other source as the Committee may determine); or
(c) if none of the foregoing is applicable to the valuation in question, by the Committee in good faith.
“Option” means an award of an option to purchase Shares pursuant to Section 4 of this Plan.
“Other Combination” for purposes of Section 11 means any (a) consolidation or merger in which the Company is a constituent entity and is not the surviving entity of such consolidation or merger or (b) any conversion of the Company into another form of entity; provided that such consolidation, merger or conversion does not constitute an Acquisition.
“Parent” of a specified entity means, any entity that, either directly or indirectly, owns or controls such specified entity, where for this purpose, “control” means the ownership of stock, securities or other interests that possess at least a majority of the voting power of such specified entity (including indirect ownership or control of such stock, securities or other interests).
“Participant” means a person who receives an Award under this Plan.
“Plan” means this 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.
“Purchase Price” means the price at which a Participant may purchase Restricted Stock pursuant to this Plan.
“Restricted Stock” means Shares purchased pursuant to a Restricted Stock Award under this Plan.
“Restricted Stock Award” means an award of Shares pursuant to Section 5 hereof.
“Restricted Stock Unit” or “RSU” means an award made pursuant to Section 6 hereof.
“Rule 701” means Rule 701 et seq. promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act.
“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Section 25102(o)” means Section 25102(o) of the California Corporations Code.
“Securities Act” means the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Shares” means shares of the Company’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share, reserved for issuance under this Plan, as adjusted pursuant to Sections 2.2 and 11 hereof, and any successor security.
“Stock Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means an award granted pursuant to Section 7 hereof.
“Subsidiary” means any entity (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain of entities beginning with the Company if each of the entities other than the last entity in the unbroken chain owns stock or other equity securities representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock or other equity securities in one of the other entities in such chain.
“Termination” or “Terminated” means, for purposes of this Plan with respect to a Participant, that the Participant has for any reason ceased to provide services as an employee, officer, director or consultant to the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company. A Participant will not be deemed to have ceased to provide services while the Participant is on a bona fide leave of absence, if such leave was approved by the Company in writing. In the case of an approved leave of absence, the Committee may make such provisions respecting crediting of service, including suspension of vesting of the Award (including pursuant to a formal policy adopted from time to time by the Company) it may deem appropriate. The Committee will have sole discretion to determine whether a Participant has ceased to provide services and the effective date on which the Participant ceased to provide services (the “Termination Date”).
“Unvested Shares” means “Unvested Shares” as defined in the Award Agreement for an Award.
“Vested Shares” means “Vested Shares” as defined in the Award Agreement for an Award.
OPTION GRANT NO. ___
NOTICE OF STOCK OPTION GRANT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
The Optionee named below (“Optionee”) has been granted an option (this “Option”) to purchase shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), of Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), pursuant to the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) on the terms, and subject to the conditions, described below and in the Stock Option Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A, including its annexes (the “Stock Option Agreement”).
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Optionee: |
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Maximum Number of Shares Subject to this Option (the “Shares”): |
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Exercise Price Per Share: |
$____ per share |
Date of Grant: |
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Vesting Start Date: |
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Exercise Schedule: |
This Option is immediately exercisable for all of the Shares, subject to the terms of the Stock Option Agreement |
Expiration Date: |
The date ten (10) years after the Date of Grant set forth above, subject to earlier expiration in the event of Termination as provided in Section 3 of the Stock Option Agreement. |
Tax Status of Option: (Check Only One Box): |
☐ Incentive Stock Option (To the fullest extent permitted by the Code) ☐ Nonqualified Stock Option. (If neither box is checked, this Option is a Nonqualified Stock Option). |
Vesting Schedule [EXAMPLE ONLY]: |
For so long as Optionee continuously provides services to the Company (or any Subsidiary or Parent of the Company) as an employee, officer, director, contractor or consultant, the Shares subject to this Option will vest as follows: (a) prior to the first one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date, none of the Shares will be vested; (b) [1/4th] of the Shares will be vested on the one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date; and (c) thereafter, this Option will become vested and exercisable with |
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respect to an additional [1/48th] of the Shares when Optionee completes each month of continuous service following the first one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date. |
General; Agreement: By signatures below, Optionee and the Company agree that this Option is granted under and governed by this Notice of Stock Option Grant (this “Grant Notice”) and by the provisions of the Plan and the Stock Option Agreement. The Plan and the Stock Option Agreement are incorporated herein by reference. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Plan or in the Stock Option Agreement, as applicable. By signing below, Optionee acknowledges receipt of a copy of this Grant Notice, the Plan and the Stock Option Agreement, represents that Optionee has carefully read and is familiar with their provisions, and hereby accepts the Option subject to all of their respective terms and conditions. Optionee acknowledges that there may be adverse tax consequences upon exercise of the Option or disposition of the Shares and that Optionee should consult a tax adviser prior to such exercise or disposition. Optionee agrees and acknowledges that the Vesting Schedule may change prospectively in the event that Optionee’s service status changes between full and part time status in accordance with Company policies relating to work schedules and vesting of equity awards.
Execution and Delivery: This Grant Notice may be executed and delivered electronically whether via the Company’s intranet or the Internet site of a third party or via email or any other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company. By Optionee’s acceptance hereof (whether written, electronic or otherwise), Optionee agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that in lieu of receiving documents in paper format, Optionee accepts the electronic delivery of any documents that the Company (or any third party the Company may designate), may deliver in connection with this grant (including the Plan, this Grant Notice, the Stock Option Agreement, the information described in Rules 701(e)(2), (3), (4) and (5) under the Securities Act (the “701 Disclosures”), account statements, or other communications or information) whether via the Company’s intranet or the Internet site of such third party or via email or such other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
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By /Signature: Typed Name: |
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Optionee Signature: |
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Optionee’s Name: |
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Title: |
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Attachment: Exhibit A – Stock Option Agreement |
Exhibit A
Stock Option Agreement
Exhibit A
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
This Stock Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of the date of grant (the “Date of Grant”) set forth on the Notice of Stock Option Grant attached as the facing page to this Agreement (the “Grant Notice”) by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the optionee named on the Grant Notice (“Optionee”). Capitalized terms not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) or in the Grant Notice, as applicable.
1.Grant of Option. The Company hereby grants to Optionee an option (this “Option”) to purchase up to the total number of shares of Common Stock of the Company, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), set forth in the Grant Notice as the Shares (the “Shares”) at the Exercise Price Per Share set forth in the Grant Notice (the “Exercise Price”), subject to all of the terms and conditions of the Grant Notice, this Agreement and the Plan. If designated as an Incentive Stock Option in the Grant Notice, this Option is intended to qualify as an incentive stock option (the “ISO”) within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
2.1Exercise Period of Option. This Option is considered to be “vested” with respect to any particular Shares when this Option is exercisable with respect to such Shares. This Option will become vested during its term as to portions of the Shares in accordance with the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice. Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan or this Agreement to the contrary, on or after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date.
2.2Vesting of Option Shares. Shares with respect to which this Option is vested and exercisable at a given time pursuant to the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice are “Vested Shares.” Shares with respect to which this Option is not vested and exercisable at a given time pursuant to the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice are “Unvested Shares.”
2.3Expiration. The Option shall expire on the Expiration Date set forth in the Grant Notice or earlier as provided in Section 3 below.
3.1Termination for Any Reason Except Death, Disability or Cause. Except as provided in subsection 3.2 in a case in which Optionee dies within three (3) months after Optionee is Terminated other than for Cause, if Optionee is Terminated for any reason (other than Optionee’s death or Disability or for Cause), then (a) on and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date and (b) this Option to the extent (and only to the extent) that it is exercisable with respect to Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, may be exercised by Optionee no later than three (3) months after Optionee’s Termination Date (but in no event may this Option be exercised after the Expiration Date).
3.2Termination Because of Death or Disability. If Optionee is Terminated because of Optionee’s death or Disability (or if Optionee dies within three (3) months of the date of Optionee’s
Termination for any reason other than for Cause), then (a) on and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date and (b) this Option, to the extent (and only to the extent) that it is exercisable with respect to Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, may be exercised by Optionee (or Optionee’s legal representative) no later than twelve (12) months after Optionee’s Termination Date, but in no event later than the Expiration Date. Any exercise of this Option beyond (i) three (3) months after the date Optionee ceases to be an employee when Optionee’s Termination is for any reason other than Optionee’s death or disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code; or (ii) twelve (12) months after the date Optionee ceases to be an employee when the termination is for Optionee’s disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, is deemed to be an NQSO.
3.3Termination for Cause. If Optionee is Terminated for Cause, then Optionee may exercise this Option, but only with respect to any Shares that are Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, and this Option shall expire on Optionee’s Termination Date, or at such later time and on such conditions as may be affirmatively determined by the Committee. On and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date.
3.4No Obligation to Employ. Nothing in the Plan or this Agreement shall confer on Optionee any right to continue in the employ of, or other relationship with, the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, or limit in any way the right of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company to terminate Optionee’s employment or other relationship at any time, with or without Cause.
4.1Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement. To exercise this Option, Optionee (or in the case of exercise after Optionee’s death or incapacity, Optionee’s executor, administrator, heir or legatee, as the case may be) must deliver to the Company an executed Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement in the form attached hereto as Annex A, or in such other form as may be approved by the Committee from time to time (the “Exercise Agreement”) and payment for the shares being purchased in accordance with this Agreement. The Exercise Agreement shall set forth, among other things, (i) Optionee’s election to exercise this Option, (ii) the number of Shares being purchased, (iii) any representations, warranties and agreements regarding Optionee’s investment intent and access to information as may be required by the Company to comply with applicable securities laws in connection with any exercise of this Option and (iv) any other agreements required by the Company. If someone other than Optionee exercises this Option, then such person must submit documentation reasonably acceptable to the Company verifying that such person has the legal right to exercise this Option and such person shall be subject to all of the restrictions contained herein as if such person were Optionee.
4.2Limitations on Exercise. This Option may not be exercised unless such exercise is in compliance with all applicable federal and state securities laws, as they are in effect on the date of exercise.
4.3Payment. The Exercise Agreement shall be accompanied by full payment of the Exercise Price for the shares being purchased in cash (by check, Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) or wire transfer), or where permitted by law:
(a)by cancellation of indebtedness of the Company owed to Optionee;
(b)by surrender of shares of the Company that are free and clear of all security interests, pledges, liens, claims or encumbrances and: (i) for which the Company has received “full payment of the purchase price” within the meaning of SEC Rule 144 (and, if such shares were purchased from the
Company by use of a promissory note, such note has been fully paid with respect to such shares) or (ii) that were obtained by Optionee in the public market;
(c)by participating in a formal cashless exercise program implemented by the Committee in connection with the Plan;
(d)provided that a public market for the Common Stock exists and subject to compliance with applicable law, by exercising as set forth below, through a “same day sale” commitment from Optionee and a broker-dealer whereby Optionee irrevocably elects to exercise this Option and to sell a portion of the Shares so purchased sufficient to pay the total Exercise Price, and whereby the broker-dealer irrevocably commits upon receipt of such Shares to forward the total Exercise Price directly to the Company; or
(e)by any combination of the foregoing or any other method of payment approved by the Committee that constitutes legal consideration for the issuance of Shares.
For avoidance of uncertainty: ACH transfers that have been received by the Company into its bank account designated for receipt of such transfers shall be deemed to have been received for all purposes of this Option as of the date on which such transfers were initiated from the Optionee’s account and made irrevocable by Optionee.
4.4Tax Withholding. Prior to the issuance of the Shares upon exercise of the Option, Optionee must pay or provide for foreign, federal, state and local income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account withholding and other tax-related items related to Optionee’s participation in the Plan and legally applicable to Optionee, including, as applicable, obligations of the Company (all the foregoing tax-related items, “Tax-Related Items”). If the Committee permits, Optionee may provide for payment of withholding taxes upon exercise of the Option by requesting that the Company retain the number of Shares with a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of taxes required to be withheld; or to arrange a mandatory “sell to cover” on Optionee’s behalf (without further authorization); but in no event will the Company withhold Shares or “sell to cover” if such withholding would result in adverse accounting consequences to the Company. In case of stock withholding or a sell to cover, the Company shall issue the net number of Shares to Optionee by deducting the Shares retained from the Shares issuable upon exercise. The Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering applicable minimum statutory withholding rates or other applicable statutory rates in Optionee’s country, including maximum applicable rates.
4.5Issuance of Shares. Provided that the Exercise Agreement and payment are in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Company, the Company shall issue the Shares issuable upon a valid exercise of this Option registered in the name of Optionee, Optionee’s authorized assignee, or Optionee’s legal representative, and shall deliver certificates representing the Shares with the appropriate legends affixed thereto.
5.Compliance with Laws and Regulations. The Plan and this Agreement are intended to comply with Section 25102(o) and Rule 701. Any provision of this Agreement that is inconsistent with Section 25102(o) or Rule 701 shall, without further act or amendment by the Company or the Committee, be reformed to comply with the requirements of Section 25102(o) and/or Rule 701. The exercise of this Option and the issuance and transfer of Shares shall be subject to compliance by the Company and Optionee with all applicable requirements of federal and state securities laws and with all applicable requirements of any stock exchange on which the Common Stock may be listed at the time of such issuance or transfer. Optionee understands that the Company is under no obligation to register or qualify the Shares with the SEC, any state securities commission or any stock exchange to effect such compliance.
6.Nontransferability of Option. This Option may not be transferred in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and, with respect to NQSOs, by instrument to a testamentary trust in which the options are to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor) or a revocable trust, or by gift to “immediate family” as that term is defined in 17 C.F.R. 240.16a-1(e), and may be exercised during the lifetime of Optionee only by Optionee or in the event of Optionee’s incapacity, by Optionee’s legal representative. The terms of this Option shall be binding upon the executors, administrators, successors and assigns of Optionee.
7.RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER.
7.1Disposition of Shares. Optionee hereby agrees that Optionee shall make no disposition of any of the Shares (other than as permitted by this Agreement and the Company’s Bylaws (the “Bylaws”)) unless and until:
(a)Optionee shall have notified the Company of the proposed disposition and provided a written summary of the terms and conditions of the proposed disposition;
(b)Optionee shall have complied with all requirements of this Agreement and the Bylaws applicable to the disposition of the Shares;
(c)Optionee shall have provided the Company with written assurances, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Company, that (i) the proposed disposition does not require registration of the Shares under the Securities Act or under any applicable state securities laws or (ii) all appropriate actions necessary for compliance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act or of any exemption from registration available under the Securities Act (including Rule 144) or applicable state securities laws have been taken; and
(d)Optionee shall have provided the Company with written assurances, in form and substance satisfactory to the Company, that the proposed disposition will not result in the contravention of any transfer restrictions applicable to the Shares pursuant to the provisions of the regulations promulgated under Section 25102(o), Rule 701 or under any other applicable securities laws or adversely affect the Company’s ability to rely on the exemption(s) from registration under the Securities Act or under any other applicable securities laws for the grant of the Option, the issuance of Shares thereunder or any other issuance of securities under the Plan.
7.2Restriction on Transfer. Optionee shall not transfer, assign, grant a lien or security interest in, pledge, hypothecate, encumber or otherwise dispose of any of the Shares which are subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws and the Company’s Right of First Refusal described below, except as permitted by this Agreement.
7.3Transferee Obligations. Each person (other than the Company) to whom the Shares are transferred by means of one of the permitted transfers specified in this Agreement must, as a condition precedent to the validity of such transfer, acknowledge in writing to the Company that such person is bound by the provisions of this Agreement and that the transferred Shares are subject to (i) the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws, (ii) the Company’s Right of First Refusal granted hereunder and (iii) the market stand-off provisions of Section 8 below, to the same extent such Shares would be so subject if retained by Optionee.
8.MARKET STANDOFF AGREEMENT. Optionee agrees that, subject to any early release provisions that apply pro rata to stockholders of the Company according to their holdings of Common Stock (determined on an as-converted into Common Stock basis), Optionee will not, for a period of up to one hundred eighty (180) days (plus up to an additional thirty five (35) days to the extent reasonably requested by the Company or such underwriter(s) to accommodate regulatory restrictions on the publication or other distribution of research reports or earnings releases by the Company, including NASD and NYSE
rules) following the effective date of the registration statement filed with the SEC relating to the initial underwritten sale of Common Stock of the Company to the public under the Securities Act (the “IPO”), directly or indirectly sell, offer to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock or securities convertible into Common Stock, except for: (i) transfers of Shares permitted under Section 9.6 hereof so long as such transferee furnishes to the Company and the managing underwriter their written consent to be bound by this Section 8 as a condition precedent to such transfer; and (ii) sales of any securities to be included in the registration statement for the IPO. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of this Section shall only apply to the IPO. The restricted period shall in any event terminate two (2) years after the closing date of the IPO. In order to enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company shall have the right to place restrictive legends on the certificates representing the Shares subject to this Section and to impose stop transfer instructions with respect to the Shares until the end of such period. Optionee further agrees to enter into any agreement reasonably required by the underwriters to implement the foregoing restrictions on transfer. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not apply to any registration of securities of the Company (a) under an employee benefit plan or (b) in a merger, consolidation, business combination or similar transaction.
9.COMPANY’S RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. Subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws, before any Shares held by Optionee or any transferee of such Shares (either sometimes referred to herein as the “Holder”) may be sold or otherwise transferred (including, without limitation, a transfer by gift or operation of law), the Company and/or its assignee(s) will have a right of first refusal to purchase the Shares to be sold or transferred (the “Offered Shares”) on the terms and conditions set forth in this Section (the “Right of First Refusal”).
9.1Notice of Proposed Transfer. The Holder of the Offered Shares will deliver to the Company a written notice (the “Notice”) stating: (i) the Holder’s bona fide intention to sell or otherwise transfer the Offered Shares; (ii) the name and address of each proposed purchaser or other transferee (the “Proposed Transferee”); (iii) the number of Offered Shares to be transferred to each Proposed Transferee; (iv) the bona fide cash price or other consideration for which the Holder proposes to transfer the Offered Shares (the “Offered Price”); and (v) that the Holder acknowledges this Notice is an offer to sell the Offered Shares to the Company and/or its assignee(s) pursuant to the Company’s Right of First Refusal at the Offered Price as provided for in this Agreement.
9.2Exercise of Right of First Refusal. At any time within thirty (30) days after the date of the Notice, the Company and/or its assignee(s) may, by giving written notice to the Holder, elect to purchase all (or, with the consent of the Holder, less than all) the Offered Shares proposed to be transferred to any one or more of the Proposed Transferees named in the Notice, at the purchase price, determined as specified below.
9.3Purchase Price. The purchase price for the Offered Shares purchased under this Section will be the Offered Price, provided that if the Offered Price consists of no legal consideration (as, for example, in the case of a transfer by gift) then the purchase price will be the fair market value of the Offered Shares as determined in good faith by the Committee. If the Offered Price includes consideration other than cash, then the value of the non-cash consideration, as determined in good faith by the Committee, will conclusively be deemed to be the cash equivalent value of such non-cash consideration.
9.4Payment. Payment of the purchase price for the Offered Shares will be payable, at the option of the Company and/or its assignee(s) (as applicable), by check or by cancellation of all or a portion of any outstanding purchase money indebtedness owed by the Holder to the Company (or to such assignee, in the case of a purchase of Offered Shares by such assignee) or by any combination thereof. The purchase price will be paid without interest within sixty (60) days after the Company’s receipt of the Notice, or, at the option of the Company and/or its assignee(s), in the manner and at the time(s) set forth in the Notice.
9.5Holder’s Right to Transfer. If all of the Offered Shares proposed in the Notice to be transferred to a given Proposed Transferee are not purchased by the Company and/or its assignee(s) as provided in this Section, then the Holder may sell or otherwise transfer such Offered Shares to each Proposed Transferee at the Offered Price or at a higher price, provided that (i) such sale or other transfer is consummated within ninety (90) days after the date of the Notice, (ii) any such sale or other transfer is effected in compliance with all applicable securities laws, and (iii) each Proposed Transferee agrees in writing that the provisions of this Section will continue to apply to the Offered Shares in the hands of such Proposed Transferee. If the Offered Shares described in the Notice are not transferred to each Proposed Transferee within such ninety (90) day period, then a new Notice must be given to the Company pursuant to which the Company will again be offered the Right of First Refusal before any Shares held by the Holder may be sold or otherwise transferred.
9.6Exempt Transfers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the following transfers of Shares will be exempt from the Right of First Refusal: (i) the transfer of any or all of the Shares during Optionee’s lifetime by gift or on Optionee’s death by will or intestacy to any member(s) of Optionee’s “Immediate Family” (as defined below) or to a trust for the benefit of Optionee and/or member(s) of Optionee’s Immediate Family, provided that each transferee or other recipient agrees in a writing satisfactory to the Company that the provisions of this Section will continue to apply to the transferred Shares in the hands of such transferee or other recipient; (ii) any transfer of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger, statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations or a conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity (except that the Right of First Refusal will continue to apply thereafter to such Shares, in which case the surviving corporation of such merger or consolidation or the resulting entity of such conversion shall succeed to the rights of the Company under this Section unless the agreement of merger or consolidation or conversion expressly otherwise provides); or (iii) any transfer of Shares pursuant to the winding up and dissolution of the Company. As used herein, the term “Immediate Family” will mean Optionee’s spouse, the lineal descendant or antecedent, father, mother, brother or sister, child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of Optionee or Optionee’s spouse, or the spouse of any of the above or Spousal Equivalent, as defined herein. As used herein, a person is deemed to be a “Spousal Equivalent” provided the following circumstances are true: (i) irrespective of whether or not Optionee and the Spousal Equivalent are the same sex, they are the sole spousal equivalent of the other for the last twelve (12) months, (ii) they intend to remain so indefinitely, (iii) neither are married to anyone else, (iv) both are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to contract, (v) they are not related by blood to a degree of closeness that which would prohibit legal marriage in the state in which they legally reside, (vi) they are jointly responsible for each other’s common welfare and financial obligations, and (vii) they reside together in the same residence for the last twelve (12) months and intend to do so indefinitely.
9.7Termination of Right of First Refusal. The Right of First Refusal will terminate as to all Shares: (i) on the effective date of the first sale of Common Stock of the Company to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act (other than a registration statement relating solely to the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to a business combination or an employee incentive or benefit plan); (ii) on any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger or statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations if the common stock of the surviving corporation or any direct or indirect parent corporation thereof is registered under the Exchange Act; or (iii) on any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity if the common equity (or comparable equity security) of entity resulting from such conversion is registered under the Exchange Act.
9.8Encumbrances on Shares. Optionee may grant a lien or security interest in, or pledge, hypothecate or encumber Shares only if each party to whom such lien or security interest is granted, or to whom such pledge, hypothecation or other encumbrance is made, agrees in a writing satisfactory to the Company that: (i) such lien, security interest, pledge, hypothecation or encumbrance will not adversely affect or impair the Right of First Refusal or the rights of the Company and/or its assignee(s) with respect
thereto and will not apply to such Shares after they are acquired by the Company and/or its assignees under this Section; and (ii) the provisions of this Agreement will continue to apply to such Shares in the hands of such party and any transferee of such party.
9.9Effect of Company Co-Sale Agreement. If Optionee is, or at any time hereafter becomes, a party to or otherwise bound by (i) the Company’s Amended and Restated Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Agreement dated as of April 24, 2020 among the Company and certain stockholders of the Company, as such may be amended and/or restated from time to time, and/or (ii) any other agreement that is a successor to or replacement of such agreement (collectively, the “Company Co-Sale Agreement”), then, in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of Section 8 hereof and/or this Section 9 and any provisions in the Company Co-Sale Agreement granting the Company and/or other security holders of the Company rights of first refusal and/or co-sale rights with respect to any or all of the Shares or imposing market stand-off restrictions, Optionee agrees with the Company that the terms and conditions of the Company Co-Sale Agreement shall apply, govern, supersede and prevail over (and in lieu of) the provisions of Section 8 hereof and/or of this Section 9 (as applicable) so long as the Company Co-Sale Agreement is in effect and Optionee is a party to or bound thereby. If the Company Co-Sale Agreement is no longer in effect or if Optionee is not a party to or bound thereby, then the provisions of this Section 9 shall apply in full force and effect until termination of the Right of First Refusal and the provisions of Section 8 hereof shall apply in full force and effect in accordance with its terms.
10.RIGHTS AS A STOCKHOLDER. Optionee shall not have any of the rights of a stockholder with respect to any Shares unless and until such Shares are issued to Optionee. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Optionee will have all of the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to the Shares from and after the date that Shares are issued to Optionee pursuant to, and in accordance with, the terms of the Exercise Agreement until such time as Optionee disposes of the Shares or the Company and/or its assignee(s) exercise(s) the Right of First Refusal. Upon an exercise of the Right of First Refusal, Optionee will have no further rights as a holder of the Shares so purchased upon such exercise, other than the right to receive payment for the Shares so purchased in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, and Optionee will promptly surrender the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares so purchased to the Company for transfer or cancellation.
11.ESCROW. As security for Optionee’s faithful performance of this Agreement, Optionee agrees, immediately upon receipt of the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares to deliver such certificate(s) to the Secretary of the Company or other designee of the Company (the “Escrow Holder”), who is hereby appointed to hold such certificate(s) in escrow and to take all such actions and to effectuate all such transfers and/or releases of such Shares as are in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Optionee and the Company agree that Escrow Holder will not be liable to any party to this Agreement (or to any other party) for any actions or omissions unless Escrow Holder is grossly negligent or intentionally fraudulent in carrying out the duties of Escrow Holder under this Agreement. Escrow Holder may rely upon any letter, notice or other document executed with any signature purported to be genuine and may rely on the advice of counsel and obey any order of any court with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and will not be liable for any act or omission taken by Escrow Holder in good faith reliance on such documents, the advice of counsel or a court order. The Shares will be released from escrow upon termination of the Right of First Refusal.
12.Company Co-Sale Agreement and Voting Agreement. As a material inducement and consideration for the Company to enter into this Agreement, Optionee hereby agrees that if, the Company requests Optionee to enter into and become a party to (a) the Company Co-Sale Agreement (and to subject the Shares to the rights of first refusal held by the Company and other Company investors thereunder and the co-sale rights of other investors thereunder) and/or (b) the Company Voting Agreement (pursuant to which Optionee would agree to vote all shares of Company stock held by Optionee for the election of directors and in favor of certain material transactions (such as mergers or sales of the Company), then Optionee will enter into such agreements and execute and deliver signature pages thereto (as requested by
the Company) in such capacities as the Company requests, at the time of exercising this Option and as a condition to such exercise or at any later time.
13.RESTRICTIVE LEGENDS AND STOP-TRANSFER ORDERS.
13.1Legends. Optionee understands and agrees that the Company will place the legends set forth below or similar legends on any stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares, together with any other legends that may be required by state or U.S. Federal securities laws, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, any other agreement between Optionee and the Company, or any agreement between Optionee and any third party (and any other legend(s) that the Company may become obligated to place on the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares under the terms of any agreement to which the Company is or may become bound or obligated):
(a)THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), OR UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF CERTAIN STATES. THESE SECURITIES ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERABILITY AND RESALE AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED OR RESOLD EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, PURSUANT TO REGISTRATION OR EXEMPTION THEREFROM. INVESTORS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THEY MAY BE REQUIRED TO BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISKS OF THIS INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD OF TIME. THE ISSUER OF THESE SECURITIES MAY REQUIRE AN OPINION OF COUNSEL IN FORM AND SUBSTANCE SATISFACTORY TO THE ISSUER TO THE EFFECT THAT ANY PROPOSED TRANSFER OR RESALE IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SECURITIES ACT AND ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS.
(b)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON RESALE AND TRANSFER, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL HELD BY THE ISSUER AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S) AS SET FORTH IN A STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. SUCH SALE AND TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL, ARE BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
(c)THE SHARES EVIDENCED HEREBY ARE SUBJECT TO A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL OPTION IN FAVOR OF THE CORPORATION AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S), AS PROVIDED IN THE BYLAWS OF THE CORPORATION, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION.
(d)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A MARKET STANDOFF RESTRICTION AS SET FORTH IN A CERTAIN STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. AS A RESULT OF SUCH AGREEMENT, THESE SHARES MAY NOT BE TRADED PRIOR TO 180 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFERINGS OF THE COMMON STOCK OF THE ISSUER HEREOF. SUCH RESTRICTION IS BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
Optionee agrees that if Optionee becomes a party to (i) the Company Co-Sale Agreement or (ii) (A) the Company’s Amended and Restated Voting Agreement dated as of April 24, 2020 among the Company and certain stockholders of the Company, as such may be amended and/or restated from time to time, and/or (B) any other voting agreement that is a successor to or replacement of such agreement (collectively, the “Company Voting Agreement”), then Optionee agrees that the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares
shall, in addition, bear any legends required under the Company Co-Sale Agreement and/or the Company Voting Agreement, as applicable.
13.2Stop-Transfer Instructions. Optionee agrees that, to ensure compliance with the restrictions imposed by this Agreement and the Bylaws, the Company may issue appropriate “stop-transfer” instructions to its transfer agent, if any, and if the Company transfers its own securities, it may make appropriate notations to the same effect in its own records.
13.3Refusal to Transfer. The Company will not be required (i) to transfer on its books any Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of the Bylaws or this Agreement or (ii) to treat as owner of such Shares, or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such Shares have been so transferred.
14.CERTAIN TAX CONSEQUENCES. Set forth below is a brief summary as of the Effective Date of the Plan of some of the federal tax consequences of exercise of the Option and disposition of the Shares. THIS SUMMARY IS NECESSARILY INCOMPLETE, AND THE TAX LAWS AND REGULATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. OPTIONEE SHOULD CONSULT A TAX ADVISER BEFORE EXERCISING THE OPTION OR DISPOSING OF THE SHARES.
14.1Exercise of ISO. If the Option qualifies as an ISO, there will be no regular federal income tax liability upon the exercise of the Option, although the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price will be treated as a tax preference item for federal alternative minimum tax purposes and may subject Optionee to the alternative minimum tax in the year of exercise.
14.2Exercise of Nonqualified Stock Option. If the Option does not qualify as an ISO, there may be a regular federal income tax liability upon the exercise of the Option. Optionee will be treated as having received compensation income (taxable at ordinary income tax rates) equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price. If Optionee is a current or former employee of the Company, the Company may be required to withhold from Optionee’s compensation or collect from Optionee and pay to the applicable taxing authorities an amount equal to a percentage of this compensation income at the time of exercise.
14.3Disposition of Shares. The following tax consequences may apply upon disposition of the Shares.
(a)Incentive Stock Options. If the Shares are held for more than twelve (12) months after the date of purchase of the Shares pursuant to the exercise of an ISO and are disposed of more than two (2) years after the Date of Grant, any gain realized on disposition of the Shares will be treated as long term capital gain for federal income tax purposes. If Shares purchased under an ISO are disposed of within the applicable one (1) year or two (2) year period, any gain realized on such disposition will be treated as compensation income (taxable at ordinary income rates in the year of the disposition) to the extent of the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price.
(b)Nonqualified Stock Options. If the Shares are held for more than twelve (12) months after the date of purchase of the Shares pursuant to the exercise of an NQSO, any gain realized on disposition of the Shares will be treated as long term capital gain.
15.1Interpretation. Any dispute regarding the interpretation of this Agreement shall be submitted by Optionee or the Company to the Committee for review. The resolution of such a dispute by the Committee shall be final and binding on the Company and Optionee.
15.2Entire Agreement. The Plan, the Grant Notice and the Exercise Agreement are each incorporated herein by reference. This Agreement, the Grant Notice, the Plan and the Exercise Agreement constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior undertakings and agreements with respect to such subject matter.
16.NOTICES. Any and all notices required or permitted to be given to a party pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement will be in writing and will be effective and deemed to provide such party sufficient notice under this Agreement on the earliest of the following: (i) at the time of personal delivery, if delivery is in person; (ii) at the time an electronic confirmation of receipt is received, if delivery is by email; (iii) at the time of transmission by facsimile, addressed to the other party at its facsimile number specified herein (or hereafter modified by subsequent notice to the parties hereto), with confirmation of receipt made by both telephone and printed confirmation sheet verifying successful transmission of the facsimile; (iv) one (1) business day after deposit with an express overnight courier for United States deliveries, or two (2) business days after such deposit for deliveries outside of the United States, with proof of delivery from the courier requested; or (v) three (3) business days after deposit in the United States mail by certified mail (return receipt requested) for United States deliveries. Any notice for delivery outside the United States will be sent by email, facsimile or by express courier. Any notice not delivered personally or by email will be sent with postage and/or other charges prepaid and properly addressed to Optionee at the last known address or facsimile number on the books of the Company, or at such other address or facsimile number as such other party may designate by one of the indicated means of notice herein to the other parties hereto or, in the case of the Company, to it at its principal place of business. Notices to the Company will be marked “Attention: Chief Financial Officer.” Notices by facsimile shall be machine verified as received.
17.SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. The Company may assign any of its rights under this Agreement including its rights to purchase Shares under the Right of First Refusal. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the Company. Subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth herein, this Agreement shall be binding upon Optionee and Optionee’s heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
18.GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware as such laws are applied to agreements between Delaware residents entered into and to be performed entirely within Delaware. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by a court of law to be illegal or unenforceable, then such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the other provisions will remain fully effective and enforceable.
19.Further Assurances. The parties agree to execute such further documents and instruments and to take such further actions as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.
20.Titles and Headings. The titles, captions and headings of this Agreement are included for ease of reference only and will be disregarded in interpreting or construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise specifically stated, all references herein to “sections” and “exhibits” will mean “sections” and “exhibits” to this Agreement.
21.Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered will be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
22.Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by any court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible given the intent of the parties hereto. If such clause or provision cannot be so enforced, such provision shall be stricken from this Agreement and the remainder of this Agreement shall be enforced as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable clause or provision had (to
the extent not enforceable) never been contained in this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, if the value of this Agreement based upon the substantial benefit of the bargain for any party is materially impaired, which determination as made by the presiding court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction shall be binding, then both parties agree to substitute such provision(s) through good faith negotiations.
* * * * *
Attachment: Annex A: Form of Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement
Annex A
FORM OF STOCK OPTION EXERCISE NOTICE AND AGREEMENT
STOCK OPTION EXERCISE NOTICE AND AGREEMENT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
*NOTE: You must sign this Notice before submitting it to Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) AND, if requested to do so by the Company, you must also sign the signature pages to the Company’s then-current Company Co-Sale Agreement and Company Voting Agreement (as those terms are defined in the Stock Option Agreement) before submitting this Notice to the Company.
Optionee Information: Please provide the following information about yourself (“Optionee”):
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Name: |
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Social Security Number: |
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Address: |
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Employee Number: |
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Email Address: |
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Option Information: Please provide this information on the option being exercised (the “Option”):
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Grant No. |
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Date of Grant: |
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Type of Stock Option: |
Option Price per Share: $____ |
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☐ Nonqualified (NQSO) |
Total number of shares of Common Stock of the Company subject to the Option: |
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☐ Incentive (ISO |
Exercise Information:
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Number of shares of Common Stock of the Company for which the Option is now being exercised [________________]. (These shares are referred to below as the “Purchased Shares.”) |
Total Exercise Price Being Paid for the Purchased Shares: $____________ |
Form of payment enclosed [check all that apply]: |
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Check for $____________, payable to “Avalyn Pharma Inc.” |
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Certificate(s) for ________________ shares of Common Stock of the Company. These shares will be valued as of the date this notice is received by the Company. [Requires Company consent.] |
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Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transfer in the amount of $___________. |
Agreements, Representations and Acknowledgments of Optionee: By signing this Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement, Optionee hereby agrees with, and represents to, the Company as follows:
Terms Governing. I acknowledge and agree with the Company that I am acquiring the Purchased Shares by exercise of this Option subject to all other terms and conditions of the Notice of Stock Option Grant and the Stock Option Agreement that govern the Option, including without limitation the terms of the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).
Investment Intent; Securities Law Restrictions. I represent and warrant to the Company that I am acquiring and will hold the Purchased Shares for investment for my account only, and not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any “distribution” of the Purchased Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). I understand that the Purchased Shares have not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a specific exemption from such registration requirement and that the Purchased Shares must be held by me indefinitely, unless they are subsequently registered under the Securities Act or I obtain an opinion of counsel (in form and substance satisfactory to the Company and its counsel) that registration is not required. I acknowledge that the Company is under no obligation to register the Purchased Shares under the Securities Act or under any other securities law.
Restrictions on Transfer: Rule 144. I will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of the Purchased Shares in violation of the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the rules promulgated thereunder (including Rule 144 under the Securities Act described below (“Rule 144”)) or of any other applicable securities laws. I am aware of Rule 144, which permits limited public resales of securities acquired in a non-public offering, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, which include (without limitation) that: (a) certain current public information about the Company is available; (b) the resale occurs only after the holding period required by Rule 144 has been met; (c) the sale occurs through an unsolicited “broker’s transaction;” and (d) the amount of securities being sold during any three-month period does not exceed specified limitations. I understand that the conditions for resale set forth in Rule 144 have not been satisfied and that the Company has no plans to satisfy these conditions in the foreseeable future.
Access to Information; Understanding of Risk in Investment. I acknowledge that I have received and had access to such information as I consider necessary or appropriate for deciding whether to invest in the Purchased Shares and that I had an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from the Company regarding the terms and conditions of the issuance of the Purchased Shares. I am aware that my investment in the Company is a speculative investment that has limited liquidity and is subject to the risk of complete loss. I am able, without impairing my financial condition, to hold the Purchased Shares for an indefinite period and to suffer a complete loss of my investment in the Purchased Shares.
Rights of First Refusal; Repurchase Options; Market Stand-off. I acknowledge that the Purchased Shares remain subject to the Company’s Right of First Refusal, the Company’s Repurchase Option (with respect to unvested Purchased Shares) and the market stand-off covenants (sometimes referred to as the “lock-up”), all in accordance with the applicable Notice of Stock Option Grant and the Stock Option Agreement that govern the Option
Restrictions on Transfer: Bylaws. I acknowledge that the Purchased Shares will be subject to the restrictions on transferability and resale set forth in the Company’s Bylaws as currently in effect.
Form of Ownership. I acknowledge that the Company has encouraged me to consult my own adviser to determine the form of ownership of the Purchased Shares that is appropriate for me. In the event that I choose to transfer my Purchased Shares to a trust, I agree to sign a Stock Transfer Agreement. In the event that I choose to transfer my Purchased Shares to a trust that is not an eligible revocable trust, I also acknowledge that the transfer will be treated as a “disposition” for tax purposes. As a result, the favorable ISO tax treatment will be unavailable and other unfavorable tax consequences may occur.
Investigation of Tax Consequences. I acknowledge that the Company has encouraged me to consult my own adviser to determine the tax consequences of acquiring the Purchased Shares at this time.
Other Tax Matters. I agree that the Company does not have a duty to design or administer the Plan or its other compensation programs in a manner that minimizes my tax liabilities. I will not make any claim against the Company or its Board, officers or employees related to tax liabilities arising from my options or my other compensation. In particular, I acknowledge that my options (including the Option) are exempt from Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code only if the exercise price per share is at least equal to the fair market value per share of the Common Stock at the time the option was granted by the Board. Since shares of the Common Stock are not traded on an established securities market, the determination of their fair market value was made by the Board and/or by an independent valuation firm retained by the Company. I acknowledge that there is no guarantee in either case that the Internal Revenue Service will agree with the valuation, and I will not make any claim against the Company or its Board of Directors, officers or employees in the event that the Internal Revenue Service asserts that the valuation was too low.
Spouse Consent. I agree to seek the consent of my spouse to the extent required by the Company to enforce the foregoing.
Agreement to Enter into Company Co-Sale Agreement and Company Voting Agreement. Pursuant to the Stock Option Agreement, if requested to do so by the Company, I agree to enter into and execute the then-current Company Co-Sale Agreement and/or the then-current Company Voting Agreement concurrently with my exercise of the Option or at any other time I am requested to do so by the Company. I acknowledge that by entering into the Company Co-Sale Agreement I will be subjecting the Purchased Shares to the rights of first refusal, co-sale rights and all the other provisions of the Company Co-Sale Agreement and that by entering into the Voting Agreement I will be subjected to voting and other obligations and covenants regarding all Company shares I own and all other provisions of the Company Voting Agreement, in addition to the right of first refusal, repurchase option and market stand-off provisions described above.
Tax Withholding. As a condition of exercising this Option, I agree to make adequate provision for foreign, federal, state or other tax withholding obligations, if any, which arise upon the grant, vesting or exercise of this Option, or disposition of the Purchased Shares, whether by withholding, direct payment to the Company, or otherwise.
IMPORTANT NOTE: UNVESTED PURCHASED SHARES ARE SUBJECT TO REPURCHASE BY THE COMPANY. PLEASE CONSULT WITH YOUR TAX ADVISER CONCERNING THE ADVISABILITY OF FILING AN 83(b) ELECTION WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE WHICH MUST BE FILED WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE PURCHASE OF SHARES TO BE EFFECTIVE.
A form of Election under Section 83(b) is attached hereto as Exhibit 1 for reference. Unless an 83(b) election is timely filed with the Internal Revenue Service (and, if necessary, the proper state taxing authorities), electing pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (and similar state tax provisions, if applicable) to be taxed currently on any difference between the purchase price of the Unvested Purchased Shares and their fair market value on the date of purchase, there may be a recognition of taxable income (including, where applicable, alternative minimum taxable income) to you, measured by the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Unvested Purchased Shares at the time they cease to be Unvested Purchased Shares, over the purchase price of the Unvested Purchased Shares.
The undersigned hereby executes and delivers this Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement and agrees to be bound by its terms.
Optionee’s Name:
Attachments:
Exhibit 1 – Section 83(b) Election Form
[Signature Page to Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement]
EXHIBIT 1
SECTION 83(b) ELECTION
ELECTION UNDER SECTION 83(b) OF THE
INTERNAL REVENUE CODE
The undersigned Taxpayer hereby elects, pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, to include the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the property described below at the time of transfer over the amount paid for such property, as compensation for services in the calculation of: (1) regular gross income; (2) alternative minimum taxable income; or (3) disqualifying disposition gross income, as the case may be.
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TAXPAYER’S NAME: |
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TAXPAYER’S ADDRESS: |
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SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: |
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2.The property with respect to which the election is made is described as follows: _______ shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, of Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), which were transferred upon exercise of an option by the Company, which is Taxpayer’s employer or the corporation for whom Taxpayer performs services.
3.The date on which the shares were transferred was pursuant to the exercise of the option was ____________________, _____ and this election is made for calendar year ____.
4.The shares received upon exercise of the option are subject to the following restrictions: The Company may repurchase all or a portion of the shares at Taxpayer’s original purchase price per share, under certain conditions at the time of Taxpayer’s termination of employment or services.
5.The fair market value of the shares (without regard to restrictions other than restrictions which by their terms will never lapse) was $_____ per share x _______ shares = $_______ at the time of exercise of the option.
6.The amount paid for such shares upon exercise of the option was $____ per share x ________ shares = $________.
7.Taxpayer has submitted a copy of this statement to the Company.
8.The amount to include in gross income is $______________. [The result of the amount reported in Item 5 minus the amount reported in Item 6.]
THIS ELECTION MUST BE FILED WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (“IRS”), AT THE OFFICE WHERE TAXPAYER FILES ANNUAL INCOME TAX RETURNS, WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF TRANSFER OF THE SHARES, AND MUST ALSO BE FILED WITH TAXPAYER’S INCOME TAX RETURNS FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR. THE ELECTION CANNOT BE REVOKED WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE IRS.
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Dated: |
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Taxpayer’s Signature: |
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STOCK OPTION EXERCISE NOTICE AND AGREEMENT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
*NOTE: You must sign this Notice before submitting it to Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) AND, if requested to do so by the Company, you must also sign the signature pages to the Company’s then-current Company Co-Sale Agreement and Company Voting Agreement (as those terms are defined in the Stock Option Agreement) before submitting this Notice to the Company.
Optionee Information: Please provide the following information about yourself (“Optionee”):
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Name: |
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Social Security Number: |
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Address: |
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Employee Number: |
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Email Address: |
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Option Information: Please provide this information on the option being exercised (the “Option”):
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Grant No. |
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Date of Grant: |
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Type of Stock Option: |
Option Price per Share: $____ |
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☐ Nonqualified (NQSO) |
Total number of shares of Common Stock of the Company subject to the Option: |
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☐ Incentive (ISO) |
Exercise Information:
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Number of shares of Common Stock of the Company for which the Option is now being exercised [________________]. (These shares are referred to below as the “Purchased Shares.”) |
Total Exercise Price Being Paid for the Purchased Shares: $____________ |
Form of payment enclosed [check all that apply]: |
☐ |
Check for $____________, payable to “Avalyn Pharma Inc.” |
☐ |
Certificate(s) for ________________ shares of Common Stock of the Company. These shares will be valued as of the date this notice is received by the Company. [Requires Company consent.] |
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Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transfer in the amount of $___________. |
Agreements, Representations and Acknowledgments of Optionee: By signing this Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement, Optionee hereby agrees with, and represents to, the Company as follows:
Terms Governing. I acknowledge and agree with the Company that I am acquiring the Purchased Shares by exercise of this Option subject to all other terms and conditions of the Notice of Stock Option Grant and the Stock Option Agreement that govern the Option, including without limitation the terms of the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).
Investment Intent; Securities Law Restrictions. I represent and warrant to the Company that I am acquiring and will hold the Purchased Shares for investment for my account only, and not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any “distribution” of the Purchased Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). I understand that the Purchased Shares have not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a specific exemption from such registration requirement and that the Purchased Shares must be held by me indefinitely, unless they are subsequently registered under the Securities Act or I obtain an opinion of counsel (in form and substance satisfactory to the Company and its counsel) that registration is not required. I acknowledge that the Company is under no obligation to register the Purchased Shares under the Securities Act or under any other securities law.
Restrictions on Transfer: Rule 144. I will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of the Purchased Shares in violation of the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the rules promulgated thereunder (including Rule 144 under the Securities Act described below (“Rule 144”)) or of any other applicable securities laws. I am aware of Rule 144, which permits limited public resales of securities acquired in a non-public offering, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, which include (without limitation) that: (a) certain current public information about the Company is available; (b) the resale occurs only after the holding period required by Rule 144 has been met; (c) the sale occurs through an unsolicited “broker’s transaction”; and (d) the amount of securities being sold during any three-month period does not exceed specified limitations. I understand that the conditions for resale set forth in Rule 144 have not been satisfied and that the Company has no plans to satisfy these conditions in the foreseeable future.
Access to Information; Understanding of Risk in Investment. I acknowledge that I have received and had access to such information as I consider necessary or appropriate for deciding whether to invest in the Purchased Shares and that I had an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from the Company regarding the terms and conditions of the issuance of the Purchased Shares. I am aware that my investment in the Company is a speculative investment that has limited liquidity and is subject to the risk of complete loss. I am able, without impairing my financial condition, to hold the Purchased Shares for an indefinite period and to suffer a complete loss of my investment in the Purchased Shares.
Rights of First Refusal; Market Stand-off. I acknowledge that the Purchased Shares remain subject to the Company’s Right of First Refusal and the market stand-off covenants (sometimes referred to as the “lock-up”), all in accordance with the applicable Notice of Stock Option Grant and the Stock Option Agreement that govern the Option.
Restrictions on Transfer: Bylaws. I acknowledge that the Purchased Shares will be subject to the restrictions on transferability and resale set forth in the Company’s Bylaws as currently in effect.
Form of Ownership. I acknowledge that the Company has encouraged me to consult my own adviser to determine the form of ownership of the Purchased Shares that is appropriate for me. In the event that I choose to transfer my Purchased Shares to a trust, I agree to sign a Stock Transfer Agreement. In the event that I choose to transfer my Purchased Shares to a trust that is not an eligible revocable trust, I also acknowledge that the transfer will be treated as a “disposition” for tax purposes. As a result, the favorable ISO tax treatment will be unavailable and other unfavorable tax consequences may occur.
Investigation of Tax Consequences. I acknowledge that the Company has encouraged me to consult my own adviser to determine the tax consequences of acquiring the Purchased Shares at this time.
Other Tax Matters. I agree that the Company does not have a duty to design or administer the Plan or its other compensation programs in a manner that minimizes my tax liabilities. I will not make any claim
against the Company or its Board, officers or employees related to tax liabilities arising from my options or my other compensation. In particular, I acknowledge that my options (including the Option) are exempt from section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code only if the exercise price per share is at least equal to the fair market value per share of the Common Stock at the time the option was granted by the Board. Since shares of the Common Stock are not traded on an established securities market, the determination of their fair market value was made by the Board and/or by an independent valuation firm retained by the Company. I acknowledge that there is no guarantee in either case that the Internal Revenue Service will agree with the valuation, and I will not make any claim against the Company or its Board, officers or employees in the event that the Internal Revenue Service asserts that the valuation was too low.
Spouse Consent. I agree to seek the consent of my spouse to the extent required by the Company to enforce the foregoing.
Agreement to Enter into Company Co-Sale Agreement and Company Voting Agreement. Pursuant to the Stock Option Agreement, if requested to do so by the Company, I agree to enter into and execute the then-current Company Co-Sale Agreement and/or the then-current Company Voting Agreement concurrently with my exercise of the Option or at any other time I am requested to do so by the Company. I acknowledge that by entering into the Company Co-Sale Agreement I will be subjecting the Purchased Shares to the rights of first refusal, co-sale rights and all the other provisions of the Company Co-Sale Agreement and that by entering into the Voting Agreement I will be subjected to voting and other obligations and covenants regarding all Company shares I own and all other provisions of the Company Voting Agreement, in addition to the right of first refusal, repurchase option and market stand-off provisions described above.
Tax Withholding. As a condition of exercising this Option, I agree to make adequate provision for foreign, federal, state or other tax withholding obligations, if any, which arise upon the grant, vesting or exercise of this Option, or disposition of the Purchased Shares, whether by withholding, direct payment to the Company, or otherwise.
The undersigned hereby executes and delivers this Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement and agrees to be bound by its terms.
Optionee’s Name:
[Signature Page to Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement]
OPTION GRANT NO.
GLOBAL NOTICE OF STOCK OPTION GRANT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
The Optionee named below (“Optionee”) has been granted an option (this “Option”) to purchase shares of Common Stock, USD $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), of Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), pursuant to the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time (the “Plan”) on the terms, and subject to the conditions, described below and in the Global Stock Option Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A, including its annexes (in the case of Annex B, to the extent applicable to the Optionee from time to time as determined by the Company in its sole discretion) (the “Stock Option Agreement”).
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Optionee: |
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Maximum Number of Shares Subject to this Option (the “Shares”): |
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Exercise Price Per Share: |
$_____ per share |
Date of Grant: |
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Vesting Start Date: |
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Exercise Schedule: |
This Option will become exercisable during its term with respect to portions of the Shares in accordance with the Vesting Schedule set forth below. |
Expiration Date: |
The date ten (10) years after the Date of Grant set forth above, subject to earlier expiration in the event of Termination as provided in Section 3 of the Stock Option Agreement. |
U.S. Tax Status of Option: (Check Only One Box): |
☐ Incentive Stock Option (To the fullest extent permitted by the Code) ☐ Nonqualified Stock Option. (If neither box is checked, this Option is a Nonqualified Stock Option). |
Vesting Schedule[EXAMPLE ONLY]: |
For so long as Optionee continuously provides services to the Company (or any Subsidiary or Parent of the Company) as an employee, officer, director, contractor or consultant, this Option will vest (that is, become exercisable) with respect to the Shares as follows: (a) prior to the first one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date this Option will not be vested or exercisable as to any of the Shares; (b) this Option will become vested and exercisable with respect to [1/4th] of the Shares on the one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date; and (c) thereafter, this Option will become vested and exercisable with respect to an additional [1/48th] of the Shares when Optionee completes each month of continuous service following the first one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date. |
General; Agreement: By their signatures below, Optionee and the Company agree that this Option is granted under and governed by this Global Notice of Stock Option Grant (this “Grant Notice”) and by the provisions of the Plan and the Stock Option Agreement (including its annexes). The Plan and the Stock
Option Agreement (including its annexes) are incorporated herein by reference. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Plan or in the Stock Option Agreement (including its annexes), as applicable. By signing below, Optionee acknowledges receipt of a copy of this Grant Notice, the Plan and the Stock Option Agreement (including its annexes) and represents that Optionee has carefully read and is familiar with their provisions, and hereby accepts the Option subject to all of their respective terms and conditions. Non-U.S. taxpayers should consult with their own tax advisor generally about the taxation of the Option. The Option grant shall be subject to any additional or replacement terms and conditions set forth in Annex B attached to the Stock Option Agreement, which is attached to and made a part of this Notice. Optionee acknowledges that there may be adverse tax consequences upon grant or exercise of the Option or disposition of the Shares and that Optionee should consult a tax adviser prior to such exercise or disposition. Optionee agrees and acknowledges that the Vesting Schedule may change prospectively in the event that Optionee’s service status changes between full and part time status in accordance with Company policies relating to work schedules and vesting of equity awards.
Execution and Delivery: This Grant Notice may be executed and delivered electronically whether via the Company’s intranet or the Internet site of a third party or via email or any other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company. By Optionee’s acceptance hereof (whether written, electronic or otherwise), Optionee agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that in lieu of receiving documents in paper format, Optionee accepts the electronic delivery of any documents that the Company (or any third party the Company may designate), may deliver in connection with this grant (including the Plan, this Grant Notice, the Stock Option Agreement, the information described in Rules 701(e)(2), (3), (4) and (5) under the Securities Act (the “701 Disclosures”), account statements, or other communications or information) whether via the Company’s intranet or the Internet site of such third party or via email or such other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company.
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
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Attachment: Exhibit A: Global Stock Option Agreement
Exhibit A
Global Stock Option Agreement
Exhibit A
GLOBAL STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
This Global Stock Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of the date of grant (the “Date of Grant”) set forth on the Global Notice of Stock Option Grant attached as the facing page to this Agreement (the “Grant Notice”) by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the optionee named on the Grant Notice (the “Optionee”). Capitalized terms not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time (the “Plan”), or in the Grant Notice, as applicable. This Agreement shall be subject to any additional or replacement terms and conditions set forth in Annex B, to the extent applicable to Optionee from time to time.
1.Grant of Option. The Company hereby grants to Optionee an option (this “Option”) to purchase up to the total number of shares of Common Stock of the Company, USD $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), set forth in the Grant Notice as the Shares (the “Shares”) at the Exercise Price Per Share set forth in the Grant Notice (the “Exercise Price”), subject to all of the terms and conditions of the Grant Notice, this Agreement and the Plan. If designated as an Incentive Stock Option for U.S. tax purposes in the Grant Notice, this Option is intended to qualify as an incentive stock option (the “ISO”) within the meaning of Section 422 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
2.1Exercise Period of Option. This Option is considered to be “vested” with respect to any particular Shares when this Option is exercisable with respect to such Shares. This Option will become vested during its term as to portions of the Shares in accordance with the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice. Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan or this Agreement to the contrary, on or after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date.
2.2Vesting of Option Shares. Shares with respect to which this Option is vested and exercisable at a given time pursuant to the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice are “Vested Shares.” Shares with respect to which this Option is not vested and exercisable at a given time pursuant to the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice are “Unvested Shares.”
2.3Expiration. The Option shall expire on the Expiration Date set forth in the Grant Notice or earlier as provided in Section 3 below.
3.1Termination for Any Reason Except Death, Disability or Cause. Except as provided in subsection 3.2 in a case in which Optionee dies within three (3) months after Optionee is Terminated other than for Cause, if Optionee is Terminated for any reason (other than Optionee’s death or Disability or for Cause), then (a) on and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date and (b) this Option to the extent (and
only to the extent) that it is exercisable with respect to Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, may be exercised by Optionee no later than three (3) months after Optionee’s Termination Date (but in no event may this Option be exercised after the Expiration Date).
3.2Termination Because of Death or Disability. If Optionee is Terminated because of Optionee’s death or Disability (or if Optionee dies within three (3) months of the date of Optionee’s Termination for any reason other than for Cause), then (a) on and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date and (b) this Option, to the extent (and only to the extent) that it is exercisable with respect to Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, may be exercised by Optionee (or Optionee’s legal representative) no later than twelve (12) months after Optionee’s Termination Date, but in no event later than the Expiration Date. Any exercise of this Option beyond (i) three (3) months after the date Optionee ceases to be an employee when Optionee’s Termination is for any reason other than Optionee’s death or disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code; or (ii) twelve (12) months after the date Optionee ceases to be an employee when the termination is for Optionee’s disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, is deemed to be an NQSO.
3.3Termination for Cause. If Optionee is Terminated for Cause, then Optionee may exercise this Option, but only with respect to any Shares that are Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, and this Option shall expire on Optionee’s Termination Date, or at such later time and on such conditions as may be affirmatively determined by the Committee. On and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date.
3.4No Obligation to Employ. Nothing in the Plan or this Agreement shall confer on Optionee any right to continue in the employ of, or other relationship with, the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, or limit in any way the right of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company to terminate Optionee’s employment or other relationship at any time, with or without Cause.
4.1Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement. To exercise this Option, Optionee (or in the case of exercise after Optionee’s death or incapacity, Optionee’s executor, administrator, heir or legatee, as the case may be) must deliver to the Company an executed Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement in the form attached hereto as Annex A, or in such other form as may be approved by the Committee from time to time (the “Exercise Agreement”) and payment for the shares being purchased in accordance with this Agreement. The Exercise Agreement shall set forth, among other things, (i) Optionee’s election to exercise this Option, (ii) the number of Shares being purchased, (iii) any representations, warranties and agreements regarding Optionee’s investment intent and access to information as may be required by the Company to comply with applicable laws in connection with any exercise of this Option and (iv) any other agreements required by the Company. If someone other than Optionee exercises this Option, then such person must submit documentation reasonably acceptable to the Company verifying that such person has the legal right to exercise this Option and such person shall be subject to all of the restrictions contained herein as if such person were Optionee.
4.2Limitations on Exercise. This Option may not be exercised unless such exercise is in compliance with all applicable foreign, federal, and state laws, as they are in effect on the date of exercise.
4.3Payment. The Exercise Agreement shall be accompanied by full payment of the Exercise Price for the shares being purchased in cash (by check, Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) or wire transfer) (in any case, in U.S. dollars), or where permitted by law:
(a)by cancellation of indebtedness of the Company owed to Optionee;
(b)by surrender of shares of the Company that are free and clear of all security interests, pledges, liens, claims or encumbrances and: (i) for which the Company has received “full payment of the purchase price” within the meaning of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Rule 144 (and, if such shares were purchased from the Company by use of a promissory note, such note has been fully paid with respect to such shares) or (ii) that were obtained by Optionee in the public market;
(c)by participating in a formal cashless exercise program implemented by the Committee in connection with the Plan;
(d)provided that a public market for the Common Stock exists and subject to compliance with applicable law, by exercising as set forth below, through a “same day sale” commitment from Optionee and a broker-dealer whereby Optionee irrevocably elects to exercise this Option and to sell a portion of the Shares so purchased sufficient to pay the total Exercise Price, and whereby the broker-dealer irrevocably commits upon receipt of such Shares to forward the total Exercise Price directly to the Company; or
(e)by any combination of the foregoing or any other method of payment approved by the Committee that constitutes legal consideration for the issuance of Shares.
For avoidance of uncertainty: ACH transfers that have been successfully received by the Company into its bank account designated for receipt of such transfers shall be deemed to have been received for all purposes of this Option as of the date on which such transfers were initiated from the Optionee’s account and made irrevocable by Optionee.
4.4Tax Withholding. As a condition to the exercise of this Option, Optionee must pay or make adequate provision for all applicable foreign, federal, state, and local income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account, withholding and other tax-related items related to the Option and Optionee’s participation in the Plan and legally applicable to Optionee, including, as applicable, obligations of the Company or, if different, Optionee’s employer (the “Employer”) (all the foregoing tax-related items, “Tax-Related Items”). If the Committee permits, and if permitted under applicable law, Optionee may provide for payment of withholding taxes upon exercise of the Option by requesting that the Company retain the number of Shares with a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of taxes required to be withheld; or to arrange a mandatory “sell to cover” on Optionee’s behalf (without further authorization); but in no event will the Company withhold Shares or “sell to cover” if such withholding would result in adverse accounting consequences to the Company. In case of stock withholding or a sell to cover, the Company shall issue the net number of Shares to Optionee by deducting the Shares retained from the Shares issuable upon exercise. The Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering applicable minimum statutory withholding rates or other applicable statutory rates in Optionee’s country, including maximum applicable rates.
4.5Issuance of Shares. Provided that the Exercise Agreement and payment or provision for Tax-Related Items are in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Company, the Company shall issue the Shares issuable upon a valid exercise of this Option registered in the name of Optionee, Optionee’s authorized assignee, or Optionee’s legal representative, and shall deliver certificates representing the Shares with the appropriate legends affixed thereto.
5.Compliance with Laws and Regulations.
5.1General. The Plan and this Agreement are intended to comply with Section 25102(o) and Rule 701. Any provision of this Agreement that is inconsistent with Section 25102(o) or Rule 701 shall, without further act or amendment by the Company or the Committee, be reformed to comply with the requirements of Section 25102(o) and/or Rule 701. The exercise of this Option and the issuance and transfer of Shares shall be subject to compliance by the Company and Optionee with all applicable requirements of foreign, federal, and state laws and with all applicable requirements of any stock exchange on which the Common Stock may be listed at the time of such issuance or transfer. Optionee understands that the Company is under no obligation to register or qualify the Shares with the SEC, any state securities commission or any stock exchange to effect such compliance.
5.2Non-U.S. Optionees. If Optionee’s country of residence is other than the United States, Optionee makes the following additional representations, warranties and agreements:
(a)Optionee is not a U.S. Person as defined in Rule 902(k) of Regulation S under the Securities Act. The offer and sale of the Shares to such Optionee was made in an offshore transaction (as defined in Rule 902(h) of Regulation S), no directed selling efforts (as defined in Rule 902(c) of Regulation S) were made in the United States, and the Optionee is not acquiring the Shares for the account or benefit of any U.S. Person;
(b)Optionee will not, during the one-year restriction period applicable to the Shares included in the legend set forth in Section 13.3(b) below (the “Restricted Period”) and on any certificate representing the Shares, offer or sell any of the foregoing securities (or create or maintain any derivative position equivalent thereto) in the United States, to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. Person or other than in accordance with Regulation S; and
(c)Optionee will, after the expiration of the applicable Restricted Period, offer, sell, pledge or otherwise transfer the Shares (or create or maintain any derivative position equivalent thereto) only pursuant to registration under the Securities Act or any available exemption therefrom and, in any case, in accordance with applicable state securities laws.
(d)Optionee acknowledges and agrees that the Company shall not register the transfer of the Shares in violation of this Agreement, the Plan or any of the restrictions set forth herein or therein.
6.Nontransferability of Option. This Option may not be transferred in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and, with respect to NQSOs, by instrument to a testamentary trust in which the options are to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor) or a revocable trust, or by gift to “immediate family” as that term is defined in 17 C.F.R. 240.16a-1(e), and may be exercised during the lifetime of Optionee only by Optionee or in the event of Optionee’s incapacity, by Optionee’s legal representative. The terms of this Option shall be binding upon the executors, administrators, successors and assigns of Optionee.
7.RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER.
7.1Disposition of Shares. Optionee hereby agrees that Optionee shall make no disposition of any of the Shares (other than as permitted by this Agreement and the Company’s Bylaws (the “Bylaws”)) unless and until:
(a)Optionee shall have notified the Company of the proposed disposition and provided a written summary of the terms and conditions of the proposed disposition;
(b)Optionee shall have complied with all requirements of this Agreement and the Bylaws applicable to the disposition of the Shares;
(c)Optionee shall have provided the Company with written assurances, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Company, that (i) the proposed disposition does not require registration of the Shares under the Securities Act or under any applicable laws or (ii) all appropriate actions necessary for compliance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act or of any exemption from registration available under the Securities Act (including Rule 144) or applicable laws have been taken; and
(d)Optionee shall have provided the Company with written assurances, in form and substance satisfactory to the Company, that the proposed disposition will not result in the contravention of any transfer restrictions applicable to the Shares pursuant to the provisions of the regulations promulgated under Section 25102(o), Rule 701 or under any other applicable securities laws or adversely affect the Company’s ability to rely on the exemption(s) from registration under the Securities Act or under any other applicable laws for the grant of the Option, the issuance of Shares thereunder or any other issuance of securities under the Plan.
7.2Restriction on Transfer. Optionee shall not transfer, assign, grant a lien or security interest in, pledge, hypothecate, encumber or otherwise dispose of any of the Shares which are subject to restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws and the Company’s Right of First Refusal described below, except as permitted by this Agreement.
7.3Transferee Obligations. Each person (other than the Company) to whom the Shares are transferred by means of one of the permitted transfers specified in this Agreement must, as a condition precedent to the validity of such transfer, acknowledge in writing to the Company that such person is bound by the provisions of this Agreement and that the transferred Shares are subject to (i) any restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws, (ii) the Company’s Right of First Refusal granted hereunder and (iii) the market stand-off provisions of Section 8 below, to the same extent such Shares would be so subject if retained by Optionee.
8.MARKET STANDOFF AGREEMENT. Optionee agrees that, subject to any early release provisions that apply pro rata to stockholders of the Company according to their holdings of Common Stock (determined on an as-converted into Common Stock basis), Optionee will not, for a period of up to one hundred eighty (180) days (plus up to an additional thirty five (35) days to the extent reasonably requested by the Company or such underwriter(s) to accommodate regulatory restrictions on the publication or other distribution of research reports or earnings releases by the Company, including NASD and NYSE rules) following the effective date of the registration statement filed with the SEC relating to the initial underwritten sale of Common Stock of the Company to the public under the Securities Act (the “IPO”), directly or indirectly sell, offer to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock or securities convertible into Common Stock, except for: (i) transfers of Shares permitted under Section 9.6 hereof so long as such transferee furnishes to the Company and the managing underwriter their written consent to be bound by this Section 8 as a condition precedent to such transfer; and (ii) sales of any securities to be included in the registration statement for the IPO. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of this Section shall only apply to the IPO. The restricted period shall in any event terminate two (2) years after the closing date of the IPO. In order to enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company shall have the right to place restrictive legends on the certificates representing the Shares subject to this Section and to impose stop transfer instructions with respect to the Shares until the end of such period. Optionee further agrees to enter into any agreement reasonably required by the underwriters to implement the foregoing restrictions on transfer. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not apply to any registration of securities of the Company (a) under an employee benefit plan or (b) in a merger, consolidation, business combination or similar transaction.
9.COMPANY’S RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. Subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws, before any Shares held by Optionee or any transferee of such Shares (either sometimes referred to herein as the “Holder”) may be sold or otherwise transferred (including, without limitation, a transfer by gift or operation of law), the Company and/or its assignee(s) will have a right of first refusal to purchase the Shares to be sold or transferred (the “Offered Shares”) on the terms and conditions set forth in this Section (the “Right of First Refusal”).
9.1Notice of Proposed Transfer. The Holder of the Offered Shares will deliver to the Company a written notice (the “Notice”) stating: (i) the Holder’s bona fide intention to sell or otherwise transfer the Offered Shares; (ii) the name and address of each proposed purchaser or other transferee (the “Proposed Transferee”); (iii) the number of Offered Shares to be transferred to each Proposed Transferee; (iv) the bona fide cash price or other consideration (in any case, denominated in U.S. dollars) for which the Holder proposes to transfer the Offered Shares (the “Offered Price”); and (v) that the Holder acknowledges this Notice is an offer to sell the Offered Shares to the Company and/or its assignee(s) pursuant to the Company’s Right of First Refusal at the Offered Price as provided for in this Agreement.
9.2Exercise of Right of First Refusal. At any time within thirty (30) days after the date of the Notice, the Company and/or its assignee(s) may, by giving written notice to the Holder, elect to purchase all (or, with the consent of the Holder, less than all) the Offered Shares proposed to be transferred to any one or more of the Proposed Transferees named in the Notice, at the purchase price, determined as specified below.
9.3Purchase Price. The purchase price for the Offered Shares purchased under this Section will be the Offered Price, provided that if the Offered Price consists of no legal consideration (as, for example, in the case of a transfer by gift) then the purchase price will be the fair market value of the Offered Shares as determined in good faith by the Committee. If the Offered Price includes consideration other than cash, then the value of the non-cash consideration, as determined in good faith by the Committee (and denominated in U.S. dollars), will conclusively be deemed to be the cash equivalent value of such non-cash consideration.
9.4Payment. Payment of the purchase price for the Offered Shares will be payable, at the option of the Company and/or its assignee(s) (as applicable), by check or by cancellation of all or a portion of any outstanding purchase money indebtedness owed by the Holder to the Company (or to such assignee, in the case of a purchase of Offered Shares by such assignee) or by any combination thereof. The purchase price will be paid without interest within sixty (60) days after the Company’s receipt of the Notice, or, at the option of the Company and/or its assignee(s), in the manner and at the time(s) set forth in the Notice.
9.5Holder’s Right to Transfer. If all of the Offered Shares proposed in the Notice to be transferred to a given Proposed Transferee are not purchased by the Company and/or its assignee(s) as provided in this Section, then the Holder may sell or otherwise transfer such Offered Shares to each Proposed Transferee at the Offered Price or at a higher price, provided that (i) such sale or other transfer is consummated within ninety (90) days after the date of the Notice, (ii) any such sale or other transfer is effected in compliance with all applicable laws, and (iii) each Proposed Transferee agrees in writing that the provisions of this Section will continue to apply to the Offered Shares in the hands of such Proposed Transferee. If the Offered Shares described in the Notice are not transferred to each Proposed Transferee within such ninety (90) day period, then a new Notice must be given to the Company pursuant to which the Company will again be offered the Right of First Refusal before any Shares held by the Holder may be sold or otherwise transferred.
9.6Exempt Transfers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the following transfers of Shares will be exempt from the Right of First Refusal: (i) the transfer of any or all of the Shares during Optionee’s lifetime by gift or on Optionee’s death by will or intestacy to any member(s) of Optionee’s “Immediate Family” (as defined below) or to a trust for the benefit of Optionee and/or member(s) of Optionee’s Immediate Family, provided that each transferee or other recipient agrees in a writing satisfactory to the Company that the provisions of this Section will continue to apply to the transferred Shares in the hands of such transferee or other recipient; (ii) any transfer of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger, statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations or a conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity (except that the Right of First Refusal will continue to apply thereafter to such Shares, in which case the surviving corporation of such merger or consolidation or the resulting entity of such conversion shall succeed to the rights of the Company under this Section unless the agreement of merger or consolidation or conversion expressly otherwise provides); or (iii) any transfer of Shares pursuant to the winding up and dissolution of the Company. As used herein, the term “Immediate Family” will mean Optionee’s spouse, the lineal descendant or antecedent, father, mother, brother or sister, child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of Optionee or Optionee’s spouse, or the spouse of any of the above or Spousal Equivalent, as defined herein. As used herein, a person is deemed to be a “Spousal Equivalent” provided the following circumstances are true: (i) irrespective of whether or not Optionee and the Spousal Equivalent are the same sex, they are the sole spousal equivalent of the other for the last twelve (12) months, (ii) they intend to remain so indefinitely, (iii) neither are married to anyone else, (iv) both are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to contract, (v) they are not related by blood to a degree of closeness that which would prohibit legal marriage in the state in which they legally reside, (vi) they are jointly responsible for each other’s common welfare and financial obligations, and (vii) they reside together in the same residence for the last twelve (12) months and intend to do so indefinitely.
9.7Termination of Right of First Refusal. The Right of First Refusal will terminate as to all Shares: (i) on the effective date of the first sale of Common Stock of the Company to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act (other than a registration statement relating solely to the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to a business combination or an employee incentive or benefit plan); (ii) on any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger or statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations if the common stock of the surviving corporation or any direct or indirect parent corporation thereof is registered under the Exchange Act; or (iii) on any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity if the common equity (or comparable equity security) of entity resulting from such conversion is registered under the Exchange Act.
9.8Encumbrances on Shares. Optionee may grant a lien or security interest in, or pledge, hypothecate or encumber Shares only if each party to whom such lien or security interest is granted, or to whom such pledge, hypothecation or other encumbrance is made, agrees in a writing satisfactory to the Company that: (i) such lien, security interest, pledge, hypothecation or encumbrance will not adversely affect or impair the Right of First Refusal or the rights of the Company and/or its assignee(s) with respect thereto and will not apply to such Shares after they are acquired by the Company and/or its assignees under this Section; and (ii) the provisions of this Agreement will continue to apply to such Shares in the hands of such party and any transferee of such party.
9.9Effect of Company Co-Sale Agreement. If Optionee is, or at any time hereafter becomes, a party to or otherwise bound by (i) the Company’s Amended and Restated Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Agreement dated as of April 24, 2020 among the Company and certain stockholders of the Company, as such may be amended and/or restated from time to time, and/or (ii) any other agreement that is a successor to or replacement of such agreement (collectively, the “Company Co-Sale Agreement”),
then, in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of Section 8 hereof and/or this Section 9 and any provisions in the Company Co-Sale Agreement granting the Company and/or other security holders of the Company rights of first refusal and/or co-sale rights with respect to any or all of the Shares or imposing market stand-off restrictions, Optionee agrees with the Company that the terms and conditions of the Company Co-Sale Agreement shall apply, govern, supersede and prevail over (and in lieu of) the provisions of Section 8 hereof and/or of this Section 9 (as applicable) so long as the Company Co-Sale Agreement is in effect and Optionee is a party to or bound thereby. If the Company Co-Sale Agreement is no longer in effect or if Optionee is not a party to or bound thereby, then the provisions of this Section 9 shall apply in full force and effect until termination of the Right of First Refusal and the provisions of Section 8 hereof shall apply in full force and effect in accordance with its terms.
10.RIGHTS AS A STOCKHOLDER. Optionee shall not have any of the rights of a stockholder with respect to any Shares unless and until such Shares are issued to Optionee. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Optionee will have all of the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to the Shares from and after the date that Shares are issued to Optionee pursuant to, and in accordance with, the terms of the Exercise Agreement until such time as Optionee disposes of the Shares or the Company and/or its assignee(s) exercise(s) the Right of First Refusal. Upon an exercise of the Right of First Refusal, Optionee will have no further rights as a holder of the Shares so purchased upon such exercise, other than the right to receive payment for the Shares so purchased in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, and Optionee will promptly surrender the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares so purchased to the Company for transfer or cancellation.
11.ESCROW. As security for Optionee’s faithful performance of this Agreement, Optionee agrees, immediately upon receipt of the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares to deliver such certificate(s) to the Secretary of the Company or other designee of the Company (the “Escrow Holder”), who is hereby appointed to hold such certificate(s) in escrow and to take all such actions and to effectuate all such transfers and/or releases of such Shares as are in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Optionee and the Company agree that Escrow Holder will not be liable to any party to this Agreement (or to any other party) for any actions or omissions unless Escrow Holder is grossly negligent or intentionally fraudulent in carrying out the duties of Escrow Holder under this Agreement. Escrow Holder may rely upon any letter, notice or other document executed with any signature purported to be genuine and may rely on the advice of counsel and obey any order of any court with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and will not be liable for any act or omission taken by Escrow Holder in good faith reliance on such documents, the advice of counsel or a court order. The Shares will be released from escrow upon termination of the Right of First Refusal.
12.Company Co-Sale Agreement and Voting Agreement. As a material inducement and consideration for the Company to enter into this Agreement, Optionee hereby agrees that if, the Company requests Optionee to enter into and become a party to (a) the Company Co-Sale Agreement (and to subject the Shares to the rights of first refusal held by the Company and other Company investors thereunder and the co-sale rights of other investors thereunder) and/or (b) the Company Voting Agreement (pursuant to which Optionee would agree to vote all shares of Company stock held by Optionee for the election of directors and in favor of certain material transactions (such as mergers or sales of the Company), then Optionee will enter into such agreements and execute and deliver signature pages thereto (as requested by the Company) in such capacities as the Company requests, at the time of exercising this Option and as a condition to such exercise or at any later time.
13.RESTRICTIVE LEGENDS AND STOP-TRANSFER ORDERS.
13.1Legends. Optionee understands and agrees that the Company will place the legends set forth below or similar legends on any stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares, together with
any other legends that may be required by foreign, federal, or state laws, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, any other agreement between Optionee and the Company, or any agreement between Optionee and any third party (and any other legend(s) that the Company may become obligated to place on the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares under the terms of any agreement to which the Company is or may become bound or obligated):
(a)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON RESALE AND TRANSFER, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL HELD BY THE ISSUER AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S), AS SET FORTH IN A STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. SUCH SALE AND TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL, ARE BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
(b)THE SHARES EVIDENCED HEREBY ARE SUBJECT TO A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL OPTION IN FAVOR OF THE CORPORATION AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S), AS PROVIDED IN THE BYLAWS OF THE CORPORATION, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION.
(c)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A MARKET STANDOFF RESTRICTION, AS SET FORTH IN A CERTAIN STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. AS A RESULT OF SUCH AGREEMENT, THESE SHARES MAY NOT BE TRADED PRIOR TO 180 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFERINGS OF THE COMMON STOCK OF THE ISSUER HEREOF. SUCH RESTRICTION IS BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
Optionee agrees that if Optionee becomes a party to (i) the Company Co-Sale Agreement or (ii) (A) the Company’s Amended and Restated Voting Agreement dated as of April 24, 2020 among the Company and certain stockholders of the Company, as such may be amended and/or restated from time to time, and/or (B) any other voting agreement that is a successor to or replacement of such agreement (collectively, the “Company Voting Agreement”), then Optionee agrees that the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares shall, in addition, bear any legends required under the Company Co-Sale Agreement and/or the Company Voting Agreement, as applicable.
13.2U.S. Optionees. Optionee understands and agrees that, if Optionee’s country of residence is the United States, then the Company will place the legends set forth below or similar legends on any stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares: THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), OR UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF CERTAIN STATES. THESE SECURITIES ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERABILITY AND RESALE AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED OR RESOLD EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, PURSUANT TO REGISTRATION OR EXEMPTION THEREFROM. INVESTORS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THEY MAY BE REQUIRED TO BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISKS OF THIS INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD OF TIME. THE ISSUER OF THESE SECURITIES MAY REQUIRE AN OPINION OF COUNSEL IN FORM AND SUBSTANCE SATISFACTORY TO THE ISSUER TO THE EFFECT THAT ANY PROPOSED TRANSFER OR RESALE IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SECURITIES ACT AND ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS.
13.3Non-U.S. Optionees; Regulation S. Optionee understands and agrees that, if Optionee’s country of residence is other than the United States, the certificates evidencing the Shares will bear the legend set forth in below or similar legends:
(a)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THISCERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “ACT”) WITH THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, AND THE COMPANY DOES NOT INTEND TO REGISTER THEM.
(b)PRIOR TO A DATE THAT IS ONE YEAR STARTING FROM THE DATE OF SALE OF THE STOCK, THE SHARES MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD (INCLUDING OPENING A SHORT POSITION IN SUCH SECURITIES) IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS AS DEFINED BY RULE 902(K) ADOPTED UNDER THE ACT, OTHER THAN TO DISTRIBUTORS, UNLESS THE SHARES ARE REGISTERED UNDER THE ACT OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACT IS AVAILABLE. HOLDERS OF SHARES PRIOR TO ONE YEAR STARTING FROM THE DATE OF SALE OF THE STOCK MAY RESELL SUCH SECURITIES ONLY PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE ACT OR OTHERWISE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF REGULATION S OF THE ACT, OR IN TRANSACTIONS EFFECTED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES, PROVIDED THEY DO NOT SOLICIT (AND NO ONE ACTING ON THEIR BEHALF SOLICITS) PARTICIPANTS IN THE UNITED STATES OR OTHERWISE ENGAGE(S) IN SELLING EFFORTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND PROVIDED THAT HEDGING TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING THESE SECURITIES MAY NOT BE CONDUCTED UNLESS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE ACT.
(c)A HOLDER OF THE SECURITIES WHO IS A DISTRIBUTOR, DEALER, SUB-UNDERWRITER OR OTHER SECURITIES PROFESSIONAL, IN ADDITION, CANNOT, PRIOR TO ONE YEAR STARTING FROM THE DATE OF SALE OF THE STOCK, RESELL THE SECURITIES TO A U.S. PERSON AS DEFINED BY RULE 902(K) OF REGULATION S UNLESS THE SECURITIES ARE REGISTERED UNDER THE ACT OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE ACT IS AVAILABLE.
13.4Stop-Transfer Instructions. Optionee agrees that, to ensure compliance with the restrictions imposed by this Agreement and the Bylaws, the Company may issue appropriate “stop-transfer” instructions to its transfer agent, if any, and if the Company transfers its own securities, it may make appropriate notations to the same effect in its own records.
13.5Refusal to Transfer. The Company will not be required (i) to transfer on its books any Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of the Bylaws or this Agreement or (ii) to treat as owner of such Shares, or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such Shares have been so transferred.
14.TAX CONSEQUENCES. OPTIONEE SHOULD CONSULT A TAX ADVISER APPROPRIATELY QUALIFIED IN THE COUNTRY OR COUNTRIES IN WHICH THE OPTIONEE RESIDES OR IS SUBJECT TO TAXATION BEFORE EXERCISING THE OPTION OR DISPOSING OF THE SHARES.
14.1Tax Advice. Optionee has obtained any necessary advice from an appropriate independent professional adviser in relation to the Tax-Related Items in connection with the grant, exercise, assignment, release, cancellation or any other disposal of this Option pursuant to the Plan and on any subsequent sale of the Shares. In signing and returning this Agreement, the Optionee is confirming that
appropriate advice has been sought from an independent adviser. The Company has not made any representation regarding applicable taxation implications.
14.2Notice of Disqualifying Disposition of ISO Shares. If Optionee sells or otherwise disposes of any of the Shares acquired pursuant to an ISO on or before the later of (i) two years after the Grant Date and (ii) one year after the exercise date, Optionee will immediately notify the Company in writing of such disposition.
14.3Responsibility for Taxes. Regardless of any action the Company or Employer takes with respect to any or all Tax-Related Items, Optionee acknowledges that the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items legally due from Optionee is and remains Optionee’s responsibility and that the Company and/or the Employer (1) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of this Option, including the grant, vesting or exercise of this Option, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired pursuant to such exercise and the receipt of any dividends, and (2) do not commit to structure the terms of the grant or any aspect of this Option to reduce or eliminate Optionee’s liability for Tax-Related Items or achieve any particular tax result. Optionee acknowledges that if Optionee is subject to Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction, the Company and/or the Employer may be required to withhold or account for Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction.
14.4Arrangements to Satisfy Tax-Related Items. Prior to any relevant taxable or tax withholding event (“Tax Date”), as applicable, Optionee will pay or make adequate arrangements satisfactory to the Company and/or the Employer to satisfy all Tax-Related Items. In this regard, Optionee authorizes the Company and/or the Employer or their respective agents, at their discretion, to satisfy the obligations with regard to all Tax-Related Items by one or a combination of the following: (A) accept a cash payment in U.S. dollars in the amount of Tax-Related Items, (B) withhold whole Shares which would otherwise be delivered to Optionee having an aggregate Fair Market Value, determined as of the Tax Date, or withhold an amount of cash from Optionee’s wages or other cash compensation which would otherwise be payable to Optionee by the Company and/or the Employer, equal to the amount necessary to satisfy any such obligations, (C) withhold from proceeds of the sale of Shares acquired upon exercise of the Option either through a voluntary sale or through a mandatory sale arranged by the Company (on Optionee’s behalf pursuant to this authorization), or (D) accept a cash payment to the Company by a broker-dealer acceptable to the Company to whom Optionee has submitted an irrevocable notice of exercise.
14.5Maximum Withholding. The Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering up to applicable maximum statutory withholding rates. If the obligation for Tax-Related Items is satisfied by withholding in Shares, for tax purposes, Optionee is deemed to have been issued the full number of Shares subject to the Option, notwithstanding that a number of shares of Common Stock are held back solely for the purpose of paying the Tax-Related Items. Finally, Optionee shall pay to the Company or the Employer any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company or the Employer may be required to withhold as a result of Optionee’s participation in the Plan that cannot be satisfied by the means previously described. The Company shall have sole discretion to deliver the Shares if Optionee fails to comply with Optionee’s obligations in connection with the Tax-Related Items as described in this Section and Optionee unconditionally consents to and approves any such action taken by the Company. Optionee (or any beneficiary or person entitled to act on Optionee’s behalf) shall provide the Company with any forms, documents or other information reasonably required by the Company.
15.1Interpretation. Any dispute regarding the interpretation of this Agreement shall be submitted by Optionee or the Company to the Committee for review. The resolution of such a dispute by the Committee shall be final and binding on the Company and Optionee.
15.2Entire Agreement. The Plan, the Grant Notice and the Exercise Agreement are each incorporated herein by reference. This Agreement (including the annexes attached hereto), the Grant Notice, the Plan and the Exercise Agreement constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior undertakings and agreements with respect to such subject matter.
15.3Country-Specific Terms and Conditions. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Agreement, the Option grant shall be subject to any special terms and conditions set forth in the Terms and Conditions for Non-U.S. Optionees attached hereto as Annex B if Optionee’s country of residence is other than the United States, including the special terms and conditions (if any) set forth beneath the name of such country on Annex B. Moreover, if Optionee relocates to a country other than the United States, the special terms and conditions set forth in Annex B, including the special terms and conditions (if any) set forth beneath the name of such country on Annex B, will apply to Optionee to the extent the Company determines that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons. Annex B constitutes an integral part of this Agreement to the extent applicable to Optionee from time to time.
16.NOTICES. Any and all notices required or permitted to be given to a party pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement will be in writing and will be effective and deemed to provide such party sufficient notice under this Agreement on the earliest of the following: (i) at the time of personal delivery, if delivery is in person; (ii) at the time an electronic confirmation of receipt is received, if delivery is by email; (iii) at the time of transmission by facsimile, addressed to the other party at its facsimile number specified herein (or hereafter modified by subsequent notice to the parties hereto), with confirmation of receipt made by both telephone and printed confirmation sheet verifying successful transmission of the facsimile; (iv) one (1) business day after deposit with an express overnight courier for United States deliveries, or two (2) business days after such deposit for deliveries outside of the United States, with proof of delivery from the courier requested; or (v) three (3) business days after deposit in the United States mail by certified mail (return receipt requested) for United States deliveries. Any notice for delivery outside the United States will be sent by email, facsimile or by express courier. Any notice not delivered personally or by email will be sent with postage and/or other charges prepaid and properly addressed to Optionee at the last known address or facsimile number on the books of the Company, or at such other address or facsimile number as such other party may designate by one of the indicated means of notice herein to the other parties hereto or, in the case of the Company, to it at its principal place of business. Notices to the Company will be marked “Attention: Chief Financial Officer.” Notices by facsimile shall be machine verified as received.
17.SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. The Company may assign any of its rights under this Agreement including its rights to purchase Shares under the Right of First Refusal. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the Company. Subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth herein, this Agreement shall be binding upon Optionee and Optionee’s heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
18.GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware as such laws are applied to agreements between Delaware residents entered into and to be performed entirely within Delaware. If any provision of this Agreement is
determined by a court of law to be illegal or unenforceable, then such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the other provisions will remain fully effective and enforceable.
19.Further Assurances. The parties agree to execute such further documents and instruments and to take such further actions as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.
20.Titles and Headings. The titles, captions and headings of this Agreement are included for ease of reference only and will be disregarded in interpreting or construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise specifically stated, all references herein to “sections” and “exhibits” will mean “sections” and “exhibits” to this Agreement.
21.Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed electronically and in any number of counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered will be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
22.Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by any court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible given the intent of the parties hereto. If such clause or provision cannot be so enforced, such provision shall be stricken from this Agreement and the remainder of this Agreement shall be enforced as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable clause or provision had (to the extent not enforceable) never been contained in this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, if the value of this Agreement based upon the substantial benefit of the bargain for any party is materially impaired, which determination as made by the presiding court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction shall be binding, then both parties agree to substitute such provision(s) through good faith negotiations.
* * * * *
Attachments:
Annex A: Form of Global Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement
Annex B: Terms and Conditions for Non-U.S. Optionees
Annex A
FORM OF GLOBAL STOCK OPTION EXERCISE NOTICE AND AGREEMENT
ANNEX B
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
FOR NON-U.S. OPTIONEES
Terms and Conditions
This Annex B includes additional terms and conditions that govern the Option granted to Optionee under the Plan if Optionee resides and/or works outside of the United States. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Plan and/or the Stock Option Agreement to which this Annex B is attached.
If Optionee is a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which he or she is currently working and/or residing, transfers to another country after the Date of Grant, is a consultant, changes employment status to a consultant position or is considered a resident of another country for local law purposes, the Company shall, in its discretion, determine the extent to which the special terms and conditions contained herein shall be applicable to Optionee. References to Optionee’s Employer shall include any entity that engages Optionee’s services.
In accepting this Option, Optionee acknowledges, understands and agrees to the following:
1.Data Privacy Information and Consent. The Company is located at 701 Pike St #1500, Seattle, WA, 98101, United States, and grants awards to employees of the Company and its Parent and Subsidiaries, at the Company’s sole discretion. If Optionee would like to participate in the Plan, please review the following information about the Company’s data processing practices.
1.1Data Collection and Usage. The Company or, if different, Optionee’s employer (the “Employer”), and its Subsidiaries, Parent or affiliates collect, process, transfer and use personal data about Plan participants that is necessary for the purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan. This personal data may include Optionee’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality and citizenship, job title, any shares or directorships held in the Company, details of all awards or other entitlements to Shares, granted, canceled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding in Optionee’s favor and any other personal information that could identify you (collectively, without limitation, “Data”), which the Company receives from Optionee or the Employer. If the Company offers Optionee an award under the Plan, then the Company will collect Optionee’s Data for purposes of allocating stock and implementing, administering and managing the Plan and will process such Data in accordance with the Company’s then-current data privacy policies, which are made available to Optionee upon commencing employment and also available upon request.
1.2Stock Plan Administration Service Providers. The Company transfers Data to an independent stock-plan administrator and other third parties based in the United States, which assists the Company with the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. In the future, the Company may select a different service provider and share Optionee’s Data with another company that serves in a similar manner. Optionee understands that the recipients of the Data may be located in the United States or elsewhere, and that the recipients’ country (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws and protections than Optionee’s country. The Company’s service provider may open an account for Optionee to receive Shares. Optionee will be asked to agree on separate terms and data processing practices with the service provider, which is a condition to Optionee’s ability to participate in the Plan. Optionee understands that Optionee may request a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of the Data by contacting Optionee’s local human resources representative, only if applicable laws and regulations
entitle you to do so. Optionee authorizes the Company and any other possible recipients which may assist the Company (presently or in the future) with implementing, administering and managing the Plan to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the sole purpose of implementing, administering and managing Optionee’s participation in the Plan.
1.3Data Retention. The Company will use Optionee’s Data only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage Optionee’s participation in the Plan or as required to comply with legal or regulatory obligations, including under tax and security laws. When the Company no longer needs Optionee’s Data, the Company will remove it from its systems. If the Company keeps Optionee’s Data longer, it would be to satisfy legal or regulatory obligations and the Company’s legal basis would be relevant laws or regulations. Optionee understands that Optionee may, at any time, view Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Data, require any necessary amendments to Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, in any case without cost, by contacting in writing Optionee’s local human resources representative.
1.4Consent; Voluntariness and Consequences of Denial or Withdrawal. Where permitted by applicable local law in the country where Optionee resides, consent is a requirement for participation in the Plan. In such cases, by accepting this grant, Optionee hereby agrees with the data processing practices as described in this notice and grants such consent to the processing and transfer of his or her Data as described in this Agreement and as necessary for the purpose of administering the Plan. Optionee’s participation in the Plan and Optionee’s grant of consent is purely voluntary. Optionee may deny or withdraw his or her consent at any time; provided that if Optionee does not consent, or if Optionee withdraws his or her consent, Optionee cannot participate in the Plan unless required by applicable law. This would not affect Optionee’s salary as an employee or his or her career; Optionee would merely forfeit the opportunities associated with the Plan.
1.5Data Subject Rights. Optionee has a number of rights under data privacy laws in his or her country. Depending on where Optionee is based, Optionee’s rights may include the right to (i) request access or copies of Optionee’s Data the Company processes, (ii) have the Company rectify Optionee’s incorrect Data and/or delete Optionee’s Data, (iv) restrict processing of Optionee’s Data, (v) have portability of Optionee’s Data, (vi) lodge complaints with the competent tax authorities in Optionee’s country and/or (vii) obtain a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of Optionee’s Data. To receive clarification regarding Optionee’s rights or to exercise Optionee’s rights please contact the Company at 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY, 10005, United States, Attn: Stock Administration.
1.6GDPR Compliance. If Optionee resides and/or works in a member country of the European Union and/or the European Economic Area, the following provisions supplement this Section 1:
(a)To the satisfaction and on the direction of the Committee, all operations of the Plan and this Option (at the time of its grant and as necessary thereafter) shall include or be supported by appropriate agreements, notifications and arrangements in respect of Data and its use and processing under the Plan, in order to secure (a) the reasonable freedom of the Employer, the Company and any Parent or Subsidiary, as appropriate, to operate the Plan and for connected purposes, and (b) compliance with the data-protection requirements applicable from time to time, including, if applicable, and without limitation, Regulation EU 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016.
(b)Optionee has certain rights under data protection legislation as summarized below:
(i)Right of Access. Optionee has the right to obtain from us confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning Optionee is being processed, and, where that
is the case, to request access to the personal data, as well as certain information on how we are processing such data.
(ii)Right to Rectification. Optionee has the right to obtain from us the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning Optionee. Considering the purpose of the processing, Optionee may also, in some cases, be entitled to supplemental information regarding incomplete personal data.
(iii)Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten). Optionee may, in certain circumstances, have his or her personal data deleted, for example if Optionee’s personal information is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was collected, if Optionee has objected to the processing of personal data and we do not have a legitimate interest which outweighs Optionee’s interest, if the personal data has been processed unlawfully, or if the personal data must be deleted to comply with a legal obligation.
(iv)Right to Restriction of Processing. Optionee may require that the Company restrict the processing of Optionee’s personal data in certain cases, for example where the Company no longer needs Optionee’s personal data but Optionee needs it to determine, enforce or defend legal claims or Optionee has objected to processing based on the Company’s legitimate interest in order to enable the Company to check if its interest overrides Optionee’s interest.
(v)Right to Data Portability. In some circumstances, Optionee may be entitled to receive the personal data concerning Optionee which Optionee provided to the Company in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and Optionee has the right to transmit those personal data to another controller.
(vi)Right to Object. Optionee has the right to object to the processing of Optionee’s personal data in certain circumstances, for example where the processing is based on the Company’s legitimate interest. If so, in order to continue processing, the Company must be able to show compelling legitimate grounds that override Optionee’s interests, rights and freedoms.
(c)Optionee’s rights will in each case be subject to the restrictions set out in applicable data protection laws. Further information on these rights, and the circumstances in which they may arise in connection with the Company’s processing of Optionee’s personal data, can be obtained by contacting Optionee’s local human resources representative. If Optionee wants to review, verify, correct or request erasure of Optionee’s personal information, object to the processing of Optionee’s personal data, or request that the Company transfer a copy of Optionee’s personal information to another party, please contact Optionee’s local human resources representative.
(d)The Company agrees to ensure that Data transferred outside the European Economic Area will be done pursuant to a lawful transfer mechanism (for example, European Commission approved model contract clauses).
(e)The Company will separately provide the Optionee with information in a data privacy notice on the collection, processing and transfer of their personal data, including the grounds for processing.
(f)If Optionee has any grievance, issue or problem in respect of the handling or processing of Optionee’s personal data in any way, Optionee has the right to lodge a complaint to the competent data protection authority. The list of national data protection authorities for each country in the
European Union and their contact details are available at: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm.
2.Insider Trading Restrictions/Market Abuse Laws. Optionee acknowledges that, if and when the Shares are publicly listed on any stock exchange, depending on his or her country, Optionee may be subject to insider trading restrictions and/or market abuse laws in applicable jurisdictions, which may affect his or her ability to directly or indirectly, accept, acquire, sell or attempt to sell or otherwise dispose of Shares or rights to the Shares, or rights linked to the value of Shares during such times as Optionee is considered to have “inside information” regarding the Company (as defined by the laws and/or regulations in applicable jurisdictions or Optionee’s country). Local insider trading laws and regulations may prohibit the cancellation or amendment of orders placed by Optionee before possessing the inside information. Furthermore, Optionee may be prohibited from (i) disclosing inside information to any third party, including fellow employees (other than on a “need to know” basis) and (ii) “tipping” third parties or causing them to otherwise buy or sell securities. Any restrictions under these laws or regulations are separate from and in addition to any restrictions that may be imposed under any applicable Company insider trading policy. Optionee acknowledges that it is Optionee’s responsibility to comply with any applicable restrictions, and Optionee is advised to speak to his or her personal advisor on this matter.
3.Language. Optionee acknowledges that he or she is sufficiently proficient in English to understand the terms and conditions of this Agreement and confirms having read and understood the documents relating to the Plan, including this Agreement and all its terms and conditions, all of which have been provided to Optionee exclusively in the English language (unless otherwise specified in the country-specific provisions set forth below that are applicable to Optionee). Optionee accepts the Plan, this Agreement and their applicable terms and conditions and does not require their translation into any language other than English. Furthermore, if Optionee has received this Agreement, or any other document related to the Option and/or the Plan translated into a language other than English and the meaning of the translated version differs from that of the English version, the English version will control.
4.Foreign Asset/Account Reporting Requirements. Optionee acknowledges that there may be certain foreign asset and/or account reporting requirements which may affect Optionee’s ability to acquire or hold Shares acquired under the Plan or cash received from participating in the Plan in a brokerage account outside his or her country. Optionee may also be required to repatriate sale proceeds or other funds received as a result of participating in the Plan to his or her country through a designated bank or broker within a certain time after receipt. It is Optionee’s responsibility to be compliant with such regulations and Optionee should speak with his or her personal advisor on this matter.
5.Extraordinary Compensation. The value of the option is an extraordinary item of compensation outside the scope of Optionee’s employment contract, if any, and is not to be considered part of his or her normal or expected compensation for purposes of calculating severance, resignation, redundancy, end of service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement benefits or similar payments. Optionee acknowledges that the right to be granted options and the right to exercise the option and to continue vesting or to receive further grants of options will terminate effective as of the date upon which Optionee receives notice of termination, regardless of when the termination is effective.
6.Participation Ceases When Employment Ceases. Except in the case of an approved leave of absence (as set forth more fully in the Plan), Optionee understands that he/she shall have terminated employment as of the date he or she ceases to provide services (regardless of whether the termination is in breach of local employment laws or is later found to be invalid) and employment shall not be extended by any notice period or garden leave mandated by local law, provided however, that a change in status from an employee to a consultant or advisor shall not terminate the Optionee’s continuous service, unless determined by the Committee, in its discretion.
7.Additional Acknowledgments and Agreements. In accepting this Option, Optionee also acknowledges, understands and agrees that:
•the Plan is established voluntarily by the Company, it is discretionary in nature, and may be amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time, to the extent permitted by the Plan;
•the grant of the Option is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of options, or benefits in lieu of options, even if options have been granted in the past;
•all decisions with respect to future Option or other grants, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;
•the Option grant and Optionee’s participation in the Plan shall not create a right to employment or be interpreted as forming an employment or service contract with the Company, Employer, or any Subsidiary or Parent and shall not interfere with the ability of the Company, the Employer or any Subsidiary or Parent, as applicable, to Terminate Optionee;
•Optionee is voluntarily participating in the Plan;
•the Option and any Shares acquired under the Plan are not intended to replace any pension rights or compensation;
•the Option and any Shares acquired under the Plan and the income and value of same, are not part of normal or expected compensation for any purpose, including, without limitation, calculating any severance, resignation, termination, redundancy, dismissal, end-of-service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments;
•the future value of the Shares underlying the Option is unknown, indeterminable, and cannot be predicted with certainty;
•if the underlying Shares do not increase in value, the Option will have no value;
•if Optionee exercises the Option and acquires Shares, the value of such Shares may increase or decrease in value, even below the Exercise Price;
•no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from forfeiture of the Option resulting from the Termination of Optionee’s service (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or the terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any), and in consideration of the grant of the Option to which Optionee is otherwise not entitled, Optionee irrevocably agrees never to institute any claim against the Company, any of its Parent, Subsidiaries, Affiliates or the Employer, waives his or her ability, if any, to bring any such claim, and releases the Company, any of its Parent, Subsidiaries, Affiliates and the Employer from any such claim; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is allowed by a court of competent jurisdiction, then, by participating in the Plan, Optionee shall be deemed irrevocably to have agreed not to pursue such claim and agree to execute any and all documents necessary to request dismissal or withdrawal of such claim;
•for purposes of the Option, Optionee’s service will be considered Terminated as of the date Optionee is no longer actively providing services to the Company or any of its Parent, Subsidiaries, the Employer or Affiliates (regardless of the reason for such Termination and whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or the terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any), and unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or determined by the Company, (i) Optionee’s right to vest in the Option under the Plan, if any, will terminate as of such date and will not be extended by any notice period (e.g., Optionee’s period of service would not include any contractual notice period or any period of “garden leave” or similar period mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or the terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any, unless the Optionee actually actively performs services during all or part of any such period); and (ii) the period (if any) during which Optionee may exercise the Option after such termination of Optionee’s service will commence on the date Optionee ceases to actively provide services and will not be extended by any notice period mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any; the Committee shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Optionee is no longer actively providing services for purposes of his or her Option grant (including whether Optionee may still be considered to be providing services while on a leave of absence);
•unless otherwise provided in the Plan or by the Company in its discretion, the Option and the benefits evidenced by this Agreement do not create any entitlement to have the Option or any such benefits transferred to, or assumed by, another company nor to be exchanged, cashed out or substituted for, in connection with any corporate transaction affecting the shares of the Company;
•the Option and the Shares subject to the Option are not part of normal or expected compensation or salary for any purpose; and
•neither the Company, the Employer nor any Subsidiary, Parent or Affiliate shall be liable for any foreign exchange rate fluctuation between Optionee’s local currency and the United States Dollar that may affect the value of the Option or of any amounts due to Optionee pursuant to the exercise of the Option or the subsequent sale of any Shares acquired upon exercise.
Notifications
This Annex B also includes information regarding exchange controls and certain other issues of which Optionee should be aware with respect to Optionee’s participation in the Plan. The information is provided solely for the convenience of Optionee and is based on the laws in effect in the respective countries as of the dates set forth below. Such laws are often complex and change frequently. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that Optionee not rely on the information noted herein as the only source of information relating to the consequences of Optionee’s participation in the Plan because the information may be out of date by the time Optionee vests in or exercises this Option or sells any exercised Shares.
Optionee is responsible for complying with all applicable tax, foreign asset reporting and/or exchange control rules that may apply in connection with participation in the Plan and/or the transfer of proceeds acquired thereunder. Prior to exercise of the Options or transfer of funds from or into Optionee’s country, Optionee should consult the local bank and/or Optionee’s exchange control advisor, as interpretations of the applicable regulations may vary; additionally, exchange control rules and regulations are subject to change without notice.
In addition, the information contained in this Annex B is general in nature and may not apply to Optionee’s particular situation, and the Company is not in a position to assure Optionee of any particular result. Accordingly, Optionee is advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the applicable laws in his or her country may apply to his or her situation.
Finally, Optionee understands that if he or she is a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which he or she is currently residing and/or working, transfers to another country after the Date of Grant, or is considered a resident of another country for local law purposes, the notifications contained herein may not be applicable to Optionee in the same manner.
UNITED KINGDOM (AS OF JANUARY 2022)
Terms and Conditions
Tax Obligations. The following provision supplements Sections 4.4 and 14 of this Agreement:
Tax-Related Items shall include Primary and to the extent legally possible secondary class 1 National Insurance Contributions. Optionee agrees that the Company or Optionee’s Employer may calculate the Tax-Related Items to be withheld and accounted for by reference to the maximum applicable rates, without prejudice to any right Optionee may have to recover any overpayment from relevant U.K. tax authorities. Optionee understands and agrees that if payment or withholding of any income tax liability arising in connection with Optionee’s participation in the Plan is not made by Optionee to Optionee’s Employer within 90 days of the event giving rise to such income tax liability or such other period specified in Section 222(1)I of the U.K. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the “Due Date”), that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a loan owed by Optionee to Optionee’s Employer, effective on the Due Date. Optionee understands and agrees that the loan will bear interest at the then-current official rate of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, it will be immediately due and repayable by Optionee, and the Company and/or Optionee’s Employer may recover it at any time thereafter by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Optionee understands and agrees that if Optionee is a director or an executive officer of the Company (within the meaning of such terms for purposes of Section 13(k) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), Optionee will not be eligible for such a loan to cover the income tax liability. Optionee further understands that, in the event that he or she is such a director or executive officer and the income tax is not collected from or paid by Optionee by the Due Date, the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute an additional benefit to Optionee on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions will be payable. Optionee understands and agree that he or she is responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company or Optionee’s Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any primary and (to the extent legally possible) secondary class 1 National Insurance Contributions due on this additional benefit which the Company or Optionee’s Employer may recover from Optionee by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Agreement.
At the discretion of the Company, the Option cannot be settled until Optionee has entered into an election with the Company (or Optionee’s Employer) (as appropriate) in a form approved by the Company and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs:
(a)to treat any liability of the Company and/or the Employer for employer’s National Insurance Contributions arising in respect of the granting, exercise, settlement of or other dealing in the Option, or the acquisition of Shares on the settlement of the Option, as transferred to and met by Optionee pursuant to Paragraph 3B(1) of Schedule 1 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (“Joint Election to Transfer UK Employer’s National Insurance Contributions”); and/or
(b)to treat the Shares acquired at Option exercise and their market value as if they were not restricted securities for the relevant income tax and National Insurance Contribution purposes pursuant section 431(1) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions Act) 2003 (a “Joint Election under s431”).
OPTION GRANT NO. ___
NOTICE OF STOCK OPTION GRANT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
The Optionee named below (“Optionee”) has been granted an option (this “Option”) to purchase shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), of Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), pursuant to the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) on the terms, and subject to the conditions, described below and in the Stock Option Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A, including its annexes (the “Stock Option Agreement”).
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Optionee: |
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Maximum Number of Shares Subject to this Option (the “Shares”): |
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Exercise Price Per Share: |
$____ per share |
Date of Grant: |
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Vesting Start Date: |
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Exercise Schedule: |
This Option will become exercisable during its term with respect to portions of the Shares in accordance with the Vesting Schedule set forth below. |
Expiration Date: |
The date ten (10) years after the Date of Grant set forth above, subject to earlier expiration in the event of Termination as provided in Section 3 of the Stock Option Agreement. |
Tax Status of Option: (Check Only One Box): |
Incentive Stock Option (To the fullest extent permitted by the Code) Nonqualified Stock Option. (If neither box is checked, this Option is a Nonqualified Stock Option). |
Vesting Schedule: |
For so long as Optionee continuously provides services to the Company (or any Subsidiary or Parent of the Company) as an employee, officer, director, contractor or consultant, this Option will vest (that is, become exercisable) with respect to the Shares as follows: (a) prior to the first one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date this Option will not be vested or exercisable as to any of the Shares; (b) this Option will become vested and exercisable with respect to 1/4th of the Shares on the one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date; and (c) thereafter, this Option will become vested and exercisable with respect to an additional 1/48th of the Shares when Optionee completes each month of continuous service following the first one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Start Date. |
General; Agreement: By their signatures below, Optionee and the Company agree that this Option is granted under and governed by this Notice of Stock Option Grant (this “Grant Notice”) and by the provisions of the Plan and the Stock Option Agreement. The Plan and the Stock Option Agreement are
incorporated herein by reference. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Plan or in the Stock Option Agreement, as applicable. By signing below, Optionee acknowledges receipt of a copy of this Grant Notice, the Plan and the Stock Option Agreement, represents that Optionee has carefully read and is familiar with their provisions, and hereby accepts the Option subject to all of their respective terms and conditions. Optionee acknowledges that there may be adverse tax consequences upon exercise of the Option or disposition of the Shares and that Optionee should consult a tax adviser prior to such exercise or disposition. Optionee agrees and acknowledges that the Vesting Schedule may change prospectively in the event that Optionee’s service status changes between full and part time status in accordance with Company policies relating to work schedules and vesting of equity awards.
Execution and Delivery: This Grant Notice may be executed and delivered electronically whether via the Company’s intranet or the Internet site of a third party or via email or any other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company. By Optionee’s acceptance hereof (whether written, electronic or otherwise), Optionee agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that in lieu of receiving documents in paper format, Optionee accepts the electronic delivery of any documents that the Company (or any third party the Company may designate), may deliver in connection with this grant (including the Plan, this Grant Notice, the Stock Option Agreement, the information described in Rules 701(e)(2), (3), (4) and (5) under the Securities Act (the “701 Disclosures”), account statements, or other communications or information) whether via the Company’s intranet or the Internet site of such third party or via email or such other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company.
AVALYN PHARMA INC.
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Optionee Signature: |
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Optionee’s Name: |
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Attachment: Exhibit A – Stock Option Agreement
Exhibit A
Stock Option Agreement
STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
This Stock Option Agreement (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of the date of grant (the “Date of Grant”) set forth on the Notice of Stock Option Grant attached as the facing page to this Agreement (the “Grant Notice”) by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and the optionee named on the Grant Notice (“Optionee”). Capitalized terms not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) or in the Grant Notice, as applicable.
1.Grant of Option. The Company hereby grants to Optionee an option (this “Option”) to purchase up to the total number of shares of Common Stock of the Company, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), set forth in the Grant Notice as the Shares (the “Shares”) at the Exercise Price Per Share set forth in the Grant Notice (the “Exercise Price”), subject to all of the terms and conditions of the Grant Notice, this Agreement and the Plan. If designated as an Incentive Stock Option in the Grant Notice, this Option is intended to qualify as an incentive stock option (the “ISO”) within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
2.1Exercise Period of Option. This Option is considered to be “vested” with respect to any particular Shares when this Option is exercisable with respect to such Shares. This Option will become vested during its term as to portions of the Shares in accordance with the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice. Notwithstanding any provision in the Plan or this Agreement to the contrary, on or after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date.
2.2Vesting of Option Shares. Shares with respect to which this Option is vested and exercisable at a given time pursuant to the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice are “Vested Shares.” Shares with respect to which this Option is not vested and exercisable at a given time pursuant to the Vesting Schedule set forth in the Grant Notice are “Unvested Shares.”
2.3Expiration. The Option shall expire on the Expiration Date set forth in the Grant Notice or earlier as provided in Section 3 below.
3.1Termination for Any Reason Except Death, Disability or Cause. Except as provided in subsection 3.2 in a case in which Optionee dies within three (3) months after Optionee is Terminated other than for Cause, if Optionee is Terminated for any reason (other than Optionee’s death or Disability or for Cause), then (a) on and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date and (b) this Option to the extent (and only to the extent) that it is exercisable with respect to Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, may be exercised by Optionee no later than three (3) months after Optionee’s Termination Date (but in no event may this Option be exercised after the Expiration Date).
3.2Termination Because of Death or Disability. If Optionee is Terminated because of Optionee’s death or Disability (or if Optionee dies within three (3) months of the date of Optionee’s Termination for any reason other than for Cause), then (a) on and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date and (b) this Option, to the extent (and only to the extent) that it is exercisable with respect to Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, may be exercised by Optionee (or Optionee’s legal representative) no later than twelve (12) months after Optionee’s Termination Date, but in no event later than the Expiration Date. Any exercise of this Option beyond (i) three (3) months after the date Optionee ceases to be an employee when Optionee’s Termination is for any reason other than Optionee’s death or disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code; or (ii) twelve (12) months after the date Optionee ceases to be an employee when the termination is for Optionee’s disability, within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, is deemed to be an NQSO.
3.3Termination for Cause. If Optionee is Terminated for Cause, then Optionee may exercise this Option, but only with respect to any Shares that are Vested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date, and this Option shall expire on Optionee’s Termination Date, or at such later time and on such conditions as may be affirmatively determined by the Committee. On and after Optionee’s Termination Date, this Option shall expire immediately with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares and may not be exercised with respect to any Shares that are Unvested Shares on Optionee’s Termination Date.
3.4No Obligation to Employ. Nothing in the Plan or this Agreement shall confer on Optionee any right to continue in the employ of, or other relationship with, the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, or limit in any way the right of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company to terminate Optionee’s employment or other relationship at any time, with or without Cause.
4.1Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement. To exercise this Option, Optionee (or in the case of exercise after Optionee’s death or incapacity, Optionee’s executor, administrator, heir or legatee, as the case may be) must deliver to the Company an executed Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement in the form attached hereto as Annex A, or in such other form as may be approved by the Committee from time to time (the “Exercise Agreement”) and payment for the shares being purchased in accordance with this Agreement. The Exercise Agreement shall set forth, among other things, (i) Optionee’s election to exercise this Option, (ii) the number of Shares being purchased, (iii) any representations, warranties and agreements regarding Optionee’s investment intent and access to information as may be required by the Company to comply with applicable securities laws in connection with any exercise of this Option and (iv) any other agreements required by the Company. If someone other than Optionee exercises this Option, then such person must submit documentation reasonably acceptable to the Company verifying that such person has the legal right to exercise this Option and such person shall be subject to all of the restrictions contained herein as if such person were Optionee.
4.2Limitations on Exercise. This Option may not be exercised unless such exercise is in compliance with all applicable federal and state securities laws, as they are in effect on the date of exercise.
4.3Payment. The Exercise Agreement shall be accompanied by full payment of the Exercise Price for the shares being purchased in cash (by check, Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) or wire transfer), or where permitted by law:
(a)by cancellation of indebtedness of the Company owed to Optionee;
(b)by surrender of shares of the Company that are free and clear of all security interests, pledges, liens, claims or encumbrances and: (i) for which the Company has received “full payment
of the purchase price” within the meaning of SEC Rule 144 (and, if such shares were purchased from the Company by use of a promissory note, such note has been fully paid with respect to such shares) or (ii) that were obtained by Optionee in the public market;
(c)by participating in a formal cashless exercise program implemented by the Committee in connection with the Plan;
(d)provided that a public market for the Common Stock exists and subject to compliance with applicable law, by exercising as set forth below, through a “same day sale” commitment from Optionee and a broker-dealer whereby Optionee irrevocably elects to exercise this Option and to sell a portion of the Shares so purchased sufficient to pay the total Exercise Price, and whereby the broker-dealer irrevocably commits upon receipt of such Shares to forward the total Exercise Price directly to the Company; or
(e)by any combination of the foregoing or any other method of payment approved by the Committee that constitutes legal consideration for the issuance of Shares.
For avoidance of uncertainty: ACH transfers that have been received by the Company into its bank account designated for receipt of such transfers shall be deemed to have been received for all purposes of this Option as of the date on which such transfers were initiated from the Optionee’s account and made irrevocable by Optionee.
4.4Tax Withholding. Prior to the issuance of the Shares upon exercise of the Option, Optionee must pay or provide for foreign, federal, state and local income tax, social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account withholding and other tax-related items related to Optionee’s participation in the Plan and legally applicable to Optionee, including, as applicable, obligations of the Company (all the foregoing tax-related items, “Tax-Related Items”). If the Committee permits, Optionee may provide for payment of withholding taxes upon exercise of the Option by requesting that the Company retain the number of Shares with a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of taxes required to be withheld; or to arrange a mandatory “sell to cover” on Optionee’s behalf (without further authorization); but in no event will the Company withhold Shares or “sell to cover” if such withholding would result in adverse accounting consequences to the Company. In case of stock withholding or a sell to cover, the Company shall issue the net number of Shares to Optionee by deducting the Shares retained from the Shares issuable upon exercise. The Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering applicable minimum statutory withholding rates or other applicable statutory rates in Optionee’s country, including maximum applicable rates.
4.5Issuance of Shares. Provided that the Exercise Agreement and payment are in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Company, the Company shall issue the Shares issuable upon a valid exercise of this Option registered in the name of Optionee, Optionee’s authorized assignee, or Optionee’s legal representative, and shall deliver certificates representing the Shares with the appropriate legends affixed thereto.
5.Compliance with Laws and Regulations. The Plan and this Agreement are intended to comply with Section 25102(o) and Rule 701. Any provision of this Agreement that is inconsistent with Section 25102(o) or Rule 701 shall, without further act or amendment by the Company or the Committee, be reformed to comply with the requirements of Section 25102(o) and/or Rule 701. The exercise of this Option and the issuance and transfer of Shares shall be subject to compliance by the Company and Optionee with all applicable requirements of federal and state securities laws and with all applicable requirements of any stock exchange on which the Common Stock may be listed at the time of such issuance or transfer. Optionee understands that the Company is under no obligation to register or qualify the Shares with the SEC, any state securities commission or any stock exchange to effect such compliance.
6.Nontransferability of Option. This Option may not be transferred in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and, with respect to NQSOs, by instrument to a testamentary trust in which the options are to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor) or a revocable trust, or by gift to “immediate family” as that term is defined in 17 C.F.R. 240.16a-1(e), and may be exercised during the lifetime of Optionee only by Optionee or in the event of Optionee’s incapacity, by Optionee’s legal representative. The terms of this Option shall be binding upon the executors, administrators, successors and assigns of Optionee.
7.RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER.
7.1Disposition of Shares. Optionee hereby agrees that Optionee shall make no disposition of any of the Shares (other than as permitted by this Agreement and the Company’s Bylaws (the “Bylaws”)) unless and until:
(a)Optionee shall have notified the Company of the proposed disposition and provided a written summary of the terms and conditions of the proposed disposition;
(b)Optionee shall have complied with all requirements of this Agreement and the Bylaws applicable to the disposition of the Shares;
(c)Optionee shall have provided the Company with written assurances, in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Company, that (i) the proposed disposition does not require registration of the Shares under the Securities Act or under any applicable state securities laws or (ii) all appropriate actions necessary for compliance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act or of any exemption from registration available under the Securities Act (including Rule 144) or applicable state securities laws have been taken; and
(d)Optionee shall have provided the Company with written assurances, in form and substance satisfactory to the Company, that the proposed disposition will not result in the contravention of any transfer restrictions applicable to the Shares pursuant to the provisions of the regulations promulgated under Section 25102(o), Rule 701 or under any other applicable securities laws or adversely affect the Company’s ability to rely on the exemption(s) from registration under the Securities Act or under any other applicable securities laws for the grant of the Option, the issuance of Shares thereunder or any other issuance of securities under the Plan.
7.2Restriction on Transfer. Optionee shall not transfer, assign, grant a lien or security interest in, pledge, hypothecate, encumber or otherwise dispose of any of the Shares which are subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws and the Company’s Right of First Refusal described below, except as permitted by this Agreement.
7.3Transferee Obligations. Each person (other than the Company) to whom the Shares are transferred by means of one of the permitted transfers specified in this Agreement must, as a condition precedent to the validity of such transfer, acknowledge in writing to the Company that such person is bound by the provisions of this Agreement and that the transferred Shares are subject to (i) the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws, (ii) the Company’s Right of First Refusal granted hereunder and (iii) the market stand-off provisions of Section 8 below, to the same extent such Shares would be so subject if retained by Optionee.
8.MARKET STANDOFF AGREEMENT. Optionee agrees that, subject to any early release provisions that apply pro rata to stockholders of the Company according to their holdings of Common Stock (determined on an as-converted into Common Stock basis), Optionee will not, for a period of up to one hundred eighty (180) days (plus up to an additional thirty five (35) days to the extent reasonably requested by the Company or such underwriter(s) to accommodate regulatory restrictions on the publication or other distribution of research reports or earnings releases by the Company, including NASD and NYSE
rules) following the effective date of the registration statement filed with the SEC relating to the initial underwritten sale of Common Stock of the Company to the public under the Securities Act (the “IPO”), directly or indirectly sell, offer to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock or securities convertible into Common Stock, except for: (i) transfers of Shares permitted under Section 9.6 hereof so long as such transferee furnishes to the Company and the managing underwriter their written consent to be bound by this Section 8 as a condition precedent to such transfer; and (ii) sales of any securities to be included in the registration statement for the IPO. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of this Section shall only apply to the IPO. The restricted period shall in any event terminate two (2) years after the closing date of the IPO. In order to enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company shall have the right to place restrictive legends on the certificates representing the Shares subject to this Section and to impose stop transfer instructions with respect to the Shares until the end of such period. Optionee further agrees to enter into any agreement reasonably required by the underwriters to implement the foregoing restrictions on transfer. For the avoidance of doubt, the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not apply to any registration of securities of the Company (a) under an employee benefit plan or (b) in a merger, consolidation, business combination or similar transaction.
9.COMPANY’S RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL. Subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in the Bylaws, before any Shares held by Optionee or any transferee of such Shares (either sometimes referred to herein as the “Holder”) may be sold or otherwise transferred (including, without limitation, a transfer by gift or operation of law), the Company and/or its assignee(s) will have a right of first refusal to purchase the Shares to be sold or transferred (the “Offered Shares”) on the terms and conditions set forth in this Section (the “Right of First Refusal”).
9.1Notice of Proposed Transfer. The Holder of the Offered Shares will deliver to the Company a written notice (the “Notice”) stating: (i) the Holder’s bona fide intention to sell or otherwise transfer the Offered Shares; (ii) the name and address of each proposed purchaser or other transferee (the “Proposed Transferee”); (iii) the number of Offered Shares to be transferred to each Proposed Transferee; (iv) the bona fide cash price or other consideration for which the Holder proposes to transfer the Offered Shares (the “Offered Price”); and (v) that the Holder acknowledges this Notice is an offer to sell the Offered Shares to the Company and/or its assignee(s) pursuant to the Company’s Right of First Refusal at the Offered Price as provided for in this Agreement.
9.2Exercise of Right of First Refusal. At any time within thirty (30) days after the date of the Notice, the Company and/or its assignee(s) may, by giving written notice to the Holder, elect to purchase all (or, with the consent of the Holder, less than all) the Offered Shares proposed to be transferred to any one or more of the Proposed Transferees named in the Notice, at the purchase price, determined as specified below.
9.3Purchase Price. The purchase price for the Offered Shares purchased under this Section will be the Offered Price, provided that if the Offered Price consists of no legal consideration (as, for example, in the case of a transfer by gift) then the purchase price will be the fair market value of the Offered Shares as determined in good faith by the Committee. If the Offered Price includes consideration other than cash, then the value of the non-cash consideration, as determined in good faith by the Committee, will conclusively be deemed to be the cash equivalent value of such non-cash consideration.
9.4Payment. Payment of the purchase price for the Offered Shares will be payable, at the option of the Company and/or its assignee(s) (as applicable), by check or by cancellation of all or a portion of any outstanding purchase money indebtedness owed by the Holder to the Company (or to such assignee, in the case of a purchase of Offered Shares by such assignee) or by any combination thereof. The purchase price will be paid without interest within sixty (60) days after the Company’s receipt of the Notice, or, at the option of the Company and/or its assignee(s), in the manner and at the time(s) set forth in the Notice.
9.5Holder’s Right to Transfer. If all of the Offered Shares proposed in the Notice to be transferred to a given Proposed Transferee are not purchased by the Company and/or its assignee(s) as provided in this Section, then the Holder may sell or otherwise transfer such Offered Shares to each Proposed Transferee at the Offered Price or at a higher price, provided that (i) such sale or other transfer is consummated within ninety (90) days after the date of the Notice, (ii) any such sale or other transfer is effected in compliance with all applicable securities laws, and (iii) each Proposed Transferee agrees in writing that the provisions of this Section will continue to apply to the Offered Shares in the hands of such Proposed Transferee. If the Offered Shares described in the Notice are not transferred to each Proposed Transferee within such ninety (90) day period, then a new Notice must be given to the Company pursuant to which the Company will again be offered the Right of First Refusal before any Shares held by the Holder may be sold or otherwise transferred.
9.6Exempt Transfers. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, the following transfers of Shares will be exempt from the Right of First Refusal: (i) the transfer of any or all of the Shares during Optionee’s lifetime by gift or on Optionee’s death by will or intestacy to any member(s) of Optionee’s “Immediate Family” (as defined below) or to a trust for the benefit of Optionee and/or member(s) of Optionee’s Immediate Family, provided that each transferee or other recipient agrees in a writing satisfactory to the Company that the provisions of this Section will continue to apply to the transferred Shares in the hands of such transferee or other recipient; (ii) any transfer of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger, statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations or a conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity (except that the Right of First Refusal will continue to apply thereafter to such Shares, in which case the surviving corporation of such merger or consolidation or the resulting entity of such conversion shall succeed to the rights of the Company under this Section unless the agreement of merger or consolidation or conversion expressly otherwise provides); or (iii) any transfer of Shares pursuant to the winding up and dissolution of the Company. As used herein, the term “Immediate Family” will mean Optionee’s spouse, the lineal descendant or antecedent, father, mother, brother or sister, child, adopted child, grandchild or adopted grandchild of Optionee or Optionee’s spouse, or the spouse of any of the above or Spousal Equivalent, as defined herein. As used herein, a person is deemed to be a “Spousal Equivalent” provided the following circumstances are true: (i) irrespective of whether or not Optionee and the Spousal Equivalent are the same sex, they are the sole spousal equivalent of the other for the last twelve (12) months, (ii) they intend to remain so indefinitely, (iii) neither are married to anyone else, (iv) both are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to contract, (v) they are not related by blood to a degree of closeness that which would prohibit legal marriage in the state in which they legally reside, (vi) they are jointly responsible for each other’s common welfare and financial obligations, and (vii) they reside together in the same residence for the last twelve (12) months and intend to do so indefinitely.
9.7Termination of Right of First Refusal. The Right of First Refusal will terminate as to all Shares: (i) on the effective date of the first sale of Common Stock of the Company to the general public pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act (other than a registration statement relating solely to the issuance of Common Stock pursuant to a business combination or an employee incentive or benefit plan); (ii) on any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory merger or statutory consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation or corporations if the common stock of the surviving corporation or any direct or indirect parent corporation thereof is registered under the Exchange Act; or (iii) on any transfer or conversion of Shares made pursuant to a statutory conversion of the Company into another form of legal entity if the common equity (or comparable equity security) of entity resulting from such conversion is registered under the Exchange Act.
9.8Encumbrances on Shares. Optionee may grant a lien or security interest in, or pledge, hypothecate or encumber Shares only if each party to whom such lien or security interest is granted, or to whom such pledge, hypothecation or other encumbrance is made, agrees in a writing satisfactory to the Company that: (i) such lien, security interest, pledge, hypothecation or encumbrance will not adversely affect or impair the Right of First Refusal or the rights of the Company and/or its assignee(s) with respect
thereto and will not apply to such Shares after they are acquired by the Company and/or its assignees under this Section; and (ii) the provisions of this Agreement will continue to apply to such Shares in the hands of such party and any transferee of such party.
9.9Effect of Company Co-Sale Agreement. If Optionee is, or at any time hereafter becomes, a party to or otherwise bound by (i) the Company’s Amended and Restated Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Agreement dated as of April 24, 2020 among the Company and certain stockholders of the Company, as such may be amended and/or restated from time to time, and/or (ii) any other agreement that is a successor to or replacement of such agreement (collectively, the “Company Co-Sale Agreement”), then, in the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of Section 8 hereof and/or this Section 9 and any provisions in the Company Co-Sale Agreement granting the Company and/or other security holders of the Company rights of first refusal and/or co-sale rights with respect to any or all of the Shares or imposing market stand-off restrictions, Optionee agrees with the Company that the terms and conditions of the Company Co-Sale Agreement shall apply, govern, supersede and prevail over (and in lieu of) the provisions of Section 8 hereof and/or of this Section 9 (as applicable) so long as the Company Co-Sale Agreement is in effect and Optionee is a party to or bound thereby. If the Company Co-Sale Agreement is no longer in effect or if Optionee is not a party to or bound thereby, then the provisions of this Section 9 shall apply in full force and effect until termination of the Right of First Refusal and the provisions of Section 8 hereof shall apply in full force and effect in accordance with its terms.
10.RIGHTS AS A STOCKHOLDER. Optionee shall not have any of the rights of a stockholder with respect to any Shares unless and until such Shares are issued to Optionee. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Optionee will have all of the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to the Shares from and after the date that Shares are issued to Optionee pursuant to, and in accordance with, the terms of the Exercise Agreement until such time as Optionee disposes of the Shares or the Company and/or its assignee(s) exercise(s) the Right of First Refusal. Upon an exercise of the Right of First Refusal, Optionee will have no further rights as a holder of the Shares so purchased upon such exercise, other than the right to receive payment for the Shares so purchased in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, and Optionee will promptly surrender the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares so purchased to the Company for transfer or cancellation.
11.ESCROW. As security for Optionee’s faithful performance of this Agreement, Optionee agrees, immediately upon receipt of the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares to deliver such certificate(s) to the Secretary of the Company or other designee of the Company (the “Escrow Holder”), who is hereby appointed to hold such certificate(s) in escrow and to take all such actions and to effectuate all such transfers and/or releases of such Shares as are in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Optionee and the Company agree that Escrow Holder will not be liable to any party to this Agreement (or to any other party) for any actions or omissions unless Escrow Holder is grossly negligent or intentionally fraudulent in carrying out the duties of Escrow Holder under this Agreement. Escrow Holder may rely upon any letter, notice or other document executed with any signature purported to be genuine and may rely on the advice of counsel and obey any order of any court with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and will not be liable for any act or omission taken by Escrow Holder in good faith reliance on such documents, the advice of counsel or a court order. The Shares will be released from escrow upon termination of the Right of First Refusal.
12.Company Co-Sale Agreement and Voting Agreement. As a material inducement and consideration for the Company to enter into this Agreement, Optionee hereby agrees that if, the Company requests Optionee to enter into and become a party to (a) the Company Co-Sale Agreement (and to subject the Shares to the rights of first refusal held by the Company and other Company investors thereunder and the co-sale rights of other investors thereunder) and/or (b) the Company Voting Agreement (pursuant to which Optionee would agree to vote all shares of Company stock held by Optionee for the election of directors and in favor of certain material transactions (such as mergers or sales of the Company), then Optionee will enter into such agreements and execute and deliver signature pages thereto (as requested by
the Company) in such capacities as the Company requests, at the time of exercising this Option and as a condition to such exercise or at any later time.
13.RESTRICTIVE LEGENDS AND STOP-TRANSFER ORDERS.
13.1Legends. Optionee understands and agrees that the Company will place the legends set forth below or similar legends on any stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares, together with any other legends that may be required by state or U.S. Federal securities laws, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, any other agreement between Optionee and the Company, or any agreement between Optionee and any third party (and any other legend(s) that the Company may become obligated to place on the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares under the terms of any agreement to which the Company is or may become bound or obligated):
(a)THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), OR UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF CERTAIN STATES. THESE SECURITIES ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERABILITY AND RESALE AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED OR RESOLD EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, PURSUANT TO REGISTRATION OR EXEMPTION THEREFROM. INVESTORS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THEY MAY BE REQUIRED TO BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISKS OF THIS INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD OF TIME. THE ISSUER OF THESE SECURITIES MAY REQUIRE AN OPINION OF COUNSEL IN FORM AND SUBSTANCE SATISFACTORY TO THE ISSUER TO THE EFFECT THAT ANY PROPOSED TRANSFER OR RESALE IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SECURITIES ACT AND ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS.
(b)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON RESALE AND TRANSFER, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL HELD BY THE ISSUER AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S) AS SET FORTH IN A STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. SUCH SALE AND TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL, ARE BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
(c)THE SHARES EVIDENCED HEREBY ARE SUBJECT TO A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL OPTION IN FAVOR OF THE CORPORATION AND/OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S), AS PROVIDED IN THE BYLAWS OF THE CORPORATION, A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION.
(d)THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO A MARKET STANDOFF RESTRICTION AS SET FORTH IN A CERTAIN STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. AS A RESULT OF SUCH AGREEMENT, THESE SHARES MAY NOT BE TRADED PRIOR TO 180 DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF CERTAIN PUBLIC OFFERINGS OF THE COMMON STOCK OF THE ISSUER HEREOF. SUCH RESTRICTION IS BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
Optionee agrees that if Optionee becomes a party to (i) the Company Co-Sale Agreement or (ii) (A) the Company’s Amended and Restated Voting Agreement dated as of April 24, 2020 among the Company and certain stockholders of the Company, as such may be amended and/or restated from time to time, and/or (B) any other voting agreement that is a successor to or replacement of such agreement (collectively, the “Company Voting Agreement”), then Optionee agrees that the stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares
shall, in addition, bear any legends required under the Company Co-Sale Agreement and/or the Company Voting Agreement, as applicable.
13.2Stop-Transfer Instructions. Optionee agrees that, to ensure compliance with the restrictions imposed by this Agreement and the Bylaws, the Company may issue appropriate “stop-transfer” instructions to its transfer agent, if any, and if the Company transfers its own securities, it may make appropriate notations to the same effect in its own records.
13.3Refusal to Transfer. The Company will not be required (i) to transfer on its books any Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of the Bylaws or this Agreement or (ii) to treat as owner of such Shares, or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such Shares have been so transferred.
14.CERTAIN TAX CONSEQUENCES. Set forth below is a brief summary as of the Effective Date of the Plan of some of the federal tax consequences of exercise of the Option and disposition of the Shares. THIS SUMMARY IS NECESSARILY INCOMPLETE, AND THE TAX LAWS AND REGULATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. OPTIONEE SHOULD CONSULT A TAX ADVISER BEFORE EXERCISING THE OPTION OR DISPOSING OF THE SHARES.
14.1Exercise of ISO. If the Option qualifies as an ISO, there will be no regular federal income tax liability upon the exercise of the Option, although the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price will be treated as a tax preference item for federal alternative minimum tax purposes and may subject Optionee to the alternative minimum tax in the year of exercise.
14.2Exercise of Nonqualified Stock Option. If the Option does not qualify as an ISO, there may be a regular federal income tax liability upon the exercise of the Option. Optionee will be treated as having received compensation income (taxable at ordinary income tax rates) equal to the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price. If Optionee is a current or former employee of the Company, the Company may be required to withhold from Optionee’s compensation or collect from Optionee and pay to the applicable taxing authorities an amount equal to a percentage of this compensation income at the time of exercise.
14.3Disposition of Shares. The following tax consequences may apply upon disposition of the Shares.
(a)Incentive Stock Options. If the Shares are held for more than twelve (12) months after the date of purchase of the Shares pursuant to the exercise of an ISO and are disposed of more than two (2) years after the Date of Grant, any gain realized on disposition of the Shares will be treated as long term capital gain for federal income tax purposes. If Shares purchased under an ISO are disposed of within the applicable one (1) year or two (2) year period, any gain realized on such disposition will be treated as compensation income (taxable at ordinary income rates in the year of the disposition) to the extent of the excess, if any, of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of exercise over the Exercise Price.
(b)Nonqualified Stock Options. If the Shares are held for more than twelve (12) months after the date of purchase of the Shares pursuant to the exercise of an NQSO, any gain realized on disposition of the Shares will be treated as long term capital gain.
15.1Interpretation. Any dispute regarding the interpretation of this Agreement shall be submitted by Optionee or the Company to the Committee for review. The resolution of such a dispute by the Committee shall be final and binding on the Company and Optionee.
15.2Entire Agreement. The Plan, the Grant Notice and the Exercise Agreement are each incorporated herein by reference. This Agreement, the Grant Notice, the Plan and the Exercise Agreement constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior undertakings and agreements with respect to such subject matter.
16.NOTICES. Any and all notices required or permitted to be given to a party pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement will be in writing and will be effective and deemed to provide such party sufficient notice under this Agreement on the earliest of the following: (i) at the time of personal delivery, if delivery is in person; (ii) at the time an electronic confirmation of receipt is received, if delivery is by email; (iii) at the time of transmission by facsimile, addressed to the other party at its facsimile number specified herein (or hereafter modified by subsequent notice to the parties hereto), with confirmation of receipt made by both telephone and printed confirmation sheet verifying successful transmission of the facsimile; (iv) one (1) business day after deposit with an express overnight courier for United States deliveries, or two (2) business days after such deposit for deliveries outside of the United States, with proof of delivery from the courier requested; or (v) three (3) business days after deposit in the United States mail by certified mail (return receipt requested) for United States deliveries. Any notice for delivery outside the United States will be sent by email, facsimile or by express courier. Any notice not delivered personally or by email will be sent with postage and/or other charges prepaid and properly addressed to Optionee at the last known address or facsimile number on the books of the Company, or at such other address or facsimile number as such other party may designate by one of the indicated means of notice herein to the other parties hereto or, in the case of the Company, to it at its principal place of business. Notices to the Company will be marked “Attention: Chief Financial Officer.” Notices by facsimile shall be machine verified as received.
17.SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. The Company may assign any of its rights under this Agreement including its rights to purchase Shares under the Right of First Refusal. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the Company. Subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth herein, this Agreement shall be binding upon Optionee and Optionee’s heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
18.GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware as such laws are applied to agreements between Delaware residents entered into and to be performed entirely within Delaware. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by a court of law to be illegal or unenforceable, then such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the other provisions will remain fully effective and enforceable.
19.Further Assurances. The parties agree to execute such further documents and instruments and to take such further actions as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.
20.Titles and Headings. The titles, captions and headings of this Agreement are included for ease of reference only and will be disregarded in interpreting or construing this Agreement. Unless otherwise specifically stated, all references herein to “sections” and “exhibits” will mean “sections” and “exhibits” to this Agreement.
21.Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered will be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
22.Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by any court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible given the intent of the parties hereto. If such clause or provision cannot be so enforced, such provision shall be stricken from this Agreement and the remainder of this Agreement shall be enforced as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable clause or provision had (to
the extent not enforceable) never been contained in this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, if the value of this Agreement based upon the substantial benefit of the bargain for any party is materially impaired, which determination as made by the presiding court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction shall be binding, then both parties agree to substitute such provision(s) through good faith negotiations.
* * * * *
Attachment: Annex A: Form of Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement
addendum
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
FOR OPTIONEES OUTSIDE THE U.S.
Terms and Conditions
This Addendum includes additional terms and conditions that govern the Option granted to Optionee under the Plan if Optionee resides and/or works in one of the countries listed below. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Plan and/or the Agreement to which this Addendum is attached.
If Optionee is a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which he or she is currently working and/or residing, transfers to another country after the Date of Grant, is a consultant, changes employment status to a consultant position, or is considered a resident of another country for local law purposes, the Company shall, in its discretion, determine the extent to which the special terms and conditions contained herein shall be applicable to Optionee. References to Optionee’s Employer shall include any entity that engages Optionee’s services.
In accepting this Option, Optionee acknowledges, understands and agrees that:
Data Privacy. Optionee hereby explicitly and unambiguously consent to the collection, processing, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of Optionee’s personal data as described in this Agreement and any other award materials by and among, as applicable, the Company, or, if different, Optionee’s employer (the “Employer”), and its Subsidiaries, Parent or Affiliates for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing Optionee’s participation in the Plan.
Optionee understands that the Company and the Employer may hold certain personal information about Optionee, including but not limited to, Optionee’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any shares of Class A Common Stock or directorships held in the Company, details of all awards or any other entitlement to shares of Class A Common Stock granted, canceled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding in Optionee’s favor, for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan (“Data”).
Optionee understands that Data will be transferred to any third parties assisting the Company with the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. Optionee understands that the recipients of the Data may be located in the United States or elsewhere, and that the recipients’ country (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws and protections than Optionee’s country. Optionee understands that Optionee may request a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of the Data by contacting Optionee’s local human resources representative. Optionee authorizes the Company and any other possible recipients which may assist the Company (presently or in the future) with implementing, administering and managing the Plan to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the sole purpose of implementing, administering and managing Optionee’s participation in the Plan. Optionee understands that Data will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage Optionee’s participation in the Plan. Optionee understands that Optionee may, at any time, view Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Data, require any necessary amendments to Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, in any case without cost, by contacting in writing Optionee’s local human resources representative. Optionee understands, however, that refusing or withdrawing Optionee’s consent may affect Optionee’s ability to participate in the Plan. For more information on the consequences of Optionee’s refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, Optionee understands that Optionee may contact Optionee’s local human resources representative.
In accepting this Option, Optionee also acknowledges, understands and agrees that:
•the Plan is established voluntarily by the Company, it is discretionary in nature, and may be amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time, to the extent permitted by the Plan;
•the grant of the Option is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of options, or benefits in lieu of options, even if options have been granted in the past;
•all decisions with respect to future Option or other grants, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;
•the Option grant and Optionee’s participation in the Plan shall not create a right to employment or be interpreted as forming an employment or service contract with the Company, Employer, or any Subsidiary or Parent or Affiliate of the Company and shall not interfere with the ability of the Company, the Employer or any Subsidiary or Parent or Affiliate of the Company, as applicable, to Terminate Optionee;
•Optionee is voluntarily participating in the Plan;
•the Option and any Shares acquired under the Plan are not intended to replace any pension rights or compensation;
•the Option and any Shares acquired under the Plan and the income and value of same, are not part of normal or expected compensation for any purpose, including, without limitation, calculating any severance, resignation, termination, redundancy, dismissal, end-of-service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments;
•the future value of the Shares underlying the Option is unknown, indeterminable, and cannot be predicted with certainty;
•if the underlying Shares do not increase in value, the Option will have no value;
•if Optionee exercises the Option and acquires Shares, the value of such Shares may increase or decrease in value, even below the Exercise Price;
•no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from forfeiture of the Option resulting from the Termination of Optionee's service (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or the terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any), and in consideration of the grant of the Option to which Optionee is otherwise not entitled, Optionee irrevocably agrees never to institute any claim against the Company, any of its Parent, Subsidiaries, Affiliates, or the Employer, waives his or her ability, if any, to bring any such claim, and releases the Company, any of its Parent, Subsidiaries, Affiliates and the Employer from any such claim; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is allowed by a court of competent jurisdiction, then, by participating in the Plan, Optionee shall be deemed irrevocably to have agreed not to pursue such claim and agree to execute any and all documents necessary to request dismissal or withdrawal of such claim;
•for purposes of the Option, Optionee's service will be considered Terminated as of the date Optionee is no longer actively providing services to the Company or any of its Parent, Subsidiaries, or Affiliates (regardless of the reason for such Termination and whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or the terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any), and unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or determined by the Company, (i) Optionee’s right to vest in the Option under the
Plan, if any, will terminate as of such date and will not be extended by any notice period (e.g., Optionee’s period of service would not include any contractual notice period or any period of “garden leave” or similar period mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or the terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any); and (ii) the period (if any) during which Optionee may exercise the Option after such termination of Optionee's service will commence on the date Optionee ceases to actively provide services and will not be extended by any notice period mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Optionee is employed or terms of Optionee’s employment agreement, if any; the Committee shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Optionee is no longer actively providing services for purposes of his or her Option grant (including whether Optionee may still be considered to be providing services while on a leave of absence;
•unless otherwise provided in the Plan or by the Company in its discretion, the Option and the benefits evidenced by this Agreement do not create any entitlement to have the Option or any such benefits transferred to, or assumed by, another company nor to be exchanged, cashed out or substituted for, in connection with any corporate transaction affecting the shares of the Company;
•the Option and the Shares subject to the Option are not part of normal or expected compensation or salary for any purpose; and
•neither the Company, the Employer nor any the Company or any Subsidiary or Parent or Affiliate of the Company shall be liable for any foreign exchange rate fluctuation between Optionee’s local currency and the United States Dollar that may affect the value of the Option or of any amounts due to Optionee pursuant to the exercise of the Option or the subsequent sale of any Shares acquired upon exercise.
Notifications
This Addendum also includes information regarding exchange controls and certain other issues of which Optionee should be aware with respect to Optionee’s participation in the Plan. The information is provided solely for the convenience of Optionee and is based on the securities, exchange control and other laws in effect in the respective countries as of January 2018. Such laws are often complex and change frequently. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that Optionee not rely on the information noted herein as the only source of information relating to the consequences of Optionee’s participation in the Plan because the information may be out of date by the time Optionee vests in or exercises this Option or sells any exercised Shares.
In addition, the information contained in this Addendum is general in nature and may not apply to Optionee’s particular situation, and the Company is not in a position to assure Optionee of any particular result. Accordingly, Optionee is advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the applicable laws in his or her country may apply to his or her situation.
Finally, Optionee understands that if he or she is a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which he or she is currently residing and/or working, transfers to another country after the Date of Grant, or is considered a resident of another country for local law purposes, the notifications contained herein may not be applicable to Optionee in the same manner.
United Kingdom
Terms and Conditions
Section 431 Election. Except as provided below, as a condition of participation in the Plan and no later than the time of exercise of the Option, Optionee agrees to enter into, jointly with Optionee’s employer (or the Company or its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, as applicable), a joint election within Section 431 of the U.K.
Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (“ITEPA 2003”) in respect of computing any tax charge on the acquisition of “restricted securities” (as defined in Sections 423 and 424 of ITEPA 2003), and that Optionee will not revoke such election at any time (the “Joint Election”). This election will be to treat the Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of the Option as if such Shares were not restricted securities (for U.K. tax purposes only). If Optionee is required to but does not enter into such an election prior to the exercise of the Option, Optionee will not be entitled to exercise the Option and no Shares will be issued to Optionee, without any liability to the Company or Optionee’s employer.
If the Optionee exercises the Options at a time when the Shares are considered to be “readily convertible assets” and are publicly traded, quoted or listed on a recognized exchange or securities market , Optionee shall not be required to enter into a Joint Election as a condition of participation in the Plan and the exercise of the Option.
Responsibility for Taxes.
If payment or withholding of the income tax is due in connection with the Option and is not made within ninety (90) days after the end of the year in which the event giving rise to the income tax liability occurs or such other period specified in Section 222(1)(c) of the ITEPA 2003 (the “Due Date”), the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a loan owed by Optionee to the Employer, effective on the Due Date. Optionee agrees that the loan will bear interest at then-current Official Rate of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”), it will be immediately due and repayable, and the Company or the Employer may recover it at any time thereafter by any of the means referred to in the Agreement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Optionee is a director or executive officer of the Company (within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), Optionee will not be eligible for such a loan to cover the income tax due as described above. In the event that Optionee is a director or executive officer and the income tax is not collected from or paid by Optionee by the Due Date, the amount of any uncollected tax will constitute a benefit to Optionee on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions, or NICs will be payable. Optionee acknowledges that the Company or the Employer may recover any such additional income tax and NICs at any time thereafter by any of the means referred to in the Agreement. Optionee will also be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax and NICs due on this additional benefit directly to HMRC under the self-assessment regime.
Annex A
FORM OF STOCK OPTION EXERCISE NOTICE AND AGREEMENT
STOCK OPTION EXERCISE NOTICE AND AGREEMENT
Avalyn Pharma Inc.
2022 Equity Incentive Plan
*NOTE: You must sign this Notice before submitting it to Avalyn Pharma Inc. (the “Company”) AND, if requested to do so by the Company, you must also sign the signature pages to the Company’s then-current Company Co-Sale Agreement and Company Voting Agreement (as those terms are defined in the Stock Option Agreement) before submitting this Notice to the Company.
Optionee Information: Please provide the following information about yourself (“Optionee”):
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Address: |
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Employee Number: |
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Email Address: |
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Option Information: Please provide this information on the option being exercised (the “Option”):
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Grant No. |
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Date of Grant: |
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Type of Stock Option: |
Option Price per Share: $____ |
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Nonqualified (NQSO) |
Total number of shares of Common Stock of the Company subject to the Option: |
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Incentive (ISO) |
Exercise Information:
Number of shares of Common Stock of the Company for which the Option is now being exercised [________________]. (These shares are referred to below as the “Purchased Shares.”)
Total Exercise Price Being Paid for the Purchased Shares: $____________
Form of payment enclosed [check all that apply]:
Check for $____________, payable to “Avalyn Pharma Inc.”
Certificate(s) for ________________ shares of Common Stock of the Company. These shares will be valued as of the date this notice is received by the Company. [Requires Company consent.]
Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transfer in the amount of $___________.
Agreements, Representations and Acknowledgments of Optionee: By signing this Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement, Optionee hereby agrees with, and represents to, the Company as follows:
1.Terms Governing. I acknowledge and agree with the Company that I am acquiring the Purchased Shares by exercise of this Option subject to all other terms and conditions of the Notice of Stock Option Grant and the Stock Option Agreement that govern the Option, including without limitation the terms of the Company’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).
2.Investment Intent; Securities Law Restrictions. I represent and warrant to the Company that I am acquiring and will hold the Purchased Shares for investment for my account only, and not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any “distribution” of the Purchased Shares within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). I understand that the Purchased Shares
have not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a specific exemption from such registration requirement and that the Purchased Shares must be held by me indefinitely, unless they are subsequently registered under the Securities Act or I obtain an opinion of counsel (in form and substance satisfactory to the Company and its counsel) that registration is not required. I acknowledge that the Company is under no obligation to register the Purchased Shares under the Securities Act or under any other securities law.
3.Restrictions on Transfer: Rule 144. I will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of the Purchased Shares in violation of the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the rules promulgated thereunder (including Rule 144 under the Securities Act described below (“Rule 144”)) or of any other applicable securities laws. I am aware of Rule 144, which permits limited public resales of securities acquired in a non-public offering, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, which include (without limitation) that: (a) certain current public information about the Company is available; (b) the resale occurs only after the holding period required by Rule 144 has been met; (c) the sale occurs through an unsolicited “broker’s transaction”; and (d) the amount of securities being sold during any three-month period does not exceed specified limitations. I understand that the conditions for resale set forth in Rule 144 have not been satisfied and that the Company has no plans to satisfy these conditions in the foreseeable future.
4.Access to Information; Understanding of Risk in Investment. I acknowledge that I have received and had access to such information as I consider necessary or appropriate for deciding whether to invest in the Purchased Shares and that I had an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from the Company regarding the terms and conditions of the issuance of the Purchased Shares. I am aware that my investment in the Company is a speculative investment that has limited liquidity and is subject to the risk of complete loss. I am able, without impairing my financial condition, to hold the Purchased Shares for an indefinite period and to suffer a complete loss of my investment in the Purchased Shares.
5.Rights of First Refusal; Market Stand-off. I acknowledge that the Purchased Shares remain subject to the Company’s Right of First Refusal and the market stand-off covenants (sometimes referred to as the “lock-up”), all in accordance with the applicable Notice of Stock Option Grant and the Stock Option Agreement that govern the Option.
6.Restrictions on Transfer: Bylaws. I acknowledge that the Purchased Shares will be subject to the restrictions on transferability and resale set forth in the Company’s Bylaws as currently in effect.
7.Form of Ownership. I acknowledge that the Company has encouraged me to consult my own adviser to determine the form of ownership of the Purchased Shares that is appropriate for me. In the event that I choose to transfer my Purchased Shares to a trust, I agree to sign a Stock Transfer Agreement. In the event that I choose to transfer my Purchased Shares to a trust that is not an eligible revocable trust, I also acknowledge that the transfer will be treated as a “disposition” for tax purposes. As a result, the favorable ISO tax treatment will be unavailable and other unfavorable tax consequences may occur.
8.Investigation of Tax Consequences. I acknowledge that the Company has encouraged me to consult my own adviser to determine the tax consequences of acquiring the Purchased Shares at this time.
9.Other Tax Matters. I agree that the Company does not have a duty to design or administer the Plan or its other compensation programs in a manner that minimizes my tax liabilities. I will not make any claim against the Company or its Board, officers or employees related to tax liabilities arising from my options or my other compensation. In particular, I acknowledge that my options (including the Option) are exempt from section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code only if the exercise price per share is at least equal to the fair market value per share of the Common Stock at the time the option was granted by the Board. Since shares of the Common Stock are not traded on an established securities market, the determination of their fair market value was made by the Board and/or by an independent valuation firm retained by the Company. I acknowledge that there is no guarantee in either case that the Internal
Revenue Service will agree with the valuation, and I will not make any claim against the Company or its Board, officers or employees in the event that the Internal Revenue Service asserts that the valuation was too low.\
10.Spouse Consent. I agree to seek the consent of my spouse to the extent required by the Company to enforce the foregoing.
11.Agreement to Enter into Company Co-Sale Agreement and Company Voting Agreement. Pursuant to the Stock Option Agreement, if requested to do so by the Company, I agree to enter into and execute the then-current Company Co-Sale Agreement and/or the then-current Company Voting Agreement concurrently with my exercise of the Option or at any other time I am requested to do so by the Company. I acknowledge that by entering into the Company Co-Sale Agreement I will be subjecting the Purchased Shares to the rights of first refusal, co-sale rights and all the other provisions of the Company Co-Sale Agreement and that by entering into the Voting Agreement I will be subjected to voting and other obligations and covenants regarding all Company shares I own and all other provisions of the Company Voting Agreement, in addition to the right of first refusal, repurchase option and market stand-off provisions described above.
12.Tax Withholding. As a condition of exercising this Option, I agree to make adequate provision for foreign, federal, state or other tax withholding obligations, if any, which arise upon the grant, vesting or exercise of this Option, or disposition of the Purchased Shares, whether by withholding, direct payment to the Company, or otherwise.
The undersigned hereby executes and delivers this Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement and agrees to be bound by its terms.
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Signature: |
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Date: |
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Optionee’s Name: |
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[Signature Page to Stock Option Exercise Notice and Agreement]
EX-10.12
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.12
License Agreement
by and between
PARI PHARMA GmbH
and
Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
April 3, 2017
LICENSE AGREEMENT
THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is effective as of April 3, 2017 (the “Effective Date”), and is by and between GENOA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a Delaware corporation having its principal place of business at 12670 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, CA 92130, USA (“Genoa”), and PARI PHARMA GmbH, a German corporation having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, D-82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”). Genoa and PARI are individually a “Party” or collectively “Parties.”
RECITALS
Whereas, PARI is the owner of all right, title and interest in or otherwise has the right to license certain Patents and Information (including Know-How) related to the Device and any Accessory (each as hereinafter defined);
Whereas, the Parties wish to collaborate in the development of the Drug Product(s) for delivery using the Device in the Field in the Territory (each as hereinafter defined); and
Whereas, PARI desires to grant, and Genoa desires to accept, the License (as hereinafter defined) to develop and commercialize the Drug Product(s) for delivery exclusively using the Device in the Field in the Territory on the terms and conditions set forth herein.
AGREEMENT
Now, Therefore, for and in consideration of the above-described recitals, the mutual covenants of the Parties hereinafter contained and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged by the Parties, the Parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, enter into the agreements contained herein.
For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
“AAA” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13.2 (Arbitration).
“Accessor(y)/(ies)” shall mean any proprietary accessory owned or controlled by PARI and that is provided to patients separately from, but intended to be utilized with, the Device as listed in Schedule F. For the avoidance of doubt, Accessor(y)/(ies) do not include Drug Product(s).
“Accessory Know-How” shall mean [***].
“Accessory Patent(s)” shall mean any Patent which is owned, licensed or otherwise controlled by PARI or any of its Affiliates as of the Effective Date or during the Term and is necessary or useful to Exploit any Accessory in the Territory.
“Act” means the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and applicable regulations promulgated thereunder, as they may be amended or supplemented from time to time, or an equivalent application under any successor laws or regulations.
“Action” shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 10.3 (Indemnification Procedures).
“Additional Specifications” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.4 (Commercial Specifications).
“Affiliate” means, with respect to either Party or any third party, any person or entity which, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the specified Party or such third party. For the purposes of this definition, the term “control,” as applied to any person or entity, means the ownership or control, directly or indirectly, of 50% or more of all of the voting power of the shares (or other securities or rights) entitled to vote for the election of directors or other governing authority; provided, however, that such entity shall be considered an “Affiliate” only during the time that such “control” exists. For clarity, venture investors of Genoa and their portfolio companies (unless such portfolio companies independently meet the Affiliate definition) shall not be considered Affiliates of Genoa regardless of the capital structure of Genoa.
“Annual Minimum Royalties” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.5 (Annual Minimum Royalties).
“Bankruptcy Code” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11.6 (Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code).
“Baseline Exchange Rate” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.3.3 (Exchange Rate).
“[***] Patents” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 8.3.1 (Intellectual Property).
“Business Day” means each day of the week other than Saturday, Sunday or a federal or state holiday in the United States or Germany.
“CAC” means the Change Advisory Committee referred to in Section 3.1.2 (New Features and Design Improvements).
“Change of Control Transaction” shall mean the consolidation or merger of Genoa with or into any other corporation, corporations, or other entities, or a sale, conveyance, or a sublicense of a majority of its rights and obligations under this Agreement to a third party, or disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of Genoa, or the effectuation by Genoa of a transaction or series of transactions in which at least [***] of the voting power of Genoa is sold in connection with such transaction(s). For clarity, a financing transaction by Genoa, either as a private equity financing or public offering, shall not be deemed a Change of Control Transaction, unless as part of such financing, a pharmaceutical or other strategic buyer company purchases more than [***] of Genoa’s voting power.
“Claim” means any charge, allegation, notice, civil, criminal or administrative claim, demand, complaint, cause of action, or Proceeding.
“Combination Product” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities).
“[***]” shall mean any Product [***].
“Commercially Reasonable Efforts” means [***].
“Committee” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.1 (Formation; General Authority).
“Confidential Information” means all confidential and/or proprietary Information of a Party that is disclosed to the other Party under this Agreement, which may include specifications, Know-How, trade secrets, legal information, technical information, drawings, designs, models, prices and pricing policies, marketing practices, customer lists, business information, regulatory strategies, inventions, discoveries, methods, procedures, source code, object code, databases, data structures, pseudocode, protocols, techniques, data, and unpublished patent applications, whether disclosed in oral, written, graphic, or electronic form.
“CS Device” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.8 (Option for Closed System).
“CDA” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14.9 (Entire Agreement).
“Development Work Plan” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.3.1 (Development Work Plan).
“Device” shall mean the Nebulizer currently known as the PARI eFlow Technology Nebulizer System that is optimized and/or customized and intended for use with the Drug Product, the specifications for which Device are described in more detail in Schedule A1 attached hereto. “Device” shall also include the CS Device upon Genoa’s exercise of the option in accordance with Section 2.8 (Option for Closed System). For the avoidance of doubt, the term “Device” shall (i) include all components of the Device including those set forth on Schedule A2 attached hereto and incorporated by reference herein, and (ii) meet the specifications, performance characteristics, parameters and requirements for the Device set forth in the Development Work Plan. The Parties acknowledge and agree that the Device is currently intended to be used with [***]. If Genoa exercises the option set forth in Section 2.8 (Option for Closed System), the final performance specification features and acceptance criteria for the CS Device shall be determined by the Parties and set forth in the Development Work Plan and, when complete, shall be attached as an exhibit to this Agreement.
“Dispute” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13.1 (Informal Resolution).
“Drug Product(s)” means any liquid formulation of pirfenidone, N-aryl-pyridones, including N-phenyl-pyridones, and combinations of pirfenidone and N-aryl-pyridones, [***].
“Drug Vial” shall mean any [***].
“Effective Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the introduction.
“eFlow Technology Nebulizer” shall mean a Nebulizer proprietary to PARI or its Affiliates that is based on a perforated vibrating membrane technology and includes the mixing chamber and valve system.
“EMA” means the European Medicines Agency and any successor agencies.
“Encumbrance” means with respect to [***] within the Territory any lien, pledge, security interest, right of first refusal, option, title defect, Claim, license, restriction, or other adverse claim or interest or encumbrance of any kind or nature whatsoever, whether or not perfected, including any restriction on use, transfer, receipt of income or exercise of any other attribute of ownership.
“Europe” means all countries that are members of the European Union during the Term plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, and any country that leaves the European Union.
“Exclusive” means that, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, neither PARI nor any of its Affiliates shall itself Exploit or license or grant rights to or otherwise affirmatively facilitate any third party to Exploit, directly or indirectly, the Drug Product(s) for use with the Device in the Field in the Territory.
“Exploit,” “Exploiting” or “Exploitation” means to formulate, develop, seek Regulatory Approval for, make, have made, use, sell, have sold, offer for sale, market, promote, import, export, display, make derivative works of, copy, distribute, perform or otherwise commercialize or dispose of.
“FDA” means the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and any successor agencies.
“Field” means [***].
“First Commercial Sale” means, on a country-by-country and on a Drug Product by Drug Product basis, the date of the first commercial sale of each of the Drug Product(s), for which Regulatory Approval has been obtained, in the Territory by Genoa, its Affiliate, or Permitted Sublicensee to an unaffiliated third party.
“GAAP” means (i) with respect to Genoa and calculations to be performed by Genoa, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, (ii) with respect to PARI and calculations to be performed by PARI, generally accepted accounting principles in Germany or the International Accounting Standard, and (iii) with respect to a Permitted Sublicensee and calculations to be performed by such Permitted Sublicensee, generally accepted accounting principles in the country where such Permitted Sublicensee has its principal place of business or the International Account Standard, in each case of (i), (ii) and (iii) consistently applied by such Party throughout its enterprise.
“General Purpose eFlow Technology Nebulizer” means any nebulizer proprietary to PARI or its Affiliates that is based on a perforated vibrating membrane technology which meets the performance characteristics of a General Purpose Nebulizer.
“General Purpose Nebulizer” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 8.8.1 (Non-Compete in Territory and Exclusivity).
“Genoa Data” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.4.1 (Improvements).
“Genoa Patent(s)” means any Patent which is owned, licensed (excluding the PARI Patents) or otherwise controlled by Genoa or any of its Affiliates as of the Effective Date or during the Term and is necessary or useful to Exploit the Drug Product(s) for use exclusively with the Device in the Field in the Territory.
“Genoa Requirements” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1.2 (New Features and Design Improvements).
“Genoa Representatives” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.7 (Restrictions on Use).
“Genoa Specific Activities” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.3.3 (Development Work Plan).
“Genoa Technology” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.4.1 (Improvements).
“Handset” means that individual component of the Device consisting of the handset with aerosol head, including all outer packaging and instructions for use accompanying the Handset and any other elements necessary for delivery to the patient.
“Improvements” means any improvements, discoveries, inventions, developments, enhancements, derivative works, technology, Know-How and other intellectual property, whether or not patentable or protectable, discovered and/or reduced to practice by a Party after the Effective Date.
“Incremental Improvement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.1.2 (New Features and Design Improvements).
“IND” means Investigational New Drug Application as defined under the Act, or an equivalent application under any successor laws or regulations.
“Indemnifying Party” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 10.3 (Indemnification Procedures).
“Indemnitee” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 10.3 (Indemnification Procedures).
“Initial Payment Amount” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.1 (Initial Payments).
“Information” means information of any type whatsoever, in any tangible or intangible form, including Know-How (including PARI Know How, Accessory Know-How, and Genoa Know-How, as the case may be), trade secrets, specifications, instructions, or compositions of matter of any type or kind (whether patentable or not patentable), software, algorithms, marketing reports, test data (including preclinical and clinical test data), analytical and quality control data, other study data, and procedures, in all cases that is owned or controlled by a Party. For the avoidance of doubt, Information includes a Party’s Confidential Information.
“Know-How” means [***].
“Law” means any federal, state or local law, statute or ordinance, or any rule, regulation, or published guidelines promulgated by any governmental or Regulatory Authority, including the Act.
“License” means the licenses set forth in Sections 2.1 (License), 2.3 (Right to Sublicense) and 2.6 (Trademark License) of this Agreement.
“Licensed Intellectual Property” means the [***].
“MAA” means a marketing authorization application filed with the European Medicines Agency or any applicable Regulatory Authority of a country within Europe.
“Major Improvement” shall have the meaning given in Section 3.1.2(a)(iii).
“Major Market” means any one of the following: [***].
“Major EU Countries” means [***].
“NDA” means a New Drug Application filed with the FDA as defined under the Act and applicable regulations promulgated thereunder, as amended or supplemented from time to time, or an equivalent application under any successor law or regulations.
“Nebulizer” means any nebulizer or other device that delivers a formulation in the form of droplets to the airways, including the Device and eFlow Technology Nebulizer. For the avoidance of doubt, the term “Nebulizer” shall not include any device that delivers a formulation solely or primarily via the nose.
“Net Sales” means [***].
[***]
“Original Competitors” shall have the meaning set forth in Schedule B.
“PARI Competitor” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense).
“PARI Know-How” means any Know-How, other than the Accessory Know-How, which is necessary or useful to Exploit the Device in the Field in the Territory and is owned, licensed or otherwise controlled by PARI or any of its Affiliates as of the Effective Date or during the Term, including the PARI Technology, if any.
“PARI Patent(s)” means [***].
“PARI Technology” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3.4.1 (Improvements).
“Patent(s)” means:
(a) patents or patent applications;
(b) any divisionals, continuations, RCEs, substitutions, continuations-in-part, extensions, renewals, re-examinations, or reissues of such patents or applications, as applicable; and
(c) any foreign counterparts of any of the foregoing.
“Patient Connection Services” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.3.1 (Manufacture and Supply of the Device).
“Permitted Sublicensee” means [***].
“Phase 1 Clinical Trial” means any human clinical trial of any of the Drug Product(s) delivered via the Device to humans, as described in 21 C.F.R. §312.21(a).
“Phase 2 Clinical Trial” means any human clinical trial of any of the Drug Product(s) delivered via the Device to humans, as described in 21 C.F.R. §312.21(b).
“Phase 3 Clinical Trial” means any human clinical trial of the Drug Product(s) delivered via the Device to humans, as described in 21 C.F.R. 312.21(c).
“Priority Party” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2.3 (Enforcement).
“Probable Infringement or Misappropriation” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.6 (Permitted Reductions in Royalty).
“Proceeding” means any action, arbitration, audit (to the knowledge of such Party), hearing, investigation (to the knowledge of such Party), litigation or suit (whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or informal) commenced, brought, conducted or heard by or before, or otherwise involving any governmental entity or arbitrator.
“Products” shall mean: (i) the Drug Product(s); (ii) the Device; (iii) any Accessory; and (iv) any Improvement to the Drug Product(s), the Device, or any Accessory during the Term. Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees may in their discretion develop multiple Products consistent with the scope of the foregoing definition.
“Product-Specific Infringement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2.1 (Enforcement).
“PTO” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.1.4 (Patent Prosecution and Maintenance).
“Regulatory Activities” means any and all actions reasonably necessary or required to obtain or maintain the Regulatory Approvals, including the design and conduct of clinical trials as necessary.
“Regulatory Approval” means with respect to the Device, any Accessory, the Drug Product(s) or any Improvements to the foregoing, any approval required under the Act (i.e., the approval of the 510(k) or NDA, as applicable) and any similar governmental approvals required in any jurisdiction in the Territory to Exploit such Device, Accessory, Drug Product(s) or Improvements to the foregoing, but excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, reimbursement approvals.
“Regulatory Authority” shall mean the FDA and any similar governmental authority, administrative agency or commission of any country, state, county, city or other political subdivision in the Territory.
“Requesting Party” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 6.2.3 (Enforcement).
“RCE” shall mean request for continued examination.
“Royalty” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.4.1 (Royalty Rate).
“Royalty Term” means, on a country-by-country and Drug Product-by-Drug Product basis in the Territory, the period of time from the Effective Date through [***].
“Significant Improvement” shall mean an Improvement to a Device or Accessory that does not constitute an Incremental Improvement or a Major Improvement.
“Study Protocol” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.7 (Restrictions on Use).
“Sublicense” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense).
“Supply Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 9.1 (Supply Agreement).
“Term” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11.1 (Term).
“Territory” means all countries of the world.
“Trademarks” means the trademarks or service marks of PARI, Genoa or a Permitted Sublicensee, as applicable, appropriate for use on or in connection with the Device which are owned, licensed or otherwise controlled by PARI, Genoa or a Permitted Sublicensee, as applicable, or any of their Affiliates as of the Effective Date or during the Term, which trademarks or service marks shall be agreed to, identified and set forth in the license thereto contained in the Supply Agreement.
[***].
[***] shall mean [***].
“United States” mean the United States of America.
“USPTO” means the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
“Valid Claim” means an issued claim of an unexpired Patent that shall not have been held invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction in an unappealed or unappealable decision; or a claim of a pending Patent application filed at any time prior to the [***] of the date on which the first Regulatory Approval was obtained by Genoa of the Drug Product with the Device, on a country-by-country basis, that shall not have been withdrawn, canceled or disclaimed. On a country-by-country basis, a Patent application pending for more than [***] shall not be considered to have any Valid Claim for the purposes of this Agreement unless thereafter a Patent with respect to such Patent application issues with such claim; provided, however, that if in such [***] the applicable governmental agencies have not completed their review of the claims of the pending Patent application, then such [***] shall be extended for a further [***] and if after [***] such Patent application is still pending then such Patent application shall not be considered to have any Valid Claim for the purposes of this Agreement unless thereafter a Patent with respect to such Patent application issues with such claim. For purposes of clarification, a continuation, RCE or similar application shall not be considered a new application for time of pendency and shall be combined with the respective priority application(s).
“Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC)” means the manufacturer’s published catalogue or list price for a drug product to wholesalers.
“Year of Sales” means any [***], commencing with [***].
Unless the context of this Agreement otherwise requires: (a) words of any gender include each other gender; (b) words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number, respectively; (c) the terms “hereof,” “herein,” “hereby,” and derivative or similar towards refer to this entire Agreement; (d) the terms “Section” or “Schedule” refer to the specified Section or Schedule of this Agreement; (e) the term “or” has, except where otherwise indicated, the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase, “and/or”; (f) the term “including” means “including, without limitation”; and (g) “days” refers to calendar days. All accounting terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms under GAAP. All references to “$” amounts hereunder shall be deemed to be U.S. Dollars, and all payments due hereunder shall be made in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise specified.
2.1License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and compliance with the foregoing:
2.1.1PARI hereby grants to Genoa an Exclusive, sublicensable (in accordance with Section 2.2 ([***]) and Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense), as applicable), transferable (in accordance with Section 14.6 (Assignment)), Royalty-bearing license under the Licensed Intellectual Property, to Exploit the Device for exclusive use with the Drug Product(s) in the Field in the Territory; provided, however, that Genoa shall not have the right to develop, copy, make or have made, make derivative works of, or seek Regulatory Approvals for the Device (subject to Section 3.1.1(b)) or any component of any of the foregoing, as long as PARI fulfills its manufacture, supply and related regulatory obligations as set forth in the Supply Agreement (which will be consistent with the provisions of Section 9 of this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed to by the Parties in the Supply Agreement).
2.1.2PARI hereby grants to Genoa a non-exclusive, sublicensable (in accordance with Section 2.2 ([***]) and Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense), as applicable), transferable (in accordance with Section 14.6 (Assignment)), Royalty-free license under the Licensed Intellectual Property to Exploit any Accessory for exclusive use with the Device solely for use with the Drug Product(s) in the Field in the Territory; provided, however, that Genoa shall not have the right to develop, copy, make or have made, make derivative works of, or seek Regulatory Approvals for Accessories or any component of any of the foregoing, as long as PARI fulfills its manufacture, supply and regulatory obligations as set forth in the Supply Agreement (which will be consistent with the provisions of Section 9 of this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed to by the Parties in the Supply Agreement).
2.1.3The foregoing licenses shall be [***].
2.2[***]. During the Term, PARI hereby grants to Genoa, on a non-sublicensable (except as allowed pursuant to this Section 2.2) and non-transferable basis, (i) an Exclusive sublicense under the [***], and (ii) an Exclusive sublicense under the [***] identified and set forth on Schedule C attached hereto and referred to therein as the [***], in each case to Exploit the Device for exclusive use with the Drug Product(s) in the Field in the Territory; provided, however, that Genoa shall not have the right to develop, copy, make or have made, make derivative works of, or seek Regulatory Approvals for the Device, any Accessory, or any component of any of the foregoing, as long as PARI fulfills its manufacture, supply and regulatory obligations as set forth in the Supply Agreement (which will be consistent with the provisions of Section 9 of this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed to by the Parties in the Supply Agreement). In the event Genoa transfers or Sublicenses the License granted in Section 2.1 (License) to a third party, PARI shall upon Genoa’s request directly grant a Sublicense of PARI’s rights under the [***] to the transferee or Permitted Sublicensee for no additional consideration other than that already due to PARI under this Agreement. Such additional grant of a Sublicense shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
2.3Right to Sublicense. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement including Section 2.2 ([***]) above, and compliance therewith, Genoa shall have the right to grant sublicenses (individually, a “Sublicense”) under the License to third parties; provided, however, such Sublicenses shall (i) comply and be consistent, in all respects, with all the terms of this Agreement, (ii) be for the Drug Product(s) for exclusive use with the Device, (iii) impose on the Permitted Sublicensee the same obligations and restrictions as are imposed on Genoa under this Agreement appropriate for the territory sublicensed, as stipulated elsewhere in this Agreement, (iv) not impose any obligations on PARI that are more stringent or different from those obligations on PARI set forth in this Agreement, and (v) name PARI as a third party beneficiary under the sublicense agreement solely with respect to obligations of the Sublicensee which are equal to the obligations of Genoa under this Agreement or imposed on the Sublicensee due to provisions under this Agreement. Genoa shall [***] provide PARI with a copy of any agreement governing such Sublicense to be granted by Genoa prior to its execution, with terms unrelated to the License or this Agreement redacted, and provide PARI with an opportunity to comment thereon (PARI shall provide such comments [***] but in no event later than [***] after receiving such copy) and Genoa shall consider such comments by PARI in good faith and incorporate such comments when appropriate, acting in good faith. Genoa shall deliver to PARI a copy of any and all executed sublicense agreements [***] after their execution (with terms unrelated to the License or this Agreement redacted). Any Sublicense shall not relieve Genoa of its obligations to PARI under this Agreement and Genoa shall remain fully responsible for performance of this Agreement notwithstanding any Sublicenses granted by Genoa, and shall cause any Permitted Sublicensee to comply with the applicable terms and conditions of this Agreement. In the event of any breach of the Sublicense, Genoa shall [***] notify PARI of such breach as well as Genoa’s intended response thereto. Genoa shall take all steps, at its own expense, to enforce the terms of such Sublicense against the Permitted Sublicensee, including termination if such breach is not cured within the applicable cure period in the Sublicense agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Genoa shall not grant such Sublicense to a PARI Competitor without PARI’s consent. For such purposes a “PARI Competitor” shall mean an entity identified in Schedule B attached hereto.
2.4Unbundling of Sales. PARI understands that the Device and any Accessory may be sold separately by Genoa or its Permitted Sublicensees for use with the Drug Product(s) in the Field in the Territory, and the License permits such sales. By way of example, but not limitation, Genoa may sell the Device or Accessories alone with respect to a prescription for the Device for use with the Drug Product(s), and it may sell the Drug Product(s) separately with respect to a separate prescription for the Drug Product(s) for use with the Device for single or multiple uses, including refills. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Genoa acknowledges and agrees that all Drug Product(s) and/or Accessories shall be sold for exclusive use with the Device.
2.5Disclosure of Licensed Intellectual Property. Following the receipt of the Initial Payment Amount in accordance with Section 5.1 (Initial Payments), PARI shall (a) [***] deliver to Genoa, or provide Genoa with copies of: (i) upon the reasonable request of Genoa, any and all publicly available PARI Patents and Accessory Patents so requested and (ii) upon the reasonable request of Genoa and agreed to in good faith by PARI, any and all material PARI Know-How so requested in sufficient detail in order for a reasonably-skilled person to practice and Exploit such PARI Know-How included in the Licensed Intellectual Property as contemplated in this
Agreement; and (b) upon the reasonable request of Genoa, discuss with Genoa the substance of any non-publicly available PARI Patents and Accessory Patents and provide a demonstration to the extent practical.
2.6Trademark Licenses. PARI agrees to grant Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees a license to certain Trademarks controlled by PARI and related to the Device for no additional consideration as agreed to by the Parties and set forth in the Supply Agreement. Genoa agrees and shall cause its Permitted Sublicensee, in each case if required by any Regulatory Authority or by applicable Law, to grant PARI and its Affiliates a license to certain Trademarks for no additional consideration as agreed to by the Parties and set forth in the Supply Agreement.
2.7.1Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees shall have the right to reference PARI’s 510(k) applications, CE mark documentation and other related or corresponding filings with Regulatory Authorities pertaining to the Device or any Accessory, as filed by PARI or its Affiliates with Regulatory Authorities from time to time, to the extent necessary or useful for Genoa, its Affiliates and/or its Permitted Sublicensees to obtain Regulatory Approval for the Drug Product(s) for exclusive use with the Device in the Field in the Territory. PARI shall provide Genoa, its Affiliates and its Permitted Sublicensees with reasonable access to the design history file and any risk analysis materials pertaining to any such Device, eFlow Technology Nebulizer or Accessory and shall, from time to time, at Genoa’s expense but with the prior approval of PARI (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), make available to Genoa, its Affiliates or its Permitted Sublicensees copies of such selected portions of such design history file and risk analysis materials as they may request, in each case to the extent necessary for Genoa, its Affiliates and/or its Permitted Sublicensees to obtain Regulatory Approval for the Drug Product(s) for exclusive use with the Device in the Field in the Territory. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 2.7, PARI shall at no time be required to provide any Information or access to Genoa, its Affiliates, and its Permitted Sublicensees that may violate PARI’s confidentiality obligations with third parties or that would disclose to Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees any proprietary or Confidential Information of such third party; provided, however, in the event such Information or access is reasonably necessary for Genoa to practice the license granted to it under this Agreement or perform its obligation under this Agreement, then PARI shall, at Genoa’s request, use best efforts to obtain consent from such third parties to allow the provision of such Information or access to Genoa.
2.7.2Subject to Section 8.8 (Non-Compete in Territory and Exclusivity), PARI and its Affiliates shall from time to time have the right to reference and to obtain copies of Device-related portions of Genoa’s, its Affiliates’ and its Permitted Sublicensees’ IND and NDA and other related or corresponding filings with Regulatory Authorities pertaining to the Product(s), as filed by Genoa, its Affiliates or its Permitted Sublicensees with Regulatory Authorities, to the extent (i) it is necessary or useful for Regulatory Approval of the Product(s) in the Field in the Territory; or (ii) with the prior approval of Genoa (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), for PARI and/or its Affiliates to obtain Regulatory Approval for any Nebulizer proprietary to PARI or its Affiliates outside the Field.
2.8Option for Closed System. PARI hereby grants to Genoa an option to expand the Licenses set forth in Section 2 (Grant of Rights) to include a closed system eFlow Technology Nebulizer (“CS Device”) for exclusive use with the Drug Product(s) in the Field in the Territory. Genoa may exercise such option by providing written notice to PARI referencing this Section 2.8. Promptly following the exercise of such option by Genoa, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith any amendment to this Agreement as may be necessary in order to incorporate the CS Device and the Drug Vial (e.g., incorporate any patents owned or licensed by PARI covering the CS Device and the Drug Vial), it being understood that the milestone payments set forth in Section 5.2 and the Royalties set forth in Section 5.4 for a CS Device shall apply.
2.9Additional Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient. If Genoa identifies a business opportunity for a drug product comprising any of the Drug Products and another active pharmaceutical ingredient and Genoa wishes to include such drug product under the License, as set for in Section 2.1 (License), then Genoa shall approach PARI in writing. PARI shall consider such request and discuss in good faith with Genoa the related business opportunity.
3.DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION MATTERS.
3.1General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities.
3.1.1General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities. It is currently anticipated by the Parties that, with respect to the United States, the Device regulatory path shall not include a separate 510(k) submission to the Center for Devices and Radiological Health for clearance of the Device. Instead, the Parties currently anticipate proceeding with a single marketing application for the combination product of the Drug Product and the Device (a “Combination Product”) in the form of a NDA for the Drug Product, which single marketing application will contain a Device module similar in format and content to a 510(k) application. In such case the Parties agree that Genoa shall be responsible for the submission, corresponding with the FDA or the foreign Regulatory Authority equivalent thereof, as applicable, and managing the regulatory filings and the Regulatory Activities with respect to such single application for a Combination Product, subject to the requirements in Section 3.1.1(a)(i)-(vi) and provided that PARI shall at all times control the marking, labeling, CE conformity declaration and technical documentation with respect to the Device, subject to the following:
(a)With respect to the Drug Product(s), Genoa shall control all Regulatory Activities in accordance with this Section 3.1 and Section 3.2 (Specific Development Matters); provided, however, Genoa shall (i) consult with PARI with respect to the regulatory strategy related to any Device component or any Accessory component and otherwise keep PARI reasonably involved in good faith discussions with respect to such activities, (ii) upon PARI’s request and Genoa’s consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), provide PARI with copies of correspondence received from and to be provided to, Regulatory Authorities concerning any Device component or any Accessory component, (iii) subject to Section 3.1.1(b)(i) (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities) consider in good faith all reasonable suggestions and comments provided by PARI with respect to such correspondence and other communications with Regulatory Authorities, and specifically,
use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to allow PARI reasonable advance opportunity to comment on those portions of the initial submissions and subsequent amendments with respect to the Regulatory Approvals related to any Device component or Accessory component, (iv) use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to respond to all requests for information received from Regulatory Authorities with respect to any Device component or any Accessory component in a timely and complete manner, (v) allow a representative from PARI at their own expense to participate in any meeting, including face to face meetings, with Regulatory Authorities if the Device will be subject matter of such meeting, and (vi) not voluntarily take any action or fail to take any action which would be reasonably likely to have an adverse effect on the development of the Products and related Regulatory Approvals, including with respect to the timelines set forth in the Development Work Plan.
(b)PARI shall control all Regulatory Activities relating to the Device and any Accessory and shall own all Regulatory Approvals relating to the forgoing; provided, however, (i) in the event that a Regulatory Authority determines to only accept regulatory approval for the Device via the Drug Product as a Combination Product, as opposed to a Device-only application by PARI, Genoa shall have final decision-making authority regarding the regulatory filings and related Regulatory Activities for such Combination Products; subject to PARI’s right at all times to reasonably revise any documentation on the Device or any Accessory submitted to any Regulatory Authority and to approve such documentation (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), and (ii) PARI shall (1) consult with Genoa with respect to the regulatory strategy related to the Device or any Accessory and otherwise keep Genoa reasonably involved in good faith discussions with respect to such activities, (2) upon Genoa’s request and PARI’s consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), provide Genoa with copies of correspondence received from and to be provided to, Regulatory Authorities concerning the Device or any Accessory, (3) consider in good faith all reasonable suggestions and comments provided by Genoa with respect to such correspondence and other communications with Regulatory Authorities, and specifically, use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to allow Genoa reasonable advance opportunity to comment on initial submissions and subsequent amendments with respect to the Regulatory Approvals, (4) use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to respond to all requests for information received from Regulatory Authorities with respect to the Device or any Accessory in a timely and complete manner and (5) not voluntarily take any action or fail to take any action which would be reasonably likely to have an adverse effect on the development of the Product and related Regulatory Approvals, including with respect to the timelines set forth in the Development Work Plan.
(c)PARI shall control all manufacturing activities relating to the Device or any Accessory; provided, however, PARI shall (i) keep Genoa reasonably informed with respect to such activities, (ii) consider in good faith all reasonable suggestions and comments provided by Genoa with respect to such activities, and (iii) not take any action or fail to take any action which would be reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the development of the Product or manufacture thereof, including the quality, reliability, robustness or user interface of the Device or any Accessory or which would otherwise have an adverse effect on the Drug Product(s) when used with the Device or any Accessory.
(d)In the event the responsible Regulatory Authority determines not to only accept regulatory approval for the Device via the Drug Product as a Combination Product and to accept different approval pathways for the Drug Product and the Device, the Parties shall cooperate in good faith to obtain any Regulatory Approvals for the [***] via the Device. PARI shall provide or make available to Regulatory Authorities regulatory and technical information relating to the Device and/or components thereof as reasonably requested by Genoa to the extent required by a Regulatory Authority or that the Parties mutually agree will be helpful for a filing with a Regulatory Authority. Genoa shall provide regulatory and technical information and data relating to the Drug Product as reasonably requested by PARI to the extent required by a Regulatory Authority or that the Parties mutually agree will be helpful for a filing with a Regulatory Authority or in order for PARI to submit similar Device-specific filings with any appropriate Regulatory Authority. PARI shall cooperate with any inspection of its facilities (including facilities of its Affiliates) by any Regulatory Authority relating to the Device. Genoa shall cooperate with any inspection of its facilities (including facilities of its Affiliates) by any Regulatory Authority relating to the Drug Product. Each Party shall notify the other Party, [***] but in any event within [***] via telephone, followed by a notice in writing in the event any action is taken or threatened by a Regulatory Authority relating to the Device and the Drug Product(s), as applicable.
(e)If the Device is required to be covered by the NDA filed for a Drug Product, the Parties shall cooperate to implement necessary changes to the Device arising from requirements of manufacturing scale-up, corrective and preventive actions and market feedback during the commercial phase (subject to Section 3.1.2 a) (New Features and Design Improvement)).
3.1.2New Features and Design Improvements.
(a)General. The Parties acknowledge that Improvements to the Device and/or Accessory will likely be necessary even after the Parties will have initially developed and identified the Device. Reasons for the implementation of Improvements include but are not limited to (i) feedback from the market or clinical trials, (ii) corrective and preventive actions, (iii) feedback from Regulatory Authorities, or (iv) scale-up of manufacturing capacities. The Parties further acknowledge that such Improvements to the Device and/or Accessory may interfere with Genoa’s ability to develop the Drug Product. Accordingly, the Parties have carefully agreed to the terms set forth in this Section 3.1.2 and will work in good faith to give effect to the terms set forth in this Section 3.1.2.
(i)Incremental Improvements. Subject to Section 3.4 (Improvements), if PARI develops an Incremental Improvement (as defined below) to the Device or any Accessory, then PARI shall give written notice to Genoa [***] prior to the implementation of any such Improvement and shall incorporate such Improvement to the Device or the applicable Accessory, but only if (i) such Improvement does not have the potential to change the functional technology, performance specifications, drug/air path-contact materials, software design, labeling or regulatory approval
requirements of the Device, (ii) PARI is not contractually prohibited from doing so by the agreement under which such Improvement was developed, (iii) PARI generally incorporates such Improvement into the eFlow Technology Nebulizer and/or the Accessory, as applicable, or (iv) it is consistent with the specifications agreed to by the Parties and the applicable regulatory requirements, and (v) it is consistent with the terms of the Supply Agreement to the extent already in effect (each such Improvement meeting the criteria described in (i)-(v) above, referred to herein as an “Incremental Improvement”). If Genoa has a good faith belief that such Improvement is not an Incremental Improvement, Genoa shall notify PARI thereof in writing within [***] of receipt of PARI’s written notice. Upon receipt of Genoa’s notice by PARI, the Parties will establish a CAC and resolve the matter in accordance with the process described in subparagraph (iv) below.
(ii)Significant Improvement. PARI shall provide, to Genoa and to each Genoa member of the Joint Steering Committee, written notice of each proposed Significant Improvement and shall not implement any Significant Improvement without the prior written consent of Genoa, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or conditioned. PARI shall make reasonable attempts to confirm receipt, by Genoa and by each Genoa member of the Joint Steering Committee, of PARI’s notification of a Significant Improvement. If no response is received from Genoa within [***] of PARI’s notification to Genoa of a Significant Improvement, then the Significant Improvement shall be considered to have been approved by Genoa. In the event Genoa does not consent to such Significant Improvement, PARI may, at its discretion, request the matter be referred to a CAC for resolution in accordance with the process described in subparagraph (iv) below.
(iii)Major Improvement. If PARI develops a new generation of the Device or new features or functionalities which may be incorporated into the Device (such as adherence monitoring features), (a “Major Improvement”), then PARI shall, to the extent it has the right to do so, offer Genoa an opportunity to review such Major Improvement for a period of [***] from receipt of a detailed description of such Major Improvement and a plan for development of such Major Improvement and possible incorporation into the Device or any Accessory for Genoa to determine whether it wishes to have such Major Improvement incorporated in the Device or Accessory, as applicable, and thereby be incorporated into the Licenses granted pursuant to Section 2.1.1 (License) (with respect to any Major Improvement to the Device) or Section 2.1.2 (License) (with respect to any improvement to an Accessory), as applicable, and shall be included in the PARI Patents and as such shall extend the Royalty
Term accordingly. If Genoa determines (by giving written notice to PARI) within such [***] that it desires to benefit from the Major Improvement and include the Major Improvement in the Device or any Accessory, such Major Improvement shall be automatically included in PARI Know-How and PARI Patents, as applicable, and with respect to any such Major Improvement to an Accessory, such Accessory shall be automatically included in the Accessory Know-How and Accessory Patents. If Genoa does not give written notice to PARI within the [***] of its desire to benefit from the Major Improvement, Genoa shall be deemed to have rejected the Major Improvement and PARI shall not include the Major Improvement in the Device or Accessory, as applicable.
(iv)The Parties will establish a CAC with [***] from both Parties and evaluate any Significant Improvement and any Incremental Improvement to which Genoa has raised a written concern pursuant to Section 3.1.2(a)(i), other than Improvements related to the overall facility of PARI. Within the group of CAC members, each Party will identify a person who shall be the first point of contact for the other Party to facilitate the work of the CAC. The CAC will report to the Committee and, before reporting to the Committee, the members of the CAC from each Party will mutually agree on the classification of such Improvement according to applicable guidelines. If the Improvement is referred pursuant to Section 3.1.2(a)(i) and the CAC and the Committee are in final agreement that the Improvement is an Incremental Improvement, then PARI shall be allowed to proceed with such Incremental Improvement.
In each of the following scenarios: i) if the Improvement is referred to the CAC pursuant to Section 3.1.2(a)(i) and the CAC and the Committee are in agreement that the Improvement is a Significant Improvement, or ii) if the Significant Improvement is referred to the CAC pursuant to Section 3.1.2(a)(i), then the Significant Improvement shall not proceed unless the members of the CAC from each Party mutually agree to implement such Significant Improvement. If the members of the CAC from each Party mutually agree to implement such Significant Improvement, then the Committee shall discuss in good faith the coverage of the costs related with such Significant Improvement. A schedule shall be attached to this Agreement and/or the Supply Agreement (if and when applicable) that shall specify how these CAC agreed recommendations will be applied to the Device / Product. If the members of the CAC from each Party mutually agree to implement such Significant Improvement, the Parties will use their best efforts, as applicable, to, at the appropriate time, obtain approval for the implementation of such Significant Improvement by the applicable Regulatory Authorities, to the extent required. A document
containing collaboratively derived Device performance requirements, to be approved by both Parties and released within PARI’s quality system, will be used to support such Significant Improvements as appropriate. The CAC will not discuss those Significant Improvements for which PARI is contractually prohibited from implementing by the agreement under which such Significant Improvement was developed.
(b)Closed System. If the option in Section 2.8 (Option for Closed System) is exercised by Genoa, the Parties will work together in good faith to develop for clinical trials and commercialization the CS Device consistent with Genoa Requirements. For purposes of this Agreement, “Genoa Requirements” shall mean the product requirements determined by Genoa and subject to agreement by PARI after good faith discussions, which shall be set forth in an exhibit to the Development Work Plan (defined below), including with respect to timeline, delivery requirements, user interface (including user interface testing), manufacturing, regulatory, intellectual property, commercial and reimbursement factors. Subject to Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities), PARI shall own and be responsible for the design, development, testing, scale-up and regulatory aspects of the CS Device and the platform closed system described herein, including a portion of the development costs associated therewith, subject to Section 3.3.4 (Development Work Plan); provided, however, that Genoa will be responsible for the primary packaging of the Drug Product including the costs associated therewith.
3.2Specific Development Matters.
3.2.1Subject to Section 3.3.2 (Development Work Plan), Genoa shall, at its own expense, be solely responsible for conducting all development activities (including Regulatory Activities) in the Territory for the Drug Product(s), including formulation optimization, and pre-clinical studies.
3.2.2Subject to Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities), and without limiting the generality of Section 3.4 (Improvements) below, Genoa shall, at its own expense, be solely responsible in the Territory for obtaining and maintaining all Regulatory Approvals and interactions, and all IND, NDA, and other similar foreign regulatory filings, related to the Drug Product(s), and such Regulatory Approvals and filings shall be submitted and obtained solely in the name of, and exclusively owned by, Genoa.
3.2.3Subject to Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities), and without limiting the generality of Section 3.4 (Improvements) below, Genoa shall exclusively own all clinical and non-clinical data generated and collected in connection with: (i) the Development Work Plan, (ii) any Statement of Work, or (iii) the Parties’ other activities in furtherance of the development and commercialization of the Drug Product(s). Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, PARI shall not have the right to reference any data generated or collected by or for Genoa related to the Drug Product(s), except for the purpose of conducting the Regulatory Activities
contemplated in Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities).
3.3Development Work Plan.
3.3.1The Parties acknowledge and agree that, prior to the Effective Date, PARI has performed, and shall continue to perform, certain feasibility and development services in accordance with mutually agreed to work plans, which are incorporated herein and will be deemed to be a Development Work Plan (as defined below) for purposes of this Agreement. In addition, the Committee shall prepare additional work plans setting forth the Product requirements and the general development activities for the Products in the Territory (collectively, the “Development Work Plan”), including the testing to be performed by PARI and the acceptance criteria to be achieved to Genoa’s reasonable satisfaction pursuant to the applicable Development Work Plan; provided, however, the Parties acknowledge that Genoa shall retain the control and final decision-making authority with respect to the Development Work Plan except as set forth in Sections 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities).
3.3.2As part of the Development Work Plan, Genoa may from time to time submit to PARI a written request for modification(s) to the Device or any Accessory. PARI shall consider in good faith such request and respond to Genoa based on the costs involved, including costs for the development of such modification and costs which impact the manufacturing of the modified Device, contractual obligations and other business factors. Any such modification(s) shall be subject to discussion in good faith between the Parties; and in the event the Parties cannot agree on how to proceed such matter shall be referred to the Committee for final resolution pursuant to Section 4.6 (Operation).
3.3.3Genoa shall have the option, but not the obligation, from time to time to request that PARI perform services in furtherance of the Development Work Plan programs or otherwise pursuant to a statement of work prepared and submitted by Genoa to PARI, setting forth the requirements and the general development activities requested for such additional services (each, a “Statement of Work”). Genoa shall obtain the approval of PARI with respect to such services, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld. In such event, PARI shall [***] prepare and submit to Genoa a work schedule, including a budget, setting forth in reasonable detail the services to be performed, time expected to be expended and out-of-pocket costs expected to be incurred. Genoa shall bear all costs incurred in connection with activities under such Statement of Work to the extent such activities relate specifically to the Drug Product(s) (including the formulation thereof) or the development of the Device, Accessories or their components specifically for use with the Drug Product(s) and not generally applicable for other products (such activities collectively, the “Genoa Specific Activities”). To the extent such activities relate to the improvement of Devices, Accessories or their components in [***]. For Genoa Specific Activities, Genoa shall reimburse PARI at the hourly rate of [***] per billable hour unless otherwise set forth in the applicable Statement of Work. PARI shall undertake any requested services only after Genoa’s written approval thereof. PARI shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to complete such agreed-upon services in accordance with the timeline(s) set forth in the applicable Statement of Work. Genoa shall pay PARI for such services on a time and materials basis. Genoa shall make payment of such service fees and costs to PARI within
[***] of receipt from PARI of a reasonably detailed invoice summarizing the work performed and expenses incurred. Any undisputed payments or portions thereof due under this Section 3, which are not paid when due, shall bear interest equal to the [***]. If such unpaid, undisputed payment is a material default, taking into account the total amounts paid or to be paid over all of the Statements of Work, then PARI may request reasonable assurances that Genoa shall continue to pay ongoing fees and if not received, PARI may suspend further performance of such Statements of Work and Development Work Plan until such assurances are received or such default is paid. This Section 3.3.3 shall not limit other remedies available to PARI under this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the Development Work Plan and a Statement of Work, the terms of this Agreement shall control.
3.3.4Genoa will cover the costs for (i) the in-vitro characterization of the Device with the Drug Product(s), and (ii) human factor studies specific for the intended patient target group of the Product(s), as specified in any Statement of Work or otherwise requested by Genoa in writing. The Parties agree that Statement of Works for all project management and technical support tasks at PARI which are specifically related to the collaboration between Genoa and PARI will be established. For the avoidance of doubt, Genoa shall not be obligated to cover costs, including project management costs, for PARI’s general development of the eFlow Technology platform. If Genoa or its Permitted Sublicensee request the scale-up of the Device manufacturing capacities prior to the Regulatory Approval of the Product, then Genoa or its Permitted Sublicensee, as applicable, shall cover those costs to the extent necessary for the Device. Such scale-up costs are creditable against future Royalties and Annual Minimum Royalty payments.
3.4.1The Parties acknowledge that commencing on the Effective Date Genoa and PARI shall collaborate in the development and commercialization of the Drug Product(s) (including any manufacturing processes) exclusively for use with the Device, and that such collaboration may generate Improvements whether or not patentable in accordance with Section 3.1.2(a) (General). In order to permit and encourage a successful collaboration and protect the key business interests of both Parties, the Parties agree that:
(a)PARI shall exclusively own all rights and interest in and to the eFlow Technology Nebulizer, the Device, any Accessory and all Improvements relating to the eFlow Technology Nebulizer, the Device, or to any Accessory, developed by Genoa, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees or by PARI or its Affiliates, pursuant to activities conducted under this Agreement, any Development Work Plan or any Statement of Work, but at all times specifically excluding Genoa Technology (the “PARI Technology”).
(b)Genoa shall exclusively own all rights and interest in and to the Drug Product(s) and all Improvements relating to any Drug Product, developed by Genoa, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees or by PARI or its Affiliates, pursuant to activities conducted under this Agreement, any Development Work Plan or any Statement of Work, but at all times specifically excluding PARI Technology (the “Genoa Technology”). Genoa Technology shall include:
(i)all Improvements specifically related to the Drug Product(s);
(ii)all Improvements developed in connection with the services provided by PARI or its Affiliates pursuant to the Development Work Plan and related to the Drug Product(s) or pursuant to any Statement of Work and related to the Drug Product(s), excluding any Improvement set forth in clause (a) above;
(iii)all Improvements and other intellectual property related to, or derived from, the Genoa Data referred to in clause (vi) below, excluding any Improvement set forth in clause (a) above;
(iv)all clinical and non-clinical data generated in connection with the Product, but only such data related to the Drug Product, [***];
(v)any and all INDs, NDAs, and other similar Regulatory Approvals filed or awarded in any jurisdiction in the Territory and related to the Drug Product(s); and
(vi)any Confidential Information of Genoa (in accordance with Section 7 (Confidential Information)). The data, Regulatory Approvals and Confidential Information described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v)) are referred to herein as the “Genoa Data.”
3.4.2PARI shall [***] disclose to Genoa any Genoa Technology generated by PARI in connection with its performance of this Agreement, including under the Development Work Plan or any Statement of Work, and all such Genoa Technology shall be deemed to the fullest extent possible to be works made for hire exclusively for Genoa, with Genoa having sole ownership of such Genoa Technology and the sole right to obtain and to hold in its own name patents, copyrights, or such other protection as Genoa may deem appropriate to the subject matter, and any extensions or renewals thereof (though Genoa is under no obligation to file any patent application, secure or maintain any patent or register any copyright). To the extent PARI or its Affiliates nonetheless maintain any rights in and to any Genoa Technology, PARI and its Affiliates hereby assign, cede and grant to Genoa all rights to possession of, and all right, title, and interest, including all patents and copyrights and the right to prepare and exploit derivative works, in such Genoa Technology. PARI agrees to give Genoa or any person designated by Genoa at Genoa’s expense, all assistance reasonably required to perfect the rights hereinabove defined, including the execution of documents and assistance or cooperation in legal proceedings. For the avoidance of doubt, PARI and Genoa acknowledge and agree that each Party shall have the right to protect, whether by way of a patent filing or other intellectual property filing, any work conducted by such Party and kept separate from and not related to the work performed under or in connection with this Agreement.
3.4.3Genoa shall, and shall cause its Affiliates and its Permitted Sublicensees to, [***] disclose to PARI any PARI Technology generated by Genoa, its Affiliates and/or Permitted Sublicensees if any, in connection with its performance of this Agreement, including under the Development Work Plan or any Statement of Work, and all such PARI Technology shall be owned exclusively by PARI, and PARI shall have the sole right to
obtain and to hold in its own name patents, copyrights, or such other protection therefore as PARI may deem appropriate, and any extensions or renewals thereof (though PARI is under no obligation to file any patent application, secure or maintain any patent or register any copyright). To the extent Genoa or its Affiliates nonetheless maintain any rights in and to any PARI Technology, Genoa and its Affiliates hereby assign, cede and grant to PARI all rights to possession of, and all right, title, and interest, including all patents and copyrights and the right to prepare and exploit derivative works, in such PARI Technology. To the extent Genoa’s Permitted Sublicensees nonetheless maintain any rights in and to any PARI Technology, Genoa shall cause such Permitted Sublicensee to assign, cede and grant to PARI all rights to possession of, and all right, title, and interest, including all patents and copyrights and the right to prepare and exploit derivative works, in such PARI Technology. Genoa agrees to give PARI or any person designated by PARI at PARI’s expense, all assistance reasonably required to perfect the rights hereinabove defined, including the execution of documents and assistance or cooperation in legal proceedings.
3.4.4Any and all Improvements arising under the Parties’ collaboration described in the first paragraph of Section 3.4.1, other than those specified in Sections 3.4.1(a) (Improvements) and 3.4.1(b) (Improvements), shall be jointly owned by both Parties (“Joint Intellectual Property”) subject to this Section 3.4.4. Genoa and PARI will in good faith discuss and decide whether a joint Patent application or similar protection will be filed for each specific proprietary right arising as Joint Intellectual Property, and if so, negotiate an agreement governing joint ownership, enforcement, protection and licensing of such rights within the Joint Intellectual Property. During the Term, to avoid loss of Patent rights as a result of premature public disclosure of patentable information, neither Party may use or disclose any Joint Intellectual Property without the prior written consent of the other Party.
3.5License Back. Subject to Section 8.8 (Non-Compete in Territory and Exclusivity), Genoa hereby grants to PARI a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicensable, transferable, fully paid-up, royalty-free license to the Genoa Technology to formulate, develop, make, have made, use, sell, have sold, offer for sale, market, promote, import, export or otherwise commercialize the Genoa Technology as it relates to the use of any PARI Nebulizer or any PARI Accessory (i) for any use or purpose outside the Field in the Territory during the Term of the Agreement, and (ii) for any use or purpose after the Term of the Agreement, including without limitation inside the Field and/or inside the Territory. Solely to the extent such licensed rights set forth above in (i) and/or (ii) are within the Field, such licensed rights shall terminate automatically in the event of the termination of this Agreement by Genoa under Section 11.2 (Termination of Agreement for Material Breach).
3.6Specific Commercial Matters. Subject to Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities), Genoa shall, at its own expense, be solely responsible for conducting all commercialization activities for the Territory relating to the Products, including any activities relating to the Sublicense of the Product, as well as the Exploitation of the Products. Subject to Section 3.1.1 (General Development and Commercialization Responsibilities) and except as may otherwise be set forth in the Supply Agreement, in the event Regulatory Authorities allow [***], and Genoa determines that it would like to do so, it will notify PARI and the Parties will discuss [***] whether or not to Exploit the Product in such manner; provided, however, Genoa shall retain final decision-making authority with respect thereto.
3.7Diligence Obligations.
3.7.1Commercially Reasonable Efforts. Genoa shall, and shall cause its Permitted Sublicensees to, use Commercially Reasonable Efforts, at a minimum in [***], (i) to pursue the development of at least [***] Drug Product, (ii) to obtain Regulatory Approval for at least [***] Drug Product, and (iii) to commercialize at least [***] Drug Product, in all cases in the Field and for exclusive use with the Device. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to [***], Genoa’s achievement, by itself or through its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees, of the following diligence milestones with respect to the Drug Product(s) shall be deemed sufficient to satisfy the requirement to use Commercially Reasonable Efforts under (i) and (ii) above:
[***]
The timelines set forth in Sections 3.7.1(a) – (e) above shall automatically be extended for a Drug Product if any delay in PARI’s performance under this Agreement is responsible for a failure to meet a diligence milestone for that Drug Product and such extension shall be equal to the length of the delay or if circumstances unexpectedly caused solely by Regulatory Authorities are responsible for a failure to meet a diligence milestone for that Drug Product the Committee will discuss the situation in good faith.
All Sublicense agreements shall contain diligence obligations consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement applicable to the countries and/or territories covered by such Sublicense.
3.7.2Reports. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee Genoa shall provide PARI, at least [***] through the Committee, with reports of the progress of its development of the Drug Product(s), including interactions with Regulatory Authorities and plans for the development and commercialization of the Drug Product(s) in the [***].
3.7.3Permitted Sublicensees. For clarity, it is understood that the obligation to use Commercially Reasonable Efforts as set forth in this Section 3.7 shall apply to any Permitted Sublicensees of Genoa, and Genoa shall obtain reports and plans from such Permitted Sublicensees with respect thereto and Genoa shall share such reports and plans with PARI at least [***] through the Committee in the same manner as for reports and plans of its own development. This Section 3.7 shall also apply to any permitted successors or assigns of Genoa under this Agreement.
3.7.4Notice and Cure. In the event PARI believes Genoa or a Permitted Sublicensee, as applicable, has failed to use such Commercially Reasonable Efforts, PARI shall notify Genoa. Genoa shall have a [***] thereafter to resume, or cause the Permitted Sublicensee to resume, using such Commercially Reasonable Efforts.
3.7.5Termination. If prior to the First Commercial Sale of any of the Drug Product(s), Genoa, an Affiliate, or Permitted Sublicensee makes a final determination to cease the development and/or commercialization of any of the Drug Product(s) hereunder, then Genoa shall provide prompt written notice to PARI confirming such final determination. In such event, PARI may elect to terminate this Agreement with respect to that Drug Product consistent with Section 11.3.1 (Termination of Agreement by PARI).
4.JOINT STEERING COMMITTEE
4.1Formation; General Authority. The Parties will establish a joint steering committee (“Committee”) to oversee the collaboration between the Parties under this Agreement. The Committee shall have only the powers expressly assigned to it under this Agreement. The Committee shall not have any power to amend, modify, or waive compliance with this Agreement.
4.2Role of Committee. The Committee will oversee the collaboration between the Parties under this Agreement. In particular, the Committee will:
•facilitate the exchange of information between the Parties and keep both Parties informed of any material issues under this Agreement;
•review and discuss the progress of the Parties’ respective activities under this Agreement;
•review and discuss [***] (unless otherwise determined by the Committee) reports of Genoa’s progress regarding the development of the Drug Product(s);
•review progress under and prepare Development Work Plans pursuant to Section 3 (Development and Commercialization Matters);
•subject to the terms and conditions herein, coordinate regulatory filings; and
•perform such other functions as appropriate to further the purposes of this Agreement.
4.3Composition. The Committee will consist of up to [***] representatives officially designated by each Party. The Committee may change its size from time to time by mutual consent of its members; provided, however, the Committee shall at all times consist of an equal number of representatives from each Party. Each Party may change its Committee representative(s) upon written notice to the other Party.
4.4Chair. The Committee will be chaired by a representative of Genoa. The role of the chairperson shall be to convene and preside at meetings of the Committee, but the chairperson shall have no additional powers or rights beyond those held by the other Committee representatives.
4.5Meetings. The Committee shall hold telephone conferences or meet in person at least [***], unless the Parties mutually agree in writing to a different frequency for such meetings. In addition, in the event a Party reasonably believes that a significant matter must be addressed prior to the next scheduled meeting either Party may also call a special meeting of the Committee by providing at least [***] prior written notice to the other Party. Meetings of the Committee shall be effective only if at least [***] representative of each Party is present or participating in such meeting. Each Party will bear its own expenses relating to the meetings and activities of the Committee. Subject to the approval of the Committee, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, each Party may request the attendance of subject matter experts, who may or may not be employees of either Party, at Committee meetings as non-voting, unofficial, ad-hoc members; provided, however, any such subject matter expert who is not an employee of a Party enters into a confidentiality agreement with the Parties obligating such subject matter expert to retain all information disclosed to it during Committee meetings in confidence in accordance with the provisions set forth in Section 7 (Confidential Information).
4.6Operation. Each official member of the Committee will have one (1) vote. Except as otherwise provided herein, Committee decisions will be made by unanimous vote. If a Committee member is unable to participate in a meeting, such Committee member may delegate his/her voting powers to a delegate from the applicable Party. In the event the Parties’ representatives on the Committee are unable to come to a consensus regarding the Drug Product(s), Genoa shall have the right to make the final decision regarding such matters, and all other matters will be handled in accordance with Section 13 (Dispute Resolution).
4.7Minutes. Within [***] following each Committee meeting, the chairperson shall prepare and deliver to the members of the Committee the minutes of such meeting for review and approval by both Parties. The minutes shall reflect, without limitation, all material decisions made at such meetings. Such minutes will be deemed approved unless one or more members of the Committee object to the accuracy of such minutes within [***] of receipt thereof.
4.8Alternative Device. In the event Genoa, following the First Commercial Sale in the first Major Market, decides to no longer exclusively use the Device but instead uses an alternative device, either alone or in addition to the Device, then, in Genoa’s discretion, Genoa shall either (x) continue to pay Royalties and Annual Minimum Royalties, or (y) terminate this Agreement and the License pursuant to Section 11.4 and remit a [***] payment to PARI within [***] of the amount corresponding to the time of such termination as set forth below (the “Compensatory Payment Amount”):
|
|
Point in time when Genoa terminates this Agreement according to Section 11.4 |
Compensatory Payment |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
5.1Initial Payments. Genoa shall pay to PARI a non-refundable up-front payment of Four Hundred Thousand Euros (€400,000) within [***] after the Effective Date (the “Initial Payment Amount”).
5.2Milestone Payments. In partial consideration of the License granted under this Agreement and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Genoa (or a designated Genoa Affiliate or Permitted Sublicensee) shall make the following payments to PARI subject to the occurrence of the corresponding milestone events specified below with respect to the Drug Product(s):
|
|
|
Milestone |
Payment for the eFlow Technology Nebulizer used with Drug Products |
Payment for the CS Device used with Drug Products |
[***] |
€[***] |
€[***] |
[***] |
€[***] |
€[***] |
[***] |
€[***] |
€[***] |
[***] |
€[***] |
€[***] |
(a)The above milestone payments shall be paid by Genoa (or a designated Genoa Affiliate or Permitted Sublicensee) within [***] after the occurrence of the milestone event set forth above.
(b)The above milestone payments shall be paid only once, notwithstanding the potential development of multiple Products hereunder which may involve separate clinical trials or Regulatory Approvals.
(c)Only one (1) milestone payment will be due for each milestone achieved. If Genoa exercises its option in Section 2.8 (Option for Closed System), all payments shall reflect the amounts for the CS Device and the incremental difference, if any, for all previous payments shall be paid to PARI within [***].
5.3Advance Milestone Payment. Within [***] following the closing of a Change of Control Transaction, Genoa shall, or shall cause its acquirer, to pay to PARI [***] creditable against the next milestone payment due to PARI (so long as additional milestone payments are due under this Agreement) or creditable against any future royalty obligations hereunder.
5.4.1Royalty Rate. In partial consideration of the License granted under this Agreement and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, until the expiration of the applicable Royalty Term, Genoa (or its Permitted Sublicensees pursuant to Section 11.5.6 (Effect of Termination), if applicable) shall pay to PARI a percentage royalty on Net Sales (“Royalty”) as set forth below on a country-by-country basis for the Royalty Term, subject to reduction as set forth in Section 5.6 (Permitted Reductions in Royalty).
|
|
Royalty |
Royalty in case the CS Device is used |
[***]% |
[***]% |
5.4.2Payable Once. Royalties payable under this Section 5.4 will be payable only once with respect to each Drug Product and will be paid only once regardless of the number of Patents, if any.
5.5Annual Minimum Royalty. The “Annual Minimum Royalty” payment is as set forth in the following table for each Year of Sales of Drug Products in at least [***] Major Market and, if applicable, shall be payable in accordance with Section 5.3 (Advanced Milestone Payment) and Section 5.7 (Payments and Reports) below:
|
|
|
Year of Sales in Major Markets |
Annual Minimum Royalty |
Annual Minimum Royalty in case the CS Device is used |
[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
$[***] |
[***] |
$[***] |
$[***] |
(a)Only a single Annual Minimum Royalty payment shall be due for each Year of Sales of Drug Products in Major Markets regardless of the number of Drug Products or the number of Major Markets in which Drug Product(s) are sold. If more than one Drug Product is sold, then the higher Annual Minimum Royalty shall be due.
(b)Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties shall agree to reduce the Annual Minimum Royalty in an equitable manner in the event Genoa’s ability to sell the Products is diminished due to: (i) circumstances caused by PARI or (ii) circumstances caused by the Regulatory Authority in the applicable Territory that significantly impact the Net Sales of the Drug Product(s).
5.6Permitted Reductions in Royalty.
5.6.1In the event of an actual or threatened infringement action relating to the Device or the Licensed Intellectual Property incorporated in the Device, which causes, or could reasonably be expected to cause, Genoa’s use of the Device in accordance with the terms of this Agreement to be disrupted, where and to the extent possible, PARI shall, at its option and on a country-by-country basis, (i) [***]; or (ii) [***], or (iii) [***] by the Device. As used above, the term “Probable Infringement or Misappropriation” shall mean any determination (x) by PARI, (y) both Parties, or (z) two (2) outside legal counsel, one selected by Genoa and one selected by PARI, that [***]; provided, however, that in the event the two (2) outside legal counsel cannot agree, then both Parties shall select a mutually acceptable third outside counsel who shall make a determination as to whether [***]. Upon the request of either Party, the other Party shall make its counsel reasonably available for consultation and discussion, subject to the execution of a customary joint defense agreement or similar agreement sufficient to preserve attorney client privilege, attorney work product and other applicable privileges and immunities and confidentiality. If both outside legal counsel determine [***]; provided, however, that if both outside legal counsel do not agree, then PARI shall have the sole discretion over the ultimate determination [***], and provided, further, that, in the event that PARI fails [***] of the Royalty or Annual Minimum Royalty, as applicable, otherwise due hereunder.
5.6.2On a country-by-country basis, if during the Royalty Term (i) a third party offers for sale a generic equivalent of the approved Drug Product [(i. e.g. which gained Regulatory Approval via an abbreviated NDA (known as “ANDA”) in the United States, or equivalent regulatory pathways outside of the United States), without being authorized or supported by Genoa its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensee (for example without limitation by granting licenses) for delivery through a Nebulizer substantially the same as the Device and (ii) the then current Redbook (Thomson PDR or successor publisher) listed price of such generic equivalent of the approved Drug Product introduced by such third party is less than [***] of the Drug Product’s price ([***] reduction), then the Royalty then in effect shall be reduced by an amount of [***] with respect to Net Sales of that Drug Product in that country, and the Annual Minimum Royalty shall be adjusted proportionately. Accumulated reductions, on a country by country basis, shall not be more than [***] of the original Royalty rate or the Annual Minimum Royalty.
5.6.3Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, in no event shall the reductions in the Royalty or Annual Minimum Royalty pursuant to Sections 5.6.1 (Permitted Reductions in Royalty) and 5.6.2 (Permitted Reductions in Royalty), in the aggregate, be more than [***] of the original Royalty rate or the Annual Minimum Royalty.
5.7Payment and Reports. Within [***] after the end of each calendar [***] in which Net Sales have occurred, Genoa shall submit to PARI a written report setting forth for such preceding calendar [***] the Net Sales received and the calculation of the Royalty payable to PARI pursuant to Section 5.4 (Royalties) broken down to a country-by-country level and indicating the amount of allowed deductions according the definition of Net Sales. Such report shall be accompanied by the total Royalty due, if any, to PARI pursuant to Section 5.4 (Royalties). If the Royalty paid for any Year of Sales set forth in the table in Section 5.5 (Annual Minimum Royalty)
is less than the applicable Annual Minimum Royalty for such Year of Sales, then [***] after the end of such Year of Sales, Genoa shall pay to PARI the difference between the applicable Annual Minimum Royalty and the actual Royalties paid for such Year of Sales. All Royalty and Annual Minimum Royalty payments shall be made in United States Dollars. Sales made in currencies other than United States Dollars shall be converted to United States Dollars on the basis of the average exchange rate for the calendar [***] in which such sales were made. Such calendar [***] average exchange rate shall be calculated by averaging [***] exchange rates published by The Wall Street Journal, Eastern U.S. Edition.
5.8Record Keeping. Genoa shall keep, and shall cause its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees to keep, complete and accurate books of accounts of record in connection with the use, sublicensing and sale of Products to permit verification of payments made hereunder. Such records shall be maintained for a period of at least [***] from the date on which they were generated.
5.9Audit Rights. PARI shall have the right to have an independent third party nationally-recognized accounting firm reasonably acceptable to Genoa access the books and records of Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees solely to the extent necessary to verify the accuracy of the reports and payments made hereunder. Such access shall be conducted upon reasonable written notice to Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees and during such parties’ normal business hours. Such access shall not be more frequent than [***] and may occur only with respect to a calendar [***] in the immediately preceding [***]. The auditing Party shall be required to sign a confidentiality agreement for the benefit of Genoa. The results of such audit shall be made available to PARI and Genoa. If any audit discloses that the payments by Genoa to PARI are incorrect in Genoa’s favor, then Genoa shall pay any amount due to PARI within [***] after receipt of the necessary documentation of the amount owed. If any audit discloses that the payments by Genoa to PARI are incorrect in PARI’s favor, then Genoa shall have the right to credit the amount of the overpayment against each subsequent [***] payment due to PARI until the overpayment has been fully applied. If the overpayment is not fully applied prior to the final [***] payment of Royalties due hereunder, PARI shall [***] refund an amount equal to any such remaining overpayment. If PARI’s audit demonstrates an underpayment of more than [***] for the payment due to PARI during the audited period, Genoa shall be liable for PARI’s reasonable cost of the audit that discovered such underpayment. Otherwise, PARI shall bear the costs of such audits. Genoa shall have the right to dispute any such audit results in accordance with Section 13 (Dispute Resolution).
5.10Withholding Taxes. Where required to do so by applicable Law or order of a governmental body, Genoa shall withhold taxes required to be paid to a taxing authority in connection with any payments to PARI hereunder, and, upon request of PARI, Genoa shall furnish PARI with satisfactory evidence of such withholding and payment. Genoa shall, and shall cause its Affiliates and its Permitted Sublicensees to, cooperate with PARI in obtaining exemption from withholding taxes where available under applicable Law.
5.11Late Payments. Any milestone payments, Royalties or Annual Minimum Royalties due PARI under this Agreement or any portion thereof which are not paid within [***] of the due date, shall bear interest equal to the prime rate as reported by the Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, New York, on the date such payment is due, plus an additional [***], calculated on the number of days such payment is delinquent. This Section 5.11 shall not limit other remedies available to PARI under this Agreement.
6.1Patent Prosecution and Maintenance.
6.1.1Subject to this Section 6.1 and Section 6.2 (Enforcement) below, except to the extent otherwise agreed by the Parties in writing or as provided in this Agreement: (i) PARI shall have the primary right and obligation to control prosecution, maintenance, challenges against validity, enforceability or relating to patentability with respect to the Device, any Accessory, PARI Technology and the Licensed Intellectual Property, and Genoa will assist PARI, at PARI’s request and expense, in any such activities; and (ii) Genoa shall have the primary right and obligation to control prosecution, maintenance, challenges against validity, enforceability or relating to patentability with respect to the Genoa Technology and the Drug Products, and PARI will assist Genoa, at Genoa’s request and expense, in any such activities.
6.1.2If PARI intends to surrender or abandon a PARI Patent then PARI will provide reasonable prior written notice to Genoa of such intention (which notice shall, in any event, be given no later than [***] prior to the next deadline for any action that would result in such surrender or abandonment that may be taken with respect to such PARI Patent with the relevant patent office) and will provide Genoa an opportunity to cover the cost for such PARI Patent in order to avoid such surrender or abandonment and PARI will remain the sole owner of such PARI Patent. In case other licensees of PARI whom PARI will have granted a license to such PARI Patent are also interested in maintaining such PARI Patent then PARI will use its commercially reasonable efforts to negotiate with each licensee of such PARI Patent to cover an equitable share of the costs related to such PARI Patent.
6.1.3PARI shall keep Genoa reasonably informed as to the status of the PARI Patents in the Territory, and PARI shall consider in good faith the reasonable requests and suggestions of Genoa with respect to the prosecution, maintenance and defense of the PARI Patents in the Territory.
6.1.4To the extent reasonably expected to materially adversely affect the PARI Patents or the Device in the Territory, PARI shall [***] inform Genoa about correspondence and materials received from the PCT, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“PTO”) , or equivalent intellectual property regulatory authority in any other country within the Territory and, upon reasonable request by Genoa provide Genoa with copies of such correspondence and materials; provided that PARI may redact that portion of the correspondence and/or materials that is subject to third-party confidentiality obligations.
6.1.5In addition, Genoa shall have the right to approve any settlement that would adversely affect Genoa’s rights under this Agreement, would render Genoa unable to exercise its rights under this Agreement, or would result in any liability or admission on behalf of Genoa, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.
6.1.6If Genoa reasonably believes that PARI may fail to make any required payments or take any action required for the preparation, filing, prosecution, defense or maintenance of the PARI Patents in the Territory within a reasonable time, Genoa shall provide PARI with written notice of such deficiency. If PARI fails to take the required action within the shorter of (i) [***] of notice from Genoa or (ii) [***] before the deadline for taking such action, Genoa shall have the right to thereafter make any such required payments or take any such required action and deduct and offset such payments and any related costs and expenses from any future payments due under this Agreement to PARI.
If Genoa intends to surrender or abandon a Genoa Patent then Genoa will provide reasonable prior written notice to PARI of such intention (which notice shall, in any event, be given no later than [***] prior to the next deadline for any action that would result in such surrender or abandonment that may be taken with respect to such Genoa Patent with the relevant patent office) and will provide PARI an opportunity to cover the cost for such Genoa Patent in order to avoid such surrender or abandonment and Genoa will remain the sole owner of such Genoa Patent.
6.1.7Genoa shall keep PARI reasonably informed as to the status of the Genoa Patents in the Territory, and Genoa shall consider in good faith the reasonable requests and suggestions of PARI with respect to the prosecution, maintenance and defense of the Genoa Patents in the Territory.
6.1.8Each Party agrees to mark all Products in accordance with the applicable statutes or regulations in the country or countries of manufacture and sale thereof. For such purposes, each Party shall use commercially reasonable efforts to provide the other Party with written notice of all of its patent numbers applicable to the Products. For clarity, a Party may choose not to mark products with the specific patent numbers if such Party is not required to do so by applicable statutes or regulations in the country or countries of manufacture or sale thereof.
6.2.1If either Party should become aware of any infringement or misappropriation or threatened infringement or misappropriation of the other Party’s intellectual property rights, contemplated herein by a third party that could reasonably be expected to adversely affect the Product (“Product-Specific Infringement”), it shall [***] notify the other Party in writing and provide any information available to that Party relating to such alleged Product-Specific Infringement.
6.2.2PARI shall have the initial right (but not the obligation) to bring and/or control any enforcement action with respect to any enforcement action directed to an asserted Product-Specific Infringement pertaining to the Device, the eFlow Technology Nebulizer, any Accessory and any PARI intellectual property, and any PARI Technology. Genoa shall have the initial right (but not the obligation) to bring and/or control any enforcement action directed to an asserted Product-Specific Infringement pertaining to the Drug Product(s) and any Genoa intellectual property. The Party controlling the enforcement action shall keep the other Party reasonably informed of the progress thereof
and the other Party shall execute, acknowledge and deliver any and all such other documents and take any such other action as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to carry out the intent and purposes of this Section 6.2.2.
6.2.3In the event the Party with the first right to so initiate an enforcement action (the “Priority Party”) does not initiate such enforcement action within (a) [***] after a request by the other Party (the “Requesting Party”) to initiate an enforcement action against an alleged Product-Specific Infringement or (b) [***] before the time limit, if any, set forth in the appropriate laws and regulations related to the filing of any such actions, whichever comes first, or the Priority Party notifies the Requesting Party at any time that it does not desire to enforce or defend such rights with respect to such alleged infringement, then the Requesting Party shall have the right (but not the obligation) to enforce such alleged infringement; provided, however, any settlement of such infringement shall be subject to the approval of both Parties if such settlement would not terminate all further use by the alleged infringer of such rights. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, (i) PARI shall have the right to approve any settlement that would adversely affect the PARI Patents or PARI’s rights under this Agreement or result in any liability or admission on behalf of PARI, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed; and (ii) Genoa shall have the right to approve any settlement that would adversely affect the Drug Products or Genoa’s rights under this Agreement or result in any liability or admission on behalf of Genoa, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.
6.2.4Except as otherwise agreed to by the Parties as part of a cost-sharing arrangement, all amounts recovered in an enforcement action for a Product-Specific Infringement, after reimbursing each Party for its costs and expenses incurred in such enforcement action, shall be shared [***] between the Parties [***]. To the extent the enforcement action relates solely to the Drug Product and the amounts recovered are based specifically on sales of Drug Product, the balance, if any, shall be treated as sales of Drug Product for purposes of this Agreement such that PARI shall receive a royalty based on such balance and Genoa shall retain the remainder. In all other cases, subject to any cost sharing arrangement between the Parties, the balance, if any, after reimbursing each Party for its costs and expenses incurred in such enforcement action, shall be shared between the Parties in proportions of [***] and [***] whereas the Party which leads the enforcement action shall retain [***] and the other Party shall receive [***].
6.2.5If the Exploitation of the Products results in a Claim alleging patent infringement against either Party (or its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees), such Party shall [***] notify the other Party hereto in writing. Subject at all times to Section 5.6 (Permitted Reduction in Royalties), Genoa shall have sole right to defend and control the defense of any infringement Claim pertaining solely to the Drug Product(s) and PARI shall have the sole right to defend and control the defense of any infringement Claim pertaining solely to the Device or any PARI intellectual property (including the PARI Technology). If the infringement Claim relates to the Drug Product(s) and the Device combined (i.e. such Claim does not relate only to the Device but the Drug Product forms part of the alleged patent infringement Claim), then Genoa shall have the initial right to defend and control such combined infringement Claim; provided, however, that in such event (i) Genoa will
keep PARI fully informed of all developments, and provide copies of all correspondence, responses, filings, submissions, etc. in connection with any such Claim, including any counterclaims, (ii) Genoa may use counsel of its own choice as applicable at its own expense, and (iii) Genoa will not enter into any settlement that involves or relates to the PARI Patents, PARI intellectual property (including the PARI Technology) or PARI’s rights under this Agreement, or results in any liability or admission on behalf of PARI, without the prior written approval of PARI, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.
6.2.6Licensed Intellectual Property not Owned by PARI. To the extent that any Licensed Intellectual Property is licensed by PARI from a third party, PARI shall comply with the above provisions to the fullest extent permissible under such licenses and shall keep Genoa reasonably informed of its progress.
7.CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.
7.1Non-use and Non-disclosure Obligations. Each of PARI and Genoa shall, and Genoa shall cause its Permitted Sublicensees to, use any Confidential Information received by it from the other Party solely in connection with exercise of their respective rights and/or performance of their respective obligations under this Agreement and the Supply Agreement, and shall not disclose such Confidential Information to any third party, without the prior written consent of the other Party. These obligations shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement for a period of [***]. These obligations shall not apply to information that:
7.1.1is known by the receiving Party at the time of receipt and not through a prior disclosure by the disclosing Party;
7.1.2is at the time of disclosure or thereafter becomes published or otherwise part of the public domain through no breach of this Agreement by the receiving Party;
7.1.3is subsequently disclosed to the receiving Party without restriction by a third party having the right to make such a disclosure; or
7.1.4is developed by the receiving Party independently of information received by it from the disclosing Party hereunder.
7.2Required Disclosure. In order to provide the disclosing Party an opportunity to seek a protective order or the like with respect to certain Confidential Information of the disclosing Party, the receiving Party may disclose Confidential Information to the extent that it is required by Law or order of any governmental authority or agency, including the Securities and Exchange Commission the NYSE, NASDAQ or any other stock exchange, to be disclosed by a Party; provided, however, the receiving Party shall apply for confidential treatment of this Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall provide the other Party a copy of the confidential treatment request far enough in advance of its filing, if reasonably practical, to give the other Party a meaningful opportunity to comment thereon, and shall use reasonable efforts to incorporate in such confidential treatment request any reasonable comments of the other Party.
7.3Permitted Disclosure. Notwithstanding Section 7.1 (Non-use and Non-Disclosure Obligations), Confidential Information provided under this Agreement by a disclosing Party may be disclosed to employees, agents, board members, consultants, prospective or actual Permitted Sublicensees, subcontractors (engaged by Genoa in connection with the clinical evaluation, contract manufacturing and/or commercialization of the Products), or suppliers of the receiving Party, but only to the extent permitted or required to accomplish the purposes of this Agreement; provided, however, that such employees, agents, board members, consultants, prospective or actual Permitted Sublicensees, subcontractors (engaged by Genoa in connection with the clinical evaluation, contract manufacturing and/or commercialization of the Products) or suppliers shall also agree to confidentiality and non-use provisions at least as strict as those contained in this Agreement. The receiving Party shall be responsible for any breaches of this Agreement by its employees, agents, board members, consultants, prospective or actual Permitted Sublicensees, subcontractors (engaged by Genoa in connection with the clinical evaluation, contract manufacturing and/or commercialization of the Products) or suppliers. In addition, a Party may disclose Confidential Information provided under this Agreement by the other Party to any governmental authority in order to prosecute or maintain any Licensed Intellectual Property or any Regulatory Authority to obtain approval to market a Product, but such disclosure may be made only (i) after the other Party has been provided written notice of such intended disclosure at least [***] in advance of such disclosure, unless otherwise prevented from providing such notice pursuant to Applicable Law, and (ii) to the extent necessary to pursue such prosecution or maintenance or to obtain such approval, in all cases to the extent permitted or required to accomplish the purposes of this Agreement. The Parties agree that with respect to Genoa’s negotiations with prospective Permitted Sublicensees, the term of the confidentiality and non-use provisions with Genoa may be shorter than the term of Genoa’s obligations to PARI hereunder but the term shall be at least [***] after the date of Genoa’s disclosure to such third party which disclosure shall otherwise be done in accordance with the terms hereof. For the purpose of clarification, Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense) remains unchanged. Therefore, Permitted Sublicensees, once they enter into a license agreement or other definitive agreement with Genoa, shall be bound by confidentiality and non-use provisions at least as strict as those contained in this Agreement without any reduction of the term of confidentiality and non-use.
7.4Return. Upon the termination of this Agreement, all Confidential Information of the disclosing Party in the receiving Party’s possession will be returned to the disclosing Party (or destroyed by the receiving Party, with written confirmation of such destruction), and the receiving Party will make no further use thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the receiving Party may retain one copy of the Confidential Information of the disclosing Party solely for archival purposes to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Section 7 (Confidential Information) or with the requirements of Regulatory Authorities.
7.5Publicity. Except as required by Law or court order, all publicity, press releases and other announcements or disclosures relating to (i) the Product or the Drug Product as an inhaled therapy, (ii) the Device, (iii) the existence and terms of this Agreement or (iv) the transactions contemplated hereby shall be reviewed in advance by, and shall be subject to the written approval of, both Parties; provided, however, that such publicity, press releases and other announcements shall not disclose any Confidential Information of the other Party hereunder and shall give appropriate attribution to the Product(s) and the other Party’s role(s) in the project contemplated herein. Each Party shall provide the other Party an opportunity to review and comment on the
language of such attribution prior to first use thereof in a press release or other public disclosure. PARI’s contribution to the Product shall be acknowledged in all such press releases and any such presentations and publications of Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees.
7.6Permitted Sublicensees. The provisions of this Section 7 shall apply to all Permitted Sublicensees and Genoa shall cause the Permitted Sublicensees to comply with the provisions of this Section 7 and incorporate the provisions of this Section 7 in each Sublicense. Genoa shall be responsible for any breach of this Section 7 by any of its Permitted Sublicensees.
8.REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS.
8.1Corporate Existence and Power. As of the Effective Date, each Party hereto represents and warrants to the other Party that (a) it is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the state or jurisdiction in which it is incorporated or organized; and (b) it has full power and authority and the legal right to own or license and operate its property and assets and to carry on its business as it is now being conducted and as contemplated in this Agreement.
8.2Authority. As of the Effective Date, each Party hereto represents and warrants to the other Party that (a) it has the power and authority and the legal right to enter into this Agreement and perform its obligations hereunder; (b) it has taken all necessary action on its part required to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the performance of its obligations hereunder; (c) this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered on behalf of such Party, and constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Party and is enforceable against it in accordance with its terms; (d) all necessary consents, approvals and authorizations of all governmental authorities and other persons or entities required to be obtained by such Party in connection with entry into this Agreement have been obtained; and (e) the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the performance of such Party’s obligations hereunder (i) do not conflict with or violate any requirement of applicable Law or any provisions of such Party’s charter documents in any material way, and (ii) do not conflict with, violate or breach or constitute a default or require any consent under, any contractual obligation, agreement, license, or any written instrument with any third party or court or administrative order by which such Party is bound.
8.3Intellectual Property. PARI represents and warrants that, to its knowledge, Schedule C sets forth [***].
8.3.1As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants that it exclusively (except with respect to the Patents referred to on Schedule C as the [***]) owns or controls the right, title and interest or has exclusive rights in the Licensed Intellectual Property in the Field, and to Exploit the Licensed Intellectual Property in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, and the rights of PARI to the Licensed Intellectual Property for [***] via the Device, to the best of PARI’s knowledge, are valid and enforceable. PARI has not assigned, licensed, sublicensed, granted any interest in or options to the Licensed Intellectual Property in the Territory to any third party in violation of this Agreement and shall not do so during the Term, except as permitted under this Agreement.
8.3.2As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants that the Licensed Intellectual Property is free and clear of all Encumbrances.
8.3.3As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants that all registrations with and applications to governmental or regulatory bodies in respect of the Licensed Intellectual Property in the Territory required to be made by PARI, or made at its direction and under its control, are subsisting and PARI has taken all commercially reasonable actions required to maintain their validity, enforceability and effectiveness.
8.3.4As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants that it has taken commercially reasonable measures to protect the secrecy, confidentiality and value of the Licensed Know-How. To the knowledge of PARI, PARI is not nor has it received any notice that it is, in default (or with the giving of notice or lapse of time or both, would be in default) under any license with respect to the Licensed Intellectual Property.
8.3.5Other than as set forth in Schedule D attached hereto, as of the Effective Date, for [***] via the Device in the Territory, to the knowledge of PARI: (a) no third party has interfered with, infringed upon, or misappropriated the Licensed Intellectual Property; and (b) there are no facts which would form a reasonable basis for any claim of such interference, infringement, or misappropriation. Other than as set forth in Schedule D attached hereto, as of the Effective Date, no Claim is pending or, to the knowledge of PARI, is threatened which challenges the legality, validity, enforceability, or ownership of any Licensed Intellectual Property, and to the knowledge of PARI, there are no facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such Claim.
8.3.6Other than as set forth in Schedule D attached hereto, as of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants that, to the best of its knowledge, the Exploitation of the Device or any Accessory in the Field in the Territory does not interfere with, infringe upon, or misappropriate, any valid and enforceable intellectual property rights of any third party.
8.4Design of Device. As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants that:
8.4.1To PARI’s knowledge, there are no design defects in the Device or any Accessory that could reasonably be expected to result in a recall, suspension or withdrawal of such or a personal injury claim relating to the Device or any Accessory.
8.4.2The eFlow Technology Nebulizer is, and the Device is intended to be manufactured in compliance with all current and otherwise applicable statutes, rules, regulations, standards or orders administered or issued by the FDA and all other Regulatory Authorities which have jurisdiction.
8.4.3PARI has conducted no product recalls and has issued no notifications or safety alerts relating to the eFlow Technology Nebulizer, whether or not required by a Regulatory Authority, and has received no request from a Regulatory Authority requesting that PARI cease to investigate, test or market the eFlow Technology Nebulizer.
8.4.4To PARI’s knowledge, there are no facts which would cause: (A) a change in the marketing classification or a change in labeling of the eFlow Technology Nebulizer; (B) a termination or suspension of marketing of the eFlow Technology Nebulizer; or (C) a termination or suspension of any clinical trials relating to the eFlow Technology Nebulizer, wherein such termination or suspension is required due to the eFlow Technology Nebulizer.
8.5Regulatory Matters. As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants to Genoa that PARI holds, and is operating in material compliance with, such exceptions, permits, licenses, franchises, authorizations and clearances of the FDA and/or any other governmental entity required in connection with the development to date of the Device or eFlow Technology Nebulizer, or any existing or prior manifestation of eFlow Technology Nebulizer. PARI further represents and warrants to Genoa that it has not received any warning letters or written correspondence from the FDA and/or any other governmental entity requiring the termination, suspension or modification of any clinical or pre-clinical studies or tests with respect to the eFlow Technology Nebulizer.
8.6Compliance with Laws. As of the Effective Date, PARI represents and warrants to Genoa that PARI is in compliance in all material respects with all Laws that are applicable to its ownership interest in, or the operation or use of, the Device, eFlow Technology Nebulizer and any Accessory, and there are no events, conditions, circumstances, activities, practices, incidents or actions relating thereto that would interfere with or prevent compliance or continued compliance with or give rise to any liabilities or investigative, corrective or remedial obligations under applicable Laws.
8.7Legal Proceedings. As of the Effective Date, and other than as set forth on Schedule D attached hereto, PARI represents and warrants to Genoa that there is no pending Proceeding (a) that has been commenced by or against PARI or any of its Affiliates or that otherwise relates to or may affect the Licensed Intellectual Property, or (b) that challenges, or may have the effect of preventing, delaying, making illegal, or otherwise interfering with, any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. To the knowledge of PARI, (i) no such Proceeding has been threatened, and (ii) no event has occurred or circumstance exists that may give rise to or serve as a basis for the commencement of any such Proceeding.
8.8Non-Compete in Territory and Exclusivity. From the Effective Date until this Agreement is terminated or expired, neither PARI nor any of its Affiliates shall, directly or indirectly, anywhere in the Territory in the Field, Exploit, either by itself or through its Affiliates or licensees, or collaborate with a third party on, the Device or any eFlow Technology Nebulizer for use with any Drug Product, whether or not such Drug Product is being developed or commercialized pursuant to the terms hereof; provided that this Section 8.8 shall be of no force and effect in a Major EU Country, on a country-by-country basis (provided however, that if the below applies to all Major EU Countries and the non-compete and exclusivity set forth in this Section 8.8 is no longer in force and effect, then it will also automatically be no longer in force and effect for the rest of Europe), with respect to such Drug Product to the extent that Genoa, after receiving [***] written notice from PARI and Genoa failed to take the action set forth in (x) or (y), as the case may be, (x) fails to submit the NDA or its foreign equivalent with the applicable Regulatory Authority MAA in such Major EU Country for Regulatory Approval for the Drug
Product within eighteen (18) months following the date on which the initial Regulatory Approval by the FDA is granted, unless the EMA requires an additional Phase 3 study of alternative design (in this case, Genoa is required to start the study within [***] of EMA request, and committed to submit to the EMA within [***] of study completion) or, (y) Genoa complies with obligation set forth in sub-section (x) above, but does not continue to use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to obtain Regulatory Approval in such Major EU Country.
8.8.1In addition, the use, research, development and/or commercialization by a third party of a Drug Product for use with any General Purpose Nebulizer (as defined herein), including a General Purpose eFlow Technology Nebulizer (e.g. eFlow RapidTM), shall not be deemed a breach of this Section 8.8 by PARI or any of its Affiliates, so long as PARI does not solicit or enter into any written or other form of agreement with such third party for the supply, testing, feasibility evaluation, development, or commercialization of any eFlow Technology Nebulizer (including the eFlow RapidTM) for a Drug Product (for the avoidance of doubt, supply of any General Purpose Nebulizer including a General Purpose eFlow Technology Nebulizer, to a third party for such third party’s testing, feasibility evaluation, development or commercialization shall not be deemed a breach of this Section 8.8). A “General Purpose Nebulizer” is any Nebulizer cleared to market for delivery of medicines [***], but shall in any event exclude the Device. Genoa acknowledges that PARI has no control over the supply by PARI distributors of General Purpose Nebulizers to third parties and thus the above restrictions shall not apply to such PARI distributors, provided PARI shall not enter into any written or other form of agreement with PARI distributors or other entity to provide testing, feasibility evaluation, development, or commercialization of General Purpose eFlow Technology Nebulizers for a Drug Product.
8.8.2During the Term, PARI shall not Exploit, either by itself or through its Affiliates or licensees, the eFlow Technology Nebulizer for the pulmonary delivery of any Drug Product, except as part of the collaboration with Genoa hereunder.
8.9Off-Label Promotion. Neither Party shall, nor shall cause any of its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees to, as applicable, either directly or knowingly indirectly, either itself or themselves or in active participation with a third party, offer for sale or sell any compound or device that is the subject of Section 8.8 (Non-Compete in Territory and Exclusivity) in the Field, including off-label use. Without absolving any breach of the forgoing requirements of this Section 8.9 or Section 8.8 (Non-Compete in Territory and Exclusivity) above, in the event that it comes to either Party’s attention that any such compound or device is in fact offered for sale or sold in the Field, including any sales via off-label use, the Party learning of such facts shall [***] notify the other Party in writing and such Party shall cooperate as reasonably requested in the investigation of such matter and prevention of any further improper offer or sale.
9.1Supply Agreement. PARI shall control and be responsible for all manufacturing pertaining to the Device and Accessories. The Parties shall enter into a definitive commercial supply agreement providing for the supply of Devices, Handsets, and Accessories from PARI or its contract manufacturer to, at Genoa’s election, Genoa, its Affiliates, or its Permitted Sublicensees (the “Supply Agreement”), and shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to execute such Supply Agreement [***] and, unless otherwise agreed to by the Committee, [***]. The Parties shall negotiate with one another in good faith with respect to the Supply Agreement. The Supply Agreement shall remain in full force and effect through the Royalty Term, and shall terminate at the end of the Royalty Term. The Supply Agreement shall incorporate the terms set forth below and other customary terms for a supply relationship of this nature, including the terms and conditions set forth in Schedule E attached hereto.
9.2Clinical Development. PARI shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to manufacture and supply the Device, Handsets, and Accessories to Genoa, its Affiliates, or its Permitted Sublicensees for use during clinical trials of the Drug Product(s) by, or on behalf of, Genoa for a price not to exceed: (i) [***] per Handset; (ii) [***] per Device; and (iii) [***] per controller kit (consisting of a control unit and all Accessories required to operate the Device including external hardware required for the data transmission but excluding the Nebulizer Handset) if configured with a display and patient monitoring capabilities, plus additional fees for the wireless communication and the set-up which are needed to send data electronically from the Device for patient monitoring purposes, in each case excluding any taxes, shipping and storage costs associated with such Device. The above mentioned prices may be increased as additional features and Improvements may be implemented as mutually agreed to by the Parties. PARI shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to provide [***] of Genoa’s, its Affiliates’, or its Permitted Sublicensees’ requirements for such clinical trials. Genoa shall submit rolling [***] forecasts of its anticipated requirements of Devices and Handsets for the next [***].
9.3Commercial Manufacture.
9.3.1Manufacture and Supply of the Device.
(a)The Parties agree that PARI shall manufacture and supply the Device intended for commercial use in the United States or Canada with the Drug Product(s) for a price not to exceed [***] per Nebulizer Starter Kit (including eBase Controller, nebulizer connection cable, batteries, mains adaptor, Easycare membrane cleaning aid; excluding a Nebulizer Handset) excluding any taxes, shipping and storage costs associated with such Device (the “US Baseline Starter Kit Price”). Prices for countries outside the United States and Canada will be negotiated in good faith between the Parties and will include a mark-up for the local distribution services if those are requested by Genoa.
(b)In the United States PARI shall be responsible, at no additional cost to its distributors, for servicing patients who receive a Device or Handset, including customer service, telephone support, complaints handling, providing instruction, warranty replacements, and responsibility for general patient satisfaction with the Device (“Patient Connection Services”).
9.3.2Manufacture and Supply of the Handsets. The Parties agree that PARI shall manufacture and supply Handsets intended for commercial use in the United States or Canada with the Drug Product(s) directly to Genoa, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees to co-package or co-ship with the Drug Product(s) for a price not to exceed [***] per Handset excluding any taxes, shipping and storage costs associated with such Handset (the “US Baseline Handset Price”). The Parties agree that PARI shall manufacture and supply replacement Handsets intended for commercial use outside the United States and Canada with the Drug Product(s) directly to Genoa, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees to co-package or co-ship with the Drug Product(s) for a price not to exceed [***] per Handset excluding any taxes, shipping and storage costs associated with such Handset. The Parties will discuss in good faith prices higher than those described in Sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2 if the specifications and components, including their functionality, of the Device deviate from the specifications as contemplated in Schedules A1 and A2.
9.3.3Exchange Rate. All references to “Dollars” or “$” means the legal currency of the United States. All references to “Euros” or “€” means the legal currency of the euro-zone.
With respect to the US Baseline Starter Kit Price and the US Baseline Handset Price as set forth in Sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2 above, if the exchange rate of Euros to Dollars, based on the conversion rate reported by Reuters, Ltd. for the last business day immediately preceding the applicable invoice date (the “Invoice Date Exchange Rate”), is higher or lower than the exchange rate of [***] (the “Baseline Exchange Rate”) by [***] or more, then the US Baseline Handset Price shall be adjusted as follows:
(a)if the exchange rate has increased by more than [***]:
the price shall be equal to the sum of (X) the price set forth in Sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2, as applicable, plus (Y) the product of (A) the price set forth in Sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2, as applicable, multiplied by (B) the amount equal to (x) the quotient of (a) the Invoice Date Exchange Rate divided by (b) the Baseline Exchange Rate, minus (y) [***]. By means of example, if the Invoice Date Exchange Rate is [***], then the new price will be computed as follows:
[***]
(b)if the exchange rate has decreased by more than [***]:
the price shall be an amount equal to the difference between (X) the price set forth in Sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2, as applicable, and (Y) the product of (A) the price set forth in Sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2, as applicable, multiplied by (B) the amount equal to (x) [***] minus (y) the amount equal to the quotient of (a) the Invoice Date Exchange Rate divided by (b) the Baseline Exchange Rate. By means of example, if the Invoice Date Exchange Rate is [***], then the new price will be computed as follows:
[***].
The US Baseline Starter Kit Price shall be adjusted accordingly.
9.4Commercial Specifications. The Supply Agreement shall set forth any final product specifications for the Device as determined in accordance with this Agreement and following the Development Work Plan. The Supply Agreement may also set forth any additional Device specifications and other characteristics and materials for the Device (“Additional Specifications”), as mutually agreed to by the Parties. Any changes in such Additional Specifications that could (i) affect CE declaration of conformity (or equivalent Regulatory Approvals), or (ii) have a material adverse effect on the development of the Device and manufacture thereof, including the quality, reliability, robustness or user interface of the Device, or which would otherwise have an adverse effect on the Drug Product(s) when used with the Device, shall require the prior written approval of Genoa.
9.5Other Supply Terms. Other customary supply terms shall include quality, acceptance, invoicing and payment, inspection and optimization, repair, product recalls, adulteration, misbranding, product warranties, notice and cure periods, trademark license and usage guidelines, co-branding rights, representations and warranties (including with respect to the final design of the Device), indemnities (including comprehensive product liability indemnity from PARI for the Device), remedies, force majeure, termination provisions and co-terminus term with this Agreement and provisions with respect to an appropriate back-up plan to provide reasonable assurances of continuity of supply of the Devices, all as mutually agreed to by the Parties.
9.6Adverse Event Reporting. This Section 9.6 shall only apply with respect to the conduct by, or on behalf of, Genoa of clinical trials with respect to the Products. Adverse event reporting with respect to the Products shall otherwise be conducted in accordance with the terms set forth in the Supply Agreement. Unexpected SAEs, Serious ADRs and Unanticipated Adverse Device Effects (as such terms are defined herein) that are made known to either Party (or to a Permitted Sublicensee) and that are considered to be related to the Drug Product(s) or the Device, shall be reported to the other Party on an expedited basis, and at least within [***] of such Party (or a Permitted Sublicensee) becoming aware of the unexpected serious adverse event as a result of notification from an institutional review board (IRB), Regulatory Authority or participating investigators. By definition, a Serious Adverse Event (“SAE”) or Serious Adverse Drug Reaction (“Serious ADR”) is any untoward medical occurrence that at any dose results in death, is life-threatening, requires inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization, results in persistent or significant disability/incapacity, or is a congenital anomaly/birth defect (ICH guidance for Clinical Safety Data Management: Definitions and Standards for Expedited Reporting). An unexpected SAE or Serious ADR refers to an observation meeting the above definition that has not been previously observed, reported or anticipated. Unanticipated Adverse Device Effect means any serious adverse effect on health or safety or any life-threatening problem or death caused by, or associated with, a device, if that effect, problem, or death was not previously identified in nature, severity, or degree of incidence in the investigational plan or application (including a supplementary plan or application), or any other unanticipated serious problem associated with a device that relates to the rights, safety, or welfare of subjects (21 C.F.R. 812.3 (s)).
9.7Restrictions on Use. The following provisions (a)-(e) in this Section 9.7 shall only apply on a country-by-country basis from the Effective Date until the Regulatory Approval of a Drug Product. Following such Regulatory Approval, the provisions set forth in the Supply Agreement or the safety data exchange agreement shall govern the Parties accordingly.
(a)Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees will use the Device in compliance with all applicable Laws and standards valid in the country Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees intends to conduct clinical trials utilizing the Device, including, for example, those relating to research involving the use of humans or animals and will not engage in any such clinical trials without first obtaining necessary approval from its relevant ethics committee(s) such as, but not limited to, the Institutional Review Board. The Device shall not be used by Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees directly or indirectly for any purpose other than the development of the Drug Product(s).
(b)Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees shall retain control of the Device and shall not distribute or release the Device to any person or entity other than Genoa’s, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees or the clinical trial site’s employees, consultants or contractors or a third party and its employees, consultant’s or contractors for drug characterization purposes (“Genoa Representatives”) and individuals who will be participating in the clinical trials who have a need to access the Device in connection with use of the Device for the clinical trials and who have been advised of Genoa’s obligations with respect to such Device. Genoa shall not allow its Affiliates, its Permitted Sublicensees or Genoa Representatives to keep or disburse the Device to any other person or other location, unless Genoa first obtains PARI’s written permission. Genoa shall be liable for the use of the Device by its Affiliates, its Permitted Sublicensees or Genoa Representatives in violation of this Section 9.7(b).
(c)The Device is to be used in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement only by Genoa, its Affiliates, its Permitted Sublicensees or Genoa Representatives or patients participating in the clinical trials under Genoa’s control, at the clinical trial sites listed in the applicable purchase order for such Devices accepted by PARI.
(d)Genoa, its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees shall conduct the clinical trials pursuant to a written protocol (the “Study Protocol”). Genoa shall provide a synopsis of the Study Protocol to PARI prior to the commencement of the applicable clinical trials. Following the completion of the clinical trial studies, Genoa shall, at its election, either (i) retrieve the Devices at Genoa’s expense and the Devices shall be stored by Genoa or (ii) have the Devices destroyed and confirm such destruction to PARI in writing.
(e)Genoa shall not, and shall cause its Affiliates and Permitted Sublicensees not to, subject to analysis or have subjected to analysis the Devices and/or components constituting Devices for the purpose of reverse engineering or in a manner that would reveal material composition or internal design or operation of such sample and/or component or its method of manufacture. Genoa shall be responsible for any breaches of this Section 9.7 by any of its Affiliates and/or Permitted Sublicensees.
10.1Indemnification by PARI. PARI shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Genoa and its Affiliates and each of their respective employees, officers, directors and agents from and against any and all third party Claims, liability, loss, damage, cost and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from or in connection with (i) the breach by PARI of any representation, warranty or covenant contained in this Agreement; (ii) Claim of infringement or misappropriation of the patent rights, trade secrets or other intellectual property rights of any third party by PARI or its Affiliates or the Device or uses thereof to the extent such claim relates to the Device or the Licensed Intellectual Property; (iii) any third party claim that PARI willfully disclosed or made available to Genoa any Licensed Intellectual Property in violation of an obligation of PARI to such third party; or (iv) the Exploitation of the Genoa Technology by PARI, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees in breach of this Agreement; provided, however, that such indemnification right shall not apply to any Claims, liability, loss, damage, cost and expense (a) to the extent directly attributable to the negligence, reckless misconduct or intentional misconduct of a party seeking indemnification under this Section 10.1, or (b) for which Genoa is obligated to indemnify PARI under Section 10.2(i) through (iv) (Indemnification by Genoa).
10.2Indemnification by Genoa. Genoa shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless PARI and its Affiliates and each of their respective employees, officers, directors and agents from and against any and all third party Claims, liability, loss, damage, cost and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from or in connection with (i) the breach by Genoa, its Affiliates and/or Permitted Sublicensees of any representation, warranty or covenant contained in this Agreement; (ii) Claim of infringement or misappropriation of the patent rights, trade secrets or other intellectual property rights of any third party by Genoa or its Affiliates or the Drug Product(s) or use thereof to the extent such claim relates to any intellectual property incorporated into the Drug Product(s) at Genoa’s direction that is not included in the Licensed Intellectual Property; (iii) the Exploitation of the Device by Genoa, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees; or (iv) the Exploitation of the Genoa Technology by PARI, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees in accordance with this Agreement; provided, however, that such indemnification right shall not apply to any Claims, liability, loss, damage, cost and expense (a) to the extent directly attributable to the negligence, reckless misconduct, or intentional misconduct of a party seeking indemnification under this Section 10.2, or (b) for which PARI is obligated to indemnify Genoa under Section 10.2(i) through (iv) (Indemnification by PARI).
10.3Indemnification Procedures. Subject to the provisions of Section 6.2.5 (Enforcement), [***] after receipt by a Party seeking indemnification under this Section 10 (an “Indemnitee”) of notice of any pending or threatened claim against it (an “Action”), such Indemnitee shall give written notice to the Party from whom the Indemnitee is entitled to seek indemnification pursuant to this Section 10 (the “Indemnifying Party”) of the commencement thereof; provided, however, the failure so to notify the Indemnifying Party shall not relieve it of any liability that it may have to any Indemnitee hereunder, except to the extent the Indemnifying Party demonstrates that it is materially prejudiced thereby. Any Action that is subject to indemnification under this Section 10 shall be brought against an Indemnitee and it shall give written notice to the Indemnifying Party of the commencement thereof, the Indemnifying Party shall assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such Indemnitee and, the Indemnifying Party shall not be liable to such Indemnitee under this Section 10 for any fees of
other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such Indemnitee in connection with the defense thereof. No compromise or settlement of any Action may be effected by the Indemnifying Party without the Indemnitee’s written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, unless (A) there is no finding or admission of any violation of Law or any violation of the rights of any person and no effect on any other claims that may be made against the Indemnitee and (B) the sole relief provided is monetary damages that are paid in full by the Indemnifying Party.
10.4Insurance. Each of PARI and Genoa shall have and maintain such type and amounts of liability insurance covering its activities under this Agreement as is normal and customary in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries generally for Parties similarly situated. Each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, provide the requesting Party with a copy of the foregoing policies of insurance, along with any amendments and revisions thereto.
11.1Term. The term of this Agreement shall begin upon the Effective Date and shall continue in full force and effect until the expiration of the Royalty Term or unless earlier terminated as hereinafter provided in this Section 11 (the “Term”).
11.2Termination of Agreement for Material Breach. Either Party may terminate this Agreement and the License for material breach by giving [***] written notice to the breaching Party (specifying in reasonable detail the basis for such termination) and such breaching Party has not cured such material breach within such [***] (except in the case of failure to make a payment hereunder in which case the period of notice and opportunity to cure shall be [***]).
11.3Termination of Agreement by PARI. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, PARI may terminate this Agreement and the License upon the occurrence of one or more of the following:
11.3.1immediately upon written notice to Genoa in the event Genoa notifies PARI of its election to cease work on development and/or commercialization of any or all of the Drug Product(s) as contemplated herein pursuant to Section 3.7.5 (Termination), such termination applicable only to that Drug Product for the Territory, unless such notification is limited to a territory outside the United States, then such termination shall be applicable only to that Drug Product for that territory outside the United States;
11.3.2immediately upon written notice to Genoa in the event that Genoa (or a Permitted Sublicensee) is in breach of its obligation to use Commercially Reasonable Efforts relating to any of the Drug Product(s) pursuant to Section 3.7.1 (Commercially Reasonable Efforts) and such breach is not cured within [***] of Genoa’s receipt of written notice from PARI specifying in reasonable detail the nature of such breach (provided, however, that the time period set forth in Section 3.7.4 (Notice and Cure) shall be deemed to be included in such one hundred [***] and not in addition thereto), such termination applicable only to that Drug Product for the Territory, unless the breach is limited to a territory outside the United States, then such termination shall be applicable only to that Drug Product for that territory outside the United States for which there is a breach and that has not been cured pursuant to this Section 11.3.2.
11.3.3immediately upon written notice to Genoa in the event Genoa initiates a voluntary proceeding under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; or
11.3.4immediately upon written notice to Genoa in the event Genoa becomes the subject of an involuntary proceeding under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and such proceeding is not dismissed or stayed within [***] of its commencement.
11.4Termination of Agreement by Genoa. (i) Before the date of the First Commercial Sale, Genoa may terminate this Agreement and the License upon not less than sixty (60) days’ written notice to PARI. (ii) On or after the date of the First Commercial Sale, upon written notice to PARI, Genoa (or its Permitted Sublicensee) may terminate this Agreement and the License in accordance with Section 4.8(y). (iii) For the avoidance of doubt, Genoa may also terminate this Agreement and the License upon written notice to PARI in case the Device is rejected by a Regulatory Authority for use with the Drug Product and all appeals against such rejection have been exhausted. For the avoidance of doubt, no compensation is due by Genoa in case of (i) or (iii).
11.5Effect of Termination.
11.5.1Termination shall not relieve either Party of any obligations (including payment obligations) which have accrued prior to the effective date of such termination.
11.5.2In the case of any breach of the terms of the License, a decision not to terminate does not reduce or eliminate any recourse otherwise available to either Party.
11.5.3Upon any termination of this Agreement other than by Genoa under Section 11.2 (Termination of Agreement for Material Breach), all rights under the License shall automatically terminate and revert to PARI.
11.5.4Upon termination by Genoa under Section 11.2 (Termination of Agreement for Material Breach), at Genoa’s option, the License shall survive, subject to compliance by Genoa with all applicable provisions of this Agreement (including payment of Royalties).
11.5.5Subject to the foregoing, upon termination of this Agreement and assuming that a First Commercial sale has occurred, Genoa shall have the right to sell off any Devices and Accessories that are solely in Genoa’s, its Affiliates or Permitted Sublicensees’ possession for a period not to exceed [***] from the date of termination for exclusive use with the Drug Product(s), subject to payment of any applicable Royalty obligations and compliance with the provisions of Section 8.9 (Off-Label Promotion) of this Agreement and the Supply Agreement.
11.5.6Upon the termination of this Agreement for any reason, other than termination by (a) Genoa under Section 11.4 (Termination of Agreement by Genoa), (b) PARI pursuant to Section 11.3.1 (Termination of Agreement by PARI), or (c) PARI pursuant to Sections 11.3.2 (Termination of Agreement by PARI) or 11.3.3 (Termination of Agreement by PARI) unless the applicable Permitted Sublicensee is pursuing Commercially Reasonable Efforts for the Drug Product(s) for exclusive use with the
Device in a specific territory and otherwise meeting the diligence milestones pursuant to Section 3.7.1 (Commercially Reasonable Efforts), any Sublicense granted by Genoa hereunder shall survive such termination and automatically convert to a direct license between PARI and the Sublicensee; provided, however, such Sublicense: (i) received the prior written approval from PARI, (ii) complies with all of the provisions of Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense) and is consistent with all of, and not in conflict with, any of the terms of this Agreement, (iii) includes financial and payment terms, including milestone payments, Royalty payments, and, if for a territory that includes the United States, Annual Minimum Royalties that are no less than those in this Agreement, (iv) imposes no obligations on PARI more stringent or different from those set forth in this Agreement and (iv) imposes on the Permitted Sublicensee the same obligations and restrictions as are imposed on Genoa under this Agreement. If (i) this Agreement is terminated by Genoa pursuant to Section 11.4 (Termination of Agreement by Genoa) or by PARI pursuant to Sections 11.3.1 (Termination of Agreement by PARI), 11.3.2 (Termination of Agreement by PARI) or 11.3.3 (Termination of Agreement by PARI) (as conditioned above) or (ii) a Sublicense agreement does not conform to the provisions of this Agreement, including Section 2.3 (Right to Sublicense) and this Section 11.5.6, then in the case of (i) above in this sentence all Sublicenses and in the case of (ii) above in this sentence the non-conforming Sublicense only, shall immediately terminate. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 11.5.6 or elsewhere in this Agreement, in the event (x) this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Sections 11.2 (Termination of Agreement for Material Breach), 11.3.1 (Termination of Agreement by PARI), 11.3.3 (Termination of Agreement by PARI) or 11.4 (Termination of Agreement by Genoa) and the License to Genoa for a Drug Product is terminated or (y) a Sublicense agreement for a Drug Product for the United States is terminated, then all Sublicense agreements for such Drug Product shall automatically terminate.
11.6Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code. All rights and licenses granted under or pursuant to any section of this Agreement are, and shall otherwise be deemed to be, for purposes of Section 365(n) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (beginning at 11 U.S.C. 101, as amended) (the “Bankruptcy Code”), licenses of rights to “intellectual property” as defined under Section 101 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Parties shall retain and may fully exercise all of their respective rights and elections under Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code.
11.7Survival. Except as expressly provided herein, Sections 1 (Definitions), 2.3 (Right to Sublicense), 3.4 (Improvements), 3.5 (License Back), 5.8 (Recordkeeping), 5.9 (Audit Rights), 5.10 (Withholding Taxes), 5.11 (Late Payments), Section 6 (Patent Rights), 7 (Confidential Information), 10 (Indemnification), 11 (Term and Termination), 12 (Limitation of Liability), 13 (Dispute Resolution) and 14 (Miscellaneous) and any accrued rights as to payments due shall survive any expiration or early termination of this Agreement.
12.LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. NEITHER PARTY SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES OR ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE LICENSED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR TO THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OR ANY LIMITED REMEDY. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY THIRD-PARTY CLAIM THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF SECTION 10 (INDEMNIFICATION), TO THE EXTENT SUCH THIRD PARTY HAS BEEN AWARDED SUCH DAMAGES.
13.1Informal Resolution. Subject to Section 14.8 (Injunctive Relief), in the event of any controversy, dispute or claim arising out of, in connection with, or in relation to the interpretation, performance, or alleged breach of this Agreement (the “Dispute”), prior to instituting any arbitration on account of such Dispute, the Parties shall attempt in good faith to settle such Dispute first by negotiation and consultation between themselves, including referral of such Dispute to the Chief Executive Officer of Genoa and the President of PARI. In the event said executives are unable to resolve such Dispute or agree upon a mechanism to resolve such Dispute within [***] of the first written request for dispute resolution under this Section 13.1, then the Parties shall resolve all such Disputes in accordance with Section 13.2 (Arbitration).
13.2Arbitration. If any Dispute has not been resolved by good faith negotiations between the Parties pursuant to Section 13.1 (Informal Resolution) above, then the Parties shall endeavor to settle the Dispute by submitting the matter to binding arbitration by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in Manhattan, New York. Such arbitration may be conducted under the commercial rules then in effect for the AAA except as provided herein. All such proceedings shall be held in English and a transcribed record prepared in English. Each Party shall choose one (1) arbitrator within [***] of receipt of notice of the intent to arbitrate. Such arbitrators shall thereafter choose a third arbitrator within [***] of their appointment. If no arbitrator is appointed within the times herein provided or any extension of time which is mutually agreed upon, the AAA shall make such appointment of the first two (2) arbitrators within [***] of such failure who shall thereafter pick the third as set forth herein. Each Party in any arbitration proceeding commenced hereunder shall bear such Party’s own costs and expenses (including expert witness and attorneys’ fees) of investigating, preparing and pursuing such arbitration claim. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed as preventing either Party from seeking injunctive relief (or any other provisional remedy) from any court having jurisdiction over the Parties and the subject matter of the Dispute as necessary to protect either Party’s name, intellectual property or Confidential Information, and the breaching Party shall waive any requirement that such Party or Parties post bond as a condition for obtaining any such relief. If the Dispute involves scientific or technical matters, any arbitrator chosen hereunder shall have educational training and/or experience sufficient to demonstrate a reasonable level of knowledge in the field of lung disease. The award rendered by the arbitrators shall be written, final and non-appealable, and judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
14.1Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, notwithstanding any conflict of law provisions.
14.2Unenforceability. Both Parties hereby expressly state that it is the intention of neither Party to violate any Law. If any of the provisions of this Agreement are held to be void or unenforceable, then the other provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect and such void or unenforceable provisions shall be replaced by valid and enforceable provisions which will achieve as far as possible the economic business intentions of the Parties.
14.3Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be liable for failure to perform, or delay in the performance of, its obligations under this Agreement when such failure or delay is caused by an event of force majeure. For purposes of this Agreement, an event of force majeure means any event or circumstance beyond the reasonable control of the affected Party, including war, insurrection, riot, acts of terrorism, fire, flood or other unusual weather condition, explosion, act of God, peril of the sea, sabotage, act of governmental authority or compliance with governmental order on national defense requirements. If, due to any event of force majeure, either Party shall be unable to fulfill its obligations under this Agreement, the affected Party shall immediately notify the other Party of such inability and of the period during which such inability is expected to continue and the time for performance shall be extended for a number of days equal to the duration of the force majeure.
14.4No Waiver. The failure by either Party to take any action or assert any right hereunder shall in no way be construed to be a waiver of such right, nor in any way be deemed to affect the validity of this Agreement or any part hereof, or the right of a Party to thereafter enforce each and every provision of this Agreement.
14.5Drafting. This Agreement shall not be construed more strictly against one Party than the other because it may have been drafted by one of the Parties or its counsel, each Party having contributed through its counsel substantially and materially to the negotiation and drafting thereof.
14.6Assignment. This Agreement and the Parties’ rights and obligations hereunder shall not be assignable except with the prior written consent of the other Party, not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party shall have the right to assign this Agreement or its rights or obligations under this Agreement without any prior written consent to any of its Affiliates, successors in interest or acquirers of all or substantially all of its assets relating to the Licensed Intellectual Property, the Device or the Drug Product(s) as applicable; provided, however, such Affiliate, successor in interest or acquirer (i) in case of assignment by Genoa is not a PARI Competitor, and (ii) in all cases assumes all of such Party’s obligations under this Agreement. Any assignment not in accordance with this Section 14.6 shall be void. To the extent Genoa desires to assign this Agreement or its rights or obligations under this Agreement to a PARI Competitor, the Parties agree that PARI shall consider any such request from Genoa, without, however, any obligation to consent and agree to such request.
14.7Relationship of the Parties. In making and performing this Agreement, the Parties are acting, and intend to be treated, as independent entities and nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed or implied to create an agency, partnership, joint venture, or employer and employee relationship between or among any of the Parties. Except as otherwise provided herein, no Party may make any representation, warranty or commitment, whether express or implied, on behalf of or incur any charges or expenses for or in the name of any other Party. No Party shall be liable for the act of any other Party unless such act is expressly authorized in writing by such Party.
14.8Injunctive Relief. Each of the Parties agrees that if certain material obligations under this Agreement are not performed in accordance their specific terms or are otherwise breached, (a) severe and irreparable damage may occur, (b) no adequate remedy at law may exist and (c) damages may be difficult to determine. Each of the Parties agrees that, in such case, the injured Parties shall be authorized and entitled to seek from any court of competent jurisdiction injunctive relief, whether preliminary or permanent, as well as any other relief permitted by applicable Law, and the breaching Party shall waive any requirement that such Party or Parties post bond as a condition for obtaining any such relief.
14.9Notices. Every notice, election, demand, consent, request, approval, report, offer, acceptance, certificate, or other communication required or permitted under this Agreement or by applicable Law shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been delivered and received (a) when personally delivered, (b) on the [***] after which sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, (c) on the date on which transmitted by facsimile or other electronic means generating a receipt evidencing a successful transmission (provided, however, on that same date, a copy of such notice is sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested), or (d) on the [***] after the Business Day on which deposited with a regulated public carrier (e.g., Federal Express) for overnight delivery (receipt verified), freight prepaid, addressed to the Party for whom intended at the mailing address or facsimile number set forth below, or such other mailing address or facsimile number, notice of which is given in a manner permitted by this Section 14.9.
For PARI:
[***]
For Genoa:
[***]
14.10Entire Agreement. This Agreement, the Exhibits and Schedules to this Agreement, the “[***] ” with the effective date [***] , and the “[***]” with the effective date [***] contain the entire understanding between the Parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any and all prior agreements, understandings and arrangements, whether written or oral, between the Parties hereto, including the Confidential Disclosure Agreement entered into between the Parties effective as of January 4th, 2012 (“CDA”), which CDA is hereby expressly terminated as of the Effective Date. Any confidential information which was disclosed under the CDA shall remain confidential and shall be considered Confidential Information hereunder and shall be
subject to the confidentiality provisions set forth in Section 7 (Confidential Information) of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither Party shall be relieved from any liability for any past breach of any prior written agreements, including the CDA. No amendments, changes, modifications, waivers or alterations of the terms and conditions of this Agreement shall be binding upon either Party hereto unless in writing and signed by both Parties.
14.11Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and the rights and obligations hereof shall apply to the Parties and any successor(s) and permitted assigns.
14.12Headings. The captions to the Sections hereof are merely guides or labels to assist in locating and reading the several Sections hereof and are not a part of this Agreement and shall be of no force or effect in construing or interpreting any of the provisions of this Agreement.
14.13Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (facsimile and electronic transmission included) and each such counterpart shall be deemed an original hereof.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this License Agreement as of the Effective Date.
[***]
[Signature page to License Agreement.]
EX-10.13
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.13
AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO THE LICENSE AGREEMENT
This Amendment No. 1 to the License Agreement (this “Amendment No. 1”) is effective as of October 15th 2020, by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation having its principal place of business at 701 Pike Sheet Suite 1500 Seattle, WA 98101, USA (“Avalyn”), and PARI Pharma GmbH, a German corporation having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, 82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”) (each of Avalyn and PARI being individually a “Party” and together the “Parties”).
A. WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn (formerly known as Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) are parties to that certain License Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2017 (the “Agreement”); and
B. WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn are parties to that certain Quality Agreement For Clinical Trial Supply, dated as of January 21,2020 (the “Quality Agreement”); and
C. WHEREAS, Avalyn wishes and PARI agrees, in conformity with the respective provisions of the Agreement and separate Quality Agreement, to use a different controller suitable to operate the Device than the originally agreed controller; and
D. WHEREAS, the Parties wish to amend the Agreement as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1.Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment No. 1 will have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement or in the Quality Agreement.
2.All uses of “Genoa” under the Agreement shall be replaced with “Avalyn.”
3.The following definition shall be added to Section 1 of the Agreement:
“Controller Type 178” shall mean [***].”
4.Section 9.3.1 a) of the Agreement is hereby deleted and replaced by the following:
“The Parties agree that PARI shall manufacture and supply the Device intended for commercial use in [***] with the Drug Product(s) for a price not to exceed [***] per Nebulizer Starter Kit (including [***]) excluding any taxes, shipping and storage costs associated with such Device (the “US Baseline Starter Kit Price”). Prices for countries outside [***] will be negotiated in good faith between the Parties and will include a mark-up for the local distribution services if those arc requested by Avalyn.”
5.Schedule A1 to the Agreement is hereby deleted and replaced by Schedule A1 (October 2020) attached to this Amendment No. 1
6.Upon execution, this Amendment No. 1 shall be made a part of the Agreement and shall be incorporated by reference. Except as provided herein, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has caused this Amendment No. 1 to be executed by its duly authorized representatives.
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PARI PHARMA GMBH |
AVALYN PHARMA INC. |
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SCHEDULE Al
(October 2020)
[***]
EX-10.14
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.14
AMENDMENT NO. 2
TO THE LICENSE AGREEMENT
This Amendment No. 2 to the License Agreement (this “Amendment No. 2”) is effective as of February 9 2021, by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., a Delaware corporation having its principal place of business at 701 Pike Street Ste. 1500 Seattle, WA 98101, USA (“Avalyn”), and PARI Pharma GmbH, a Geiman corporation having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, 82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”) (each of Avalyn and PARI being individually a “Party” and together the “Parties”).
A. WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn (formerly known as Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) are parties to that certain License Agreement, dated as of April 3, 2017, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated as of October 15, 2020 (the “Agreement”); and
B. WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn are parties to that certain Quality Agreement For Clinical Trial Supply, dated as of January 21, 2020 (the “Quality Agreement”); and
C. WHEREAS, the Parties wish to amend the Agreement as set forth herein to reflect new prices for the Nebulizer Handset and to define a price for a single Aerosol Head, both for clinical development.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1.Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment No. 2 will have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement or in the Quality Agreement.
2.The maximum price per Handset set forth in section 9.2 (Clinical Development), sequential number (i) is hereby deleted and replaced by the following maximum price: [***].
3.The following maximum price shall be added to the price listing in section 9.2 (Clinical Development) as sequential number (iv), preceding the clause “in each case excluding any taxes, shipping and storage costs associated with such Device.”: [***].
4.The new prices defined in subsections 2 and 3 above shall apply to all purchase orders placed by Avalyn at PARI or any of its Affiliates after the effective date of this Amendment No. 2.
5.Upon execution, this Amendment No. 2 shall be made a part of the Agreement and shall be incorporated by reference. Except as provided herein, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has caused this Amendment No. 2 to be executed by its duly authorized representatives.
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PARI PHARMA GMBH |
AVALYN PHARMA INC. |
[***] |
[***] |
EX-10.15
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.15
Material Transfer Agreement
This Material Transfer Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made as of this 23rd day of January, 2020 (the “Effective Date”) by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc. 701 Pike Street, Suite 1500, Seattle, Washington, 98101, USA (“Avalyn”) and PARI Pharma GmbH, with its registered office at Moosstrasse 3, D-82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”). In this Agreement, either PARI or Avalyn is referred to as a “Party,” and collectively as the “Parties.”
WHEREAS, PARI has developed and produced certain Material (as defined below) and desires to protect its proprietary rights in and to the Material, and
WHEREAS, Avalyn has developed and produced certain formulation rights, namely with respect to a liquid formulation which contains Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone (collectively, the “Avalyn Rights”), and Avalyn desires to conduct certain research and appropriate studies using or Incorporating the Material and the Avalyn Rights; and
WHEREAS, Avalyn is interested in evaluating PARI’s proprietary Material for drug delivery purposes in such research and studies (the “Evaluation Purpose”), and
WHEREAS, PARI, being the owner of the entire right, title and interest in the Material, is willing to provide Avalyn with the Material for the sole purpose of conducting the Evaluation Studies in accordance with the Evaluation Purpose (as defined above), and
WHEREAS, Avalyn, being the owner of the entire right, title and interest in the Avalyn Rights, desires to use the Material in connection with its Avalyn Rights for the sole purpose of conducting the Evaluation Studies (as defined below) in accordance with the Evaluation Purpose, and
WHEREAS Avalyn (formerly known as Genoa Pharmaceuticals) and PARI are parties to a certain license agreement effective as of April 3, 2017 which covers the aerosolized administration of Avalyn’s Pirfenidone formulation via an eFlow technology nebulizer proprietary to PARI (the “License Agreement”)
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Parties agree as follows*
1.1Provision of Material. Material shall mean (i) complete investigational eFlow® nebulizer systems [***], (ii) eFlow nebulizer handsets [***], or (iii) [***] upon the payment of a technology access fee of [***] per Device and [***] per Nebulizer Handset, to be paid after shipment of the applicable Device Order.
A “Device Order” means a written order as drafted in the Exhibit A which specifies the article number and quantities of the Material together with the Study Protocol Synopsis for which the Material is used and which is signed by both Parties The delivery note for such Material shall become part of the respective Device Order once issued by PARI.
Following completion of the Evaluation Studies, Avalyn will either (a) account for, destroy and dispose of the Material in accordance with Avalyn’s standard procedures and provide PARI with a written certification of such destruction or disposal, (b) return such Material to PARI, or (c) if such Material is unused, use such Material for a separate study involving PARI’s eFlow technology as described in a written amendment to the Device Order under which the Material was delivered originally.
(a)Use of the Material. Avalyn will use the Material in compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations valid in the country Avalyn intends to conduct Evaluation Studies, including, for example, those relating to research involving the use of humans or animals and will not engage in any such research without first obtaining necessary approval from its relevant ethics committee(s) such as, but not limited to, the Institutional Review Board Neither the Material nor any information/materials incorporating one or more essential elements of the Material provided by PARI under this Agreement shall be used by Avalyn directly or indirectly for: (i) any purpose other than the Evaluation Purpose, or (n) any profit-making or commercial purpose. Avalyn agrees to comply with all Applicable Laws and Standards applicable to the Evaluation Purpose and the handling of the Material. As used herein, “Applicable Laws and Standards” means (a) all laws, ordinances, rules, directives and regulations applicable to the Material, the Evaluation Purpose, the Evaluation Studies or this Agreement, including without limitation applicable local laws and regulations in each relevant country, (b) applicable regulations and guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and other regulatory authorities and applicable guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (“ICH”); (c) as applicable to the particular activities performed under this Agreement, Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Laboratory Practices and Good Clinical Practices promulgated by the FDA and other regulatory authorities or the ICH, and (d) all applicable industry and trade standards.
(b)Restricted Access to the Material Avalyn shall retain control of the Material and shall not distribute or release the Material to any person or entity other than (a) employees of Avalyn who are under Avalyn’s direct supervision and control, and (b) to the extent permitted by a Device Order, Avalyn’s subcontractors or other permitted individuals working under Avalyn’s direction as specified in the respective Device Order (a “CRO”) in the Evaluation Study, who, in each case, (x) have a need to access the Material in connection with Avalyn’s use of the Material for the respective Evaluation Purpose and (y) who are not allowed to further transfer the Material except as necessary for the Evaluation Study, including further transfers to the applicable sties or to the participants of the Evaluation Study, and (c) the participants of the Evaluation study (as further specified in Section 1.2(c)
below) All such persons and entities identified above shall be bound by obligations of confidentiality and restricted use. Avalyn shall not allow anyone to take or send the Material to any other location other than that specified for below, unless Avalyn first obtains PARI’s written permission.
(c)Supervision of Use of the Material The Material is to be used only at (i) Avalyn’s facilities as specified in the respective Device Order by Avalyn and by individuals working under Avalyn’s direction and control, (ii) at sites where the Evaluation Study will be conducted and which are set forth in the respective Study Protocol Synopsis, (iii) locations where subjects enrolled in the Evaluation Studies are using the Material, all of the foregoing (i), (ii) and (iii) as set forth in the respective Device Order, or (iv) the homes and/or workplaces of such individuals who consent to the participation in a clinical study portion of the respective Evaluation Study; provided, however, that Avalyn will be responsible and liable for (x) all actions and/or omissions of such individuals in relation to the Materials and (y) the return of all Material used by such individuals to Avalyn or CRO or its destruction.
(d)Avalyn hereby confirms to PARI that (i) prior to initiating the Evaluation Studies, Avalyn shall have a written agreement with CRO, the provisions of which will not be in breach of or otherwise conflict with the rights and obligations set forth in this Agreement (the “CRO Agreement’’); (ii) any breach of this Agreement by CRO shall be deemed a breach by Avalyn; (iii) Avalyn shall ensure that CRO does not use any third party contractors or subcontractors in connection with the Evaluation Studies that will receive the Materials without PARI’s prior written approval, and (iv) the CRO Agreement will include an effective assignment of all rights and interests associated with the Evaluation Studies and the Study Results (as defined below) to Avalyn consistent with this Agreement.
(e)Avalyn further confirms to PARI that (i) as between Avalyn and CRO, all Study Results and related proprietary rights associated with the Evaluation Studies shall be fully owned by Avalyn; (ii) CRO has not or will not have any rights to Study Results from Evaluation Studies or the related proprietary rights thereto (including without limitation the right to file any patents based thereon or the right to use any of the foregoing) except that CRO will have the right to retain a copy of the report solely as required for applicable regulatory authorities, and (iii) other than as specifically set forth herein, a CRO shall not have the right to otherwise use the Material than as set forth under this Agreement. In the event CRO does file a patent application and/or amendments that incorporate or reference the Study Results from Evaluation Studies, any PARI Property and/or any PARI Confidential Information, then Avalyn shall ensure that PARI receives a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, fully paid-up, sub-licensable, irrevocable and unrestricted right and license thereunder from CRO (as applicable) to exploit in any manner any PARI Property, PARI Property or PARI Confidential Information.
1.3Reverse Engineering. Avalyn shall not subject to analysis or have subjected to analysis Material and/or components constituting Material received from PARI for the purpose of reverse engineering or in a manner that would reveal material composition or internal design or operation of such sample and/or component or its method of manufacture. Material is deemed to be “Confidential Information” (as defined below) and such Material shall at all times remain the sole and exclusive property of PARI. The Evaluation Studies do not envision that there would be any improvement to the Material, but in the case that there are any inventions that constitute an improvement to the Material (but expressly excluding the Avalyn Rights or the use of the Avalyn Rights), such improvements shall be [***] disclosed to and are and shall be the sole and absolute property of PARI.
2.1Definition of Confidential Information. As used in this Agreement, Confidential Information shall mean: (i) all information disclosed by one Party (the “Discloser”) to the other Party (the “Receiver”) in oral, visual, written, or electronic form under this Agreement, including the terms of this Agreement, the nature thereof or the fact that such Agreement exists (provided that the terms of this Agreement, the nature hereof or the fact this Agreement exists shall be the Confidential Information of both Parties), (ii) non-public information or material proprietary to the Discloser or designated as “Confidential Information” by the Discloser, whether or not owned or developed by the Discloser, Including, but not limited to, the Study Results, trade secrets, know-how, data, compilations, specifications, strategies, projections, processes, techniques, formulae, models and patent disclosures, and any other information regarding the Discloser, its customers, products (including with respect to PARI, the Material,) or business, in each case disclosed by the Discloser to the Receiver or obtained by the Receiver through observation or examination of the foregoing, and (iii) any other confidential information about the Discloser obtained through the disclosure of information under this Agreement as well as the fact that a disclosure has taken place. For the avoidance of doubt, the Discloser and the Receiver confirm and agree that the Discloser’s failure to identify any information as “Confidential Information” in writing shall not constitute a designation of non-confidentiality when the confidential nature is apparent from the context and subject matter, when the information relates to the terms hereof, or when the information is such that a reasonable personal would consider it to be proprietary or confidential.
2.2Exclusions. The term “Confidential Information” shall not be deemed to include that portion of information which
(a)is known to the Receiver prior to disclosure by the Discloser of such information as evidenced by the Receiver’s written files and records immediately prior to the time of disclosure,
(b)is or becomes publicly known, without fault or wrongful act on the part of the Receiver;
(c)has been lawfully received by the Receiver at any time from a third party, other than the Discloser, who rightfully disclosed such information without restriction,
(d)has been independently and legally derived or developed by the Receiver without use of the Confidential Information of the Discloser as evidenced by the Receiver’s written files and records,
(e)has been disclosed by the Receiver with the Discloser’s prior written approval, or
(f)is required to be disclosed under legal process, provided that
Ithe Receiver shall give the Discloser prompt written notice so that the Disclosure may seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy,
IIthe Receiver takes all reasonable steps available to protect the Confidential Information in the context of the proceeding, and
IIIin the Receiver discloses Confidential Information only to the extent required to be disclosed.
Any combination of features or disclosures shall not be deemed to fall within the foregoing exclusions merely because such individual features or disclosures are published or available to the general public or in the rightful possession of the Receiver unless such combination itself and principle of operation are published or available to the general public or are in the rightful possession of the Receiver.
Further excluded from being deemed “Confidential Information” shall be information about the existence of or nature of the “Evaluation Studies” and the “Evaluation Purpose” that is publicly known including, but not limited to, the names of the collaborating Parties, sponsors, drug substance, study type, study design, study endpoints, study location, number of patients included, and inclusion criteria. For clarity, the Study Results (as set forth in Section 3.3) shall be deemed Confidential Information of Avalyn.
2.3Duration of Obligation. The Receiver’s obligations regarding Confidential Information received under this Agreement shall continue for a period of [***] from the date of last disclosure.
The Receiver shall not disclose information to any third party without the prior written and express consent of the Discloser, except as set forth in Section 2.4 below. The Receiver will treat information in the same manner and with the same degree of care as the Receiver treats its own confidential information. Furthermore, the Receiver undertakes an obligation not to make use of Confidential Information other than for purposes of the Evaluation Studies without the prior written and express consent of the Discloser in each case, except as otherwise allowed under this Agreement.
2.4Obligation of Employees. The Receiver may disclose Confidential Information only to employees, directors, officers, attorneys, accountants, bankers, financial advisors, CRO, clinical sites, participants in the Evaluation Studies or consultants who need to know in
order to carry out an Evaluation Study or related to the Evaluation Purpose set forth herein, provided that such persons are bound by obligations of confidentiality and non-use to the Receiver and will use no less stringent as those contained in this Agreement. Avalyn shall ensure that such persons are fully aware of the obligations of this Agreement and the Receiver shall be responsible and liable for any breach of these provisions by such persons.
2.5Return of Confidential Information Upon the request of the Discloser, the Receiver shall within [***] of such request return all tangible items relating to Discloser’s Confidential Information, including all written material, photographs, models, compounds, compositions and the like made available or supplied by the Discloser to the Receiver, and erase or destroy any and all notes, documents and physical or electronic copies thereof or derived from the Confidential Information; provided, however, the Receiver may retain one copy of the Confidential Information in the possession of its legal counsel solely for the purpose of monitoring its obligations under this Agreement, and, provided further that, in the case of the Study Results, Avalyn has the right to retain the Study Results as Avalyn deems fit, regardless of whether such Study Results are derived from Confidential Information. Upon the Discloser’s request, an authorized representative of the Receiver shall certify in writing that all Confidential Information has been returned or destroyed Subsequent to any return of the Confidential Information, the Receiver will continue to be bound by its obligations hereunder.
3STUDY RESULTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
3.1Ownership of PARI Intellectual Property: Avalyn acknowledges that PARI or its affiliates owns, possesses or controls certain inventions, discoveries, technologies, expertise, processes, know-how, trade secrets, technologies, other intellectual property rights related to PARI’s proprietary nebulizer devices, including but not limited to, the eFlow® electronic nebulizer, [***], the Material and improvements to all of the foregoing (collectively the “PARI Property”). The foregoing PARI Property includes, but is not limited to, all rights, title and interest in and to any patents, trademarks, mask works, copyrights or trade secrets associated with the PARI Property. Avalyn and PARI agree that, as between the Parties, PARI shall exclusively own any and all PARI Property and improvements thereto (i) owned by or licensed to PARI as of the Effective Date hereof, and/or (ii) used, improved, modified or developed by either Party under or during the term of this Agreement, but expressly excluding the Avalyn Rights or use thereof Avalyn hereby assigns all rights in the PARI Property to PARI, but only to the extent that said PARI Property is not specifically related to the Avalyn Rights.
3.2Ownership of Avalyn Intellectual Property: PARI acknowledges that Avalyn or its affiliates owns, possesses or controls certain inventions, discoveries, technologies, expertise, processes, know-how, trade secrets, technologies, other intellectual property rights and improvements to all of the foregoing, related to the Avalyn Rights (collectively the “Avalyn Property”). The foregoing Avalyn Property includes, but is not limited to, all rights, title and interest in and to any patents, trademarks, mask works, copyrights or trade secrets associated with the Avalyn Property. Avalyn and PARI agree that, as between the Parties, Avalyn shall exclusively own any and all Avalyn Property and improvements thereto (i) owned by or licensed to Avalyn as of the Effective Date hereof, and/or (ii) used,
improved, modified or developed by either Party under or during the term of this Agreement, but expressly excluding the PARI Property.
3.3Ownership of Study Results: All information, data, writings, test results, and similar information generated as a result of each of the Evaluation Studies (collectively, the “Study Results”), shall be the sole and exclusive property of Avalyn. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Avalyn shall in no event (other than under and in accordance with the License Agreement or another license agreement as set forth below in this Section 3.3) file any patent application and/or amendments that claim any part of the [***] (collectively “Device Related Disclosures”). For the avoidance of doubt, Avalyn shall neither amend nor modify (including without limitation by way of continuation, continuation In part, divisional or re-issue) claims of patents or patent applications filed prior to the Effective Date resulting in claims containing Device Related Disclosures (other than under and in accordance with the License Agreement or another license agreement as set forth below in this Section 3.3). PARI hereby assigns all rights in the Study Results to Avalyn, but only to the extent that said Study Results are not specifically related to the PARI Property. Device Related Disclosures shall specifically not mean [***]. In the event that Avalyn nevertheless wishes to file a patent application and/or amendments or modifications with Device Related Disclosures, Avalyn shall only do so In case the Parties will have entered into a license agreement with respect to Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone, with similar terms and conditions with respect to the allocation of intellectual property rights and the right to file patents as the License Agreement being applicable to such patent application and/or amendment and to the extent such patent application and/or amendment is permitted under such terms and conditions. If Avalyn files such patent application and/or amendment or modification prior to the execution of the above mentioned license agreement, then:
(a)PARI shall receive a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, fully paid-up, sublicensable, unrestricted right and license under any such right, title, or interest, including any patents resulting from such patent application for PARI to research, formulate, develop, seek regulatory approval for, make, have made, use, sell, have sold, offer for sale, market, promote, import, export, display, make derivative works of, copy, distribute, perform, license, sublicense or otherwise commercialize or dispose of PARI Property, and
(b)such filing shall constitute a breach of this Agreement and PARI shall be entitled to seek any and all applicable legal and equitable remedies for such breach, in addition to the license set forth in Section 3.3(a) above. Any delay or failure by PARI to seek such remedies shall neither constitute a waiver or acceptance of such breach of this Agreement nor an acceptance of the acquisition of such right, title or interest by Avalyn.
3.4License Rights: Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the transfer of the Material, PARI hereby grants Avalyn a limited non-exclusive license to temporarily maintain and conduct the Evaluation Studies using the Material solely in accordance with the Evaluation Purpose and the synopsis of the Evaluation Studies set forth in the respective Device Order and incorporated by reference herein (the “Study Protocol Synopsis”). Material shall not be used by Avalyn in any research that is subject to consulting or commercial licensing or contracted research obligations to another person or entity. No express or implied license in or to the Material is granted to Avalyn under this Agreement, except for the limited right of use specifically set forth herein. Avalyn shall have no right to sublicense (or to subcontract, other than to its CRO and clinical sites) any rights granted hereunder to any third party. PARI remains free, in its sole discretion, to use the Material for its own purposes and to distribute or license the Material to parties other than Avalyn.
4.1Report. The Study Results generated under this Agreement shall be shared with PARI in way of a preliminary written report sent to PARI within [***] of conclusion of each of the Evaluation Studies. Furthermore, once available, a copy of the final report of each of the Evaluation Studies will be sent to PARI.
4.2Publications. Avalyn agrees to provide appropriate acknowledgment of the source of the Material in all publications, and further agrees to send PARI a copy of any proposed public disclosure (including proposed publications in initial patent applications, continuations, divisionals submitted the first time to patent examination offices such as the USPTO or the EPO) regarding the Evaluation Studies including, but not limited to, manuscripts, posters or presentations and seek PARI’s written approval prior to submission or public disclosure. PARI has the right to reasonably revise information disclosed in any such publication relating to the use of the Material and/or the Material itself. Notwithstanding any other statement in this Agreement, PARI may not directly or indirectly reference Avalyn, or any relationship between Avalyn and PARI in any press release without Avalyn’s prior written consent.
5.2Study Protocol. Each of the Evaluation Studies conducted by Avalyn will be conducted pursuant to the Study Protocol Synopsis as set forth in the respective Device Order Avalyn is responsible for the proper design of the associated Study Protocol.
5.3Regulatory Matters. Avalyn shall be responsible, at its sole cost, for filing, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals for the development and commercialization of the Avalyn Rights. PARI agrees to reasonably cooperate with Avalyn in such efforts and provide Avalyn with information in PARI’s possession or control relating to the Material to the extent reasonably necessary for any regulatory filing or submission and to make any required filings with any regulatory authorities with respect to the Material, provided,
however, that prior to the submission of a marketing authorization request to the FDA, the EMA or any other regulatory agency (i.e., a New Drug Application or its foreign equivalent) claiming on the label any Avalyn Right administered via the Material, Avalyn has entered into an appropriate license agreement with PARI. Avalyn will not file any documentation relating to the Material with any regulatory authority without PARI’s review and therefore will first provide PARI with a draft of such submission and an opportunity to review and comment on such submission. PARI will have the right to reasonably review and comment upon any portion of such filings specifically related to the Material and Avalyn will consider such comments in the final version of such filing.
6.1Term and Termination. This Agreement shall expire [***] from the Effective Date unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Parties. Avalyn may terminate this Agreement upon thirty (30) days’ written notice. Either Party may terminate this Agreement upon written notice to the other Party in the event a material breach of this Agreement by such other Party is incurable or remains uncured [***] after notice of such breach was received by such other Party. Notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement, the provisions of Sections 2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4, 5.3 and 6 shall survive the termination of this Agreement. In case of expiration or early termination Avalyn shall immediately stop using the Material and return all Material in the possession of and/or used by or on behalf of Avalyn, its affiliates, any of its representatives, CROs or subjects enrolled in the Evaluation Studies to PARI.
6.2Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability: ALL MATERIAL AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND PARI MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, CONCERNING THE MATERIAL OR THE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN PARI DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES RELATED TO THE MATERIAL AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE MATERIAL OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OR STUDY RESULTS, HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY
6.3Indemnification. Avalyn agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless PARI, its affiliates and each of their respective officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any and all liabilities, losses, damages, obligations, penalties, judgments, awards, costs, expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and disbursements resulting from third party claims (collectively “Claims”) arising out of Avalyn’s (i) breach of this Agreement, (ii) use of the Study Results, (iii) use of the Material, (iv) negligence or willful misconduct, or (v) failure to adhere to the Evaluation Purpose, the Study Protocol or any instructions or precautions for the Material which have been communicated by PARI to Avalyn. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Avalyn shall have no obligation under this Section 6.3 to
the extent any such Claims were the result of the willful misconduct or gross negligence of PARI.
6.4Dispute Resolution. PARI and Avalyn shall endeavor to resolve any dispute arising under this Agreement informally by good faith negotiation between the senior executives, officers or management of PARI and Avalyn. Either Party may give the other Party written notice of any claim or controversy not resolved in the normal course of business (the “Disputing Party Notice”). Within [***] after the delivery of the Disputing Party Notice, the receiving Party shall submit to the other Party a written response (the “Response”). The Disputing Party Notice and Response shall include a statement of each Party’s position and a summary of the arguments supporting that position. Within [***] after the Disputing Party Notice, such designated senior executives, officers or management of PARI and Avalyn shall meet at a mutually acceptable time and place and thereafter as often as they reasonably deem necessary to attempt to resolve the claim or controversy. All negotiations pursuant to this Section 6.4 are confidential and without prejudice and shall be treated as compromise and settlement negotiations for purposes of applicable rules of evidence. If the Parties cannot resolve the dispute pursuant to this Section 6.4, then the provisions of Section 6.9 shall apply. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party shall have the right, without waiving any right or remedy available to such Party under this Agreement or otherwise, to seek and obtain from any court of competent jurisdiction any interim or provisional relief that is necessary or desirable to protect the rights or property of such Party, pending the foregoing discussions between the Parties.
6.5Notices. All notices or other communications that are required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by Federal Express or other reliable overnight courier, or hand delivered or mailed by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the appropriate Party addresses as set forth in the opening paragraph of this Agreement.
6.6No Guaranty of Transaction: Each Party understands and acknowledges that neither Party shall be obligated to enter into a business transaction by virtue of having entered into this Agreement.
6.7Relationship of the Parties. This Agreement does not create a joint venture or any agency or partnership relationship between the Parties.
6.8Choice of Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to the conflicts of law principles thereof. Each of the Parties hereto (i) agrees that any dispute arising hereunder shall be brought exclusively in the federal or state courts in Manhattan within the City of New York, and (ii) consents to the jurisdiction and venue of such courts, and waives any objections to the jurisdiction and venue thereof.
6.9Counterparts: 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.
6.10Payment & Delivery. The Parties acknowledge and agree that all Material intended for use in the United States of America and Canada will be delivered via PARI Respiratory Equipment, Inc. (“PRE”) and that PRE may issue the respective invoices for the technology access fee to Avalyn.
6.11Severability: If any portion of this Agreement is determined unenforceable or invalid by any court, the rest shall remain in force and shall be construed as if not containing the unenforceable or invalid provision.
6.12Language: This Agreement is prepared and executed in the English language. The English language version shall govern the Parties’ relationship. Any translation of this Agreement into any other languages shall be for convenience of reference only and shall have no legal effect.
6.13Assignment: Neither Party may assign or otherwise transfer any rights or obligations conferred by this Agreement, whether by operation of law or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the other Party; provided, however, either Party shall have the right to assign this Agreement and its rights and obligations hereunder to any of its affiliates, successors in interest or acquirers of all or substantially all of its assets related to this Agreement. The obligations in this Agreement shall be binding upon each Party’s permitted successors, assigns, executors, administrators and other legal representatives.
6.14Entire Agreement: This Agreement represents the entire agreement between the Parties regarding the subject matter hereof and shall supersede all previous communications, representations, understandings and agreements, whether oral or written, by or between the Parties. No change, modification, extension, termination or waiver of the Agreement, or any of the provisions herein contained, shall be valid unless made in writing and signed by duly authorized representatives of the Parties hereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have entered into the Agreement as of the Effective Date:
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EX-10.16
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.16
AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO THE MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT
This Amendment No. 1 to the material transfer agreement (this “Amendment No. 1”) is effective as of November 22, 2021, by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., having its registered office at 701 Pike Street, Suite 1500, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA (“Avalyn”), and PARI Pharma GmbH, having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, 8231.9 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”) (each of Avalyn and PARI being individually a “Party” and together the “Parties”).
A. WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn are parties to that certain Material Transfer Agreement, dated as of January 23, 2020 (the “Agreement”): and
B. WHEREAS, the Parties wish to amend the Agreement as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1.Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment No. 1 will have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement.
2.The Parties wish to extend the scope of the Agreement by adding a second active ingredient, besides [***]. Therefore, the second WHEREAS clause shall be deleted and replaced with the following:
“WHEREAS, Avalyn has developed and produced certain formulation rights, namely with respect to liquid formulations which contain (i) Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone, or (ii) Imatinib as the sole active ingredient (collectively the “Avalyn Rights”), and Avalyn desires to conduct certain research and appropriate studies using or incorporating the Material and the Avalyn Rights; and”
3.In Section 3.3 (Ownership of Study Results), line 26, the first two sentences following enumeration letter (C) shall be deleted and replaced with the following:
4.“a lung dose of at least [***]. In the event that Avalyn nevertheless wishes to file a patent application and/or amendments or modifications with Device Related Disclosures, Avalyn shall only do so in case the Parties will have entered into a license agreement with respect to (i) Nintedanib as the sole active ingredient, or Nintedanib in combination with Pirfenidone, or (ii) Imatinib as the sole active ingredient, as applicable in each case; with similar terms and conditions with respect to the allocation of intellectual property rights and the right to file patents as the License Agreement being applicable to such patent application and/or amendment and to the extent such patent application and/or amendment is permitted under such terms and conditions.”
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
5.Upon execution, this Amendment No. 1 shall be made a part of the Agreement and shall be incorporated by reference. Except as provided herein, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has caused this Amendment No. 1 to be executed by its duly authorized representatives.
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PARI PHARMA GMBH |
AVALYN PHARMA INC. |
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EX-10.17
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.17
AMENDMENT NO. 2
TO THE MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT
This Amendment No. 2 to the material transfer agreement (this “Amendment No. 2”) is retroactively effective as of January 22, 2023 (the “Amendment No. 2 Effective Date”) and executed as of March 6, 2024, by and between Avalyn Pharma Inc., having its registered office at 701 Pike Street, Suite 1500, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA (“Avalyn”), and PARI Pharma GmbH, having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, 82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”) (each of Avalyn and PARI being individually a “Party” and together the “Parties”).
A.WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn are parties to that certain Material Transfer Agreement, dated as of January 23, 2020, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated as of November 22, 2021 (the “Agreement”); and
B.WHEREAS, the Parties agree to extend the scope of the Agreement by additional services to be provided by PARI to Avalyn and therefore wish to amend the Agreement as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1.Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment No. 2 will have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement.
2.An additional WHEREAS clause shall be added to the Agreement after the fifth WHEREAS clause and shall read as follows:
“WHEREAS, in addition to the transfer of Material, Avalyn may, from time to time, request that PARI perform certain services pursuant to Work Orders (as hereinafter defined) agreed in writing by the Parties.”
3.The heading of Article 1 (USE OF MATERIAL) of the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced by the following:
“1 PROVISION OF MATERIAL AND SERVICES”
4.In Section 1.2(a) (Restrictions of Use), the definition of “Applicable Laws and Standards” shall be revised as follows:
“Applicable Laws and Standards” means (a) all laws, ordinances, rules, directives and regulations applicable to the Materials, the Evaluation Purpose, the Evaluation Studies, the Services or this Agreement, including without limitation applicable local laws and regulations in each relevant country, (b) applicable regulations and guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (“FDA”) and other regulatory authorities and applicable guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (“ICH”), (c) as applicable to the particular activities performed under this Agreement, Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Laboratory Practices and Good Clinical Practices promulgated by the FDA and other regulatory authorities or the ICH, and (d) all applicable industry and trade standards.”
5.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 1.4 and shall read as follows:
“1.4 Statement of Work:
(a)“Services” means the services to be provided by PARI under this Agreement which will be specified in a Work Order (as hereinafter defined) as provided in Section 1.4(c).
(b)During the term of this Agreement, Avalyn hereby engages PARI, as an independent contractor, on the terms and conditions set forth hereinafter, for PARI to provide the Services.
(c)Any Services to be performed by PARI and any Deliverables shall be formalized in a written work order agreed upon by the Parties in the form of the template set forth in Exhibit B attached hereto, outlining the respective specifications including: (i) the work order number, (ii) the nature and the description of the Services to be carried out, (iii) Services delivery deadlines, (iv) estimated number of hours required in order to deliver the Services, (v) total estimated cost for the requested Services whereas the invoiced cost shall not exceed such estimated cost by more than ten percent (10%) without Avalyn’s prior written approval, (vi) the related department and the contact persons at Avalyn and at PARI involved in the Services, (vii) the invoice destination and payment terms, and (viii) approved expenses (collectively a “Work Order”). To the extent any terms or provisions of a Work Order conflict with the terms and provisions of this Agreement, the terms and provisions of this Agreement shall control, except to the extent such Work Order specifically states the Parties’ intent that such Work Order control with respect to a particular matter. No change or amendment to an existing Work Order shall be in effect unless and until a written change order amending such Work Order is mutually executed by the Parties (“Change Order”).
(d)Each Work Order must be signed by both Parties to be effective. Each fully executed Work Order shall be appended to this Agreement and made a part hereof. For clarity, neither Party has any obligation towards the other Party to provide any particular services or to pay for any particular services in absence of a Work Order executed by both Parties covering such services and payment for such services.”
6.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 1.5 and shall read as follows:
“1.5 Provision of Services:
(a)PARI shall provide the Services, perform the tasks allocated to it and provide each Deliverable (as defined in Section 3.5(a)) by the dates indicated, in each case in accordance with the relevant Work Order. PARI shall deliver all Deliverables in accordance with any schedule therefor specified in the applicable Work Order. Upon receipt of each Deliverable, Avalyn shall have an opportunity to evaluate the Deliverable for compliance with any specifications or conditions in accordance with the applicable Work Order and to approve or reject such Deliverable accordingly. Approval of a Deliverable shall be deemed if no rejection has been received by PARI in writing within [***] from delivery of such Deliverable. Avalyn shall timely provide its required contribution and assistance (such as required information or material) as specifically set forth in the relevant Work Order or otherwise mutually agreed by the Parties. Any delay by PARI in rendering the Services caused by the delayed provision of information, material or other assistance of Avalyn required to provide the particular Service as specifically set forth in the relevant Work Order or otherwise mutually agreed by the Parties shall not be deemed to be a default of PARI and the relevant timelines for performance of such Service by PARI as set forth in the respective Work Order shall be extended proportionately to such delay. In the case of any such delay, PARI will [***] notify Avalyn thereof, including any actions or omissions by Avalyn that PARI believes has caused such delay, and the Parties will meet as soon as possible to (i) mutually agree to create a revised plan and timeline to complete the applicable Services as near to and of the same quality as set forth in the original Work Order and (ii) execute a Change Order to such Work Order.
(b)Avalyn and PARI will meet periodically virtually or telephonically if agreed in the relevant Work Order. At such meetings, PARI will report to Avalyn the progress and status of the Services and Deliverables described in the Work Order. PARI will use commercially reasonable efforts to consider proposals from Avalyn in good faith and shall take reasonable actions requested by Avalyn in relation to any such Services or Deliverables to ensure due and proper completion of all Services and Deliverables in accordance with this Agreement, including the agreed upon dates and quality standards.
(c)The Services shall be carried out only by properly qualified employees of PARI in a professional manner and in accordance with (i) the standards of care and diligence practiced by recognized organizations in performing services of a similar nature at the time the Services are performed, (ii) the terms of the relevant Work Order and this Agreement, and (iii) all Applicable Laws and Standards.
(d)PARI may not subcontract any of the Services under a Work Order without first obtaining Avalyn’s prior written consent. PARI shall at all times remain responsible and liable for the performance and compliance of its permitted subcontractors with this Agreement and the applicable Work Order.”
7.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 1.6 and shall read as follows:
“1.6 Payment of Fees and Expenses:
(a)Avalyn shall pay to PARI the amounts specified in any Work Order for the Services performed in accordance with this Agreement, and unless otherwise set forth in the Work Order, the hourly rate shall be [***] per Billable Hour. “Billable Hour” means an hour (60 minutes, calculated pro rata in 10 minute increments, rounded up to the next 10 minute increment of billable time) of activities performed by or on behalf of PARI in accordance with this Agreement and the relevant Work Order.
(b)Avalyn shall reimburse PARI for reasonable expenses paid or incurred directly by PARI in connection with performing the Services and that are specified in the relevant Work Order or otherwise approved in writing in advance by Avalyn, provided that such expenses are documented and incurred by reason of the delivery of Services requested in the Work Order. For clarity, Avalyn shall not be obligated to pay any amounts in excess of the amounts specified in a Work Order and in accordance with Section 1.4(c) unless such excess amounts have been approved in writing in advance by Avalyn.
(i)PARI will keep a timesheet of the time spent on the agreed Services and will invoice Avalyn upon completion of the relevant Services or on a monthly basis or other invoice term as may be agreed by the Parties and set forth in the relevant Work Order.
(ii)Each payment shall be made within [***] from Avalyn’s receipt of PARI’s invoice and bank account. Each invoice must be detailed and consistent with the relevant Work Order and/or Device Order, and the reference number of the Work Order and/or Device Order shall be mentioned. Amounts set forth in each Work Order or Device Order (unless the Services or Materials, as applicable, are supplied by PRE for use within the United States of America or Canada) will be invoiced and payable in Euros and payment by Avalyn shall be made in Euros. The Materials, which are intended for use within the United States of America and/or Canada will be invoiced and payable in US Dollars. The conversion of Euros to US Dollars will be based on the exchange rate published by the European Central Bank on the date of the last signature of the respective Work Order and/or Device Order. Avalyn may, in good faith, dispute any amount invoiced under this Agreement by notifying PARI within [***] of receipt of the applicable invoice and shall specify the particular respects in which such invoice is inaccurate or inappropriate. The Parties shall thereafter negotiate in good faith to resolve any such dispute and shall exchange all documentation that may assist with such resolution. Upon resolution of any such dispute, Avalyn shall make the agreed upon payment (if any) within [***] of such resolution.
(iii)It is understood and agreed by the Parties that any undisputed payment by Avalyn of the fees, any undisputed expenses set forth in Section 1.6 (b), or any Device Order fee, which is not paid when due, shall bear interest equal to the prime rate as reported by the
European Central Bank, on the date such payment is due (but in no event less than zero percent (0%)), plus an additional [***] per year, calculated on the number of days such payment is delinquent.
(iv)PARI shall be responsible for taxes, including import taxes and withholding taxes, arising from compensation and other amounts paid by Avalyn to PARI under this Agreement. Avalyn may withhold from payments to PARI amounts for payment of any withholding tax that is required by law to be paid to any taxing authority with respect to such payments. Avalyn shall provide to PARI all necessary documents and correspondence and written evidence to demonstrate the payment of such tax, and shall also provide to PARI any other co-operation or assistance before or after the payment of such tax, as may be necessary to enable PARI to claim exemption from such withholding taxes and to receive a full refund of such withholding tax or claim a foreign tax credit.”
8.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 3.5 and shall read as follows:
“3.5 Ownership of Deliverables
(a)“Deliverables” means information, data, writings, test results, and similar information or other work products, whether or not patentable or copyrightable, that is generated, developed, perfected or designed by or on behalf of PARI, either solely or jointly with others, in the course of, as a result of or otherwise arising from the Services and as set forth in a Work Order. Without Avalyn’s prior written consent, PARI shall not engage in any activities, on its own or in collaboration with a third party, or use any third party facilities in performing the Services which could result in claims of ownership to any Deliverables being made by such third party. PARI represents and warrants to Avalyn that all persons performing the Services under this Agreement have assigned or are under an obligation to assign their rights in any Deliverables to PARI.
Avalyn shall exclusively own (a) all Deliverables which are solely and specifically related to the Avalyn Property and (b) all intellectual property rights therein. PARI shall exclusively own (i) all other Deliverables and (ii) all intellectual property rights therein. PARI hereby assigns to Avalyn all of PARI’s rights to and interest in any Deliverables which are solely and specifically related to Avalyn Property. To the extent that any of Avalyn’s ownership rights contemplated under this Section 3.5(b) are not perfected, fail to arise, revert or terminate by operation of law, then in lieu of such ownership rights, PARI hereby grants to Avalyn an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, fully paid-up, exclusive (even as to PARI), sublicensable (through multiple tiers), transferable license to all rights, title and interest in the Deliverables solely and specifically related to Avalyn Property for which such ownership rights failed to arise, reverted or terminated by operation of law. (b) PARI hereby grants to Avalyn a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, license to use the Deliverables internally for the Evaluation Purpose and to reference Deliverables solely for the purpose of submitting and filing such Deliverables or parts thereof with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any other regulatory authority in connection with the Avalyn Rights for administration via the Material or any other eFlow technology nebulizer solely for clinical trial applications and in no case for marketing authorization
applications. The use of the Deliverables is subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 3.3 for Study Results which shall apply mutatis mutandis.”
9.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 6.15 and shall read as follows:
“6.15 As of the Amendment No. 2 Effective Date, PARI represents that it has not received any currently outstanding or unresolved written notice from third parties that its Material (i) infringes any third party patents; (ii) misappropriates any know-how belonging to a third party, or (iii) makes unauthorized use of any confidential information belonging to a third party.”
10.The first sentence of Section 6.1 (Term and Termination) of the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced with the following sentence:
“This Agreement shall expire on December 31st, 2027 unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Parties.”
11.After the last sentence of Section 6.1 (Term and Termination) of the Agreement the following sentences shall be inserted:
“Upon any termination of this Agreement, (a) Avalyn shall pay PARI, within [***] of receipt by Avalyn of an itemized invoice detailing the charges for all Services performed and all Devices delivered, in each case, in accordance with this Agreement prior to the effective date of the termination and reimburse PARI for all costs and expenses incurred in performing those Services in accordance with this Agreement up to the effective date of such termination, provided that PARI shall use reasonable efforts to mitigate all such costs and expenses as of the date PARI receives or dispatches a notice of termination under this Agreement; and (b) PARI shall [***] refund to Avalyn any payments made by Avalyn for Services not performed (excluding reasonable wind-down costs) by PARI.”
12.In Section 6.2, the following sentence shall be added at the end:
“SECTION 6.2 SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED TO LIMIT EITHER PARTY’S INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS UNDER SECTION 6.3, BREACH OF SECTION 2 OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT.”
13.In Section 6.3, sequential number (ii) of the Agreement, after the words “Study Results”, the words “ or Deliverables” shall be added.
14.In Section 6.3, the following sentence shall be added at the end:
“PARI agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Avalyn, its affiliates and each of their respective officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any and all Claims arising out of PARI’s (A) breach of this Agreement, or (B) negligence or willful misconduct. Notwithstanding the foregoing, PARI shall have no obligation under this Section 6.3 to the extent any such Claims were the result of the willful misconduct or gross negligence of Avalyn.”
15.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 6.15 and shall read as follows:
“6.15 “Debarment. PARI hereby represents and warrants that it has not been debarred under the provisions of 21 United States Code § 335a or any foreign equivalent thereof (“Debarred”). In the event that during the term of this Agreement PARI becomes Debarred or receives notice of action or threat of action to have PARI Debarred, PARI agrees to notify Avalyn immediately. In either such event, Avalyn will have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately upon written notice to PARI. PARI further represents and warrants that it has not used, and covenants that it will not use, in any capacity, the services of any individual, corporation, partnership, institution or association which has been Debarred. In the event PARI becomes aware that any individual, corporation, partnership, institution or association providing services to PARI which directly or indirectly relate to PARI’s activities under this Agreement has been Debarred, or has received notice of action or threat of action to have such entity Debarred, PARI will notify Avalyn immediately, in which event Avalyn will have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately upon written notice to PARI.”
16.A new section shall be added to the Agreement as Section 6.16 and shall read as follows:
“6.16 “Headings; Interpretation. Headings are provided for convenience only and are not to be used in interpreting this Agreement. Whenever the context so requires, the use of the singular is deemed to include the plural and vice versa. The word “or” is disjunctive but not necessarily exclusive. The world “including” means “including, without limitation”. All references to days in this Agreement shall mean calendar days, unless otherwise specified. The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall” wherever context requires. Ambiguities, if any, in this Agreement will not be construed against any Party, irrespective of which Party may be deemed to have authored the ambiguous provision.”
17.Exhibit B which is attached to this Amendment No. 2 shall be attached to the Agreement as Exhibit B and shall be incorporated therein.
18.Upon execution, this Amendment No. 2 shall be made a part of the Agreement and shall be incorporated by reference. Except as provided herein, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
[Signature Page Follows]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has caused this Amendment No. 2 to be executed by its duly authorized representatives.
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PARI PHARMA GMBH |
AVALYN PHARMA INC. |
Exhibit B
Work Order Template
Work Order No. [***] (rev. [***])
This Work Order is generated in accordance to the Material Transfer Agreement effective as of January 23, 2020 (as amended), by and between AVALYN PHARMA INC. (formerly known as Genoa Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) and PARI PHARMA GmbH.
For the development of [[***]] ([[***]]) PARI will provide Services to Avalyn with regard to “Amendment No. 2” of above mentioned Material Transfer Agreement.
Description of Tasks and Deliverables
[***]
Resources, Time & Effort
[***]
Estimated Costs
The Parties acknowledge and agree that the above total estimated cost is an estimate and the total actual cost invoiced under this Work Order shall not exceed such total estimated cost by more than ten percent (10%) without Avalyn’s prior written approval.
[***]
PARI will start to process in accordance to the items defined above after receipt of the countersigned Work Order in accordance to the Development Time Schedule provided. PARI hereby confirms that the Work Order reflects its best knowledge:
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Avalyn hereby agrees to the Work Order:
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EX-10.18
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.18
AMENDMENT NO. 3
TO THE MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENT
This Amendment No. 3 to the material transfer agreement (this “Amendment No. 3”) is effective as of March 20, 2025 (the “Amendment No. 3 Effective Date”) by and between Avalyn Pharma, Inc., having its registered office at 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA (“Avalyn”), and PARI Pharma GmbH, having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, 82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”) (each of Avalyn and PARI being individually a “Party” and together the “Parties”).
A.WHEREAS, PARI and Avalyn are parties to that certain Material Transfer Agreement, dated as of January 23, 2020, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated as of November 22, 2021, and Amendment No. 2, dated as of January 22, 2023 (the “Agreement”); and
B.WHEREAS, the Parties wish to further amend the Agreement as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements set forth herein and for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1.Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment No. 3 will have the meanings ascribed to them in the Agreement.
2.In Section 1.1 (Provision of Material) of the Agreement, the first two sentences shall be deleted and replaced with the following:
“Material shall mean the following configurations:
[***]
3.Upon execution, this Amendment No. 3 shall be made a part of the Agreement and shall be incorporated by reference. Except as provided herein, all other terms and conditions of the Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parties has caused this Amendment No. 2 to be executed by its duly authorized representatives.
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PARI PHARMA GMBH [***] |
AVALYN PHARMA INC. [***] |
EX-10.19
Certain identified information has been excluded from this exhibit because it is both not material and is the type that the registrant treats as private or confidential. Information that was omitted has been noted in this document with a placeholder identified by the mark “[***]”.
Exhibit 10.19
Option Agreement
by and between
PARI Pharma GmbH
and
Avalyn Pharma, Inc.
January 1, 2024
OPTION AGREEMENT
This Option Agreement (“Agreement”) is effective as of January 1st, 2024 (the “Effective Date”), and is by and between PARI Pharma GmbH, a German corporation having its principal place of business at Moosstrasse 3, 82319 Starnberg, Germany (“PARI”) and Avalyn Pharma, Inc. with its registered office at 701 Pike Street, Suite 1500, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA (“Avalyn”). PARI and Avalyn are individually a “Party” or collectively “Parties”.
RECITALS
Whereas, Avalyn and PARI are Parties to a license agreement effective as of April 3rd, 2017, as amended (the “Pirfenidone LDA”);
Whereas, Avalyn and PARI are parties to the material transfer agreement dated January 23, 2020, as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated November 22, 2021, and Amendment No. 2 dated March 6th, 2024 (the “MTA”) under which Avalyn is conducting certain non-clinical and clinical research for the purpose of evaluating PARI’s technology;
Whereas, Avalyn is interested in conducting clinical development and commercialization of one or both of the Drug Products (as defined below) with eFlow Technology Nebulizer (as defined below) devices from PARI under a license and development agreement which Avalyn and PARI intend to negotiate if certain conditions are met (the “LDA”); and
Whereas, Avalyn desires to secure an option to exclusively negotiate the LDA for a certain period of time as contemplated herein and PARI is willing to grant such an option subject to the terms and condition set forth herein.
Now, therefore, for and in consideration of the above-described recitals, the mutual covenants of the Parties hereinafter contained and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged by the Parties, the Parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, enter into the agreements contained herein.
Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement will have the meanings ascribed to them in the MTA. In addition, for purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
“Device” means (i) the Handset together with the eBase Starter Kit.
“Disputing Party Notice” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.7.
“Drug Product” means Avalyn’s proprietary liquid formulation of nintedanib as the sole active pharmaceutical ingredient (“AP02”) or the fixed combination of nintedanib and pirfenidone as the exclusive active pharmaceutical ingredients (“AP03”).
“eBase Starter Kit” means PARI’s eBase controller and accessories (but excluding the Handset).
“Effective Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the introduction.
“eFlow Technology Nebulizer” means a nebulizer proprietary to PARI or its affiliates that is based on a perforated vibrating membrane technology.
“Handset” means an eFlow Technology Nebulizer for spontaneously breathing patients with [***], that is optimized and intended for exclusive administration of the Drug Product(s) [***], and any changes and improvements thereto.
“LDA” shall have the meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“MTA” shall have the meaning set forth in the Recitals.
“Option” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.1.
“Option Fee” means a fee of [***] per each commenced 12-month period.
“Option Field” means [***] to humans.
“Option Notice” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.2.
“Option Period” means the period of time commencing with the Effective Date and terminating on 31st of December, 2027 at midnight.
“Response” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.7.
Unless the context of this Agreement otherwise requires: (a) words of any gender include each other gender; (b) words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number, respectively; (c) the terms “hereof,” “herein,” “hereby,” and derivative or similar words refer to this entire Agreement; (d) the terms “Section” or “Exhibit” refer to the specified Section or Exhibit of this Agreement; (e) the term “or” has, except where otherwise indicated, the inclusive meaning represented by the phrase, “and/or”; (f) the term “including” means “including, without limitation”; and (g) “days” refers to calendar days. All accounting terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms under GAAP. All payments due hereunder shall be made in Euros unless otherwise specified.
2.1Option Grant. PARI hereby grants to Avalyn an exclusive option during the Option Period, to negotiate the LDA with substantially the same terms and conditions as in the Pirfenidone LDA with adjustments to financial terms due to (i) inflation, (ii) new features and/or improvements to the Device, and (iii) the exchange of the Device with [***] which is not compatible with the Device; in each case of (ii) or (iii) if applicable (the “Option”).
2.2Exercise of Option. In the event that Avalyn wishes to exercise the Option, Avalyn shall provide notice in writing thereof to PARI within the Option Period (the “Option Notice”).
2.3Exclusivity. During the Option Period PARI will neither (i) grant any rights or licenses regarding the Device within the Option Field to third parties; nor (ii) engage in negotiations with third parties with respect to such rights or licenses within the Option Field.
2.4Option Fee. In consideration for the grant of the Option, Avalyn shall pay to PARI an annual Option Fee to be paid the first time within [***] after the Effective Date, and each anniversary thereof until the expiration of the Option Period or termination of the Option. [***]
2.5Termination of Option. In the event that (i) Avalyn fails to pay the Option Fee in due time; or (ii) the LDA is not executed by both Parties within the Option Period; or (iii) during the Option Period Avalyn gives written notice that it is no longer interested in negotiating the LDA; or (iv) the Parties fail to agree on the terms of the LDA within six (6) months (or any other period mutually agreed in writing by the Parties) from the Option Notice; or (v) the Parties execute the LDA; then this Agreement shall terminate and PARI is no longer bound to any exclusivity obligations towards Avalyn hereunder.
2.6Termination by PARI. In the event Avalyn initiates a clinical trial (i.e. opens the first site for the conduct of such clinical trial) for inhaled delivery of a Drug Product not including the Device, then Avalyn shall immediately inform PARI about such event and PARI shall have a right to terminate this Agreement by giving [***] written notice to Avalyn. In case of termination due to Avalyn’s initiation of a clinical trial that does not include the Device as contemplated in this Section 2.6, the full Option Fee for the current year of this Agreement shall be due and payable to PARI within [***] after such termination becomes effective.
2.7Termination for Breach. Each Party may terminate this Agreement (i) for breach of any material provision of this Agreement, or (ii) in case the Pirfenidone LDA and/or the MTA is terminated for breach by the other Party; by giving [***] written notice to the breaching Party (specifying in reasonable detail the basis for such termination), provided such breaching Party, in case of breach of this Agreement, has not cured such breach within such [***] period. If applicable, the termination for breach shall become effective immediately after the cure period has expired without curing the breach. In case of termination due to Avalyn’s breach of this Agreement, the Pirfenidone LDA or the MTA, the full Option Fee of the current year of this Agreement shall be due and payable to PARI within [***] after such termination becomes effective.
This Agreement and any information exchanged under it shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions set forth in Article 2 of the MTA and shall be considered as exchanged under the MTA.
4.1Withholding Taxes. Where required to do so by applicable law or order of a governmental body, Avalyn shall withhold taxes required to be paid to a taxing authority in connection with any payments to PARI hereunder, and, upon request of PARI, Avalyn shall furnish PARI with satisfactory evidence of such withholding and payment. Avalyn shall, and shall cause its Affiliates to, cooperate with PARI in obtaining exemption from withholding taxes where available under applicable law or receiving a full refund of such withholding tax or claim a foreign tax credit.
4.2Unenforceability. Both Parties hereby expressly state that it is the intention of neither Party to violate any law. If any of the provisions of this Agreement are held to be void or unenforceable, the validity and force of the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby and such void or unenforceable provisions shall be replaced by valid and enforceable provisions which will achieve as far as possible the economic business intentions of the Parties.
4.3No Waiver. The failure by either Party to take any action or assert any right hereunder shall in no way be construed to be a waiver of such right, nor in any way be deemed to affect the validity of this Agreement or any part hereof, or the right of a Party to thereafter enforce each and every provision of this Agreement.
4.4Drafting. This Agreement shall not be construed more strictly against one Party than the other because it may have been drafted by one of the Parties or its counsel, each Party having contributed through its counsel substantially and materially to the negotiation and drafting thereof.
4.5Assignment. This Agreement and the Parties’ rights and obligations hereunder shall not be assignable except with the prior written consent of the other Party, not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.
4.6Relationship of the Parties. In making and performing this Agreement, the Parties are acting, and intend to be treated, as independent entities and nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed or implied to create an agency, partnership, joint venture, or employer and employee relationship between or among any of the Parties. Except as otherwise provided herein, no Party may make any representation, warranty or commitment, whether express or implied, on behalf of or incur any charges or expenses for or in the name of any other Party. No Party shall be liable for the act of any other Party unless such act is expressly authorized in writing by such Party.
4.7Dispute Resolution. PARI and Avalyn shall endeavor to resolve any dispute arising under this Agreement informally by good faith negotiation between the senior executives, officers or management of PARI and Avalyn. Either Party may give the other Party written notice of any claim or controversy not resolved in the normal course of business (the “Disputing Party Notice”). Within [***] after the delivery of the Disputing Party Notice, the receiving Party shall submit to the other Party a written response (the “Response”). The Disputing Party Notice and Response shall include a statement of each Party’s position and a summary of the arguments supporting that position. Within [***] after the Disputing Party Notice, such designated senior executives, officers or management of PARI and Avalyn shall meet at a mutually acceptable time and place and thereafter as often as they reasonably deem necessary to attempt to resolve the claim or controversy. All negotiations pursuant to this Section 4.7 are confidential and without prejudice and shall be treated as compromise and settlement negotiations for purposes of applicable rules of evidence. If the Parties cannot resolve the dispute pursuant to this Section 4.7, then the provisions of Section 4.8 shall apply. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party shall have the right, without waiving any right or remedy available to such Party under this Agreement or otherwise, to seek and obtain from any court of competent jurisdiction any interim or provisional relief that is necessary or desirable to protect the rights or property of such Party, pending the foregoing discussions between the Parties.
4.8Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to the conflicts of law principles thereof. Each of the Parties hereto (i) agrees that any dispute arising hereunder shall be brought exclusively in the federal or state courts in Manhattan within the City of New York, and (ii) consents to the jurisdiction and venue of such courts, and waives any objections to the jurisdiction and venue thereof.
4.9Notices. All notices or other communications that are required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent (i) by Federal Express or other reliable overnight courier, or hand delivered or mailed by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the appropriate Party addresses as set forth in the opening paragraph of this Agreement; or (ii) by email to the following addresses:
[***]
For Avalyn: [***]
4.10Headings. The captions to the Sections hereof are not a part of this Agreement, but are merely guides or labels to assist in locating and reading the several Sections hereof.
4.11Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and each such counterpart shall be deemed an original hereof. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Agreement by facsimile or by email in portable document form (.pdf) shall constitute delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.
[Signature Page Follows]
In Witness Whereof, the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the Effective Date.
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Avalyn Pharma, Inc. |
PARI Pharma GmbH |
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[***] |
[***] |
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PARI Pharma GmbH |
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[***] |
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EX-21.1
Exhibit 21.1
List of Subsidiaries
Avalyn Pharma Pty Ltd