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As filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on June 15, 2015.

Registration No. 333-204251

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Amendment No. 2

to

Form F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

CELYAD SA

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Belgium

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

2834

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

Not applicable

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

Rue Edouard Belin 12

1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium

+32 10 394 100

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

CT Corporation System

111 8 th Avenue

New York, New York 10011

(212) 894-8800

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

 

Mitchell S. Bloom

Michael H. Bison

Laurie A. Burlingame

Goodwin Procter LLP

Exchange Place

53 State Street

Boston, MA 02109

(617) 570-1000

 

Pierre-Olivier Mahieu

Sophie Rutten

Allen & Overy LLP

Avenue de Tervueren 268A

1150 Brussels, Belgium

+ 32 2 780 2222

 

Marc Recht

Divakar Gupta

Richard Segal

Cooley LLP

500 Boylston Street

Boston, MA 02116

(617) 937-2300

  

Laurent Legein

Wim Dedecker

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

57 rue de la Loi

1040 Brussels, Belgium

+ 32 2 287 2000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to 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, 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, 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.     ¨

 

 

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 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


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The information contained 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 we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS   Subject to Completion   June 15, 2015

 

Celyad SA

1,400,000 Ordinary Shares

Including Ordinary Shares in the Form of American Depositary Shares

 

LOGO

 

 

We are offering 1,400,000 of our ordinary shares in a global offering.

We are offering 1,120,000 ordinary shares in the form of American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, through the underwriters named in this prospectus. The ADSs may be evidenced by American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, and each ADS represents the right to receive one ordinary share. We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 168,000 ordinary shares in the form of ADSs in the U.S. offering.

We are offering 280,000 ordinary shares in Europe and countries outside of the United States and Canada in a concurrent private placement, or the European private placement, through the underwriters named in this prospectus. We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 42,000 ordinary shares in the European private placement.

The closings of the U.S. offering and the European private placement will be conditioned on each other. The total number of ordinary shares in the U.S. offering and the European private placement is subject to reallocation between them.

This is our initial public offering in the United States. We have applied to have our ADSs listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CYAD.” Our ordinary shares have been listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris since July 5, 2013 under the symbol “CYAD.” On June 12, 2015, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels was €62.94 per share, equivalent to a price of $70.98 per ADS, assuming an exchange rate of €1.1278 per U.S. dollar.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the United States federal securities laws and, as such, have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus and future filings.

Investing in our ordinary shares or ADSs involves risks. Before buying any ADSs or ordinary shares, you should carefully read the discussion of material risks of investing in our ADSs and our ordinary shares in “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 13 of this prospectus.

Neither the United States Securities and Exchange Commission nor any U.S. state or other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

      Per Share    Per ADS    Total
Public offering price                             $                        $                    
Underwriting commissions (1)                             $                        $                    
Proceeds, before expenses to us (2)                             $                        $                    

 

(1)     We refer you to “Underwriting” beginning on page 209 for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

 

(2)     Total gross proceeds from the global offering, including the European private placement, are $            . Such proceeds less underwriting commissions are $            .

The underwriters expect to deliver the ADSs to purchasers on or about                 , 2015 through the book-entry facilities of The Depository Trust Company. The underwriters expect to deliver the ordinary shares to purchasers on or about                 , 2015 through the book-entry facilities of Euroclear Belgium.

 

 

UBS Investment Bank   Piper Jaffray

 

Petercam   Bryan, Garnier & Co.   LifeSci Capital   Lake Street Capital Markets

 

 

 

            , 2015


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You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or contained in any free writing prospectus that we file or authorize to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide you with additional information or information different from that contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus that we file or authorize to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We and the underwriters are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, our securities only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, or such other dates as are stated in this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our securities.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

     Page  

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

     1   

RISK FACTORS

     13   

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     58   

CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES

     60   

MARKET INFORMATION

     61   

USE OF PROCEEDS

     62   

DIVIDEND POLICY

     64   

CAPITALIZATION

     65   

DILUTION

     67   

SELECTED HISTORICAL CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

     70   

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

     72   

UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

     96   

BUSINESS

     102   

MANAGEMENT

     141   

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

     159   

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

     165   

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

     167   

DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

     183   

SHARES AND ADSs AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE SALE

     194   

MATERIAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

     197   

ENFORCEMENT OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

     207   

UNDERWRITING

     209   

EXPENSES OF THE GLOBAL OFFERING

     217   

LEGAL MATTERS

     218   

EXPERTS

     219   

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

     220   

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     F-1   

 

 

For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor any of the underwriters have done anything that would permit the global offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the global offering of the ADSs or the ordinary shares and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

We are incorporated in Belgium, and a majority of our outstanding securities are owned by non-U.S. residents. Under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, we are currently eligible for treatment as a “foreign private issuer.” As a foreign private issuer, we will not be required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic registrants whose securities are registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

 

 

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Our financial statements are presented in euros. All references in this prospectus to “$,” “US$,” “U.S.$,” “U.S. dollars,” “dollars” and “USD” mean U.S. dollars and all references to “€” and “euros” mean euros, unless otherwise noted. Throughout this prospectus, references to ADSs mean ADSs or ordinary shares represented by ADSs, as the case may be.

Through and including                     , 2015 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus) federal securities law may require all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in the global offering, to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligations to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

 

 

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Prospectus summary

The following summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in the ADSs or the ordinary shares. You should read the entire prospectus carefully, including “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should carefully consider, among other things, the matters discussed in the sections of this prospectus titled “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” before making an investment decision. Unless otherwise indicated, “Celyad,” “the company,” “our company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Celyad SA and its consolidated subsidiaries.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

We are a leader in engineered cell therapy treatments with clinical programs initially targeting indications in cardiovascular disease and oncology. Our lead drug product candidate in cardiovascular disease is C-Cure, an autologous cell therapy for the treatment of patients with ischemic heart failure, or HF. We completed enrollment in our first Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure in Europe and Israel, or CHART-1, in March 2015. On March 30, 2015, we announced that the Data Safety Monitoring Board, or DSMB, reviewed unblinded safety and efficacy data from CHART-1 and determined that such unblinded safety and efficacy data did not support the discontinuation of the trial on the basis of safety or futility. These observations suggested that the trial should be continued in its current form. The full data readout from this trial is expected in the middle of 2016. We anticipate initiating our second Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure in the United States and Europe, or CHART-2, pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, lifting of the existing clinical hold, which we expect in the second half of 2015. Our lead drug product candidate in oncology is CAR-NKG2D, an autologous chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, an artificial, lab engineered receptor, which is used to graft a given protein onto an immune cell, T lymphocyte, or CAR T-cell, therapy. We are currently enrolling patients with refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, or multiple myeloma, or MM, in a Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D in the United States. The first patient was treated in this trial in April 2015 and no treatment-related safety concerns were reported during the 30-day follow-up period. Interim data from this trial is expected to be reported at various times during the trial, with the full data readout expected in the middle of 2016.

All of our current drug product candidates are autologous cell therapy treatments. In autologous procedures, a patient’s cells are harvested, selected, reprogrammed and expanded, and then infused back into the same patient. A benefit of autologous therapies is that autologous cells are not recognized as foreign by patients’ immune systems. We believe that we are well situated to effectively advance autologous cell therapy treatments for cancer and other indications as a result of the expertise and know-how that we have acquired through our development of C-Cure.

 

 

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OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATE PIPELINE

LOGO

C-CURE FOR ISCHEMIC HEART FAILURE

Cardiovascular diseases, which are diseases of the heart and blood vessels, are the largest cause of mortality in the world and, in 2012, approximately 31% of all global deaths were attributable to cardiovascular diseases according to the World Health Organization. If left untreated, cardiac diseases can lead to HF, a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s metabolic needs. HF affects 1% to 2% of the adult population in developed countries and approximately 5.7 million patients were diagnosed with HF in the United States in 2012, according to the American Heart Association. HF can either be of ischemic origin, linked to impairment of blood flow to the heart muscle, or non-ischemic origin, linked to other causes such as hypertension and metabolic disorders. In the Bromley heart failure study, 52% of the patients had HF of ischemic origin. Other studies have reported lower rates of ischemic HF, but such differences can be explained by differences in study population, definitions and timing of when the study was completed. The long-term prognosis associated with HF is dire, with approximately 50% mortality at five years following initial diagnosis according to a 2014 report from the American Heart Association. HF is classified according to the severity of the symptoms experienced by the patient. The classification most commonly used in the New York Heart Association, or NYHA, classification, where patients are classified from Class I, where there is no limitation on a patient’s physical activity to Class IV, where the patient is unable to carry on any physical activity without discomfort. Although existing therapies have been somewhat effective in the treatment of HF, there is still great unmet medical need. In particular, in the case of ischemic HF, which is caused by insufficient oxygen to the heart, current treatments fail to address the decrease in the number of functional myocytes, or heart cells, in the heart that result from this lack of oxygen.

Our lead drug product candidate, C-Cure, is an autologous cell therapy that we believe has the potential to treat patients with NYHA, Classes II, III and IV ischemic HF. To guide cardiac tissue formation, our C-Cure therapy reprograms multipotent stem cells harvested from a patient into cardiopoietic cells, cells that can become myocytes, using naturally occurring cytokines, small proteins that play an important role in cell

 

 

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signaling, and growth factors that mimic the signaling that occurs in embryonic heart tissue development. Based on pre-clinical studies, we have identified both direct and indirect modes of action for C-Cure. The direct mode may replace non-functioning myocytes. In the indirect modes, factors secreted by the cardiopoietic cells may cause patients’ resident stem cells to begin pooling, regenerating and differentiating into cardiac cells, with the resulting favorable environment inducing the non-functioning myocytes to regain function. We have developed C-Cure predominantly based on technology that we licensed from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, or the Mayo Clinic. To assist in the reinjection of cardiopoietic cells, we have also developed C-Cath ez , which we believe will achieve a higher retention rate of cells in the heart relative to the commercial catheter we used in our prior clinical trial.

In the C-Cure process, stem cells are collected from an ischemic HF patient through bone marrow aspiration during an outpatient procedure. The stem cells are then harvested, selected, expanded and differentiated into cardiopoietic cells at our manufacturing facility, yielding a homogeneous and pure cardiopoietic cell population. The cardiopoietic cells are then re-injected into the heart of the ischemic HF patient with our C-Cath ez cell injection catheter.

Phase 2 Clinical Trial

The first human clinical Phase 2 trial for C-Cure was completed in 2012. A total of 45 ischemic HF patients were enrolled in this trial, with the primary endpoint being the safety and feasibility of C-Cure. Positive outcomes were observed in this trial. Patients treated with C-Cure showed a 25% relative improvement of median left ventricular ejection fraction, or LVEF, which is the percentage of blood that is pumped out of the heart at each beat, at six months versus baseline, whereas untreated patients showed a relative improvement of 0.7% versus baseline. Patients treated with C-Cure also demonstrated an improved exercise capacity as measured by the six minutes walking distance test, or six minutes WDT, which measures the distance a patient can walk in a six minute period. The C-Cure treatment group’s walking distance improved by 77 meters compared to the control group.

Phase 3 Clinical Program

We are pursuing clinical development of C-Cure through a comprehensive Phase 3 program comprised of two Phase 3 clinical trials, CHART-1 and CHART-2.

CHART-1

CHART-1 is being conducted in the Europe and Israel and was first authorized in November 2012. CHART-1 is a 240 patient prospective controlled randomized double-blinded trial, including NYHA Class III and IV ischemic HF patients, with each patient having a 50% chance of being assigned to the C-Cure treatment group or the control group. The primary endpoint of this trial is an improvement in the composite hierarchical endpoint comprised of mortality, morbidity, quality of life, six minutes WDT, left ventricular end systolic volume and LVEF. Each patient in the C-Cure treatment group will be compared to each patient in the control group and a comprehensive score will be derived to compare one group against the other.

As of the date of this prospectus, we have completed enrollment of all patients in this trial at over 30 trial sites in Europe and Israel. On March 30, 2015, we announced that DSMB reviewed unblinded safety and efficacy data from CHART-1 and determined that such unblinded safety and efficacy data did not support the discontinuation of the trial on the basis of safety or futility. These observations suggested that the trial should be continued in its current form. The full data readout from this trial is expected in the middle of 2016.

CHART-2

CHART-2 is expected to be conducted in the United States and Europe. CHART-2 is a 240 patient prospective controlled randomized double-blinded trial, including NYHA Class III and IV ischemic HF

 

 

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patients, with each patient having a 50% chance of being assigned to the C-Cure treatment group or the control group. Our Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, for the use of C-Cure in CHART-2 was initially submitted to the FDA in January 2012. This IND became effective in December 2013 for administration of the cells with Myostar, a catheter used for the injection of therapeutic agents into the heart, and manufactured by Biologics Delivery Systems Group, Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company. Prior to initiating the trial, in September 2014, we filed an amendment to the IND requesting among other changes to the initial submission, the use of our proprietary cell injection catheter called C-Cath ez . In January 2015, the FDA issued a clinical hold on CHART-2. Most of the clinical hold questions request clarifications on the design dossier of C-Cath ez , while the remaining questions relate to providing updated safety information on CHART-1, defining CHART-2 stopping rules, and a request to measure troponin, a cardiac marker of injury, at day 30 post baseline procedure. We anticipate responding to the clinical hold questions in the third quarter of 2015 once all safety data from CHART-1 is available, and pending the FDA’s lifting of the clinical hold, initiating CHART-2 during the second half of 2015.

CAR T-CELL THERAPY FOR ONCOLOGY

Our approach to CAR T-cell therapy has the potential to treat a wider range of cancers than other CAR T-cell therapies that target the CD19 antigen, or CD19 CAR Therapy. Our lead CAR T-cell drug product candidate is CAR-NKG2D, which has shown promising data in pre-clinical solid and blood cancer models, including for the treatment of lymphoma, ovarian cancer and myeloma. CAR-NKG2D is constructed using the native sequence of non-engineered natural killer, or NK, cell receptors that target ligands present in numerous cancer cells. Ligands are substances bound together to form a larger complex, such as an antigen bound to other molecules. Accordingly, our technology has the potential to attack and kill a broad range of solid and blood cancers, while CD19 CAR Therapy is typically only effective in treating B lymphocyte, or B-cell, malignancies.

In pre-clinical studies, treatment with CAR-NKG2D significantly increased survival. In some studies, 100% of treated mice survived through the follow-up period of the applicable study, which in one study was 325 days. All untreated mice died during the follow-up period of the applicable study. We are currently enrolling patients with certain types of AML or MM in a Phase1 clinical trial to test the safety and feasibility of single-dose intravenous administration of CAR-NKG2D without prior lymphodepletion conditioning, which is the destruction of lymphocytes and T-cells, normally by radiation. This trial is being conducted at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the United States and interim data is expected to be reported throughout the trial, with the full data readout expected in the middle of 2016. The first patient was treated in this trial in April 2015 and no treatment-related safety concerns were reported during the 30-day follow-up period. A pre-defined, staggered enrollment of two additional patients at the same dose level as the first patient is expected to occur now that the 30-day follow-up period for the first patient has ended. We obtained access to our CAR T-cell drug product candidates and related technology, including technology licensed from the Trustees of Dartmouth College, or Dartmouth College, in January 2015, through our purchase of OnCyte, LLC, or OnCyte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celdara Medical, LLC, a privately-held U.S. biotechnology company.

OUR STRATEGY

Our goal is to be a leader in engineered cell therapy treatments, initially focused on cardiovascular disease and oncology. The key elements of our strategy are as follows:

 

Ø   Complete our Phase 3 clinical program for C-Cure and thereafter file marketing applications for, and begin commercialization of, C-Cure for patients with ischemic HF;

 

Ø   Rapidly advance CAR-NKG2D through clinical development and into commercialization for the treatment of AML and MM;

 

 

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Ø   Leverage our expertise and knowledge of engineered cell therapies to expand our CAR T-cell therapy drug product candidate pipeline;

 

Ø   Develop our allogeneic CAR T-cell technology; and

 

Ø   Select, develop and advance cell therapies in additional therapeutic areas with high unmet need.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The following table sets forth certain preliminary selected financial data of March 31, 2015. All amounts are presented in their nominal value.

The preliminary financial data presented below are subject to the completion of our consolidated financial closing procedures. Those procedures have not been completed. This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2014 and the related notes thereto.

The preliminary financial data included in this registration statement has been prepared by and is the responsibility of Celyad SA management. PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’Entreprises sccrl has not audited, reviewed, compiled or performed any procedures with respect to the accompanying preliminary financial data. Accordingly, PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’Entreprises sccrl does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance with respect thereto.

 

(€‘000)    As of March 31, 2015  

Total Current financial indebtedness (1)

     869   

Secured

     92   

Unsecured

     777   

Total Non-Current financial indebtedness (2)

     11,464   

Secured

     279   

Unsecured

     11,185   

Capital and share premium

  

Share capital

     27,438   

Share premium

     83,768   

Cash and cash equivalents

     49,202   

Current financial indebtedness

     (869
  

 

 

 

Net Cash and cash equivalents in excess of Current financial indebtedness

  48,333   

Non-Current financial indebtedness

  (11,464
  

 

 

 

Net Cash and cash equivalents in excess of Current and non-Current financial indebtedness

  36,869   
  

 

 

 

 

(1)     Current financial indebtedness consists of financial leases and advances repayable that is to be paid within twelve months from March 31, 2015.
(2)     Non-current financial indebtedness consists of financial leases and advances repayable that is expected to be paid at a date that is more than twelve months from March 31, 2015.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUSINESS

Investing in the ADSs or the ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks and all other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes contained elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision regarding our securities. The risks and uncertainties described below are those significant risk factors, currently known and specific to us, that we believe are relevant to an investment

 

 

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in our securities. If any of these risks materialize, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, the price of the ADSs and the ordinary shares could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

 

Ø   We have incurred net losses in each period since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses in the future.

 

Ø   We have generated only limited revenue from sales of C-Cath ez to date, and do not expect to generate material revenue until we receive regulatory approval for one of our drug product candidates.

 

Ø   We may encounter substantial delays in our clinical trials or we may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities. For example, our IND for C-Cure was originally submitted to the FDA in January 2012 and is now subject to a clinical hold that prevents the initiation of CHART-2.

 

Ø   Our drug product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt their clinical development, prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential, or result in significant negative consequences.

 

Ø   Clinical development is a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, and results of earlier studies and trials as well as data from any interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials may not be predictive of future trial results. Clinical failure can occur at any stage of clinical development.

 

Ø   Cell-based therapies rely on the availability of specialty raw materials, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.

 

Ø   We depend on intellectual property licensed from third parties and termination of any of these licenses could result in the loss of significant rights, which would harm our business.

 

Ø   There has been no prior active market for the ADSs and an active and liquid market for the ADSs may fail to develop, which could harm the market price of the ADSs.

 

Ø   Our future results will suffer if we do not effectively manage our expanded operations as a result of our recent acquisition of OnCyte.

 

Ø   We believe that we were a passive foreign investment company for our 2014 taxable year, and expect that we may be a passive foreign investment company in other future taxable years. U.S. holders of the ADSs may suffer adverse tax consequences if we are characterized as a passive foreign investment company.

Corporate information

We are a public company listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris. We were incorporated as a limited liability company ( naamloze vennootschap / société anonyme) under the laws of Belgium on July 24, 2007 under the name Cardio3 Biosciences SA. Our corporate name was changed to Celyad SA on May 5, 2015. We are registered with the Register of Legal Entities (RPM Nivelles) under the enterprise number 0891.118.115. Our principal executive offices are located at Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, and our telephone number is +32 10 394 100. Our agent for service of process in the United States is CT Corporation System. We also maintain a website at www.celyad.com . The reference to our website is an inactive textual reference only and the information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus.

We own various trademark registrations and applications, and unregistered trademarks and servicemarks, including CAR-NKG2D, C-Cure ® , C-Cath ez , Celyad and the Celyad and C-Cath ez logos. All other trademarks or trade names referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this

 

 

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prospectus may be referred to without the ® and ™ symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend to use or display other companies’ trademarks and trade names to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, 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:

 

Ø   not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;

 

Ø   presenting only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required interim financial statements and correspondingly reduced disclosure in management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations in the registration statement for our U.S. initial public offering; and

 

Ø   to the extent that we no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer, (1) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements; and (2) exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation, including golden parachute compensation.

We may take advantage of these exemptions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest to occur of (1) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.0 billion in annual revenue; (2) the date we qualify as a “large accelerated filer,” with at least $700 million of equity securities held by non-affiliates; (3) the issuance, in any three-year period, by our company of more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities held by non-affiliates; and (4) the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of our U.S. initial public offering. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these exemptions. For example, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can use the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Given that we currently report and expect to continue to report under International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB, we have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required by the IASB. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold equity securities.

Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer

We are also considered a “foreign private issuer.” In our capacity as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, as amended, that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, members of our management team, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our ordinary shares or the ADSs. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are

 

 

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registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information.

We may take advantage of these exemptions until such time as we are no longer foreign private issuer. We would cease to be a foreign private issuer at such time as more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities are held by U.S. residents and any of the following three circumstances applies: (1) the majority of the members of our executive team or directors are U.S. citizens or residents, (2) more than 50% of our assets are located in the United States or (3) our business is administered principally in the United States.

We have taken advantage of certain reduced reporting and other requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold equity securities.

 

 

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The offering

 

Global offering

1,400,000 ordinary shares offered by us, consisting of ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares, or ADSs, offered in the U.S. offering and ordinary shares offered in the European private placement. The closing of each of the U.S. offering and the European private placement is conditioned upon the other. The total number of ordinary shares in the U.S. offering and European private placement is subject to reallocation between these offerings as permitted under the applicable laws and regulations.

 

U.S. offering

1,120,000 ADSs representing an equal number of ordinary shares, offered by us pursuant to this prospectus.

 

European private placement

280,000 ordinary shares offered by us in Europe and countries outside of the United States and Canada.

 

Ordinary shares to be outstanding after the global offering

9,247,687 ordinary shares.

 

Option to purchase additional ADSs in the U.S. offering

168,000 ADSs representing an equal number of ordinary shares.

 

Option to purchase additional ordinary shares in the European private placement

42,000 ordinary shares.

 

American Depositary Shares

Each ADS represents one ordinary share. You will have the rights of an ADS holder as provided in the deposit agreement among us, the depositary and all holders and beneficial owners of ADSs issued thereunder. To better understand the terms of the ADSs, you should carefully read the section in this prospectus titled “Description of American Depositary Shares.” We also encourage you to read the deposit agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.

 

Depositary

Citibank, N.A.

 

Use of proceeds

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from the global offering of approximately $89.5 (€79.4) million, assuming a public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94

 

 

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per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ options to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs. We intend to use the net proceeds we receive from the global offering to advance the development of C-Cure through Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment for ischemic HF, to advance the development of CAR-NKG2D through Phase 1 clinical development as a treatment for AML and MM, to advance additional CAR T-cell therapy drug product candidates for the treatment of additional blood cancers and solid tumors, to support our growth globally by expanding general, administrative and operational functions in our headquarters in Belgium and in the United States and for working capital and general corporate purposes. See the section of this prospectus titled “Use of proceeds.”

 

Risk Factors

You should read the “Risk factors” section of this prospectus for a discussion of factors to consider carefully before deciding to invest in the ADSs or the ordinary shares.

 

Proposed NASDAQ Global Market symbol

“CYAD”

 

Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris trading symbol

“CYAD”

The number of ordinary shares to be outstanding after the global offering is based on 7,040,387 of our ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014, as adjusted for 93,087 ordinary shares issued to Celdara on January 21, 2015, as part of the upfront payment for the acquisition of OnCyte, 713,380 ordinary shares issued on March 3, 2015 in a private placement, 333 ordinary shares issued on February 7, 2015 upon exercise of warrants and 500 ordinary shares issued on May 11, 2015 upon exercise of warrants and excludes:

 

Ø   296,930 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2014 pursuant to our warrant plans, at a weighted-average exercise price of €9.57 per share.

Except as otherwise noted, all information in this prospectus assumes:

 

Ø   no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional ADSs and ordinary shares;

 

Ø   no issuances of ordinary shares after December 31, 2014; and

 

Ø   no issuance or exercise of warrants after December 31, 2014.

 

 

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Summary financial data

The following tables summarize our historical consolidated financial data. We derived the summary consolidated statement of comprehensive loss data and consolidated statement of financial position data for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. You should read these data together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes beginning on page F-1, as well as the sections of this prospectus titled “Selected historical consolidated financial data,” “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and “Currency exchange rates” and the other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus.

The restatement of our previously issued consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 relates to errors in our accounting for convertible debentures and for certain share-based payments. For additional information regarding the restatement, see Note 2.36 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
                         2014                             2013  
             (as restated)  

Consolidated statement of comprehensive loss

    

Revenue

     146        —     

Cost of sales

     (115     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross Profit

  31      —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Research and development expenses

  (15,865   (9,046

General and administrative expenses

  (5,016   (3,972

Other operating income

  4,413      64   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating Loss

  (16,437   (12,954

Financial income

  277      60   

Financial expenses

  (41   (1,595

Share of loss of investments accounted for using the equity method

  (252   —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year

  (16,453   (14,489
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share (1)

  (2.44   (3.53
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Number of shares used for computing basic and diluted loss for the year (2)

  6,750,383      4,099,216   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)     Basic and diluted net loss per share are the same in these periods because outstanding warrants would be anti-dilutive due to our net loss in these periods.
(2)   Weighted-average number of shares for the period then ended.

 

 

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(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
                         2014                         2013  
             (as restated)  

Consolidated statement of financial position

    

Intangible assets

     10,266        9,400   

Short term investment

     2,671        3,000   

Cash and cash equivalents

     27,633        19,058   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

  43,976      32,386   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Share capital and share premium

  77,917      52,612   

Other reserves

  19,982      18,894   

Retained loss

  (71,215   (54,608
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

  26,684      16,898   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-current advances repayable

  10,778      12,072   

Total current liabilities

  6,053      3,389   

Total liabilities

  17,292      15,488   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity and liabilities

  43,976      32,386   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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Risk factors

Investing in the ADSs or ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks and all other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes contained elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision regarding our securities. The risks and uncertainties described below are those significant risk factors, currently known and specific to us, that we believe are relevant to an investment in our securities. If any of these risks materialize, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, the price of the ADSs or ordinary shares could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital

We have incurred losses in each period since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses in the future.

We are not profitable and have incurred losses in each period since our inception. For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, we incurred a loss for the year of €16.5 million and €14.5 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2014, we had a retained loss of €71.2 million. We expect these losses to increase as we continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations, continue to advance our drug product candidates through pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, seek regulatory approvals for our drug product candidates, scale-up manufacturing capabilities and hire additional personnel to support the development of our drug product candidates and to enhance our operational, financial and information management systems.

Even if we succeed in commercializing one or more of our drug product candidates, we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future relating to our substantial research and development expenditures to develop our technologies. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

 

Ø   continue our research, pre-clinical and clinical development of our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   expand the scope of therapeutic indications of our current clinical trials for our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   initiate additional pre-clinical studies or additional clinical trials of existing drug product candidates or new drug product candidates;

 

Ø   further develop the manufacturing processes for our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   seek regulatory and marketing approvals for our drug product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;

 

Ø   establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we may obtain marketing approval, in the European Union and the United States;

 

Ø   make milestone or other payments under any in-license agreements;

 

Ø   maintain, protect and expand our intellectual property portfolio; and

 

Ø   create additional infrastructure to support our operations as a U.S. 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 losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue.

Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our shareholders’ equity and working capital. Further, the losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from

 

 

 

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Risk factors

 

 

quarter to quarter and year to year, such that a period to period comparison of our results of operations may not be a good indication of our future performance.

We have generated only limited revenue from sales of C-Cath ez to date, and do not expect to generate material revenue until we receive regulatory approval for one of our drug product candidates.

We have generated only limited revenue from sales of C-Cath ez , our proprietary catheter for injecting cells into the heart, to research laboratories and clinical stage companies. We expect that revenue from sales of C-Cath ez will remain insignificant as we sell C-Cath ez only to research laboratories and clinical stage companies. We have no drug products approved for commercial sale, have not generated any revenue from drug product sales, and do not anticipate generating any revenue from drug product sales until after we have received regulatory approval, if at all, for the commercial sale of a drug product candidate. As of the date of this prospectus, C-Cure, our lead drug product candidate in cardiovascular disease, is in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of ischemic heart failure, or HF, while CAR-NKG2D, our lead drug product candidate in oncology, is in Phase 1 clinical development for the treatment of refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, and multiple myeloma, or MM. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends significantly on our success in many factors, including:

 

Ø   completing research regarding, and pre-clinical and clinical development of, our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   pursuing regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations for drug product candidates for which we complete clinical trials;

 

Ø   developing a sustainable and scalable commercial-scale manufacturing process for our drug product candidates, including establishing our own manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure or establishing and maintaining commercially viable supply relationships with third parties;

 

Ø   launching and commercializing drug product candidates for which we obtain regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations, either directly or with a collaborator or distributor;

 

Ø   obtaining market acceptance of our drug product candidates as viable treatment options;

 

Ø   addressing any competing technological and market developments;

 

Ø   identifying, assessing, acquiring and/or developing new drug product candidates;

 

Ø   negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing, or other arrangements into which we may enter;

 

Ø   maintaining, protecting, and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, and know-how; and

 

Ø   attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified personnel.

Even if one or more of the drug product candidates that we develop is approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing any approved drug product candidate. Our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or other applicable regulatory agencies, to change our manufacturing processes or assays, or to perform clinical, pre-clinical, or other types of studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. If we are successful in obtaining regulatory approvals to market one or more of our drug product candidates, our revenue will be dependent, in part, upon the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval, the accepted price for the drug product, the ability to get coverage and adequate reimbursement, and whether we own the commercial rights for that territory. If the number of our addressable disease

 

 

 

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Risk factors

 

 

patients is not as significant as we estimate, the indication approved by regulatory authorities is narrower than we expect, or the reasonably accepted population for treatment is narrowed by competition, physician choice or treatment guidelines, we may not generate significant revenue from sales of such products, even if approved. If we are not able to generate revenue from the sale of any approved drug products, we may never become profitable.

If we fail to obtain additional financing, we will be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our drug product candidates.

Our operations have required substantial amounts of cash since inception. We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts to continue the clinical development of our drug product candidates, including our ongoing and planned clinical trials for C-Cure, CAR-NKG2D and any of our future drug product candidates. If approved, we will require significant additional amounts in order to launch and commercialize our drug product candidates.

As of December 31, 2014, we had €27.6 million in cash and €2.7 million in short term investments. In March 2015, we raised an additional €31.7 million though a private placement. We estimate that our net proceeds from the global offering will be approximately $89.5 million (€79.4 million), assuming a public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, after deducting the underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We expect to use the net proceeds from the global offering to advance the development of C-Cure through Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment for ischemic HF, to advance the development of CAR-NKG2D through Phase 1 clinical development as a treatment for AML and MM, to advance additional CAR T-cell therapy drug product candidates for the treatment of additional blood cancers and solid tumors, to support our growth globally by expanding general, administrative and operational functions in our headquarters in Belgium and in the United States, and the remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

We believe that such proceeds, together with our existing cash, will be sufficient to fund our operations until at least the end of 2017. However, changing circumstances may cause us to increase our spending significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control. We may require additional capital for the further development and commercialization of our drug product candidates and may need to raise additional funds sooner if we choose to expand more rapidly than we presently anticipate.

We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. We have no committed source of additional capital and if we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of our drug product candidates or other research and development initiatives. Our licenses may also be terminated if we are unable to meet the payment obligations under the agreements. We could be required to seek collaborators for our drug product candidates at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms our rights to our drug product candidates in markets where we otherwise would seek to pursue development or commercialization ourselves. Any these events could significantly harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations and cause the price of our American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, or ordinary shares to decline.

 

 

 

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Risk factors

 

 

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing shareholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our drug product candidates or technologies.

We may seek additional funding through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and/or licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of the ADSs or the ordinary shares. The incurrence of indebtedness and/or the issuance of certain equity securities could result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also result in certain additional restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt and/or issue additional equity, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. In addition, issuance of additional equity securities, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of the ADSs or the ordinary shares to decline. In the event that we enter into collaborations and/or licensing arrangements in order to raise capital, we may be required to accept unfavorable terms, including relinquishing or licensing to a third party on unfavorable terms our rights to technologies or drug product candidates that we otherwise would seek to develop or commercialize ourselves or potentially reserve for future potential arrangements when we might be able to achieve more favorable terms.

Risks Related to Product Development, Regulatory Approval and Commercialization

We may encounter substantial delays in our clinical trials or we may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities.

Before obtaining regulatory approval or marketing authorization from regulatory authorities for the sale of our drug product candidates, if at all, we must conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the drug product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, time-consuming and uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. Events that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include:

 

Ø   delays in raising, or inability to raise, sufficient capital to fund the planned clinical trials;

 

Ø   delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory agencies on trial design;

 

Ø   identifying, recruiting and training suitable clinical investigators;

 

Ø   delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective clinical research organizations, or CROs, and clinical trial sites;

 

Ø   delays in obtaining required Investigational Review Board, or IRB, approval at each clinical trial site;

 

Ø   delays in recruiting suitable patients to participate in our clinical trials;

 

Ø   delays due to changing standard of care for the diseases we are studying;

 

Ø   adding new clinical trial sites;

 

Ø   imposition of a clinical hold by regulatory agencies, after an inspection of our clinical trial operations or trial sites;

 

Ø   failure by our CROs, other third parties or us to adhere to clinical trial requirements;

 

Ø   catastrophic loss of drug product candidates due to shipping delays or delays in customs in connection with delivery to foreign countries for use in clinical trials;

 

 

 

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Risk factors

 

 

 

Ø   failure to perform in accordance with the FDA’s good clinical practices, or GCPs, or applicable regulatory guidelines in other countries;

 

Ø   delays in the testing, validation, manufacturing and delivery of our drug product candidates to the clinical sites;

 

Ø   delays in having patients complete participation in a trial or return for post-treatment follow-up;

 

Ø   clinical trial sites or patients dropping out of a trial;

 

Ø   occurrence of serious adverse events associated with the drug product candidate that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits; or

 

Ø   changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical protocols.

For example, our Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, for the use of C-Cure in our planned Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure for the treatment of ischemic HF in the United States and Europe, or CHART-2, was initially submitted to the FDA in January 2012. This IND became effective in December 2013 for administration of the cells with Myostar, a Biologics catheter used for the injection of therapeutic agents into the heart, and manufactured by Biologics Delivery Systems Group, Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company. Prior to initiating the trial, in August 2014, we filed an amendment to the IND requesting among other changes to the initial submission, the use of our proprietary cell injection catheter called C-Cath ez . In January 2015, the FDA issued a clinical hold on CHART-2. Most of the clinical hold questions request clarifications on the design dossier of C-Cath ez , while the remaining questions relate to providing updated safety information on CHART-1, defining CHART-2 stopping rules, and a request to measure troponin, a cardiac marker of injury, at day 30 post baseline procedure. We anticipate responding to the clinical hold questions in the third quarter of 2015 once all safety data from CHART-1 is available, and pending the FDA ’s lifting of the clinical hold, initiating CHART-2 during the second half of 2015. However, we cannot be certain that FDA will accept our response and lift the clinical hold.

Any inability to successfully complete pre-clinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us or impair our ability to generate revenues from product sales, regulatory and commercialization milestones and royalties. Clinical trial delays could also shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our drug product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our drug product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.

If the results of our clinical trials are inconclusive or if there are safety concerns or adverse events associated with our drug product candidates, we may:

 

Ø   be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our drug product candidates, if at all;

 

Ø   obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

 

Ø   obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings;

 

Ø   be subject to changes in the way the product is administered;

 

Ø   be required to perform additional clinical trials to support approval or be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements;

 

Ø   have regulatory authorities withdraw their approval of the product or impose restrictions on its distribution in the form of a risk evaluation and mitigations strategy, or REMS, plan;

 

Ø   be subject to the addition of labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications;

 

Ø   be sued; or

 

Ø   experience damage to our reputation.

 

 

 

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Risk factors

 

 

Our drug product candidates could potentially cause other adverse events that have not yet been predicted. As described above, any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of our drug product candidates and impair our ability to commercialize our products if they are ultimately approved by applicable regulatory authorities.

Our drug product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt their clinical development, prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential, or result in significant negative consequences.

As with most biological drug products, use of our drug product candidates could be associated with side effects or adverse events which can vary in severity from minor reactions to death and in frequency from infrequent to prevalent. Undesirable side effects or unacceptable toxicities caused by our drug product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay, or halt clinical trials. The FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could delay or deny approval of our drug product candidates for any or all targeted indications and negative side effects could result in a more restrictive label for any product that is approved. Side effects such as toxicity or other safety issues associated with the use of our drug product candidates could also require us or our collaborators to perform additional studies or halt development or sale of these drug product candidates.

Treatment-related side effects could also affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial, or could result in potential product liability claims. In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately or timely recognized or managed by the treating medical staff. Any of these occurrences may materially and adversely harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

Additionally, if one or more of our drug product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such products, including during any long-term follow-up observation period recommended or required for patients who receive treatment using our products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

 

Ø   regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals of such product;

 

Ø   regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label;

 

Ø   we may be required to create a REMS plan which could include a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients, a communication plan for healthcare providers, and/or other elements to assure safe use;

 

Ø   we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and

 

Ø   our reputation may suffer.

Any of the foregoing could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular drug product candidate, if approved, and could significantly harm our business, results of operations, and prospects.

If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.

The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the trial until its conclusion. We may experience difficulties in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a variety of reasons, including:

 

Ø   the size and nature of the patient population;

 

Ø   the patient eligibility criteria defined in the protocol;

 

 

 

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Risk factors

 

 

 

Ø   the size of the study population required for analysis of the trial’s primary endpoints;

 

Ø   the proximity of patients to trial sites;

 

Ø   the design of the trial;

 

Ø   our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience;

 

Ø   competing clinical trials for similar therapies;

 

Ø   clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages and side effects of the drug product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs or treatments that may be approved for the indications we are investigating;

 

Ø   our ability to obtain and maintain patient consents; and

 

Ø   the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will not complete a clinical trial.

In addition, our clinical trials will compete with other clinical trials for drug product candidates that are in the same therapeutic areas as our drug product candidates, and this competition will reduce the number and types of patients available to us, because some patients who might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors. Because the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, we expect to conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials at such clinical trial sites. Moreover, because our drug product candidates represent a departure from more commonly used methods for ischemic HF and cancer treatment, potential patients and their doctors may be inclined to use conventional therapies, rather than enroll patients in our clinical trials.

Even if we are able to enroll a sufficient number of patients in our clinical trials, delays in patient enrollment may result in increased costs or may affect the timing or outcome of our clinical trials, which could prevent completion of these trials and adversely affect our ability to advance the development of our drug product candidates.

Clinical development is a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, and results of earlier studies and trials as well as data from any interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials may not be predictive of future trial results. Clinical failure can occur at any stage of clinical development.

Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. Although drug product candidates may demonstrate promising results in early clinical (human) trials and pre-clinical (animal) studies, they may not prove to be effective in subsequent clinical trials. For example, testing on animals may occur under different conditions than testing in humans and therefore the results of animal studies may not accurately predict human experience. Likewise, early clinical trials may not be predictive of eventual safety or effectiveness results in larger-scale pivotal clinical trials. The results of pre-clinical studies and previous clinical trials as well as data from any interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials of our drug product candidates, as well as studies and trials of other products with similar mechanisms of action to our drug product candidates, may not be predictive of the results of ongoing or future clinical trials. For example, the positive results generated in our Phase 2 clinical trial of C-Cure for the treatment of patients with ischemic HF do not ensure that our ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure for the treatment of patients with ischemic HF in Europe and Israel, or CHART-1, will demonstrate similar results or observations. Drug product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through pre-clinical studies and earlier clinical trials. In addition to the safety and efficacy traits of any drug product candidate, clinical trial failures

 

 

 

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may result from a multitude of factors including flaws in trial design, dose selection, placebo effect and patient enrollment criteria. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials, and it is possible that we will as well. Based upon negative or inconclusive results, we or our collaborators may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or pre-clinical studies. In addition, data obtained from trials and studies are susceptible to varying interpretations, and regulators may not interpret our data as favorably as we do, which may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval.

The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, EMA and other comparable regulatory authorities is lengthy, time-consuming, and inherently unpredictable, and we may experience significant delays in the clinical development and regulatory approval, if any, of our drug product candidates.

The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, import, export, marketing, and distribution of drug products, including biologics, are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA, EMA and other comparable regulatory authorities. We are not permitted to market any biological drug product in the United States until we receive a Biologics License Application, or BLA, from the FDA or a marketing authorization application, or MAA, from the EMA. We have not previously submitted a BLA to the FDA, MAA to the EMA, or similar approval filings to comparable foreign authorities. A BLA must include extensive pre-clinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish that the drug product candidate is safe, pure, and potent for each desired indication. The BLA must also include significant information regarding the chemistry, manufacturing, and controls for the product, and the manufacturing facilities must complete a successful pre-license inspection. We expect the nature of our drug product candidates to create further challenges in obtaining regulatory approval. For example, the FDA and EMA have limited experience with commercial development of genetically modified T-cell therapies for cancer. The FDA may also require a panel of experts, referred to as an Advisory Committee, to deliberate on the adequacy of the safety and efficacy data to support licensure. The opinion of the Advisory Committee, although not binding, may have a significant impact on our ability to obtain licensure of the drug product candidates based on the completed clinical trials. Accordingly, the regulatory approval pathway for our drug product candidates may be uncertain, complex, expensive, and lengthy, and approval may not be obtained.

Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval of our drug product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of our drug product candidates in other jurisdictions.

If we obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our drug product candidates in one jurisdiction, such approval does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any other jurisdiction, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a drug product candidate, comparable regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the drug product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from those in the United States, including additional pre-clinical studies or clinical trials as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a drug product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval.

 

 

 

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Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or to receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our drug product candidates will be harmed.

A Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA for our drug product candidates may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and it does not increase the likelihood that our drug product candidates will receive marketing approval.

We may seek a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for some of our drug product candidates. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a product that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other products, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. For drug product candidates 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. Drug product candidates designated as breakthrough therapies by the FDA are also eligible for accelerated approval.

Designation as a breakthrough therapy is within the discretion of the FDA. Accordingly, even if we believe one of our drug product candidates meets the criteria for designation as a breakthrough therapy, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to make such designation. In any event, the receipt of a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for a drug product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to drugs considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, even if one or more of our drug product candidates qualify as breakthrough therapies, the FDA may later decide that the drug product candidates no longer meet the conditions for qualification.

A Fast Track Designation by the FDA may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process.

We may seek Fast Track Designation for some of our drug product candidates. If a product is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the product demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs 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 drug 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 withdraw Fast Track Designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program.

We may seek Orphan Drug Designation for some of our drug product candidates, and we may be unsuccessful or may be unable to maintain the benefits associated with Orphan Drug Designation, including the potential for market exclusivity.

As part of our business strategy, we may seek Orphan Drug Designation for some of our drug product candidates, and we may be unsuccessful. Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, may designate products for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an orphan drug if it is a

 

 

 

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product intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the product will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the United States, 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.

Similarly, in the European Union, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products grants Orphan Drug Designation to promote the development of products that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union and for which no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment has been authorized (or the product would be a significant benefit to those affected). Additionally, designation is granted for products intended for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the product in the European Union would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the product. In the European Union, Orphan Drug Designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers.

Generally, if a drug product candidate 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 EMA or the FDA from approving another marketing application for the same product and indication for that time period, except in limited circumstances. The applicable period is seven years in the United States and ten years in Europe. The European exclusivity period can be reduced to six years if a product no longer meets the criteria for Orphan Drug Designation or if the drug is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.

Even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a product, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition because different products can be approved for the same condition or the same products can be approved for different conditions. If one of our drug product candidates that receives an orphan drug designation is approved for a particular indication or use within the rare disease, the FDA may later approve the same product for additional indications or uses within that rare disease that are not protected by our exclusive approval. Even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve the same product for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later product is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care. In addition, 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. Moreover, orphan drug exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition or if another product with the same active moiety is determined to be safer, more effective, or represents a major contribution to patient care. Orphan Drug Designation neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a product nor gives the product any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process. While we intend to seek Orphan Drug Designation for some of our drug product candidates, we may never receive such designations. Even if we do receive such designations, there is no guarantee that we will enjoy the benefits of those designations.

 

 

 

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Even if we receive regulatory approval of our drug product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our drug product candidates.

If our drug product candidates are approved, they will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing studies, and submission of safety, efficacy, and other post-market information, including both federal and state requirements in the United States and requirements of comparable foreign regulatory authorities.

Manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authority, requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, and in certain cases Good Tissue Practices, or cGTP, regulations. As such, we and our contract manufacturers will be subject to continual review and inspections to assess compliance, to the extent applicable, with cGMP and adherence to commitments made in any BLA, other marketing application, and previous responses to inspection observations. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, and quality control.

Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our drug product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the drug product candidate. The FDA may also require a REMS program as a condition of approval of our drug product candidates, which could entail requirements for long-term patient follow-up, a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. In addition, if the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves our drug product candidates, we will have to comply with requirements including submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs and cGCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval.

The FDA may impose consent decrees or withdraw 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 our drug product candidates, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in 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 restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:

 

Ø   restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of our products, withdrawal of the product from the market, or voluntary or mandatory product recalls;

 

Ø   fines, warning letters, or holds on clinical trials;

 

Ø   refusal by the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us or suspension or revocation of license approvals;

 

Ø   product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of our drug product candidates; and

 

Ø   injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

 

 

 

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The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising, and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Products may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with approved label. 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. The policies of the FDA and of other regulatory authorities may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our drug product candidates. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.

We will need to obtain FDA approval of any proposed product trade names, and any failure or delay associated with such approval may adversely impact our business.

Any trade name we intend to use for our drug product candidates will require approval from the FDA, regardless of whether we have secured a formal trademark registration from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. The FDA typically conducts a review of proposed product names, including an evaluation of potential for confusion with other product names and/or medication or prescribing errors. The FDA may also object to any product name we submit if it believes the name inappropriately implies medical claims. If the FDA objects to any of our proposed product names, we may be required to adopt an alternative name for our drug product candidates. If we adopt an alternative name, we would lose the benefit of our existing trademark applications for such drug product candidate, and may be required to expend significant additional resources in an effort to identify a suitable product name that would qualify under applicable trademark laws, not infringe the existing rights of third parties and be acceptable to the FDA. We may be unable to build a successful brand identity for a new trademark in a timely manner or at all, which would limit our ability to commercialize our drug product candidates.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval of our drug product candidates, the products may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals and others in the medical community.

Our autologous engineered-cell therapies may not become broadly accepted by physicians, patients, hospitals, and others in the medical community. Numerous factors will influence whether our drug product candidates are accepted in the market, including:

 

Ø   the clinical indications for which our drug product candidates are approved;

 

Ø   physicians, hospitals, and patients considering our drug product candidates as a safe and effective treatment;

 

Ø   the potential and perceived advantages of our drug product candidates over alternative treatments;

 

Ø   the prevalence and severity of any side effects;

 

Ø   product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA, EMA, or other regulatory authorities;

 

Ø   limitations or warnings contained in the labeling approved by the FDA or EMA;

 

Ø   the timing of market introduction of our drug product candidates as well as competitive products;

 

Ø   the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;

 

 

 

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Ø   the availability of adequate coverage, reimbursement and pricing by third-party payors and government authorities;

 

Ø   the willingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of coverage by third-party payors and government authorities;

 

Ø   relative convenience and ease of administration, including as compared to alternative treatments and competitive therapies; and

 

Ø   the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.

In addition, although we are not utilizing embryonic stem cells in our drug product candidates, adverse publicity due to the ethical and social controversies surrounding the therapeutic use of such technologies, and reported side effects from any clinical trials using these technologies or the failure of such trials to demonstrate that these therapies are safe and effective may limit market acceptance our drug product candidates due to the perceived similarity between our drug product candidates and these other therapies. If our drug product candidates are approved but fail to achieve market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals, or others in the medical community, we will not be able to generate significant revenue.

Even if our products achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to maintain that market acceptance over time if new products or technologies are introduced that are more favorably received than our products, are more cost effective or render our products obsolete.

Coverage and reimbursement may be limited or unavailable in certain market segments for our drug product candidates, which could make it difficult for us to sell our drug product candidates profitably.

Successful sales of our drug product candidates, if approved, depend on the availability of adequate coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors. In addition, because our drug product candidates represent novel approaches to the treatment of ischemic HF and cancer, we cannot accurately estimate the potential revenue from our drug product candidates. Patients who are provided medical treatment for their conditions 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 are critical to new product acceptance.

Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs and treatments they will cover and the amount of reimbursement. 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:

 

Ø   a covered benefit under its health plan;

 

Ø   safe, effective and medically necessary;

 

Ø   appropriate for the specific patient;

 

Ø   cost-effective; and

 

Ø   neither experimental nor investigational.

In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists 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

 

 

 

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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. Even if we obtain coverage for a given product, the resulting reimbursement payment rates might not be adequate for us to achieve or sustain profitability or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Additionally, third-party payors may not cover, or provide adequate reimbursement for, long-term follow-up evaluations required following the use of our products. Patients are unlikely to use our drug product candidates unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our drug product candidates. Because our drug product candidates have a higher cost of goods than conventional therapies, and may require long-term follow up evaluations, the risk that coverage and reimbursement rates may be inadequate for us to achieve profitability may be greater.

We intend to seek approval to market our drug product candidates in the United States, European Union, and in selected other foreign jurisdictions. If we obtain approval in one or more foreign jurisdictions for our drug product candidates, we will be subject to rules and regulations in those jurisdictions. For example, in the countries of the European Union, the pricing of biologics is subject to governmental control. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after obtaining marketing approval of a drug product candidate. In addition, market acceptance and sales of our drug product candidates will depend significantly on the availability of adequate coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors for our drug product candidates and may be affected by existing and future health care reform measures.

Healthcare legislative reform measures and constraints on national budget social security systems may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Third-party payors, whether domestic or foreign, or governmental or private, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs. In both the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the health care system that could impact our ability to sell our products profitably. In particular, in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or the ACA, was enacted, which, among other things, subjected biologic products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars, addressed a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected, increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by most manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, extended the Medicaid Drug Rebate program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, subjected manufacturers to new annual fees and taxes for certain branded prescription drugs, and provided incentives to programs that increase the federal government’s comparative effectiveness research. We cannot predict the full impact of the ACA on bio-pharmaceutical companies as many of the ACA reforms require the promulgation of additional detailed regulations implementing the statutory provisions which has not yet completely occurred. Further, new litigation is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to invalidate certain provisions of the ACA.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of 2% per

 

 

 

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fiscal year, which went into effect in April 2013, and will remain in effect through 2024 unless additional Congressional action is taken. In January 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, was signed into law, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years.

There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. We cannot predict the initiatives that may be adopted in the future. The continuing efforts of the government, insurance companies, managed care organizations and other payors of healthcare services to contain or reduce costs of healthcare and/or impose price controls may adversely affect:

 

Ø   the demand for our drug product candidates, if we obtain regulatory approval;

 

Ø   our ability to set a price that we believe is fair for our products;

 

Ø   our ability to generate revenue and achieve or maintain profitability;

 

Ø   the level of taxes that we are required to pay; and

 

Ø   the availability of capital.

Any denial in coverage or reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar denial or reduction in payments from private payors, which may adversely affect our future profitability.

Our drug product candidates are biologics, which are complex to manufacture, and we may encounter difficulties in production, particularly with respect to process development or scaling-out of our manufacturing capabilities. If we or any of our third-party manufacturers encounter such difficulties, our ability to provide supply of our drug product candidates for clinical trials or our products for patients, if approved, could be delayed or stopped, or we may be unable to maintain a commercially viable cost structure.

Our drug product candidates are biologics and the process of manufacturing our products is complex, highly-regulated and subject to multiple risks. The manufacture of our drug product candidates involves complex processes, including harvesting cells from patients, selecting and expanding certain cell types, engineering or reprogramming the cells in a certain manner to create either cardiopoietic cells or CAR T-cells, expanding the cell population to obtain the desired dose, and ultimately infusing the cells back into a patient’s body. As a result of the complexities, the cost to manufacture our drug product candidates, is higher than traditional small molecule chemical compounds, and the manufacturing process is less reliable and is more difficult to reproduce. Our manufacturing process is susceptible to product loss or failure due to logistical issues associated with the collection of blood cells, or starting material, from the patient, shipping such material to the manufacturing site, shipping the final product back to the patient, and infusing the patient with the product, manufacturing issues associated with the differences in patient starting materials, interruptions in the manufacturing process, contamination, equipment or reagent failure, improper installation or operation of equipment, vendor or operator error, inconsistency in cell growth, and variability in product characteristics. Even minor deviations from normal manufacturing processes could result in reduced production yields, product defects, and other supply disruptions. For example, we were only able to produce C-Cure for 70% of the patients that we attempted to produce drug product candidate for in our Phase 2 clinical trial. If for any reason we lose a patient’s starting material or later-developed product at any point in the process, the manufacturing process for that patient will need to be restarted and the resulting delay may adversely affect that patient’s outcome. If microbial, viral, or other contaminations are discovered in our drug product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities in which

 

 

 

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our drug product candidates are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination. Because our drug product candidates are manufactured for each particular patient, we are required to maintain a chain of identity with respect to materials as they move from the patient to the manufacturing facility, through the manufacturing process, and back to the patient. Maintaining such a chain of identity is difficult and complex, and failure to do so could result in adverse patient outcomes, loss of product, or regulatory action including withdrawal of our products from the market. Further, as drug product candidates are developed through pre-clinical to late stage clinical trials towards approval and commercialization, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. Such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives, and any of these changes could cause our drug product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of ongoing clinical trials or other future clinical trials.

We are currently manufacturing C-Cure for CHART-1 in our pilot manufacturing plant in Belgium. We are also planning to build a pilot manufacturing facility in the United States to reduce our overall logistical costs for CHART-2 and to allow redundancy between manufacturing sites. The cells for our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D are being manufacturing at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s cell manufacturing facility. In the future, we plan to operate two commercial manufacturing sites, one in the United States and one in the European Union. We believe this will allow increased flexibility and reduced logistical costs and will allow for the necessary redundancy in case of site or geography-related failure. However, we are very early in the process of locating sites for these commercial manufacturing facilities and may be unsuccessful in our ability to find appropriate sites for such facilities.

Although we are working, or will be working, to develop commercially viable processes for the manufacture of our drug product candidates, doing so is a difficult and uncertain task, and there are risks associated with scaling to the level required for later-stage clinical trials and commercialization, including, among others, cost overruns, potential problems with process scale-out, process reproducibility, stability issues, lot consistency, and timely availability of reagents or raw materials. We may ultimately be unable to reduce the cost of goods for our drug product candidates to levels that will allow for an attractive return on investment if and when those drug product candidates are commercialized.

In addition, the manufacturing process that we develop for our drug product candidates is subject to FDA and foreign regulatory authority approval process, and we will need to make sure that we or our contract manufacturers, or CMOs, if any, are able to meet all FDA and foreign regulatory authority requirements on an ongoing basis. If we or our CMOs are unable to reliably produce drug product candidates to specifications acceptable to the FDA or other regulatory authorities, we may not obtain or maintain the approvals we need to commercialize such drug product candidates. Even if we obtain regulatory approval for any of our drug product candidates, there is no assurance that either we or our CMOs will be able to manufacture the approved product to specifications acceptable to the FDA or other regulatory authorities, to produce it in sufficient quantities to meet the requirements for the potential launch of the product, or to meet potential future demand. Any of these challenges could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

We may face competition from biosimilars, which may have a material adverse impact on the future commercial prospects of our drug product candidates.

Even if we are successful in achieving regulatory approval to commercialize a drug product candidate faster than our competitors, we may face competition from biosimilars. The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCI Act, created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that

 

 

 

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are demonstrated to be biosimilar to, or interchangeable with, an FDA-approved biological product. “Biosimilarity” means that the biological product is highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components and there are no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency of the product. To meet the higher standard of “interchangeability,” an applicant must provide sufficient information to show biosimilarity and demonstrate that the biological product can be expected to produce the same clinical result as the reference product in any given patient and, if the biological product is administrated more than once to an individual, the risk in terms of safety or diminished efficacy of alternating or switching between the use of the biological product and the reference product is not greater than the risk of using the reference product without such alternation or switch.

A reference biological product is granted 12 years of exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the product, and the FDA will not accept an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product based on the reference biological product until four years after first licensure. First licensure typically means the initial date the particular product at issue was licensed in the United States. This does not include a supplement for the biological product or a subsequent application by the same sponsor or manufacturer of the biological product (or licensor, predecessor in interest, or other related entity) for a change that results in a new indication, route of administration, dosing schedule, dosage form, delivery system, delivery device, or strength, unless that change is a modification to the structure of the biological product and such modification changes its safety, purity, or potency. Whether a subsequent application, if approved, warrants exclusivity as the first licensure of a biological product is determined on a case-by-case basis with data.

This data exclusivity does not prevent another company from developing a product that is highly similar to the innovative product, generating its own data, and seeking approval. Data exclusivity only assures that another company cannot rely upon the data within the application for the reference biological product to support the biosimilar product’s approval.

In the European Union, the European Commission has granted marketing authorizations for several biosimilars pursuant to a set of general and product class-specific guidelines for biosimilar approvals issued over the past few years. In the European Union, a competitor may reference data supporting approval of an innovative biological product, but will not be able do so until eight years after the time of approval of the innovative product and to get its biosimilar on the market until ten years from the aforementioned approval. This 10-year marketing exclusivity period will be extended to 11 years if, during the first eight of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an approval for one or more new therapeutic indications that bring significant clinical benefits compared with existing therapies. In addition, companies may be developing biosimilars in other countries that could compete with our products.

If competitors are able to obtain marketing approval for biosimilars referencing our products, our products may become subject to competition from such biosimilars, with the attendant competitive pressure and consequences.

We currently have no marketing and sales organization and have no experience in marketing products. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our drug product candidates, we may not be able to generate product revenue.

We currently have no sales, marketing, or commercial product distribution capabilities and have no experience in marketing products. We intend to develop an in-house marketing organization and sales force, which will require significant capital expenditures, management resources and time. We will have

 

 

 

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to compete with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel. If we are unable or decide not to establish internal sales, marketing and commercial distribution capabilities for any or all products we develop, we will likely pursue collaborative arrangements regarding the sales and marketing of our products. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to establish or maintain such collaborative arrangements, or if we are able to do so, that they will have effective sales forces. Any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties, which may not be successful. We may have little or no control over the marketing and sales efforts of such third parties, and our revenue from product sales may be lower than if we had commercialized our drug product candidates ourselves. We also face competition in our search for third parties to assist us with the sales and marketing efforts of our drug product candidates.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to develop in-house sales and commercial distribution capabilities or establish or maintain relationships with third-party collaborators to successfully commercialize any product in the United States, the European Union, overseas, and as a result, we may not be able to generate product revenue.

We face intense competition and rapid technological change and the possibility that our competitors may develop therapies that are more advanced or effective than ours, which may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to successfully commercialize our drug product candidates.

We face competition both in the United States and internationally, including from major multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and universities and other research institutions. In addition, many universities and private and public research institutes are active in our target disease areas. As of the date of this prospectus, our main competitors for C-Cure include Aldagen, Inc., Athersys, Inc., Cytori Therapeutics, Inc., Mesoblast Ltd and Vericel Corporation. As of the date of this prospectus, our main competitors for CAR-NKG2D and our other CAR T-cell product candidates include Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., bluebird bio, Inc., Cellectis S.A., Juno Therapeutics, Inc., Kite Pharma Inc., Novartis AG and Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.

Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations. Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis, products that are more effective or less costly than any drug product candidate that we may develop, or achieve earlier patent protection, regulatory approval, product commercialization and market penetration than we do. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our potential drug product candidates uneconomical or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing our drug product candidates against competitors.

In addition, as a result of the expiration or successful challenge of our patent rights, we could face litigation with respect to the validity and/or scope of patents relating to our competitors’ products. The availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand, and the price we are able to charge, for any products that we may develop and commercialize.

Risks Related to our Reliance on Third Parties

Cell-based therapies rely on the availability of specialty raw materials, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.

Engineered-cell therapies require many specialty raw materials, some of which are manufactured by small companies with limited resources and experience to support a commercial product. The suppliers may be

 

 

 

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ill-equipped to support our needs, especially in non-routine circumstances like an FDA inspection or medical crisis, such as widespread contamination. We also do not have contracts with many of these suppliers, and may not be able to contract with them on acceptable terms or at all. Accordingly, we may experience delays in receiving key raw materials to support clinical or commercial manufacturing.

In addition, some raw materials are currently available from a single supplier, or a small number of suppliers. We cannot be sure that these suppliers will remain in business, or that they will not be purchased by one of our competitors or another company that is not interested in continuing to produce these materials for our intended purpose.

We rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our drug product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.

We rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure our clinical trials are conducted properly and on time. While we will have agreements governing their activities, we will have limited influence over their actual performance. We will control only certain aspects of our CROs’ activities. Nevertheless, we will be responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.

We and our CROs are required to comply with the GCPs for conducting, recording and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that the data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of clinical trial participants are protected. The FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the EEA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, enforce these GCPs through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and clinical trial sites. If we or our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCPs, the clinical data generated in our future clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, the EMA, or other foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving any marketing applications. Upon inspection, the FDA may determine that our clinical trials did not comply with GCPs. In addition, our future clinical trials will require a sufficient number of test subjects to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of our drug product candidates. Accordingly, if our CROs fail to comply with these regulations or fail to recruit a sufficient number of patients, we may be required to repeat such clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

Our CROs are not our employees, and we are therefore unable to directly monitor whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical programs. These CROs may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other product development activities that could harm our competitive position. If our CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements, or for any other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize, our drug product candidates. If any such event were to occur, our financial results and the commercial prospects for our drug product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed.

If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Further, switching or

 

 

 

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adding additional CROs involves additional costs and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work. As a result, delays occur, which could materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

We depend on intellectual property licensed from third parties and termination of any of these licenses could result in the loss of significant rights, which would harm our business.

We are dependent on patents, know-how, and proprietary technology, both our own and licensed from others. We license technology from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, or the Mayo Clinic, and the Trustees of Dartmouth College, or Dartmouth College. The Mayo Clinic may terminate our license agreement with them, or the Mayo License, on a product-by-product basis or licensed invention-by-licensed invention basis if we default in making payment when due and payable or under other circumstances specified in the Mayo License, subject to 120 days’ prior written notice and opportunity to cure. The Mayo Clinic may also terminate the Mayo License if we deliberately make false statements in reports delivered to the Mayo Clinic. Further, the Mayo Clinic may terminate the Mayo License immediately for our insolvency or bankruptcy. Dartmouth College may terminate either our 2010 license or 2014 license, if we fail to meet a milestone within the specified time period, unless we pay the corresponding milestone payment. Dartmouth College may terminate either the 2010 license or 2014 license in the event we default or breach any of the provisions of the applicable license, subject to 30 days’ prior notice and opportunity to cure. In addition, each of the 2010 license and 2014 license automatically terminates in the event we become insolvent, make an assignment for the benefit of creditors or file, or have filed against us, a petition in bankruptcy. Furthermore, Dartmouth College may terminate our 2010 license, after April 30, 2024, if we fail to meet the specified minimum net sales obligations for any year, unless we pay to Dartmouth College the royalty we would otherwise be obligated to pay had we met such minimum net sales obligation. Any termination of these licenses could result in the loss of significant rights and could harm our ability to commercialize our drug product candidates. Disputes may also arise between us and our licensors regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including those relating to:

 

Ø   the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;

 

Ø   whether and the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the license agreement;

 

Ø   our right to sublicense patent and other rights to third parties under collaborative development relationships;

 

Ø   the amount and timing of milestone and royalty payments;

 

Ø   whether we are complying with our diligence obligations with respect to the use of the licensed technology in relation to our development and commercialization of our drug product candidates; and

 

Ø   the allocation of ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and by us and our partners.

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

 

 

 

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commercialize the affected drug product candidates. We are generally also subject to all of the same risks with respect to protection of intellectual property that we license as we are for intellectual property that we own, which are described below. If we or our licensors fail to adequately protect this intellectual property, our ability to commercialize our products could suffer.

We could be unsuccessful in obtaining or maintaining adequate patent protection for one or more of our drug product candidates.

The patent application process is expensive and time-consuming, and we and our current or future licensors and licensees may not be able to apply for or prosecute patents on certain aspects of our drug product candidates or deliver technologies at a reasonable cost, in a timely fashion, or at all. It is also possible that we or our current licensors, or any future licensors or licensees, will 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, our patents and applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. It is possible that defects of form in the preparation or filing of our patents or patent applications may exist, or may arise in the future, such as with respect to proper priority claims, inventorship, claim scope or patent term adjustments. Under our existing license agreements with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research and the Trustees of Dartmouth College, we have the right, but not the obligation, to enforce our licensed patents. If our current licensors, or any future licensors or licensees, 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 and we might not be able to prevent third parties from making, using, and selling competing products. If there are material defects in the form or preparation of our patents or patent applications, such patents or applications may be invalid and unenforceable. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods, and know-how. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We currently have issued patents and patent applications directed to our drug product candidates and medical devices, and we anticipate that we will file additional patent applications both in the United States and in other countries, as appropriate. However, we cannot predict:

 

Ø   if and when any patents will issue from patent applications;

 

Ø   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 patents;

 

Ø   whether others will apply for or obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our patents and patent applications; or

 

Ø   whether we will need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings to defend our patent rights, which may be costly whether we win or lose.

We cannot be certain, however, that the claims in our pending patent applications 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 and enforceable by courts in the United States or foreign countries.

The strength of patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical field can be uncertain, and evaluating the scope of such patents involves complex legal and scientific analyses. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our drug product candidates or uses thereof in the United States or in other foreign countries. Even if the patents do successfully issue, third parties may challenge the validity, enforceability, or scope thereof, which may result in such patents

 

 

 

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being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing their products to avoid being covered by our claims. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patent applications we hold with respect to our drug product candidates is threatened, this could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop, and could threaten our ability to commercialize, our drug product candidates. Further, because patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file any patent application related to our drug product candidates. 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 of our applications. For U.S. applications containing a claim not entitled to priority before March 16, 2013, there is a greater level of uncertainty in the patent law in view of the passage of the America Invents Act, which brought into effect significant changes to the U.S. patent laws, including new procedures for challenging pending patent applications and issued patents.

Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed. Various extensions may be available; however the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Further, the extensive period of time between patent filing and regulatory approval for a drug product candidate limits the time during which we can market a drug product candidate under patent protection, which may particularly affect the profitability of our early-stage drug product candidates. If we encounter delays in our clinical trials, the period of time during which we could market our drug product candidates under patent protection would be reduced. Without patent protection for our drug product candidates, we may be open to competition from biosimilar versions of our drug product candidates.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on drug 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. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we 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 products may compete with our products and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. For example, an April 2014 report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative identified a number of countries, including India and China, where challenges to the procurement and enforcement of patent rights have been reported. Several countries, including India and China, have been listed in the report every year since 1989. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business,

 

 

 

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could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. 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.

Confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties may not prevent unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we seek to 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 product discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information, or technology that is not covered by patents. Trade secrets, however, may be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outside scientific advisors, contractors and collaborators. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, outside scientific advisors, contractors, and collaborators might intentionally or inadvertently disclose our trade secret information to competitors. In addition, competitors may otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Furthermore, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. If we are unable to prevent unauthorized material disclosure of our intellectual property to third parties, or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement against us or our collaborators may prevent or delay our product discovery and development efforts.

Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including interference, derivation, and reexamination proceedings before the USPTO or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. Recently, due to changes in U.S. law referred to as patent reform, new procedures including inter partes review and post-grant review have been implemented. This reform adds uncertainty to the possibility of challenge to our patents in the future.

Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications owned by third parties exist in the fields in which we are developing our drug product candidates. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our drug product candidates may give rise to claims of infringement of the patent rights of others.

Although we have conducted analyses of the patent landscape with respect to our drug product candidates, and based on these analyses, we believe that we will be able to commercialize our drug product candidates, third parties may nonetheless assert that we infringe their patents, or that we are otherwise employing their proprietary technology without authorization, and may sue us. There may be third-party patents of which we are currently unaware with claims to compositions, formulations,

 

 

 

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methods of manufacture, or methods of use or treatment that cover our drug product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that our drug product candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies or the manufacture, use, or sale of our drug product candidates infringes upon these patents. If any such third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover our technologies or drug product candidates, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize the applicable drug product candidate unless we obtain a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be held invalid or unenforceable. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to commercialize our drug product candidates may be impaired or delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.

Third parties asserting their patent rights against us may seek and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize our drug product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of management and other employee resources from our business, and may impact our reputation. 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. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize our drug product candidates, which could harm our business significantly.

We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time-consuming, and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors. To cease such infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file patent infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding or a declaratory judgment action against us, a court may decide that one or more of our patents is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable, interpreted narrowly, or amended such that they do not cover our drug product candidates. Such results could also put our pending patent applications at risk of not issuing. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. Interference or derivation proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to, or the correct inventorship of, our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could result in a loss of our current patent rights and could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Litigation, interference, or derivation proceedings may result in a decision adverse to our interests and, even if we are successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees.

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 this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results

 

 

 

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of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our ordinary shares.

Issued patents covering our drug product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or before the USPTO or comparable foreign authority.

If we or one of our licensing partners initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our drug product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our drug product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace, and there are numerous grounds upon which a third party can assert invalidity or unenforceability of a patent. Third parties may also raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, inter partes review, post-grant review, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, such as opposition or derivation proceedings. Such proceedings could result in revocation or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover and protect our drug product candidates. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity of our patents, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art of which we, our patent counsel, and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our drug product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business.

Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves, both technological and legal complexity, and is therefore costly, time-consuming, and inherently uncertain. Numerous recent changes to the patent laws and proposed changes to the rules of the USPTO may have a significant impact on our ability to protect our technology and enforce our intellectual property rights. For example, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or AIA, enacted in 2011 involves significant changes in patent legislation. An important change introduced by the AIA is that, as of March 16, 2013, the United States transitioned to a ‘‘first-to-file’’ system for deciding which party should be granted a patent when two or more patent applications are filed by different parties claiming the same invention. A third party that files a patent application in the USPTO after that date but before us could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we had made the invention before it was made by the third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application.

Among some of the other changes introduced by the AIA are changes that limit where a patentee may file a patent infringement suit and provide opportunities for third parties to challenge any issued patent in the USPTO. This applies to all of our U.S. patents, even those issued before March 16, 2013. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in USPTO proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in United States federal court 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.

 

 

 

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In addition, recent court rulings in cases such as Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Myriad I); BRCA1- & BRCA2-Based Hereditary Cancer Test Patent Litig.,(Myriad II); and Promega Corp. v. Life Technologies Corp. have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents once obtained. Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. For example, in a recent case, Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain claims to naturally-occurring substances are not patentable. Although we do not believe that any of the patents owned or licensed by us will be found invalid based on this decision, we cannot predict how future decisions by the courts, the U.S. Congress, or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We have received confidential and proprietary information from third parties. In addition, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of these third parties or our employees’ former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and employees.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application process. Although an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations 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. Noncompliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees, and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. In any such event, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Risks Related to Our Organization, Structure and Operation

Our future results will suffer if we do not effectively manage our expanded operations as a result of our recent acquisition of OnCyte.

We obtained access to our CAR T-cell drug product candidates and related technology, including technology licensed from Dartmouth College, in January 2015, through our acquisition of OnCyte, LLC, or OnCyte, from Celdara Medical, LLC, a privately-held U.S. biotechnology company. Our acquisition of OnCyte significantly changed the composition of our operations, markets and drug product candidate

 

 

 

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mix. Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to address these changes, and, where necessary, to attract and retain new personnel that possess the requisite skills called for by these changes.

Our failure to adequately address the financial, operational or legal risks of the OnCyte acquisition, or any future acquisitions, license arrangements, other strategic transactions could harm our business. Financial aspects of these transactions that could alter our financial position, reported operating results or ADS or ordinary share price include:

 

Ø   use of cash resources;

 

Ø   higher than anticipated acquisition costs and expenses;

 

Ø   potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities;

 

Ø   the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, impairment losses or restructuring charges;

 

Ø   large write-offs and difficulties in assessing the relative percentages of in-process research and development expense that can be immediately written off as compared to the amount that must be amortized over the appropriate life of the asset; and

 

Ø   amortization expenses related to other intangible assets.

Operational risks that could harm our existing operations or prevent realization of anticipated benefits from these transactions include:

 

Ø   challenges associated with managing an increasingly diversified business;

 

Ø   disruption of our ongoing business;

 

Ø   difficulty and expense in assimilating the operations, products, technology, information systems or personnel of the acquired company;

 

Ø   diversion of management’s time and attention from other business concerns;

 

Ø   entry into a geographic or business market in which we have little or no prior experience;

 

Ø   inability to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies;

 

Ø   the assumption of known and unknown liabilities of the acquired business or asset, including intellectual property claims; and

 

Ø   subsequent loss of key personnel.

Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to manage our expansion opportunities. Integrating new operations into our existing business in an efficient and timely manner, successfully monitoring our operations, costs, regulatory compliance and customer relationships, and maintaining other necessary internal controls pose substantial challenges for us. As a result, we cannot assure you that our expansion or acquisition opportunities will be successful, or that we will realize our expected operating efficiencies, cost savings, revenue enhancements, synergies or other benefits.

We are highly dependent on our Chief Executive Officer and members of our executive management team, and if we are not successful in motivating and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.

Our ability to compete in the highly competitive biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries depends upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical

 

 

 

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personnel. We are highly dependent on members of our executive management team, particularly our chief executive officer, Christian Homsy. We do not maintain “key man” insurance on the life of Christian Homsy, or the lives of any of our other employees. The loss of the services of any members of our executive management team, and our inability to find suitable replacements, could result in delays in product development and harm our business.

Competition for skilled personnel in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries is intense and the turnover rate can be high, which may limit our ability to hire and retain highly qualified personnel on acceptable terms or at all.

To induce valuable employees to remain at our company, in addition to salary and cash incentives, we have provided warrants that vest over time. The value to employees of these equity grants that vest over time may be significantly affected by movements in our share price that are beyond our control, and may at any time be insufficient to counteract more lucrative offers from other companies.

We will need to grow the size and capabilities of our organization, and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth.

As of March 26, 2015, we had 82 full-time and three part-time employees. As our drug product candidates move into later stage clinical development and towards commercialization, we must add a significant number of additional managerial, operational, sales, marketing, financial, and other personnel. Future growth will impose significant added responsibilities on members of management, including:

 

Ø   identifying, recruiting, integrating, maintaining, and motivating additional employees;

 

Ø   managing our internal development efforts effectively, including the clinical and FDA review process for our drug product candidates, while complying with our contractual obligations to contractors and other third parties; and

 

Ø   improving our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems, and procedures.

Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our drug product candidates will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth, and our management may also have to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities in order to devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities.

If we are not able to effectively expand our organization by hiring new employees and expanding our groups of consultants and contractors, we may not be able to successfully implement the tasks necessary to further develop and commercialize our drug product candidates and, accordingly, may not achieve our research, development, and commercialization goals.

If we engage in future acquisitions or strategic partnerships, this may increase our capital requirements, dilute our shareholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, and subject us to other risks.

We may evaluate various acquisitions and strategic partnerships, including licensing or acquiring complementary products, intellectual property rights, technologies, or businesses. Any potential acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including:

 

Ø   increased operating expenses and cash requirements;

 

Ø   the assumption of additional indebtedness or contingent liabilities;

 

Ø   the issuance of our equity securities;

 

 

 

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Ø   assimilation of operations, intellectual property and products of an acquired company, including difficulties associated with integrating new personnel;

 

Ø   the diversion of our management’s attention from our existing product programs and initiatives in pursuing such a strategic merger or acquisition;

 

Ø   retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships;

 

Ø   risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party and their existing products or drug product candidates and regulatory approvals; and

 

Ø   our inability to generate revenue from acquired technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives in undertaking the acquisition or even to offset the associated acquisition and maintenance costs.

In addition, if we undertake acquisitions, we may issue dilutive securities, assume or incur debt obligations, incur large one-time expenses and acquire intangible assets that could result in significant future amortization expense. Moreover, we may not be able to locate suitable acquisition opportunities and this inability could impair our ability to grow or obtain access to technology or products that may be important to the development of our business.

If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste products. We 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, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, research and development efforts and business operations, environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. Although we believe that the safety procedures utilized by our third-party manufacturers for handling and disposing of these materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by these laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that this is the case or eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials. In such an event, we may be held liable for any resulting damages and such liability could exceed our resources and state or federal or other applicable authorities may curtail our use of certain materials and/or interrupt our business operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. 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. We do not currently carry biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage.

Although we maintain 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 or other work-related injuries, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities.

 

 

 

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Risks from the improper conduct of employees, agents, contractors, consultants or collaborators could adversely affect our reputation and our business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition.

We cannot ensure that our compliance controls, policies, and procedures will in every instance protect us from acts committed by our employees, agents, contractors, or collaborators that would violate the laws or regulations of the jurisdictions in which we operate, including, without limitation, healthcare, employment, foreign corrupt practices, environmental, competition, and patient privacy and other privacy laws and regulations. Such improper actions could subject us to civil or criminal investigations, and monetary and injunctive penalties, and could adversely impact our ability to conduct business, operating results, and reputation. In particular, our business activities may be subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and similar anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws, regulations or rules of other countries in which we operate, including the U.K. Bribery Act. The FCPA generally prohibits offering, promising, giving, or authorizing others to give anything of value, either directly or indirectly, to 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. Our business is heavily regulated and therefore involves significant interaction with public officials, including officials of non-U.S. governments.

Additionally, in many other countries, the health care providers who prescribe pharmaceuticals are employed by their government, and the purchasers of pharmaceuticals are government entities; therefore, our dealings with these prescribers and purchasers are subject to regulation under the FCPA. Recently the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and Department of Justice have increased their FCPA enforcement activities with respect to pharmaceutical companies. There is no certainty that all of our employees, agents, contractors, consultants or collaborators, or those of our affiliates, will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, particularly given the high level of complexity of these laws. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, the closing down of our facilities, requirements to obtain export licenses, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries, implementation of compliance programs, and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Any such violations could include prohibitions on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, and our business, prospects, operating results, and financial condition.

Our relationships with health care professionals, customers, independent contractors, consultants and third-party payors may be subject, directly or indirectly, to applicable anti-kickback laws, fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, health information privacy and security laws, transparency laws and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to penalties, and could result in contractual damages, reputational harm, administrative burdens and diminished profits and future earnings.

Our arrangements with health care professionals, customers, independent contractors, consultants and third-party payors may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships.

In addition, we may be subject to health information privacy and security regulation of the European Union, the United States and other jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. For example, the laws that may affect our ability to operate include:

 

Ø  

the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, to

 

 

 

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induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual, or the purchase or recommendation of an item or service for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;

 

Ø   U.S. federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws, including the federal False Claims Act, which impose criminal and civil penalties against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, including the Medicare and Medicaid programs, 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;

 

Ø   the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created federal criminal statutes that prohibit, among other things, executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program and making false statements relating to healthcare matters;

 

Ø   HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, which imposes certain obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, on covered healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, as well as their business associates, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;

 

Ø   the federal Open Payments Program that was created under the ACA, which requires certain manufacturers of covered pharmaceutical drugs, biologics, devices and medical supplies to track and report annually all payments or other transfers of value provided to physicians and teaching hospitals and certain ownership and investment interests held by physicians or their family members in applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations; and

 

Ø   analogous state and laws and regulations in other jurisdictions, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may be broader in scope and also 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 and laws in other jurisdiction governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations may involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. 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 civil, criminal and administrative penalties, including, without limitation, damages, fines, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations or other sanctions. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found to be not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, it may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from participation in government funded healthcare programs.

Failure to build our finance infrastructure and improve our accounting systems and controls could impair our ability to comply with the financial reporting and internal controls requirements for publicly traded companies.

As a public company, we will operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment that requires us to comply with, among things, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and related rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s substantial disclosure requirements, accelerated reporting

 

 

 

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requirements and complex accounting rules. Company responsibilities required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include establishing corporate oversight and adequate internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud.

We have limited accounting personnel and other resources to address our internal controls and procedures. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. However, in connection with the reaudit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for year ended December 31, 2013 and audit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2014, we identified three material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, such that there is reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by our employees. The material weaknesses identified were related to a lack of:

 

Ø   accounting resources required to fulfill the reporting requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, and financial reporting requirements;

 

Ø   comprehensive knowledge of IFRS accounting policies and financial reporting procedures; and

 

Ø   segregation of duties given the size of our finance and accounting team.

As described in Note 2.36 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, we have restated our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 as a result of errors in the accounting treatment of shareholders convertible loans and share-based payments. We believe that the material weaknesses identified contributed to the restatement.

We have taken several remedial actions to address these material weaknesses, which are described under “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations – Internal control over financial reporting.”

Furthermore, we believe it is possible that if we had performed a formal assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, or if our independent registered public accounting firm had performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, other material weaknesses may have been identified. Upon the completion of the global offering, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, will require that we include a report of management on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. However, until we cease to be an “emerging growth company,” as that term is defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This may increase the risk that deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting will go undetected and may make it more difficult for investors and securities analysts to evaluate our company.

Our management may conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, after we become a public company, our reporting

 

 

 

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obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. If we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could experience material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the trading price of our ordinary shares. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from The NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements for prior periods.

Our business and operations would suffer in the event of system failures.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our current and future CROs and other contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we have not experienced any such material system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed.

Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

Our operations, and those of our third-party research institution collaborators, CROs, CMOs, suppliers, and other contractors and consultants, could be subject to earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics, and other natural or man-made disasters or business interruptions. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. Damage or extended periods of interruption to our corporate, development or research facilities due to fire, natural disaster, power loss, communications failure, unauthorized entry or other events could cause us to cease or delay development of some or all of our drug product candidates. Although we maintain property damage and business interruption insurance coverage on these facilities, our insurance might not cover all losses under such circumstances and our business may be seriously harmed by such delays and interruption.

 

 

 

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If product liability lawsuits are brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our drug product candidates.

We face an inherent risk of product liability as a result of the clinical testing of our drug product candidates and will face an even greater risk if we commercialize any products. For example, we may be sued if our drug product candidates cause or are perceived to cause injury or are found to be otherwise unsuitable during clinical 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, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our drug product candidates. Even successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

 

Ø   decreased demand for our products;

 

Ø   injury to our reputation;

 

Ø   withdrawal of clinical trial participants and inability to continue clinical trials;

 

Ø   initiation of investigations by regulators;

 

Ø   costs to defend the related litigation;

 

Ø   a diversion of management’s time and our resources;

 

Ø   substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;

 

Ø   product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;

 

Ø   loss of revenue;

 

Ø   exhaustion of any available insurance and our capital resources;

 

Ø   the inability to commercialize any drug product candidate; and

 

Ø   a decline in our share price.

Our inability to obtain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of products we develop, alone or with collaborators. Although we currently carry €100,000 of clinical trial insurance, the amount of such insurance coverage may not be adequate, we may be unable to maintain such insurance, or we may not be able to obtain additional or replacement insurance at a reasonable cost, if at all. Our insurance policies may also have various exclusions, and we may be subject to a product liability claim for which we have no coverage. We may have to pay any amounts awarded by a court or negotiated in a settlement that exceed our coverage limitations or that are not covered by our insurance, and we may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient capital to pay such amounts. Even if our agreements with any future corporate collaborators entitle us to indemnification against losses, such indemnification may not be available or adequate should any claim arise.

Our international operations subject us to various risks, and our failure to manage these risks could adversely affect our results of operations.

We face significant operational risks as a result of doing business internationally, such as:

 

Ø   fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;

 

 

 

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Ø   potentially adverse and/or unexpected tax consequences, including penalties due to the failure of tax planning or due to the challenge by tax authorities on the basis of transfer pricing and liabilities imposed from inconsistent enforcement;

 

Ø   potential changes to the accounting standards, which may influence our financial situation and results;

 

Ø   becoming subject to the different, complex and changing laws, regulations and court systems of multiple jurisdictions and compliance with a wide variety of foreign laws, treaties and regulations;

 

Ø   reduced protection of, or significant difficulties in enforcing, intellectual property rights in certain countries;

 

Ø   difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified personnel;

 

Ø   restrictions imposed by local labor practices and laws on our business and operations, including unilateral cancellation or modification of contracts; and

 

Ø   rapid changes in global government, economic and political policies and conditions, political or civil unrest or instability, terrorism or epidemics and other similar outbreaks or events, and potential failure in confidence of our suppliers or customers due to such changes or events; and tariffs, trade protection measures, import or export licensing requirements, trade embargoes and other trade barriers.

We are subject to certain covenants as a result of certain non-dilutive financial support we have received to date.

We have received non-dilutive financial support totaling €18.7 million as of December 31, 2014, to support various research programs from the Walloon Region, or the Region. The support has been granted in the form of recoverable cash advances, or RCAs, and subsidies.

In the event we decide to exploit any discoveries or products from the research funded by under an RCA, the relevant RCA becomes refundable, otherwise the RCA is not refundable. We own the intellectual property rights which result from the research programs partially funded by the Region, unless we decide not to exploit, or cease to exploit, the results of the research in which case the results and intellectual property rights are transferred to the Region. Subject to certain exceptions, however, we cannot grant to third parties, by way of license or otherwise, any right to use the results without the prior consent of the Region. We also need the consent of the Region to transfer an intellectual property right resulting from the research programs or a transfer or license of a prototype or installation. Obtaining such consent from the Region could give rise to a review of the applicable financial terms. The RCAs also contain provisions prohibiting us from conducting research for any other person which would fall within the scope of a research program of one of the RCAs. Most RCAs provide that this prohibition is applicable during the research phase and the decision phase but a number of RCAs extend it beyond these phases.

Subsidies received from the Region are dedicated to funding research programs and patent applications and are not refundable. We own the intellectual property rights which result from the research programs or with regard to a patent covered by a subsidy. Subject to certain exceptions, however, we cannot grant to third parties, by way of license, transfer or otherwise, any right to use the patents or research results without the prior consent of the Region. In addition, certain subsidies require that we exploit the patent in the countries where the protection was granted and to make an industrial use of the underlying invention. In case of bankruptcy, liquidation or dissolution, the rights to the patents covered by the patent subsidies will be assumed by the Region by operation of law unless the subsidy is reimbursed. Furthermore, we would lose our qualification as a small or medium-sized enterprise, the patent subsidies will terminate and no additional expenses will be covered by such patent subsidies.

 

 

 

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We may be exposed to significant foreign exchange risk.

We incur portions of our expenses, and may in the future derive revenues, in currencies other than the euro, in particular, the U.S. dollar. As a result, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange risk as our results of operations and cash flows are subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We currently do not engage in hedging transactions to protect against uncertainty in future exchange rates between particular foreign currencies and the euro. Therefore, for example, an increase in the value of the euro against the U.S. dollar could be expected to have a negative impact on our revenue and earnings growth as U.S. dollar revenue and earnings, if any, would be translated into euros at a reduced value. We cannot predict the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, and foreign currency fluctuations in the future may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The requirements of being a U.S. public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

We will be required to comply with various corporate governance and financial reporting requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Corporation Accounting Oversight Board. Further, compliance with various regulatory reporting requires significant commitments of time from our management and our directors, which reduces the time available for the performance of their other responsibilities. Our failure to track and comply with the various rules may materially adversely affect our reputation, ability to obtain the necessary certifications to financial statements, lead to additional regulatory enforcement actions, and could adversely affect the value of the ADSs or the ordinary shares.

The investment of our cash and cash equivalents may be subject to risks that may cause losses and affect the liquidity of these investments.

As of December 31, 2014, we had cash and cash equivalents of €27.6 million and short term investments of €2.7 million. We historically have invested substantially all of our available cash and cash equivalents in corporate bank accounts. Pending their use in our business, we intend to invest the net proceeds of the global offering in investments that may include corporate bonds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit and money market funds. These investments may be subject to general credit, liquidity, and market and interest rate risks. We may realize losses in the fair value of these investments or a complete loss of these investments, which would have a negative effect on our financial statements.

Risks Related to the Global Offering and Ownership of the ADSs

There has been no prior active market for the ADSs and an active and liquid market for the ADSs may fail to develop, which could harm the market price of the ADSs.

Prior to the global offering, while our ordinary shares have been traded on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris since July 5, 2013, there has been no active public market for the ADSs in the United States. Although we anticipate the ADSs being approved for listing on NASDAQ, an active trading market for the ADSs may never develop or be sustained following the global offering. The initial public offering price of the ADSs will be based on and determined through negotiations between us and the underwriters. This initial public offering price may not be indicative of the market price of the ADSs after the global offering. In the absence of an active trading market for the ADSs, investors may not be able to sell their ADSs at or above the initial public offering price or at the time that they would like to sell. The market price of the ADSs could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to many risk factors listed in this section, and others beyond our control, including:

 

Ø   actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition and operating results;

 

 

 

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Ø   actual or anticipated changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;

 

Ø   competition from existing products or new products that may emerge;

 

Ø   announcements by us, our partners or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations, or capital commitments;

 

Ø   failure to meet or exceed financial estimates and projections of the investment community or that we provide to the public;

 

Ø   issuance of new or updated research or reports by securities analysts;

 

Ø   fluctuations in the valuation of companies perceived by investors to be comparable to us;

 

Ø   additions or departures of key management or scientific personnel;

 

Ø   disputes or other developments related to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters, and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;

 

Ø   changes to coverage policies or reimbursement levels by commercial third-party payors and government payors and any announcements relating to coverage policies or reimbursement levels;

 

Ø   announcement or expectation of additional debt or equity financing efforts;

 

Ø   sales of the ADSs or ordinary shares by us, our insiders or our other shareholders; and

 

Ø   general economic and market conditions.

These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for the ADSs to fluctuate substantially, regardless of our actual operating performance, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their ADSs and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our ADSs shares. In addition, the stock market in general, and biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies.

Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro may increase the risk of holding the ADSs.

Our shares currently trade on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris in euros, while the ADSs will trade on NASDAQ in U.S. dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro may result in differences between the value of the ADSs and the value of our ordinary shares, which may result in heavy trading by investors seeking to exploit such differences. In addition, as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro, the U.S. dollar equivalent of the proceeds that a holder of the ADSs would receive upon the sale in Belgium of any ordinary shares withdrawn from the depositary upon calculation of the corresponding ADSs and the U.S. dollar equivalent of any cash dividends paid in euros on our ordinary shares represented by the ADSs could also decline.

Holders of the ADSs are not treated as shareholders of our company.

By participating in the U.S. offering you will become a holder of ADSs with underlying shares in a Belgian public limited liability company. Holders of the ADSs are not treated as shareholders of our company, unless they cancel the ADSs and withdraw our ordinary shares underlying the ADSs. The depositary (or its nominee) is the shareholder of the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs. Holders of ADSs therefore do not have any rights as shareholders of our company, other than the rights that they have pursuant to the deposit agreement.

 

 

 

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We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from the global offering and may not use them effectively.

Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds that we receive from the global offering, including applications for working capital, possible acquisitions and other general corporate purposes, and we may spend or invest these proceeds in a way with which our shareholders disagree. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business and financial condition. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from the global offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our investors.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate research or unfavorable research about our business, the price of the ordinary shares and the ADSs and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for the ordinary shares and the ADSs depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If no or few securities or industry analysts cover our company, the trading price for the ordinary shares and the ADSs would be negatively impacted. If one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades the ordinary shares or the ADSs or publishes incorrect or unfavorable research about our business, the price of the ordinary shares and the ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, or downgrades the ordinary shares or the ADSs, demand for the ADSs and ordinary shares could decrease, which could cause the price of the ADSs and ordinary shares or trading volume to decline.

We have no present intention to pay dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future and, consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment during that time is if the price of the ADSs or the ordinary shares increases.

We have no present intention to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. Any recommendation by our board of directors to pay dividends will depend on many factors, including our financial condition (including losses carried-forward), results of operations, legal requirements and other factors. Furthermore, pursuant to Belgian law, the calculation of amounts available for distribution to shareholders, as dividends or otherwise, must be determined on the basis of our non-consolidated statutory accounts prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules. In addition, in accordance with Belgian law and our articles of association, we must allocate each year an amount of at least 5% of our annual net profit under our non-consolidated statutory accounts to a legal reserve until the reserve equals 10% of our share capital. Therefore, we are unlikely to pay dividends or other distributions in the foreseeable future. If the price of the ADSs or the ordinary shares declines before we pay dividends, you will incur a loss on your investment, without the likelihood that this loss will be offset in part or at all by potential future cash dividends.

Our shareholders residing in countries other than Belgium may be subject to double withholding taxation with respect to dividends or other distributions made by us.

Any dividends or other distributions we make to shareholders will, in principle, be subject to withholding tax in Belgium at a rate of 25%, except for shareholders which qualify for an exemption of withholding tax such as, among others, qualifying pension funds or a company qualifying as a parent company within the meaning of the Council Directive (90/435/EEC) July 23, 1990, known as the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, or that qualify for a lower withholding tax rate or an exemption by virtue of a tax treaty. Various conditions may apply and shareholders residing in countries other than Belgium are advised to consult their advisers regarding the tax consequences of dividends or other distributions made by us. Our shareholders residing in countries other than Belgium may not be able to credit the amount of such withholding tax to any tax due on such dividends or other distributions in any other country than

 

 

 

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Belgium. As a result, such shareholders may be subject to double taxation in respect of such dividends or other distributions. Belgium and the United States have concluded a double tax treaty concerning the avoidance of double taxation, or the U.S.-Belgium Tax Treaty. The U.S.-Belgium Tax Treaty reduces the applicability of Belgian withholding tax to 15%, 5% or 0% for U.S. taxpayers, provided that the U.S. taxpayer meets the limitation of benefits conditions imposed by the U.S.-Belgium Tax Treaty. The Belgian withholding tax is generally reduced to 15% under the U.S.-Belgium Tax Treaty. The 5% withholding tax applies in case where the U.S. shareholder is a company which holds at least 10% of the shares in the company. A 0% Belgian withholding tax applies when the shareholder is a company which has held at least 10% of the shares in the company for at least 12 months, or is, subject to certain conditions, a U.S. pension fund. The U.S. shareholders are encouraged to consult their own tax advisers to determine whether they can invoke the benefits and meet the limitation of benefits conditions as imposed by the U.S.-Belgium Tax Treaty.

We believe that we were a passive foreign investment company for our 2014 taxable year, and expect that we may be a passive foreign investment company in other future taxable years. U.S. holders of the ADSs may suffer adverse tax consequences if we are characterized as a passive foreign investment company.

Generally, if, for any taxable year, at least 75% of our gross income is passive income, or at least 50% of the value of our assets is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income, including cash, we would be characterized as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For purposes of these tests, passive income includes dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or exchange of investment property and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties which are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. If we are characterized as a PFIC, U.S. holders of the ADSs may suffer adverse tax consequences, including having gains realized on the sale of the ADSs treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain, the loss of the preferential rate applicable to dividends received on the ADSs by individuals who are U.S. holders, and having interest charges apply to distributions by us and the proceeds of sales of the ADSs. See “Material income tax considerations—Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations to U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations.”

Our status as a PFIC will depend on the composition of our income and the composition and value of

our assets (which, if we are not a “controlled foreign corporation” under Section 957(a) of the Code or

we are publicly traded for the entire year being tested, may be determined in large part by reference to

the market value of the ADSs and ordinary shares, which may be volatile) from time to time. Our status

may also depend, in part, on how quickly we utilize the cash proceeds from the global offering in our business.

We believe we were a PFIC for our 2014 taxable year, and with respect to our 2015 taxable year and possibly other taxable years, we expect that we will be a PFIC based upon the expected value of our assets, including any goodwill, and the expected composition of our income and assets. However, our status as a PFIC is a fact intensive determination made on an annual basis and we cannot provide any assurances regarding our PFIC status for the current or future taxable years.

If you purchase the ADSs in the U.S. offering or ordinary shares in the European private placement, you will experience substantial and immediate dilution.

If you purchase the ADSs in the U.S. offering or ordinary shares in the European private placement, you will experience substantial and immediate dilution of $53.63 (€60.48) per ADS/ordinary share in the net tangible book value after giving effect to the global offering at an assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS or per ordinary share, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, because the price that you pay will be substantially greater than the net tangible book value per ADS or per ordinary share that you acquire. This dilution is due in large part to the fact that our earlier

 

 

 

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investors paid substantially less than the public offering price when they purchased their ordinary shares. You will experience additional dilution upon exercise of any outstanding warrants to subscribe for newly issued ordinary shares under our equity incentive plans (i.e., our warrant plans), or if we otherwise issue additional shares below the public offering price. For a further description of the dilution that you will experience immediately after the global offering, see the section of this prospectus titled “Dilution.”

Future sales of ordinary shares or ADSs by existing shareholders could depress the market price of the ADSs and the ordinary shares.

If our existing shareholders sell, or indicate an intent to sell, substantial amounts of ordinary shares or ADSs in the public market after the 90-day contractual lock-up and other legal restrictions on resale discussed in this prospectus lapse, the trading price of the ADSs and the ordinary shares could decline significantly and could decline below the public offering price. Upon completion of the global offering, we will have outstanding ordinary shares, approximately 4,037,675 of which are subject to the 90-day contractual lock-up referred to above. The representatives of the underwriters may permit us, our directors and members of our management team to sell shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up agreements. See “Underwriting.” After the lock-up agreements pertaining to the global offering expire, and based on the number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the global offering, additional shares will be eligible for sale in the public market, all of which shares are held by directors and members of the management team and will be subject to volume limitations under Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. In addition, the ordinary shares subject to outstanding warrants under our equity incentive plans and the shares reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans will become eligible for sale in the public market in the future, subject to certain legal and contractual limitations.

Following the global offering, we intend to file one or more registration statements with the SEC covering ordinary shares available for future issuance under our equity incentive plans. Upon effectiveness of such registration statements, any shares subsequently issued under such plans will be eligible for sale in the public market, except to the extent that they are restricted by the lock-up agreements referred to above and subject to compliance with Rule 144 in the case of our affiliates. Sales of a large number of the shares issued under these plans in the public market could have an adverse effect on the market price of the ADSs and the ordinary shares. See the section of this prospectus titled “Shares and ADSs available for future sale” for a more detailed description of sales that may occur in the future. If these additional shares or ADSs are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of the ADSs and the ordinary shares could decline substantially.

We are a Belgian public limited liability company, and shareholders of our company may have different and in some cases more limited shareholder rights than shareholders of a U.S. listed corporation.

We are a public limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Belgium. Our corporate affairs are governed by Belgian corporate and securities law. The rights provided to our shareholders under Belgian corporate law and our articles of association differ in certain respects from the rights that you would typically enjoy as a shareholder of a U.S. corporation under applicable U.S. federal and state laws. Under Belgian corporate law, other than certain information that we must make public and except in certain limited circumstances, our shareholders may not ask for an inspection of our corporate records, while under Delaware corporate law any shareholder, irrespective of the size of its shareholdings, may do so. Shareholders of a Belgian corporation have more limited rights to initiate a derivative action, a remedy typically available to shareholders of U.S. companies, in order to enforce a right of our Company, in case we fail to enforce such right ourselves.

A liability action can be instituted for our account by one or more of our shareholders who, individually or together, hold securities representing at least 1.0% of the votes or a part of the capital worth at least

 

 

 

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€1.25 million and have not approved of the discharge from liability that was granted to the directors. If the court orders the directors to pay damages, they are due to us, though the amounts advanced by the minority shareholders (for example attorney’s fees) are to be reimbursed by us. If the action is disallowed, the minority shareholders may be ordered to pay the costs, and, should there be grounds therefor, to pay damages to the directors, for example for having conducted provocative and reckless legal proceedings.

In addition, a majority of our shareholders present or represented at our meeting of shareholders may release a director from any claim of liability we may have, provided that the financial position of the company is accurately reflected in the annual accounts. This includes a release from liability for any acts of the directors beyond their statutory powers or in breach of the Belgian Company Code, provided that the relevant acts were specifically mentioned in the convening notice to the meeting of shareholders deliberating on the discharge. In contrast, most U.S. federal and state laws prohibit a company or its shareholders from releasing a director from liability altogether if he or she has acted in bad faith or has breached his or her duty of loyalty to the company. Finally, Belgian corporate law does not provide any form of appraisal rights in the case of a business combination. See “Description of share capital.” As a result of these differences between Belgian corporate law and our articles of association, on the one hand, and the U.S. federal and state laws, on the other hand, in certain instances, you could receive less protection as an ADS holder of our company than you would as a shareholder of a listed U.S. company.

Takeover provisions in the national law of Belgium may make a takeover difficult.

Public takeover bids on our shares and other voting securities, such as warrants or convertible bonds, if any, are subject to the Belgian Act of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids, as amended and implemented by the Belgian Royal Decree of April 27, 2007, or Royal Decree, and to the supervision by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority, or FSMA. Public takeover bids must be made for all of our voting securities, as well as for all other securities that entitle the holders thereof to the subscription to, the acquisition of or the conversion into voting securities. Prior to making a bid, a bidder must issue and disseminate a prospectus, which must be approved by the FSMA. The bidder must also obtain approval of the relevant competition authorities, where such approval is legally required for the acquisition of our company. The Belgian Act of April 1, 2007 provides that a mandatory bid will be required to be launched for all of our outstanding shares and securities giving access to ordinary shares if a person, as a result of its own acquisition or the acquisition by persons acting in concert with it or by persons acting on their account, directly or indirectly holds more than 30% of the voting securities in a company that has its registered office in Belgium and of which at least part of the voting securities are traded on a regulated market or on a multilateral trading facility designated by the Royal Decree. The mere fact of exceeding the relevant threshold through the acquisition of one or more shares will give rise to a mandatory bid, irrespective of whether or not the price paid in the relevant transaction exceeds the current market price.

There are several provisions of Belgian company law and certain other provisions of Belgian law, such as the obligation to disclose important shareholdings and merger control, that may apply to us and which may make an unfriendly tender offer, merger, change in management or other change in control, more difficult. These provisions could discourage potential takeover attempts that third parties may consider and thus deprive the shareholders of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium (which is typically offered in the framework of a takeover bid).

You will not have the same voting rights as the holders of our ordinary shares and may not receive voting materials in time to be able to exercise your right to vote.

Holders of ADSs may exercise voting rights with respect to the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs only in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. The deposit agreement provides that,

 

 

 

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upon receipt of notice of any meeting of holders of our ordinary shares, the depositary will fix a record date for the determination of ADS holders who shall be entitled to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights. Upon timely receipt of notice from us, if we so request, the depositary shall distribute to the holders as of the record date (1) the notice of the meeting or solicitation of consent or proxy sent by us and (2) a statement as to the manner in which instructions may be given by the holders. You may instruct the depositary of your ADSs to vote the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. Otherwise, you will not be able to exercise your right to vote, unless you withdraw the ordinary shares underlying the ADSs you hold. However, you may not know about the meeting far enough in advance to withdraw those ordinary shares. We cannot guarantee you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your ordinary shares or to withdraw your ordinary shares so that you can vote them yourself. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote, and there may be nothing you can do if the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you requested.

You may be subject to limitations on the transfer of your ADSs and the withdrawal of the underlying ordinary shares.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of your ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary think it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law, government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason, subject to your right to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares. Temporary delays in the cancellation of your ADSs and withdrawal of the underlying ordinary shares may arise because the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books, the transfer of ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting or we are paying a dividend on our ordinary shares.

In addition, you may not be able to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying ordinary shares when you owe money for fees, taxes and similar charges and when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of ordinary shares or other deposited securities. See “Description of American Depositary Shares—Your Right to Receive the Shares Underlying Your ADSs.”

We are an “emerging growth company” and are availing ourselves of reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, which could make the ADSs or the ordinary shares less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various 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 of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find the ADSs or the ordinary shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find the ADSs or the ordinary shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for the ADSs or the ordinary shares and the price of the ADSs or the ordinary shares may be more volatile. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest to occur of (1) the last day of the fiscal year in

 

 

 

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which we have more than $1.0 billion in annual revenue; (2) the date we qualify as a “large accelerated filer,” with at least $700 million of equity securities held by non-affiliates; (3) the issuance, in any three-year period, by our company of more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities held by non-affiliates; and (4) the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of our U.S. initial public offering. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these exemptions.

Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company” which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. We cannot predict if investors will find our ordinary shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our ordinary shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our ordinary shares and our share price may be more volatile.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of rules under the U.S. securities laws and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than a U.S. company. This may limit the information available to holders of ADSs or ordinary shares.

We are a “foreign private issuer,” as defined in the SEC’s rules and regulations and, consequently, we are not subject to all of the disclosure requirements applicable to public companies organized within the United States. For example, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act, that regulate disclosure obligations and procedural requirements related to the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations applicable to a security registered under the Exchange Act, including the U.S. proxy rules under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and related rules with respect to their purchases and sales of our securities. Moreover, while we currently make annual and semi-annual filings with respect to our listing on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, we will not be required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. domestic issuers and will not be required to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K under the Exchange Act. Accordingly, there will be less publicly available information concerning our company than there would be if we were not a foreign private issuer.

As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with corporate governance listing standards.

As a foreign private issuer listed on NASDAQ, we will be subject to corporate governance listing standards. However, rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in Belgium, which is our home country, may differ significantly from corporate governance listing standards. For example, neither the corporate laws of Belgium nor our articles of association require a majority of our directors to be independent and we could include non-independent directors as members of our nomination and remuneration committee, and our independent directors would not necessarily hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. Currently, we intend to follow home country practice to the maximum extent possible. Therefore, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would have under corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. See “Management.”

 

 

 

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We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional cost and expense.

While we currently qualify as a foreign private issuer, the determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last business day of an issuer’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter and, accordingly, the next determination will be made with respect to us on June 30, 2016. In the future, we would lose our foreign private issuer status if we to fail to meet the requirements necessary to maintain our foreign private issuer status as of the relevant determination date. For example, if more than 50% of our securities are held by U.S. residents and more than 50% of the members of our executive management team or members of our board of directors are residents or citizens of the United States, we could lose our foreign private issuer status.

The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws as a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly more than costs we incur as a foreign private issuer. If we are not a foreign private issuer, we will be required to file periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms with the SEC, which are more detailed and extensive in certain respects than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We would be required under current SEC rules to prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, rather than IFRS, and modify certain of our policies to comply with corporate governance practices associated with U.S. domestic issuers. Such conversion of our financial statements to U.S. GAAP will involve significant time and cost. In addition, we may lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements on U.S. stock exchanges that are available to foreign private issuers such as the ones described above and exemptions from procedural requirements related to the solicitation of proxies.

It may be difficult for investors outside Belgium to serve process on, or enforce foreign judgments against, us or our directors and senior management.

We are a Belgian public limited liability company. Less than a majority of the members of our board of directors and members of our executive management team are residents of the United States. All or a substantial portion of the assets of such non-resident persons and most of our assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process upon such persons or on us or to enforce against them or us a judgment obtained in U.S. courts. Original actions or actions for the enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts relating to the civil liability provisions of the federal or state securities laws of the United States are not directly enforceable in Belgium.

The United States and Belgium do not currently have a multilateral or bilateral treaty providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments, other than arbitral awards, in civil and commercial matters. In order for a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by U.S. courts based on civil liability to produce any effect on Belgian soil, it is accordingly required that this judgment be recognized or be declared enforceable by a Belgian court in accordance with Articles 22 to 25 of the 2004 Belgian Code of Private International Law. Recognition or enforcement does not imply a review of the merits of the case and is irrespective of any reciprocity requirement. A U.S. judgment will, however, not be recognized or declared enforceable in Belgium if it infringes upon one or more of the grounds for refusal that are exhaustively listed in Article 25 of the Belgian Code of Private International Law. Actions for the enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts might be successful only if the Belgian court confirms the substantive correctness of the judgment of the U.S. court and is satisfied that:

 

Ø   the effect of the enforcement judgment is not manifestly incompatible with Belgian public policy;

 

Ø   the judgment did not violate the rights of the defendant;

 

 

 

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Ø   the judgment was not rendered in a matter where the parties transferred rights subject to transfer restrictions with the sole purpose of avoiding the application of the law applicable according to Belgian international private law;

 

Ø   the judgment is not subject to further recourse under U.S. law;

 

Ø   the judgment is not compatible with a judgment rendered in Belgium or with a subsequent judgment rendered abroad that might be recognized in Belgium;

 

Ø   a claim was not filed outside Belgium after the same claim was filed in Belgium, while the claim filed in Belgium is still pending;

 

Ø   the Belgian courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the matter;

 

Ø   the U.S. court did not accept its jurisdiction solely on the basis of either the nationality of the plaintiff or the location of the disputed goods; and

 

Ø   the judgment submitted to the Belgian court is authentic.

In addition to recognition or enforcement, a judgment by a federal or state court in the United States against us may also serve as evidence in a similar action in a Belgian court if it meets the conditions required for the authenticity of judgments according to the law of the state where it was rendered. The findings of a federal or state court in the United States will not, however, be taken into account to the extent they appear incompatible with Belgian public policy.

After the completion of the global offering, we may be at an increased risk of securities class action litigation.

Historically, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies have experienced significant share price volatility in recent years. If we were to be sued, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

We were subject to an investigation by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority.

The FSMA opened an investigation against us on April 22, 2014. Such investigation was related to whether we had failed to timely disclose inside information to the market in relation to the IND clearance from the FDA for CHART-2 received on December 26, 2013 and reported on January 9, 2014. In April 2015, we notified the FSMA of our agreement to settle its investigation by paying the proposed settlement amount of €175,000. Although such settlement did not provide for any admission of guilt on our part, the fact that we have entered into a settlement with the FSMA could cause investors to have a negative perception of our governance structure, which would have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, any future allegations (based on facts and circumstances) that we failed to comply with applicable securities laws, whether or not true, may subject us to fines, claims and/or sanctions, which could impair our ability to offer our securities or restrict trading in our securities. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our securities and our business.

 

 

 

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Forward-looking statements

This prospectus, particularly the sections of this prospectus titled “Prospectus summary,” “Risk factors,” “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and “Business,” contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than present and historical facts and conditions contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial positions, business strategy, plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this prospectus, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “is designed to,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “objective,” “should,” or the negative of these and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

Ø   the initiation, timing, progress and results of our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, and our research and development programs;

 

Ø   our ability to advance drug product candidates into, and successfully commence and complete, clinical trials;

 

Ø   our reliance on the success of our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals;

 

Ø   our ability to develop sales and marketing capabilities;

 

Ø   the commercialization of our drug product candidates, if approved;

 

Ø   the pricing and reimbursement of our drug product candidates, if approved;

 

Ø   the implementation of our business model, strategic plans for our business, drug product candidates and technology;

 

Ø   the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our drug product candidates and technology;

 

Ø   our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights and proprietary technology of third parties;

 

Ø   cost associated with defending intellectual property infringement, product liability and other claims;

 

Ø   regulatory development in the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions;

 

Ø   estimates of our expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

 

Ø   the potential benefits of strategic collaboration agreements and our ability to enter into strategic arrangements;

 

Ø   our ability to maintain and establish collaborations or obtain additional grant funding;

 

Ø   the rate and degree of market acceptance of our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   developments relating to our competitors and our industry, including competing therapies;

 

Ø   our ability to effectively manage our anticipated growth;

 

Ø   our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel;

 

Ø   our ability to build our finance infrastructure, improve our accounting systems and controls and remedy the material weaknesses identified in our internal control over financial reporting;

 

Ø   our expectations regarding the period during which we qualify as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act;

 

 

 

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Ø   statements regarding future revenue, hiring plans, expenses, capital expenditures, capital requirements and share performance;

 

Ø   our expected use of proceeds of the global offering;

 

Ø   our expectations regarding our PFIC status;

 

Ø   the future trading price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares and impact of securities analysts’ reports on these prices; and

 

Ø   other risks and uncertainties, including those listed under the caption “Risk factors.”

You should refer to the section of this prospectus titled “Risk factors” for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame or at all. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

This prospectus contains market data and industry forecasts that were obtained from industry publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise.

 

 

 

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Currency exchange rates

The following table sets forth, for each period indicated, the low and high exchange rates for euros expressed in U.S. dollars, the exchange rate at the end of such period and the average of such exchange rates on the last day of each month during such period, based on the noon buying rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the euro. As used in this document, the term “noon buying rate” refers to the rate of exchange for the euro, expressed in U.S. dollars per euro, as certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for customs purposes. The exchange rates set forth below demonstrate trends in exchange rates, but the actual exchange rates used throughout this prospectus may vary.

 

      2010      2011      2012      2013      2014  

High

     1.4536         1.4875         1.3463         1.3816         1.3927   

Low

     1.1959         1.2926         1.2062         1.2774         1.2101   

Rate at end of period

     1.3269         1.2973         1.3186         1.3779         1.2101   

Average rate per period

     1.3262         1.3931         1.2859         1.3281         1.3297   

The following table sets forth, for each of the last six months, the low and high exchange rates for euros expressed in U.S. dollars and the exchange rate at the end of the month based on the noon buying rate as described above.

 

      November
2014
     December
2014
     January
2015
     February
2015
     March
2015
     April
2015
 

High

     1.2554         1.2504         1.2015         1.1462         1.1212         1.1174   

Low

     1.2394         1.2101         1.1279         1.1197         1.0524         1.0582   

Rate at end of period

     1.2438         1.2101         1.1290         1.1197         1.0741         1.1162   

On June 12, 2015, the noon buying rate of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the euro was €1.00 = $1.1278. Unless otherwise indicated, currency translations in this prospectus reflect the June 12, 2015 exchange rate.

Information presented on a constant currency basis in this prospectus is calculated by translating current year results at prior year average exchange rates. Management reviews and analyzes business results excluding the effect of foreign currency translation because they believe this better represents our underlying business trends.

 

 

 

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Market information

Our ordinary shares have been trading on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris under the symbol “CYAD” since July 5, 2013.

The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the reported high and low closing sale prices per ordinary share on Euronext Brussels in euros, as well as the average trading volume for our ordinary shares for such periods.

 

Period

   High      Low      Average trading
volume
 

Annual

        

2013 (beginning July 5, 2013)

     €32.80         €12.43         14,317   

2014

     €54.86         €24.67         20,056   

Quarterly

        

Third Quarter 2013 (beginning July 5, 2013)

     €21.45         €13.99         5,397   

Fourth Quarter 2013

     €26.30         €12.50         14,317   

First Quarter 2014

     €54.86         €24.67         40,944   

Second Quarter 2014

     €48.75         €32.00         13,308   

Third Quarter 2014

     €43.00         €34.00         17,260   

Fourth Quarter 2014

     €39.89         €28.01         8,916   

Month Ended

        

November 2014

     €35.96         €33.01         6,619   

December 2014

     €35.97         €28.01         8,093   

January 2015

     €44.00         €33.615         30,609   

February 2015

     €47.85         €39.50         43,436   

March 2015

     €47.59         €40.63         21,547   

April 2015

     €56.43         €43.545         61,014   

On June 12, 2015, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels was €62.94 per share.

 

 

 

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Use of proceeds

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from the global offering of approximately $89.5 (€79.4) million, assuming a public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs. If the underwriters exercise in full their options to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs in the global offering , we estimate that we will receive net proceeds from the global offering of approximately $103.4 (€91.7) million, assuming a public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

A $1.00 (€0.89) increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, would increase (decrease) our net proceeds from the global offering by $1.3 (€1.2) million, assuming the number of the ordinary shares and the ADSs offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting commissions. Each increase or decrease of 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from the sale of the ordinary shares and ADSs we are offering by $66.0 (€58.5) million, assuming that the assumed public offering price remains the same and after deducting underwriting commissions. Each increase of 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us together with a concomitant $1.00 (€0.89) increase in the assumed public offering price per ADS in the U.S. offering and €0.89 per ordinary share in the European private placement, would increase the net proceeds to us from the sale of ADSs and ordinary shares we are offering by $68.2 (€60.5) million, after deducting underwriting commissions. Each decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of ordinary shares and ADSs offered by us together with a concomitant $1.00 (€0.89) decrease in the assumed public offering price per ADS in the U.S. offering and €0.89 per ordinary share in the European private placement, would decrease the net proceeds to us from the sale of the ADSs and ordinary shares we are offering by $66.4 (€58.9) million, after deducting underwriting commissions. The actual net proceeds payable to us will adjust based on the actual number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us, the actual public offering price and other terms of the global offering determined at pricing.

The principal purposes of the global offering are to increase our financial flexibility, create a public market for our securities in the United States and facilitate our access to the public equity markets. We currently expect to use the net proceeds from the global offering as follows:

 

Ø   approximately $15.0 million to advance the development of C-Cure through Phase 3 clinical development as a treatment for ischemic HF;

 

Ø   approximately $5.0 million to advance the development of CAR-NKG2D through Phase 1 clinical development as a treatment for AML and MM;

 

Ø   approximately $40.0 million to advance additional CAR T-cell therapy drug product candidates for the treatment of additional blood cancers and solid tumors; and

 

Ø   approximately $5.0 million to support our growth globally by expanding general, administrative and operational functions in our headquarters in Belgium and in the United States.

 

 

 

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Use of proceeds

 

 

We expect to use the remainder of any net proceeds from the global offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to in-license, acquire or invest in complementary technologies, products or assets. However we have no current plan, commitments or obligations to do so.

Based on our current operation plans and assumptions, we believe that such proceeds, together with our existing cash, will be sufficient to fund our operations until at least the end of 2017. However, changing circumstances may cause us to increase our spending significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control. We may require additional capital for the further development and commercialization of our drug product candidates and may need to raise additional funds sooner if we choose to expand more rapidly than we presently anticipate. We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. We have no committed source of additional capital and if we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of our drug product candidates or other research and development initiatives. Our licenses may also be terminated if we are unable to meet the payment obligations under the agreements. We could be required to seek collaborators for our drug product candidates at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms our rights to our drug product candidates in markets where we otherwise would seek to pursue development or commercialization ourselves. Any these events could significantly harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations and cause the price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares to decline.

We currently have no specific plans as to how the net proceeds from the global offering will be allocated beyond the uses specified above and therefore management will retain discretion to allocate the remainder of the net proceeds of the global offering among these uses.

This expected use of the net proceeds from the global offering represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions. 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 the global offering or the amounts that we will actually spend on the uses set forth above. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures and the extent of clinical development may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including the progress of our development efforts, the status of and results from pre-clinical studies and any ongoing clinical trials or clinical trials we may commence in the future, as well as any collaborations that we may enter into with third parties for our drug product candidates and any unforeseen cash needs. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from the global offering.

Pending our use of the net proceeds from the global offering, we intend to invest the net proceeds in a variety of capital preservation investments, including short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments.

 

 

 

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Dividend policy

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our equity securities in the foreseeable future and intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business. All of the ordinary shares, including in the form of the ADSs, offered by this prospectus will have the same dividend rights as all of our other outstanding ordinary shares. In general, distributions of dividends proposed by our board of directors require the approval of our shareholders at a meeting of shareholders with a simple majority vote, although our board of directors may declare interim dividends without shareholder approval, subject to the terms and conditions of the Belgian Company Code. See ‘‘Description of share capital.’’

Pursuant to Belgian law, the calculation of amounts available for distribution to shareholders, as dividends or otherwise, must be determined on the basis of our non-consolidated statutory financial accounts prepared under Belgian GAAP, and not on the basis of IFRS consolidated accounts. In addition, under the Belgian Company Code, we may declare or pay dividends only if, following the declaration and issuance of the dividends, the amount of our net assets on the date of the closing of the last financial year according to our statutory annual accounts (i.e., the amount of the assets as shown in the balance sheet, decreased with provisions and liabilities, all as prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules), decreased with the non-amortized costs of incorporation and expansion and the non-amortized costs for research and development, does not fall below the amount of the paid-up capital (or, if higher, the called capital), increased with the amount of non-distributable reserves. Finally, prior to distributing dividends, we must allocate at least 5% of our annual net profits (under our non-consolidated statutory accounts prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules) to a legal reserve, until the reserve amounts to 10% of our share capital.

For information regarding the Belgian withholding tax applicable to dividends and related U.S. reimbursement procedures, see ‘‘Material income tax considerations—Belgian Tax Consequences.’’

 

 

 

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Capitalization

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of December 31, 2014 on:

 

Ø   an actual basis;

 

Ø   as adjusted to give effect to the acquisition of Oncyte in January 2015, or Oncyte acquisition;

 

Ø   as further adjusted for the private placement conducted in March 2015, or March private placement; and

 

Ø   as further adjusted basis to reflect: (1) our issuance and sale of 1,400,000 ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) in the global offering at an assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us; and (2) the application of our net proceeds of the global offering as described under the section of this prospectus titled “Use of proceeds.”

You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes beginning on page F-1, as well as the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and the other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

      As of December 31, 2014  
      Actual     As
Adjusted (1)
    As Further
Adjusted (2)
    As Further
Adjusted (3)
 

Cash and cash equivalents

     €27,633        €22,452        €54,197        €133,574   

Short term investments

     €2,671        €2,671        €2,671        €2,671   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Advances repayable

  €10,778      €10,778      €10,778      €10,778   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Share capital:

Ordinary shares, par value €3.50: 7,040,387 shares issued and outstanding, actual; shares issued and outstanding, as adjusted

  €24,615      €24,940      €27,437      €23,598   

Premiums related to the share capital

  €53,302      €56,428      €85,676      €168,892   

Other reserves

  €19,982      €19,982      €19,982      €19,982   

Retained earnings

  €(71,215   (71,215   €(71,215   €(71,215
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity attributable to our shareholders

  €26,684      €30,135      €61,880      €141,257   

Total capitalization

  €37,462      €40,913      €72,658      €154,706   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

(1)     As adjusted for the acquisition of Oncyte in January 2015.

 

(2)     As adjusted for the private placement conducted in March 2015.

 

(3)    

Each $1.00 (€0.89) increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, would increase or decrease each of as further adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $1.3 (€1.2) million, assuming that the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus,

 

 

 

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remains the same and after deducting underwriting commissions. We may also increase or decrease the number of ADSs and ordinary shares we are offering. Each increase or decrease of 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares, offered by us would increase or decrease each of as further adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $66.0 (€58.5) million, assuming that the assumed public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting commissions. Each increase of 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us together with a concomitant $1.00 (€0.89) increase in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, would increase each of as further adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $68.2 (€60.5) million, after deducting underwriting commissions. Each decrease of 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us together with a concomitant $1.00 (€0.89) decrease in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, would decrease each of as further adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total equity attributable to our shareholders and total capitalization by approximately $66.4 (€58.9) million, after deducting underwriting commissions. The as further adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will adjust based on the actual public offering price, the actual number of shares and ADSs offered by us, and other terms of the global offering determined at pricing.

The number of ordinary shares that will be outstanding after the global offering is based on the number of shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014, as adjusted for the OnCyte acquisition and March private placement and excludes:

 

Ø   296,930 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2014 pursuant to our warrant plans, at a weighted-average exercise price of €9.57 per share;

 

Ø   333 ordinary shares issued on February 7, 2015 upon exercise of warrants, and

 

Ø   500 ordinary shares issued on May 11, 2015 upon exercise of warrants.

 

 

 

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Dilution

If you invest in the ordinary shares or the ADSs, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per ADS/ordinary shares paid by purchasers of the ADSs or the ordinary shares and the as adjusted net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary shares after the global offering. Our net tangible book value as of December 31, 2014 was €16.4 ($18.5) million, or €2.33 ($2.63) per ADS/ordinary share. Net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary share is determined by dividing (1) our total assets less our intangible assets and our total liabilities by (2) the number of ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014, or 7,040,387 ordinary shares.

After giving effect to the issuance of 93,087 of our ordinary shares to Celdara as part of the upfront payment for the acquisition of OnCyte in January 2015, our as adjusted net tangible book deficit as of December 31, 2014 would have been € -25.0 ($-28.2) million, or €-3.51 ($-3.96) per ADS/ordinary share. After giving effect to the issuance of 713,380 of our ordinary shares in a private placement in March 2015, our as further adjusted net tangible book value as of December 31, 2014 would have been €6.7 ($7.6) million, or €0.86 ($0.96) per ADS/ordinary share.

After giving effect to our sale of 1,400,000 ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) at an assumed public offering price of €62.94 ($70.98) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, and after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as further adjusted net tangible book value as of December 31, 2014 would have been €86.1 ($97.1) million, or €9.31 ($10.50) per ADS/ordinary share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of €8.45 ($9.54) per ADS/ordinary share to our existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of €53.63 ($60.48) per ADS/ordinary share to new investors.

The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis:

 

Assumed public offering price per ADS/ordinary share

  €62.94   

Historical net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary share as of December 31, 2014

  €2.33   

Decrease in net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary share attributable to the adjustment transactions described in the preceding paragraphs

  €-1.48   

Increase in net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary share attributable to new investors participating in the global offering

  €8.45   
  

 

 

    

As further adjusted net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary share after the global offering

  €9.31   
     

 

 

 

Dilution per ADS/ordinary share to new investors participating in the global offering

  €53.63   
     

 

 

 

The dilution information discussed above is illustrative only and will change based on the actual public offering price and other terms of the global offering determined at pricing. Each $1.00 (€0.89) increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, would increase or decrease our as further adjusted net tangible book value by approximately €1.2 ($1.3) million, or approximately €0.12 ($0.14) per ADS/ordinary share, and the dilution to new investors participating in the global offering would be approximately €54.39 ($61.34) per ADS/ordinary share, assuming that the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered

 

 

 

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by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting underwriting commissions. We may also increase or decrease the number of ADSs and ordinary shares we are offering. An increase in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us by 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares would increase the as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately €58.5 ($66.0) million, or €5.71 ($6.44) per ADS/ordinary share, and the dilution to new investors participating in the global offering would be €48.83 ($55.07) per ADS/ordinary share, assuming that the assumed public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting commissions. Similarly, a decrease in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us by 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares would decrease the as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately €-58.5 ($-66.0) million, or €-7.10 ($-8.00) per ADS/ordinary share, and the dilution to new investors participating in the global offering would be €59.60 ($67.22) per ADS/ordinary share, assuming that the assumed public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting commissions. Each increase of 1,000,000 ADS and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us together with a concomitant $1.00 (€0.89) increase in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, would increase our as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately €60.5 ($68.2) million, or approximately €5.91 ($6.66) per ADS/ordinary share, and the dilution to new investors participating in the global offering would be approximately €49.52 ($55.85) per ADS/ordinary share, after deducting underwriting commissions. Each decrease of 1,000,000 ADSs and ordinary shares in the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us together with a concomitant $1.00 (€0.89) decrease in the assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, would decrease our as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately €-58.9 ($-66.4) million, or approximately €-7.14 ($-8.05) per ADS/ordinary share, and the dilution to new investors participating in the global offering would be approximately €58.75 ($66.26) per ADS/ordinary share, after deducting underwriting commissions. The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price, the number of ADSs and ordinary shares offered by us and other terms of the global offering determined at pricing.

If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs in full, the as adjusted net tangible book value per ADS/ordinary share after the global offering would be €10.40 ($11.73) per ADS/ordinary share, the increase in the as adjusted net tangible book value to existing shareholders would be €11.88 ($13.40) per ADS/ordinary share, and the dilution to new investors participating in the global offering would be €52.54 ($59.25) per ADS/ordinary share.

The following table sets forth as of December 31, 2014, as adjusted for the January 2015 Oncyte acquisition and the March 2015 private placement, consideration paid to us in cash for ordinary shares and ADSs purchased from us by our existing shareholders and by new investors participating in the global offering, based on an assumed public offering price of $70.98 (€62.94) per ADS in the U.S. offering and €62.94 per ordinary share in the European private placement,, the closing price of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels on June 12, 2015, and before deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us:

 

    Ordinary Shares/
ADSs Purchased from
Us
    Total Consideration     Average
Price per
Ordinary
Share/
ADS
 
     Number    Percent     Amount      Percent    

Existing shareholders

  7,846,854      84.9     €113,113,109         56.2     €14.42   

New investors

  1,400,000      15.1        88,116,000         43.8        62.94   
 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

9,246,854   100.0   €201,229,109      100.0   €21.76   
 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In addition, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs in full, the number of ordinary shares held by the existing shareholders after the global offering would be reduced to 83.0% of the total number of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) outstanding after the global offering, and the number of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) held by new investors participating in the global offering would increase to 1,610,000, or 17.0% of the total number of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) outstanding after the global offering.

The tables and calculations above are based on the number of ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014, as adjusted for the Oncyte acquisition and March private placement and excludes:

 

Ø   296,930 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2014 pursuant to our warrant plans, at a weighted-average exercise price of €9.57 per share;

 

Ø   333 ordinary shares issued on February 7, 2015 upon exercise of warrants, and

 

Ø   500 ordinary shares issued on May 11,2015 upon exercise of warrants.

 

 

 

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Selected historical consolidated financial data

You should read the following selected historical consolidated financial data in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes beginning on page F-1 and the sections of this prospectus titled “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and “Currency exchange rates.” We derived the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss data for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and consolidated statement of financial position data as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 from our audited consolidated financial statements beginning on page F-1. Our audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS, as issued by the IASB. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future.

The restatement of our previously issued consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 relates to errors in our accounting for convertible debentures and certain share-based payments. For additional information regarding the restatement, see Note 2.36 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

(€’000)

   For the year ended December 31,  
             2014                     2013          
    

 

    (as restated)  

Consolidated statement of comprehensive loss

  

Revenue

     146        —     

Cost of sales

     (115     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross Profit

  31      —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Research and development expenses

  (15,865   (9,046

General and administrative

  (5,016   (3,972

Other operating income

  4,413      64   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating loss

  (16,437   (12,954

Financial income

  277      60   

Financial expenses

  (41   (1,595

Share of loss of investments accounted for using the equity method

  (252   —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year

  (16,453   (14,489
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per shares (1)

  (2.44   (3.53
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Number of shares used for computing basic and diluted loss for the year (2)

  6,750,383      4,099,216   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)     Basic and diluted net loss per share are the same in these periods because outstanding warrants would be anti-dilutive due to our net loss in these periods.
(2)     Weighted-average number of shares for the period then ended.

 

 

 

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Selected historical consolidated financial data

 

 

 

( ’000)

   For the year ended December 31,  
             2014                     2013          
    

 

    (as restated)  

Consolidated statement of financial position

    

Intangible assets

     10,266        9,400   

Short term investment

     2,671        3,000   

Cash and cash equivalents

     27,633        19,058   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

  43,976      32,386   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Share capital and share premium

  77,917      52,612   

Other reserves

  19,982      18,894   

Retained loss

  (71,215   (54,608
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

  26,684      16,898   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-current advances repayable

  10,778      12,072   

Total current liabilities

  6,053      3,389   

Total liabilities

  17,292      15,488   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity and liabilities

  43,976      32,386   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this prospectus, particularly under the “Risk factors” and “Forward-looking statements” sections.

All amounts included herein with respect to the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 are prepared pursuant to International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB. As permitted by the rules of the SEC for foreign private issuers, we do not reconcile our financial statements to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Overview

We are a leader in engineered cell therapy treatments with clinical programs initially targeting indications in cardiovascular disease and oncology. Our lead drug product candidate in cardiovascular disease is C-Cure, an autologous cell therapy for the treatment of patients with ischemic heart failure, or HF. We completed enrollment in our first Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure in Europe and Israel, or CHART-1, in March 2015. On March 30, 2015, we announced that the Data Safety Monitoring Board, or DSMB, reviewed unblinded safety and efficacy data from CHART-1 and determined that such unblinded safety and efficacy data did not support the discontinuation of the trial on the basis of safety or futility. These observations suggested that the trial should be continued in its current form. The full data readout from this trial is expected in the middle of 2016. We anticipate initiating our second Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure in the United States and Europe, or CHART-2, pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, lifting of the existing clinical hold, which we expect in the second half of 2015. Our lead drug product candidate in oncology is CAR-NKG2D, an autologous chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, an artificial, lab engineered receptor, which is used to graft a given protein onto an immune cell, T lymphocyte, or CAR T-cell, therapy. We are currently enrolling patients with refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, or multiple myeloma, or MM, in a Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D in the United States. The first patient was treated in this trial in April 2015 and no treatment-related safety concerns were reported during the 30-day follow-up period. Interim data from this trial is expected to be reported at various times during the trial, with the full data readout expected in the middle of 2016.

All of our current drug product candidates are autologous cell therapy treatments. In autologous procedures, a patient’s cells are harvested, selected, reprogrammed and expanded, and then infused back into the same patient. A benefit of autologous therapies is that autologous cells are not recognized as foreign by patients’ immune systems. We believe that we are well situated to effectively advance autologous cell therapy treatments for cancer and other indications as a result of the expertise and know-how that we have acquired through our development of C-Cure. We also believe that there are numerous operational synergies between our product platforms, including that, prior to commercialization, our existing pilot manufacturing plant can accommodate both of our cell therapy programs without significant capital expenditure.

On November 5, 2014, we acquired CorQuest Medical, Inc., a private U.S. company, or CorQuest, for a single cash payment of €1.5 million and a potential earn-out payment to the sellers if the intellectual

 

 

 

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property acquired from CorQuest is sold, in whole or in part, to a third party within ten years of November 5, 2014. The earn-out payment shall be 2.0% of the value of the cash and non-cash consideration from such sale, or Net Revenue, if the Net Revenue is €10.0 million or less, and 4.0% of the Net Revenue, if the Net Revenue is greater than €10.0 million.

On January 21, 2015, we purchased OnCyte, LLC, or OnCyte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celdara Medical, LLC, a privately-held U.S. biotechnology company for an upfront payment of $10.0 million, of which, $6.0 million was paid in cash and $4.0 million was paid in the form of 93,087 of our ordinary shares. Additional contingent payments with an estimated fair value of $42.0 million are payable upon the attainment of various clinical and sales milestones. As a result of this transaction we acquired our CAR T-cell drug product candidates and related technology, including technology licensed from the Trustees of Dartmouth College.

As of December 31, 2014, we have been funded through the following transactions:

 

Ø   proceeds of €42.0 million from private financing rounds;

 

Ø   proceeds of €26.5 million from an initial public offering of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, or the Euronext IPO;

 

Ø   proceeds of €25.0 million from a private financing by Medisun International Limited, or Medisun; and

 

Ø   proceeds of €18.7 million from non-dilutive financing sources, such as government grants and recoverable cash advances, or RCAs.

As of December 31, 2014, we had cash and cash equivalents of €27.6 million and short term investments of €2.7 million. In March 2015, we completed a €31.7 million private placement of 713,380 ordinary shares to institutional investors in the United States, bringing our total cash and cash equivalents after this financing as of March 31, 2015, to €46.6 million.

We have incurred net losses in each year since our inception. Substantially all of our net losses have resulted from costs incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general and administration expenses associated with our operations. For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, we incurred a loss for the year of €16.5 million and €14.5 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2014, we had a retained loss of €71.2 million. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, as we:

 

Ø   continue the development of our drug product candidates, including planned and future clinical trials;

 

Ø   conduct additional research and development for drug product candidate discovery and development;

 

Ø   seek regulatory approvals for our drug product candidates;

 

Ø   prepare for the potential launch and commercialization of our drug product candidates, if approved;

 

Ø   establish a sales and marketing infrastructure for the commercialization of our drug product candidates, if approved;

 

Ø   in-license or acquire additional drug product candidates or technologies;

 

Ø   build-out additional manufacturing capabilities; and

 

Ø   hire additional personnel, including personnel to support our drug product development and commercialization efforts and operations as a U.S. public company.

 

 

 

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We generate limited revenue from sales of C-Cath ez, our proprietary catheter for injecting cells into the heart. We believe that C-Cath ez revenue will remain immaterial in the future as we intend to sell C-Cath ez to research laboratories and clinical-stage companies only.

We do not expect to generate material revenue from drug product sales unless and until we successfully complete development of, and obtain marketing approval for, one or more of our drug product candidates, which we expect will take a number of years and is subject to significant uncertainty. Accordingly, we anticipate that we will need to raise additional capital, in addition to the net proceeds from the global offering, prior to commercialization of C-Cure. Until such time that we can generate substantial revenue from drug product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operating activities through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, government or other third-party funding, including government grants and RCAs, and collaborations and licensing arrangements. However, we may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such arrangements when needed on favorable terms, or at all, which would have a negative impact on our financial condition and could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our development programs or commercialization efforts or grant to others rights to develop or market drug product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. Failure to receive additional funding could cause us to cease operations, in part or in full.

Financial Operations Overview

The successful development of research programs and drug product candidates is uncertain and we expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future as we develop C-Cure and our other drug product candidates. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate the precise timing or detailed costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the remainder of the development of our drug product candidates and their research and development programs. We are also unable to predict when material cash inflows will commence from sales of C-Cure or any of our other drug product candidates.

Set forth below is a discussion of factors that we believe will materially impact our results of operations in future periods.

Revenue

For the periods presented in this prospectus, the only revenue we generated was for third-party sales of C-Cath ez in 2014 that are immaterial in comparison to our operating expenses. We expect revenue from C-Cath ez sales to remain immaterial compared to our operating expenses for the foreseeable future.

Cost of Sales

For the periods presented in this prospectus, costs of sales are related to the cost of manufacturing C-Cath ez .

We expect the costs of sales related to sales of C-Cath ez will remain immaterial compared to our operating expenses for the foreseeable future.

Recoverable cash advances

RCAs support specific development programs and are typically granted by regional governmental entities, and in our case, the Walloon Region. RCA contracts consist of three phases: the research phase, the decision phase and the exploitation phase. During the research phase, we receive funds from the Walloon Region based on statements of expenses.

RCAs are recognized as “Other operating income” on a systematic basis over the periods in which we recognize the costs compensated by the RCAs as expenses.

 

 

 

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At the end of the research phase, we generally decide within a period of six months whether or not to exploit the results of the research phase; this phase is known as the decision phase. If we elect to exploit the results achieved under a RCA, we enter the exploitation phase, which may have a duration of up to ten years. If we elect to exploit the results under an RCA, the relevant RCA becomes contingently refundable, and we recognize a liability when it is probable that all or a portion of the RCA will be refunded and the amount to be refunded is estimable. The provision of the liability for amounts to be refunded under our RCA programs are recognized as a reduction of other operating income in the income statement.

In 2015, we will be required to make exploitation decisions on our remaining outstanding RCAs. As a result, we may potentially recognize an additional undiscounted liability of €2.5 million. This amount is based on the amount effectively perceived by us as of December, 31 2014.

When we decide not to exploit, or cease to exploit, the results under an RCA, we notify the Walloon Region of our decision. The RCA related to such decision will no longer be refundable as of the calendar year following such decision, and the research data and intellectual property rights related to such results are transferred to the Walloon Region. Also, when we decide to renounce our rights to patents which may result from the research, title to such patents are transferred to the Walloon Region.

When we decide to discontinue the development program for which a financial liability has been accounted for, or decide not to exploit, or cease to exploit, the results of a program previously recognized as a financial liability, the outstanding liability is derecognized at the end of the period and credited to the income statement as other operating income.

We are now in the exploitation phase with of RCAs paid related to C-Cath ez and C-Cure. As of December 31, 2014, the total cumulative reimbursements associated with the RCAs related to C-Cath ez and C-Cure amounted to €0.5 million.

Other government grants

Since inception through December 31, 2014, we received grants totaling €1.7 million and we expect to continue to apply for grants from FP7 and Walloon Region authorities. These grants are used to partially finance early stage projects such as fundamental research, applied research and prototype design.

As of the date of this prospectus, none of the grants received are subject to any conditions. As per our agreements with these governmental authorities, grants are paid upon our submission of a statement of expenses. We incur project expenses first and ask for partial reimbursement according to the terms of the agreements.

The government grants are recognized in profit or loss on a systematic basis over the periods in which we recognize as expenses the related costs for which the grants are intended to compensate.

Research and development expenses

The following expenses are aggregated and presented under the caption “Research and development expenses”:

 

Ø   Manufacturing expenses;

 

Ø   Clinical, quality and regulatory expenses; and

 

Ø   Other research and development expenses.

 

 

 

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Manufacturing expenses

Manufacturing expenses represented 25% and 19% of our total operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. For the periods presented in this prospectus, manufacturing expenses only included the costs to manufacture C-Cure, but will include the cost of manufacturing our other clinical-stage drug product candidates in the future. These costs are mainly comprised of the salaries of the manufacturing team, production raw material and supplies, maintenance and calibration charges of equipment and the rental of Good Manufacturing Practices laboratory facilities. Raw materials are the main component to the current cost of production of C-Cure and will remain as such in the future as they are closely associated to the production of clinical batches. Most of our raw material suppliers are large companies, and pursuant to our internal procedures, we are trying to have an alternative supplier for each critical material, to limit risk of disruption and price sensitivity. The second largest caption in manufacturing expenses is the salaries of our production team. We expect salaries will increase in 2015 and plateau thereafter. We lease our production facility from Biological Manufacturing Services SA. Manufacturing expenses are mostly driven by the number and the size of clinical trials that we conduct on our drug product candidates. We expect these expenses will remain significant in the near future and will increase as our clinical trials include a greater number of patients and we potentially commence commercialization of our drug product candidates, if approved.

Clinical, quality and regulatory expenses

Our clinical, quality and regulatory expenses relate to our C-Cure clinical trial activities and represented 37% and 34% of our total operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Our clinical, quality and regulatory expenses include employee expenses, costs of setting up quality procedures, as well as the preparation and supervision of our clinical trials. These expenses also include the costs of maintaining and overseeing our intellectual property portfolio, such as the costs of intellectual property legal counsel and associated filing and maintenance fees. We expect that these expenses will increase in the near future given the expected clinical trial activities associated with our drug product candidates, including our CAR T-cell drug product candidates.

All clinical, quality and regulatory costs related to our C-Cure clinical program incurred to date have been expensed as incurred, and we have not capitalized any such costs. We may review this policy in the future depending on the outcome of our current development programs.

We cannot determine with certainty the duration and completion costs of our current or future clinical trials of our drug product candidates or if, when, or to what extent we will generate revenue from the commercialization and sale of any of our drug product candidates that obtain regulatory approval. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for any of our drug product candidates. The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of our drug product candidates will depend on a variety of factors, including:

 

Ø   per patient clinical trial costs;

 

Ø   the number of patients that participate in clinical trials;

 

Ø   the drop-out or discontinuation rates of patients;

 

Ø   the duration of patient follow-up;

 

Ø   the scope, rate of progress and expense of our ongoing as well as any additional non-clinical studies, clinical trials and other research and development activities;

 

 

 

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Ø   clinical trial and early-stage results;

 

Ø   the terms and timing of regulatory approvals;

 

Ø   the expense of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights; and

 

Ø   the ability to market, commercialize and achieve market acceptance of C-Cure or any of our other product candidates.

A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of C-Cure or any other drug product candidate that we are developing could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of C-Cure or such other drug product candidate. For example, if FDA, European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or other regulatory authority were to require us to conduct additional pre-clinical studies and clinical trials beyond those which we currently anticipate will be required for the completion of clinical development of our drug product candidates, or if we experience significant delays in enrollment in any clinical trials, we would be required to spend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of the clinical development of the applicable drug product candidate.

Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials.

We have not received regulatory approval from the FDA, EMA or any other regulatory authority to market any of our drug product candidates. The successful development of our drug product candidates is highly uncertain. Our drug product candidates are tested in numerous pre-clinical studies for safety, pharmacology and efficacy. We then conduct clinical trials for those drug product candidates that are determined to be the most promising. We fund these trials ourselves or through non-dilutive funding. As we obtain results from clinical trials, we may elect to discontinue or delay trials for some drug product candidates in order to focus resources on drug product candidates that we believe are more promising. Completion of clinical trials may take several years or more, and the length of time generally varies substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of a drug product candidate. The cost of clinical trials for a particular drug product candidate may vary significantly.

At this time we cannot reasonably estimate the time and costs necessary to complete the development of any of our drug product candidates or the period, if any, in which we will generate drug product revenue. There are numerous risks and uncertainties associated with drug product development, including:

 

Ø   terms and timing of regulatory approvals and authorizations; and

 

Ø   the number, the design and the size of the clinical trials required by the regulatory authorities to seek marketing approval.

Other research and development expenses

Other research and development expenses represented 14% and 17% of our total operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Other research and development expenses reflect costs incurred for our research and development projects related to our pre-clinical drug product candidates. These expenses include the salaries of scientists and technicians, our laboratory supplies, depreciation of our license with the Mayo Foundation

 

 

 

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for Medical Education and Research, or Mayo License, and the costs of our outsourced research and development studies and services. With the exception of the Mayo License, which has been capitalized and amortized over 20 years, and C-Cath ez development costs capitalized since May 2012, we expense all research and development costs as they are incurred. The €0.9 million development costs of C-Cath ez have been capitalized since May 1, 2012, the month following our receipt of the CE mark for C-Cath ez .

We utilize our research and development staff and infrastructure resources across projects in our programs and many of our costs historically have not been specifically attributable to a single project. Accordingly, we cannot state precisely our total costs incurred on a project-by-project basis. In addition, our research and development expense may vary substantially from period to period based on the timing and scope of our research and development activities, the timing of regulatory approvals or authorizations and the rate of commencement and enrollment of patients in clinical trials.

Other research and development activities are central to our business. We expect that our other research and development expenses will continue to grow in the future with our development of drug product candidates from our cardiovascular disease program and our CAR T-cell program.

The expected increase in research and development expenditures will mostly relate to higher personnel costs, outsourcing costs and additional in house pre-clinical studies.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses represented 24% and 31% of our total operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Our general and administrative expenses consist of salaries and other share-based compensation costs not related to research and development activities for personnel in executive, finance, accounting and communication functions. It also includes costs related to professional fees for auditors and lawyers and consulting fees not related to research and development operations and fees related to functions that are outsourced by us such as information technology, or IT. General and administrative expenses are expected to increase in the near future with the expansion of our executive management team to include new personnel responsible for legal, IT, sales and marketing, as well as with the additional responsibilities related to becoming a U.S. public company.

Other operating income

During the periods presented in this prospectus, our other operating income is primarily generated from (i) government grants received from the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Program, or FP7, and (ii) government grants received from the Regional government, or Walloon Region, in the form of RCAs.

From inception through December 31, 2014, we have received subsidies totaling €1.7 million and RCAs totaling €17.0 million. In the future, we expect to generate income from a combination of subsidies, RCAs, products sales and upfront fees, research and development support, milestone payments from potential collaborations and royalties from the licensing of intellectual property. We expect that future income will continue to fluctuate from period to period as a result of the timing of future regional funding, the terms and timing of potential collaboration agreements and, to the extent that any drug products are approved and successfully commercialized, the volume and timing of drug product sales.

 

 

 

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Finance Income

Finance income relates to interest income earned on bank accounts and from currency exchange rate differences. Our cash and cash equivalents have been deposited primarily in savings and deposit accounts with original maturities of three months or less. Savings and deposit accounts generate a modest amount of interest income. We expect to continue this investment philosophy.

Finance Expenses

Finance expenses relate to interest payable on shareholder loans and finance leases, as well as interest on overdrafts and current exchange rate differences.

Restatement of 2013 Financial Statements

Our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013 were restated to reflect errors in the IFRS recognition and measurement of shareholders convertible loans and share-based payments. The restatement of the shareholders convertible loans is a result of classifying such loans as financial debt, instead of equity, previously called ‘quasi equity’, as originally posted in our 2013 financial statements. We decided that the shareholders convertible loans should have been accounted for as a financial debt, because the loans were convertible into a variable number of shares. The restatement of the share-based payment is a result of recognizing the fair value of the warrants issued under our May 2013 warrants plan based on the initial public offering price of our ordinary shares in the Euronext IPO. For further details on these adjustments, see Note 2.36 of our consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated financial data

The following is a summary of our consolidated financial data.

Revenue

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014         

    2013    

(as restated)

 

C-Cath ez Sales

     146         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Revenue

  146      —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

In the year ended December 31, 2014, the total revenue generated through sales of C-Cath ez was € 0.1 million. No revenue was generated from sales of C-Cath ez in 2013.

Cost of Sales

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014        

    2013    

(as restated)

 

C-Cath ez Cost of Sales

     (115     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Cost of Sales

  (115   —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

In 2014, the total cost of sales associated with sales of C-Cath ez amounted to €0.1 million. There were no costs of sales in 2013 as there were no sales of C-Cath ez .

Research and development expenses

The following is a summary of manufacturing expenses, clinical, quality and regulatory expenses and other research and development expenses, which are aggregated and presented as research and development expenses in our consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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Manufacturing expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
         2014              2013      
              (as restated)  

Employee expenses

     1,501         842   

Contractor fees

     402         76   

Pilot Plan consulting fees

     348         289   

Raw materials

     2,060         988   

Rent & utilities

     234         133   

Other manufacturing costs

     591         87   

Total manufacturing expenses

     5,136         2,415   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Manufacturing expenses increased by €2.7 million in 2014 as compared to 2013. In 2014, manufacturing expenses were primarily related to the production of clinical lots of C-Cure for CHART-1, which was initiated in 2013. The first clinical lots were produced in the middle of 2013 with a slow ramp-up over the second part of 2013, whereas in 2014, all our production resources were used at full capacity.

The employee expenses increase year over year is a result of the hiring of 13 additional employees in 2014 due to higher production needs.

Increase of production associated with the ramp-up of CHART-1 also explained the increase of €1.1 million of raw materials cost year over year. This increase is mostly related to the volume of raw materials consumed during CHART-1 as purchase prices remained stable throughout 2014.

The contractor fees are comprised primarily of the supply of C-Cath ez , manufactured by Creganna. The increase in such fees in 2014 compared to 2013 is due to the number of catheters used in CHART-1.

Clinical, quality and regulatory expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
         2014              2013      
              (as restated)  

Employee expenses

     1,780         1,460   

Study cost

     4,924         2,169   

IP filing & maintenance fees

     351         360   

Travel & living

     249         180   

Consulting fees

     436         269   

Other costs

     12         34   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total clinical, quality and regulatory expenses

  7,752      4,472   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

All clinical, quality and regulatory expenses for the periods presented relate to CHART-1. The €3.3 million increase in these expenses in 2014 as compared to 2013 is primarily related to the initiation of CHART-1 in the middle of 2013, resulting in only six months of trial expenses in 2013, as compared to 12 months of trial expenses in 2014. Trial costs are mainly driven by the costs of clinical vendors and investigators associated with clinical trial management. Trial management costs increased year over year due to the higher number of patients enrolled in CHART-1 in 2014.

The employee expenses increase between 2013 and 2014 is due to an increase in the number of employees in our clinical and quality teams.

 

 

 

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The increased number of patients in CHART-1 also explained the increase in consulting fees. Such fees are mainly comprised of fees paid to regulatory affairs and quality assurance consultants, and the outsourced quality control testing performed on incoming materials and in process-controls.

Clinical, quality and regulatory expenses are expected to grow in the near future with the initiation of CHART-2 and our Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D.

Other research and development expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
         2014             2013      
             (as restated)  

Employee expenses

     954        898   

Mayo research project

     751        4   

Pre-clinical studies

     273        275   

Delivery systems

     51        459   

Other costs

     121        67   

R&D consultant fees

     13        29   

Capitalization C-Cath ez development costs

     (50     (459

Subtotal

     2,113        1,273   

Depreciation and amortization

     864        886   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other research and development expenses

  2,977      2,159   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

For 2014 and 2013, our other research and development expenses reflect costs incurred for research and development projects related to C-Cure, including the salaries of scientists and technicians, our laboratory supplies, depreciation of the Mayo License and the costs of the outsourced research and development services.

In 2014, pre-clinical research and development expenses increased by €0.8 million as compared to 2013 primarily related to direct research that we funded at the Mayo Clinic for €0.7 million. Under the Mayo License, we participate in a three year direct research program. Payments are triggered by initiation of research programs agreed upon by us and Mayo Clinic. This ongoing research was limited in 2013 and was reactivated in 2014.

As a result of our acquisition of Oncyte and CAR T-cell technology, pre-clinical research and development expenses are expected to increase significantly in future periods.

General and Administrative

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014         

2013

(as restated)

 

Employee expenses

     1,408         910   

Share-based payment

     1,528         1,258   

Rent

     315         323   

Communication & Marketing

     394         206   

Consulting fees

     741         975   

Travel & Living

     399         147   

Post employment benefits

     28         —     

Other

     203         153   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total General and administration

  5,016      3,972   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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General and administrative expenses increased by €1.0 million in 2014 as compared in 2013 primarily related to our recruitment of additional employees to strengthen our executive management team and other support functions such as finance, accounting and investor relations. In addition, there was an increase in our share-based payments in 2014 as compared to 2013, as a result of warrants granted to new employees, members of our executive management team and directors under our May 2014 warrant plan.

Consulting fees are composed of legal, audit, human resources and other fees. The decrease in consulting fees in 2014 as compared to 2013 is due to fees related to the Euronext IPO in 2013.

Other operating income

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014         

    2013    

(as restated)

 

Recoverable cash advances (RCA)

     2,791         955   

Subsidies

     636         129   

Recognition of provision for reimbursement RCA

     —           (1,020

Reversal of provision for reimbursement RCA

     507         —     

Realized gain on contribution of IP into joint venture

     312         —     

Other movements

     167         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Other Operating Income

  4,413      64   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other operating income increased by €4.3 million in 2014 as compared to 2013.

The increase in other operating income in 2014 compared to 2013 is mainly due to the receipt of funds from RCA contracts and subsidies. We received funding and notification of funding from RCAs amounting to €2.8 million in 2014, mainly related to RCAs for the use of C-Cath ez as an investigational device in the United States and additional pre-clinical studies of C-Cure, compared to €1.0 million in 2013. We also received subsidies and grants from the Walloon Region for a total of €0.6 million in 2014 compared to €0.1 million in 2013. Such subsidies and grants support our research and development projects.

During the year ended December 31, 2014, we abandoned one RCA program previously recognized as a liability, resulting in a reversal of a provision of €0.5 million.

In 2013, we elected to exploit an RCA, triggering the recognition of a €1.0 million liability.

In 2014, we recorded another liability for €0.2 million reflecting amounts to reimburse the Walloon Region under grant contract 6305, corresponding to the amount received but not expensed by us at the time of entry into the grant agreement.

We expect to receive the remainder of the existing cash advance agreements outstanding as of December, 31, 2014, of approximately €1.7 million in 2015 and 2016. We also plan to submit further applications for additional Walloon Region non-dilutive funding in 2015 and thereafter to partially finance new research and development programs.

In 2015, we will decide whether to exploit one of our RCAs, triggering a potential recognition of an additional liability of €2.5 million.

 

 

 

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Operating loss

As a result of the foregoing, our operating loss increased by €3.5 million in 2014 as compared to 2013, totaling €16.4 million in 2014.

Financial income and Financial expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
      2014     

2013

(as restated)

 

Interest shareholders convertibles loans

     —           401   

Interest finance leases

     6         6   

Interest on overdrafts and other finance costs

     16         19   

Fair value convertible loans

     —           1,158   

Exchange differences

     19         11   

Finance expenses

     41         1,595   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Interest income bank account

  277      47   

Exchange differences

  —        12   

Other

  —        1   

Finance income

  277      60   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial expenses represent interest paid, bank charges and the fair value of convertible loans. Most of the financial expenses in 2013 related to shareholder convertible loans. An expense of €1.2 million was posted on such loans to reflect their fair value at the time of their conversion in May 2013.

Interest income on short term deposits increased significantly from 2013 to 2014, reflecting the increase of our average cash position over the periods, primarily resulting from the Euronext IPO.

Income tax expense

As we incurred losses in all of the relevant periods, we had no taxable income and therefore incurred no corporate taxes.

Loss for the year

As a result of the foregoing, our loss for the year increased by €2.0 million from €14.5 million in 2013 to €16.5 million in 2014.

Operating Capital Requirements

We believe that the net proceeds of the global offering, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, and short term investments will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, based on the current scope of our activities, until at least the end of 2017. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we currently expect. In any event, we will require additional capital to pursue pre-clinical and clinical activities, obtain regulatory approval for, and to commercialize our drug product candidates.

Until we can generate a sufficient amount of revenue from our drug product candidates, if ever, we expect to finance our operating activities through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, government, including RCAs and subsidies, or other third-party financings and collaborations. Additional capital may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all. If we are unable to raise additional

 

 

 

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capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of one or more of our drug product candidates. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of additional debt or equity securities, it could result in dilution to our existing shareholders, increased fixed payment obligations and these securities may have rights senior to those of our ordinary shares. If we incur indebtedness, we could become subject to covenants that would restrict our operations and potentially impair our competitiveness, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any of these events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

Our present and future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, among other things:

 

Ø   the size, progress, timing and completion of our clinical trials for any current or future drug product candidates, including C-Cure and CAR-NKG2D;

 

Ø   the number of potential new drug product candidates we identify and decide to develop;

 

Ø   the costs involved in filing patent applications, maintaining and enforcing patents or defending against claims or infringements raised by third parties;

 

Ø   the time and costs involved in obtaining regulatory approval for drug products and any delays we may encounter as a result of evolving regulatory requirements or adverse results with respect to any of these drug products;

 

Ø   selling and marketing activities undertaken in connection with the anticipated commercialization of C-Cure and any other current or future drug product candidates and costs involved in the creation of a sales and marketing organization; and

 

Ø   the amount of revenue, if any, we may derive either directly or in the form of royalty payments from future potential partnership agreements on our technology platforms.

For more information as to the risks associated with our future funding needs, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk factors.”

Liquidity and capital resources

Our liquidity requirements primarily relate to the funding of manufacturing expenses, clinical quality and regulatory expenses, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses, capital expenditures, repayments of finance leases and working capital requirements.

We monitor our risk to a shortage of funds using a recurring liquidity planning tool. Our objective is to maintain a balance between continuity of funding and flexibility through the use of bank deposits and finance leases.

Since May 2012, we have expensed all our clinical and research and development costs with the exception of the development costs for C-Cath ez, which were capitalized following our receipt of the CE mark for C-Cath ez, .

As of December 2014, we have funded our operations through several private investments for a total of €42.0 million, the Euronext IPO which resulted in proceeds of €26.5 million, and a private placement of €25.0 million conducted in June 2014. We also received non-dilutive funding from governmental bodies and received cash proceeds from subsidies and RCAs totaling €18.7 million.

 

 

 

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As of December 31, 2014, we had cash and cash equivalents of €27.6 million and short term investments of €2.7 million. Our cash and cash equivalents have been deposited primarily in savings and deposit accounts that have original maturities of three months or less and generate only minimal interest income.

On January 21, 2015, we purchased of OnCyte, for an upfront payment of $10.0 million, of which $6.0 million was paid in cash and $4.0 million was paid in the form of 93,087 our ordinary shares. Additional contingent payments with an estimated fair value of $42.0 million are payable upon the attainment of various clinical and sales milestones.

We are exposed to liabilities and contingent liabilities as a result of the RCAs we have received from the Walloon Region. Out of the RCAs contracted as of December 31, 2014, €17.0 million has been effectively paid out.

In 2015 and 2016, we will have to make an exploitation decision on the remaining RCAs with a potential recognition of an additional liability of €3.5 million based on the advances effectively paid out as of December 31, 2014.

Please see our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for an analysis of our non-derivative financial liabilities into relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period at the balance sheet date to the contractual maturity date. The amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash flows.

The following table sets forth our consolidated cash flows information for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

 

( ’000)    Year ended December 31,  
         2014             2013      
             (as restated)  

Net cash used in operations

     (17,414     (10,638

Net cash used in investing activities

     (1,768     (3,532

Net cash from financing activities

     27,757        31,583   

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     8,575        17,413   

 

 

Cash flow from operating activities represented at year end 2014 a net cash outflow of €17.4 million. Compared to the period ended December 31, 2013, the net cash outflow from operating activities increased by €6.8 million. This increase primarily resulted from the initiation of CHART-1 in the middle of 2013, which significantly increased our expenditures for our manufacturing and clinical operations by €2.7 million and €3.3 million, respectively.

Cash flow from investing activities represented a net cash outflow amounting to €1.8 million in 2014 mainly due to the acquisition of CorQuest for a cash payment of €1.5 million. In 2013, most of the cash outflow from investing activities resulted from a €3.0 million investment in a three-year short term deposit account.

Cash flow from financing activities represented a net cash inflow of €27.8 million in 2014 compared to €31.6 million in 2013. In 2014, the proceeds we received from our issuance of our shares were less than in 2013, €25.3 million compared to €30.6 million, respectively, whereas the proceeds received from RCAs and subsidies from the Walloon Region increased in 2014 compared to 2013, €2.4 million compared to €1.1 million, respectively.

 

 

 

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Cash and Funding Sources

During 2013 and 2014, we obtained new financing mostly through the issuance of our shares. A summary of our financing activities during 2014 and 2013 is as follows:

 

( ’000)    Total      Equity capital      Finance leases      Other debt  

2013

     31,643         30,623         —           1,020   

2014

     25,749         25,305         444         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Financing

  57,392      55,928      444      1,020   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

In March 2015, we completed a €31.7 million capital increase via a private placement subscribed by qualified institutional investors in the United States and Europe at a price of €44.50 per share. The net proceeds, after deduction of the placement fees amounted to €29.8 million.

During 2014, our capital was increased in June 2014 by way of a capital increase of €25.0 million, represented by 568,180 new shares. Our capital was also increased by way of exercise of warrants. Over four different exercise periods, 139,415 warrants were exercised resulting in the issuance of 139,415 new shares. Our capital and share premium were therefore increased respectively by €0.5 million each. Also, we financed part of our capital expenditures with a bank lease of €0.4 million.

Over the course of 2013, we conducted a private placement of €7.0 million in May 2013 and closed our Euronext IPO in July 2013 for proceeds of €26.5 million. Net proceeds from these capital increases amounted to €30.6 million. We also recognized a new cash advance of €1.0 million from a RCA from the Walloon Region as we decided to exploit a RCA related to C-Cath ez development.

Since inception, we have not incurred any bank debt. Some of our capital expenditures related to laboratory and office equipment are financed with 3-year maturity finance leases.

In 2013, we decided to exploit the results associated with an RCA related to C-Cath ez and therefore recognized a €1.0 million debt.

Amounts due to the Walloon Region, booked as advances repayable, at the end of 2014 correspond to funding received under several RCAs, dedicated to supporting specific development programs related to C-Cure and C-Cath ez .

 

 

 

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The movements of the advances repayable recorded in 2014 and 2013 are summarized in the table below:

 

( ’000)        

Balance of January 1, 2013

     11,842   

+ liability recognition

     +1,020   

-repayments

     -211   

+/- other transactions

     -150   
  

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2013

  12,501   
  

 

 

 

Balance of January 1, 2014

  12,501   
  

 

 

 

+ liability recognition

  —     

-repayments

  -272   

+/- other transactions

  -674   

Balance at December 31, 2014

  11,555   
  

 

 

 

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

The following table discloses aggregate information about material contractual obligations and periods in which payments were due as of December 31, 2014. Future events could cause actual payments to differ from these estimates.

 

( ’000)    Total      Less than
one year
     One to three
years
     Three to
five years
     More than
five years
 

As of December 31, 2014

              

Finance leases

     413         134         245         34         —     

Operating leases

     1,683         751         679         88         165   

Pension obligations

     182         —           —           —           182   

Advances repayable (current and non-current)

     11,555         777         1,570         1,846         7,362   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  13,833      1,662      2,494      1,968      7,709   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

On January 21, 2015, we acquired OnCyte from Celdara for an upfront payment of $10.0 million, of which $6.0 million was paid in cash and $4.0 million was paid in the form of 93,087 our ordinary shares. Additional contingent payments with an estimated fair value of $42.0 million are payable upon the attainment of various clinical and sales milestones. The liability for the estimated contingent consideration is not reflected in the consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2014.

Capital Expenditures

We do not capitalize our research and development expenses until we receive marketing authorization for the applicable product candidate. As of end of 2014, all clinical, research and development expenditures related to the development of C-Cure and are accounted for as operating expenses.

 

 

 

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Our capital expenditures were €0.6 million and €0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. There are no material capital projects planned in 2015. In addition, we completed the acquisition of CorQuest in November 2014, resulting in recognition of patent intangible assets of €1.5 million.

 

( ’000)    As of December 31,  
         2014              2013      
              (as restated)  

Intangible assets

     10,266         9,400   

Property, plant and equipment

     598         243   

Other long term financial assets

     109         140   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  10,973      9,783   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of the date of this prospectus and also for the periods presented, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

Critical accounting estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our audited financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. The preparation of our financial statements requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities, at the end of the reporting period.

Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2.2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. We have identified these policies as critical to understanding and evaluating the estimates and judgments important to the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations and require us to make judgments and estimates on matters that are inherently uncertain and may change in future periods.

Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying amount of the asset or liability affected in future periods.

In the process of applying our accounting policies, management has made judgments and has used estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are addressed below.

Advances received from the Walloon Region: recognition of a liability

The advances received only become contingently reimbursable if certain conditions are met. Assessing if these conditions are met (or not) can only reasonably be performed at the end of the research phase. At the end of this research phase, we should, within a period of six months, decide whether or not to exploit the results of the research programs. In the event we decide to exploit the results under a RCA, the relevant RCA becomes contingently refundable to the Walloon Region and we apply the recognition and measurement criteria of IAS 37 related to liability recognition, with any amounts being recognized as a reduction of other operating income in our statement of comprehensive income (loss).

 

 

 

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The total estimated amount to be reimbursed includes the sales-independent reimbursements as well as the sales-dependent reimbursements and interest (if applicable) if the reimbursement of these amounts is probable. The contingent liability is discounted using a discount rate made up of two components: a risk free rate reflecting the maturity of the advances repayable and the spread reflecting our credit risk.

At the time of a liability recognition, an estimate is made of the amount to be reimbursed including the sales-independent reimbursements (an annual lump-sum), the sales-dependent reimbursements and the interest to be paid. These estimated future (outgoing) cash flows are discounted as the liability is a long-term liability.

When a liability is recognized, significant estimates are required to determine the discount rate used to calculate the present value of those liabilities as well as the determination of the estimated cash flow relating to the exploitation. The estimates triggering the discount rate are the assessment of own credit risk as well as the risk profile of the financial instruments. At the end of 2014, we estimated the total liabilities using a discount rate of 12.5%.

After initial recognition this liability is measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method. An interest expense is recognized based on the discount rate used.

Each year, we reassess the amounts to be reimbursed based upon (i) progress made in the pre-clinical and clinical development of all projects partially financed by RCAs and, (ii) on the updated sales projections over the reimbursement period.

In 2014 no new advances were recognized as contingently repayable.

In 2014, we notified the Walloon Region of our decision to not exploit the outcome of two RCAs related to the industrialization of the C-Cure production process in bioreactors, resulting in a decrease of estimated amounts to be reimbursed of €0.5 million.

Share-based payment transactions

We have established share-based compensation plans as an incentive for our employees, members of our executive management team and independent directors, as well as certain consultants and advisors. Warrants are granted by the board of directors in accordance with authorizations given by our shareholders. Warrant grants are based on the merits of the individual grantee and no employee is entitled to receive warrants simply by virtue of being employed.

Under the terms of our warrant programs, warrants are granted at an exercise price equal to the market price as determined by our board of directors on the grant date. The vesting of warrants is generally conditioned on the grantee completing a period of service. Each warrant grant vests in installments after the date of grant, subject to continued service of the grantee. Warrant exercises are settled with the delivery of shares.

For all plans issued before July 2013, warrants were granted at an exercise price equal to share price used at the occasion of the last capital increase as determined by the board of directors on the grant date. Before becoming a public company, we issued warrants in 2008, 2010 and 2013.

In May 2013 and May 2014, respectively, we issued 266,641 and 100,000 warrants to our employees, members of our executive management team and directors. Out of the warrants issued, 302,150 were granted and 282,750 were outstanding as of December 31, 2014.

 

 

 

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We measure the cost of these equity-settled transactions by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments at the date on which they are granted. Estimating fair value for share-based payment transactions requires determining the most appropriate valuation model, which is dependent on the terms and conditions of the grant. This estimate also requires determining the most appropriate inputs to the valuation model including the expected life of the share option, volatility and dividend yield and making assumptions about them.

The variables, used in this model are:

Fair Value of Our Ordinary Shares: In connection with our listing on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris in July 2013, we established a policy to determine the fair value of our warrants. Pursuant to Belgian law, the exercise price of warrants is established at the lower of a) the 30 days average closing stock price and b) the closing stock price for the day preceding the issuance of warrants. Prior to our listing on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, the fair value of the respective warrant plans was determined as the price paid for our shares during the last private financing round. For the warrants issued in May 2013, because of the proximity to our Euronext IPO, the warrants were valued using price as which our ordinary shares were sold in the Euronext IPO.

Expected Term: The expected term represents the period that the share-based awards are expected to be outstanding. As we do not have sufficient historical experience for determining the expected term of the share-based awards granted, we have based the expected term on the simplified method, which represents the period from the grant of the award to the expiration of the award.

Expected Volatility:  We are using the volatility of our share price on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris observed since the Euronext IPO. Prior to the Euronext IPO, we used the volatility of our peers.

Risk-Free Interest Rate: The risk-free interest rate is based on the yields of Belgian government bonds with maturities similar to the expected term of the warrants for each warrant group.

Dividend Yield: We have never declared or paid any cash dividends and do not presently plan to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Consequently, we used an expected dividend yield of zero.

For the purpose of estimating the fair value per share of the warrants, we believe the expected volatility and the estimated fair value per underlying share are the most critical assumptions. Changes in these assumptions could significantly affect the fair value of warrants and, as a result, the amount of share-based compensation that we recognize in our consolidated financial statements. If any of the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model changes significantly, share-based compensation for future awards may differ materially compared with the awards granted previously.

The fair value of warrants granted to the participants is recorded as an expense against a credit in equity. The total amount to be expensed is determined by reference to the fair value, using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, of the warrants at the time of grant. For allocation of the share-based compensation expenses to be recorded, we treat each installment of a graded vesting award as a separate grant.

 

 

 

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The following table presents the weighted-average assumptions used to estimate the fair value of warrants granted during the periods presented:

 

     As of December 31,  
          2014             2013      

Expected dividend yield

     —          —     

Expected share value volatility

     68     36% - 40

Risk-free interest rate

     1     2

Expected life (in years)

     10        10   

 

 

For 2014 and 2013, the share-based compensation expenses recorded in our income statement amounted to €1.5 million and €1.3 million, respectively.

Consolidation

We periodically undertake transactions that may involve obtaining control, joint control or significant influence of other companies. These transactions include equity acquisitions and asset purchases. In all such cases management makes an assessment as to whether we have control, joint control or significant influence of the other company, and whether such company should be consolidated as a subsidiary or accounted for as a joint venture or as an associated company. In making this assessment management considers the underlying economic substance of the transaction in addition to the contractual terms.

At year end 2014, an assessment was completed to decide if we had obtained control or joint control of Cardio3 Biosciences Asia. Our subscription and joint venture agreement with Medisun stipulates that:

 

Ø   We acquired 40% of the share capital of Cardio3 BioSciences Asia in return for an outlicense for the development of C-Cure in Greater China.

 

Ø   Medisun acquired 60% of the shares of Cardio3 Biosciences Asia for HK$ 5 million. Medisun will make additional cash contributions for additional shares over the next three years to fund research.

 

Ø   The agreement stipulates that unanimous consent is required from both parties to the agreements over relevant activities, for example approving budgets and business plans, declaring dividends, borrowing money, applying for registration of intellectual property, etc.

 

Ø   Our arrangement is structured as a limited company and provides us and the parties to the agreements with rights to the net assets of the limited company under the arrangements.

Based on the above, we have assessed there is joint control and that Cardio3 Bioscienes Asia is a joint venture.

Business combinations

In respect of acquired businesses by us, significant judgment is made to determine whether these acquisitions are to be considered as an asset deal or as a business combination. Determining whether a particular set of assets and activities is a business should be based on whether the integrated set is capable of being conducted and managed as a business by a market participant. Moreover, management judgment is particularly involved in the recognition and fair value measurement of the acquired assets, liabilities, contingent liabilities and contingent consideration. In making this assessment management considers the underlying economic substance of the items concerned in addition to the contractual terms.

 

 

 

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Contingent consideration provisions

We make provision for the estimated fair value of contingent consideration arrangements arising from business combinations. The estimated amounts are the expected payments, determined by considering the possible scenarios of forecast sales and other performance criteria, the amount to be paid under each scenario, and the probability of each scenario, which is then discounted to a net present value. The estimates could change substantially over time as new facts emerge and each scenario develops.

Deferred Tax Assets

Deferred tax assets for unused tax losses are recognised to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which the losses can be utilized. Significant management judgment is required to determine the amount of deferred tax assets that can be recognized, based upon the likely timing and level of future taxable profits together with future tax planning strategies.

Once we will obtain market approval for C-Cure, or another drug product candidate, and when we will have more certainty on the generation of taxable income, we will recognize deferred tax assets accordingly.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We are exposed to a variety of financial risks: market risk (including foreign exchange risk and interest rate risk), credit risk and liquidity risk. Our overall risk management program focuses on preservation of capital given the unpredictability of financial markets.

Foreign exchange risk

We are exposed to foreign exchange risk as certain collaborations or supply agreements of raw materials are denominated in USD. Moreover we have also investments in foreign operations, whose net assets are exposed to foreign currency translation risk (USD). So far, because of the materiality of the exposure, we did not enter into any currency hedging arrangements. No sensitivity has been performed on the foreign exchange risk as up till now we still consider this risk as immaterial.

We are exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures, primarily with respect to the USD. Our functional currency is the Euro, but we have several of our product suppliers and clinical vendors invoicing US in USD or in other currencies. In addition, we plan to convert a substantial portion of the proceeds from the global offering to Euro.

We have not established any formal practice to manage the foreign exchange risk against our functional currency. As of December 31, 2014, we had no trade receivables denominated in USD and had trade payables denominated in USD of $0.9 million.

Foreign exchange rate movements had no material effect on our results for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. Because of our growing activities in the United States, the foreign exchange risk may increase in the future.

Liquidity risk

Based on our current operating plans, we believe that the anticipated net proceeds of the global offering, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents and short term investments, will be sufficient to fund our operations through at least the end of 2017.

 

 

 

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JOBS Act Exemptions

On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, reduce reporting requirements for an “emerging growth company.” We are qualified as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we are electing to take advantage of the following exemptions:

 

Ø   including disclosure of two years of audited financial statements, as opposed to three years, in addition to any required interim financial statements;

 

Ø   not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and

 

Ø   to the extent that we are no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer, (1) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements; and (2) exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation, including golden parachute compensation.

We may take advantage of these exemptions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest to occur of (1) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.0 billion in annual revenue; (2) the date we are qualified as a “large accelerated filer,” with at least $700 million of equity securities; (3) the issuance, in any three-year period, by us of more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities held by non-affiliates; and (4) the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of our U.S. initial public offering. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these exemptions. For example, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can use the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Given that we currently report and expect to continue to report under IFRS as issued by the IASB, we have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required by the IASB. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold equity securities.

Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have determined the existence of three material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by our employees. The material weakness identified were a lack of knowledge of:

 

Ø   accounting resources required to fulfill the reporting requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, and financial reporting requirements;

 

Ø   comprehensive IFRS accounting policies and financial reporting procedures; and

 

Ø   segregation of duties given the size of our finance and accounting team.

As described in Note 2.36 of our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, we have restated our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 as a result of errors in the accounting treatment of shareholders convertible loans and share-based payments. We believe that the material weaknesses identified contributed to the restatements.

 

 

 

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We have not yet undertaken and our independent registered public accounting firm has not yet conducted a comprehensive assessment of our internal control over financial reporting for purposes of identifying and reporting material weaknesses, significant deficiencies and control deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. We anticipate being first required to issue management’s annual report on internal control over financial reporting, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in connection with issuing our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ending December 31, 2016.

We believe it is possible that, if we had performed a formal assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, or if our independent registered public accounting firm had performed an audit of our internal control over financial reporting, other material weaknesses, significant deficiencies or control deficiencies may have been identified.

We have taken several remedial actions to address the material weaknesses identified. In particular, we have hired additional staff for the finance department, including a corporate controller, and we are planning to hire a compliance financial officer with experience with external financial reporting, IFRS and establishing appropriate financial reporting policies, controls and procedures.

The process of designing and implementing an effective financial reporting system is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments, as well as to expend significant resources to maintain a financial reporting system that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligations. See “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business Failure to build our finance infrastructure and improve our accounting systems and controls could impair our ability to comply with the financial reporting and internal controls requirements for publicly traded companies.”

Change in Certifying Accountant

Under Belgium corporate law, the shareholders of companies elect their locally registered independent public accounting firm for a mandate of three years. At the end of each mandate, the shareholders may renew the mandate for another mandate of three years, or opt for another firm.

On May 5, 2014, our annual shareholder’s meeting decided not to renew the independent public accounting firm mandate of Ernst & Young. At the time of shareholders decision, Ernst & Young had been our auditor for six years.

Ernst & Young’s reports (under International Standards on Auditing) on our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion and was not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. In connection with the audits of our financial statements for each of the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 there were no disagreements with Ernst & Young on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure during the two years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, that if not resolved to the satisfaction of Ernst & Young, would have caused it to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreements in connection with its report.

During the two years ended December 31, 2013, and the interim period January 1, 2014 to May 5, 2014, none of the reportable events described in paragraphs (A) through (D) of Item 16F(a)(1)(v) of Form 20-F occurred.

We engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’Entreprises scrl, or PwC, as our new independent registered public accounting firm as of May 5, 2014. During the two years ended December 31, 2013, and the interim period January 1, 2014 to May 5, 2014, neither we nor anyone on our behalf, has

 

 

 

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Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations

 

 

consulted with PwC on the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed; or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our consolidated financial statements or any matter that was the subject of a disagreement, as that term is defined in Item 16F(a)(1)(iv) of Form 20-F and the related instructions to Item 16F of Form 20-F, or a reportable event, as that term is defined in Item 16F(a)(1)(v).

We have provided Ernst & Young with a copy of these disclosures prior to the filing hereof and have requested that Ernst & Young furnish to us a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether Ernst & Young agrees with the statements made by us in this item. Ernst & Young has furnished such letter, which letter is filed hereto as required by Item 16F(a)(3) of Form 20-F.

 

 

 

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Unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information

On January 21, 2015, we acquired the outstanding membership interests in Oncyte LLC (“Oncyte”) the oncology division of Celdara Medical, LLC (“Celdara”), a privately-held biotechnology company based in Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA. The acquisition establishes our entry into the field of immuno-oncology with a portfolio of drug product candidates including three autologous CAR T-cell therapy products and an allogeneic T-cell platform, targeting a broad range of cancer indications. Pursuant to the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement and the Asset Purchase Agreement, we made a cash payment of $6.0 million at closing and issued new shares to Celdara with a value of $4.0 million. Additional contingent payments with an estimated fair value of $42.0 million may be due upon reaching various clinical and sales milestones. We financed the acquisition with existing cash and authorized share capital.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information gives effect to the acquisition as if it had been completed on January 1, 2014 for purposes of the statement of operations and December 31, 2014 for purposes of the statement of financial position. The historical consolidated financial information of us and Oncyte has been adjusted in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information to give effect to events that are (1) directly attributable to the acquisition, (2) factually supportable, and (3) with respect to the statements of operations, expected to have a continuing impact on the combined results. The unaudited pro forma adjustments are based upon currently available information and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable. The pro forma adjustments and related assumptions are described in the notes accompanying the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information.

The pro forma financial information and adjustments are preliminary and have been made solely for purposes of providing these unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations and balance sheet. Differences between these preliminary estimates and the final acquisition accounting may occur and these differences could have a material impact on the pro forma financial information presented and the combined company’s future results of operations and financial position. The actual results reported in future periods may differ significantly from that reflected in these pro forma financial information for a number of reasons, including but not limited to differences between the assumptions used to prepare this pro forma financial statements and actual amounts, as well as cost savings from operating and expense efficiencies and potential income enhancements.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations does not reflect any prospective income enhancements or operating synergies that the combined company may achieve as a result of the acquisition or the costs to integrate the operations or the costs necessary to achieve these income enhancements and operating synergies. In addition, the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations do not give effect to the consummation of the global offering. As a result, the pro forma information does not purport to be indicative of what the financial condition or results of operations would have been had the transactions been completed on the applicable dates of this pro forma financial information. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations and balance sheet are for informational purposes only and do not purport to project the future financial condition and results of operations after giving effect to the transactions.

The following unaudited pro forma condensed financial information is derived from the audited historical consolidated financial statements of us as of and for the year-ended December 31, 2014

 

 

 

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prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB and the audited financial statements of the OnCyte Clinical Trials Program as of and for the year-ended December 31, 2014 prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or US GAAP, each included elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information in conjunction with the accompanying notes, the audited financial statements of us and Oncyte referred to above, as well as with “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations”, included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Statement of Financial Position   Cardio3
Biosciences SA
    Oncyte            Proforma
combined
 
(€’000)   As of
December 31,
2014
    As of
December 31,
2014
    Reclassification
(Note 2)
     Pro Forma
Adjustment
(Note 4)
    As of
December 31,
2014
 

NON-CURRENT ASSETS

    11,041        83        —           44,817        55,941   

Intangible assets

    10,266        61        —           44,839 (a)(b)      55,166   

Property, Plant and Equipment

    598        22           (22 )(b)      598   

Investment accounted for using the equity method

    68        —             —          68   

Other non-current assets

    109        —             —          109   

CURRENT ASSETS

    32,935        145        —           (5,326     27,754   

Trade and Other Receivables

    830        141           (141 )(b)      830   

Grant receivables

    1,009        —               1,009   

Other current assets

    792        4           (4 )(b)      792   

Short-term investment

    2,671        —               2,671   

Cash and cash equivalents

    27,633        —             (5,181 )(c)      22,452   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL ASSETS

  43,976      228      —        39,491      83,695   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

EQUITY

  26,684      20      —        3,431      30,135   

Share Capital

  24,615      208      —        117 (b)(d)    24,940   

Share premium

  53,302      —        3,126 (d)    56,428   

Other reserves

  19,982      (16   16 (b)    19,982   

Retained loss

  (71,215   (172   172 (b)    (71,215
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

  11,239      24      —        36,244      47,507   

Financial leases

  279      —        —        279   

Advances repayable

  10,778      —        —        10,778   

Other non-current liabilities

  182      24      (24 )(b)    182   

Contingent liabilities

  —        —        36,268 (e)    36,268   

CURRENT LIABILITIES

  6,053      184      —        (184   6,053   

Financial leases

  134      —        —        134   

Advances repayable

  777      —        —        777   

Trade payables

  4,042      —        —        4,042   

Other current liabilities

  1,100      184      (184 )(b)    1,100   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

  43,976      228      —        39,491      83,695   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IFRS Statement of operations    Cardio3
Biosciences SA
    Oncyte                    Proforma
combined
 
(€’000)    For the year
ended
December 31,
2014
    For the year
ended
December 31,
2014
    Reclassification
(Note 2)
   

Pro Forma
Adjustment

(Note 4)

     For the year
ended
December 31,
2014
 

Revenue

     146        —          —          —           146   

Grant income

     —          756        (756     —           —     

Cost of sales

     (115            (115
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Gross profit

  31      31   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Costs of Operations

  —        (928   928      —        —     

Research and Development

  (15,865   —        (928   —        (16,793

General and administrative

  (5,016   —        —        —        (5,016

Other operating income

  4,413      —        756      —        5,169   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Operating Loss

  (16,437   (172   —       
—  
  
  (16,609
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial (income)

  277      —        —        —        277   

Financial expenses

  (41   —        —        —        (41

Share of Loss of investment accounted for using the equity method

  (252   —        —        —        (252
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Loss before taxes

  (16,453   (172   —       
—  
  
  (16,625
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Income taxes

  —        —        —        —     

Loss for the year

  (16,453   (172   —        —        (16,625
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share
(in €)

  (2.44   (2.43
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Oncyte LLC—Notes to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information

Note 1: Basis of preparation

The acquisition is accounted for in accordance with the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations with Cardio3 Biosciences SA as the acquiring entity. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information is based on the historical consolidated financial statements of the Cardio3 Biosciences SA and Oncyte after giving effect to the consideration paid by Cardio3 Biosciences SA to consummate the acquisition, as well as pro forma adjustments as described in Note 4. In accordance with the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations, tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed are required to be recorded at their respective fair market values as of the date of the acquisition, with any excess purchase price allocated to goodwill.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 is presented as if the acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2014. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of financial position is presented as if the acquisition had occurred on December 31, 2014.

The fair values assigned to the intangible assets acquired from Oncyte are based on management’s estimates and assumptions with the assistance of an independent valuation specialist. The estimated fair values of these assets acquired are considered preliminary. We believe that the information provides a reasonable basis for estimating the fair values of assets acquired; however, the provisional measurements

 

 

 

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of fair value are subject to change. We expect to finalize the valuation of the intangible assets as soon as practicable, but not later than one-year from the acquisition date.

The Oncyte’ balance sheet positions initially expressed in USD have been translated in EUR by using the closing EUR/USD exchange rate as at December 31, 2014 (1EUR = 1.21548USD); whereas the Oncyte’ statement of operations positions initially expressed in USD have been translated in EUR by using the average EUR/USD exchange rate over the year 2014 (1EUR = 1.32947USD).

Under the acquisition method, acquisition-related transaction costs (e.g. advisory, legal, valuation and other professional fees) are not included as consideration transferred but are accounted for as expenses in the periods in which the costs are incurred. These costs are not presented in the unaudited pro forma combined consolidated statements of operations because they will not have a continuing impact on the combined results. Total acquisition-related transaction costs of the combined company were immaterial.

Note 2. Accounting Policies

The historical financial information extracted from the financial statements of Oncyte is prepared in accordance with US GAAP. For the purpose of presenting the historical information of Oncyte in a reporting format that is consistent with that of us, certain components of Oncyte’s statement of operations and comprehensive income have been reclassified. The following reclassifications have been made in the unaudited proforma combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2014:

Amounts historically included in Grant income on Oncyte’s statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) have been reclassified to Other operating income in order to conform with our financial statement presentation. Amounts historically included in Cost of Operations on Oncyte’s statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) have been reclassified to Research and Development in order to conform with our financial statement presentation. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information does not assume any differences in accounting policies. We believe there are no differences between US GAAP and IFRS as issued by the IASB that would have a material impact on the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information.

Note 3. Calculation of Estimated Consideration Transferred and Preliminary Allocation of Consideration to Net Assets Acquired

The following table summarizes the preliminary reconciliation of upfront payment in accordance to the Share Purchase Agreement and the total purchase price:

 

Cash consideration according to the Share Purchase Agreement

$ 6.0 million    5.2 million [1]  

Issuance of ordinary shares of the Group according to the Share Purchase Agreement

$ 4.0 million    3.4 million [1]  

Preliminary estimate of fair value of contingent consideration

$ 42.0 million    36.3 million [1]  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Purchase Price

$ 52.0 million    44.9 million   

 

[1]   Converted using the following exchange rate as of January 21, 2015: 1EUR = 1,15806USD

The value of the 93,087 ordinary shares issued as part of the consideration paid for Oncyte was based on a share price of €37.08, our share price at the date of the acquisition.

 

 

 

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The preliminary fair value estimate of contingent consideration of $42.0 million (€36.3 million) relates to the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones and are based on the contractual terms defined in the Share Purchase Agreement. The preliminary fair value estimate of contingent consideration was obtained using several discount rates and probability rates of success over the different products candidates acquired and is subject to change.

Following the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement, assuming successful development of the lead product CAR-NKG2D, Celdara could receive up to $45.0 million in development and regulatory milestones until market approval. Celdara will also be eligible to additional payments on the other products in development upon achievement of development and regulatory milestones totaling up to $21.0 million per product. In addition, the seller will receive per product up to $80.0 million in sales milestones when total net sales will exceed $1 billion and royalties ranging from 5% to 8% on net sales.

The transaction was accounted for as a business combination under the acquisition method of accounting.

For purposes of these unaudited pro forma condensed financial statements, the above consideration transferred will be assigned to the fair value of acquired assets and is based on preliminary estimates and is subject to change. The following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the assets acquired as if the transaction occurred on December 31, 2014:

 

In-process research and development

$ 52.0 million      €44.9 million (1)  

Assets acquired

$ 52.0 million      €44.9 million (1)  

Liabilities assumed

  —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net assets acquired

$ 52.0 million      €44.9 million   

 

[1]   Converted using the following exchange rate as of January 21, 2015: 1EUR = 1.15806USD

No deferred tax liability has been recorded on the fair value of the intangible assets acquired. The company intends to make an election to treat the share acquisition as the acquisition of assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes resulting in tax deductible amortization of the intangible assets acquired.

The fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed was determined on a provisional basis. The provisional fair value of acquired assets and liabilities assumed can change when the final fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed is established.

Note 4. Pro Forma Adjustments

 

  a)   To consider the estimated fair value of the intangible asset of Oncyte. The acquired assets have been recognized at an estimated fair value determined by us with the assistance of an independent valuation specialist in an amount of €44.9 million—$52.0 million translated by using the closing EUR/USD exchange rate as at January 21, 2015 (1EUR = 1.15806USD).

 

  b)   The Oncyte business has been acquired through a special purpose vehicle especially created for this transaction which only the intangible assets related to the CAR T-cell technology have been transferred in. We have not acquired the underlying property, plant and equipment, working capital and long term liabilities of the Oncyte business. The historical figures reflected in the unaudited condensed consolidated statement of financial position is a carve-out of the financial statements of the Sellers’ activities related to CAR T-cell technology as at December 31, 2014 including all the assets and liabilities. Consequently, the elements not related to the intangible assets have been eliminated in the pro forma combined financial information.

 

 

 

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  c)   To record the use of cash and cash equivalents to fund the cash consideration paid according the Share Purchase Agreement amounting to €5.2 million—$6.0 million translated by using historical exchange rate (1 EUR = 1.15806USD) as at the acquisition date (January 21, 2015).

 

  d)   To record the issuance of our new shares for a total value of €3.4 million—$4.0 million translated by using historical exchange rate (1 EUR = 1.15806USD) as at the acquisition date (January 21, 2015), split between the share capital (€0.3 million) and the share premium (€3.1 million).

 

  e)   To reflect the preliminary fair value estimate of the contingent consideration: €36.3 million—$42.0 million translated by using the closing EUR/USD exchange rate as at January 21, 2015 (1EUR = 1.15806USD).

 

 

 

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Business

Overview

We are a leader in engineered cell therapy treatments with clinical programs initially targeting indications in cardiovascular disease and oncology. Our lead drug product candidate in cardiovascular disease is C-Cure, an autologous cell therapy for the treatment of patients with ischemic heart failure, or HF. We completed enrollment in our first Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure in Europe and Israel, or CHART-1, in March 2015. On March 30, 2015, we announced that the Data Safety Monitoring Board, or DSMB, reviewed unblinded safety and efficacy data from CHART-1 and determined that such unblinded safety and efficacy data did not support the discontinuation of the trial on the basis of safety or futility. These observations suggested that the trial should be continued in its current form. The full data readout from this trial is expected in the middle of 2016. We anticipate initiating our second Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure in the United States and Europe, or CHART-2, pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, lifting of the existing clinical hold, which we expect in the second half of 2015. Our lead drug product candidate in oncology is CAR-NKG2D, an autologous chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, an artificial, lab engineered receptor, which is used to graft a given protein onto an immune cell, T lymphocyte, or CAR T-cell, therapy. We are currently enrolling patients with refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, or multiple myeloma, or MM, in a Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D in the United States. The first patient was treated in this trial in April 2015 and no treatment-related safety concerns were reported during the 30-day follow-up period. Interim data from this trial is expected to be reported at various times during the trial, with the full data readout expected in the middle of 2016.

All of our current drug product candidates are autologous cell therapy treatments. In autologous procedures, a patient’s cells are harvested, selected, reprogrammed and expanded, and then infused back into the same patient. A benefit of autologous therapies is that autologous cells are not recognized as foreign by patients’ immune systems. We believe that we are well situated to effectively advance autologous cell therapy treatments for cancer and other indications as a result of the expertise and know-how that we have acquired through our development of C-Cure. We also believe that there are numerous operational synergies between our product platforms, including that, prior to commercialization, our existing pilot manufacturing plant can accommodate both of our cell therapy programs without significant capital expenditure.

HF is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s metabolic needs, affects 1% to 2% of the adult population in developed countries and approximately 5.7 million patients were diagnosed with HF in the United States in 2012, according to the American Heart Association. The long-term prognosis associated with HF is dire, with approximately 50% mortality at five years following initial diagnosis, according to a report from the American Heart Association. Although existing therapies have been somewhat effective in the treatment of HF, there is still great unmet medical need. In particular, in the case of ischemic HF, which is caused by insufficient oxygen to the heart, current treatments fail to address the decrease in the number of functional myocytes, or heart cells, in the heart that result from this lack of oxygen. Over time this functional decrease modifies the dynamics of cardiac contractions leading to tissue remodeling and loss of cardiac function. We believe that cellular therapies have the potential to repair or replace the non-functioning myocytes of ischemic HF patients.

To guide cardiac tissue formation, our C-Cure therapy reprograms multipotent stem cells harvested from a patient into cardiopoietic cells, cells that can become myocytes, using naturally occurring cytokines, small proteins that play an important role in cell signaling, and growth factors that mimic the signaling that occurs in embryonic heart tissue development. Based on pre-clinical studies, we have identified both direct and indirect possible modes of action for C-Cure. The direct mode may replace non-functioning myocytes.

 

 

 

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In the indirect modes, factors secreted by the cardiopoietic cells may cause patients’ resident stem cells to begin pooling, regenerating and differentiating into cardiac cells, with the resulting favorable environment inducing the non-functioning myocytes to regain function. We have developed C-Cure predominantly on technology that we licensed from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, or the Mayo Clinic. To assist in the reinjection of cardiopoietic cells, we have also developed C-Cath ez , which we believe may be able to achieve a higher retention rate of cells in the heart relative to the commercial catheter we used in our prior clinical trial.

Positive outcomes were observed in ischemic HF patients treated with C-Cure in our Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe. Patients treated with C-Cure showed a 25% relative improvement of median left ventricular ejection fraction, or LVEF, which is the percentage of blood that is pumped out of the heart at each beat, at six months versus baseline, whereas untreated patients showed a relative improvement of 0.7% versus baseline. Patients treated with C-Cure also demonstrated an improved exercise capacity as measured by the six minutes walking distance test, or six minutes WDT, which measures the distance a patient can walk in a six-minute period. The C-Cure treatment group’s walking distance improved by 77 meters compared to the control group.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after cardiovascular diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2014, there were an estimated 1.6 million new cancer cases diagnosed and over 550,000 cancer deaths in the United States alone. In the past decades, the cornerstones of cancer therapies have been surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Since 2001, small molecules that specifically target cancer cells have emerged as standard treatments for a number of cancers. For example, Gleevec is marketed by Novartis AG for the treatment of leukemia, and Herceptin is marketed by Genentech, Inc. for the treatment of breast and gastric cancer. Although these targeted therapies have significantly improved the outcomes for certain patients with these cancers, there is still a high unmet need for the treatment of these and many other cancers.

While the immune system has a natural response to cancer, automatically recognizing and eliminating cancer cells, cancer cells can develop the ability to evade immune response, resulting in the formation of potentially dangerous cancerous tumors and blood cancers. CAR T-cell therapy is a new technology that broadly involves engineering patients’ own T-cells to express CARs so that these re-enginerred cells recognize and kill cancer cells, overcoming cancer cells’ ability to evade immune response.According to a January 2015 review article published in Immunological Reviews, several early clinical trials involving CAR T-cell therapies have suggested potentially high clinical responses in difficult to treat relapsed or refractory B lymphocyte, or B-cell, malignancies. For example, results of a clinical trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in October 2014 demonstrated that CAR T-cell therapy that targets the CD19 antigen, or CD19 CAR Therapy, was effective in treating patients with relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Treatment was associated with a complete remission rate of 90% and sustained remissions of up to two years after treatment.

Our lead CAR T-cell drug product candidate is CAR-NKG2D, which has shown promising data in pre-clinical solid and blood cancer models, including for the treatment of lymphoma, ovarian cancer and myeloma. CAR-NKG2D is constructed using the native sequence of non-engineered natural killer, or NK, cell receptors that target ligands, which are antigens or antigens complexed with other molecules, present on numerous cancer cells. Ligands are substances bound together to form a larger complex, such as an antigen bound to other molecules. Accordingly, our technology has the potential to attack and kill a broad range of solid and blood cancers, while CD19 CAR Therapy is typically only effective in B-cell malignancies. In pre-clinical studies, treatment with CAR-NKG2D significantly increased survival. In some studies, 100% of treated mice survived through the follow-up period of the applicable study, which

 

 

 

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in one study was 325 days. All untreated mice died during the follow-up period of the applicable study. We obtained access to our CAR T-cell drug product candidates and related technology, including technology licensed from the Trustees of Dartmouth College, or Dartmouth College, in January 2015, through our purchase of OnCyte, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celdara Medical, LLC, or Celdara, a privately-held U.S. biotechnology company.

Strategy

Our goal is to be a leader in engineered cell therapy treatments, initially focused on cardiovascular disease and oncology. The key elements of our strategy are as follows:

 

Ø   Complete our Phase 3 clinical program for C-Cure and thereafter file for, marketing applications and begin commercialization, of C-Cure for patients with ischemic HF . Based on the favorable safety and efficacy profile demonstrated in our Phase 2 clinical trial, we believe that C-Cure is a promising candidate for the treatment of ischemic HF. We completed enrollment in CHART-1 in March 2015 and, pending FDA clearance of the existing clinical hold, anticipate initiating CHART-2 in the second half of 2015. If our Phase 3 clinical program for C-Cure is successful, we plan to submit a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, and a biologics license application to the FDA and thereafter to actively pursue commercialization of C-Cure.

 

Ø   Rapidly advance CAR-NKG2D through clinical development and into commercialization for the treatment of AML and MM. CAR T-cell therapy is an emerging therapy for the treatment of some cancers, such as B-cell malignancies. We are currently enrolling patients with refractory or relapsed AML or MM in a Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D in the United States. If this clinical trial is successful, we intend to progress CAR-NKG2D into later clinical trials. We believe that the knowledge that we have gained through the development of C-Cure will allow us to more efficiently progress CAR-NKG2D through clinical development.

 

Ø   Leverage our expertise and knowledge of engineered-cell therapies to expand our CAR T-cell therapy drug product candidate pipeline. The NKG2D receptor has ligands that are expressed in numerous types of cancer cells, including those associated with ovarian, bladder, breast, lung and liver cancers, as well as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, while CD19 CAR Therapy is typically only effective in treating B-cell malignancies. Accordingly, we plan to also target the treatment of cancers beyond AML and MM, where the cancer cells express NKG2D receptor ligands, with CAR-NKG2D, in the near future. We are currently conducting pre-clinical studies to determine which other cancers to pursue with CAR-NKG2D. In addition, we are continuing pre-clinical studies of our other pre-clinical product candidates, NKp30, which is another activating receptor of NK cells, and B7H6, which is a NKp30 ligand expressed on cancer cells.

 

Ø   Develop our allogeneic CAR T-cell technology . We also have technology that we believe may enable the development of an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy, where T-cells harvested from one patient are engineered into CAR T-cells that can be used in the treatment other patients without triggering an immune response. This could allow for the manufacture of an off the shelf CAR T-cell therapy product, which has the potential to transform the treatment of cancer.

 

Ø   Select, develop and advance cell therapies in additional therapeutic areas with high unmet need. We believe that we are well situated to effectively advance cell therapy treatments for additional indications, such as acute myocardial infraction, or heart attack, and congestive non-ischemic HF, as a result of the expertise and know-how that we have acquired through the development of C-Cure. Additional new indications may be identified through our relationship with the Mayo Clinic, and we will consider developing autologous cell therapy treatments for additional indications in which there is high unmet medical need.

 

 

 

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Drug product candidates

We are a leader in engineered cell therapy treatments with clinical programs initially targeting indications in cardiovascular disease and oncology. We currently hold worldwide rights to all of our drug product candidates, which are summarized in the table below.

 

LOGO

Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases, which are diseases of the heart and blood vessels, are the largest cause of mortality in the world and, in 2012, approximately 31% of all global deaths were attributable to cardiovascular diseases, according to the World Health Organization. A subset of cardiovascular diseases, cardiac diseases, which are diseases of the heart, represent the single largest cause of death in the cardiovascular diseases population, according to the American Heart Association. If left untreated, cardiac diseases can lead to HF, a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s metabolic needs.

HF affects 1% to 2% of the adult population in developed countries and approximately 5.7 million patients were diagnosed with HF in the United States in 2012, according to the American Heart Association. HF can either be of ischemic origin, linked to impairment of blood flow to the heart muscle, or non-ischemic origin, linked to other causes such as hypertension and metabolic disorders. In the Bromley heart failure study, 52% of the patients had HF of ischemic origin. Other studies have reported lower rates of ischemic HF, but such differences can be explained by differences in study population, definitions and timing of when the study was completed. The prevalence of HF is increasing due to an aging population and the increasing prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity and diabetes. Population studies published in Nature Reviews Cardiology have estimated that one in five people over the age of 40 will develop HF during his or her lifetime. The long-term prognosis associated with heart failure is dire, with approximately 50% mortality at five years following initial diagnosis, according to a 2014 report from the American Heart Association.

 

 

 

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HF is classified according to the severity of the symptoms experienced by the patient. The classification most commonly used is the New York Heart Association, or NYHA, classification. The table below summarizes the NYHA Functional Classification.

 

NYHA
Functional
Classification*

  

Functional Capacity

Class I

  

No limitation of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity does not cause undue breathlessness, fatigue, or palpitations.

Class II

  

Slight limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest, but ordinary physical activity results in breathlessness, fatigue, or palpitations.

Class III

  

Marked limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest, but less than ordinary physical activity causes breathlessness, fatigue, or palpitations.

Class IV

  

Unable to carry on any physical activity without discomfort. Symptoms at rest can be present. If any physical activity is undertaken, discomfort is increased.

 

*   In addition, the level of objective evidence of the cardiovascular disease is also classified as A, B, C, or D, representing, no evidence of disease, evidence of minimal disease, evidence of moderate disease, and evidence of severe disease, respectively.

Hospitalizations of HF patients are expensive and are particularly problematic, as the risk of death is increased with each recurrent HF-related hospitalization, according to an article in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. As of 2013, there were one million primary HF-related hospitalizations annually in the United States, according to a report in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. The estimated direct cost of HF in the United States in 2012 was $60.2 billion, half of which was related to hospitalizations, according to a 2014 review article published in Clinical Cardiology. By 2030, the total cost of HF in the United States is projected to increase to $70 billion, according to a Policy Statement from the American Heart Association.

Current Treatments of Heart Failure

Patients with HF are treated with medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-2 receptor blockers, beta blockers and diuretics. Patients with HF may also be equipped with certain implantable devices, such as Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators, or ICDs, or Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices. Current treatment options for patients in severe stages of the disease include heart transplant surgery or implantation of a left ventricular assist device, or LVAD, a battery operated mechanical circulatory device used to partially or completely replace the function of the left ventricle of the heart. Both of these end-stage treatment options require invasive open-chest surgery, can be associated with numerous complications, including risk of thrombosis and infection in the case of LVADs, and can require lifetime immunosuppressive therapy in the case of transplant. In 2012, approximately 2,300 HF patients in the United States underwent heart transplant according to a report from the American Heart Association. In 2013, approximately 2,500 patients had a primary LVAD implanted, according to the Sixth INTERMACS annual report.

Although existing therapies have been somewhat effective in the treatment of HF, there is still great unmet medical need. In particular, in the case of ischemic HF, which is caused by insufficient oxygen to the heart, current treatments fail to address the decrease in the number of functional myocytes in the heart that result from this lack of oxygen. Over time this functional decrease modifies the dynamics of cardiac contractions

 

 

 

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leading to tissue remodeling and loss of cardiac function. We believe that cellular therapies have the potential to repair or replace the non-functioning myocytes of ischemic HF patients.

Our Approach

Our lead drug product candidate, C-Cure, is an autologous cell therapy that we believe has the potential to treat patients with NYHA Classes II, III and IV ischemic HF through both direct and indirect modes of action. The direct mode may replace non-functioning myocytes. In the indirect modes, factors secreted by the cardiopoietic cells may cause patients’ resident stem cells to begin pooling, regenerating and differentiating into cardiac cells, with the resulting favorable environment inducing the non-functioning myocytes to regain function. We have developed C-Cure based predominantly on technology that we licensed from the Mayo Clinic.

Since the heart does not harbor large quantities of stem cells, it cannot rely on self-repair mechanisms to address damage to the myocardium. Accordingly, in order to repair or replace non-functioning myocytes, the introduction of cardiopoietic cells is necessary. To guide cardiac tissue formation, our C-Cure therapy reprograms multipotent stem cells harvested from a patient into cardiopoietic cells using naturally occurring cytokines and growth factors that mimic the signaling that occurs in embryonic heart tissue development. In the C-Cure process, stem cells are collected from an ischemic HF patient through bone marrow aspiration during an outpatient procedure. The stem cells are then harvested, selected, expanded and differentiated into cardiopoietic cells at our manufacturing facility, yielding a homogeneous and pure cardiopoietic cell population. The cardiopoietic cells are then re-injected into the heart of the ischemic HF patient with our C-Cath ez cell injection catheter.

Graphic representation of the C-Cure technology. 1

 

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Clinical Development

Phase 2 Clinical Trial

The first human clinical Phase 2 trial for C-Cure was completed in 2012. This trial was initially designed as a Phase 2/3 trial, but only the Phase 2 portion of this trial was completed. The Phase 2 portion was a prospective, randomized, open, parallel two-arm study and consisted of 45 ischemic HF patients, with the primary endpoint being the safety and feasibility of C-Cure. Safety was assessed based on occurrence of cardiovascular events and arrhythmias. Feasibility was assessed based on assessment of cell expansion, manufacturing, phenotye release, in addition to catheter-based delivery. Measures of efficacy included cardiac function and structure as assessed by LVEF, left ventricular end systolic volume, left ventricular end diastolic volume, as well as clinical exercise capacity as assessed by the six minutes WDT and quality-of-life measures.

Patients between 18 and 75 years of age with NYHA Class II or III ischemic HF, an LVEF > 15% and < 40%, and who had not experienced a heart attack within two months prior to enrollment were candidates for the trial. The 45 patients enrolled in the trial were randomly assigned to either the control group or the C-Cure treatment group, with each patient having a 67% chance of being assigned to the C-Cure treatment group and a 33% chance of being assigned to the control group. Baseline data demonstrated a similar distribution of age, sex, body mass index, prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiac disease history in both the C-Cure treatment group and control group, and no difference in medications or hemodynamics was observed. Both groups received optimal standard of care as defined by the American College of Cardiology guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology guidelines, including the implantation of an ICD if the patient did not already have one. Patients assigned to the C-Cure treatment group received C-Cure in addition to the optimal standard of care. Where patient factors such as medications and co-morbidities prevented us from producing sufficient cells to obtain the C-Cure dose necessary for treatment, patients were assigned to the control group per the trial protocol. This trial was performed at nine clinical trial sites located in Europe.

At six months following treatment, patients treated with C-Cure showed a 25% relative improvement of median LVEF versus baseline (p<0.0001), whereas patients in the control group showed a relative improvement of 0.7% versus baseline. Furthermore, all patients in the C-Cure treatment group showed improved LVEF beyond the optimal standard of care, with 76% of patients demonstrating an absolute increase of over 3% and 57% showing an absolute increase of over 5%. Patients in the C-Cure treatment group also had a significant reduction in left ventricular end systolic volume as compared to patients in the control group, with patients in the C-Cure treatment groups showed a reduction of -24.8 ml, while patients in the control group showed a reduction of -8.8 ml (p < 0.001). In addition, patients in the C-Cure treatment group demonstrated an improved exercise capacity as measured by the six minutes WDT. The C-Cure treatment group’s walking distance improved by 77 meters compared to the control group (p<0.01). Patients in the C-Cure treatment group also had a reduction in end diastolic volume as compared to patients in the control group, and patients in the C-Cure treatment group also demonstrated a reduction in heart mass as compared to patients in the control group, although neither of these results reached statistical significance.

The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Quality-of-Life questionnaire was used to score the extent to which patients’ lives were affected by ischemic HF. A higher score on the test represents a lower quality-of-life, with the maximum score being 105. Over the course of six months, the score of the patients in the C-Cure treatment group improved by 7.1 points, whereas the score of the control group patients improved by 0.4 points. In addition, the C-Cure treatment group had 30% of patients improve by a 10 point difference or more while no patients in the control group improved by that difference. These results did not reach statistical significance.

 

 

 

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A result is considered to be statistically significant when the probability of the result occurring by random chance, rather than from the efficacy of the treatment, is sufficiently low. The conventional method for measuring the statistical significance of a result is known as the “p-value”, which represents the probability that random chance caused the result (e.g., a p-value = 0.001 means that there is a 0.1% or less probability that the difference between the control group and the treatment group is purely due to random chance). A p-value = 0.05 is a commonly used criterion for statistical significance, and may be supportive of a finding of efficacy by regulatory authorities. However, regulatory authorities, including the FDA and EMA, do not rely on strict statistical significance thresholds as criteria for market approval and maintain the flexibility to evaluate the overall risks and benefits of a treatment. Accordingly, treatments may receive market approval from the FDA or EMA even if the p-value of the primary endpoint is greater than 0.05, or may fail to receive market approval from the FDA or EMA even if the p-value of the primary endpoint is less than 0.05.

No unanticipated serious adverse events definitely attributed to C-Cure or the trial procedure were reported in this trial. One patient experienced a serious adverse reaction, migraine with aura, one day post-procedure, but was subject to similar migraine episodes in the past. Another patient experienced rapid and irregular heartbeat resolved by applying an electrical stimulation to the heart during the procedure. A third patient experienced atrial fibrillation approximately a year and a half after the study procedure, but records of arrhythmia prior to treatment support that atrial fibrillation was a pre-existing condition.

We produced C-Cure for 21 out of the 30 patients attempted as patient factors such as medications and co-morbidities prevented us from producing sufficient cells for certain patients in the trial. However, we have made improvements to our manufacturing process, which we believe will allow us to have a greater than 80% manufacturing success rate in our Phase 3 clinical trials. These changes include:

 

Ø   adopting cryopreserved, a process whereby cells that are susceptible to damage caused by time are preserved by cooling to sub-zero temperatures, product storage to extend the shelf life of the cells;

 

Ø   improving the release criteria to ensure that desirable cells are not incorrectly rejected. In our Phase 2 trial of C-Cure, some production lots were rejected because the tests used identified the presence of impurities such as osteoblasts, or bone precursor cells, adipocytes, or fat cells, or chondrocytes, or cartilage cells. Upon further examination, it appeared that the methods used were overly sensitive. New methods have been developed that are more specific, while at the same time remaining as sensitive; and

 

Ø   developing predictive tests that allow us to reject patient bone marrow, that is unsuitable to yield the required number of cells for effective treatment. In CHART-1, patients bone marrow that does not reach 24 million cells are rejected from the manufacturing process, resulting in such patients not being randomized for treatment and discontinued from the trial. Therefore, only bone marrow that is capable of good cell expansion proceeds to the next culture phase, leading to randomization of the patient in the trial.

Phase 3 Clinical Program

We are pursuing clinical development of C-Cure through a comprehensive Phase 3 program comprised of two Phase 3 clinical trials, CHART-1 and CHART-2.

CHART-1

CHART-1 is being conducted in Europe and Israel and was first authorized in November 2012. CHART-1 is a 240 patient prospective controlled randomized double-blinded trial, including NYHA Class III and IV ischemic HF patients, with each patient having a 50% chance of being assigned to the C-Cure treatment group or the control group. The primary endpoint of this trial is an improvement in the

 

 

 

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composite hierarchical endpoint using the Finkelstein-Schoenfeld statistical method. The elements of this endpoint are, in hierarchical order, mortality, morbidity, quality of life, six minutes WDT, left ventricular end systolic volume and LVEF. Each patient in the C-Cure treatment group will be compared to each patient in the control group and a comprehensive score will be derived to compare one group against the other.

We received a pediatric waiver across all subsets of the pediatric population for C-Cure for the treatment of ischemic HF from the EMA in February 2015, therefore all clinical trials of C-Cure will be restricted to the adult population. In April 2014, the EMA issued a certificate of quality data for C-Cure. This Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, or ATMP, certification recognizes that the data generated for C-Cure in its development programs to date meet the standards imposed by the EMA. The ATMP’s certificate for quality data will facilitate the EMA’s review of our anticipated future application for marketing authorization for C-Cure. On March 30, 2015, we announced that DSMB reviewed unblinded safety and efficacy data from CHART-1 and determined that such unblinded safety and efficacy data did not support the discontinuation of the trial on the basis of safety or futility. These observations suggested that the trial should be continued in its current form. As of the date of this prospectus, we have completed enrollment of all patients in this trial at over 30 trial sites in Europe and Israel. The full data readout from this trial is expected in the middle of 2016.

CHART-2

On January 27, 2012, we, as the sponsor, filed our Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, for the use of C-Cure in CHART-2 with the FDA (NCT02317458). The subject of the IND is the efficacy and safety of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cardiopoietic cells for improving exercise capacity in subjects with advanced chronic ischemic HF.

CHART-2 is expected to be conducted in the United States and Europe. CHART-2 is a 240 patient prospective controlled randomized double-blinded trial, including NYHA Class III and IV ischemic HF patients, with each patient having a 50% chance of being assigned to the C-Cure treatment group or the control group. The primary efficacy endpoint of CHART-2 is the change in the six-minutes WDT from pre-procedure to nine months. Our IND became effective in December 2013 for administration of the cells with Myostar, a catheter used for the injection of therapeutic agents into the heart, and manufactured by Biologics Delivery Systems Group, Cordis Corporation a Johnson & Johnson company. Prior to initiating the trial, in September 2014, we filed an amendment to the IND requesting among other changes to the initial submission, the use of our proprietary cell injection catheter called C-Cath ez . In January 2015, the FDA issued a clinical hold on CHART-2. Most of the clinical hold questions request clarifications on the design dossier of C-Cath ez , while the remaining questions relate to providing updated safety information on CHART-1, defining CHART-2 stopping rules, and a request to measure troponin, a cardiac marker of injury, at day 30 post baseline procedure. We anticipate responding to the clinical hold questions in the third quarter of 2015 once all safety data from CHART-1 is available, and pending the FDA’s lifting of the clinical hold, initiating CHART-2 during the second half of 2015.

Oncology

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after cardiovascular diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cancer accounts for nearly one out of every four deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2014, there were an estimated 1.6 million new diagnosed cancer cases and over 550,000 cancer deaths in the United States alone.

 

 

 

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According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the approximate prevalence of AML in the United States as of January 1, 2011 was 37,726 and the incidence rate of MM in the United States as from 2007 to 2011 was 7.7 per 100,000 population for men and 4.9 per 100,000 population for women.

CAR T-Cell Therapy

The immune system has a natural response to cancer, as cancer cells express antigens that can be recognized by cells of the immune system. Upon recognition of an antigen, activated T-cells release substances that kill cancer cells and attract other immune cells to assist in the killing process. However, cancer cells can develop the ability to release inhibitory factors that allow them to evade immune response, resulting in the formation of potentially dangerous cancerous tumors and blood cancer.

CAR T-cell therapy is a new technology that broadly involves engineering patients’ own T-cells to express CARs so that these re-engineered cells recognize and kill cancer cells, overcoming cancer cells’ ability to evade the immune response. CARs are comprised of the following elements:

 

Ø   binding domains that encode proteins, such as variable fragments of antibodies that are expressed on the surface of a T-cell and allow the T-cell to recognize specific antigens on cancer cells;

 

Ø   intracellular signaling domains derived from T-cell receptors that activate the signaling pathways responsible for the immune response following binding to cancer cells; and

 

Ø   costimulatory and adaptor domains, which enhance the effectiveness of the T-cells in their immune response.

Once activated, CAR T-cells proliferate and kill cancer cells directly through the secretion of cytotoxins that destroy cancer cells, and these cytokines attract other immune cells to the tumor site to assist in the killing process.

Illustration of CAR T-cell binding to a ligand, triggering mechanisms to eliminate cancer cells.

 

LOGO

The CAR T-cell therapeutic process starts with collecting cells from a patient’s bone marrow. T-cells are then harvested and selected from the collected cells, following which the CAR is introduced into the T-cells using retrovirus vectors, a widely used technology to transfer genes into immune cells using the

 

 

 

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natural capacity of a retrovirus to deliver genes into cells. The CAR T-cells are then expanded prior to injection back into the patient.

Current Investigational Treatments of Cancer using CAR T-Cells

In the past decades, the cornerstones of cancer therapies have been surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Since 2001, small molecules that specifically target cancer cells have emerged as standard treatments for a number of cancers. For example, Gleevec is marketed by Novartis AG for the treatment of leukemia, and Herceptin is marketed by Genentech, Inc. for the treatment of breast and gastric cancer. Although these targeted therapies have significantly improved the outcomes for certain patients with these cancers, there is still a high unmet need for the treatment of these and many other cancers. CAR T-cell therapy is an emerging therapy for the treatment of some cancers, such as B-cell malignancies.

CAR19 is a widely used CAR, which has an antigen binding domain that recognizes the normal B-cell marker CD19. CD19 CAR Therapies have demonstrated high clinical responses in difficult to treat refractory B-cell malignancies. For example, results of a clinical trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in October 2014 demonstrated that CD19 CAR Therapy was effective in treating patients with relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Treatment was associated with a complete remission rate of 90% and sustained remissions of up to two year after treatment. Despite its promise, CD19 CAR Therapy is inherently limited to the treatment of B-cell malignancies.

Our Approach to CAR T-Cell Therapy

Our approach to CAR T-cell therapy has the potential to treat a wider range of cancers than CD19 CAR Therapy because, in certain cases, we employ natural receptors that target multiple ligands, at least one of which is found in numerous cancers, as opposed to targeting a single ligand. Our primary CAR technologies use activated receptors of NK cells, lymphocytes of the innate immune system that kill cancer cells directly and also secrete cytokines that attract other immune cells to assist in the killing process. The receptors used in our therapies target ligands that are activated in cancer cells, but are absent or expressed at low levels in normal cells, resulting in therapies that are intended to be less destructive to normal cells.

Our lead CAR T-cell drug product candidate is CAR-NKG2D. CAR-NKG2D uses the native sequence of NKG2D in the CAR construct, thereby avoiding linker sequences that could be recognized as “non-self” by the immune system and thereby trigger an immune response. Accordingly, CAR-NKG2D does not require re-engineering to allow it to bind to cancer cell ligands with high affinity. CAR-NKG2D also makes use of DAP10, a naturally occurring adaptor molecule that is normally is expressed by T-cells, to aid in the immune response.

Ligands for the NKG2D receptor are expressed either individually or together with other ligands at the surface of cancer cells, allowing for the targeting of multiple tumor types given the higher likelihood of expression of at least one ligand. NKG2D receptor ligands, such as ULBP, MICA and MICB, are expressed in numerous solid tumors and blood cancers, including ovarian, bladder, breast, lung and liver cancers, as well as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. MICA and MICB may be induced in association with cell stress, infection or malignant transformation. Within a given cell population, we have shown in vitro effectiveness of CAR-NKG2D even when as few as 7% of the cancer cells expressed a NKG2D receptor ligand.

Pre-Clinical Development

CAR-NKG2D has been tested in pre-clinical models of solid and blood cancers, including lymphoma, ovarian cancer and myeloma. In pre-clinical studies, treatment with CAR-NKG2D significantly increased survival. In some studies, 100% of treated mice survived through the follow-up period of the applicable study, which in one study was 325 days. All untreated mice died during the follow-up period of the applicable study.

 

 

 

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In one representative study, as shown in the figure below, the treatment with CAR-NKG2D completely prevented tumor development in mice injected with ovarian cancer cells and followed over a period of 225 days. In contrast, all mice injected with ovarian cancer cells that were treated with unmodified T-cells developed cancerous tumors and died during that period.

 

LOGO

Our pre-clinical models have also shown that treatment with CAR-NKG2D is followed by changes in a tumor’s micro-environment resulting from the local release of chemokines, a family of small cytokines. In a pre-clinical study, mice that had been injected with 5T33MM cancer cells and treated with CAR-NKG2D were rechallenged either with the 5T33MM cancer cells or a different tumor type (RMA lymphoma cells). The mice that were rechallenged with the same tumor type survived, while the mice that were challenged with a different tumor type died, as shown in the figure below.

 

LOGO

We believe that the mechanism by which the mice in the former group survived may be linked to T-cell memory against the tumor antigen, independent of the continued presence of CAR-NKG2D. We believe that this continued protection may be a result of the type of chemokines released at the time of the initial CAR-NKG2D treatment, and we do not believe that this effect has been demonstrated with other CARs.

 

 

 

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Moreover, pre-clinical studies have suggested that CAR-NKG2D could potentially have a direct effect on tumor vasculature. Tumor vessels express ligands for the NKG2D receptor that are not generally expressed by normal vessels. We believe that this expression may be linked to genotoxic stress, hypoxia and reoxygenation in tumors and therefore that CAR-NKG2D could potentially inhibit tumor growth by decreasing tumor vasculature, which could possibly render it effective in the treatment of NKG2D-negative tumors.

Pre-clinical studies also demonstrate that CAR-NKG2D is effective without lymphodepletion conditioning, which is the destruction of lymphocytes and T-cells, normally by radiation. We believe this absence of a pre-conditioning regimen may expand the range of patients eligible for CAR T-cell treatment, reduce costs, reduce toxicity and thereby improve patient experience and acceptance.

No significant toxicology findings were reported from pre-clinical multiple-dose studies at dose levels below 10,000,000 CAR-NKG2D per animal. Some temporary weight loss was noted in animals treated with CAR-NKG2D. At this dose, histology showed there was no accumulation of infused cells in any organ other than the lungs. We believe that this accumulation of infused cells in the lungs was likely due to the large number of cells infused into the animals.

Clinical Development

On June 9 2014, Celdara filed an IND with the FDA (NCT02203825) related to the CAR-NKG2D trial. The subject of the IND is evaluating the safety and feasibility of administering a single intravenous dose of CAR-NKG2D to patients with AML, Myelodysplastic Syndrome and MM.

We are currently enrolling patients with (i) AML who are not in remission and for which standard therapy options are not available or (ii) relapsed or refractory progressive MM, in a Phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety and feasibility of single-dose intravenous administration of CAR-NKG2D T-cells without prior lymphodepletion conditioning. This is a dose escalation trial to test four different dose levels. Patients may receive doses anywhere from 1,000,000 up to 30,000,000 CAR-NKG2D T-cells in a single intravenous injection. For each dose level, three patients, one with AML, one with MM, and one with either AML or MM, will be recruited, until a toxicological response is demonstrated or we reach a dose of 30,000,000 cells. Once a dose has been selected, an additional 12 patients, six AML patients and six MM patients, will be included in the dose expansion part of the trial, to probe efficacy signals. This trial is being conducted at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the United States. Interim data is expected to be reported throughout this trial, with the full data readout expected in the middle of 2016. The first patient was treated in this trial in April 2015 and no treatment-related safety concerns were reported during the 30-day follow-up period. A pre-defined, staggered enrollment of two additional patients at the same dose level as the first patient is expected to occur now that the 30-day follow-up period for the first patient has ended.

We are currently conducting pre-clinical studies to determine which other cancers to pursue with CAR-NKG2D.

Other CAR T-Cell Development

Allogeneic Platform

Autologous CAR T-cells must be manufactured for each individual patient. As a result this form of treatment presents cost and logistical challenges. We have technology that we believe may enable the development of an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy, where T-cells harvested from one patient, the donor, are engineered into CAR T-cells that can be used in the treatment of other patients, the host, without triggering an immune response. Functioning T-cell receptors on a donor T-cell are responsible for

 

 

 

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eliciting an adverse immune reaction in the host, which is known as a graft-versus-host response. The goal of our allogeneic platform is to eliminate the graft-versus host response. Our allogeneic platform is based on the engineering of T-cells that lack expression of a functional T-cell receptor, while at the same time expressing a CAR that can trigger the killing of cancer cells. We believe that our allogeneic platform may allow us to manufacture an off the shelf CAR T-cell therapy product, which has the potential to transform the treatment of cancer.

Additional Autologous Programs

We also have two additional autologous CAR T-cell programs that are in pre-clinical development. The first program involves the use of a CAR T-cell expressing NKp30, another activated receptor of NK cells. CAR T-cells expressing NKp30 target ligands, which are expressed on many types of cancer cells, including lymphoma, leukemia and gastrointestional stromal tumors. The primary ligand of NKp30 is B7H6. Previous pre-clinical studies performed at Dartmouth College and reported in the Journal of Immunology in 2012 demonstrated that CAR-T cells expressing NKp30 were able to kill cancer cells expressing NKp30 ligands both in vitro and in vivo. The second program involves the specific targeting of B7H6 to kill cancer cells that express B7H6. Previous pre-clinical studies performed at Dartmouth College and reported in the Journal of Immunology in 2015 demonstrated that therapy targeting B7H6 decreased tumor burden of melanoma- and ovarian cancer-bearing mice.

Comparison of our CAR T-cell therapy approach to CD19 CAR Therapy.

 

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Our Complementary Devices

We developed C-Cath ez , which is CE-marked, with the goal of overcoming limitations of existing cell injection devices that we discovered during our development of C-Cure. Due to continuous heart

 

 

 

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movements, we believe that injecting cells into the heart requires a stable needle that anchors into the tissue during injection. In addition, excess pressure on cells during injection has an adverse impact on cell retention. To respond to these challenges, C-Cath ez features a curved needle that provides stability during the injection and multiple holes along the needle that increase the exit surface, reducing the pressure exerted on cells during the injection procedure. In pre-clinical studies, we obtained a higher retention rate of injected cells through the use of C-Cath ez as compared to other commercially available catheters. In a pre-clinical study of C-Cath ez , use of C-Cath ez did not cause myocardial perforation or clinically relevant increases in the blood levels of cardiac enzymes were observed in pigs or dogs. We also market C Cath ez in the European Union as a stand-alone medical device for delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents indicated for delivery into the heart to research laboratories and clinical-stage companies only.

In addition, we believe our heart access technology will enable cardiologists to take a unique access route directly to the patient’s left atrium, which may potentially enable the deployment of catheters or other necessary instruments for use in the treatment of various indications such as mitral valve disorders and structural heart diseases, conditions often linked to HF. This heart access technology includes the heart access sheath, mitral valve neo-chordae, and closure device. These devices are either in the discovery phase or pre-clinical development.

Manufacturing

We plan to use our pilot manufacturing facility, located in Belgium, for the manufacture of C-Cure until commercial launch. This facility has a production capacity of approximately 250 patients per year. We are also building a second pilot manufacturing facility in Rochester, Minnesota to reduce our overall logistical costs for patients in CHART-2 and to provide redundancy.

In the future, we plan to operate two commercial manufacturing sites, one in the United States and one in the European Union. We believe that this will provide us with increased flexibility, reduced logistical costs and necessary redundancy, as well as allowing us to comply with contractual obligations that require us to manufacture in the European Union.

We have been working on the optimization of our manufacturing processes to reduce our cost of production. For example, we are currently developing a closed system that may allow for the manufacture of C-Cure in vessels that prevent contact with the environment, which we expect will reduce our need for Class B clean rooms and the associated expense.

The cells for our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of CAR-NKG2D are being manufactured at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s cell manufacturing facility.

Commercialization

We currently intend to market C-Cure using a sales model focused on leading catheterization laboratories and referral networks. We believe that C-Cure would first be adopted by high-volume key-opinion-leader catheterization laboratories, and progressively by a broader segment of the market. We expect to establish or acquire a specialty sales force to increase physician familiarity with our treatments and field technicians to assist sites during adoption. While we maintain all commercial rights to our C-Cure technology and currently intend to commercialize C-Cure directly, we may in the future adopt a partnering strategy for C-Cure in the United States and/or the European Union.

Given the developmental stage our CAR T-cell platform, we have not yet developed a commercialization plan for our CAR T-cell drug product candidates.

Licensing and Collaboration Agreements

Academic and clinical collaborations

We have core relationships and collaborations with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, or the Mayo Clinic, and the Trustees of Dartmouth College, or Dartmouth.

 

 

 

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Mayo Clinic

C-Cure is based on technology discovered at the Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics lab at the Mayo Clinic, led by Dr. Andre Terzic. Under our technology license agreement with the Mayo Clinic entered into in June 2007 and amended in July 2008 and October 2010, or Mayo License, we were granted an exclusive, worldwide license to make, use, modify, enhance, promote, market and/or sell the “Cardiogenic Cocktail for the production of Cardiac Cells” and “Stem Cell Based Therapy for Non-ischemic Cardiomyopathic Heart Failure” within the field of cardiovascular regeneration or protection, including certain related patents. In addition, we were granted a non-exclusive, worldwide license to licensed know-how in connection with the licensed inventions within the same field. The exclusive license is subject to the Mayo Clinic’s right to make and use the licensed inventions and licensed know-how within its affiliates’ own programs, and to the rights, if any, of the United States government. The Mayo Clinic has the right to purchase quantities of licensed invention from us at cost to meet its and its affiliates’ internal needs.

In consideration for the rights granted to us under the Mayo License, we were required to pay an upfront fee to Mayo Clinic of €9,500,000 upon the initial agreement and $3,193,125 upon the execution of the second amendment, which were subsequently converted into our share capital. We also paid the Mayo Clinic $337,000 for the purchase of equipment for research purposes. Additionally, we are required to pay to the Mayo Clinic a low single-digit royalty on net commercial sales by us or by our permitted sublicensees from the commercialization of licensed products, on a licensed product-by-licensed product basis, beginning on the date of the first commercial sale of the relevant licensed product and extending until the earlier of (i) the 15 year anniversary of the first commercial sale of such licensed product, (ii) the date on which the licensed product is no longer covered by a valid claim of a licensed patent in the applicable territory, or (iii) termination of the Mayo License. The Mayo License permits a reduction of these royalties, not to exceed a specified floor, for amounts payable to third parties as required to in-license necessary third-party technology.

Under the Mayo License, we are responsible for the development, manufacture and commercialization of the licensed inventions. We committed to provide the Mayo Clinic with $500,000 of directed research funding per year for the years 2012 through 2014. Any results of this research will automatically be included as licensed inventions under the Mayo License. We will also fund research at the Mayo Clinic in the amount of $1,000,000 per year for four years in the area of regeneration or protection for cardiovascular applications. Such payments will begin once we have achieved both commercial sale of a licensed product and a positive cash flow from operations in the previous financial year. We will have an exclusive right of first negotiation to acquire an exclusive license to inventions that are the direct result of work carried out under these grants, in accordance with the mechanism described in the Mayo License. The Mayo Clinic provided us with directed research and conducted a dose finding study for us at no additional cost. Subject to pre-existing obligations, until October 18, 2015, we also have an exclusive right of first negotiation to obtain an exclusive license from the Mayo Clinic on any guided cardiopoiesis technology developed by Dr. Andre Terzic or developed or co-developed by Dr. Atta Behfar, the senior investigator involved in the discovery of the cardiopoiesis technology. With respect to both of the foregoing rights of first negotiation, if we and the Mayo Clinic do not reach agreement for a license for the applicable invention within the prescribed negotiation period or permitted extension, the Mayo Clinic is prohibited from entering into a license agreement for such invention with a third party for a period of nine months.

The Mayo License will continue until the later of ten years or as long as the Mayo Clinic has any rights to any part of the licensed inventions. The Mayo Clinic may terminate the license on a product-by-product basis or licensed invention-by-licensed invention basis if we default in making payment when due and payable or under other circumstances specified in the Mayo License, subject to 120 days’ prior

 

 

 

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written notice and opportunity to cure. The Mayo Clinic may also terminate the Mayo License if we deliberately make false statements in reports delivered to Mayo Clinic. Additionally, Mayo Clinic may convert the license to non-exclusive or terminate the license upon final decision of an arbitral tribunal that we breached our diligence obligations under the Mayo License. Further, Mayo Clinic may terminate the agreement immediately for our insolvency or bankruptcy, as described in the Mayo License.

In November 2014, we entered into a Preferred Access Agreement with the Mayo Clinic. Pursuant to this agreement, the Mayo Clinic will review with us, on a quarterly basis, technologies arising from the Mayo Center for Regenerative Medicine, and we may review certain other technologies upon request. If, as a result of such reviews, we and the Mayo Clinic decide to advance a certain technology, we will enter into a separate exclusive license agreement with respect to such technology. This agreement remains in effect until December 2017, and may be extended by mutual agreement.

Dartmouth College and Celdara

In January 2015, we entered into a stock purchase agreement, or the Celdara Agreement, with Celdara Medical, LLC, or Celdara, pursuant to which we purchased all of the outstanding membership interests of OnCyte, LLC, or OnCyte, for a $10.0 million upfront payment to Celdara, $6.0 million of which was paid in cash and $4.0 million of which was paid in the form of 93,087 of our ordinary shares. After this transaction we, Celdara and OnCyte entered into an asset purchase agreement, or OnCyte APA, pursuant to which Celdara sold to OnCyte, data, protocols, regulatory documents and intellectual property, including the rights and obligations under license agreements between Celdara and Dartmouth College, related to our CAR T-cell therapy programs, or the Transferred Assets. Pursuant to the OncCyte APA, we are obligated to make development-based milestone payments to Celdara of $40.0 million for clinical products and of $36.5 million for pre-clinical products, as well as sales-based milestone payments of up to $80.0 million for products based on the Transferred Assets, or CAR Products. The OnCyte APA also requires us to make tiered single-digit royalty payments to Celdara in connection with the sales of CAR Products. Such royalties are payable on a CAR Product-by CAR Product and country-by-country basis until the later of (i) the last day that at least one valid patent claim covering the CAR Product exists, or (ii) the tenth anniversary of the day of the first commercial sale of the CAR Product in such country. Under the OnCyte APA, we can opt out of the development of any CAR Product if the data does not meet the scientific criteria of success. We may also opt out of development of any CAR Product for any other reason upon payment of a termination fee of $2.0 million to Celdara.

2010 Dartmouth License Agreement

Under the exclusive license agreement with Dartmouth College entered into in April 2010 and amended in February 2012, July 2013 and January 2015, Dartmouth College granted us (as successor in interest to Celdara) an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to certain know-how and patent rights to make, have made, use, and/or sell any product or process for human therapeutics, the manufacture, use or sale of which, is covered by such patent rights. Dartmouth College reserves the right to use the licensed patent rights and licensed know-how, in the same field, for education and research purposes only. The patent rights covered by this agreement are related, in part, to methods for treating cancer involving chimeric NK and NKP30 receptor targeted therapeutics and T cell receptor-deficient T cell compositions in treating tumor, infection, GVHD, transplant and radiation sickness.

In consideration for the rights granted to us under the agreement, we are required to pay to Dartmouth College an annual license fee of $20,000 as well as a low single-digit royalty based on annual net sales of the licensed products by us and by our permitted sublicensees, with certain minimum net sales obligations beginning April 30, 2024 and continuing for each year of sales thereafter. We are also obligated to pay to Dartmouth College a certain tiered percentage of sublicensing income ranging from

 

 

 

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the mid-single digits to the mid-teens based on the development stage of the technology at the time the sublicense is granted. We are not required to pay sublicensing income on transactions in which we form a new spin-off entity and transfer at least a portion of our assets. Additionally, the agreement requires that we exploit the licensed products, and we have agreed to meet certain developmental and regulatory milestones. Upon successful completion of such milestones, we are obligated to pay to Dartmouth College certain milestone payments up to an aggregate amount of $1.5 million. We are responsible for all expenses in connection with the preparation, filing, prosecution and maintenance of the patents covered under the agreement.

After April 30, 2024, Dartmouth College may terminate the license if we fail to meet the specified minimum net sales obligations for any year, unless we pay to Dartmouth College the royalty we would otherwise be obligated to pay had we met such minimum net sales obligation. Dartmouth College may also terminate the license if we fail to meet a milestone within the specified time period, unless we pay the corresponding milestone payment. Either party may terminate the agreement in the event the other party defaults or breaches any of the provisions of the agreement, subject to 30 days’ prior notice and opportunity to cure. In addition, the agreement automatically terminates in the event we become insolvent, make an assignment for the benefit of creditors or file, or have filed against us, a petition in bankruptcy. Absent early termination, the agreement will continue until the expiration date of the last to expire patent right included under the agreement in the last to expire territory. We expect that the last to expire patent right included under this agreement will expire in 2033, absent extensions or adjustments.

2014 Dartmouth License Agreement

Under the exclusive license agreement with Dartmouth College entered into in June 2014 and amended in January 2015, Dartmouth College granted us (as successor in interest to Celdara) an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license under certain know-how and patent rights to make, have made, use, modify, exploit, distribute, and/or sell any product or process for human therapeutics, the manufacture, use or sale of which, is covered by such patent rights. Our license is subject to any rights that may be required to be granted to the government of the United States, and Dartmouth College reserves the right to use the licensed patent rights and licensed know-how, in the same field, for education and research purposes only. The patent rights covered by this agreement are related, in part, to anti-B7-H6 antibody, fusion proteins and methods of using the same.

In consideration for the rights granted to us under the agreement, we are required to pay to Dartmouth College a license maintenance fee of $10,000 upon the first anniversary of the agreement and an annual license maintenance fee of $20,000 thereafter. We are also required to pay to Dartmouth College a low single-digit royalty based on annual net sales of the licensed products by us and by our permitted sublicensees, with a specified minimum royalty payment for each year of sales. We are obligated to pay to Dartmouth College a certain tiered percentage of sublicensing income ranging from the mid-single digits to the mid-teens based on the time or development stage of the technology at the time the sublicense is granted. We are not required to pay sublicensing income on transactions in which we form a new spin-off entity and transfer at least a portion of our assets. Additionally, the agreement requires that we exploit the licensed products, and we have agreed to meet certain developmental and regulatory milestones. Upon successful completion of such milestones for each licensed product, we are obligated to pay to Dartmouth College certain milestone payments up to an aggregate amount of $1.6 million. We are responsible for all expenses in connection with the preparation, filing, prosecution and maintenance of the patents covered under the agreement.

Dartmouth College may, at its option, terminate the license, upon thirty days written notice, if we fail to pay at least the minimum royalty payment amount or make such minimum payment within such thirty day period. In addition, Dartmouth College has the right to terminate if we fail to meet a milestone

 

 

 

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within the specified time period or fail to make the corresponding milestone payment, subject to 30 days’ prior written notice and opportunity to cure. We may unilaterally terminate the agreement by giving three months advance written notice to Dartmouth College and paying a termination fee of $2,500. Either party may terminate the agreement in the event the other party defaults or breaches any of the provisions of the agreement, subject to 30 days’ prior notice and opportunity to cure. In addition, the agreement automatically terminates in the event we become insolvent, make an assignment for the benefit of creditors or file, or have filed against us, a petition in bankruptcy. Absent early termination, the agreement will continue until the expiration date of the last to expire patent right included under the agreement in the last to expire territory. We expect that the last to expire patent right included under this agreement will expire in 2033, absent extensions or adjustments.

Intellectual Property

Patents and patent applications

Patents, patent applications and other intellectual property rights are important in the sector in which we operate. We consider on a case-by-case basis filing patent applications with a view to protecting certain innovative products, processes, and methods of treatment. We may also license or acquire rights to patents, patent applications or other intellectual property rights owned by third parties, academic partners or commercial companies which are of interest to us.

Our patent portfolio includes pending patent applications and issued patents in the United States and in foreign countries. These patents and applications generally fall into four broad categories:

 

Ø   patents and pending patent applications relating to cardiopoiesis, a subset of which are licensed from the Mayo Clinic;

 

Ø   patents and pending applications we own that relate to cardiac injection catheter technology;

 

Ø   patent applications owned by our subsidiary Corquest that relate to cardiac medical device technology; and

 

Ø   patents and patent applications licensed from Dartmouth that relate to our CAR-T platform.

The term of a U.S. patent may be eligible for patent term extension under the Hatch-Waxman Act to account for at least some of the time the drug or device is under development and regulatory review after the patent is granted. With regard to a drug or device for which FDA approval is the first permitted marketing of the active ingredient, the Hatch-Waxman Act allows for extension of the term of one U.S. patent. The extended patent term cannot exceed the shorter of five years beyond the non-extended expiration of the patent or 14 years from the date of the FDA approval of the drug or device. Some foreign jurisdictions have analogous patent term extension provisions that allow for extension of the term of a patent that covers a device approved by the applicable foreign regulatory agency.

Cardiopoiesis Platform Patents

As of May 15, 2015, our cardiopoiesis platform portfolio includes seven patent families, four of which are owned by the Mayo Clinic, which we refer to as the Mayo Cardiopoiesis Patents and are exclusively licensed to us, and three of which are owned by us, which we refer to as the Cardio3 Cardiopoiesis Patents.

The Mayo Cardiopoiesis Patents include three issued U.S. patents; 17 foreign patents issued in jurisdictions including Australia, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and South Africa; three pending U.S. patent applications; and 24 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. These patents and patent

 

 

 

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applications relate to compositions and methods for inducing cardiogenesis in embryonic stem cells, methods of identifying cardiopoietic stem cells, and methods of using cardiopoietic stem cells to treat cardiovascular tissue. The Mayo Cardiopoiesis Patents will begin to expire in 2025, absent any adjustments or extensions. We expect that any patents that eventually issue from currently pending applications in the Mayo Cardiopoiesis patent portfolio will begin to expire in 2025, absent any adjustments or extensions.

Our Cardiopoiesis Patents include one issued patent in each of Europe, New Zealand and Singapore; a pending U.S. patent application; and 14 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, as well as one application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. These patents and patent applications relate to pharmaceutical compositions containing cardiopoietic stem cells and methods of their production. Our Cardiopoiesis Patents will begin to expire in 2030, absent any adjustments or extensions. We expect that any patents that eventually issue from currently pending applications in our Cardiopoiesis patent portfolio will begin to expire in 2030, absent any adjustments or extensions.

CAR T-cell Platform Patents

As of May 15, 2015, our CAR T-cell portfolio includes three patent families exclusively licensed to us by Dartmouth. This portfolio includes two issued U.S. patents; four pending U.S. patent applications; and 12 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, India, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. These patents and patent applications relate to particular chimeric antigen receptors and to T-cell receptor-deficient T-cells. After a pending U.S. patent application relating to T-cell receptor-deficient T-cells was allowed, we amended the claims of the patent application and submitted additional prior art references to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with a request to reopen examination of the application. As such, the application is not currently allowed and there is no guarantee that the application will again be allowed in the future. Patents in our CAR T-cell portfolio will begin to expire in 2025, absent any adjustments or extensions. We expect that any patents that eventually issue from currently pending applications in the CAR T-cell Platform patent portfolio will begin to expire in 2025, absent any adjustments or extensions.

Cardiac Injection Catheter Technology Patents

As of May 15, 2015, our cardiac injection catheter technology portfolio includes two patent families we own. This portfolio includes a pending U.S. patent application; eight patents issued in jurisdictions including Australia, Belgium, Europe, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Taiwan; and nine foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, as well as an application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. These patents and patent applications relate to injection catheters and processes for their use. Patents in this portfolio will begin to expire in 2029, absent any adjustments or extensions. We expect that any patents that eventually issue from currently pending applications in the Cardiac Injection Catheter Technology patent portfolio will begin to expire in 2030, absent any adjustments or extensions.

Heart Access Technology Patents

As of May 15, 2015, our heart access technology portfolio includes five patent families owned by Corquest, our wholly owned subsidiary. This portfolio includes ten pending U.S. patent applications and nine foreign patent applications pending in various jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Israel, Mexico, Russia, and the Republic of Korea, as well as four applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. These patent applications relate to devices, assemblies and methods for treating cardiac injuries and defects. Patents in this portfolio, if issued, will begin to expire in 2032.

 

 

 

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Trade secrets

In addition to our patents and patent applications, we keep certain of our proprietary information as trade secrets, which we seek to protect by confidentiality agreements with our employees and third parties, and by fragmenting know-how between different individuals, in accordance with standard industry practices.

Competition

The industry in which we operate is subject to rapid technological change. We face competition from pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical devices companies, as well as from academic and research institutions. Some of these competitors are pursuing the development of medicinal products and other therapies that target the same diseases and conditions that we are targeting.

Some of our current or potential competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and gene therapy 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 products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products 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. The key competitive factors affecting the success of all of our programs are likely to be their efficacy, safety and convenience.

C-Cure

We have identified several companies that are active in cardiac cell therapy as of the date of this prospectus, including Aldagen, Inc., Athersys, Inc., Cytori Therapeutics, Inc., Mesoblast Ltd and Vericel Corporation.

CAR T-Cell Therapy

Early results from clinical trials have fueled continued interest in CAR T-cell therapies and our competitors include Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., bluebird bio, Inc., Cellectis S.A., Juno Therapeutics, Inc., Kite Pharma Inc., Novartis AG and Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.

Government Regulation

Government authorities in the United States at the federal, state and local level and in other countries extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of drug and biological products, or biologics, such as our drug product candidates. Generally, before a new drug or biologic can be marketed, considerable data demonstrating its quality, safety and efficacy must be obtained, organized into a format specific for each regulatory authority, submitted for review and an application for marketing authorization must be approved by the regulatory authority.

 

 

 

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Certain products may be comprised of components that are regulated under separate regulatory authorities and by different centers at the FDA. These products are known as combination products. A combination product is comprised of a combination of a drug and a device; a biological product and a device; a drug and a biological product; or a drug, a device, and a biological product. Under regulations issued by the FDA, a combination product includes:

 

Ø   a product comprised of two or more regulated components that are physically, chemically, or otherwise combined or mixed and produced as a single entity;

 

Ø   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;

 

Ø   a drug, 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, device or biological 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

 

Ø   any investigational drug, device, or biological 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.

One of our drug product candidates is a combination product that is comprised of a biologic and a device (an endocardial injection catheter) that is used for delivery of the biologic. Under the FDCA, the FDA is charged with assigning a center with primary jurisdiction, or a lead center, for review of a combination product. That determination is based on the “primary mode of action” of the combination product, which means the single mode of action that provides the most important therapeutic action of the combination product, i.e., the mode of action expected to make the greatest contribution to the overall intended therapeutic effects of the combination product. Thus, if the primary mode of action of a device-biologic combination product is attributable to the biologic product, that is, if it acts by means of a virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin, vaccine, blood, blood component or derivative, allergenic product, or analogous product, the FDA center responsible for premarket review of the biologic product (the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER) would have primary jurisdiction for the combination product. CBER is the agency component with primary jurisdiction for the premarket review and regulation for our C-Cure investigational product. Because C-Cure utilizes a catheter as a delivery system to the heart, CBER may consult or collaborate with the agency center that is responsible for the premarket review of that device, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, or CDRH.

U.S. Biological Product Development

In the United States, the FDA regulates biologics under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, and the Public Health Service Act, or PHSA, and their implementing regulations. Biologics are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include, among other actions, the FDA’s refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, untitled or warning letters, product recalls or withdrawals from the market, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement, or civil or criminal penalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us.

 

 

 

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Our drug product candidates must be approved by the FDA through the Biologics License Application, or BLA, process before they may be legally marketed in the United States. The process required by the FDA before a biologic may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:

 

Ø   completion of extensive nonclinical, sometimes referred to as pre-clinical laboratory tests, pre-clinical animal studies and formulation studies in accordance with applicable regulations, including the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, regulations;

 

Ø   submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;

 

Ø   performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with applicable IND regulations, good clinical practices, or GCPs, and other clinical trial-related regulations to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug product candidate for its proposed indication;

 

Ø   submission to the FDA of a BLA;

 

Ø   satisfactory completion of an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the product is produced to assess compliance with the FDA’s current good manufacturing practice, or cGMP, requirements to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality, purity and potency;

 

Ø   potential FDA audit of the pre-clinical and/or clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA; and

 

Ø   FDA review and approval of the BLA prior to any commercial marketing or sale of the product in the United States.

The data required to support a BLA is generated in two distinct development stages: pre-clinical and clinical. The pre-clinical development stage generally involves laboratory evaluations of drug chemistry, formulation and stability, as well as studies to evaluate toxicity in animals, which support subsequent clinical testing. The conduct of the pre-clinical studies must comply with federal regulations, including GLPs. The sponsor must submit the results of the pre-clinical studies, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and a proposed clinical protocol, as well as other information, to the FDA as part of the IND. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational drug product to humans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and the protocol(s) for human trials. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions regarding the proposed clinical trials and places the IND on clinical hold within that 30-day time period. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. The FDA may also impose clinical holds on a drug product candidate at any time before or during clinical trials due to safety concerns, non-compliance, or other issues affecting the integrity of the trial. Accordingly, we cannot be sure that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that could cause the trial to be suspended or terminated. Where a trial is conducted at, or sponsored by, institutions receiving NIH funding for recombinant DNA research, prior to the submission of an IND to the FDA, a protocol and related documentation is submitted to and the trial is registered with the NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities, or OBA, pursuant to the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules, or NIH Guidelines. Compliance with the NIH Guidelines is mandatory for investigators at institutions receiving NIH funds for research involving recombinant DNA, however many companies and other institutions not otherwise subject to the NIH Guidelines voluntarily follow them. The NIH is responsible for convening the Recombinant NDA Advisory Committee, or RAC, a federal advisory committee, which discusses protocols that raise novel or particularly important scientific, safety or

 

 

 

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ethical considerations at one of its quarterly public meetings. The OBA will notify the FDA of the RAC’s decision regarding the necessity for full public review of a gene therapy protocol. RAC proceedings and reports are posted to the OBA web site and may be accessed by the public.

The clinical stage of development involves the administration of the drug product candidate to healthy volunteers and patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the trial sponsor’s control, in accordance with GCPs, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria, and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety and assess efficacy. Each protocol, and any subsequent amendments to the protocol, must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Further, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an independent institutional review board, or IRB, at or servicing each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers such items as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the informed consent form that must be provided to each clinical trial subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical trial until completed.

There are also requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical trials and completed clinical trial results to public registries. Sponsors of certain clinical trials of FDA-regulated products, including biologics, are required to register and disclose certain clinical trial information, which is publicly available at www.clinicaltrials.gov. Information related to the product, patient population, phase of investigation, study sites and investigators, and other aspects of the clinical trial is then made public as part of the registration. Sponsors are also obligated to discuss the results of their clinical trials after completion. Disclosure of the results of these trials can be delayed until the new product or new indication being studied has been approved. However, there are evolving rules and increasing requirements for publication of trial-related information, and it is possible that data and other information from trials involving biologics that never garner approval could in the future require disclosure. In addition, publication policies of major medical journals mandate certain registration and disclosures as a pre-condition for potential publication, even if not currently mandated as a matter of law. Competitors may use this publicly available information to gain knowledge regarding the progress of development programs.

Clinical trials are generally conducted in three sequential phases, known as Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3, and may overlap. Phase 1 clinical trials generally involve a small number of healthy volunteers who are initially exposed to a single dose and then multiple doses of the drug product candidate. The primary purpose of these clinical trials is to assess the metabolism, pharmacologic action, side effect tolerability and safety of the drug product candidate and, if possible, to gain early evidence on effectiveness. Phase 2 clinical trials typically involve studies in disease-affected patients to determine the dose required to produce the desired benefits. At the same time, safety and further pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information is collected, as well as identification of possible adverse effects and safety risks and preliminary evaluation of efficacy. Phase 3 clinical trials generally involve large numbers of patients at multiple sites, in multiple countries, and are designed to provide the data necessary to demonstrate the efficacy of the product for its intended use, its safety in use, and to establish the overall benefit/risk relationship of the product and provide an adequate basis for product approval. Phase 3 clinical trials may include comparisons with placebo and/or other comparator treatments. The duration of treatment is often extended to mimic the actual use of a product during marketing. Generally, two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials are required by the FDA for approval of a BLA.

 

 

 

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Post-approval trials, sometimes referred to as Phase IV 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. In certain instances, FDA may condition approval of a BLA on the sponsor’s agreement to conduct additional clinical trials to further assess the biologic’s safety and effectiveness after BLA approval.

Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials, among other information, must be submitted at least annually to the FDA, and written IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and the investigators for serious and unexpected suspected adverse events, findings from other studies suggesting a significant risk to humans exposed to the biologic, findings from 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. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA, the IRB, or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Additionally, some clinical trials are overseen by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board or committee. This group provides authorization for whether or not a trial may move forward at designated intervals based on access to certain data from the trial. We may also suspend or terminate a clinical trial based on evolving business objectives and/or competitive climate. Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the drug product candidate as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the drug product candidate and, among other things, must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the drug product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.

BLA and FDA Review Process

Following trial completion, trial data are analyzed to assess safety and efficacy. The results of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials are then submitted to the FDA as part of a BLA, along with proposed labeling for the product and information about the manufacturing process and facilities that will be used to ensure product quality, results of analytical testing conducted on the chemistry of the drug product candidate, and other relevant information. The BLA is a request for approval to market the biologic for one or more specified indications and must contain proof of safety, purity, potency and efficacy, which is demonstrated by extensive pre-clinical and clinical testing. The application may include both negative or ambiguous results of pre-clinical and clinical trials as well as positive findings. Data may come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and efficacy 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 efficacy of the investigational product to the satisfaction of the FDA. FDA approval of a BLA must be obtained before a biologic may be marketed in the United States.

Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, as amended, each BLA must be accompanied by a significant user fee, which is adjusted on an annual basis. PDUFA also imposes an annual product fee for human drugs and an annual establishment fee on facilities used to manufacture prescription drugs. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, including a waiver of the application fee for the first application filed by a small business.

 

 

 

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Once a BLA has been accepted for filing, which occurs, if at all, sixty days after the BLA’s submission, the FDA’s goal is to review BLAs within 10 months of the filing date for standard review or six months of the filing date for priority review, if the application is for a product intended for a serious or life-threatening condition and the product, if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety or effectiveness. The review process is often significantly extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification.

After the BLA submission is accepted for filing, the FDA reviews the BLA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed drug product candidate is safe and effective for its intended use, and whether the drug product candidate is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the drug product candidate’s identity, strength, quality, purity and potency. The FDA may refer applications for novel drug product candidates or drug product candidates which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and 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. The FDA will likely re-analyze the clinical trial data, which could result in extensive discussions between the FDA and us during the review process. The review and evaluation of a BLA by the FDA is extensive and time consuming and may take longer than originally planned to complete, and we may not receive a timely approval, if at all.

Before approving a BLA, the FDA will conduct a pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facilities for the new product to determine whether they comply with cGMPs. The FDA will not approve the product 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, before approving a BLA, the FDA may also audit data from clinical trials to ensure compliance with GCP requirements. After the FDA evaluates the application, manufacturing process and manufacturing facilities, it may issue an approval letter or a Complete Response Letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. 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 usually describes all of the specific deficiencies in the BLA identified by the FDA. The Complete Response Letter may require additional clinical data and/or an additional pivotal Phase III clinical trial(s), and/or other significant and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, pre-clinical studies or manufacturing. If a Complete Response Letter is issued, the applicant may either resubmit the BLA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application. Even if such data and information is submitted, the FDA may ultimately decide that the BLA does not satisfy the criteria for approval. Data obtained from clinical trials are not always conclusive, and the FDA may interpret data differently than we interpret the same data.

There is no assurance that the FDA will ultimately approve a product for marketing in the United States, and we may encounter significant difficulties or costs during the review process. If a product receives marketing approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific populations, severities of allergies, and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, which could restrict the commercial value of the product. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling or may condition the approval of the BLA on other changes to the proposed labeling, development of adequate controls and specifications, or a commitment to conduct post-market testing or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the effects of approved products. For example, the FDA may require Phase IV testing which involves clinical trials designed to further assess the product’s safety and effectiveness and may require testing and surveillance programs to

 

 

 

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monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized. The FDA may also place other conditions on approvals including the requirement for a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, to assure the safe use of the product. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the BLA must submit a proposed REMS. The FDA will not approve the NDA without an approved REMS, if required. A REMS could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. Any of these limitations on approval or marketing could restrict the commercial promotion, distribution, prescription or dispensing of products. Product approvals may be withdrawn for non-compliance with regulatory standards or if problems occur following initial marketing.

Expedited Development and Review Programs

The FDA has a Fast Track program that is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new drugs and biological products that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs and biological products are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and non-clinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. Fast Track designation applies to the combination of the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor of a new drug or biologic may request the FDA to designate the drug or biologic as a Fast Track product concurrently with, or at any time after, submission of an IND, and the FDA must determine if the product qualifies for Fast Track designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request. Unique to a Fast Track product, the FDA may consider for review sections of the marketing application on a rolling basis before the complete 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.

Any product submitted to the FDA for marketing, including under a Fast Track program, may be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite development and review, such as priority review and accelerated approval. Any product is eligible for priority review, or review within a six-month timeframe from the date a complete BLA is accepted for filing, if it has the potential to provide a significant improvement in safety and effectiveness compared to available therapies. The FDA will attempt to direct additional resources to the evaluation of an application for a new drug or biological product designated for priority review in an effort to facilitate the review.

Additionally, a product may be eligible for accelerated approval. An investigational drug may obtain accelerated approval if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition and 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. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a drug or biological product receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials. If the FDA concludes that a drug shown to be effective can be safely used only if distribution or use is restricted, it will require such post-marketing restrictions as it deems necessary to assure safe use of the drug, such as:

 

Ø   distribution restricted to certain facilities or physicians with special training or experience; or

 

Ø   distribution conditioned on the performance of specified medical procedures.

The limitations imposed would be commensurate with the specific safety concerns presented by the product. In addition, the FDA currently requires as a condition for accelerated approval pre-approval of promotional materials, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the

 

 

 

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product. Fast Track designation, priority review and accelerated approval do not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or approval process.

Breakthrough Designation

The Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or FDASIA, amended the FDCA to require the FDA to expedite the development and review of a breakthrough therapy. A product can be designated as a breakthrough therapy if it is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that it may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints. A sponsor may request that a drug product candidate be designated as a breakthrough therapy concurrently with, or at any time after, the submission of an IND, and the FDA must determine if the drug product candidate qualifies for breakthrough therapy designation within 60 days of receipt of the sponsor’s request. If so designated, the FDA shall act to expedite the development and review of the product’s marketing application, including by meeting with the sponsor throughout the product’s development, providing timely advice to the sponsor to ensure that the development program to gather pre-clinical and clinical data is as efficient as practicable, involving senior managers and experienced review staff in a cross-disciplinary review, assigning a cross-disciplinary project lead for the FDA review team to facilitate an efficient review of the development program and to serve as a scientific liaison between the review team and the sponsor, and taking steps to ensure that the design of the clinical trials is as efficient as practicable.

Pediatric Trials

Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act, or PREA, a BLA or supplement to a BLA must contain data to assess the safety and efficacy of the product 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. FDASIA requires that a sponsor who is planning to submit a marketing application for a drug or biological product that includes a new active ingredient, new indication, new dosage form, new dosing regimen or new route of administration submit an initial Pediatric Study Plan, or PSP, within sixty days of an end-of-Phase II meeting or as may be agreed between the sponsor and FDA. 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. FDA and the sponsor must reach 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 nonclinical studies, early phase clinical trials, and/or other clinical development programs. The FDA may, on its own initiative or at the request of the applicant, grant deferrals for submission of data or full or partial waivers.

Post-Marketing Requirements

Following approval of a new product, a manufacturer and the approved product are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, monitoring and recordkeeping activities, reporting to the applicable regulatory authorities of adverse experiences with the product, providing the regulatory authorities with updated safety and efficacy information, product sampling and distribution requirements, and complying with promotion and advertising requirements, which include, among others, standards for direct-to-consumer advertising, restrictions on promoting products for uses or in patient populations that are not described in the product’s approved labeling (known as “off-label use”), limitations on industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities, and requirements for promotional activities involving the internet. Although physicians may prescribe legally available drugs and biologics for off-label uses, manufacturers may not market or promote such off-label uses.

 

 

 

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Modifications or enhancements to the product or its labeling or changes of the site of manufacture are often subject to the approval of the FDA and other regulators, which may or may not be received or may result in a lengthy review process. Prescription drug promotional materials must be submitted to the FDA in conjunction with their first use. Any distribution of prescription drug products and pharmaceutical samples must comply with the U.S. Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or the PDMA, a part of the FDCA.

In the United States, once a product is approved, its manufacture is subject to comprehensive and continuing regulation by the FDA. The FDA regulations require that products be manufactured in specific approved facilities and in accordance with cGMPs. The cGMP requirements for constituent parts of cross-labeled combination products that are manufactured separately and not co-packaged are the same as those that would apply if these constituent parts were not part of a combination product. For single-entity and co-packaged combination products, there are two ways to demonstrate compliance with cGMP requirements, either compliance with all cGMP regulations applicable to each of the constituent parts included in the combination product, or a streamlined approach demonstrating compliance with either the drug/biologic cGMPs or the medical device quality system regulation rather than demonstrating full compliance with both, under certain conditions. These conditions include demonstrating compliance with specified provisions from the other of these two sets of cGMP requirements. Because the C-Cure device comprises a biologic and a cathether that are not co-packaged, we need to comply with the cGMPs requirements for each constituent part. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for the production of clinical and commercial quantities of our products in accordance with cGMP regulations. cGMP regulations require, among other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation and the obligation to investigate and correct any deviations from cGMP. Manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved products are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance. These regulations also impose certain organizational, procedural and documentation requirements with respect to manufacturing and quality assurance activities. BLA holders using contract manufacturers, laboratories or packagers are responsible for the selection and monitoring of qualified firms, and, in certain circumstances, qualified suppliers to these firms. These firms and, where applicable, their suppliers are subject to inspections by the FDA at any time, and the discovery of violative conditions, including failure to conform to cGMP, could result in enforcement actions that interrupt the operation of any such facilities or the ability to distribute products manufactured, processed or tested by them. Discovery of problems with a product after approval may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer, or holder of an approved BLA, including, among other things, recall or withdrawal of the product from the market.

The FDA also may require post-approval testing, sometimes referred to as Phase IV testing, risk minimization action plans and post-marketing surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product or place conditions on an approval that could restrict the distribution or use of the product. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product or the failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements can have negative consequences, including adverse publicity, judicial or administrative enforcement, warning letters from the FDA, mandated corrective advertising or communications with doctors, and civil or criminal penalties, among others. Newly discovered or developed safety or effectiveness data may require changes to a product’s approved labeling, including the addition of new warnings and contraindications, and also may require the implementation of other risk management measures. Also, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our products under development.

 

 

 

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Other Regulatory Matters

Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities following product approval are also subject to regulation by numerous regulatory authorities in addition to the FDA, including, in the United States, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, other divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and state and local governments. In the United States, sales, marketing and scientific/educational programs must also comply with federal and state fraud and abuse laws, data privacy and security laws, transparency laws, and pricing and reimbursement requirements in connection with governmental payor programs, among others. The handling of any controlled substances must comply with the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. Products must meet applicable child-resistant packaging requirements under the U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act. Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities are also potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.

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.

The failure to comply with regulatory requirements subjects firms to possible legal or regulatory action. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines or other penalties, injunctions, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of product approvals, or refusal to allow a firm to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts. In addition, even if a firm complies with FDA and other requirements, new information regarding the safety or efficacy of a product could lead the FDA to modify or withdraw product approval. Prohibitions or restrictions on sales or withdrawal of future products marketed by us could materially affect our business in an adverse way.

Changes in regulations, statutes or the interpretation of existing regulations could impact our business in the future by requiring, for example: (i) changes to our manufacturing arrangements; (ii) additions or modifications to product labeling; (iii) the recall or discontinuation of our products; or (iv) additional record-keeping requirements. If any such changes were to be imposed, they could adversely affect the operation of our business.

U.S. Patent Term Restoration and Marketing Exclusivity

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of the FDA approval of our drug product candidates, some of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent restoration term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, patent term restoration cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The patent term restoration period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of a BLA plus the time between the submission date of a BLA and the approval of that application, except that the review period is reduced by any time during which the applicant failed to exercise due diligence. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug is eligible for the extension and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The U.S. PTO, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we may apply for restoration of patent term for our currently owned or licensed patents to add patent life beyond its current expiration date, depending on the expected length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant BLA.

 

 

 

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An abbreviated approval pathway for biological products shown to be similar to, or interchangeable with, an FDA-licensed reference biological product was created by the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCI Act, which was part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively the ACA. This amendment to the PHSA attempts to minimize duplicative testing. Biosimilarity, which requires that the biological product be highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components and that there be no clinically meaningful differences between the product and the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency, can be shown through analytical studies, animal studies, and a clinical trial or trials. Interchangeability requires that a biological product be biosimilar to the reference product and that the product can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product in any given patient and, for products administered multiple times, that the product and the reference product may be switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biological product. However, complexities associated with the larger, and often more complex, structure of biological products as compared to small molecule drugs, as well as the processes by which such products are manufactured, pose significant hurdles to implementation that are still being worked out by the FDA.

A reference biological product is granted twelve years of exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the product, and the FDA will not accept an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product based on the reference biological product until four years after first licensure. “First licensure” typically means the initial date the particular product at issue was licensed in the United States. This does not include a supplement for the biological product or a subsequent application by the same sponsor or manufacturer of the biological product (or licensor, predecessor in interest, or other related entity) for a change that results in a new indication, route of administration, dosing schedule, dosage form, delivery system, delivery device, or strength, unless that change is a modification to the structure of the biological product and such modification changes its safety, purity, or potency. Whether a subsequent application, if approved, warrants exclusivity as the “first licensure” of a biological product is determined on a case-by-case basis with data submitted by the sponsor.

Pediatric exclusivity is another type of regulatory market exclusivity in the United States. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing exclusivity periods and patent terms. This six-month exclusivity, which attaches to both the twelve-year and four-year exclusivity periods for reference biologics, may be granted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric trial in accordance with an FDA-issued “Written Request” for such a trial.

European Union Drug Development

In the European Union, our future drug product candidates will also be subject to extensive regulatory requirements. As in the United States, medicinal products can only be marketed if a marketing authorization, or MA, from the competent regulatory agencies has been obtained.

Clinical Trials

Similar to the United States, the various phases of pre-clinical and clinical research in the European Union are subject to significant regulatory controls. Although the EU Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC has sought to harmonize the European Union clinical trials regulatory framework, setting out common rules for the control and authorization of clinical trials in the European Union, the European Union Member States have transposed and applied the provisions of the Directive differently. This has led to significant variations in the Member State regimes. To improve the current system, a new Regulation No. 536/2014 on clinical trials on medicinal drug product candidates for human use, which repealed Directive 2001/20/EC, was adopted on April 16, 2014, and published in the European Official

 

 

 

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Journal on May 27, 2014. The new Regulation aims at harmonizing and streamlining the clinical trials authorization process, simplifying adverse event reporting procedures, improving the supervision of clinical trials, and increasing their transparency. The new Regulation entered into force on June 16, 2014, but will apply not earlier than May 28, 2016. Until then the Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC will still apply. In addition, the transitory provisions of the new Regulation offer the sponsors the possibility to choose between the requirements of the Directive and the Regulation for one year from the entry into application of the Regulation.

Under the current regime, before a clinical trial can be initiated it must be approved in each of the European Union countries where the trial is to be conducted by two distinct bodies: the National Competent Authority, or NCA, and one or more Ethics Committees, or ECs. More specifically, a clinical trial may not be started until the relevant EC has issued a favorable opinion, and the NCA has not informed the Sponsor of the trial of any grounds for non-acceptance or confirmed that no such grounds exist. Approval will only be granted if satisfactory information demonstrating the quality of the investigational agent and its non-clinical safety has been provided, together with a study plan that details the manner in which the trial will be carried out.

ECs determine whether the proposed clinical trial will expose participants to unacceptable conditions of hazards, while considering, among other things, the trial design, protocol, facilities, investigator and supporting staff, recruitment of clinical trial subjects, the Investigator’s Brochure, or IB, indemnity and insurance, etc. The EC also determines whether clinical trial participants have given informed consent to participate in the trial. Following receipt of an application (which must be submitted in the national language), ECs must deliver their opinion within 60 days (or sooner if the Member State has implemented a shorter time period). For clinical trials of gene therapy, somatic cell therapy, and all medicinal products containing genetically modified organisms, this timeline may be extended (with an additional 120 days).

Similarly, a valid request for authorization (in the national language) must be submitted to the NCA of each Member State where the trial will be conducted. Sponsors must be notified of the decision within 60 days of receipt of the application (unless shorter time periods have been fixed), in the absence of which, the trial is considered approved. However, for clinical trials of gene therapy, somatic cell therapy, and all medicinal products containing genetically modified organisms, a written authorization by the competent NCA is required. Similar timeline extensions as for ECs exist.

Studies must comply with ethical guidelines and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines. Monitoring of adverse reactions that occur during clinical trials, including, where applicable, notification of the same to the competent NCA and ECs, is also required. Trials can be terminated early if a danger to human health is established or continuing the trial would be considered unethical. Consequently, the rate of completion of clinical trials may be delayed by many factors, including slower than anticipated patient enrollment or adverse events occurring during clinical trials.

Drug Review and Approval

In the European Economic Area, or EEA (which is comprised of the 28 Member States of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), medicinal products can only be commercialized after obtaining a Marketing Authorization, or MA. There are two types of marketing authorizations:

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, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, and which is valid throughout the entire territory of the EEA. The

 

 

 

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Centralized Procedure is mandatory for certain types of products, such as biotechnology medicinal products, orphan medicinal products, advanced-therapy medicines such as gene-therapy, somatic cell-therapy or tissue-engineered medicines, and medicinal 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 EEA, 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 EEA 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 EEA, this National MA can be recognized in other Member State(s) through the Mutual Recognition Procedure, or MRP. 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, or DCP. Under the DCP an identical dossier is submitted to the competent authorities of each of the Member States in which the MA is sought, one of which is selected by the applicant as the Reference Member State, or RMS. The competent authority of the RMS prepares a draft assessment report, a draft summary of product characteristics, or SmPC, and a draft of the labeling and package leaflet, which are sent to the other Member States (referred to as the Concerned Member States, or CMSs) for their approval. If the CMSs raise no objections, based on a potential serious risk to public health, to the assessment, SmPC, labeling, or packaging proposed by the RMS, the product is subsequently granted a national MA in all the relevant Member States (i.e. in the RMS and the CMSs).

Under the above described procedures, before granting the MA, the EMA or the competent authorities of the Member States of the EEA make an assessment of the risk-benefit balance of the product on the basis of scientific criteria concerning its quality, safety and efficacy.

Marketing Authorization Application

Following positive completion of clinical trials, pharmaceutical companies can submit a MA application. The MA application shall include all information that is relevant to the evaluation of the medicinal products, whether favorable or unfavourable. The application dossier must include, among other things, the results of pharmaceutical (physico-chemical, biological, or microbiological) tests, preclinical (toxicological and pharmacological) tests, and clinical trials, including the therapeutic indications, contra-indications, and adverse reactions, and the recommended dosing regimen or posology.

In addition to demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the medicinal product, pharmaceutical companies are required to guarantee the consistent quality of the product. Therefore, the conditions for obtaining a MA include requirements that the manufacturer of the product complies with applicable legislation including Good Manufacturing Practice, or GMP, related implementing measures and applicable guidelines that involve, amongst others, ongoing inspections of manufacturing and storage facilities.

Early Access Mechanisms

Several schemes exist in the EU to support earlier access to new medicines falling within the scope of the Centralized Procedure, in particular (i) accelerated assessment; (ii) conditional MAs ; and (iii) MAs granted under exceptional circumstances.

For a medicine which is of “major public health interest” (in particular, in terms of therapeutic innovation), accelerated assessment can be requested, taking up to 150 days instead of the usual period of up to 210 days. There is no single definition of what constitutes major public health interest. This

 

 

 

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should be justified by the applicant on a case-by-case basis. The justification should present the arguments to support the claim that the medicinal product introduces new methods of therapy or improves on existing methods, thereby addressing to a significant extent the greater unmet needs for maintaining and improving public health.

Conditional MAs may be granted on the basis of less complete data than usual in order to meet unmet medical needs of patients and in the interest of public health, subject to specific obligations with regard to further studies and intended to be replaced by a full unconditional MA once the missing data is provided. A conditional MA is valid for one year on a renewable basis.

Medicines for which the MA applicant can demonstrate that the normally required comprehensive efficacy and safety data cannot be provided (for example because the disease which the medicine treats is extremely rare) may be eligible for a MA under exceptional circumstances. These are medicines for which it is never intended that a full MA will be obtained. MAs under exceptional circumstances are reviewed annually to reassess the risk-benefit balance.

Supplementary Protection Certificates and data/market exclusivity

In Europe, the extension of effective patent term to compensate originator pharmaceutical companies for the period between the filing of an application for a patent for a new medicinal product and the first MA for such product, has been achieved by means of a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) which can be applied for by the originator pharmaceutical company within 6 months from the granting of the first MA and comes into effect on expiry of the basic patent. Such SPC attaches only to the active ingredient of the medicinal product for which the MA has been granted. The SPC for an active ingredient has a single last potential expiry date throughout the EEA, and cannot last for more than five years from the date on which it takes effect ( i.e. , patent expiry. Furthermore, the overall duration of protection afforded by a patent and a SPC cannot exceed 15 years from the first MA. The duration of a medicinal product SPC can be extended by a single six-month period, or pediatric extension, when all studies in accordance with a pediatric investigation plan, or PIP, have been carried out.

Innovative medicines benefit from specific data and marketing exclusivity regimes. These regimes are intended to provide general regulatory protection to further stimulate innovation. The current rules provide for (i) an 8-year data protection (from the MA of an innovative medicine) against the filing of an abridged application for a follow-on product, referring to the data supporting the MA of the innovative medicince (data exclusivity); and (ii) a 10-year protection against the marketing of a follow-on product (marketing exclusivity), with a possible extension by 1 year if, during the first 8 years, a new therapeutic indication (which is considered to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies) is approved. This protection is often referred to as the “eight, plus two, plus one” rule. Additional reward mechanisms exist, most notably a 10-year orphan medicines’ marketing exclusivity, and a 1-year data exclusivity for developing a new indication for an old substance and for switch data supporting a change in prescription status.

The current rules also provide for a system of obligations and rewards and incentives intended to facilitate the development and accessibility of pediatric medicinal products, and to ensure that such products are subject to high quality ethical research. Pursuant to such rules, pharmaceutical companies are often required to submit a Pediatric Investigation Plan, or PIP, at a relatively early stage of product development, which defines the pediatric studies to be completed before a MA application can be submitted. Upon completion of the studies in the agreed PIP, the company may be entitled to a “reward”, i.e. , the afore-mentioned 6-month pediatric extension of the SPC for non-orphan medicinal products; or a two-year extension of the 10-year marketing exclusivity period for orphan medicines.

 

 

 

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Post-marketing and pharmacovigilance requirements

When granting a MA, competent authorities ( i.e. , the EMA or the relevant NCAs) may impose an obligation to conduct additional clinical testing, sometimes referred to as Phase IV clinical trials, or other post-approval commitments, to monitor the product after commercialization. Additionally, the MA may be subjected to limitations on the indicated uses for the product.

Also, after a MA has been obtained, the marketed product and its manufacturer and MA holder will continue to be subject to a number of regulatory obligations , as well as to monitoring/inspections by the competent authorities.

Under applicable pharmacovigilance rules, pharmaceutical companies must, in relation to all their authorized products, irrespective of the regulatory route of approval, collect, evaluate and collate information concerning all suspected adverse reactions and, when relevant, report it to the competent authorities. This information includes both suspected adverse reactions signaled by healthcare professionals, either spontaneously or through post-authorization studies, regardless of whether or not the medicinal product was used in accordance with the authorized SmPC and/or any other marketing conditions, and suspected adverse reactions identified in worldwide-published scientific literature. To that end, a MA holder must have (permanently and continuously) at its disposal an appropriately qualified person responsible for pharmacovigilance and establish an adequate pharmacovigilance system. All relevant suspected adverse reactions, including suspected serious adverse reactions, which must also be reported on an expedited basis, should be submitted to the competent authorities in the form of Periodic Safety Update Reports, or PSURs. PSURs are intended to provide an update for the competent authorities on the worldwide safety experience of a medicinal product at defined time points after authorization. PSURs must therefore comprise a succinct summary of information together with a critical evaluation of the risk/benefit balance of the medicinal product, taking into account any new or changing information. The evaluation should ascertain whether any further investigations need to be carried out, and whether the SmPC or other product information needs to be modified.

To ensure that pharmaceutical companies comply with pharmacovigilance regulatory obligations, and to facilitate compliance, competent authorities will conduct pharmacovigilance inspections. These inspections are either routine ( i.e. aimed at determining whether the appropriate personnel, systems, and resources are in place) or targeted to companies suspected of being non-compliant. Reports of the outcome of such inspections will be used to help improve compliance and may also be used as a basis for enforcement action.

Other regulatory matters

Advertising of medicines is subject to tighter controls than general consumer goods and specific requirements are set forth in Directive 2001/83/EC, which apply in addition to the general rules. In general, advertising of unapproved medicinal products or of unapproved uses of otherwise authorized medicinal products ( e.g. , off-label uses) is prohibited, and advertising for prescription medicinal products must be directed only towards health care professionals ( i.e. , advertising of these products to the general public is prohibited). Member States have implemented the advertising rules differently and the requirements vary significantly depending on the specific country. Advertising of medicinal products in an online setting, including social media, can be particularly challenging given the strict rules in place.

 

 

 

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Pricing &Reimbursement

United States

Sales of our products will depend, in part, on the extent to which our products, once approved, will be covered and reimbursed by third-party payors, such as government health programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations. These third-party payors are increasingly reducing reimbursements for medical products and services. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a drug product, including a biologic, typically is separate from the process for setting the price of a drug product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that a payor will pay for the drug product once coverage is approved. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the approved drugs for a particular indication.

In order to secure coverage and reimbursement for any drug product candidate that might be approved for sale, we may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of the drug product candidate, in addition to the costs required to obtain FDA or other comparable regulatory approvals. Whether or not we conduct such studies, our drug product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. A third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a drug product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Further, one payor’s determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage, and adequate reimbursement, for the product. Third party reimbursement may not be sufficient to enable us to maintain price levels high enough to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development.

The containment of healthcare costs has become a priority of federal and state governments, and the prices of drugs, including biologics, have been a focus in this effort. The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could further limit our net revenue and results. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for our drug product candidate or a decision by a third-party payor to not cover our drug product candidate could reduce physician usage of the drug product candidate and have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations and financial condition.

For example, the ACA, enacted in March 2010, has had, and is expected to continue to have, a significant impact on the health care industry. The ACA has expanded coverage for the uninsured while at the same time containing overall healthcare costs. With regard to pharmaceutical products, among other things, the ACA expanded and increased industry rebates for drugs covered under Medicaid programs and made changes to the coverage requirements under the Medicare Part D program. We cannot predict the full impact of the ACA on bio-pharmaceutical companies as many of the ACA reforms require the promulgation of additional detailed regulations implementing the statutory provisions which has not yet completely occurred. Further, new legislation is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to invalidate certain provisions of the ACA.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. On August 2, 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011 among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to

 

 

 

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2% per fiscal year, started in April 2013 and will stay in effect through 2024 unless additional Congressional action is taken. On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, or the ATRA, which delayed for another two months the budget cuts mandated by these sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The ATRA, among other things, also reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years.

In addition, 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.

European Union

In Europe, pricing and reimbursement for pharmaceutical products are not harmonized and fall within the exclusive competence of the national authorities, provided that basic transparency requirements (such as maximum timelines) defined at the European level are met as set forth in the EU Transparency Directive 89/105/EEC. A Member State may approve a specific price for a 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. For example, in France, effective access to the market assumes that our future products will be reimbursed by social security. The price of medications is negotiated with the Economic Committee for Health Products, or CEPS.

As a consequence, reimbursement mechanisms by public national healthcare systems, or private health insurers also vary from country to country. In public healthcare systems, reimbursement is determined by guidelines established by the legislator or a competent national authority. In general, inclusion of a product in reimbursement schemes is dependent upon proof of the product efficacy, medical need, and economic benefits of the product to patients and the healthcare system in general. Acceptance for reimbursement comes with cost, use and often volume restrictions, which again vary from country to country.

The pricing and reimbursement level for medicinal products will depend on the strength of the clinical data set and, as for most novel therapies, restrictions may apply. In most countries, national competent authorities ensure that the prices of registered medicinal products sold in their territory are not excessive. In making this judgment, they usually compare the proposed national price either to prices of existing treatments and/or to prices of the product at issue in other countries – so-called “international reference pricing” – also taking into account the type of treatment (preventive, curative or symptomatic), the degree of innovation, the therapeutic breakthrough, volume of sales, sales forecast, size of the target population and/or the improvement (including cost savings) over comparable treatments. Given the growing burden of medical treatments on national healthcare budgets, reimbursement and insurance coverage is an important determinant of the accessibility of medicines.

The various public and private plans, formulary restrictions, reimbursement policies, patient advocacy groups, and cost-sharing requirements may play a role in determining effective access to the market of our product candidates. The national competent authorities may also use a range of policies and other initiatives intended to influence pharmaceutical consumption. 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 drug product candidates. Historically, products launched in the European Union do not follow price structures of the United States and generally tend to be priced at a significantly lower level.

 

 

 

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Other Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements

Our business operations in the United States and our arrangements with clinical investigators, healthcare providers, consultants, third-party payors and patients may expose us to broadly applicable federal and state fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws. These laws may impact, among other things, our research, proposed sales, marketing and education programs of our drug product candidates that obtain marketing approval. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include, among others:

 

Ø   the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward, or in return for, either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order, or recommendation of, an item, good, facility or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;

 

Ø   federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws, which impose penalties and provide for civil whistleblower or qui tam actions against individuals and entities for, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payers that are false or fraudulent, or making a false statement or record material to payment of a false claim or avoiding, decreasing, or concealing an obligation to pay money to the federal government, including for example, providing inaccurate billing or coding information to customers or promoting a product off-label;

 

Ø   the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created federal criminal statutes that prohibit, among other things, executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, obtaining money or property of the health care benefit program through false representations, or knowingly and willingly falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact, making false statements or using or making any false or fraudulent document in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits or services.

 

Ø   the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, enacted as part of the ACA, which requires applicable manufacturers of covered drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to track and annually report to CMS payments and other transfers of value provided to physicians and teaching hospitals and certain ownership and investment interest held by physicians or their immediate family members in applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations;

 

Ø   HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, and its implementing regulations, which imposes certain requirements on covered entities and their business associates relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information; and

 

Ø   state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers, state marketing and/or transparency laws applicable to manufacturers that may be broader in scope than the federal requirements, state laws that require biopharmaceutical companies to comply with the biopharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, and state laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect as HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.

The ACA broadened the reach of the federal fraud and abuse laws by, among other things, amending the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and certain applicable federal criminal healthcare fraud statutes. Pursuant to the statutory amendment, a person or entity no longer needs to have actual

 

 

 

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knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. In addition, the ACA provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the civil False Claims Act or the civil monetary penalties statute.

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws. 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 administrative, civil, and/or criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they also may be subject to administrative, civil, and/or criminal sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs.

Employees

As of March 26, 2015, we employed 82 full-time and three part-time employees, including 75 in research and development and 10 in general and administrative Fourteen of our employees have either an M.D. or a Ph.D. We have never had a work stoppage, and none of our employees is represented by a labor organization or under any collective-bargaining arrangements. We consider our employee relations to be good.

Facilities

We rent a 1,120 square meter office and laboratory space from the Axis Parc developer located at the Axis Parc in Mont-Saint-Guibert pursuant to a lease agreement dated October 31, 2007, as amended from time to time, which expires on September 30, 2017. In addition, clean-room environments are available to use from Biological Manufacturing Services SA in the same building pursuant to a service agreement dated April 11, 2011, which will automatically renew for three years on December 31, 2015. We believe that our current office and laboratory space is sufficient to meet our clinical needs until the expiration of our lease.

We plan to identify additional facilities in the Flemish region of Belgium to construct our contemplaed future European manufacturing plant. We have committed to maintain our headquarters and registered office in the Walloon region of Belgium and all of our existing activities will continue to be performed in the Walloon region.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time we may become involved in legal proceedings or be subject to claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. We are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, if determined adversely to us, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

 

 

 

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Management

Our Board of Directors

We currently have eleven directors, less than a majority of whom are citizens or residents of the United States.

Pursuant to the Belgian Company Code, we are managed by a board of directors acting as a collegiate body. We have opted for a one-tier governance structure. Pursuant to the Belgian Company Code, the board of directors is our ultimate decision-making body, except with respect to those areas that are reserved by law or by our articles of association to the shareholders’ meeting.

Under our articles of association, our board of directors must be composed of at least three members, who may be natural persons or legal entities. Under our corporate governance charter and in accordance with the Belgian Corporate Governance Code, at least half of the board members must be non-executive directors and at least three must be independent directors as defined by the Belgian Company Code. Subject to this, the number of directors is determined by our shareholders. Directors are elected, re-elected and may be removed at a shareholders’ general meeting with a simple majority vote of our shareholders.

Pursuant to the Belgian Company Code, if the mandate of a director becomes vacant, the remaining directors have the right to temporarily appoint a new director to fill the vacancy until the first shareholders’ meeting after the mandate became vacant. The new director completes the term of the director whose mandate became vacant.

Pursuant to our corporate governance charter, our directors are elected for a maximum term of four years.

Under our articles of association, PMV-TINA Comm. V and Sofipôle SA are each entitled to nominate a candidate for appointment as a member of the our board of directors as long as such entity (or any of its affiliates) continues to hold a minimum number of shares. As of December 31, 2014, the number of shares was 427,929 shares for PMV-TINA and 495,879 shares for Sofipôle).

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the current members of our board of directors, including their ages, as of March 15, 2015:

 

Name    Age    Term(1)    Position(s)
Michel Lussier (2)    58    2016    Chairman of the Board of Directors
LSS Consulting SPRL, represented by its permanent representative Christian Homsy    56    2016    Executive Director, CEO
William Wijns    63    2016    Independent Director
Pienter-Jan BVBA, represented by its permanent representative Chris Buyse (2, 3)    50    2016    Independent Director
R.A.D. Life Sciences BVBA, represented by its permanent representative Rudy Dekeyser (2, 3)    53    2016    Independent Director
Jean-Marc Heynderickx    56    2019    Independent Director

 

 

 

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Name    Age    Term(1)    Position(s)
Chris De Jonghe (3)    42    2017    Independent Director
Hanspeter Spek (2)    65    2018    Independent Director
Danny Wong    52    2018    Non-Executive Director
Serge Goblet    57    2016    Non-Executive Director
TOLEFI SA, represented by its permanent representative Serge Goblet    57    2018    Non-Executive Director

 

(1)     The term of the mandates of the directors will expire immediately after the annual meeting of shareholders held in the year set forth next to the director’s name, except for Jean-Marc Heynderickx’s mandate which will expire on January 31, 2019 and Chris De Jonghe’s mandate which will expire on September 25, 2017.
(2)     Member of the nomination and remuneration committee.
(3)     Member of the audit committee.

Unless otherwise stated, the address for our directors is Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium.

Our board of directors has determined that six out of eleven of the member of the board are independent under Belgian law and the NASDAQ Stock Market listing requirements.

The following is the biographical information of the members of our board of directors or of their permanent representatives:

Michel Lussier has served as Chairman of our board of directors since 2007 and is also our co-founder. Mr. Lussier was also the Chairman of the board of directors and co-founder of our predecessor entity, Cardio3 SA, until 2008. Mr. Lussier recently founded Medpole Ltd, the North American satellite of MedPole SA, a European incubator for medical technology start-up companies located in Belgium, and serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the group. In this capacity, he is a managing director of Fjord Ventures, a Laguna Hills, California based medical technology accelerator / incubator. Since May 2014, Mr. Lussier has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Metronom Health Inc, an early stage medical device company created by Fjord Ventures, developing a continuous glucose monitoring system. Prior to that, from 2002 to 2013, he worked for Volcano Corporation, where he served in a number of positions, most recently as President, Clinical and Scientific Affairs from 2012 to 2013, and prior to that from 2007 to 2012, Group President, Advanced Imaging Systems, Global Clinical & Scientific Affairs and General Management of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Lussier obtained a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Electrical Engineering and Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Montreal. He also holds an MBA from INSEAD (European Institute of Business Administration), France. In addition to serving on our board of directors, he also serves on the boards of directors of several early stage medical devices companies.

Christian Homsy (representative of LSS Consulting SPRL) has served as a member of our board of directors since 2007 and has been our Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Mr. Homsy gained his business experience in senior research and development, marketing, business development and sales positions at Guidant Corporation, a leading medical device company active in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. He was also founder of Guidant Institute for Therapy Development, a landmark facility for physician and health care professionals’ education. Before joining us, Mr. Homsy was General Manager of Medpole, a European incubator dedicated to initiating the European operations for start-up

 

 

 

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companies in the medical device or biotechnology fields. He also holds a director mandate in Medpole SA. Mr. Homsy obtained his Medical Doctorate at the University of Louvain and holds an M.B.A. from the IMD (International Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne (Switzerland).

William Wijns  has served as a member of our board of directors since 2007 and is also our co-founder. Since 1994, Dr. Wijns has been the co-Director of the Cardiovascular Center Aalst and active as an interventional cardiologist. More recently, he has been involved with the clinical applications of non-invasive coronary angiography with the use of multislice computed tomography as well as innovative therapies for cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. He has authored 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals and holds several positions in national and international professional and scientific organizations. He is currently Deputy Editor of the European Heart Journal (impact factor 14,723). Dr. Wijns previously worked at the Thorax Center in Rotterdam, where he was actively involved with the first applications of nuclear cardiology, thrombolysis and coronary dilatation, and the University of Louvain in Brussels, where he directed the cardiac PET program and became Clinical Professor of Cardiology. His research there focused on the regulation of coronary blood flow and cardiac metabolism in ischemic heart disease. Dr. Wijns graduated in 1976 from the University of Louvain in Belgium where he trained as a cardiologist until 1981. In the past five years, he has held board memberships in the European Society of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation. He is currently Chairman of PCR, co-Director of Africa PCR and EuroPCR, the official congress of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions.

Serge Goblet (permanent representative of TOLEFI SA) has served as a member of our board of directors since 2008. He holds a Master Degree in Business and Consular Sciences from ICHEC Brussels Management School, Belgium and has many years of international experience as director in Belgian and foreign companies. He is the managing director of TOLEFI SA, a Belgian holding company, and holds director mandates in subsidiaries of TOLEFI. Mr. Goblet has two voting rights at our board of directors, one in his own name and one on behalf of TOLEFI SA, as its permanent representative.

Chris Buyse (permanent representative of Pienter-Jan BVBA) has served as a member of our board of directors since 2008. He brings more than 25 years of international financial expertise and experience in introducing best financial management practices. He is currently Managing Director of Life Sciences Research Partners VZW, a non-profit organization supporting and investing in innovative companies active in life sciences. He is also setting up Fund+NV/SA, a fund that will be investing in Belgian biotech companies. Between August 2006 and June 2014, Mr. Buyse served as the Chief Financial Officer and board member of ThromboGenics NV, a leading biotech company that is listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels. Before joining ThromboGenics, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Belgian biotech company CropDesign, where he coordinated the acquisition by BASF in July 2006. Prior to joining CropDesign he was financial manager of WorldCom/MCI Belux, a European subsidiary of one of the world’s largest telecommunication companies and he was also the Chief Financial Officer and interim Chief Executive Officer of Keyware Technologies. Mr. Buyse holds a master degree in applied economic sciences from the University of Antwerp and an MBA from Vlerick School of Management in Gent. He currently serves, in his own name or as permanent representative of a management company, as member of the board of directors of the following publicly and privately held companies: Bone Therapeutics SA, Orgenesis Inc. Iteos SA, Bioxodes SA, Bio Incubator NV, Immo David NV, Pinnacle Investments SA, CreaBuild NV, Sofia BVBA, Pienter-Jan BVBA, Life Sciences Research Partners VZW (a shareholder of the Company) and Keyware Technologies NV.

Rudy Dekeyser (permanent representative of R.A.D. Life Sciences BVBA) has served as a member of our board of directors since 2007. Since 2012, Mr. Dekeyser has been managing partner of the LSP Health

 

 

 

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Economics Fund, a private equity fund investing in late stage European and North American health care companies. Prior to joining LSP Health Economics Fund, Mr. Dekeyser was managing director of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology), where he was also responsible for the intellectual property portfolio, business development and new venture activities. He obtained a Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of Ghent. He holds non-executive director positions in Curetis AG, Sequana Medical AG and Remynd NV, and held non-executive director positions in Devgen NV, CropDesign NV, Ablynx NV, Actogenix NV, Pronota NV, Flandersbio VZW, Bioincubator Leuven NV and Multiplicom NV. He is a co-founder of ASTP (the European associations of technology transfer managers) and Chairman of EMBLEM (EMBL’s business arm). Mr. Dekeyser has been an advisor to several seed and venture capital funds and to multiple regional and international committees on innovation.

Jean-Marc Heynderickx has served as a member of our board of directors since 2013. Mr. Heynderickx spent his career in the Louis Delhaize Group of which he was Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2010. As such, he was also chairman of sub holding companies in France, Luxemburg and in The Netherlands. In 2006 he co-founded the Budapest Food Bank. From 2000 to 2005, he was board member of Comeos (Fedis) national retail organization and the Charleroi Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Heynderickx is now Chief Executive Officer of Nextgen group, a private venture capital holding managing 18 companies active in Belgium, France, Hungary and Romania. He holds a degree in Marketing from Charleroi University (Belgium) and completed the Solvay executive program in Real Estate. He holds non-executive director positions FRI (First Retail International), Stanley&Stella, Medi-Market, Claris Clinic and CBO Territoria.

Chris De Jonghe has served as a member of our board of directors since 2013. She is Group Manager Venture Capital at PMV (ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen). She was first Licensing Manager then Business Development Manager of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology), before joining PMV in 2013, initially as Senior Investment Manager in January 2013. Since August 2013 she joined the Group Management Committee, responsible for daily management at PMV, as Group Manager Venture Capital. She obtained a Ph.D. in Science (Biochemistry) and a Bachelor degree in Laws at the University of Antwerp. She is a member of the board of directors of AgroSavfe NV, eSaturnus NV, Vesalius Biocapital I Sicar and Vesalius Biocapital II Sicar. She is member of Flanders’Bio and IFB Network.

Hanspeter Spek has served as a member of our board of directors since 2014. He started his career at Pfizer where, over more than ten years and after a thorough comprehensive training in commercial general management, he held positions of increasing responsibility. He then joined Sanofi as Marketing Director and rose through the organization to become the Executive Vice President, International in 2000. When Sanofi and Aventis merged in 2004, he took on the responsibility of Executive Vice President, Operations. In 2009, he was nominated President Global Operations. He retired from Sanofi in mid-2013. He has since joined Advent as a Senior Advisor for Healthcare. He continues to serve on the board of Sanofi, Germany, as chairman.

Danny Wong has served as a member of our board of directors since 2014. Since May 2007, Mr. Wong has served as an executive director of the National Investments Fund Limited, and was appointed chairman in June 2007. As the executive director and chairman of National Investments Fund Limited, he is responsible for the strategic development of National Investments Fund Limited. Prior to that from 2001 to 2005, he was the executive director of Sun Hung Kai International Limited, where he was in charge of investment banking and responsible for the public listing of companies, as well as fundraising for private and public companies. Recently, Mr. Wong established Medisun Holdings Limited, a group of companies which commits to the stem cell regenerative bio-medical industry. He holds a Bachelor degree in Economics and Accounting from China Central University of Finance and Economics.

 

 

 

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Director Independence

As a foreign private issuer, under the listing requirements and rules of NASDAQ, we are not required to have independent directors on our board of directors, except to the extent that our audit committee is required to consist of independent directors, subject to certain phase-in schedules. However, our board of directors has determined that, under current listing requirements and rules of NASDAQ (which we are not subject to) and taking account any applicable committee independence standards, Pienter-Jan BVBA represented by its permanent representative Chris Buyse, R.A.D. Life Sciences BVBA represented by its permanent representative Rudy Dekeyser, Jean-Marc Heynderickx, William Wijns, Chris De Jonghe and Hanspeter Spek are “independent directors.” In making such determination, our board of directors considered the relationships that each non-employee director has with us and all other facts and circumstances our board of directors deemed relevant in determining the director’s independence, including the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by the director and his or her affiliated entities (if any).

The independence criteria of Article 526ter of the Belgian Company Code can be summarized as follows:

 

Ø   the director has not been an executive member of the board of directors, member of the management board (“ directiecomité / comité de direction ”) (should such corporate body be created) or daily manager of the company (or an affiliate of the company, if any), during a term of five years prior to his or her election;

 

Ø   the director has not been a non-executive director for more than three consecutive terms or during a period of more than 12 years;

 

Ø   the director has not been a member of the managerial staff of the company (or an affiliate of the company, if any) during a term of three years prior to his or her election;

 

Ø   the director does not receive and has not received any remuneration or other significant financial advantage from the company (or an affiliate of the company, if any), other than the profit share (“ tantièmes ”) and remuneration received in his or her capacity as a non-executive director or as a member of the supervisory body;

 

Ø   the director does not own any corporate rights that represent 10% or more of the share capital, of the corporate funds or of a category of shares of the company. If the director has corporate rights which represent less than 10%, then:

 

  Ø   such rights, taken together with rights in the same company held by companies over which the director has control, may not represent 10% or more of the share capital, the corporate funds or of a category of shares of the company;

 

  Ø   or the disposal of these shares, or the exercise of the rights attached thereto, may not be subject to agreements or unilateral commitments entered into by the director.

 

Ø   the independent director in any case cannot represent a shareholder who falls under the conditions set forth in this criterion;

 

Ø   the director does not and, during the past financial year, did not, have a significant business relationship with the company (or an affiliate of the company, if any), either directly or as a partner, shareholder, member of the board of directors or member of the managerial staff of a company or of a person that maintains such a relationship;

 

Ø   the director is not and has not been at any time during the past three years, a partner or an employee of the company’s current or former statutory auditor or of a company or person affiliated therewith;

 

 

 

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Ø   the director is not an executive director of another company in which an executive director of the company is a non-executive director or a member of the supervisory body, and has no other significant ties with executive directors of the company through his or her involvement in other companies or bodies;

 

Ø   the director’s spouse, unmarried legal partner and relatives (via birth or marriage) up to the second degree do not act as a member of the board of directors, member of the management board (“ directiecomité / comité de direction ”) (should such corporate body be created) or daily manager or member of the managerial staff in the company (or an affiliate of the company, if any), and do not meet one of the criteria set out above.

Role of the Board in Risk Oversight

Our board of directors is primarily responsible for the oversight of our risk management activities and has recently delegated to the audit committee the responsibility to assist our board of directors in this task. While our board oversees our risk management, our management is responsible for day-to-day risk management processes. Our board of directors expects our management to consider risk and risk management in each business decision, to proactively develop and monitor risk management strategies and processes for day-to-day activities and to effectively implement risk management strategies adopted by the board of directors. We believe this division of responsibilities is the most effective approach for addressing the risks we face.

Board Practices

Our board of directors can set up specialized committees to analyze specific issues and advise the board of directors on those issues.

The committees are advisory bodies only and the decision-making remains within the collegial responsibility of the board of directors. The board of directors determines the terms of service of each committee with respect to the organization, procedures, policies and activities of the committee.

Our board of directors has set up and appointed an audit committee and a nomination and remuneration committee. The composition and function of all of our committees will comply with all applicable requirements of the Belgian Company Code, the Belgian Corporate Governace Code, the Exchange Act, the applicable rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market and SEC rules and regulations.

Committees

Audit Committee

Our board of directors has recently established an audit committee. Our audit committee consists of three members: Pienter-Jan BVBA, represented by its permanent representative, Chris Buyse, R.A.D. Life Sciences BVBA, represented by its permanent representative, Rudy Dekeyser and Chris De Jonghe.

Our board of directors has determined that one member of the audit committee is independent under Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act and the applicable rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market and that Chris Buyse qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under the Exchange Act.

As a result we plan to rely on the phase-in rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market pursuant to which we must have one independent director on our audit committee at the time of listing, a majority of independent directors on our audit committee within 90 days of the effectiveness of the registration

 

 

 

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statement for our U.S. initial public offering, and all independent directors on our audit committee within one year of the effectiveness of the registration statement for our U.S. initial public offering.

The role of our audit committee is to ensure the effectiveness of our internal control and risk management systems, the internal audit (if any) and its effectiveness and the statutory audit of the annual and consolidated accounts, and to review and monitor the independence of the external auditor, in particular regarding the provision of additional services to the company. The committee reports regularly to our board of directors on the exercise of its functions. It informs our board of directors about all areas in which action or improvement is necessary in its opinion and produces recommendations concerning the necessary steps that need to be taken. The audit review and the reporting on that review cover us and our subsidiaries as a whole. The members of the audit committee are entitled to receive all information which they need for the performance of their function, from our board of directors, executive management team and employees. Every member of the audit committee shall exercises this right in consultation with the chairman of the audit committee.

Our audit committee’s duties and responsibilities to carry out its purposes include, among others: our financial reporting, internal controls and risk management, and our internal and external audit process. These tasks are further described in the audit committee charter as set out in our corporate governance charter and in Article 526 bis of the Belgian Company Code.

Nomination and Remuneration Committee

Our nomination and remuneration committee consists of four members: Michel Lussier (Chairman), Pienter-Jan BVBA, represented by its permanent representative Chris Buyse, RAD Life Sciences BVBA, represented by its permanent representative and Rudy Dekeyser and Hanspeter Spek.

Our board of directors has determined that two members of the nomination and remuneration committee are independent under the applicable rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market.

The role of the nomination and remuneration committee is to assist the board of directors in all matters:

 

Ø   relating to the selection and recommendation of qualified candidates for membership of the board of directors;

 

Ø   relating to the nomination of the CEO;

 

Ø   relating to the nomination of the members of the executive management team, other than the CEO, upon proposal by the CEO;

 

Ø   relating to the remuneration of independent directors;

 

Ø   relating to the remuneration of the CEO;

 

Ø   relating to the remuneration of the members of the executive management team, other than the CEO, upon proposal by the CEO; and

 

Ø   on which the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors requests the nomination and remuneration committee’s advice.

Additionally, with regard to matters relating to remuneration, except for those areas that are reserved by law to the board of directors, the nomination and remuneration committee will at least have the following tasks:

 

Ø   preparing the remuneration report (which is to be included in the board of director’s corporate governance statement); and

 

Ø   explaining its remuneration report at the annual shareholders’ meeting.

 

 

 

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The committee’s tasks are further described in the nomination and remuneration committee charter as set out in our corporate governance charter and Article 526 quater of the Belgian Company Code.

Executive Management Team

The board of directors has established an executive management team which does not constitute an executive committee (“ directiecomité / comité de direction ”) under Article 524bis of the Belgian Company Code. The terms of service of the executive management team have been determined by the board of directors and are set out in our corporate governance charter. The executive management team is chaired by our Chief Executive Officer. The following table set forth certain information with respect to the current members of our executive management team as of March 15, 2015:

 

Name    Age    Position(s)

LSS Consulting SPRL, represented by its representative, Christian Homsy

   56    Chief Executive Officer

PaJe SPRL, represented by its representative Patrick Jeanmart

   42    Chief Financial Officer

Advanced Therapies Consulting Ltd., represented by its representative Peter De Waele.

   58    Vice President Research & Development
Georges Rawadi    47    Vice President Business Development
Warren Sherman    63    Chief Medical Officer

ViaNova SPRL, represented by its representatives, Vincent Brichard

   49    Vice President Immuno-oncology

The members of the executive management team are appointed and may be dismissed by the board of directors. The board of directors appoints them on the basis of the recommendations of the nomination and remuneration committee, which shall also assist the board of directors on the remuneration policy of the members of the executive management team, and their individual remunerations.

The remuneration, duration and conditions of dismissal of executive management team members are governed by the agreement entered into between us and each member of the executive management team in respect of their function within the company.

Unless otherwise stated, the address for members of the executive management team is Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium.

There is no potential conflict of interest between the private interests or other duties of the members of the executive management team listed above and their duties to us.

Below are the biographies of those members of our executive management team or of the representatives of the management committee who do not also serve on our board of directors:

Patrick Jeanmart (representative of PaJe SPRL has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2007. Prior to joining us, Mr. Jeanmart worked for IBA Group (Ion Beam Applications, Belgium) for six years where he held a number of senior financial management positions within the corporate organization and several IBA subsidiaries located in Belgium, Italy, UK and the U.S. Between January 2004 and 2007, he acted as Vice President of Finance of IBA Molecular. He also holds the position of

 

 

 

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Chief Financial Officer at Medpole SA and at Biological Manufacturing Services SA. Mr. Jeanmart obtained a Master in Economics from the University of Namur, Belgium.

Peter De Waele (representative of Advanced Therapies Consulting Ltd.) has been our Vice President Research and Development since November 2010. He is the author and co-author of several peer reviewed scientific publications, and the inventor of several patents and patent applications. He has been a consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry since 2006, with a particular focus on adult stem cell product development for different therapeutic indications. Until 2006, Dr. De Waele worked as Chief Operating Officer at XCELLentis NV, a biotech company developing stem cell based therapies and medical devices for wound healing. Before founding XCELLentis in 2001, he held several senior management positions at Innogenetics NV. As Chief Therapeutics Officer of Innogenetics and as Chief Operating Officer of XCELLentis he was responsible for several multicenter international clinical trials with recombinant vaccines and cell derived advanced medical products. Moreover, Dr. De Waele serves as the Managing Director at Advanced Therapies Consulting Limited. He is also consultant for regulatory affairs, quality assurance and quality control and research & development for Esperite N.V. (formerly Cryo-Save Group N.V.) as well as acting as Responsible Person for the Dutch tissue bank Stichting Cryo-Save. He obtained his Master of Science in Biochemistry and Physiology at Ghent University, Belgium and holds a doctoral degree in Molecular Biology at the department of Molecular Biology headed by Professor Walter Fiers at the same university, where he was assistant professor until 1986.

Georges Rawadi has served as Vice President Business Development since June 2014. Prior to joining us, Dr. Rawadi served as Vice President Business Development with Cellectis. He previously held business development management positions at Galapagos, ProStrakan France and Sanofi-Aventis France, and conducted consultancy assignments in Business Development and Alliance Management. His work included all aspects and stages of business development, driving several projects from target identification and negotiation to closing deals. He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the Pierre et Marie Curie University (France), and a Masters in Management and Strategy in the Health Industry from the ESSEC Business School.

Warren Sherman has served as our Chief Marketing Officer since October 2014. He is an American interventional cardiologist with more than 30 years’ experience in the field of cardiology, with a focus in cell-based therapies for treating patients post myocardial infarction and with heart failure. Before joining us, Dr. Sherman was at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where he served in a number of capacities, including Interventional Cardiologist at Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Director of Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Sherman is also the founder of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation’s International Conference on Cell Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease (IC3D), which is the foremost meeting for healthcare experts dedicated to the evolving field of cell-based therapies for the repair and regeneration of cardiac and vascular disease. He received his Bachelor degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical School in Syracuse, and his fellowship training at Oregon Health Sciences University, in Portland, Oregon. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology, and serves as an advisor to a multitude of government organizations, societies and industries.

Vincent Brichard (representative of ViaNova SPRL) is a physician by training, specialized in oncology. He started his academic career at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Brussels Branch, followed by positions at the Institut Curie Cancer Center, Paris, and at the University of Louvain, Brussels. In 2002, he joined GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, where he led the Cancer Vaccines Business Unit. Until recently,

 

 

 

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Dr. Brichard was the Senior Vice President of the Immunotherapeutics Business Unit, and member of the Vaccines Executive team at GSK Biologicals. He will continue to hold other non-executive positions with other companies. Dr. Brichard holds a Ph.D. in tumor immunology.

The executive management team discusses and consults with the board of directors and advises the board of directors on the day-to-day management of the company in accordance with our values, strategy, general policy and budget, as determined by the board of directors.

The further tasks for which the executive management team is responsible are described in greater detail in the terms of service of the executive management team as set out in our corporate governance charter.

General Information About Our Directors and Members of Executive Management Team

As of the date of this prospectus and except as set out below, none of the directors or members of our executive management team for at least the previous five years:

 

Ø   holds any convictions in relation to fraudulent offenses;

 

Ø   holds an executive function in the form of a senior manager or a member of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of any company at the time of or preceding any bankruptcy, receivership or liquidation;

 

Ø   has been subject to any official public incrimination and/or sanction by any statutory or regulatory authority (including any designated professional body); or

 

Ø   has ever been disqualified by a court from acting as member of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of any company or from acting in the management or conduct of affairs of any company.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among any of the members of our executive management team or directors.

Serge Goblet is the managing director and controlling shareholder of TOLEFI SA. Mr. Goblet has two voting rights at our board of directors, one in his own name and one on behalf of TOLEFI SA, as its permanent representative.

Corporate Governance Practices

Along with our articles of association, we adopted a corporate governance charter in accordance with the recommendations set out in the Belgian Corporate Governance Code issued on March 12, 2009 by the Belgian Corporate Governance Committee. The Belgian Corporate Governance Code is based on a “comply or explain” system: Belgian listed companies are expected to follow the Belgian Corporate Governance Code, but can deviate from specific provisions and guidelines (though not the principles) provided they disclose the justification for such deviations.

Our board of directors complies with the Belgian Corporate Governance Code, but believes that certain deviations from its provisions are justified in view of our particular situation.

These deviations include the grant of options or warrants to non-executive directors. In this way, we have additional possibilities to attract or retain competent non-executive directors and to offer them an

 

 

 

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attractive additional remuneration without the consequence that this additional remuneration weighs on our financial results. Furthermore, the grant of warrants is a commonly used method in the sector in which we operate. Without this possibility, we would be subject to a considerable disadvantage compared to competitors who do offer warrants to their non-executive directors. Our board of directors is of the opinion that the grant of options or warrants has no negative impact on the functioning of the non-executive directors.

Additionally, Jean-Marc Heynderickx was appointed as a director on January 31, 2013 for a duration of six years, which is in excess of the maximum duration of four years for a director’s mandate provided by the Belgian Corporate Governance Code. This appointment was done at a time when the Corporate Governance Code was not applicable to us. In the future, we will ensure that no director’s mandate will exceed the maximum duration of four years as provided by the Corporate Governance Code.

Our board of directors reviews its corporate governance charter from time to time and makes such changes as it deems necessary and appropriate. Additionally, our board of directors adopted written terms of reference for each of the executive management team, the audit committee and the nomination and remuneration committee, which are part of the corporate governance charter.

Differences between Our Corporate Governance Practices and the Listing Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market

The listing rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market include certain accommodations in the corporate governance requirements that allow foreign private issuers, to follow ‘‘home country’’ corporate governance practices in lieu of the otherwise applicable corporate governance standards of the NASDAQ Stock Market. The application of such exceptions requires that we disclose each noncompliance with the NASDAQ Stock Market listing rules that we do not follow and describe the Belgian corporate governance practices we do follow in lieu of the relevant NASDAQ Stock Market corporate governance standard.

We intend to continue to follow Belgian corporate governance practices in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of the NASDAQ Stock Market in respect of the following:

 

Ø   Quorum at Shareholder Meetings . NASDAQ Stock Market Listing Rule 5620(c) requires that for any meeting of shareholders, the quorum must be no less than 33.33% of the outstanding ordinary shares. There is no general quorum requirement under Belgian law for ordinary meetings of shareholders, except in relation to decisions regarding certain matters. See ‘‘Description of Share Capital—Description of the Rights and Benefits Attached to Our Shares—Right to Attend and Vote at Our Meetings of Shareholders—Quorum and Majority Requirements.’’

 

Ø  

Compensation Committee. NASDAQ Stock Market Listing Rule 5605(d)(2) requires that compensation of officers must be determined by, or recommended to, the board of directors for determination, either by a majority of the independent directors, or a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors. NASDAQ Stock Market Listing Rule 5605(e) requires that director nominees be selected, or recommended for selection, either by a majority of the independent directors or a nominations committee comprised solely of independent directors. Under Belgian law, we are not subject to any such requirements. In particular, we are not required by Belgian law to set up any compensation or nominations committees within our board of directors, and are therefore not subject to any Belgian legal requirements as to the composition of such committees either. However, our articles of association provide that our board of directors may form committees from among its members. Our board of directors has set up and appointed a nomination and remuneration committee. Pursuant article 526 quater of the Belgian Company Code, only a majority of the members of the

 

 

 

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committee must qualify as independent as defined under article 526 ter of the Belgian Company Code. Our nomination and remuneration committee is currently comprised of four directors, all of whom are independent in accordance with article 526ter of the Belgian Company Code and the NASDAQ rules.

 

Ø   Independent Director Majority on Board/Meetings . NASDAQ Stock Market Listing Rules 5605(b)(1) and (2) require that a majority of the board of directors must be comprised of independent directors and that independent directors must have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. We are not required under Belgian law to have more than two independent directors on our board of directors. However, our articles of association provide that our board of directors must be comprised of at least three directors, of which, pursuant to our corporate governance charter, at least three directors must be independent directors under Belgian law. We do not intend to require our independent directors to meet separately from the full board of directors on a regular basis or at all although the board of directors is supportive of its independent members voluntarily arranging to meet separately from the other members of our board of directors when and if they wish to do so.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Prior to the completion of the global offering, we expect to adopt a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, or the Code of Conduct, that is applicable to all of our employees, members of our executive management team and directors. Following the completion of the global offering, the Code of Conduct will be available on our website at www.c3bs.com. The audit committee of our board of directors will be responsible for overseeing the Code of Conduct and will be required to approve any waivers of the Code of Conduct for employees, members of our executive management team and directors. We expect that any amendments to the Code of Conduct, or any waivers of its requirements, will be disclosed on our website.

Compensation of Directors and Executive Management Team

The aggregate compensation paid and benefits in kind granted by us to the current members of our executive management team and directors, including share-based compensation, for the year ended December 31, 2014, was €2.6 million. For the year ended December 31, 2014, €3,000 of the amounts set aside or accrued to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits to our employees was attributable to members of our executive management team.

For a discussion of our employment arrangements with members of our executive management team and consulting arrangement with our directors, see the section of this prospectus titled “Certain relationships and related party transactions-Agreements with Our Directors and Members of our Executive Management Team.” For more information regarding warrant grants, see the section of this prospectus titled “—Warrant Plans.”

Except the arrangements described in the section of this prospectus titled “Certain relationships and related party transactions-Agreements with Our Directors and Members of our Executive Management Team,” there are no arrangements or understanding between us and any of our other executive officers or directors providing for benefits upon termination of their employment, other than as required by applicable law.

Compensation of Our Board of Directors

The remuneration of our directors and the grant of warrants to our directors is submitted by our board of directors (following advice from the nomination and remuneration committee) for approval to the general shareholders’ meeting and is only implemented after such approval. The aggregate compensation paid and benefits in kind granted by us to our current directors, including share-based compensation, for the year ended December 31, 2014, was €0.2 million.

 

 

 

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The procedure for establishing the remuneration policy and setting remuneration for members of our board of directors is determined by our board of directors on the basis of proposals from the nomination and remuneration committee, taking into account relevant benchmarks from the biotechnology industry.

The independent directors receive fixed remuneration in consideration for their membership of the board of directors and their attendance at the committee meetings of which they are members . The remuneration package for the independent directors approved by the shareholders’ meeting of June 11, 2013 is made up of a fixed annual fee of €8,000. The fee is supplemented with a fixed annual fee of €3,000 for membership of each committee of the board of directors, to be increased by €2,000 in case the relevant director chairs a committee.

All directors are entitled to a reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred as a result of participation in meetings of the board of directors.

On the advice of the nomination and remuneration committee, the board of directors may propose to the shareholders’ meeting to grant options or warrants in order to attract or retain non-executive directors with the most relevant skills, knowledge and expertise. Insofar as this grant of options or warrants comprises variable remuneration under Article 554 of the Belgian Company Code, this remuneration shall be submitted for approval to the next annual general shareholders meeting.

The directors’ mandate may be terminated ad nutum (at any time) without any form of compensation.

No loans or guarantees were given to members of the board of directors during the year ended December 31, 2014.

There are no employment or service agreements that provide for notice periods or indemnities between us and members of the board of directors who are not a member of the executive management team. In respect of the members of the board of directors who are a member of the executive management team, reference is made to the section “Executive Management Team” here below.

The chairman of our board of directors, Michel Lussier, does not receive remuneration.

 

 

 

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The following table sets forth the fees received by our non-executive directors for the performance of their mandate as a board member, during the year ended December 31, 2014:

 

Name   

Fees Earned

(€)

Michel Lussier   

—  

William Wijns   

—  

Serge Goblet   

—  

Pienter-Jan BVBA, represented by its permanent representative, Chris Buyse    18,000
R.A.D. Sciences BVBA, represented by its permanent representative Rudy Dekeyser    11,000
Jean-Marc Heynderickx    —  
Chris De Jonghe    —  
Hanspeter Spek    25,000
Danny Wong    —  
Tolefi SA, represented by its permanent representative, Serge Goblet    —  
Total    54,000

Our executive director (i.e., LSS Consulting SPRL, represented by Christian Homsy) does not receive any specific or additional remuneration for his service on our board of directors, as this is included in his total remuneration package in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer. For more information regarding Mr. Homsy’s compensation, see the section of this prospectus titled “—Compensation of Members of the Executive Management Team.”

The table below provides an overview as of December 31, 2014 of the warrants held by the non-executive directors.

 

     Warrant Awards  
Name   

Number of

Ordinary Shares

Underlying

Warrants

    

Warrant

Exercise

Price in euros

    

Warrant

Expiration

Date

 

Michel Lussier

     400         35.36         May 5, 2016   

William Wijns

     —           —           —     

Serge Goblet

     —           —           —     

Chris Buyse [1]

     5,000         35.36         Oct 29, 2015   

Rudy Dekeyser

     —           —           —     

Jean-Marc Heynderickx

     —           —           —     

Chris De Jonghe

     —           —           —     

Hanspeter Spek

     5,000         35.79         May 5, 2019   

Danny Wong

     —           —           —     

TOLEFI SA

     2,504         35.36         May 5, 2016   

 

[1]   Chris Buyse holds these warrants and shares in person, whereby he is the permanent representative of Pienter-Jan BVBA, his management company, which has been appointed as independent director.

Compensation of Members of the Executive Management Team

The compensation of the members of our executive management team is determined by our board of directors based on the recommendations by our nomination and remuneration committee.

The remuneration of the members of our executive management team consists of different components:

 

Ø   Fixed remuneration: a basic fixed fee designed to fit responsibilities, relevant experience and competences, in line with market rates for equivalent positions. The amount of fixed remuneration is evaluated and determined by the board of directors every year.

 

 

 

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Ø   Short term variable remuneration: members of the executive management team may be entitled to a yearly bonus, given the level of achievement of the criteria set out in the corporate objective for that year.

 

Ø   Incentive plan: warrants have been granted and may be granted in the future, to the members of the executive management team. For a description of the main characteristics of our warrant plans, see the section of this prospectus titled “—Warrant Plans.”

 

Ø   Other: Members of the executive management team with an employee contract with us entitle them to our pension, company car and payments for invalidity and healthcare cover and other fringe benefits of non-material value.

No loans, quasi-loans or other guarantees were granted to members of our executive management team during the year ended on December 31, 2014.

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned by LSS Consulting SPRL, represented by Christian Homsy, our Chief Executive Officer, during the year ended December 31, 2014.

 

      Compensation (in euros)  

Fixed fee

     369,000   

Variable fee

     110,700   

Total

     479,700   

Mr. Homsy was not granted warrants in 2014. Mr. Homsy did exercise 80,000 warrants to acquire 80,000 of our ordinary shares in 2014.

The following table sets forth information concerning the aggregate compensation earned during the year ended December 31, 2014 by the other members of our executive management team.

 

      Compensation (in euros)  

Fixed remuneration (gross)

     208,278   

Variable remuneration (short term)

     60,668   

Fixed fee

     647,276   

Variable fee

     112,464   

Pension/Life

     3,269   

Other benefits

     2,927   

Total

     1,034,882   

In addition, the other members of the executive management team were granted and accepted 17,500 warrants under the May 5, 2014 warrant plan. The exercise price of the warrants is €33.18 and €39.22. The following table sets forth the number of warrants granted under such plans to the other members of the executive management team:

 

Name    Number of Warrants under
the May 5, 2014 plan

Georges Rawadi

     7,500

Vincent Brichard

   10,000

 

 

 

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The table below provides an overview as of December 31, 2014 of the warrants held by the members of our executive management team.

 

     Warrant Awards  
Name   

Number of

Ordinary Shares

Underlying

Warrants

    

Warrant

Exercise

Price in euros

    

Warrant

Expiration

Date

 

Christian Homsy [1]

     112,000         2.64         May 6, 2018   
     200         35.36         May 5, 2016   

Patrick Jeanmart [2]

     56,000         2.64         May 6, 2018   
     25         35.36         May 5, 2016   

Peter De Waele

     6,500         2.64         May 6, 2018   

George Rawadi

     7,500         39.22         May 5, 2024   

Vincent Brichard

     10,000         33.18         May 5, 2019   

 

[1]     Christian Homsy holds these warrants in person, whereby he is the representative of LSS Consulting SPRL, his management company, which has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer.
[2]     Patrick Jeanmart holds these warrants in person, whereby he is the representative of PaJe SPRL, his management company, which has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer.

Warrant Plans

We have created various incentive plans under which warrants were granted to our employees, consultants or directors. Additionally, we entered into certain loan agreements loan E, loan F, loan G and loan H further to which anti-dilution warrants were granted to the lenders of the relevant loans. Finally, we have granted warrants to certain of our shareholders and to certain investors in the BMS project (all warrants are together referred to as “Warrants”). This section provides an overview of the outstanding Warrants on the date hereof.

Upon proposal of the board of directors, the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting approved the issuance of, in the aggregate, Warrants giving right to subscribe to shares as follows:

 

Ø   On September 26, 2008, (Warrants giving right to 90,000 shares). Of these 90,000 Warrants, 50,000 were offered and accepted. None are outstanding on the date hereof;

 

Ø   on May 5, 2010 (Warrants giving right to 50,000 shares). Of these 50,000 Warrants (15,000 Warrants A, 5,000 Warrants B and 30,000 Warrants C), 12,710 Warrants A were accepted but none are outstanding on the date hereof, 5,000 Warrants B were accepted and are still outstanding on the date hereof, and 21,700 Warrants C were accepted and 2,298 Warrants C are still outstanding on the date hereof;

 

Ø   on October 29, 2010 (Warrants giving right to 79,500 shares). Out of the 79,500 Warrants offered, 61,050 Warrants were accepted by the beneficiaries and 6,882 Warrants are outstanding on the date hereof;

 

Ø   on January 31, 2013 (Warrants giving right to 140,000 shares). Out of the 140,000 Warrants, 120,000 were granted to certain members of the executive management team and a pool of 20,000 Warrants was created. The Warrants attributed to certain members of the executive management team were fully vested at December 31, 2013 and were all exercised in January 2014 and therefore converted into ordinary shares. The remaining 20,000 Warrants were not granted and therefore lapsed;

 

 

 

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Ø   on May 6, 2013 (11 investor Warrants are attached to each Class B Share subscribed in the capital increase in cash which was decided on the same date, with each investor Warrant giving right to subscribe to one ordinary share – as a result, these Warrants give right to a maximum 2,433,618 ordinary shares); subject to the Warrants being offered and accepted by the beneficiaries. On May 31, 2013, Warrants giving right to 2,409,176 ordinary shares were issued and accepted, which have all been exercised on the date hereof.

 

Ø   on May 6, 2013 (Warrants giving right to 266,241 ordinary shares). Out of the 266,241 Warrants offered, 253,150 Warrants were accepted by the beneficiaries and 233,750 warrants are outstanding on the date hereof.

 

Ø   on June 11, 2013 (Over allotment Warrant giving right to a maximum number of shares equal to 15% of the new shares issued in the context of the offering, i.e. 207,225 shares). The over allotment Warrant was exercised on July 17, 2013 ;

 

Ø   on May 5, 2014 (Warrants giving right to 100,000 shares), a plan of 100,000 Warrants was approved. Warrants were offered to Company’s new comers (employees, non-employees and directors) in several tranches. Out of the Warrants offered, 49,000 warrants were accepted by the beneficiaries and 100,000 Warrants are outstanding on the date hereof.

As a result, on December 31, 2014, there are 296,930 Warrants outstanding which represent approximately 4.05% of the total number of all our issued and outstanding voting financial instruments.

 

 

 

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Issue

Date

  Term  

Number

of
Warrants
Issued

[1]

   

Number

of
Warrants
Granted

in
number

of shares

[2]

    Exercise
Price (in
Euros)
    Number of
Warrants
No Longer
Exercisable
    Warrants
exercised
    Number of
Warrants
Outstanding
   

Exercise
periods

vested
warrants

[3]

September 26, 2008   From December 26, 2008 to December 31, 2014     90,000        50,000        22.44        32,501        17,499        —        January 1, 2012
– December 31,
2014
May 5, 2010   From May 5, 2010 to the day of the contribution in kind of Company’s debt under the Loan C Agreement     15,000        12,710        22.44        410        12,300        —        The day of the
contribution in
kind of
Company’s debt
under the Loan
C Agreement
May 5, 2010   From May 5, 2010 to May 5, 2016     5,000        5,000        35.36        —          —          5,000      May 5, 2013 –
May 5, 2016
May 5, 2010   From May 5, 2010 to December 31, 2016     30,000        21,700        22.44        18,236        1,166        2,298      January 1, 2012
– December 31,
2016
October 29, 2010   From October 29, 2010 to October 28, 2020     79,500        61,050        35.36        53,418        750        6,882      January 1, 2014
– October 28,
2020
January 31, 2013   From January 31, 2013 to January 31, 2023     140,000        120,000        4.52        —          120,000        —        From January 1,
2014 to
January 31, 2023
May 6, 2013   From May 6, 2013 to June 4, 2013    
2,409,176
  
    2,409,176        0.01        —          2,409,176        —        From May 6,
2013 to June 4,
2013
May 6, 2013   From May 6, 2013 to May 6, 2023     266,241        253,150        2.64        19,400        —          233,750      From
January 1, 2017
to May 6, 2023
May 2018 for
non-employees
and to May 6,
2023 for
employees
May 5, 2014   From May 16, 2014 to May 15, 2024     100,000        49,000        35.79        —          —          100,000      From
January 1, 2018
to May 15,
2019 for non-
employees and
to May 15,
2024 for
employees

 

[1]     Issued under the condition precedent of the Warrant effectively being offered and accepted.
[2]     The numbers reflect the number of shares for which the holder of Warrants can subscribe upon exercise of all relevant Warrants.
[3]     The Warrants (i) can only be exercised by the holder of Warrants if they have effectively vested, and (ii) can only be exercised during the exercise periods as set out in the respective issue and exercise conditions.

Apart from the warrants plans described above, there are currently no other stock options, options to purchase securities, convertible securities or other rights to subscribe for or purchase securities outstanding.

 

 

 

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Certain relationships and related party transactions

Since January 1, 2012, there has not been, nor is there currently proposed, any material transaction or series of similar material transactions to which we were or are a party in which any of the members of our board of directors or executive management team, holders of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than the compensation and shareholding arrangements we describe in “Management” and “Principal Shareholders,” and the transactions we describe below.

Transactions with Our Principal Shareholders

Issuances of Securities

On May 6, 2013 and May 31, 2013, we issued 1,124,373 ordinary shares and 2,409,176 warrants giving the right to acquire 2,409,176 additional shares on June 4, 2013 in connection with our fourth round of financing, for an aggregate amount of €19.0 million, out of which €12.0 million was related to conversion of shareholders convertible loans, and €7.0 million was contributed in cash. Convertible loans were converted at their contractual price. The €7.0 million was contributed in cash at a value of €31.96 per share. The following table summarizes the ordinary shares acquired in connection with this offering by members of our executive management team, directors and holders of more than 5% of our outstanding voting securities.

 

Name of Shareholder   

Number of Ordinary
Shares

Purchased (#)

    

Aggregate

Purchase

Price (€)

 

TOLEFI SA

     2,055,530         7,721,858.02   

SRIW SA

     309,924         2,510,077.86   

Michel Lussier

     117,105         601,200.57   

BELGENEXT SA (1)

     250,753         2,562,023.78   

Chris Buyse

     18,768         50,157.48   

William Wijns

     18,768         50,157.48   

Christian Homsy

     47,179         202,199.87   

Patrick Jeanmart

     7,774         30,562.61   

 

(1)     Consists of 273,301 shares held by BELGENEXT SA, which is controlled by Mr. Jean-Marc Heynderickx.

On July 9, 2013 we issued 1,381,500 ordinary shares in connection with our initial public offering of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, for an aggregate purchase price of €23.0 million at a purchase price per share of €16.65. The following table summarizes the ordinary shares acquired in connection with this offering by members of our executive management team, directors and holders of more than 5% of our outstanding voting securities.

 

Name of Shareholder   

Number of Ordinary
Shares

Purchased (#)

    

Aggregate

Purchase

Price (€)

 

PMV-TINA

     570,571         9,500,007.15   

SRIW SA (1)

     267,038         4,446,182.70   

 

(1)     Shares acquired by Sofipôle SA, a fully owned subsidiary of SRIW SA.

 

 

 

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Shareholders’ Agreements

On May 14, 2012, certain of our shareholders participated in a €1,994,570 convertible loan, or loan F. The following members of our executive management team, directors and holders of more than 5% of our outstanding voting securities participated in loan F: TOLEFI SA, SRIW SA, Michel Lussier, Christian Homsy and Patrick Jeanmart. The loan and 10% on annual basis interest were converted into equity on May 6, 2013 upon the closing of our fourth financing round. The conversion price was €38.39 per share.

On October 2, 2012, certain of our shareholders participated in a €2,784,083 convertible loan, or loan G. The following members of our executive management team, directors and holders of more than 5% of our outstanding voting securities participated in loan G: TOLEFI SA, SRIW SA and Michel Lussier. The loan and 10% on annual basis interest were converted in equity on May 6, 2013 at the occasion of the closing of the fourth financing round. The conversion price was €4.52 per share.

On December 21, 2012, certain of our shareholders participated in a €2,250,000 convertible loan, or loan H, of which €250,000 was paid out in early 2013. The following director was a party to the convertible loan: BELGENEXT SA. The loan and 10% on annual basis interest were converted into equity on May 6, 2013 upon the closing of our fourth financing round. The conversion price was €30.71 per share.

Everyone who participated in loan F, loan G and loan H received anti-dilutive warrants to protect their shares issued at in connection with our third financing round and their shares that were issued at our May 6, 2013 shareholders meeting against future dilution before first read-out of the primary endpoint of our Phase 3 clinical trial of C-Cure. All of these warrants have been cancelled.

The shareholders’ agreements among our major shareholders entered into on December 23, 2008, as amended, was terminated on June 17, 2013, in view of, and subject to the completion of, the initial listing of our ordinary shares on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris.

Agreements with Our Directors and Members of our Executive Management Team

Employment Arrangements

We have entered into employment agreements with the below members of our executive management team:

Georges Rawadi

On April 2, 2014, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Rawadi, our Vice President Business Development, with an effective date as of June 2, 2014. Pursuant to this agreement, Mr. Rawadi is entitled to an annual base salary of €130,000, and is also eligible to receive a bonus capped at 50% of his annual compensation, determined in full discretion by the board of directors on the basis of the Mr. Rawadi’s performance and our overall performance. Mr. Rawadi is also eligible to receive warrants.

Warren Sherman

On September 16, 2014, we entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Sherman, our Chief Medical Officer, with an effective date as of October 1, 2014. Pursuant to this agreement, Mr. Sherman is entitled to an annual base salary of $325,000, and is also eligible to receive a bonus capped at 20% of his annual compensation, determined in full discretion by the board of directors on the basis of Mr. Sherman’s performance and our overall performance. Mr. Sherman is also eligible to receive warrants.

 

 

 

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Consulting Arrangements

We have entered into consulting agreements with the below members of our executive management team.

Christian Homsy

On February 22, 2008, we entered into a management services agreement with Christian Homsy, our Chief Executive Officer, with an effective date as of July 24, 2007. Pursuant to this agreement, Mr. Homsy is entitled to an annual base fee of €220,000 and a lump sum pension plan premium of €26,000. Mr. Homsy is also eligible to receive warrants and participate in our bonus plan, determined in full discretion by the board of directors on the basis of the Mr. Homsy’s performance and our overall performance. This agreement ended on January 23, 2014.

On January 23, 2014, we contracted with LSS Consulting SPRL, permanently represented by Mr. Homsy. Under this new agreement, Mr. Homsy is entitled to an annual base fee. Mr. Homsy is also eligible to receive warrants and a bonus capped at 30% of his annual base fee, determined in full discretion by the board of directors on the basis of the Mr. Homsy’s performance and our overall performance.

Patrick Jeanmart

On January 7, 2008, we entered into a management services agreement with Patrick Jeanmart SPRL, represented by Patrick Jeanmart, our Chief Financial Officer. Under this agreement, Mr. Jeanmart is entitled to an annual base fee of €120,000. Mr. Jeanmart is also eligible for a bonus capped at 20% of his annual base fee, determined in full discretion by the board of directors on the basis of the Mr. Jeanmart’s performance and our overall performance.

Peter De Waele

On November 2, 2010, we entered into a management services agreement with Advanced Therapies Consulting Limited, represented by Peter De Waele, our Vice President Research & Development. Under this agreement, Mr. De Waele is entitled to an annual base fee based on a daily compensation rate initially set at €1,100 per day. Mr. De Waele is also eligible for a bonus capped at 10% of his annual base fee, determined in full discretion by the board of directors on the basis of Mr. De Waele’s performance and our overall performance.

Vincent Brichard

On December 28 2014, we entered into a management services agreement with ViaNova SPRL, represented by Vincent Brichard, our Vice President Immuno-Oncology, with an effective date as of December 28, 2014. Under this Agreement, Mr. Brichard is entitled to an annual base fee based on a compensation rate initially set at €2,000 per day or €250 per hour. Mr. Brichard is also eligible to receive warrants.

Director and Executive Management Team Compensation

See “Compensation of Directors and Executive Management Team” for information regarding compensation of directors and members of our executive management team.

Warrants

Since our inception, we have granted warrants to certain of our directors and members of our executive management team. See “Compensation of Directors and Executive Management Team” for information regarding warrants issued to members of our executive management team and directors.

 

 

 

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Indemnification Agreements

In connection with the global offering, we intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and members of our executive management team. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Service Agreement with Biological Manufacturing Services SA

In April 2011, we entered into an agreement for the provision of services for production of cardiac cells with Biological Manufacturing Services SA, or BMS, a service provider in the biotechnology sector that operates clean rooms on its site located at Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. Under this agreement, BMS provides us with support, services and provision of assets for the production our products, including making clean rooms available to us for our exclusive use. TOLEFI SA, of which Serge Goblet is the managing director, owns 50% of BMS. Patrick Jeanmart, our Chief Financial Officer, also holds the position of CFO at BMS. Since December 31, 2012, this agreement automatically renews for successive three year period unless terminated earlier. The total annual services fees paid by us to BMS was €299,000 in 2014 and €249,000 in 2013.

Medisun

On June 16, 2014, we entered into an investment agreement, or Medisun Agreement, with Medisun International Limited, or Medisun, pursuant to which Medisun purchased 568,180 of our ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of €25.0 million. In connection with entry into the Medisun Agreement, we and Medisun also entered into a subscription and joint venture agreement, or JV Agreement. Pursuant to the JV Agreement, we and Medisun agreed to form Cardio3 Biosciences Asia Holdings Limited, or Cardio3 Asia, to conduct clinical trials of C-Cure in the Peoples Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and other territories mutually agreed upon by us and Medisun, with the goal of obtaining marketing authorization for C-Cure in the applicable territories. We obtained a 40.0% initial ownership interest in Cardio3 Asia in exchange for our entry into a license agreement with Cardio3 Asia, or License Agreement, pursuant to which we granted an exclusive, royalty-free and non-transferable license to Cardio3 Asia for C-Cure and certain know-how for conducting clinical trials in the applicable territories, and Medisun obtained an initial 60.0% ownership interest in Cardio3 Asia for an aggregate payment of €500,000. Pursuant to the JV Agreement, Medisun agreed to provide additional funding as necessary for clinical trials to be conducted by Cardio3 Asia by purchasing additional shares of Cardio3 Asia. In the event that Cardio3 Asia receives marketing authorization in any of the applicable territories, we have agreed to grant to Cardio3 Asia, at Cardio3 Asia’s election, a commercialization license on the terms specified by the parties in the JV Agreement. Either party to the JV Agreement must also offer its shares to the other party before transferring or otherwise disposing of them. Under the JV Agreement, any minority shareholder of Cardio3 Asia must be offered the same pricing for its shares as is being received by a majority shareholder. The JV Agreement can be terminated by the mutual agreement of us and Medisun, by us if the first patient in clinical trials in the applicable territories has not been recruited by June 16, 2015, or the last patient for any of the clinical trials in the applicable territories has not been recruited within two years from the time that the first patient is recruited, and by Medisun if we cease to comply with certain warranties in the JV Agreement and License Agreement, or for reasons related to our failure to secure or maintain certain intellectual property protections.

Related-Party Transactions Policy

Article 524 of the Belgian Company Code provides for a special procedure that applies to intragroup or related party transactions with affiliates. The procedure applies to decisions or transactions between us

 

 

 

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and our affiliates that are not one of our subsidiaries. Prior to any such decision or transaction, our board of directors must appoint a special committee consisting of three independent directors, assisted by one or more independent experts. This committee must assess the business advantages and disadvantages of the decision or transaction, quantify its financial consequences and determine whether the decision or transaction causes a disadvantage to us that is manifestly illegitimate in view of our policy. If the committee determines that the decision or transaction is not illegitimate but will prejudice us, it must analyze the advantages and disadvantages of such decision or transaction and set out such considerations as part of its advice. Our board of directors must then make a decision, taking into account the opinion of the committee. Any deviation from the committee’s advice must be justified. Directors who have a conflict of interest are not entitled to participate in the deliberation and vote. The committee’s advice and the decision of the board of directors must be notified to our statutory auditor, who must render a separate opinion. The conclusion of the committee, an excerpt from the minutes of the board of directors and the opinion by the statutory auditor must be included in our annual report. This procedure does not apply to decisions or transactions in the ordinary course of business under customary market conditions and security documents, or to transactions or decisions with a value of less than 1% of our net assets as shown in our consolidated annual accounts.

In addition to this, our corporate governance charter provides for guidelines for transactions between us and our directors or members of the executive management team. According to such guidelines:

 

Ø   A member of our board of directors or executive management team will in any event be considered to have a conflict of interests if:

 

  Ø   he/she has a personal financial interest in a company with which we intend to enter into a transaction;

 

  Ø   he/she, his/her spouse, registered partner or other life companion, foster child or relative by blood or marriage up to the second degree is a member of the executive management of or board of a company with which we intend to enter into a transaction;

 

  Ø   he/she is a member of the board or executive management of, or holds similar office with, a company with which we intend to enter into a transaction;

 

  Ø   under applicable law, including the rules of any stock market on which our shares may be listed, such conflict of interests exists or is deemed to exist.

Each member of the board of directors or each member of the executive management team must immediately report any potential conflict of interests to the chairman and to the other members of the board of directors or of the executive management team, as the case may be. The members concerned must provide the chairman and the other members of the board of directors or of executive management team, as the case may be, with all information relevant to the conflict, including information relating to the persons with whom he has a family law relationship (his/her spouse, registered partner or other life companion, foster child or relative by blood or marriage up to the second degree) to the extent relevant for the assessment of the existence of a conflict of interests. The chairman of the board of directors or of the executive management team will determine whether a reported (potential) conflict of interests qualifies as a conflict of interests.

If this is the case, a member of the board of directors or of the executive management team, as the case may be, must not participate in the discussions or decision-taking process of the board of directors or of the executive management team, as the case may be, on a subject or transaction in relation to which he has a conflict of interests with us. This transaction, if approved, must be concluded on term customary in the sector concerned and be approved, in the case of a decision by the executive management team, by

 

 

 

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the board of directors. Without prejudice to the foregoing, each member of the board of directors who is faced, directly or indirectly, with a financial interest that conflicts with a decision or transaction within the competence of the board of directors, within the meaning of Article 523, or Article 524ter of the Belgian Company Code, as the case may be, must inform the other members of the board of directors thereof prior to the deliberations. The declaration, as well as the justification, must be included in the minutes of the relevant meeting of the board of directors. The relevant member of the board of directors must inform the statutory auditor of his conflict of interests. With a view to publication in the annual report, the board of directors must set out in its minutes the nature of the decision or transaction and the justification thereof, including the financial consequences of the decision or transaction for us. In the case of a conflict of interests within the executive management team, a copy of the minutes of the executive management team must be submitted to the board of directors at its next meeting. The chairman must procure that all these transactions involving conflicts of interests will be referred to in the annual report, with a declaration that the provisions in our corporate governance charter have been complied with.

 

 

 

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Principal shareholders

The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of June 15, 2015 for:

 

Ø   each person who is known by us to own beneficially more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares;

 

Ø   each member of our board of directors;

 

Ø   each member of our executive management team; and

 

Ø   all members of our board of directors and executive management team as a group.

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC. These rules generally attribute beneficial ownership of securities to persons who possess sole or shared voting power or investment power with respect to those securities and include ordinary shares that can be acquired within 60 days of April 20, 2015. The percentage ownership information shown in the table prior to the global offering is based upon 7,847,687 ordinary shares outstanding as of June 15, 2015. The percentage ownership information shown in the table after the global offering is based upon 9,247,687 ordinary shares outstanding, assuming the sale of 1,400,000 ADSs and ordinary shares by us in the global offering and no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs. The percentage ownership information shown in the table after the global offering if the underwriters’ option is exercised in full is based upon 9,457,687 ordinary shares outstanding, assuming the sale of 1,610,000 ADSs and ordinary shares by us in the global offering assuming the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ordinary shares and ADSs.

Except as otherwise indicated, all of the shares reflected in the table are ordinary shares and all persons listed below have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares beneficially owned by them, subject to applicable community property laws. The information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose.

In computing the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we deemed outstanding ordinary shares subject to warrants held by that person that are immediately exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 20, 2015. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Beneficial ownership representing less than 1% is denoted with an asterisk (*). The information in the table below is based on information known to us or ascertained by us from public filings made by the shareholders. Except as otherwise indicated in the table below, addresses of the directors, members of the executive management team and named beneficial owners are in care of Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium.

 

Name of Beneficial Owner

   Shares
Beneficially
Owned Prior to
the Global Offering
    Shares
Beneficially
Owned
After
the Global
Offering
    Shares
Beneficially
Owned After
the Global
Offering if
Underwriters’
Option is
Exercised in
Full
 
   Number      Percentage     Percentage     Percentage  

5% Shareholders:

         

TOLEFI SA(1)

     2,267,844         28.90 %     24.52 %     23.98 %

PMV-TINA

     428,071         5.46     4.63     4.53

MEDISUN INTal Ltd

     568,180         7.24     6.14     6.01

SRIW SA(2)

     400,000         5.10     4.33     4.23

 

 

 

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Principal shareholders

 

 

Name of Beneficial Owner

   Shares
Beneficially
Owned Prior to
the Global Offering
    Shares
Beneficially
Owned
After
the Global
Offering
    Shares
Beneficially
Owned After
the Global
Offering if
Underwriters’
Option is
Exercised in
Full
 
   Number      Percentage     Percentage     Percentage  

Directors and Members of Executive Management Team

         

Michel Lussier

     162,370         2.07     1.76     1.72

Jean-Marc Heynderickx(3)

     125,753         1.60     1.36     1.33

Christian Homsy(4)

     67,454         *        *        *   

William Wijns

     4,079         *        *        *   

Patrick Jeanmart

     13,924         *        *        *   

All directors and executive officers as a group (five persons)

     373,580         4.76     4.04     3.85

 

(1)   TOLEFI SA is represented by its permanent representative, Serge Goblet.
(2)   Includes shares held by Sofipôle SA, a fully owned subsidiary of SRIW SA.
(3)   Includes 125,753 shares held by BELGENEXT SA, which is controlled by Mr. Jean-Marc Heynderickx.
(4)   Includes 8,000 shares held by Karim Homsy, Mr. Homsy’s son, 6,000 shares held by Bastian Homsy, Mr. Homsy’s son, and 8,000 shares held by Benjamin Homsy, Mr. Homsy’s son.

Each of our shareholders is entitled to one vote per ordinary share. None of the holders of our shares will have different voting rights from other holders of shares after the closing of the global offering. We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company.

As of June 15, 2015, assuming that all of our ordinary shares represented by ADSs are held by residents of the United States, approximately 12.1% of our outstanding shares were held in the United States.

 

 

 

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Description of share capital

The following description of our share capital summarizes certain provisions of our articles of association and the Belgian Company Code. Because this description is a summary, it may not contain all information important to you. Accordingly, this description is qualified entirely by references to our articles of association. Copies of our articles of association will be publicly available as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

The following description includes comparisons of certain provisions of our articles of association and the Belgian Company Code applicable to us and the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, the law under which many publicly listed companies in the United States are incorporated. Because such statements are summaries, they do not address all aspects of Belgian law that may be relevant to us and our shareholders or all aspects of Delaware law which may differ from Belgian law, and they are not intended to be a complete discussion of the respective rights.

Share Capital

Share Capital and Shares

Our share capital is represented by ordinary shares without nominal value. Our share capital is fully paid-up. Our shares are not separated into classes.

The number of shares issued is expressed in units.

 

    

As of the
date of this
prospectus

 

     As of December 31,  
         2014      2013  

Total number of issued and outstanding shares

     7,847,687         7,040,387         6,332,792   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total share capital (€’000)

  27,440      24,615      22,138   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2014, our share capital amounts to €24.6 million, represented by 7,040,387 fully authorized and subscribed and paid-up shares without nominal value. This number does not include outstanding warrants issued by us and granted to certain of our directors, employees and non-employees nor any other capital increases after December 31, 2014. Neither we nor any of our subsidiaries holds any of our own shares.

On January 21, 2015, we issued 93,087 new shares to Celdara Medical, LLC in the context of a contribution in kind to our capital of 26.7% of the shares issued by OnCyte, LLC. On February 6, 2015, we issued 333 new shares as a result of exercise of 333 warrants by a former employee. On March 3, 2015, we issued 713,380 new shares to institutional investors in the context of a private placement. On May 11, 2015, we issued 500 new shares as a result of an exercise of 500 warrants by a former employee. Following these capital increases, on June 15, 2015, our share capital amounted to €27.4 million, represented by 7,847,687 shares.

Other Outstanding Securities

In addition to the shares already outstanding, we have granted warrants, which upon exercise will lead to an increase in the number of our outstanding shares. A total of 296,930 warrants (where each warrant entitles the holder to subscribe for one new share) were outstanding and granted as of December 31, 2014. For further information, see ‘‘Management—Warrant Plans.’’

 

 

 

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History of Securities Issuances

Since January 1, 2012, the following events have changed the number and classes of our issued and outstanding shares:

 

Ø   On May 6, 2013, the convertible loans E, F, G and H previously recorded as quasi equity were contributed in kind to our capital for a total amount of €12,013,681.96 (of which €5,026,141.96 in share capital and €6,987,540 in issue premium) in exchange for 905,357 new class B shares.

 

Ø   On May 31, 2013, 219,016 new class B shares were issued in exchange for a total contribution in cash of €6,999,751.36 (of which €1,552,729.26 in share capital and €5,447,022.10 in issue premium).

 

Ø   On June 4, 2013, 2,409,176 new class B shares were issued upon conversion of warrants.

 

Ø   At the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of June 11, 2013 all existing classes of shares (A and B) were converted into ordinary shares (preferred shares were converted at a 1 for 1 ratio).

 

Ø   On July 9, 2013, we completed our initial public offering in Belgium and France. We issued 1,381,500 new shares at €16.65 per share, corresponding to a total of €23,001,975 (of which €4,835,250 in share capital and €18,166,725 in issue premium).

 

Ø   On July 17, 2013, the over-allotment option was fully exercised for a total amount of €3,450,296 (of which €725,287.5 in share capital and €2,725,008.5 as issue premium) corresponding to 207,225 new shares. The total initial public offering proceeds amounted to €26,450,296 and our capital and share premium increased accordingly. The costs relating to the capital increases performed in 2013 amounted to €2.8 million and are presented in deduction of equity.

 

Ø   On June 11, 2013, the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting authorized the board of directors to increase the share capital, in one or several times, and under certain conditions set forth in extenso in the articles of association. This authorization is valid for a period of five years starting on July 26, 2013 and ending on July 26, 2018. The board of directors may increase the share capital within the framework of the authorized capital for an amount of up to €21,412,720.43. The board has already used € 5,161,264.50 of the authorized capital. Therefore the remaining authorized capital, prior to the offering, amounts to € 16,251,455.93.

 

Ø   In June 2014, our capital was increased by way of a contribution in cash of €24,999,920 (of which €1,988,630 in share capital and €23,011,290 in issue premium), represented by 568,180 new shares fully subscribed by Medisun International Limited.

 

Ø   In the course of 2014, our capital was also increased by way of exercise of warrants. Over four different exercise periods, 139,415 warrants were exercised resulting in the issuance of 139,415 new shares. Our capital and the share premium were therefore increased respectively by €487,952.50 and €499,810.10.

 

Ø   On January 21, 2015, our capital was increased by way of a contribution in kind of €3,451,680 (of which €325,504.50 in share capital and €3,125,875.50 in issue premium), represented by 93,087 new shares issued to Celdara Medical, LLC in the context of a contribution in kind to our capital of 26.7% of the shares issued by OnCyte, LLC.

 

Ø   On February 7, 2015, our capital was increased following the exercise of 333 warrants resulting in the issuance of 333 new shares (with a capital increase of €1,165.50 and an issue premium of €6,307.02).

 

Ø   On March 3, 2015, our capital was increased by way of a contribution in cash of €31,745,410 (of which €2,496,830 in share capital and €29,248,580 in issue premium), represented by 713,380 new shares issued to institutional investors in the context of a private placement.

 

Ø   On May 11, 2015 our capital was increased following the exercise of 500 warrants resulting in the issuance of 500 new shares (with capital increase of €1,750 and an issue premium of €9,470).

 

 

 

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All shares issued have been fully paid.

The table below provides an overview of the shares issued since our incorporation on July 7, 2007.

 

Category   Transaction date   Description   # of shares      Issue price (in €)  

Class A shares

  July 24, 2007   Company incorporation     409,375         0.15   

Class A shares

  August 31, 2007   Contribution in kind (upfront fee Mayo Licence)     261,732         36.30   

Class B shares

  December 23, 2008   Capital increase in cash (Round B)     137,150         35.36   

Class B shares

  December 23, 2008   Contribution in kind (Loan B)     67,502         35.36   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Contribution in cash     21,000         22.44   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Contribution in kind (Loan C)     92,068         35.36   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Contribution in kind (Loan D)     57,095         35.36   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Contribution in cash     73,793         35.36   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Exercise of warrants     12,300         22.44   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Contribution in kind (Mayo receivable)     69,455         44.20   

Class B shares

  October 29, 2010   Contribution in cash     9,048         44.20   

Class B shares

  May 6, 2013   Contribution in kind (Loan E)     118,365         38,39   

Class B shares

  May 6, 2013   Contribution in kind (Loan F)     56,936         38,39   

Class B shares

  May 6, 2013   Contribution in kind (Loan G)     654,301         4,52   

Class B shares

  May 6, 2013   Contribution in kind (Loan H)     75,755         30,71   

Class B shares

  May 31, 2013   Contribution in cash     219,016         31,96   

Class B shares

  June 4, 2013   Conversion of warrants     2,409,176         0,01   

Ordinary shares

  June 11, 2013   Conversion of Class A and Class B shares in ordinary shares     4,744,067         —     

Ordinary shares

  July 9, 2013   Initial Public Offering     1,381,500         16.65   

Ordinary shares

  July 17, 2013   Exercise of over-allotment option     207,225         16.65   

Ordinary shares

  January 31, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in September 2008     5,966         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  January 31, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in May 2010     333         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  January 31, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in January 2013     120,000         4.52   

Ordinary shares

  May 5, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in September 2008     2,366         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  June 16, 2014   Capital increase in cash     284,090         44.00   

Ordinary shares

  June 30, 2014   Capital increase in cash     284,090         44.00   

Ordinary shares

  August 4, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in September 2008     5,000         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  August 4, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in October 2010     750         35.36   

Ordinary shares

  November 3, 2014   Exercise of warrants issued in September 2008     5,000         22.44   

 

 

 

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Category   Transaction date   Description   # of shares      Issue price (in €)  

Ordinary shares

  January 21, 2015   Capital increase in kind     93,087         37.08   

Ordinary shares

  February 7, 2015   Exercise of warrants issued in October 2010     333         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  March 3, 2015   Capital increase in cash     713,380         44.50   

Ordinary shares

  May 11, 2015   Exercise of warrants issued in October 2010     500         22.44   

 

( 000)                              
Date    Nature of the transactions    Share Capital      Share premium      Number of shares  
   Balance as of January 1, 2013      9,975         —           1,210,518   
  

Issue of share subscription warrants

     24         —           2,409,176   
  

Capital increase by issuance of common shares

     12,139         30,474         2,713,098   
  

Balance as of December 31, 2013

     22,138         30,474         6,332,792   

 

( 000)                              
Date    Nature of the transactions    Share Capital      Share premium      Number of shares  
  

Balance as of January 1, 2014

     22,138         30,474         6,332,792   
   Issue of share subscription warrants      488         500         139,415   
  

Capital increase by issuance of common shares

     1,989         21,899         568,180   
   Share based payments      —           429         —     
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

  24,615      53,302      7,040,387   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The total number of shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014 totals 7,040,387. All shares are ordinary shares.

As of December 31, 2014, based on publicly available information, our shareholding was as follows:

 

      Shares      % age  

TOLEFI SA

     2,267,844         32.21

PMV-TINA

     570,571         8.10

MEDISUN

     568,180         8.07

SRIW SA

     533,828         7.58

Senior Management

     368,149         5.23

Others

     2,731,815         38.81

TOTAL

     7,040,387         100

Articles of Association and Other Share Information

Corporate Profile

Our legal and commercial name is Celyad SA. Prior to May 5, 2015, our corporate name was Cardio3 Biosciences SA. We are a limited liability company incorporated in the form of a naamloze vennootschap / société anonyme under Belgian law. We are registered with the Register of Legal Entities (RPM Nivelles) under the enterprise number 0891.118.115. Our principal executive and registered offices are located at rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium and our telephone number is +32 10 394 100. Our agent for service of process in the United States is CT Corporation System.

We were incorporated in Belgium on July 24, 2007 for an unlimited duration. Our fiscal year ends December 31.

 

 

 

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Corporate Purpose

Our corporate purpose as set forth in Article 3 of our articles of association is as follows:

“The company’s purpose, both in Belgium and abroad, on its own behalf or on behalf of third parties, for itself or for others, is to develop new medical technologies, and in particular, but not exclusively, to research and develop, manufacture and sell parts and systems, including the procedures, formula, development and manufacturing methods, the instruments and equipment, the materials and products, the prototypes, the software and technical and research programs, the design, the patents and trademarks, all related directly or indirectly to biotechnologies and, in particular but not exclusively, to cell therapies and the various directly or indirectly related scientific, operational, legal and financial fields. The company may, if necessary, file and register all or part of its research (patents, inventions, trademarks) and partake in any operation relating directly or indirectly to its corporate purpose if these operations are necessary in order to enable it to pursue its activities.

The company may partake, both in Belgium and abroad, in all industrial, commercial, financial, movable property and real estate transactions that are likely to help expand or promote its business directly or indirectly.

It may acquire any moveable and real property, even if it has no direct or indirect link to the company’s corporate purpose.

It can provide any form of security in order to guarantee the undertakings of an affiliated or associated company to which it is linked through a shareholding, or of any third party in general.

It can, through any means, acquire an interest in, cooperate or merge with any associations, ventures, businesses, or companies that have an identical, similar or related corporate purpose, or that are likely to promote the company or facilitate the sale of its products or services. It may acquire a financial interest in the form of capital contribution, an assignment, a merger, subscription or stake, or in any other manner, in companies, businesses, or operations that have a similar or related corporate purpose, or which are likely to help it achieve its corporate purpose.”

Board of Directors

Belgian law does not specifically regulate the ability of directors to borrow money from us.

Article 523 of the Belgian Company Code provides that if one of our directors directly or indirectly has a personal patrimonial interest that conflicts with a decision or transaction that falls within the powers of our board of directors, the director concerned must inform our other directors before our board of directors makes any decision on such transaction. The statutory auditor must also be notified. The director may neither participate in the deliberation nor vote on the conflicting decision or transaction. A copy of the minutes of the meeting of our board of directors that sets forth the statements of the conflicted director, the nature of the transaction, the financial impact of the matter on us and the justification of the decision of our board of directors must be published in our annual report. The statutory auditors’ report on the annual accounts must contain a description of the financial impact on us of each of the decisions of our board of directors where director conflicts arise.

In case of non-compliance with the foregoing, we may request the annulment of the decision or the transaction which has taken place in breach of these provisions if the counterparty to the decision or the transaction was, or should have been, aware of such breach.

 

 

 

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The DGCL generally permits transactions involving a Delaware corporation and an interested director of that corporation if (i) the material facts as to the director’s relationship or interest and as to the transaction are disclosed and a majority of disinterested directors consent, (ii) the material facts are disclosed as to the director’s relationship or interest and a majority of shares entitled to vote thereon consent or (iii) the transaction is fair to the corporation at the time it is authorized by the board of directors, a committee of the board of directors or the shareholders.

We rely on a provision in the Listing Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market that allows us to follow Belgian corporate law with respect to certain aspects of corporate governance. This allows us to continue following certain corporate governance practices that differ in significant respects from the corporate governance requirements applicable to U.S. companies listed on the NASDAQ Global Market. In particular, the Listing Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market require a majority of the directors of a listed U.S. company to be independent, whereas in Belgium, only three directors need to be independent. Nevertheless, our board of directors currently comprises of six independent directors and five non-independent directors. See ‘‘Management—Our Board of Directors.’’ The Listing Rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market further require that each of the nominating, compensation and audit committees of a listed U.S. company be comprised entirely of independent directors. However, the Belgian Corporate Governance Code recommends only that a majority of the directors on each of these committees meet the technical requirements for independence under Belgian corporate law. At present, our audit committee is composed of one independent director. Our nomination and remuneration committee is composed of 3 independent directors out of 4 members. Our board of directors has no plan to change the composition of our nomination and remuneration committee, but plans to rely on the phase in rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market to achieve an audit committee with all independent members.

Form and Transferability of Our Shares

All of our shares belong to the same class of securities and are in registered form or in dematerialized form. All of our outstanding shares are fully paid-up and freely transferable, subject to any contractual restrictions.

Belgian company law and our articles of association entitle shareholders to request, in writing and at their expense, the conversion of their dematerialised shares into registered shares and vice versa. Any costs incurred as a result of the conversion of shares into another form will be borne by the shareholder. For shareholders who opt for registered shares, the shares will be recorded in our shareholder register.

Currency

Our share capital, which is represented by our outstanding ordinary shares, is denominated in euros.

Changes to Our Share Capital

In principle, changes to our share capital are decided by our shareholders. Our shareholders may at any time at a meeting of shareholders decide to increase or decrease our share capital. Any such resolution of shareholders must satisfy the quorum and majority requirements that apply to an amendment of the articles of association, as described below in ‘‘—Description of the Rights and Benefits Attached To Our Shares—Right to Attend and Vote at Our Meeting of Shareholders—Quorum and Majority Requirements.’’ No shareholder is liable to make any further contribution to our share capital other than with respect to shares held by such shareholder that would not be fully paid-up.

Share Capital Increases by Our Board of Directors

Subject to the quorum and majority requirements described below in ‘‘—Description of the Rights and Benefits Attached To Our Shares—Right to Attend and Vote at Our Meeting of Shareholders—Quorum

 

 

 

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and Majority Requirements,’’ our meeting of shareholders may authorize our board of directors, within certain limits, to increase our share capital without any further approval of our shareholders. A capital increase that is authorized in this manner is referred to as authorized capital. This authorization can only be granted for a renewable period of a maximum of five years as from the date of the publication of the authorization in the Annexes to the Belgian Official Gazette and may not exceed the amount of the registered share capital at the time of the authorization. On June 11, 2013, our meeting of shareholders granted this authorization in respect of the authorized capital.

Without prejudice to more restrictive rules set forth by law, our board of directors was authorized to increase the registered capital of the company in one or more transactions with a maximum amount that cannot exceed €21,412,720.43 (excluding issuance premiums, if any). The board has already used €5,161,264.50 of the authorized capital. Therefore the remaining authorized capital, prior to the offering, amounts to €16,251,455.93.

Normally, the authorization of the board of directors to increase our share capital through contributions in kind or in cash with cancellation or limitation of the preferential right of the existing shareholders is suspended if we are notified by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority, or the FSMA, of a public takeover bid on the financial instruments of the company. The shareholders’ meeting can, however, authorize the board of directors to increase the share capital by issuing further shares, not representing more than 10% of the shares of the Company at the time of such a public tender offer. On June 11, 2013, the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting decided to authorize the board of directors to increase our share capital, including with limitation or cancellation of the shareholders’ preferential subscription rights, in one or more times and including the authorization to make use of such authorized capital in the framework of a public tender offer.

Preferential Subscription Rights

In the event of a share capital increase for cash through the issuance of new shares, or in the event we issue convertible bonds or warrants, our existing shareholders have a preferential right to subscribe, pro rata, to the new shares, convertible bonds or warrants. These preferential subscription rights are transferable during the subscription period.

Our shareholders may, at a meeting of shareholders, decide to limit or cancel this preferential subscription right, subject to special reporting requirements. Such decision by the shareholders must satisfy the same quorum and majority requirements as the decision to increase our share capital.

Shareholders may also decide to authorize our board of directors to limit or cancel the preferential subscription right within the framework of the authorized capital, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Belgian Company Code. Our board of directors currently has the authority to increase the share capital within the framework of the authorized capital, and the right to limit or cancel the preferential subscription right within the framework of the authorized capital. See also ‘‘—Share Capital Increases by Our Board of Directors’’ above.

Under the DGCL, shareholders of a Delaware corporation have no preemptive rights to subscribe for additional issues of stock or to any security convertible into such stock unless, and to the extent that, such rights are expressly provided for in the corporation’s certificate of incorporation.

Purchases and Sales of Our Own Shares

We may only repurchase our own shares pursuant to authorization of our shareholders at a meeting of shareholders taken under the conditions of quorum and majority provided for in the Belgian Company Code. Pursuant to the Belgian Company Code, such a decision requires a quorum of shareholders

 

 

 

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holding an aggregate of at least 50% of the share capital and approval by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented. If there is no quorum, a second meeting must be convened. No quorum is required at the second meeting, but the relevant resolution must be approved by a majority of at least 80% of the votes validly cast at the shareholders meeting.

Within such authorization, we may only repurchase our own shares if the amount that we would use for repurchase is available for distribution. Currently we have no such an authorization and we neither have any funds available for distribution, nor own any of our own shares.

Under the DGCL, a Delaware corporation may purchase or redeem its own shares, unless the capital of the corporation is impaired or the purchase or redemption would cause an impairment of the capital of the corporation.

Description of the Rights and Benefits Attached To Our Shares

Right to Attend and Vote at Our Meetings of Shareholders

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Our annual meeting of shareholders is held every year on May 5, at 9am (Central European Time), at our registered office or at any other place in Belgium mentioned in the notice of the meeting. If this date is a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in Belgium, the meeting is held on the following day that is a business day in Belgium.

At the annual meeting of shareholders, the board of directors submits the audited statutory financial statements under Belgian GAAP and the reports of the board of directors and of the statutory auditor with respect thereto to the shareholders. The shareholders meeting then decides on the approval of the statutory financial statements under Belgian GAAP, the proposed allocation of the Company’s profit or loss, the discharge of liability of the directors and the statutory auditor, and, as the case may be, the reappointment or dismissal of the statutory auditor and/or of all or certain directors and the matters described in Article 554 of the Belgian Company Code.

Special and Extraordinary Meetings of Shareholders

Our board of directors or the statutory auditor (or the liquidators, if appropriate) may, whenever our interests so require, convene a special or extraordinary meeting of shareholders. Such meeting of shareholders must also be convened when one or more shareholders holding at least one-fifth of our share capital so demands.

Under the DGCL, special meetings of the shareholders of a Delaware corporation may be called by such person or persons as may be authorized by the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws of the corporation, or if not so designated, as determined by the board of directors. Shareholders generally do not have the right to call meetings of shareholders , unless that right is granted in the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws.

Notices Convening Meetings of Shareholders and Agenda

Notices of our meetings of shareholders contain the agenda of the meeting, indicating the items to be discussed as well as any proposed resolutions that will be submitted at the meeting.

 

 

 

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One or more shareholders holding at least 3% of our share capital may request for items to be added to the agenda of any convened meeting and submit proposed resolutions in relation to existing agenda items or new items to be added to the agenda, provided that:

 

Ø   They prove ownership of such shareholding as at the date of their request and record their shares representing such shareholding on the record date; and

 

Ø   The additional items on the agenda and any proposed resolutions have been submitted in writing by these shareholders to the board of directors at the latest on the twenty-second day preceding the day on which the relevant meeting of shareholders is held.

The shareholding must be proven by a certificate evidencing the registration of the relevant shares in the share register of the company or by a certificate issued by the authorized account holder or the clearing organization certifying the book-entry of the relevant number of dematerialized shares in the name of the relevant shareholder(s).

The notice must be published in the Belgian Official Gazette ( Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur belge ) at least 30 days prior to the meeting of shareholders. In the event a second convening notice is necessary and the date of the second meeting is mentioned in the first convening notice, that period is seventeen days prior to the second meeting of shareholders. The notice must also be published in a national newspaper 30 days prior to the date of the meeting of shareholders, except if the meeting concerned is an annual meeting of shareholders held at the municipality, place, day and hour mentioned in the articles of association and whose agenda is limited to the examination of the annual accounts, the annual report of the board of directors, the annual report of the statutory auditor, the vote on the discharge of the directors and the statutory auditor and the vote on the items referred to in Article 554, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Belgian Company Code (i.e., in relation to a remuneration report or a severance pay). Notices of all our meetings of shareholders and all related documents, such as specific board and auditor’s reports, are also published on our website.

Convening notices must be sent 30 days prior to the meeting of shareholders to the holders of registered shares, holders of registered bonds, holders of registered warrants, holders of registered certificates issued with our cooperation and to our directors and statutory auditor. This communication is made by ordinary letter unless the addressees have individually and expressly accepted in writing to receive the notice by another form of communication, without having to give evidence of the fulfillment of such formality.

Under the DGCL, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, written notice of any meeting of the shareholders of a Delaware corporation must be given to each shareholder entitled to vote at the meeting not less than ten nor more than sixty days before the date of the meeting and shall specify the place, date, hour and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose of the meeting.

Admission to Meetings

A shareholder is only entitled to participate in and vote at the meeting of shareholders, irrespective of the number of shares he owns on the date of the meeting of shareholders, provided that his shares are recorded in his name at midnight (Central European Time) at the end of the fourteenth day preceding the date of the meeting of shareholders, or the record date:

 

Ø   in case of registered shares, in our register of registered shares; or

 

Ø   in case of dematerialized shares, through book-entry in the accounts of an authorized account holder or clearing organization.

 

 

 

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In addition, we (or the person designated by us) must, at the latest on the sixth day preceding the day of the meeting of shareholders, be notified as follows of the intention of the shareholder to participate in the meeting of shareholders:

 

Ø   In case of registered shares, the shareholder must, at the latest on the above-mentioned date, notify us (or the person designated by us) in writing of his intention to participate in the meeting of shareholders and of the number of shares he intends to participate in the meeting of shareholders with by returning a signed paper form, or, if permitted by the convening notice, by sending an electronic form (signed by means of an electronic signature in accordance with the applicable Belgian law) electronically, to us on the address indicated in the convening notice; and

 

Ø   In case of dematerialized shares, the shareholder must, at the latest on the above-mentioned date, provide us (or the person designated by us), or arrange for us (or the person designated by us) to be provided with, a certificate issued by the authorized account holder or clearing organization certifying the number of dematerialized shares recorded in the shareholder’s accounts on the record date in respect of which the shareholder has indicated his intention to participate in the meeting of shareholders.

Each shareholder has the right to attend a meeting of shareholders and to vote at the meeting of shareholders in person or through a proxy holder. The proxy holder does not need to be a shareholder. A shareholder may only appoint one person as proxy holder for a particular meeting of shareholders, except in cases provided for in the law. Our board of directors may determine the form of the proxies. The appointment of a proxy holder must in any event take place in paper form or electronically, the proxy must be signed by the shareholder (as the case may be, by means of an electronic signature in accordance with the applicable Belgian law) and we must receive the proxy at the latest on the sixth day preceding the day on which the meeting of shareholders is held.

The board of directors must maintain a register in which, for each shareholder who has duly expressed its intention to participate to the shareholders meeting, it shall record the name and address (or registered offices) of such shareholder, the number of shares it held on the registration date and for which it has expressed its intention to participate to the meeting, as well as a description of the documents evidencing that such shareholder held the relevant shares at the registration date.

Prior to participating to the shareholders meeting, the holders of securities or their proxy holders must sign the attendance list, thereby mentioning: (i) the identity of the holder of securities, (ii) if applicable, the identity of the proxy holder, and (iii) the number of securities they represent. The representatives of shareholders-legal entities must present the documents evidencing their quality as legal body or special proxy holder of such legal entity. In addition, the proxy holders must present the original of their proxy evidencing their powers, unless the convening notice required the prior deposit of such proxies. The physical persons taking part in the shareholders meeting must be able to prove their identity.

The holders of profit certificates (if any), shares without voting rights (if any), bonds (if any), warrants or other securities issued by us (if any), as well as the holders of certificates issued with our co-operation and representative securities issued by us (if any), may attend the shareholders meeting.

Pursuant to Article 7, section 5 of the Belgian Law of May 2, 2007 on the disclosure of major shareholdings, a transparency declaration has to be made if a proxy holder that is entitled to voting rights above the threshold of 5% or any multiple of 5% of the total number of voting rights attached to our outstanding financial instruments on the date of the relevant meeting of shareholders would have the right to exercise the voting rights at his discretion.

 

 

 

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Votes

Each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share.

Voting rights can be suspended in relation to shares:

 

Ø   That were not fully paid up, notwithstanding the request thereto of our board of directors.

 

Ø   To which more than one person is entitled, except in the event a single representative is appointed for the exercise of the voting right.

 

Ø   That entitle their holder to voting rights above the threshold of 5% or any multiple of 5% of the total number of voting rights attached to our outstanding financial instruments on the date of the relevant general meeting of shareholders, except to the extent where the relevant shareholder has notified us and the Belgian FSMA at least twenty days prior to the date of the general meeting of shareholders on which he or she wishes to vote of its shareholding reaching or exceeding the thresholds above.

 

Ø   Of which the voting right was suspended by a competent court or the Belgian FSMA.

Quorum and Majority Requirements

Generally, there is no quorum requirement for our meeting of shareholders, except as provided for by law in relation to decisions regarding certain matters. Decisions are made by a simple majority, except where the law provides for a special majority.

Under the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of a Delaware corporation may specify the number of shares required to constitute a quorum but in no event shall a quorum consist of less than one-third of shares entitled to vote at a meeting. In the absence of such specifications, a majority of shares entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum.

Matters involving special legal quorum and majority requirements include, among others, amendment to the articles of association, issues of new shares, convertible bonds or warrants and decisions (except if decided by the board in the framework of the authorized capital) regarding mergers and demergers, dissolutions or other reorganizations, which require at least 50% of the share capital to be present or represented and the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the votes cast.

Any modification of our corporate purpose or legal form or subject to certain exceptions the possibility of acquiring own shares requires a quorum of shareholders holding an aggregate of at least 50% of the share capital and at least 50% of the profit certificates if any and approval by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented. If there is no quorum, a second meeting must be convened. At the second meeting, no quorum is required, but the relevant resolution must be approved by a majority of at least 80% of the share capital present or represented.

If the above mentioned quora are not reached, a second meeting may be convened at which no quorum requirement applies. The special majority requirement for voting, however, remains applicable.

Right to Ask Questions at our Meetings of Shareholders

Within the limits of Article 540 of the Belgian Company Code, members of the board of directors and the auditor will answer, during the meeting of shareholders, the questions raised by shareholders. Shareholders can ask questions either during the meeting or in writing, provided that we receive the written questions at the latest on the sixth day preceding the meeting of shareholders and that they have complied with the formalities to attend the meeting of shareholders.

 

 

 

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Dividends

All shares participate in the same manner in our profits, if any. Pursuant to the Belgian Company Code, the shareholders can in principle decide on the distribution of profits with a simple majority vote at the occasion of the annual meeting of shareholders, based on the most recent non-consolidated statutory audited annual accounts, prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in Belgium and based on a (non-binding) proposal of the board of directors. The articles of association also authorize our board of directors to declare interim dividends subject to the terms and conditions of the Belgian Company Code.

Pursuant to Article 617 of the Belgian Company Code, dividends can only be distributed if following the declaration and payment of the dividends the amount of the company’s net assets on the date of the closing of the last financial year according to the non-consolidated statutory annual accounts (i.e., the amount of the assets as shown in the balance sheet, decreased with provisions and liabilities, all as prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules), decreased with the non-amortized costs of incorporation and expansion and the non-amortized costs for research and development, does not fall below the amount of the paid-up capital (or, if higher, the called capital), increased with the amount of non-distributable reserves. In addition, prior to distributing dividends, at least 5% of our annual net profit under our non-consolidated statutory accounts (prepared in accordance with Belgian accounting rules) must be allotted to a legal reserve, until the legal reserve amounts to 10% of the share capital. See “Dividend Policy”.

The right to payment of dividends expires five years after the board of directors declared the dividend payable.

Under the DGCL, a Delaware corporation may pay dividends out of its surplus (the excess of net assets over capital), or in case there is no surplus, out of its net profits for either or both of the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and the preceding fiscal year (provided that the amount of the capital of the corporation is not less than the aggregate amount of the capital represented by the issued and outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets). Dividends may be paid in the form of shares, property or cash.

Appointment of Directors

Our articles of association provide that our board of directors shall be composed of at least three directors.

Under our articles of association, each of PMV-TINA Comm. V and Sofipôle SA is entitled to nominate a candidate for appointment to our board of directors as long as such entity (or any of its affiliates) continues to hold a minimum number of shares. As of December 31, 2014, the number of shares was 427,929 shares for PMV-TINA and 495,879 shares for Sofipôle.

Liquidation Rights

Our company can only be voluntarily dissolved by a shareholders’ resolution passed with a majority of at least 75% of the votes cast at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders where at least 50% of the share capital is present or represented. In the event the required quorum is not present or represented at the first meeting, a second meeting needs to be convened through a new notice. The second meeting of shareholders can validly deliberate and decide regardless of the number of shares present or represented.

Under the DGCL, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution of a Delaware corporation must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the

 

 

 

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corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. The DGCL allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.

In the event of the dissolution and liquidation of our company, the assets remaining after payment of all debts and liquidation expenses will be distributed to the holders of our shares, each receiving a sum on a pro rata basis.

If, as a result of losses incurred, the ratio of our net assets (on a non-consolidated basis, determined in accordance with Belgian legal and accounting rules) to share capital is less than 50%, our board of directors must convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders within two months of the date upon which our board of directors discovered or should have discovered this undercapitalization. At this meeting of shareholders, our board of directors needs to propose either our dissolution or our continuation, in which case our board of directors must propose measures to address our financial situation. Our board of directors must justify its proposals in a special report to the shareholders. Shareholders representing at least 75% of the votes validly cast at this meeting have the right to dissolve us, provided that at least 50% of our share capital is present or represented at the meeting. In the event the required quorum is not present or represented at the first meeting, a second meeting needs to be convened through a new notice. The second meeting of shareholders can validly deliberate and decide regardless of the number of shares present or represented.

If, as a result of losses incurred, the ratio of our net assets to share capital is less than 25%, the same procedure must be followed, it being understood, however, that in the event shareholders representing 25% of the votes validly cast at the meeting can decide to dissolve the company. If the amount of our net assets has dropped below €61,500 (the minimum amount of share capital of a Belgian public limited liability company), any interested party is entitled to request the competent court to dissolve us. The court can order our dissolution or grant a grace period during which time we must remedy the situation. Holders of ordinary shares have no sinking fund, redemption or appraisal rights.

Belgian Legislation

Disclosure of Significant Shareholdings

The Belgian Law of May 2, 2007 on the disclosure of significant shareholdings in issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market requires each natural or legal person acquiring or transferring our shares (directly or indirectly, by ownership of ADSs or otherwise) to notify us and the Belgian FSMA each time their shareholding crosses (upwards or downwards) a threshold of 5% of the total number of outstanding voting rights allocated to the Company’s securities or any multiple thereof.

Similarly, if as a result of events changing the breakdown of voting rights, the percentage of the voting rights reaches, exceeds or falls below any of the above thresholds, disclosure is required even when no acquisition or disposal of shares or ADSs has occurred (e.g., as a result of a capital increase or a capital decrease). Finally, disclosure is also required when persons acting in concert enter into, modify or terminate their agreement resulting in their voting rights reaching, exceeding or falling below any of the above thresholds.

The disclosure statements must be addressed to the Belgian FSMA and to us at the latest on the fourth trading day following the day on which the circumstance giving rise to the disclosure occurred.

 

 

 

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The notification can be electronically transmitted to the Company and the Belgian FSMA. The forms required to make such notifications, as well as further explanations may be found on the website of the Belgian FSMA (www.fsma.be).

Violation of the disclosure requirements may result in the suspension of voting rights, a court order to sell the securities to a third party and/or criminal liability. The Belgian FSMA may also impose administrative sanctions.

We must publish all information contained in such notifications no later than three trading days after receipt of such notification. In addition, we must mention in the notes to its annual accounts, our shareholders structure (as it appears from the notifications received). Moreover, we must publish the total share capital, the total number of voting securities and voting rights (for each class of securities (if any)), at the end of each calendar month during which one of these numbers has changed, as well as on the day on which our shares will for the first time be admitted to trading on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris. Furthermore, we must disclose, as the case may be, the total number of bonds convertible in voting securities (if any), whether or not incorporated in securities, to subscribe to voting securities not yet issued (if any), the total number of voting rights that can be obtained upon the exercise of these conversion or subscription rights and the total number of shares without voting rights (if any).

Unless otherwise provided by law, a shareholder shall only be allowed to vote at our meeting of shareholders the number of shares such shareholder validly disclosed at the latest twenty days before such meeting.

In accordance with U.S. federal securities laws, holders of our ordinary shares and holders of ADSs will be required to comply with disclosure requirements relating to their ownership of our securities. Any person that, after acquiring beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares or ADSs, is the beneficial owners of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares or ordinary shares underlying ADSs must file with the SEC a Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G, as applicable, disclosing the information required by such schedules, including the number of our ordinary shares or ordinary shares underlying ADSs that such person has acquired (whether alone or jointly with one or more other persons). In addition, if any material change occurs in the facts set forth in the report filed on Schedule 13D (including a more than 1% increase or decrease in the percentage of the total shares beneficially owned), the beneficial owner must promptly file an amendment disclosing such change.

Disclosure of Net Short Positions

Pursuant to the Regulation (EU) No. 236/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps, any person that acquires or disposes of a net short position relating to our issued share capital, whether by a transaction in shares or ADSs, or by a transaction creating or relating to any financial instrument where the effect or one of the effects of the transaction is to confer a financial advantage on the person entering into that transaction in the event of a decrease in the price of such shares or ADSs is required to notify the Belgian FSMA if, as a result of which acquisition or disposal his net short position reaches, exceeds or falls below 0.2% of our issued share capital and each 0.1% above that. If the net short position reaches 0.5%, and also at every 0.1% above that, the Belgian FSMA will disclose the net short position to the public.

Public Takeover Bids

The European Takeover Directive 2004/25/EC of April 21, 2004 has been implemented in Belgium through the law of April 1, 2007 on public takeovers, or the Takeover Law, the Royal Decree of April 27, 2007 on public takeovers and the Royal Decree of April 27, 2007 on squeeze-out bids.

 

 

 

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Public takeover bids in Belgium for our shares or other securities giving access to voting rights are subject to supervision by the Belgian FSMA. The Takeover Law determines when a bid is deemed to be public in Belgium. Public takeover bids must be extended to all of the voting securities, as well as all other securities giving access to voting rights. Prior to making a bid, a bidder must publish a prospectus that has been approved by the Belgian FSMA prior to publication.

The Takeover Law provides that a mandatory bid must be launched on all our shares (and our other securities giving access to voting rights), if a person, as a result of its own acquisition or the acquisition by persons acting in concert with it or by persons acting for its account, directly or indirectly holds more than 30% of our voting securities (directly or through ADSs). In general and except for certain exceptions, the mere fact of exceeding the relevant threshold as a result of an acquisition will give rise to the obligation to launch a mandatory tender offer, irrespective of whether or not the price paid in the relevant transaction exceeds the then current market price. In such an event, the tender offer must be launched at a price equal to the higher of the two following amounts: (i) the highest price paid by the offeror or the persons acting in concert with it for the acquisition of shares during the last 12 calendar months; and (ii) the average trading price during the last 30 days before the obligation to launch a tender offer arose. No mandatory tender offer is required, amongst other things, when the acquisition is the result of a subscription for a capital increase with application of the preferential subscription rights of the shareholders. The acceptance period for the tender offer must be at least two weeks and not more than ten weeks.

In principle, the authorization granted to the board of directors to increase the share capital through contributions in cash with cancellation or limitation of the preferential subscription right of the existing shareholders is suspended as of the notification to the company by the Belgian FSMA of a public tender offer on the securities of such company. The shareholders meeting can, however, authorize the board of directors to increase the share capital by issuing shares representing not more than 10% of the existing shares of the company at the time of such a public tender offer. Such authorization was granted to our board of directors on date June 11, 2013. Those powers remain in effect for a period of three years from the date of this authorization.

Squeeze-out

Pursuant to Article 513 of the Belgian Company Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder, a person or legal entity, or different persons or legal entities acting alone or in concert, that own together with the company 95% of the securities with voting rights in a public company are entitled to acquire the totality of the securities with voting rights in that company following a squeeze-out offer. The securities that are not voluntarily tendered in response to such an offer are deemed to be automatically transferred to the bidder at the end of the procedure. At the end of the procedure, the company is no longer deemed a public company, unless bonds issued by the company are still spread among the public. The consideration for the securities must be in cash and must represent the fair value (verified by an independent expert) in order to safeguard the interests of the transferring shareholders.

The DGCL provides for shareholders appraisal rights, or the right to demand payment in cash of the judicially determined fair value of the shareholder’s shares, in connection with certain mergers and consolidations.

Limitations on the Right to Own Securities

Neither Belgian law nor our articles of association impose any general limitation on the right of non-residents or foreign persons to hold our securities or exercise voting rights on our securities other than those limitations that would generally apply to all shareholders.

 

 

 

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Exchange Controls and Limitations Affecting Shareholders

There are no Belgian exchange control regulations that impose limitations on our ability to make, or the amount of, cash payments to residents of the United States.

We are in principle under an obligation to report to the National Bank of Belgium certain cross-border payments, transfers of funds, investments and other transactions in accordance with applicable balance-of-payments statistical reporting obligations. Where a cross-border transaction is carried out by a Belgian credit institution on our behalf, the credit institution will in certain circumstances be responsible for the reporting obligations.

Securities Exercisable for Ordinary Shares

Equity Incentives

See the section of this prospectus titled “Management—Warrant Plans” for a description of securities granted by our board of directors to our directors, members of the executive management team, employees and other service providers.

Listing

We have applied to have our ADSs listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CYAD.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Upon the closing of the global offering, the transfer agent and registrar for the ADSs will be Citibank, N.A.

 

 

 

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Description of American depositary shares

Citibank, N.A. has agreed to act as the depositary for the American Depositary Shares. Citibank’s depositary offices are located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013. American Depositary Shares are frequently referred to as “ADSs” and represent ownership interests in securities that are on deposit with the depositary. ADSs may be represented by certificates that are commonly known as “American Depositary Receipts” or “ADRs.” The depositary typically appoints a custodian to safekeep the securities on deposit. In this case, the custodian is Citibank International Limited, located at EGSP 186, 1 North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 Ireland.

We have appointed Citibank as depositary pursuant to a deposit agreement. A copy of the deposit agreement is on file with the SEC under cover of a Registration Statement on Form F-6. You may obtain a copy of the deposit agreement from the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549 and from the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Please refer to Registration Number 333-204251 when retrieving such copy.

We are providing you with a summary description of the material terms of the ADSs and of your material rights as an owner of ADSs. Please remember that summaries by their nature lack the precision of the information summarized and that the rights and obligations of an owner of ADSs will be determined by reference to the terms of the deposit agreement and not by this summary. We urge you to review the deposit agreement in its entirety. The portions of this summary description that are italicized describe matters that may be relevant to the ownership of ADSs but that may not be contained in the deposit agreement.

Each ADS represents the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial ownership interests in, one ordinary share on deposit with the custodian. An ADS also represents the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial interests in, any other property received by the depositary or the custodian on behalf of the owner of the ADS but that has not been distributed to the owners of ADSs because of legal restrictions or practical considerations. The custodian, the depositary and their respective nominees will hold all deposited property for the benefit of the holders and beneficial owners of ADSs. The deposited property does not constitute the proprietary assets of the depositary, the custodian or their nominees. Beneficial ownership in the deposited property will under the terms of the deposit agreement be vested in the beneficial owners of the ADSs. The depositary, the custodian and their respective nominees will be the record holders of the deposited property represented by the ADSs for the benefit of the holders and beneficial owners of the corresponding ADSs. A beneficial owner of ADSs may or may not be the holder of ADSs. Beneficial owners of ADSs will be able to receive, and to exercise beneficial ownership interests in, the deposited property only through the registered holders of the ADSs, the registered holders of the ADSs (on behalf of the applicable ADS owners) only through the depositary, and the depositary (on behalf of the owners of the corresponding ADSs) directly, or indirectly, through the custodian or their respective nominees, in each case upon the terms of the deposit agreement.

If you become an owner of ADSs, you will become a party to the deposit agreement and therefore will be bound to its terms and to the terms of any ADR that represents your ADSs. The deposit agreement and the ADR specify our rights and obligations as well as your rights and obligations as owner of ADSs and those of the depositary. As an ADS holder you appoint the depositary to act on your behalf in certain circumstances. The deposit agreement and the ADRs are governed by New York law. However, our obligations to the holders of ordinary shares will continue to be governed by the laws of Belgium, which may be different from the laws in the United States.

 

 

 

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In addition, applicable laws and regulations may require you to satisfy reporting requirements and obtain regulatory approvals in certain circumstances. You are solely responsible for complying with such reporting requirements and obtaining such approvals. Neither the depositary, the custodian, us or any of their or our respective agents or affiliates shall be required to take any actions whatsoever on your behalf to satisfy such reporting requirements or obtain such regulatory approvals under applicable laws and regulations.

As an owner of ADSs, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have direct shareholder rights. The depositary will hold on your behalf the shareholder rights attached to the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs. As an owner of ADSs you will be able to exercise the shareholders rights for the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs through the depositary only to the extent contemplated in the deposit agreement. To exercise any shareholder rights not contemplated in the deposit agreement you will, as an ADS owner, need to arrange for the cancellation of your ADSs and become a direct shareholder.

As an owner of ADSs, you may hold your ADSs either by means of an ADR registered in your name, through a brokerage or safekeeping account, or through an account established by the depositary in your name reflecting the registration of uncertificated ADSs directly on the books of the depositary (commonly referred to as the “direct registration system” or “DRS”). The direct registration system reflects the uncertificated (book-entry) registration of ownership of ADSs by the depositary. Under the direct registration system, ownership of ADSs is evidenced by periodic statements issued by the depositary to the holders of the ADSs. The direct registration system includes automated transfers between the depositary and The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, the central book-entry clearing and settlement system for equity securities in the United States. If you decide to hold your ADSs through your brokerage or safekeeping account, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or bank to assert your rights as ADS owner. Banks and brokers typically hold securities such as the ADSs through clearing and settlement systems such as DTC. The procedures of such clearing and settlement systems may limit your ability to exercise your rights as an owner of ADSs. Please consult with your broker or bank if you have any questions concerning these limitations and procedures. All ADSs held through DTC will be registered in the name of a nominee of DTC. This summary description assumes you have opted to own the ADSs directly by means of an ADS registered in your name and, as such, we will refer to you as the “holder.” When we refer to “you,” we assume the reader owns ADSs and will own ADSs at the relevant time.

The registration of the ordinary shares in the name of the depositary or the custodian shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, vest in the depositary or the custodian the record ownership in the applicable ordinary shares with the beneficial ownership rights and interests in such ordinary shares being at all times vested with the beneficial owners of the ADSs representing the ordinary shares. The depositary or the custodian shall at all times be entitled to exercise the beneficial ownership rights in all deposited property, in each case only on behalf of the holders and beneficial owners of the ADSs representing the deposited property.

Dividends and Distributions

As a holder of ADSs, you generally have the right to receive the distributions we make on the securities deposited with the custodian. Your receipt of these distributions may be limited, however, by practical considerations and legal limitations. Holders of ADSs will receive such distributions under the terms of the deposit agreement in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the specified record date, after deduction of the applicable fees, taxes and expenses.

 

 

 

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Distributions of Cash

Whenever we make a cash distribution for the securities on deposit with the custodian, we will deposit the funds with the custodian. Upon receipt of confirmation of the deposit of the requisite funds, the depositary will arrange for the funds to be converted into U.S. dollars and for the distribution of the U.S. dollars to the holders, subject to Belgium laws and regulations.

The conversion into U.S. dollars will take place only if practicable and if the U.S. dollars are transferable to the United States. The depositary will apply the same method for distributing the proceeds of the sale of any property (such as undistributed rights) held by the custodian in respect of securities on deposit.

The distribution of cash will be made net of the fees, expenses, taxes and governmental charges payable by holders under the terms of the deposit agreement. The depositary will hold any cash amounts it is unable to distribute in a non-interest bearing account for the benefit of the applicable holders and beneficial owners of ADSs until the distribution can be effected or the funds that the depositary holds must be escheated as unclaimed property in accordance with the laws of the relevant states of the United States.

Distributions of Shares

Whenever we make a free distribution of ordinary shares for the securities on deposit with the custodian, we will deposit the applicable number of ordinary shares with the custodian. Upon receipt of confirmation of such deposit, the depositary will either distribute to holders new ADSs representing the ordinary shares deposited or modify the ADS-to-ordinary share ratio, in which case each ADS you hold will represent rights and interests in the additional ordinary shares so deposited. Only whole new ADSs will be distributed. Fractional entitlements will be sold and the proceeds of such sale will be distributed as in the case of a cash distribution.

The distribution of new ADSs or the modification of the ADS-to-ordinary share ratio upon a distribution of ordinary shares will be made net of the fees, expenses, taxes and governmental charges payable by holders under the terms of the deposit agreement. In order to pay such taxes or governmental charges, the depositary may sell all or a portion of the new ordinary shares so distributed.

No such distribution of new ADSs will be made if it would violate a law ( i.e. , the U.S. securities laws) or if it is not operationally practicable. If the depositary does not distribute new ADSs as described above, it may sell the ordinary shares received upon the terms described in the deposit agreement and will distribute the proceeds of the sale as in the case of a distribution of cash.

Distributions of Rights

Whenever we intend to distribute rights to purchase additional ordinary shares, we will give prior notice to the depositary and we will assist the depositary in determining whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs to holders.

The depositary will establish procedures to distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs to holders and to enable such holders to exercise such rights if it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make the rights available to holders of ADSs, and if we provide all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement (such as opinions to address the lawfulness of the transaction). You may have to pay fees, expenses, taxes and other governmental charges to subscribe for the new ADSs upon the exercise of your rights. The depositary is not obligated to establish procedures to facilitate the distribution and exercise by holders of rights to purchase new ordinary shares other than in the form of ADSs.

 

 

 

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The depositary will not distribute the rights to you if:

 

Ø   we do not timely request that the rights be distributed to you or we request that the rights not be distributed to you; or

 

Ø   we fail to deliver satisfactory documents to the depositary; or

 

Ø   it is not reasonably practicable to distribute the rights.

The depositary will sell the rights that are not exercised or not distributed if such sale is lawful and reasonably practicable. The proceeds of such sale will be distributed to holders as in the case of a cash distribution. If the depositary is unable to sell the rights, it will allow the rights to lapse.

Elective Distributions

Whenever we intend to distribute a dividend payable at the election of shareholders either in cash or in additional shares, we will give prior notice thereof to the depositary and will indicate whether we wish the elective distribution to be made available to you. In such case, we will assist the depositary in determining whether such distribution is lawful and reasonably practicable.

The depositary will make the election available to you only if it is reasonably practicable and if we have provided all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement. In such case, the depositary will establish procedures to enable you to elect to receive either cash or additional ADSs, in each case as described in the deposit agreement.

If the election is not made available to you, you will receive either cash or additional ADSs, depending on what a shareholder in Belgium would receive upon failing to make an election, as more fully described in the deposit agreement.

Other Distributions

Whenever we intend to distribute property other than cash, ordinary shares or rights to purchase additional ordinary shares, we will notify the depositary in advance and will indicate whether we wish such distribution to be made to you. If so, we will assist the depositary in determining whether such distribution to holders is lawful and reasonably practicable.

If it is reasonably practicable to distribute such property to you and if we provide all of the documentation contemplated in the deposit agreement, the depositary will distribute the property to the holders in a manner it deems practicable.

The distribution will be made net of fees, expenses, taxes and governmental charges payable by holders under the terms of the deposit agreement. In order to pay such taxes and governmental charges, the depositary may sell all or a portion of the property received.

The depositary will not distribute the property to you and will sell the property if:

 

Ø   we do not request that the property be distributed to you or if we ask that the property not be distributed to you; or

 

Ø   we do not deliver satisfactory documents to the depositary; or

 

Ø   the depositary determines that all or a portion of the distribution to you is not reasonably practicable.

The proceeds of such a sale will be distributed to holders as in the case of a cash distribution. If the depositary is unable to sell such property, it may dispose of such property in any way it deems reasonably practicable.

 

 

 

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Changes Affecting Ordinary Shares

The ordinary shares held on deposit for your ADSs may change from time to time. For example, there may be a split-up, cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of such ordinary shares or a recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets of the Company.

If any such change were to occur, your ADSs would, to the extent permitted by law, represent the right to receive the property received or exchanged in respect of the ordinary shares held on deposit. The depositary may in such circumstances deliver new ADSs to you, amend the deposit agreement, the ADRs and the applicable Registration Statement(s) on Form F-6, call for the exchange of your existing ADSs for new ADSs and take any other actions that are appropriate to reflect as to the ADSs the change affecting the ordinary shares. If the depositary may not lawfully distribute such property to you, the depositary may sell such property and distribute the net proceeds to you as in the case of a cash distribution.

Issuance of ADSs upon Deposit of Ordinary Shares

Upon completion of this offering, the ordinary shares being offered pursuant to this prospectus in the U.S. offering will be deposited by us with the custodian. Upon receipt of confirmation of such deposit, the depositary will issue ADSs to the underwriters named in this prospectus.

After the closing of this offering, the depositary may create ADSs on your behalf if you or your broker deposit ordinary shares with the custodian. The depositary will deliver these ADSs to the person you indicate only after you pay any applicable issuance fees and any charges and taxes payable for the transfer of the ordinary shares to the custodian. Your ability to deposit ordinary shares and receive ADSs may be limited by U.S. and Belgian legal considerations applicable at the time of deposit.

The issuance of ADSs may be delayed until the depositary or the custodian receives confirmation that all required approvals have been given and that the ordinary shares have been duly transferred to the custodian. The depositary will only issue ADSs in whole numbers.

 

When you make a deposit of ordinary shares, you will be responsible for transferring good and valid title to the depositary. As such, you will be deemed to represent and warrant that:

 

Ø   the ordinary shares are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained.

 

Ø   all preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such ordinary shares have been validly waived or exercised.

 

Ø   you are duly authorized to deposit the ordinary shares.

 

Ø   the ordinary shares presented for deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim, and are not, and the ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not be, “restricted securities” (as defined in the deposit agreement).

 

Ø   the ordinary shares presented for deposit have not been stripped of any rights or entitlements.

 

Ø   the deposit of the ordinary shares does not violate any provisions of Belgian law.

If any of the representations or warranties are incorrect in any way, we and the depositary may, at your cost and expense, take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences of the misrepresentations.

 

 

 

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Transfer, Combination and Split Up of ADRs

As an ADR holder, you will be entitled to transfer, combine or split up your ADRs and the ADSs evidenced thereby. For transfers of ADRs, you will have to surrender the ADRs to be transferred to the depositary and also must:

 

Ø   ensure that the surrendered ADR is properly endorsed or otherwise in proper form for transfer;

 

Ø   provide such proof of identity and genuineness of signatures as the depositary deems appropriate;

 

Ø   provide any transfer stamps required by the State of New York or the United States; and

 

Ø   pay all applicable fees, charges, expenses, taxes and other government charges payable by ADR holders pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, upon the transfer of ADRs.

To have your ADRs either combined or split up, you must surrender the ADRs in question to the depositary with your request to have them combined or split up, and you must pay all applicable fees, charges and expenses payable by ADR holders, pursuant to the terms of the deposit agreement, upon a combination or split up of ADRs.

We may restrict transfers of ADSs where such transfer may result in the total number of shares represented by the ADSs owned by a single holder or beneficial owner to exceed limits imposed by applicable law or our Articles of Association. We may instruct the depositary to take actions with respect to the ownership interests of any holder or beneficial owner in excess of such limits including the imposing of restrictions on transfers of ADSs, the removal or limitation of voting rights, or mandatory sale or disposition of ADSs held by such holder of beneficial owner in excess of such limitations.

Withdrawal of Ordinary Shares upon Cancellation of ADSs

As a holder, you will be entitled to present your ADSs to the depositary for cancellation and then receive the corresponding number of underlying ordinary shares at the custodian’s offices. Your ability to withdraw the ordinary shares held in respect of the ADSs may be limited by U.S. and Belgian legal considerations applicable at the time of withdrawal. In order to withdraw the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs, you will be required to pay to the depositary the fees for cancellation of ADSs and any charges and taxes payable upon the transfer of the ordinary shares. You assume the risk for delivery of all funds and securities upon withdrawal. Once canceled, the ADSs will not have any rights under the deposit agreement.

If you hold ADSs registered in your name, the depositary may ask you to provide proof of identity and genuineness of any signature and such other documents as the depositary may deem appropriate before it will cancel your ADSs. The withdrawal of the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs may be delayed until the depositary receives satisfactory evidence of compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Please keep in mind that the depositary will only accept ADSs for cancellation that represent a whole number of securities on deposit.

You will have the right to withdraw the securities represented by your ADSs at any time except for:

 

Ø   temporary delays that may arise because (i) the transfer books for the ordinary shares or ADSs are closed, or (ii) ordinary shares are immobilized on account of a shareholders’ meeting or a payment of dividends.

 

Ø   obligations to pay fees, taxes and similar charges.

 

Ø   restrictions imposed because of laws or regulations applicable to ADSs or the withdrawal of securities on deposit.

 

 

 

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The deposit agreement may not be modified to impair your right to withdraw the securities represented by your ADSs except to comply with mandatory provisions of law.

Voting Rights

As a holder, you generally have the right under the deposit agreement to instruct the depositary to exercise the voting rights for the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs. The voting rights of holders of ordinary shares are described in “Description of Share Capital.”

At our request, the depositary will distribute to you any notice of shareholders’ meeting received from us together with information explaining how and when to instruct the depositary to exercise the voting rights of the securities represented by ADSs and what will happen (i) should the depositary not receive your timely voting instructions or (ii) if your voting instructions fail to specify the manner in which the depositary is to vote on your behalf.

If the depositary timely receives voting instructions from a holder of ADSs, it will endeavor to vote the securities (in person or by proxy) represented by the holder’s ADSs in accordance with such voting instructions. If the depositary timely receives voting instructions from a holder of ADSs which fail to specify the manner in which the depositary is to vote, the depositary will deem the holder to have instructed the depositary to vote in favor of the items set forth in such voting instructions. Additionally, at our request, the depositary will provide us with copies of the voting instructions it receives. As a holder, you agree that we may disclose your voting instructions for purposes of compliance with Belgian law, in connection with any shareholders’ meeting.

Securities for which no voting instructions have been received will not be voted. Please note that the ability of the depositary to carry out voting instructions may be limited by practical and legal limitations and the terms of the securities on deposit. We cannot assure you that you will receive voting materials in time to enable you to return voting instructions to the depositary in a timely manner.

Fees and Charges

As an ADS holder, you will be required to pay the following fees under the terms of the deposit agreement:

 

Service

Fees

Ø    Issuance of ADSs upon deposit of shares (excluding issuances as a result of distributions of shares)

Up to U.S. 5¢ per ADS issued

Ø    Cancellation of ADSs

Up to U.S. 5¢ per ADS canceled

Ø    Distribution of cash dividends or other cash distributions (i.e., sale of rights and other entitlements)

Up to U.S. 5¢ per ADS held

Ø    Distribution of ADSs pursuant to (i) stock dividends or other free stock distributions, or (ii) exercise of rights to purchase additional ADSs

Up to U.S. 5¢ per ADS held

Ø    Distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs (i.e., spin-off shares)

Up to U.S. 5¢ per ADS held

Ø    ADS Services

Up to U.S. 5¢ per ADS held on the applicable record date(s) established by the depositary

 

 

 

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As an ADS holder you will also be responsible to pay certain charges such as:

 

Ø   taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) and other governmental charges;

 

Ø   the registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration of ordinary shares on the share register and applicable to transfers of ordinary shares to or from the name of the custodian, the depositary or any nominees upon the making of deposits and withdrawals, respectively;

 

Ø   certain cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery expenses;

 

Ø   the expenses and charges incurred by the depositary in the conversion of foreign currency;

 

Ø   the fees and expenses incurred by the depositary in connection with compliance with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to ordinary shares, ADSs and ADRs; and

 

Ø   the fees and expenses incurred by the depositary, the custodian, or any nominee in connection with the servicing or delivery of deposited property.

ADS fees and charges payable upon (i) deposit of ordinary shares against issuance of ADSs and (ii) surrender of ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of ordinary shares are charged to the person to whom the ADSs are delivered (in the case of ADS issuances) and to the person who delivers the ADSs for cancellation (in the case of ADS cancellations). In the case of ADSs issued by the depositary into DTC or presented to the depositary via DTC, the ADS issuance and cancellation fees and charges may be deducted from distributions made through DTC, and may be charged to the DTC participant(s) receiving the ADSs or the DTC participant(s) surrendering the ADSs for cancellation, as the case may be, on behalf of the beneficial owner(s) and will be charged by the DTC participant(s) to the account(s) of the applicable beneficial owner(s) in accordance with the procedures and practices of the DTC participant(s) as in effect at the time. ADS fees and charges in respect of distributions and the ADS service fee are charged to the holders as of the applicable ADS record date. In the case of distributions of cash, the amount of the applicable ADS fees and charges is deducted from the funds being distributed. In the case of (i) distributions other than cash and (ii) the ADS service fee, holders as of the ADS record date will be invoiced for the amount of the ADS fees and charges and such ADS fees and charges may be deducted from distributions made to holders of ADSs. For ADSs held through DTC, the ADS fees and charges for distributions other than cash and the ADS service fee may be deducted from distributions made through DTC, and may be charged to the DTC participants in accordance with the procedures and practices prescribed by DTC and the DTC participants in turn charge the amount of such ADS fees and charges to the beneficial owners for whom they hold ADSs.

In the event of refusal to pay the depositary fees, the depositary may, under the terms of the deposit agreement, refuse the requested service until payment is received or may set off the amount of the depositary fees from any distribution to be made to the ADS holder. Note that the fees and charges you may be required to pay may vary over time and may be changed by us and by the depositary. You will receive prior notice of such changes. The depositary may reimburse us for certain expenses incurred by us in respect of the ADR program, by making available a portion of the ADS fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise, upon such terms and conditions as we and the depositary agree from time to time.

Amendments and Termination

We may agree with the depositary to modify the deposit agreement at any time without your consent. We undertake to give holders 30 days’ prior notice of any modifications that would materially prejudice any of their substantial rights under the deposit agreement. We will not consider to be materially prejudicial to your substantial rights any modifications or supplements that are reasonably necessary for the ADSs to be registered under the Securities Act or to be eligible for book-entry settlement, in each case

 

 

 

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without imposing or increasing the fees and charges you are required to pay. In addition, we may not be able to provide you with prior notice of any modifications or supplements that are required to accommodate compliance with applicable provisions of law.

You will be bound by the modifications to the deposit agreement if you continue to hold your ADSs after the modifications to the deposit agreement become effective. The deposit agreement cannot be amended to prevent you from withdrawing the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs (except as permitted by law).

We have the right to direct the depositary to terminate the deposit agreement. Similarly, the depositary may in certain circumstances on its own initiative terminate the deposit agreement. In either case, the depositary must give notice to the holders at least 30 days before termination. Until termination, your rights under the deposit agreement will be unaffected.

After termination, the depositary will continue to collect distributions received (but will not distribute any such property until you request the cancellation of your ADSs) and may sell the securities held on deposit. After the sale, the depositary will hold the proceeds from such sale and any other funds then held for the holders of ADSs in a non-interest bearing account. At that point, the depositary will have no further obligations to holders other than to account for the funds then held for the holders of ADSs still outstanding (after deduction of applicable fees, taxes and expenses).

Books of Depositary

The depositary will maintain ADS holder records at its depositary office. You may inspect such records at such office during regular business hours but solely for the purpose of communicating with other holders in the interest of business matters relating to the ADSs and the deposit agreement.

The depositary will maintain in the United States facilities to record and process the issuance, cancellation, combination, split-up and transfer of ADSs. These facilities may be closed from time to time, to the extent not prohibited by law.

Limitations on Obligations and Liabilities

The deposit agreement limits our obligations and the depositary’s obligations to you. Please note the following:

 

Ø   We and the depositary are obligated only to take the actions specifically stated in the deposit agreement without negligence or bad faith.

 

Ø   The depositary disclaims any liability for any failure to carry out voting instructions, for any manner in which a vote is cast or for the effect of any vote, provided it acts in good faith and in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement.

 

Ø   The depositary disclaims any liability for any failure to determine the lawfulness or practicality of any action, for the content of any document forwarded to you on our behalf or for the accuracy of any translation of such a document, for the investment risks associated with investing in ordinary shares, for the validity or worth of the ordinary shares, for any tax consequences that result from the ownership of ADSs, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse under the terms of the deposit agreement, for the timeliness of any of our notices or for our failure to give notice.

 

Ø   We and the depositary will not be obligated to perform any act that is inconsistent with the terms of the deposit agreement.

 

Ø  

We and the depositary disclaim any liability if we or the depositary are prevented or forbidden from or subject to any civil or criminal penalty or restraint on account of, or delayed in, doing or performing

 

 

 

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any act or thing required by the terms of the deposit agreement, by reason of any provision, present or future of any law or regulation, or by reason of present or future provision of any provision of our articles of association, or any provision of or governing the securities on deposit, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond our control.

 

Ø   We and the depositary disclaim any liability by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the deposit agreement or in our articles of association or in any provisions of or governing the securities on deposit.

 

Ø   We and the depositary further disclaim any liability for any action or inaction in reliance on the advice or information received from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting ordinary shares for deposit, any holder of ADSs or authorized representatives thereof, or any other person believed by either of us in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information.

 

Ø   We and the depositary also disclaim liability for the inability by a holder to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit that is made available to holders of ordinary shares but is not, under the terms of the deposit agreement, made available to you.

 

Ø   We and the depositary may rely without any liability upon any written notice, request or other document believed to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper parties.

 

Ø   We and the depositary also disclaim liability for any consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement.

 

Ø   No disclaimer of any Securities Act liability is intended by any provision of the deposit agreement.

Pre-Release Transactions

Subject to the terms and conditions of the deposit agreement, the depositary may issue ADSs to broker/dealers before receiving a deposit of ordinary shares or release ordinary shares to broker/dealers before receiving ADSs for cancellation. These transactions are commonly referred to as “pre-release transactions,” and are entered into between the depositary and the applicable broker/dealer. The depositary normally limits the aggregate size of pre-release transactions (not to exceed 30% of the ordinary shares on deposit in the aggregate), but may change such limits from time to time as it deems appropriate. The deposit agreement imposes a number of conditions on such transactions (i.e., the need to receive collateral, the type of collateral required, the representations required from brokers, etc.). The depositary may retain the compensation received from the pre-release transactions.

Taxes

You will be responsible for the taxes and other governmental charges payable on the ADSs and the securities represented by the ADSs. We, the depositary and the custodian may deduct from any distribution the taxes and governmental charges payable by holders and may sell any and all property on deposit to pay the taxes and governmental charges payable by holders. You will be liable for any deficiency if the sale proceeds do not cover the taxes that are due.

The depositary may refuse to issue ADSs; to deliver, transfer, split and combine ADRs; or to release securities on deposit until all taxes and charges are paid by the applicable holder. The depositary and the custodian may take reasonable administrative actions to obtain tax refunds and reduced tax withholding for any distributions on your behalf. However, you may be required to provide to the depositary and to the custodian proof of taxpayer status and residence and such other information as the depositary and the custodian may require to fulfill legal obligations. You are required to indemnify us, the depositary and the custodian for any claims with respect to taxes based on any tax benefit obtained for you.

 

 

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Foreign Currency Conversion

The depositary will arrange for the conversion of all foreign currency received into U.S. dollars if such conversion is practical, and it will distribute the U.S. dollars in accordance with the terms of the deposit agreement. You may have to pay fees and expenses incurred in converting foreign currency, such as fees and expenses incurred in complying with currency exchange controls and other governmental requirements.

If the conversion of foreign currency is not practical or lawful, or if any required approvals are denied or not obtainable at a reasonable cost or within a reasonable period, the depositary may take the following actions in its discretion:

 

Ø   convert the foreign currency to the extent practical and lawful and distribute the U.S. dollars to the holders for whom the conversion and distribution is lawful and practical.

 

Ø   distribute the foreign currency to holders for whom the distribution is lawful and practical.

 

Ø   hold the foreign currency (without liability for interest) for the applicable holders.

Governing Law

The deposit agreement and the ADSs will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. The rights of holders of ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) are governed by the laws of Belgium.

 

 

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Shares and ADSs available for future sale

Prior to the global offering, no public market existed in the United States for our ordinary shares or the ADSs. Future sales of ADSs and ordinary shares in the public market after the global offering, and the availability of ADSs or the ordinary shares for future sale, could adversely affect the market price of the ADSs and ordinary shares prevailing from time to time. As described below, a significant number of currently outstanding ordinary shares will not be available for sale shortly after the global offering due to contractual restrictions on transfers of ordinary shares. Accordingly, sales of substantial amounts of the ADSs or the ordinary shares, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect prevailing market prices for the ADSs or the ordinary shares and could impair our future ability to raise equity capital.

Based on the number of ordinary shares outstanding on June 15, 2015, upon completion of the global offering, 9,247,687 ordinary shares (including ordinary shares in the form of ADSs) will be outstanding, assuming no outstanding warrants are exercised. All of the ADSs sold in the global offering will be freely tradable without restrictions or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any ADSs sold to our “affiliates,” as that term is defined under Rule 144 under the Securities Act. The remaining ordinary shares held by existing shareholders are “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be sold in the public market only if registered or if their resale qualifies for exemption from registration described below under Rule 144 or 701 promulgated under the Securities Act.

Additionally, warrants to purchase 210,000 ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and assuming no outstanding warrants are exercised and no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares and ADSs, warrants exercisable for 210,000 ordinary shares will be vested and eligible for sale 90 days after the date of this prospectus subject to Belgian law.

Under the lock-up and market stand-off agreements described below and the provisions of Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act and Belgian law, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ADSs and ordinary shares, these restricted securities will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

 

Ø   approximately 5,210,012 shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) will be eligible for immediate sale on the date of this prospectus; and

 

Ø   4,037,675 shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) will be eligible for sale upon the expiration of the lock-up and market stand-off agreements 90 days after the date of this prospectus, provided that shares held by our affiliates will remain subject to volume, manner of sale, and other resale limitations set forth in Rule 144, as described below and subject to Belgian law.

Rule 144

In general, persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months, and any affiliate of the company who owns either restricted or unrestricted ordinary shares, are entitled to sell their securities without registration with the SEC under an exemption from registration provided by Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

In general, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act provided that (1) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the 90 days preceding, a sale and (2) we have been subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at

 

 

 

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least 90 days before the sale. Such sale by non-affiliates must also comply with current public information provisions of Rule 144. Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months, but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the 90 days preceding a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:

 

Ø   1.0% of the number of ordinary shares then outstanding in the form of ADSs or otherwise, which will equal approximately 92,476 ordinary shares immediately after the completion of the global offering based on the number of ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014; and

 

Ø   the average weekly trading volume of the ADSs on the NASDAQ Global Market during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale,

provided, in each case, that we have been subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least 90 days before the sale. Such sales both by affiliates and by non-affiliates must also comply with the manner of sale, current public information and notice provisions of Rule 144.

Rule 701

Rule 701 under the Securities Act, as in effect on the date of this prospectus, permits resales of shares in reliance upon Rule 144 but without compliance with certain restrictions of Rule 144, including the holding period requirement. Most of our employees, members of our management team or directors who purchased shares under a written compensatory plan or contract may be entitled to rely on the resale provisions of Rule 701, but all holders of Rule 701 shares are required to wait until 90 days after the date of this prospectus before selling their shares subject also to Belgian law. However, all Rule 701 shares are subject to lock-up agreements as described below and in the section of this prospectus titled “Underwriting” and will not become eligible for sale until the expiration of the restrictions set forth in those agreements.

Options and Warrants to Purchase Ordinary Shares

We intend to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 under the U.S. Securities Act to register all ordinary shares issued or issuable pursuant to the exercise of outstanding warrants. We expect to file the registration statements, which will become effective immediately upon filing, shortly after the date of this prospectus. Shares covered by these registration statements will then be eligible for sale in the public markets, subject to vesting restrictions and any applicable holding periods, any applicable lock-up agreements described below and Rule 144 limitations applicable to affiliates.

Registration Rights

None of our security holders possess registration rights.

Regulation S

Regulation S provides generally that sales made in offshore transactions are not subject to the registration or prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. Accordingly, restricted securities may be sold in offshore transactions in compliance with Regulation S.

Lock-Up Agreements

We, our directors and members of our management team, and certain of our other shareholders have agreed that, without the prior written consent of UBS Securities LLC, or UBS, we and they will not, subject to limited exceptions, during the period ending 90 days after the date of this prospectus, directly

 

 

 

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or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of any ordinary shares, ADSs or other shares of our capital stock or any securities convertible into, exerciseable or exchangeable for such capital stock.

UBS on behalf of the underwriters will have discretion in determining if, and when, to release any ordinary shares or ADSs subject to lock-up agreements.

We do not currently expect any release of ordinary shares or ADSs subject to lock-up agreements prior to the expiration of the applicable lock-up periods. Upon the expiration of the applicable lock-up periods, substantially all of the ordinary shares and ADSs subject to such lock-up restrictions will become eligible for sale, subject to the limitations described above.

In case of the lock-up agreements executed by our directors and members of our executive management team and the other shareholders, the foregoing lock-up restrictions do not apply to the following:

 

Ø   (a) the registration of the offer and sale of our ordinary shares as contemplated by the underwriting agreement between us and UBS;

 

Ø   (b) transfers of our ordinary shares acquired in the global offering, provided that the party to the lock-up agreement is not a member of our executive management team, a director or a holder of 5% or more of our ordinary shares;

 

Ø   (c) transactions relating to our ordinary shares acquired in open market transactions after the date of this prospectus, provided that the party to the lock-up agreement is not a member of our executive management team, a director or a holder of 5% or more of our ordinary shares;

 

Ø   (d) transfers as a bona fide gift or gifts or by will or intestate succession upon death;

 

Ø   (e) transfers to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the party to the lock-up agreement or any immediate family member, or in the case of such a trust, from such trust to any beneficiaries of the trust;

 

Ø   (f) if the party to the lock-up agreement is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity, transfers (i) to another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust or other business entity that is a direct or indirect affiliate of the party to the lock-up agreement or (ii) to limited partners, limited liability company members or shareholders of the party to the lock-up agreement;

 

Ø   (g) transfers by operation of law or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction;

 

Ø   (h) transfers to us in full or partial payment of the exercise price for warrants to purchase our ordinary shares or taxes required to be paid upon the exercise of warrants to purchase our ordinary shares; or

 

Ø   (i) establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, provided that such plan does not provide for the transfer of our ordinary shares or other of our securities during the lock-up period,

provided that (1) in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (d) through (g) above, any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value and each transferee shall agree in writing to be bound by a lock-up agreement, and (2) in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (b) through (g) above, no filing by any party (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act or any other public announcement shall be required or made during the lock-up period in connection with such transfer.

 

 

 

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Material income tax considerations

The information presented under the caption “Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations to U.S. Holders” below is a discussion of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations to a U.S. holder (as defined below) of investing in ADSs. The information presented under the caption “Belgian Tax Consequences” is a discussion of the material Belgian tax consequences of investing in ADSs.

You should consult your tax advisor regarding the applicable tax consequences to you of investing in ADSs under the laws of the United States (federal, state and local), Belgium, and any other applicable foreign jurisdiction.

Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations to U.S. Holders

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of ADSs by a U.S. holder (as defined below). This summary addresses only the U.S. federal income tax considerations for U.S. holders that are initial purchasers of the ADSs pursuant to the global offering and that will hold such ADSs as capital assets. This summary does not address all U.S. federal income tax matters that may be relevant to a particular U.S. holder. This summary does not address tax considerations applicable to a holder of ADSs that may be subject to special tax rules including, without limitation, the following:

 

Ø   banks, financial institutions or insurance companies;

 

Ø   brokers, dealers or traders in securities, currencies, commodities, or notional principal contracts;

 

Ø   tax-exempt entities or organizations, including an “individual retirement account” or “Roth IRA” as defined in Section 408 or 408A of the Code (as defined below), respectively;

 

Ø   real estate investment trusts, regulated investment companies or grantor trusts;

 

Ø   persons that hold the ADSs as part of a “hedging,” “integrated” or “conversion” transaction or as a position in a “straddle” for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

 

Ø   partnerships (including entities classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes) or other pass-through entities, or persons that will hold the ADSs through such an entity;

 

Ø   certain former citizens or long term residents of the United States;

 

Ø   holders that own directly, indirectly, or through attribution 10% or more of the voting power or value of our ADSs and shares; and

 

Ø   holders that have a “functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar.

Further, this summary does not address the U.S. federal estate, gift, or alternative minimum tax considerations, or any U.S. state, local, or non-U.S. tax considerations of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs.

This description is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), existing, proposed and temporary U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, and the income tax treaty between Belgium and the United States, in each case as in effect and available on the date hereof. All the foregoing is subject to change, which change could apply retroactively, and to differing interpretations, all of which could affect the tax considerations described below. There can be no assurances that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) will not take a contrary or different position concerning the tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and

 

 

 

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disposition of the ADSs and that such a position would not be sustained. Holders should consult their own tax advisers concerning the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of acquiring, owning, and disposing of the ADSs in their particular circumstances.

For the purposes of this summary, a “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of ADSs that is (or is treated as), for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

Ø   an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

Ø   a corporation, or other entity that is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia;

 

Ø   an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

Ø   a trust, if a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of the substantial decisions of such trust or has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.

If a partnership (or any other entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds ADSs, the U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to an investment in the ADSs will depend in part upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Such a partner or partnership should consult its tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax considerations of acquiring, owning and disposing of the ADSs in its particular circumstances.

In general, a U.S. holder who owns ADSs will be treated as the beneficial owner of the underlying shares represented by those ADSs for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, no gain or loss will generally be recognized if a U.S. holder exchanges ADSs for the underlying shares represented by those ADSs.

The U.S. Treasury has expressed concern that parties to whom ADSs are released before shares are delivered to the depositary (“pre-release”), or intermediaries in the chain of ownership between holders and the issuer of the security underlying the ADSs, may be taking actions that are inconsistent with the claiming of foreign tax credits by holders of ADSs. These actions would also be inconsistent with the claiming of the reduced rate of tax, described below, applicable to dividends received by certain non-corporate holders. Accordingly, the creditability of Belgian taxes, and the availability of the reduced tax rate for dividends received by certain non-corporate U.S. holders, each described below, could be affected by actions taken by such parties or intermediaries.

As indicated below, this discussion is subject to U.S. federal income tax rules applicable to a “passive foreign investment company,” or a PFIC.

Persons considering an investment in the ADSs should consult their own tax advisors as to the particular tax consequences applicable to them relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs, including the applicability of U.S. federal, state and local tax laws and non-U.S. tax laws.

Distributions. We do not expect to make distributions with respect to the ADSs in the foreseeable future. Subject to the discussion under “ Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations ,” below, the gross amount of any distribution (before reduction for any amounts withheld in respect of Belgian withholding tax) actually or constructively received by a U.S. holder with respect to ADSs generally will be taxable to the U.S. holder as a dividend to the extent of the U.S. holder’s pro rata share of our current and

 

 

 

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accumulated earnings and profits as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be non-taxable to the U.S. holder to the extent of, and will be applied against and reduce, the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ADSs. Distributions in excess of earnings and profits and such adjusted tax basis will generally be taxable to the U.S. holder as either long-term or short-term capital gain depending upon whether the U.S. holder has held the ADSs for more than one year as of the time such distribution is received. However, since we do not calculate our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, it is expected that any distribution will be reported as a dividend, even if that distribution would otherwise be treated as a non-taxable return of capital or as capital gain under the rules described above. Non-corporate U.S. holders may qualify for the preferential rates of taxation with respect to dividends on ADSs applicable to long term capital gains ( i.e. , gains from the sale of capital assets held for more than one year) applicable to qualified dividend income (as discussed below) if we are a “qualified foreign corporation” and certain other requirements (discussed below) are met. A non-U.S. corporation (other than a corporation that is classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) generally will be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation (a) if it is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States which the Secretary of Treasury of the United States determines is satisfactory for purposes of this provision and which includes an exchange of information provision, or (b) with respect to any dividend it pays on ADSs which are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. The ADSs will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Market which is an established securities market in the United States. While there can be no assurance that the ADSs will be readily tradable on the NASDAQ Global Market, we anticipate that the ADSs will be readily tradable on the NASDAQ Global Market. Therefore, unless we are a PFIC in the year a dividend is paid or in the preceding year, dividends received by non-corporate U.S. holders should be taxed at the reduced rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided that a holding period requirement (more than 60 days of ownership, without protection from the risk of loss, during the 121 day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date) and certain other requirements are met. Dividends received by a corporate U.S. holder will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to corporate U.S. holders.

A U.S. holder generally may claim the amount of any Belgian withholding tax as either a deduction from gross income or a credit against U.S. federal income tax. However, the foreign tax credit is subject to numerous complex limitations that must be determined and applied on an individual basis. Generally, the credit cannot exceed the proportionate share of a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax that such U.S. holder’s foreign source taxable income bears to such U.S. holder’s worldwide taxable income. In applying this limitation, a U.S. holder’s various items of income and deduction must be classified, under complex rules, as either “foreign source” or “U.S. source.” In addition, this limitation is calculated separately with respect to specific categories of income. The amount of a distribution with respect to the ADSs that is treated as a “dividend” may be lower for U.S. federal income tax purposes than it is for Belgian income tax purposes, potentially resulting in a reduced foreign tax credit for the U.S. holder. Each U.S. holder should consult its own tax advisors regarding the foreign tax credit rules.

In general, the amount of a distribution paid to a U.S. holder in a foreign currency will be the dollar value of the foreign currency calculated by reference to the spot exchange rate on the day the U.S. holder receives the distribution, regardless of whether the foreign currency is converted into U.S. dollars at that time. The U.S. holder will take a tax basis in the foreign currency equal to their U.S. dollar equivalent on such date. The conversion of the foreign currency into U.S. dollars at a later date will give rise to foreign currency exchange gain or loss equal to the difference between their U.S. dollar equivalent at such later time and their tax basis. Any foreign currency gain or loss a U.S. holder recognizes on a subsequent conversion of foreign currency into U.S. dollars will be U.S. source ordinary income or loss. If a distribution received in a foreign currency is converted into U.S. dollars on the day they are received, a

 

 

 

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U.S. holder should not be required to recognize foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the distribution. For foreign credit limitation purposes, distributions paid on ADSs that are treated as dividends will generally be foreign source income and will generally constitute passive category income.

Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of the ADSs. A U.S. holder will generally recognize gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of ADSs in an amount equal to the difference between the U.S. dollar value of the amount realized from such sale or exchange and the U.S. holder’s tax basis for those ADSs. Subject to the discussion under “ Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations ” below, this gain or loss will generally be a capital gain or loss. The adjusted tax basis in the ADSs generally will be equal to the cost of such ADSs. Capital gain from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of ADSs by a non-corporate U.S. holder is generally eligible for the preferential rate of taxation applicable to long-term capital gains, if the non-corporate U.S. holder’s holding period determined at the time of such sale, exchange or other taxable disposition for such ADSs exceeds one year. The deductibility of capital losses for U.S. federal income tax purposes is subject to limitations under the Code. Any such gain or loss that a U.S. holder recognizes generally will be treated as U.S. source gain or loss for foreign tax credit limitation purposes.

Medicare Tax. Certain U.S. holders that are individuals, estates or trusts are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which may include all or a portion of their dividend income and net gains from the disposition of ADSs. Each U.S. holder that is an individual, estate or trust is urged to consult its tax advisors regarding the applicability of the Medicare tax to its income and gains in respect of its investment in the ADSs.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations. If we are classified as a PFIC in a taxable year when a U.S. holder owns our ADSs, the U.S. holder will be subject to special rules generally intended to reduce or eliminate any benefits from the deferral of U.S. federal income tax that the U.S. holder could derive from investing in a non-U.S. company that does not distribute all of its earnings on a current basis.

A corporation organized outside the United States generally will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in any taxable year in which, after applying certain look-through rules with respect to the income and assets of its subsidiaries, either: (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income” or (ii) at least 50% of the average quarterly value of its total gross assets (which, assuming we are not a controlled foreign corporation for the year being tested, would be measured by fair market value of our assets, and for which purpose the total value of our assets may be determined in part by the market value of the ADSs and our ordinary shares, which are subject to change) is attributable to assets that produce “passive income” or are held for the production of “passive income.”

Passive income for this purpose generally includes dividends, interest, royalties, rents, gains from commodities and securities transactions and the excess of gains over losses from the disposition of assets which produce passive income. Generally, a non-U.S. corporation that owns directly or indirectly at least 25% by value of the stock of another corporation is treated for purposes of the PFIC tests as owning its proportionate share of the assets of the other corporation and as receiving directly its proportionate share of the other corporation’s income. If we are classified as a PFIC in any year with respect to which a U.S. holder owns ADSs, we will generally be treated as a PFIC with respect to such U.S. holder in all succeeding years during which the U.S. holder owns the ADSs, regardless of whether we continue to meet the tests described above.

Whether we are a PFIC for any taxable year will depend on the composition of our income and the projected composition and estimated fair market value of our assets in each year, and because this is a

 

 

 

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factual determination made annually after the end of each taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be considered a PFIC in any taxable year. The market value of our assets may be determined in large part by reference to the market price of the ADSs and our ordinary shares, which is likely to fluctuate after the global offering. In addition, the composition of our income and assets will be affected by how, and how quickly, we use the cash proceeds from the global offering in our business.

Based on the foregoing, we believe we were a PFIC for our 2014 taxable year and with respect to our 2015 taxable year, we expect that we will be a PFIC based upon the expected value of our assets, including any goodwill, and the expected composition of our income and assets, however, as previously mentioned, we cannot provide any assurances regarding our PFIC status for the current or future taxable years.

If we are a PFIC, and you are a U.S. holder, then unless you make one of the elections described below, a special tax regime will apply to both (a) any “excess distribution” by us to you (generally, your ratable portion of distributions in any year which are greater than 125% of the average annual distribution received by you in the shorter of the three preceding years or your holding period for the ADSs) and (b) any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs. Under this regime, any excess distribution and recognized gain will be treated as ordinary income and will be subject to tax as if (a) the excess distribution or gain had been recognized ratably over your holding period, (b) the amount deemed recognized in each year had been subject to tax in such year at the highest marginal rate for such year (other than income allocated to the current year and any taxable year before we became a PFIC, which would be subject to tax at the U.S. holder’s regular ordinary income rate for the current year and would not be subject to the interest charge discussed below), and (c) the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax had been imposed on the taxes deemed to have been payable in those years. In addition, dividend distributions made to you will not qualify for the lower rates of taxation applicable to long-term capital gains discussed above under “Distributions.”

Certain elections exist that may alleviate some of the adverse consequences of PFIC status. A U.S. holder may make an election to mark-to-market the U.S. holder’s ADSs. An electing U.S. holder will recognize as ordinary income any excess of the fair market value of the ADSs at the end of each taxable year over their adjusted tax basis, and will recognize an ordinary loss the excess of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over their fair market value at the end of the taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously recognized as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. holder’s tax basis in the ADSs will be adjusted to reflect these income or loss amounts. Any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as an ordinary loss (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election). Gain or loss recognized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs in a year when we are not a PFIC will be a capital gain or loss. The mark-to-market election is available only if we are a PFIC and the ADSs are “regularly traded” on a “qualified exchange.” The ADSs will be treated as “regularly traded” in any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of the ADSs are traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (subject to the rule that trades that have as one of their principal purposes the meeting of the trading requirement as disregarded). The NASDAQ Global Market is a qualified exchange for this purpose and, consequently, if the ADSs are regularly traded, the mark-to-market election will be available to a U.S. holder.

We do not currently intend to provide the information necessary for U.S. holders to make qualified electing fund elections if we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors to determine whether any of these elections would be available and if so, what the consequences of the alternative treatments would be in their particular circumstances.

 

 

 

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If we are determined to be a PFIC, the general tax treatment for U.S. Holders described in this section would apply to indirect distributions and gains deemed to be recognized by U.S. Holders in respect of any of our subsidiaries that also may be determined to be PFICs.

If a U.S. holder owns ADSs during any taxable year in which we are a PFIC, the U.S. holder generally will be required to file an IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund) with respect to the company, generally with the U.S. holder’s federal income tax return for that year. If our company were a PFIC for a given taxable year, then you should consult your tax advisor concerning your annual filing requirements.

The U.S. federal income tax rules relating to PFICs are complex. Prospective U.S. investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs, the consequences to them of an investment in a PFIC, any elections available with respect to the ADSs and the IRS information reporting obligations with respect to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ADSs.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting. U.S. holders generally will be subject to information reporting requirements with respect to dividends on ADSs and on the proceeds from the sale, exchange or disposition of ADSs that are paid within the United States or through U.S.-related financial intermediaries, unless the U.S. holder is an “exempt recipient.” In addition, U.S. holders may be subject to backup withholding on such payments, unless the U.S. holder provides a taxpayer identification number and a duly executed IRS Form W-9 or otherwise establishes an exemption. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and the amount of any backup withholding will be allowed as a credit against a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

Foreign Asset Reporting. Certain U.S. holders who are individuals are required to report information relating to an interest in the ADSs, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for shares held in accounts maintained by U.S. financial institutions) by filing IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) with their federal income tax return. U.S. holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding their information reporting obligations, if any, with respect to their ownership and disposition of the ADSs.

THE DISCUSSION ABOVE IS A GENERAL SUMMARY. IT DOES NOT COVER ALL TAX MATTERS THAT MAY BE OF IMPORTANCE TO A PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR ABOUT THE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO IT OF AN INVESTMENT IN ADSS IN LIGHT OF THE INVESTOR’S OWN CIRCUMSTANCES.

Belgian Tax Consequences

The following paragraphs are a summary of material Belgian tax consequences of the ownership of ADSs by an investor. The summary is based on laws, treaties and regulatory interpretations in effect in Belgium on the date of this document, all of which are subject to change, including changes that could have retroactive effect.

The summary only discusses Belgian tax aspects which are relevant to U.S. holders of ADSs, or ‘‘Holders.’’ This summary does not address Belgian tax aspects which are relevant to persons who are fiscally resident in Belgium or who avail of a permanent establishment or a fixed base in Belgium to which the ADSs are effectively connected.

 

 

 

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This summary does not purport to be a description of all of the tax consequences of the ownership of ADSs, and does not take into account the specific circumstances of any particular investor, some of which may be subject to special rules, or the tax laws of any country other than Belgium. This summary does not describe the tax treatment of investors that are subject to special rules, such as banks, insurance companies, collective investment undertakings, dealers in securities or currencies, persons that hold, or will hold, ADSs in a position in a straddle, share-repurchase transaction, conversion transactions, synthetic security or other integrated financial transactions. Investors should consult their own advisers regarding the tax consequences of an investment in ADSs in the light of their particular circumstances, including the effect of any state, local or other national laws.

In addition to the assumptions mentioned above, it is also assumed in this discussion that for purposes of the domestic Belgian tax legislation, the owners of ADSs will be treated as the owners of the ordinary shares represented by such ADSs. However, the assumption has not been confirmed by or verified with the Belgian Tax Authorities.

Dividend Withholding Tax

As a general rule, a withholding tax of 25% is levied on the gross amount of dividends paid on the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs, subject to such relief as may be available under applicable domestic or tax treaty provisions.

Dividends subject to the dividend withholding tax include all benefits attributed to the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs, irrespective of their form, as well as reimbursements of statutory share capital by us, except reimbursements of fiscal capital made in accordance with the Belgian Company Code. In principle, fiscal capital includes paid-up statutory share capital, and subject to certain conditions, the paid-up issue premiums and the cash amounts subscribed to at the time of the issue of profit sharing certificates.

In case of a redemption by us of our own shares represented by ADSs, the redemption distribution (after deduction of the portion of fiscal capital represented by the redeemed shares) will be treated as a dividend which in principle is subject to the withholding tax of 25%, subject to such relief as may be available under applicable domestic or tax treaty provisions. In case of a liquidation of our company, any amounts distributed in excess of the fiscal capital will also be treated as a dividend, and will in principle be subject to a 25% withholding tax, subject to such relief as may be available under applicable domestic or tax treaty provisions.

For non-residents the dividend withholding tax, if any, will be the only tax on dividends in Belgium, unless the non-resident avails of a fixed base in Belgium or a Belgian permanent establishment to which the ADSs are effectively connected.

Relief of Belgian Dividend Withholding Tax

Under the Belgium-United States Tax Treaty, or the Treaty, under which we are entitled to benefits accorded to residents of Belgium, there is a reduced Belgian withholding tax rate of 15% on dividends paid by us to a U.S. resident which beneficially owns the dividends and is entitled to claim the benefits of the Treaty under the limitation of benefits article included in the Treaty (“a Qualifying Holder”).

If such Qualifying Holder is a company that owns directly at least 10% of our voting stock, the Belgian withholding tax rate is further reduced to 5%. No withholding tax is however applicable if the Qualifying Holder, is either of the following:

 

Ø   a company that is a resident of the United States that has owned directly ADSs representing at least 10% of our capital for a twelve-month period ending on the date the dividend is declared, or

 

 

 

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Ø   a pension fund that is a resident of the United States, provided that such dividends are not derived from the carrying on of a business by the pension fund or through an associated enterprise.

Under the normal procedure, we or our paying agent must withhold the full Belgian withholding tax, without taking into account the reduced Treaty rate. Qualifying Holders may then make a claim for reimbursement for amounts withheld in excess of the rate defined by the Treaty. The reimbursement form (Form 276 Div-Aut.) may be obtained by letter from the Bureau Central de Taxation Bruxelles-Etranger, Boulevard du Jardin Botanique 50 boîte 3429, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, by fax at +32 (0) 257/968 42 or via email at ctk.db.brussel.buitenland@minfin.fed.be. Qualifying Holders may also, subject to certain conditions, obtain the reduced Treaty rate at source. Qualifying Holders should deliver a duly completed Form 276 Div-Aut. no later than 10 days after the date on which the dividend has been paid or attributed (whichever comes first).

U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors as to whether they qualify for reduction or exemption in/from withholding tax upon payment or attribution of dividends, and as to the procedural requirements for obtaining a reduced withholding tax upon the payment of dividends or for making claims for reimbursement.

Withholding tax is also not applicable, pursuant to Belgian domestic tax law, on dividends paid to a U.S. pension fund which satisfies the following conditions:

 

  (i)   to be a legal entity with fiscal residence in the United States and without a permanent establishment or fixed base in Belgium,

 

  (ii)   whose corporate purpose consists solely in managing and investing funds collected in order to pay legal or complementary pensions,

 

  (iii)   whose activity is limited to the investment of funds collected in the exercise of its statutory mission, without any profit making aim and without operating a business in Belgium,

 

  (iv)   which is exempt from income tax in the United States, and

 

  (v)   provided that it (save in certain particular cases as described in Belgian law) is not contractually obligated to redistribute the dividends to any ultimate beneficiary of such dividends for whom it would manage the shares or ADSs, nor obligated to pay a manufactured dividend with respect to the shares or ADSs under a securities borrowing transaction. The exemption will only apply if the U.S. pension fund provides an affidavit confirming that it is the full legal owner or usufruct holder of the shares or ADSs and that the above conditions are satisfied. The organization must then forward that affidavit to us or our paying agent.

Capital Gains and Losses

Pursuant to the Treaty, capital gains and/or losses realized by a Qualifying Holder from the sale, exchange or other disposition of ADSs are exempt from tax in Belgium.

Capital gains realized on ADSs by a corporate Holder who is not a Qualifying Holder are generally not subject to taxation in Belgium unless such Holder is acting through a Belgian establishment to which the ADSs are effectively connected (in which case a 33.99%, 25.75%, 0.412% or 0% tax on the capital gain may apply, depending on the particular circumstances). Capital losses are generally not tax deductible.

Private individual Holders which are not Qualifying Holders and which are holding ADSs as a private investment will, as a rule, not be subject to tax in Belgium on any capital gains arising out of a disposal of ADSs. Losses will, as a rule, not be tax deductible.

 

 

 

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However, if the gain realized by such individual Holders on ADSs is deemed to be realized outside the scope of the normal management of such individual’s private estate and the capital gain is obtained or received in Belgium, the gain will be subject to a final tax of 30.28%.

Moreover, capital gains realized by such individual Holders on the disposal of ADSs for consideration, outside the exercise of a professional activity, to a non-resident corporation (or a body constituted in a similar legal form), to a foreign state (or one of its political subdivisions or local authorities) or to a non-resident legal entity that is established outside the European Economic Area, are in principle taxable at a rate of 16.5% if, at any time during the five years preceding the realization event, such individual Holders own or have owned directly or indirectly, alone or with his/her spouse or with certain other relatives, a substantial shareholding in us (that is, a shareholding of more than 25% of our shares).

Capital gains realized by a Holder upon the redemption of ADSs or upon our liquidation will generally be taxable as a dividend. See ‘‘Dividend Withholding Tax.’’

Estate and Gift Tax

There is no Belgium estate tax on the transfer of ADSs on the death of a Belgian non-resident. Donations of ADSs made in Belgium may or may not be subject to gift tax depending on the modalities under which the donation is carried out.

Belgian Tax on Stock Exchange Transactions

A stock market tax is normally levied on the purchase and the sale and on any other acquisition and transfer for consideration in Belgium of ADSs through a professional intermediary established in Belgium on the secondary market, so-called ‘‘secondary market transactions.’’ The tax is due from the transferor and the transferee separately. The applicable rate amounts to 0.27% of the consideration paid but with a cap of 800 euros per transaction and per party.

Belgian non-residents who purchase or otherwise acquire or transfer, for consideration, ADSs in Belgium for their own account through a professional intermediary may be exempt from the stock market tax if they deliver a sworn affidavit to the intermediary in Belgium confirming their non-resident status.

In addition to the above, no stock market tax is payable by: (i) professional intermediaries described in Article 2, 9 and 10 of the Law of August 2, 2002 acting for their own account, (ii) insurance companies described in Article 2, §1 of the Law of July 9, 1975 acting for their own account, (iii) professional retirement institutions referred to in Article 2, §1 of the Law of October 27, 2006 relating to the control of professional retirement institutions acting for their own account, or (iv) collective investment institutions acting for their own account. No stock exchange tax will thus be due by Holders on the subscription, purchase or sale of ADSs, if the Holders are acting for their own account. In order to benefit from this exemption, the Holders must file with the professional intermediary in Belgium a sworn affidavit evidencing that they are non-residents for Belgian tax purposes.

Proposed Financial Transactions Tax

The European Commission has published a proposal for a Directive for a common financial transactions tax, or FTT, in Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia, or collectively, the Participating Member States.

The proposed FTT has a very broad scope and could, if introduced in its current form, apply to certain dealings in ADS’s in certain circumstances. Under current proposals, the FTT could apply in certain

 

 

 

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circumstances to persons both within and outside of the Participating Member States. Generally, it would apply to certain dealings in ADSs where at least one party is a financial institution, and at least one party is established in a Participating Member State.

A financial institution may be, or be deemed to be, ‘‘established’’ in a Participating Member State in a broad range of circumstances, including by transacting with a person established in a Participating Member State.

The FTT proposal remains subject to negotiation between the Participating Member States. It may therefore be altered prior to any implementation. Joint statements issued by participating Member States indicate an intention to implement the FTT by 1 January 2016. Additional E.U. Member States may decide to participate. Prospective Holders of ADSs are advised to seek their own professional advice in relation to the FTT.

 

 

 

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Enforcement of civil liabilities

Celyad SA is a corporation organized under the laws of Belgium. The majority of our directors are citizens and residents of countries other than the United States, and the majority of our assets are located outside of the United States. Accordingly, it may be difficult for investors:

 

Ø   to obtain jurisdiction over us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors in U.S. courts in actions predicated on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws;

 

Ø   to enforce judgments obtained in such actions against us or our non-U.S. resident officers and directors;

 

Ø   to bring an original action in a Belgian court to enforce liabilities based upon the U.S. federal securities laws against us or our non-U.S. resident officers or directors; and

 

Ø   to enforce against us or our directors in non-U.S. courts, including Belgian courts, judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.

The United States currently does not have a treaty with Belgium providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments, other than arbitral awards, in civil and commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment rendered by any federal or state court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. federal or state securities laws, would not automatically be enforceable in Belgium. Actions for the recognition and enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts are regulated by Articles 22 to 25 of the 2004 Belgian Code of Private International Law. Recognition or enforcement does not imply a review of the merits of the case and is irrespective of any reciprocity requirement. A U.S. judgment will, however, not be recognized or declared enforceable in Belgium, unless (in addition to compliance with certain technical provisions) the Belgian courts are satisfied of the following:

 

Ø   The effect of the recognition or enforcement of judgment is not manifestly incompatible with (Belgian) public order.

 

Ø   The judgment did not violate the rights of the defendant.

 

Ø   The judgment was not rendered in a matter where the parties did not freely dispose of their rights, with the sole purpose of avoiding the application of the law applicable according to Belgian international law.

 

Ø   The judgment is not subject to further recourse under U.S. law.

 

Ø   The judgment is not incompatible with a judgment rendered in Belgium or with a prior judgment rendered abroad that might be recognized in Belgium.

 

Ø   The claim was not filed outside Belgium after a claim was filed in Belgium, if the claim filed in Belgium relates to the same parties and the same subject and is still pending.

 

Ø   The Belgian courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the matter.

 

Ø   The U.S. court did not accept its jurisdiction solely on the basis of either the presence of the plaintiff or the location of the disputed goods in the United States.

 

Ø   The judgment did not concern the deposit or validity of intellectual property rights when the deposit or registration of those intellectual property rights was requested, done or should have been done in Belgium pursuant to international treaties.

 

Ø   The judgment did not relate to the validity, operation, dissolution, or liquidation of a legal entity that has its main seat in Belgium at the time of the petition of the U.S. court.

 

 

 

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Ø   If the judgment relates to the opening, progress or closure of insolvency proceedings, it is rendered on the basis of the European Insolvency Regulation (EC Regulation No. 1346/2000 of May 29, 2000) or, if not, that (a) a decision in the principal proceedings is taken by a judge in the state where the most important establishment of the debtor was located or (b) a decision in territorial proceedings was taken by a judge in the state where the debtor had another establishment than its most important establishment.

 

Ø   The judgment submitted to the Belgian court is authentic under the laws of the state where the judgment was issued; in case of a default judgment, it can be shown that under locally applicable laws the invitation to appear in court was properly served on the defendant; a document can be produced showing that the judgment is, under the rules of the state where it was issued, enforceable and was properly served on the defendant.

In addition, with regard to the enforcement by legal proceedings of any claim (including the exequatur of foreign court decisions in Belgium), a registration tax of 3% (to be calculated on the total amount that a debtor is ordered to pay) is due, if the sum of money that the debtor is ordered to pay by a Belgian court judgment, or by a foreign court judgment that is either (i) automatically enforceable and registered in Belgium or (ii) rendered enforceable by a Belgian court, exceeds €12,500. The debtor is liable for the payment of the registration tax.

A stamp duty is payable for each original copy of an enforcement judgment rendered by a Belgian court, with a maximum of €1,450.

 

 

 

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Underwriting

We are offering our ADSs and ordinary shares described in this prospectus through the underwriters named below. UBS Securities LLC and Piper Jaffray & Co. are acting as joint bookrunners of the global offering and as representative of the underwriters. We will enter into an underwriting agreement with the representative. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, each of the underwriters will severally agree to purchase, and we will agree to sell to the underwriters, in their own name but for the account of the investors, the number of ADSs and ordinary shares listed next to each such underwriters’ name in the following table.

 

Underwriters   

Number

of ADSs

  

Number of
Ordinary
Shares

UBS Securities LLC

     

Piper Jaffray & Co.

     

Petercam NV/SA

     

Bryan, Garnier & Co...

     

LifeSci Capital, LLC

     

Lake Street Capital Markets LLC

     

Total

     
  

 

  

 

The underwriting agreement will provide that the underwriters must buy all of the ADSs and ordinary shares if they buy any of them. However, the underwriters will not be required to pay for the ADSs and ordinary shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional ADSs and ordinary shares as described below.

Our ADSs and ordinary shares will be offered subject to a number of conditions, including:

 

Ø   receipt and acceptance of our ADSs and ordinary shares by the underwriters; and

 

Ø   the underwriters’ right to reject orders in whole or in part.

The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the ordinary shares and ADSs directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers. After the initial offering of the ordinary shares and ADSs, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives.

The closings of the U.S. offering and the European private placement will be conditioned on each other. The total number of ordinary shares in the U.S. offering and European private placement is subject to reallocation between them.

We have been advised by the representative that the underwriters intend to make a market in our ADSs but that they are not obligated to do so and may discontinue making a market at any time without notice.

In connection with the global offering, certain of the underwriters or securities dealers may distribute prospectuses electronically.

Sales of shares and ADSs outside of the United States may be offered by affiliates of the underwriters.

OPTION TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL ADSs AND ORDINARY SHARES

We will grant the underwriters an option to buy up to an aggregate of 210,000 additional ADSs and ordinary shares. The underwriters will have 30 days from the date of this prospectus to exercise this option. If the underwriters exercise this option, they will each purchase additional ADSs and ordinary shares approximately in proportion to the amounts specified in the table above.

 

 

 

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UNDERWRITING COMMISSIONS

Ordinary shares and ADSs sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Sales of ADS and ordinary shares made outside of the United States may be made by affiliates of the underwriters. If all the ADS and ordinary shares are not sold at the initial public offering price, the representative may change the offering price and the other selling terms. Upon execution of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase the ADS and ordinary shares at the prices and upon the terms stated therein.

 

                 Total  
      Per share    Per ADS      No exercise      Full exercise  

Public offering price

      $                    $                    $                

Underwriting commissions to be paid by us

      $         $         $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

      $         $         $     

We estimate that the total expenses of the global offering payable by us, not including the underwriting fees, will be approximately $2.9 million. We have agreed with the underwriters to pay fees and expenses related to the review and qualification of the global offering by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and “blue sky” expenses, up to a maximum of $            .

NO SALES OF SIMILAR SECURITIES

We, members of our executive management team and directors, and certain of our shareholders have entered into lock-up agreements with the underwriters. Under the lock-up agreements, subject to certain exceptions, we and each of these persons may not, without the prior written approval of UBS Securities LLC, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, or hedge our ADSs or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our ADSs. These restrictions will be in effect for a 90-day period after the date of this prospectus.

UBS Securities LLC may, at any time, without public notice and in its sole discretion, release some or all the securities from these lock-up agreement; provided, that in the case of a release given to any of our officers or directors, we will be required to announce such a release in a press release at least two business days prior to the effective date of such release as long as we are notified at least three business days in advance thereof. There are no agreements between the representative, on the one hand, and our officers or directors, on the other hand, releasing any such officer or director from these lock-up agreements prior to the expiration of the 90-day period. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements are waived, our ADSs and ordinary shares may become available for resale into the market, subject to applicable law, which could reduce the market price of our ADSs and ordinary shares.

INDEMNIFICATION

We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act. If we are unable to provide this indemnification, we have agreed to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.

NASDAQ QUOTATION

We have applied to have our ADSs listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CYAD.”

 

 

 

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PRICE STABILIZATION, SHORT POSITIONS

In connection with the global offering, the underwriters may engage in activities that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares during and after the global offering, including:

 

Ø   stabilizing transactions;

 

Ø   short sales;

 

Ø   purchases to cover positions created by short sales;

 

Ø   imposition of penalty bids; and

 

Ø   syndicate covering transactions.

Stabilizing transactions consist of bids or purchases made for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares while the global offering is in progress. Stabilization transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. These transactions may also include making short sales of our ADSs and our ordinary shares, which involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of ADSs and our ordinary shares than they are required to purchase in the global offering and purchasing ADSs and our ordinary shares on the open market to cover short positions created by short sales. Short sales may be “covered short sales,” which are short positions in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares referred to above, or may be “naked short sales,” which are short positions in excess of that amount.

The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option, in whole or in part, or by purchasing ordinary shares or ADSs in the open market. In making this determination, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of ordinary shares or ADSs available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase ordinary shares or ADSs through the options to purchase additional ordinary shares or ADSs.

Naked short sales are short sales made in excess of the option to purchase additional ordinary shares or ADSs. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing ordinary shares or ADSs 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 the ordinary shares or ADSs in the open market that could adversely affect investors who purchased in the global offering. Any naked short position will not exceed an amount equal to 5% of the original number of ordinary shares or ADSs offered.

The underwriters also may impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representative has repurchased ordinary shares or ADSs sold by or for the account of that underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

These stabilizing transactions, short sales, purchases to cover positions created by short sales, the imposition of penalty bids and syndicate covering transactions may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares. As a result of these activities, the price of our ADSs and our ordinary shares may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. The underwriters may carry out these transactions on the NASDAQ, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the ADSs or ordinary shares. Neither we, nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the underwriters will engage in

 

 

 

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these stabilization transactions or that any transaction, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

Stabilization will not be executed above the offer price. Within five business days of the end of the stabilization period, the following information will be made public:

 

(i)   whether or not stabilization was undertaken;

 

(ii)   the date at which stabilization started;

 

(iii)   the date on which stabilization last occurred;

 

(iv)   the price range within which stabilization was carried out, for each of the dates on

 

(v)   which stabilization transactions were carried out; and

 

(vi)   the final size of the global offering, including the result of the stabilization and the exercise of the over-allotment option, if any.

DETERMINATION OF OFFERING PRICE

Prior to the global offering, there was no public market for our ADSs. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiation among us and the representative of the underwriters. The principal factors to be considered in determining the initial public offering price include:

 

Ø   the information set forth in this prospectus and otherwise available to the representative;

 

Ø   our history and prospects and the history and prospects for the industry in which we compete;

 

Ø   our past and present financial performance;

 

Ø   our prospects for future earnings and the present state of our development;

 

Ø   the general condition of the securities market at the time of the global offering;

 

Ø   the recent market prices of, and demand for, publicly traded ADSs of generally comparable companies;

 

Ø   the recent market prices of our ordinary shares on the Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris; and

 

Ø   other factors deemed relevant by the underwriters and us.

The estimated public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus is subject to change as a result of market conditions and other factors. Neither we nor the underwriters can assure investors that an active trading market will develop for our ADSs or that the ADSs will trade in the public market at or above the initial public offering price.

AFFILIATIONS

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. The underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time in the future engage with us and perform services for us or in the ordinary course of their business for which they will receive customary fees and expenses. 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 such investment and securities activities may

 

 

 

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involve securities and/or instruments of us. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of these securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in these securities and instruments.

Petercam SA is not a U.S. registered broker-dealer and, therefore, intends to participate in the offering outside of the United States.

ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the Internet sites or through other online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters participating in the global offering, or by their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and, depending upon the particular underwriter, prospective investors may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of ordinary shares or ADSs for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on any underwriter’s website and any information contained in any other website maintained by an underwriter is not part of the prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or any underwriter in its capacity as underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.

NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”), including but not limited to Belgium and France, an offer to the public of any shares or ADSs which are the subject of the global offering contemplated by this prospectus (the “Shares”) may not be made in that Relevant Member State except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any Shares may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

 

(a)   to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Directive;

 

(b)   by the underwriters to fewer than 100, or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives of the underwriters for any such offer; or

 

(c)   in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive,

provided that no such offer of Shares shall result in a requirement us or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any Shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any Shares, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State. The expression “Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.

 

 

 

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The EEA selling restriction is in addition to any other selling restrictions set out in this prospectus.

United Kingdom

This prospectus is only being distributed to and is only directed at: (1) persons who are outside the United Kingdom; (2) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”); or (3) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons falling within (1)-(3) together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The ordinary shares and ADSs are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such ordinary shares and ADSs will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this prospectus or any of its contents.

Australia

This prospectus is not a formal disclosure document and has not been, nor will be, lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. It does not purport to contain all information that an investor or their professional advisers would expect to find in a prospectus or other disclosure document (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia)) for the purposes of Part 6D.2 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia) or in a product disclosure statement for the purposes of Part 7.9 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia), in either case, in relation to the securities.

The securities are not being offered in Australia to “retail clients” as defined in sections 761G and 761GA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia). The global offering is being made in Australia solely to “wholesale clients” for the purposes of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia) and, as such, no prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document in relation to the securities has been, or will be, prepared.

This prospectus does not constitute an offer in Australia other than to persons who do not require disclosure under Part 6D.2 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia) and who are wholesale clients for the purposes of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia). By submitting an application for our securities, you represent and warrant to us that you are a person who does not require disclosure under Part 6D.2 and who is a wholesale client for the purposes of section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia). If any recipient of this prospectus is not a wholesale client, no offer of, or invitation to apply for, our securities shall be deemed to be made to such recipient and no applications for our securities will be accepted from such recipient. Any offer to a recipient in Australia, and any agreement arising from acceptance of such offer, is personal and may only be accepted by the recipient. In addition, by applying for our securities you undertake to us that, for a period of 12 months from the date of issue of the securities, you will not transfer any interest in the securities to any person in Australia other than to a person who does not require disclosure under Part 6D.2 and who is a wholesale client.

Hong Kong

The contents of this prospectus have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this prospectus, you should obtain independent professional advice. Please note that (i) our securities may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of this prospectus or any document other than to “professional investors” within the meaning of Part I of Schedule 1 of the Securities and Futures

 

 

 

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Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) (SFO) and any rules made thereunder, or 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) (CO) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO, and (ii) no advertisement, invitation or document relating to our securities 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 securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to the securities 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 SFO and any rules made thereunder.

Japan

Our securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and our securities will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, 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 resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

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 our securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may our securities 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 under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (SFA), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), 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 our securities 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 (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired our securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 except:

 

  (1)   to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;

 

  (2)   where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;

 

 

 

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  (3)   where the transfer is by operation of law; or

 

  (4)   as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA.

Switzerland

This Prospectus does not constitute an issue prospectus pursuant to Article 652a or Article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) and the ordinary shares and ADSs will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Therefore, the Prospectus may not comply with the disclosure standards of the CO and/or the listing rules (including any prospectus schemes) of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Accordingly, the ordinary shares and ADSs may not be offered to the public in or from Switzerland, but only to a selected and limited circle of investors, which do not subscribe to the ordinary shares and ADSs with a view to distribution.

Greece

The securities have not been approved by the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission for distribution and marketing in Greece. This document and the information contained therein do not and shall not be deemed to constitute an invitation to the public in Greece to purchase the securities. The securities may not be advertised, distributed, offered or in any way sold in Greece except as permitted by Greek law.

Dubai International Finance Centre

This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Markets Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority. This prospectus is intended for distribution only to Professional Clients who are not natural persons. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The Dubai Financial Services Authority has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The Dubai Financial Services Authority has not approved this document nor taken steps to verify the information set out in it, and has no responsibility for it. The securities to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the securities offered should conduct their own due diligence on the securities. If you do not understand the contents of this document you should consult an authorized financial adviser.

 

 

 

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Expenses of the global offering

Set forth below is an itemization of the total expenses, excluding underwriting commissions, which are expected to be incurred in connection with our sale of ordinary shares and ADSs in the global offering. With the exception of the registration fee payable to the SEC and the filing fee payable to FINRA, all amounts are estimates.

 

Itemized Expenses    Amount  

SEC registration fee

   $ 13,363   

NASDAQ Listing fee

   $ 125,000   

FINRA filing fee

   $ 17,100   

Printing expenses

   $ 213,000   

Legal fees and expenses

   $ 1,200,000   

Accounting fees and expenses

   $ 450,000   

Insurance

   $ 729,000   

Miscellaneous costs

   $ 152,287   
  

 

 

 

Total

$ 2,899,750   
  

 

 

 

 

*   To be provided by amendment.

 

 

 

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Legal matters

Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, Massachusetts, is representing the company in connection with the global offering. Allen & Overy LLP, Brussels, Belgium, will pass upon the validity of the ordinary shares represented by the ADSs offered hereby and other legal matters concerning the global offering relating to Belgian law, including matters of Belgian income tax law. Cooley LLP, Boston, Massachusetts and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Brussels, Belgium are representing the underwriters in connection with the global offering.

 

 

 

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Experts

The financial statements as of December 31, 2014, December 31, 2013 and January 1, 2013 and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014 included in this Prospectus have been so included in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’entreprises sccrl, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

The registered offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’entreprises sccrl are located at Woluwedal 18, B-1932 Sint-Stevens Woluwe, Belgium.

The audited historical financial statements of OnCyte Clinical Trials Program included in this Prospectus have been so included in reliance on the report of Gallagher, Flynn & Company, LLP, independent accountants, given on the authority of such firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

 

 

 

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Where you can find additional information

We have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form F-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares to be represented by ADSs offered in this prospectus. A related registration statement on Form F-6 will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register the ADSs. This prospectus, which forms a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. Certain information is omitted and you should refer to the registration statement and its exhibits for that information. With respect to references made in this prospectus to any contract or other document of Celyad SA, such references are not necessarily complete and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract or document.

You may review a copy of the registration statement, including exhibits and any schedule filed therewith, and obtain copies of such materials at prescribed rates, at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room in Room 1580, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants, such as Celyad SA, that file electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Upon completion of the global offering, we will be subject to the information reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to foreign private issuers and, in accordance therewith, we will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission annual reports on Form 20-F within four months of our fiscal year end, and provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission other material information on Form 6-K. Those reports may be inspected without charge at the locations described above. As a foreign private issuer, we will be exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will be exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as United States companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.

We maintain a corporate website at www.celyad.com . Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

We must file our articles of association and all other deeds that are to be published in the Annexes to the Belgian Official Gazette with the clerk’s office of the Commercial Court of Nivelles (Belgium), where they are available to the public. A copy of the most recently restated articles of association and our corporate governance charter is also available on our website.

In accordance with Belgian law, we must prepare annual audited statutory financial statements. The statutory financial statements and the reports of our board of directors and of the statutory auditor relating thereto are filed with the National Bank of Belgium, where they are available to the public. Furthermore, we must publish our annual statutory financial statements and semi-annual interim financial statements (in the form provided by the Belgian Royal Decree of November 14, 2007 relating to the obligations of issuers of financial instruments admitted to trading on a Belgian regulated market (as amended from time to time), prepared under Belgian GAAP. In addition, we will also provide such

 

 

 

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financial statements and interim financial statements as prepared under IFRS as endorsed by the European Union.

We have to disclose price-sensitive information, information about its shareholders’ structure, and certain other information to the public. In accordance with the Belgian Royal Decree of November 14, 2007, such information and documentation will be made available through press releases, the financial press in Belgium, our website, the communication channels of Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris or a combination of these media.

 

 

 

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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF CARDIO3 BIOSCIENCES S.A. AT DECEMBER 31, 2014, DECEMBER 31, 2013 AND JANUARY 1, 2013 AND FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND DECEMBER 31, 2013

 

     Page  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

     F-3   

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Loss

     F-4   

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

     F-5   

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow s

     F-6   

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-7   

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF ONCYTE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM AT DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013 AND FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013

 

Independent Auditor’s Report

     F-57   

Statements of Financial Position

     F-58   

Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

     F-59   

Statement of Changes in Net Parent Company Investment

     F-60   

Statements of Cash Flows

     F-61   

Notes to the Financial Statements

     F-62   

In accordance with Regulation S-X 3-05, the audited financial statements of the OnCyte Clinical Trials Program as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 and for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 are presented herein.

 

 

 

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1     REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and shareholders of Cardio3 Biosciences S.A.:

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, of changes in equity and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Cardio3 Biosciences S.A. and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2014, December 31, 2013 and January 1, 2013, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2014 in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

As discussed in Note 2.36 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has restated its 2013 financial statements to correct two errors.

Liège, March 31, 2015

PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’Entreprises sccrl

Represented by

/s/ Patrick Mortroux

Patrick Mortroux

 

 

 

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Consolidated statement of financial position

 

(€’000)         As of December 31,    

As per January 1,
2013 (restated) [1]

 
      Notes    2014    

2013

(restated) [1]

   

NON-CURRENT ASSETS

        11,041        9,783        10,148   

Intangible assets

   2.6      10,266        9,400        9,615   

Property, Plant and Equipment

   2.7      598        243        383   

Investment accounted for using the equity method

   2.13      68        —          —     

Other non-current assets

   2.8      109        140        150   

CURRENT ASSETS

        32,935        22,603        2,337   

Trade and other receivables

   2.9      830        422        305   

Grants receivables

   2.9      1,009        —          —     

Other current assets

   2.9      792        123        387   

Short term investments

   2.10      2,671        3,000        —     

Cash and cash equivalents

   2.11      27,633        19,058        1,645   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL ASSETS

  43,976      32,386      12,485   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

EQUITY

  26,684      16,898      (29,138

Share capital

2.15   24,615      22,138      9,975   

Share premium

2.15   53,302      30,474      —     

Other reserves

2.23   19,982      18,894      1,006   

Retained loss

  (71,215   (54,608   (40,119

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

  11,239      12,099      11,266   

Finance leases

  279      27      109   

Advances repayable

2.18   10,778      12,072      11,157   

Post employment benefits

2.17   182      —        —     

CURRENT LIABILITIES

  6,053      3,389      30,357   

Finance leases

  134      79      160   

Convertible loan

  —        —        26,878   

Advances repayable

2.18   777      429      685   

Trade payables

2.19   4,042      2,169      1,770   

Other current liabilities

2.19   1,100      712      864   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

  43,976      32,386      12,485   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

[1]   Consolidated statement of financial position as per January 1, 2013 and as per December 31, 2013 has been restated (see Note 2.36)

The footnotes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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Consolidated statement of comprehensive loss

 

(€’000)           For the year ended December 31,  
      Notes          2014        

2013

(restated) [1]

 
Revenue         146        —     

Cost of sales

        (115     —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Gross profit   31      —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Research and development expenses

  2.26      (15,865   (9,046

General administrative expenses

  2.27      (5,016   (3,972

Other operating income

  2.28      4,413      64   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Operating Loss   (16,437   (12,954
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Financial income

  2.30      277      60   

Financial expenses

  2.30      (41   (1,595

Share of loss of investments accounted for using the equity method

  2.13      (252   —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Loss before taxes   (16,453   (14,489
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income taxes

  2.22      —        —     
Loss for the year [2]   (16,453   (14,489
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive loss

Items that will not be reclassified to profit and loss   (154   —     

Remeasurements of post employment benefit obligations, net of tax

  (154   —     
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss   (10   —     

Currency translation differences

  (10   —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Other comprehensive loss for the year, net of tax   (164   —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total comprehensive loss for the year   (16,617   (14,489
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Total comprehensive loss for the year attributable to equity holders [2]   (16,617   (14,489
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share (in €)

  2.31      (2.44   (3.53
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

[1]   Consolidated statement of comprehensive loss for 2013 has been restated (see note 2.36)
[2]   For 2014 and 2013, the Cardio3 Biosciences SA and its subsidiaries do not have any non-controlling interests and the losses for the year are fully attributable to owners of the parent.

The footnotes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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Consolidated statement of changes in equity

 

(€’000)   

Share
capital

(Note 2.15)

     Share
premium
(Note 2.15)
    Other
reserves
(Note 2.23)
    Retained
loss
    Total
Equity
 

Balance as of January 1, 2013 as previously reported

     9,975         —          12,412        (24,647     (2,260

Effect of restatement

     —           —          (11,406     (15,472     (26,878
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of January 1, 2013 (restated)

     9,975         —          1,006        (40,119     (29,138
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Capital increase in cash

     7,113         26,339        —          —          33,452   

Exercise of warrants

     24         —          —          —          24   

Contribution in kind convertible loans

     5,026         6,988        16,631        —          28,645   

Share-based payments

     —           —          274        —          274   

Restatement on share-based payments

     —           —          984        —          984   

Transaction costs associated with capital increases

     —           (2,853     —          —          (2,853
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total transactions with owners, recognized directly in equity (restated)

     12,163         30,474        17,889        —          60,526   

Loss for year

     —           —          —          (14,489 )     (14,489 )

Currency Translation differences

     —           —          —          —          —     

Remeasurements of defined benefit obligation

     —           —          —          —          —     

Total comprehensive loss for the year (restated)

     —           —          —          (14,489     (14,489
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2013 (restated)

     22,138         30,474        18,894        (54,608     16,898   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Capital increase in cash

     1,989         23,011        —          —          25,000   

Exercise of warrants

     488         500        —          —          988   

Share-based payments

     —           429        1,098        —          1,527   

Transaction costs associated with capital increases

     —           (1,112     —          —          (1,112
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total transactions with owners, recognized directly in equity

     2,477         22,828        1,098        —          26,403   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year

     —           —          —          (16,453     (16,453

Currency translation differences

     —           —          (10     —          (10

Remeasurements of defined benefit obligation

     —           —          —          (154     (154
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive loss for the year

     —           —          (10     (16,607     (16,617
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

     24,615         53,302        19,982        (71,215     26,684   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The footnotes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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Consolidated statement of Cash flows

 

(€’000)    For the year ended
31 December
 
      Notes      2014    

2013

(restated)  [1]

 
Cash flow from operating activities        
Net Loss for the year         (16,453     (14,489
Non-cash adjustments        

Depreciation

     2.7         193        213   

Amortisation

     2.6         677        674   

Interests on convertible loans

        —          357   

Fair value on convertible loans

        —          1,159   

Post employment benefit

     2.17         28        —     

Share of loss in company consol. under equity method

     2.13         252        —     

Gain on contribution IP at incorp. C3BS Asia Ltd.

     2.13         (312     —     

Reversal provision for reimbursement RCAs

     2.28         (507     —     

Proceeds of grants and advances

     2.28         (2,418     395   

Share-based payments

     2.16         1,098        1,258   
Change in working capital        

Trade receivables, other receivables

        (2,048     (452

Trade payables, other payable and accruals

        2,076        247   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net cash (used in)/from operations         (17,414     (10,638
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Cash flow from investing activities        
Acquisitions of Property, Plant & Equipment      2.7         (590     (73
Acquisitions of Intangible assets      2.6         (50     (459
Acquisition of short term investment      2.10         372        (3,000
Investment in subsidiary      2.14         (1,500     —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net cash used in investing activities         (1,768     (3,532
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Cash flow from financing activities        
Proceeds from borrowings         444        —     
Repayments of finance leases         (138     (163
Proceeds from issuance of shares and exercise of warrants      2.16         25,305        30,623   
Proceeds from subsidies      2.28         636        129   
Proceeds from RCAs & other grants      2.28         1,782        955   
Proceeds from convertible loan         —          250   
Repayment of advances         (272     (211
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net cash from financing activities         27,757        31,583   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period         19,058        1,645   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Change in net cash and cash equivalents         8,575        17,413   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
Net cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period         27,633        19,058   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

[1]     Consolidated statement of cash flows has been restated relating to the restatement of net loss for the year ended December 31, 2013 (see note 2.36)

The footnotes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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2    NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

2.1    General information

Cardio3 BioSciences SA (“the Company”) and its subsidiaries (together, “the Group”) is a biotechnology group specialising in stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It is acting in the field of cardiac regenerative medicine. It is currently developing several therapeutic therapies based on two distinct technology platforms, respectively in cardiology and oncology. The group has two fully owned subsidiaries in the US, Cardio3 Inc and Corquest Medical Inc, and has incorporated a joint venture in Hong-Kong in July 2014, Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd, with its Hong-Kong based partner Medisun International Ltd. Corquest Medical Inc. was acquired in November 2014.

Cardio3 BioSciences was incorporated on July 24, 2007 under the name “Cardio3 BioSciences”. Cardio3 BioSciences is a limited liability company (“Société Anonyme”) governed by Belgian law with its registered office at Axis Parc, Rue Edouard Belin 12, B-1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium (company number 0891.118.115). The Company is listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels and NYSE Euronext Paris regulated markets.

2.2    Summary of significant accounting policies

The significant accounting policies used for preparing the consolidated financial statements are explained here below.

2.2.1    Basis of preparation

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis. The consolidated financial statements have been approved for issue by the Board of Directors of Cardio3 BioSciences on March 19, 2015.

The consolidated financial statements are presented in euro and all values are presented in thousands (€000) except when otherwise indicated.

Statement of compliance

The consolidated financial statements of the Group have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) interpretations applicable to companies reporting under IFRS.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgment in the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgment or complexity, are areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the financial statements. They are disclosed in Note 2.4.

Going concern

The Group is pursuing a strategy to develop certain products and obtain approval from the authorities to commercialise those products. Since June 2013, the Group is conducting international Phase III clinical trials in heart failure with C-Cure, its most advanced therapy, and will initiate in the beginning of 2015 a Phase I clinical trial with CAR-NKG2D, its lead product in oncology. Management has prepared detailed budgets and cash flow forecasts for the following two years. These forecasts reflect the strategy of the Group and include significant expenses and cash outflows in relation to the development of selected research programs and products candidates.

 

 

 

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Based on its current scope of activities, the Group estimates its current cash position (including short term investments) is sufficient to cover its cash requirements for 2015.

After due consideration of the above, the Board of Directors determined that management has an appropriate basis to conclude on the continuity over the next 12 months of the Group’s business and hence it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis.

Changes to accounting standards and interpretations

None of the amendments to standards or interpretations which are effective for the first time for the financial year beginning on January 1, 2014 had a material impact on the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014.

A number of new standards and amendments to standards have been issued, but are not mandatory for the first time for the financial year beginning January 1, 2014 and have not been applied in preparing these consolidated financial statements. None of these is expected to have a significant effect on the consolidated financial statements of the Group, except the following set out below:

 

Ø   IFRS 9 ‘Financial instruments’, effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. The standard addresses the classification, measurement and derecognition of financial assets and financial liabilities.

The Group is yet to assess IFRS 9’s full impact.

2.2.2    Consolidation

(a) Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries are all entities (including structured entities) over which the Group has control. The Group controls an entity when the Group is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date control ceases.

The Group applies the acquisition method to account for business combinations.

The consideration transferred for the acquisition of a subsidiary is measured at the aggregate of the fair values of the assets transferred, the liabilities incurred or assumed and the equity interests issued by the Group at the date of the acquisition. The consideration transferred includes the fair value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent consideration arrangement. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date.

Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred.

Any contingent consideration to be transferred by the Group is recognized at fair value at the acquisition date. Subsequent changes to the fair value of the contingent consideration that is deemed to be an asset or liability is recognized in accordance with IAS 39 either in profit or loss or as a change to other comprehensive income. Contingent consideration that is classified as equity is not re-measured, and its subsequent settlement is accounted for within equity.

 

 

 

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Inter-company transactions, balances and unrealized gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated. Unrealized losses are also eliminated. When necessary, amounts reported by subsidiaries have been adjusted to conform with the Group’s accounting policies.

(b) Joint arrangements

The Group applies IFRS 11 to all joint arrangements. Under IFRS 11 investments in joint arrangements are classified as either joint operations or joint ventures depending on the contractual rights and obligations of each investor. The Group has assessed the nature of its joint arrangements and determined them to be joint ventures. Joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method.

Under the equity method of accounting, interests in joint ventures are initially recognised at cost and adjusted thereafter to recognise the group’s share of the post-acquisition profits or losses and movements in other comprehensive income. When the group’s share of losses in a joint venture equals or exceeds its interests in the joint ventures (which includes any long-term interests that, in substance, form part of the group’s net investment in the joint ventures), the Group does not recognise further losses, unless it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the joint ventures.

Unrealised gains on transactions between the Group and its joint ventures are eliminated to the extent of the group’s interest in the joint ventures. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred. Accounting policies of the joint ventures have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by the Group.

2.2.3    Foreign currency translation

(a) Functional and presentation currency

Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s entities are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates (“the functional currency”). The consolidated financial statements are presented in Euros, which is the Group’s presentation currency.

(b) Transactions and balances

Foreign currency transactions (mainly USD) are translated into functional currency using the applicable exchange rate on the transaction dates. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the functional currency spot rate of exchange ruling at the reporting date.

Foreign currency exchange gains and losses arising from settling foreign currency transactions and from the retranslation of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the reporting date are recognised in the income statement.

Non-monetary items that are measured in terms of historical cost in a foreign currency are translated using the exchange rates as of the dates of the initial transactions. Non-monetary items measured at fair value in a foreign currency are translated using the exchange rates at the date when the fair value is determined.

(c) Group companies

The results and financial position of all Group entities that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are translated into the presentation currency as follows:

 

Ø   Assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that balance sheet;

 

 

 

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Ø   Income and expenses for each income statement are translated at average exchange rate (unless this average is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing on the transaction dates, in which case income and expenses are translated at the rate on the dates of the transactions); and

 

Ø   All resulting exchange differences are recognized in other comprehensive income.

2.2.4    Revenue

Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, and represents amounts receivable for goods supplied in the ordinary course of the Group activities, stated net of discounts, returns and value added taxes. The Company recognizes revenue when the amount of revenue can be reliably measured and when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the entity. The amount of revenue is not considered to be reliably measured until all contingencies relating to the sale have been resolved.

Revenue from the sale of goods is recognized when:

 

Ø   The significant risks and rewards of the ownership of goods are transferred to the buyer;

 

Ø   The Group retains neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership nor effective control over the goods sold;

 

Ø   The amount of revenue can be measured reliably;

 

Ø   It is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the entity; and

 

Ø   The costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the transaction can be measured reliably.

For 2014, the only revenues generated by the Group are associated with C-Cath ez , its proprietary catheter, and are marginal compared to its operating expenses.

2.2.5    Other operating income

2.2.5.1    Government grants

The Group’s current operating income is primarily generated from (i) government grants received from the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Program (“FP7”) and other authorities (see paragraph 1.2.5.1.2) and (ii) government grants received from the Regional government (“Walloon Region” or “Region”) in the form of recoverable cash advances (RCAs) (see paragraph 1.2.5.1.1)

Government grants are recognised at their fair value where there is a reasonable assurance that the grant will be received and the Group will comply with all attached conditions. Once a government grant is recognized, any related contingent liability (or contingent asset) is treated in accordance with IAS 37, Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets.

Government grants relating to costs are deferred and recognised in the income statement over the period necessary to match them with the costs that they are intended to compensate.

2.2.5.1.1    Recoverable cash advances (RCAs)

As explained above, the Group receives grants from the Regional government in the form of recoverable cash advances (RCAs).

 

 

 

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RCAs are dedicated to support specific development programs. All RCA contracts, in essence, consist of three phases, i.e. , the “research phase”, the “decision phase” and the “exploitation phase”. During the research phase, the Group receives funds from the Region based on statements of expenses.

The RCAs are recognized in profit or loss on a systematic basis over the periods in which the entity recognizes as expenses the related costs for which the grants are intended to compensate.

At the end of the research phase, the Group should within a period of six months decide whether or not to exploit the results of the research phase (decision phase). The exploitation phase may have a duration of up to 10 years. In the event the Group decides to exploit the results under an RCA, the relevant RCA becomes contingently refundable and the company applies the recognition criteria of IAS 37 related to liability recognition, with any amounts being recognized as a reduction of other operating income in the income statement.

When the Group does not exploit (or does not continue to exploit) the results under an RCA, it has to notify the Region of this decision. This decision is of the sole responsibility of the Group. The RCA associated to the decision does not become refundable (respectively is no longer refundable as of the calendar year after such decision), and the rights related to such results will be transferred to the Region. Also when the Group decides to renounce to its rights to patents which may result from the research, title to such patents will be transferred to the Region.

2.2.5.1.2    Other government grants

The Group has received and will continue to apply grants to European (FP7) and Regional authorities. These grants are dedicated to partially finance early stage projects such as fundamental research, applied research, prototype design, etc.

As per December 31 2014, all grants received are not associated to any conditions. As per contract, grants are paid upon submission by the Group of statement of expenses. The Company incurs project expenses first and asks for partial refunding according to the terms of the contracts.

The government grants are recognized in profit or loss on a systematic basis over the periods in which the entity recognizes as expenses the related costs for which the grants are intended to compensate.

2.2.6    Intangible assets

Intangible assets acquired from third parties are measured on initial recognition at cost. Following initial recognition, intangible assets are carried at cost less any accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.

Internally generated intangible assets, excluding capitalised development costs (when conditions are met), are not capitalised. Expenditure is reflected in the income statement in the year in which the expenditure is incurred.

The useful life of intangible assets is assessed as finite. They are amortised over the expected useful economic life and assessed for impairment whenever there is an indication that the intangible asset may be impaired. The amortisation period and the amortisation method for an intangible asset with a finite useful life are reviewed at least at each financial year end. Changes in the expected useful life or the expected pattern of consumption of future economic benefits embodied in the asset is accounted for by

 

 

 

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changing the amortisation period or method, as appropriate, and are treated as changes in accounting estimates. The amortisation expense on intangible assets with finite lives is recognised in the income statement of in the expense category consistent with the function of the intangible asset.

Gains or losses arising from derecognition of an intangible asset are measured as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset and are recognised in the income statement when the asset is derecognised.

(a) Research and development costs

Research costs are expensed as incurred. Development expenditures on an individual project are recognised as an intangible asset when the Group can demonstrate:

 

  a)   the technical feasibility of completing the intangible asset so that it will be available for use or sale.

 

  b)   its intention to complete the intangible asset and use or sell it.

 

  c)   its ability to use or sell the intangible asset.

 

  d)   how the intangible asset will generate probable future economic benefits. Among other things, the entity can demonstrate the existence of a market for the output of the intangible asset or the intangible asset itself or, if it is to be used internally, the usefulness of the intangible asset.

 

  e)   the availability of adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the intangible asset.

 

  f)   its ability to measure reliably the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development.

For the industry in which the Group operates, the life science industry, criteria a) and d) tend to be the most difficult to achieve. Experience shows that in the biotechnology sector technical feasibility of completing the project is met when the cell therapy product candidate has received regulatory approval. For medical devices this is usually met at the moment of CE marking.

Following initial recognition of the development expenditure as an asset, the cost model is applied requiring the asset to be carried at cost less any accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses.

Amortisation of the asset begins when development has been completed and the asset is available for use. It is amortised over the period of expected future benefit. Amortisation is recorded in Research & Development expenses. During the period of development, the asset is tested for impairment annually.

As per December 31, 2014, only the development costs of C-Cath ez are capitalized and amortized over a period of 17 years which corresponds to the period over which the intellectual property is protected.

(b) Patents, Licences and Trademarks

Payments related to the acquisition of technology rights are capitalised as intangible assets when the two following criteria are met:

 

Ø   it is probable that the expected future economic benefits that are attributable to the asset will flow to the entity; and

 

Ø   the cost of the asset can be measured reliably.

 

 

 

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Licences for the use of intellectual property are granted for a period corresponding to the intellectual property of the assets licensed. Amortisation is calculated on a straight-line basis over this useful life.

Patents and licences are assessed for impairment whenever there is an indication these assets may be impaired. Indication of impairment is related to the value of the patent demonstrated by the pre-clinical and clinical results of the technology.

(c) Software

Software only concerns acquired computer software licences. Software is capitalised on the basis of the costs incurred to acquire and bring to use the specific software. These costs are amortised over their estimated useful lives of three years on a straight-line basis.

2.2.7    Property, plant and equipment

Plant and equipment is stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and/or accumulated impairment losses, if any. Repair and maintenance costs are recognised in the income statement of as incurred.

Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

 

Ø   Land and buildings: 15 to 20 years

 

Ø   Plant and equipment: 5 to 15 years

 

Ø   Laboratory equipment: 3 to 5 years

 

Ø   Furniture: 3 to 10 years

 

Ø   Leasehold improvements: 3 to 10 years (based on duration of office building lease)

An item of property, plant and equipment and any significant part initially recognised is derecognised upon disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Any gain or loss arising on derecognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset) is included in the income statement when the asset is derecognised.

The assets’ residual values, useful lives and methods of depreciation are reviewed at each financial year end, and adjusted prospectively, if applicable.

2.2.8    Leases

The determination of whether an arrangement is, or contains, a lease is based on the substance of the arrangement at inception date: whether fulfilment of the arrangement is dependent on the use of a specific asset or assets or the arrangement conveys a right to use the asset.

Finance leases, which transfer to the Group substantially all the risks and benefits incidental to ownership of the leased item, are capitalised at the commencement of the lease at the fair value of the leased property or, if lower, at the present value of the minimum lease payments. Lease payments are apportioned between finance charges and reduction of the lease liability so as to achieve a constant rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability. Finance charges are recognised in the income statement.

Leased assets are depreciated over the useful life of the asset. However, if there is no reasonable certainty that the Group will obtain ownership by the end of the lease term, the asset is depreciated over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the asset and the lease term.

 

 

 

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Operating lease payments are recognised as an expense in the income statement on a straight line basis over the lease term.

The Group has performed sale and leaseback transactions. If the sale and leaseback transaction results in a finance lease, any excess of sales proceeds over the carrying amount is deferred and amortised over the lease term. If the transaction results in an operating lease and the transaction occurred at fair value, any profit or loss is recognised immediately.

2.2.9    Impairment of non-financial assets

The Group assesses at each reporting date whether there is an indication that an asset may be impaired. If any indication exists, or when annual impairment testing for an asset is required, the Group estimates the asset’s recoverable amount. An asset’s recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s or cash-generating unit’s (CGU) fair value less costs to sell and its value in use and is determined for an individual asset, unless the asset does not generate cash inflows that are largely independent of those from other assets or group of assets. Where the carrying amount of an asset or CGU exceeds its recoverable amount, the asset is considered impaired and is written down to its recoverable amount. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset. In determining fair value less costs to sell, an appropriate valuation model is used based on the discounted cash-flow model.

An assessment is made at each reporting date as to whether there is any indication that previously recognised impairment losses may no longer exist or may have decreased. If such indication exists, the Group estimates the asset’s or cash-generating unit’s recoverable amount. A previously recognised impairment loss is reversed only if there has been a change in the assumptions used to determine the asset’s recoverable amount since the last impairment loss was recognised. The reversal is limited so that the carrying amount of the asset does not exceed its recoverable amount, nor exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined, net of depreciation, had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. Such reversal is recognised in the income statement unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal is treated as a revaluation increase.

The Group has three cash-generating units which consist of the development and commercialization activities on its the following products, C-Cath ez, Heart-Xs and C-Cure. Indicators of impairment used by the Group are the pre-clinical and clinical results obtained with the technology.

2.2.10    Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position comprise cash at banks and on hand and short-term deposits with an original maturity of three months or less.

2.2.11    Financial assets

2.2.11.1    Classification

The Group classifies its financial assets in the following category: loans and receivables. The classification depends on the purpose for which the financial assets were acquired. Management determines the classification of its financial assets at initial recognition.

Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They are included in current assets, except for maturities greater than 12

 

 

 

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months after the end of the reporting period. These are classified as non-current assets. The Group’s loans and receivables comprise “cash and cash equivalents”, “short-term deposits”, “trade and other receivables” and “Deposits”. Those trade debtors are not impaired and are not material in relation to the current and total assets. Impairments are assessed on an individual basis and as such, there is not general rule that trade debtors overdue since a certain number of days are impaired.

2.2.11.2    Initial recognition and measurement

All financial assets are recognised initially at fair value plus directly attributable transaction costs.

2.2.11.3    Subsequent measurement

After initial measurement, loans and receivables are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method (EIR), less impairment. Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account any discount or premium on acquisition and fee or costs that are an integral part of the EIR. The EIR amortisation is included in finance income in the income statement. The losses arising from impairment are recognised in the income statement.

2.2.11.4    Impairment of financial assets

The Group assesses at each reporting date whether there is any objective evidence that a financial asset or a group of financial assets is impaired. A financial asset or a group of financial assets is deemed to be impaired if, and only if, there is objective evidence of impairment as a result of one or more events that has occurred after the initial recognition of the asset and that loss event has an impact on the estimated future cash flows of the financial asset or the group of financial assets that can be reliably estimated.

Evidence of impairment may include indications that the debtors or a group of debtors is experiencing significant financial difficulty, default or delinquency in interest or principal payments, the probability that they will enter bankruptcy or other financial reorganisation and where observable data indicate that there is a measurable decrease in the estimated future cash flows, such as changes in arrears or economic conditions that correlate with defaults.

Financial assets carried at amortised cost

For financial assets carried at amortised cost the Group first assesses individually whether objective evidence of impairment exists individually for financial assets that are individually significant, or collectively for financial assets that are not individually significant. If the Group determines that no objective evidence of impairment exists for an individually assessed financial asset, it includes the asset in a group of financial assets with similar credit risk characteristics and collectively assesses them for impairment. Assets that are individually assessed for impairment and for which an impairment loss is, or continues to be, recognised are not included in a collective assessment of impairment.

If there is objective evidence that an impairment loss has incurred, the amount of the loss is measured as the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash flows.

The present value of the estimated future cash flows is discounted at the financial assets’ original effective interest rate. If a loan has a variable interest rate, the discount rate for measuring any impairment loss is the current effective interest rate.

The carrying amount of the asset is reduced through the use of an allowance account and the amount of the loss is recognised in the income statement. Interest income continues to be accrued on the reduced

 

 

 

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carrying amount and is accrued using the rate of interest used to discount the future cash flows for the purpose of measuring the impairment loss. The interest income is recorded as part of finance income in the income statement. Loans together with the associated allowance are written off when there is no realistic prospect of future recovery. If, in a subsequent year, the amount of the estimated impairment loss increases or decreases because of an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the previously recognised impairment loss is increased or reduced by adjusting the allowance account. If a future write-off is later recovered, the recovery is credited to the income statement.

2.2.12    Financial liabilities

2.2.12.1    Classification

The Group’s financial liabilities include trade and other payables, bank overdrafts and loans and borrowings. The Group classifies its financial liabilities in the following category: financial liabilities measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

2.2.12.2    Initial recognition and measurement

All financial liabilities are recognised initially at fair value and in the case of loans and borrowings, plus directly attributable transaction costs.

2.2.12.3    Subsequent measurement

The measurement of financial liabilities depends on their classification as follows:

(a) Trade payables and other payables

After initial recognition, trade payables and other payables are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

(b) Loans and borrowings

After initial recognition, interest bearing loans and borrowings are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. Gains and losses are recognised in the income statement when the liabilities are derecognised.

Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account any discount or premium on acquisition and fee or costs that are an integral part of the EIR. The EIR amortisation is included in finance expense in the income statement.

2.2.12.4    Derecognition

A financial liability is derecognised when the obligation under the liability is discharged or cancelled or expires.

When an existing financial liability is replaced by another from the same lender on substantially different terms, or the terms of an existing liability are substantially modified, such an exchange or modification is treated as a derecognition of the original liability and the recognition of a new liability, and the difference in the respective carrying amounts is recognised in the income statement.

 

 

 

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2.2.13    Provisions

Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present obligation (legal or constructive) as a result of a past event, it is probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation. Where the Group expects some or all of a provision to be reimbursed, for example under an insurance contract, the reimbursement is recognised as a separate asset but only when the reimbursement is virtually certain. The expense relating to any provision is presented in the income statement net of any reimbursement. If the effect of the time value of money is material, provisions are discounted using a current pre-tax rate that reflects, where appropriate, the risks specific to the liability. Where discounting is used, the increase in the provision due to the passage of time is recognised as a finance cost.

We also refer to Note 2.2.5.1.1 on Recoverable Cash Advances (RCAs) where it is explained that recoverable cash advances received from the Regional government are accounted for in accordance with IAS 37 as from the moment these become contingently refundable.

2.2.14    Employee benefits

Defined contribution plan

The Group operates a pension plan which requires contributions to be made by the Group to an insurance company.

Because of the Belgian legislation applicable to 2nd pillar pension plans (so-called “Law Vandenbroucke”), all Belgian defined contribution plans have to be considered under IFRS as defined benefit plans. Law Vandenbroucke states that in the context of defined contribution plans, the employer must guarantee a minimum return of 3.75% on employee contributions and 3.25% on employer contributions. Because of this minimum guaranteed return for defined contributions plans in Belgium, the employer is exposed to a financial risk (there is a legal obligation to pay further contributions if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employee benefits relating to employee service in the current and prior periods).

Prior to 2014, the Group did not apply the defined benefit accounting for these plans because higher discount rates were applicable and the return on plan assets provided by the insurance company was sufficient to cover the minimum guaranteed return. As a result of continuous low interest rates offered by the European financial markets, in 2014 Cardio 3 Biosciences has decided to measure and account for the potential impact of defined benefit accounting for these pension plans with a minimum fixed guaranteed return because of the higher financial risk related to these plans than in the past. The prior year financial statements were not revised due to such effect not being material.

The Group has calculated the provision for employee benefit pension plans with the assistance of an independent third-party actuarial firm. The calculation is based on the projected unit credit method.

The liability recognized in the balance sheet in respect of the pension plans is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the end of the reporting period less the fair value of plan assets. The present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of high-quality corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits will be paid, and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related pension obligation.

 

 

 

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The current service cost of the defined benefit plan, recognized in the income statement as part of the operating costs, reflects the increase in the defined benefit obligation resulting from employee service in the current year, benefit changes, curtailments and settlements.

Past-service costs are recognized immediately in the income statement.

The net interest cost is calculated by applying the discount rate to the net balance of the defined benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets. This cost is included in the operating costs in the income statement.

Actuarial gains and losses arising from experience adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are charged or credited to other comprehensive income in the period in which they arise.

Short term benefits

Short-term employee benefits are those expected to be settled wholly before twelve months after the end of the annual reporting period during which employee services are rendered, but do not include termination benefits such as wages, salaries, profit-sharing and bonuses and non-monetary benefits paid to current employees.

The undiscounted amount of the benefits expected to be paid in respect of service rendered by employees in an accounting period is recognised in that period. The expected cost of short-term compensated absences is recognised as the employees render service that increases their entitlement or, in the case of non-accumulating absences, when the absences occur, and includes any additional amounts an entity expects to pay as a result of unused entitlements at the end of the period.

Share-based payments

Certain employees, managers and members of the Board of Directors of the Group receive remuneration, as compensation for services rendered, in the form of share-based payments. It concerns “equity-settled” share-based payments.

(a) Measurement

The cost of equity-settled share-based payments is measured by reference to the fair value at the date on which they are granted. The fair value is determined by using an appropriate pricing model, further details are given in the Note 2.16.

(b) Recognition

The cost of equity-settled share-based payments is recognised, together with a corresponding increase in equity, over the period in which the service conditions are fulfilled. The cumulative expense recognised for equity-settled transactions at each reporting date until the vesting date reflects the extent to which the vesting period has expired and the Group’s best estimate of the number of equity instruments that will ultimately vest.

The expense or credit for a period accounted for in the income statement represents the movement in cumulative expense recognised as of the beginning and end of that period.

 

 

 

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(c) Modification

Where the terms of an equity-settled transaction award are modified, the minimum expense recognised is the expense as if the terms had not been modified, if the original terms of the award were met. An additional expense is recognised for any modification that increases the total fair value of the share-based payment transaction, or is otherwise beneficial to the employee as measured at the date of modification.

(d) Forfeiture

At the end of each reporting period, the Group revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to vest based on the non-market vesting conditions and service conditions. The Group recognizes the impact of the revision to original estimates, if any, in the income statement, with a corresponding adjustment to equity.

2.2.15    Taxes

Tax is recognised in the income statement, except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case, the tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income or directly in equity, respectively.

Deferred tax

Deferred tax is provided using the liability method on temporary differences at the reporting date between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts for financial reporting purposes.

Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for all taxable temporary differences, except:

 

Ø   Where the deferred tax liability arises from the initial recognition of goodwill or of an asset or liability in a transaction that is not a business combination and, at the time of the transaction, affects neither the accounting profit nor taxable profit or loss;

 

Ø   In respect of taxable temporary differences associated with investments in subsidiaries, associates and interests in joint ventures, where the timing of the reversal of the temporary differences can be controlled and it is probable that the temporary differences will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

Deferred tax assets are recognised for all deductible temporary differences, carry forward of unused tax credits and unused tax losses(except if the deferred tax asset arises from the initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction other than a business combination and that, at the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit or loss), to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which the deductible temporary differences, and the carry forward of unused tax credits and unused tax losses can be utilised.

The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting date and reduced to the extent that it is not probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available to allow all or part of the deferred tax asset to be utilised. Unrecognised deferred tax assets are reassessed at each reporting date and are recognised to the extent that it has become probable that future taxable profits will allow the deferred tax asset to be recovered.

 

 

 

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Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the year when the asset is realised or the liability is settled, based on tax rates (and tax laws) that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date.

Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are offset, if a legally enforceable right exists to set off current tax assets against current income tax liabilities and the deferred taxes relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority or either the same taxable entity or different taxable entities where there is an intention to settle the balances on a net basis.

2.2.16    Earnings (loss) per share

The basic net profit/(loss) per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period.

The diluted net profit/(loss) per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding including the dilutive effect of potentially dilutive ordinary shares such as warrants and convertible debts. Potentially dilutive ordinary shares should be included in diluted earnings (loss) per share when and only when their conversion to ordinary shares would decrease the net profit per share (or increase net loss per share).

2.3    Risk Management

Financial risk factors

(a) Interest rate risk

The interest rate risk is very limited as the Group has only a limited amount of finance leases and no outstanding loans. So far, because of the materiality of the exposure, the Group did not enter into any interest hedging arrangements.

(b) Credit risk

Seen the limited amount of trade receivables due to the fact that sales to third parties are not significant, credit risk arises mainly from cash and cash equivalents and deposits with banks and financial institutions. The Group only works with national reputable commercial banks and financial institutions.

(c) Foreign exchange risk

The Group is exposed to foreign exchange risk as certain collaborations or supply agreements of raw materials are denominated in USD. Moreover the Group has also investments in foreign operations, whose net assets are exposed to foreign currency translation risk (USD and HKD). So far, because of the materiality of the exposure, the Group did not enter into any currency hedging arrangements. No sensitivity has been performed on the foreign exchange risk as up till now this risk is still considered as immaterial by the Group.

(d) Liquidity risk

The Group monitors its risk to a shortage of funds using a recurring liquidity planning tool.

The Group’s objective is to maintain a balance between continuity of funding and flexibility through the use of bank deposit and finance leases.

 

 

 

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The Group is exposed to liabilities and contingent liabilities as a result of the RCAs it has received from the Walloon Government. Out of the RCAs contracted as of December 31, 2014, €17.0 million has been effectively paid out.

In 2015 and 2016, the Group will have to make an exploitation decision on the remaining RCAs (Agreement 5951, 6646 and 7027) with a potential recognition of an additional liability of €3.5 million based on the advances effectively paid out as per 31 December 2014.

We refer to note 2.20 for an analysis of the Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities into relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period at the balance sheet date to the contractual maturity date. The amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash flows.

Capital management

The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard Cardio3 BioSciences’ ability to continue as a going concern in order to provide returns for shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and to maintain an adequate structure to limit to costs of capital.

2.4    Critical accounting estimates and judgments

The preparation of the Group’s financial statements requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities, at the end of the reporting period.

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying amount of the asset or liability affected in future periods.

In the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies, management has made judgments and has used estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are addressed below.

(a) Advances received from the Walloon Region: recognition of a contingent liability

Advances received from the Walloon Region only become contingently reimbursable if the Company notifies the Region of its decision to exploit the outcome of the research program funded with the advances received. At the end of this research phase, the Group should, within a period of six months, decide whether or not to exploit the results of the research programs (‘decision phase’). In the event the Group decides to exploit the results under an RCA, the relevant RCA becomes contingently repayable to the Walloon Region and the Company determines its liability under IAS 37. When a contingent liability is recognised, estimates are required to determine the discount rate used to calculate the present value of those contingent liabilities as well as the determination of the estimated cash flows.

The reimbursements of the RCAs to the Walloon Region consist of two elements, i.e. , sales-dependent reimbursements (a percentage of sales) and sales-independent reimbursements (an annual lump-sum). For more information we refer to Note 2.18.

 

 

 

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(b) Consolidation

The Group periodically undertakes transactions that may involve obtaining control, joint control or significant influence of other companies. In July 2014 Cardio3 Biosciences together with Medisun International incorporated Cardio3 Biosciences Asia Ltd. An assessment was completed to decide if Cardio3 Biosciences had obtained control or joint control of the new company. The agreement stipulates that:

 

Ø   Cardio3 Biosciences acquired 40% of the share capital of Cardio3 BioSciences Asia in return for an outlicense for the development of C-Cure in Greater China.

 

Ø   Medisun acquired 60% of shares for HK$ 5 million. They will make additional cash contribution for additional shares over the next 3 years to fund the research.

 

Ø   The JV agreement stipulates that unanimous consent is required from both parties to the agreements over relevant activities, for example approving budgets and business plans; declaring dividends; borrowing money, apply for registration of IP etc.

 

Ø   The Group’s joint arrangement is structured as a limited company and provides the Group and the parties to the agreements with rights to the net assets of the limited company under the arrangements.

Based on the above, the Group has assessed there is joint control and that Cardio3 Bioscienes Asia is a joint venture.

(c) Business combinations

In respect of acquired businesses by the Group, significant judgement is made to determine whether these acquisitions are to be considered as an asset deal or as a business combination. Determining whether a particular set of assets and activities is a business should be based on whether the integrated set is capable of being conducted and managed as a business by a market participant. Moreover, management judgement is particularly involved in the recognition and fair value measurement of the acquired assets, liabilities, contingent liabilities and contingent consideration. In making this assessment management considers the underlying economic substance of the items concerned in addition to the contractual terms. For more information, we refer to Note 2.14.

(d) Contingent consideration provisions

The Group makes provision for the estimated fair value of contingent consideration arrangements arising from business combinations (see Note 2.14). The estimated amounts are the expected payments, determined by considering the possible scenarios of forecast sales and other performance criteria, the amount to be paid under each scenario, and the probability of each scenario, which is then discounted to a net present value. The estimates could change substantially over time as new facts emerge and each scenario develops.

(e) Deferred Tax Assets

Deferred tax assets for unused tax losses are recognised to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which the losses can be utilised. Significant management judgment is required to determine the amount of deferred tax assets that can be recognised, based upon the likely timing and level of future taxable profits together with future tax planning strategies. Further details are contained in Note 2.22.

 

 

 

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(f) Share-based payment transactions

The Group measures the cost of equity-settled transactions with employees by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments at the date at which they are granted. Estimating fair value for share-based payment transactions requires determining the most appropriate valuation model, which is dependent on the terms and conditions of the grant. This estimate also requires determining the most appropriate inputs to the valuation model including the expected life of the share option, volatility and dividend yield and making assumptions about them. The assumptions and models used for estimating fair value for share-based payment transactions are disclosed in Note 2.16.

2.5     Operating segment information

The chief operating decision-maker, who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the Group, has been identified as the Board of Directors that makes strategic decisions.

As per December 31, 2014 the Group was operating in one operating segment. Management has determined that there is only one operating segment based on the information reviewed by the Board of Directors during 2014. The Board of Directors considers the business of the Group from a general company-wide perspective seen the close interrelation between the different projects (C-Cath, C-Cure, CorQuest technology platform). Although the Group is currently active in Europe, the US and Asia, no geographical financial information is currently available given the fact that the core operations are currently still in a study phase.

No disaggregated information on product level or geographical level or any other level is currently existing and hence also not considered by the Board for assessing performance or allocating resources.

As per December 31, 2014, all the Group non-current assets are located in Belgium, except the Corquest intellectual property, valued at €1,5 million which is located in the US.

During 2014 only limited revenues were generated from external customers. All revenues generated relate to sales of C-Cath ez to a limited number of customers located in the US.

 

 

 

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2.6     Intangible assets

The intangible assets are broken down as follow:

 

(€’000)   

Development

costs

   

Patents,

licences,
trademarks

    Software     Total  

Cost:

        

At January 1, 2013

     549        11,844        110        12,503   

Additions

     458        —          —          458   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2013

  1,007      11,844      110      12,961   

Additions

  50      —        —        50   

Acquisition of subsidiary (Note 2.14.1)

  —        1,493      —        1,493   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2014

  1,057      13,337      110      14,504   

Accumulated amortisation

At January 1, 2013

  (21   (2,839   (28   (2,888

Amortisation charge (Note 2.24)

  (61   (592   (20   (673
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2013

  (82   (3,431   (48   (3,561

Amortisation charge (Note 2.24)

  (64   (592   (21   (677
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2014

  (146   (4,023   (69   (4,238

Net book value

Cost

  1,007      11,844      110      12,961   

Accumulated amortisation

  (82   (3,431   (48   (3,561
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2013

  925      8,413      62      9,400   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cost

  1,057      13,337      110      14,504   

Accumulated amortisation

  (146   (4,023   (69   (4,238
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2014

  911      9,314      41      10,266   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The capitalised development costs relate to the development of C-Cath ez. Since May 2012 and the CE marking of C-Cath ez , the development costs of C-Cath ez are capitalized and depreciated over the estimate residual intellectual property protection as of the CE marking (15 years and 16 years respectively in 2014 and 2013). No other development costs have been capitalised up till now. All C-Cure related development costs have been assessed as not being eligible for capitalisation and have therefore been recognised in the income statement as research and development expenses.

Patents, Licenses and Trademarks relate to the following items:

 

Ø   A licence, granted in August 2007 by Mayo Clinic (for an amount of k€9,500) upon the Group’s inception and an extension to the licensed field of use, granted on 29 October 2010 for a total amount of k€2,344. The licence and its extension are amortised straight line over a period of 20 years.

 

Ø   Patents acquired upon the acquisition of CorQuest LLC in November 2014. The fair value of these intellectual rights was estimated at k€1,492 (See Note 2.14.1). These patents are amortised over 18 years, corresponding to the remaining intellectual property protection filed for the first patent application in 2012.

Management has not identified any impairment indicators in relation to the intangible assets as mentioned above. Therefore no impairment exercise was performed and hence no impairment losses were recognized.

 

 

 

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2.7     Property, plant and equipment

 

(€’000)    Equipment     Furnitures     Leasehold     Total  

Cost:

        

At January 1, 2013

     1,340        167        543        2,050   

Additions

     41        9        23        73   

Disposals

     (7     —          —          (7
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2013

  1,374      176      566      2,116   

Additions

  566      —        24      590   

Disposals

  (39   (9   —        (48
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2014

  1,901      167      590      2,658   

Accumulated depreciation:

At January 1, 2013

  (974   (160   (533   (1,667

Depreciation charge (note 2.24)

  (204   (6   (3   (213

Disposals

  7      —        —        7   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2013

  (1,171   (166   (536   (1,873

Depreciation charge (note 2.24)

  (175   (1   (11   (187
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2014

  (1,346   (167   (547   (2,060
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book value

Cost

  1,374      176      566      2,116   

Accumulated depreciation

  (1,171   (166   (536   (1,873
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2013

  203      10      30      243   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cost

  1,901      167      590      2,658   

Accumulated depreciation

  (1,346   (167   (547   (2,060
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2014

  555      —        43      598   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Property, Plant and Equipment is mainly composed of office furniture, leasehold improvements, and laboratory machinery and equipment.

Finance leases

Lease contracts considered as finance lease relate to some contracts with financial institutions and relate to laboratory and office equipment. All finance leases have a maturity of three years and were initiated since March 2008. A key common feature is that they include an option to purchase the leased asset at the end of the three-year-lease term. The carrying value of plant and equipment held under finance leases at 31 December 2014 was €422,556 (31 December 2013 was €137,512). The carrying value corresponds to the net asset value of the leases at the end of period and includes the purchase option price.

2.8     Non current financial assets

 

(€’000)

   As of December 31,      As of
January 1,
 
      2014      2013      2013  

Deposits

     108.59         140.12         150.53   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  108.59      140.12      150.53   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The non-current financial assets are composed of security deposits paid to the lessors of the building leased by the Group and to Social Security Contribution.

 

 

 

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2.9     Trade receivable, advances and other current assets

 

(€’000)

   As of December 31,      As of
January 1,
 
      2014      2013      2013  

Trade receivable

        

Trade receivable

     30.75         149.34         216.79   

Advance deposits

     701.08         —           —     

Other receivables

     98.04         271.94         88.20   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade and Other receivables

  829.87      421.28      304.99   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Grants and Recoverable Cash Advances

  1,008.82      —        —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Prepaid expenses

  211.77      122.91      249.25   

VAT receivable

  388.54      —        137.85   

Other receivables

  191.92      —        —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Other current assets

  792.23      122.91      387.10   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2014, other receivables mainly relate to advance deposits made to the CHART-2 clinical vendors.

Grants and Recoverable Cash Advances refer to amounts due by the Walloon Region and are related to Recoverable Cash Advances and grants agreements.

Impairment of receivables is assessed on an individual basis at the end of each accounting year.

As per December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, no receivable was overdue. There were no carrying amounts for trade and other receivables denominated in foreign currencies and no impairments were recorded.

2.10     Short term investments

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,      As of
January 1,
 
      2014      2013      2013  

Short term investments

     2,670.88         3,000.00         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  2,670.88      3,000.00          —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Amounts recorded as short term investments in the current assets correspond to short term deposits with fixed interest rates. Short-term deposits are made for variable periods depending on the short term cash requirements of the Group. Interest is calculated at the respective short-term deposit rates.

2.11     Cash and cash equivalents

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,      As of
January 1,
 
      2014      2013      2013  

Cash at bank and on hand

     27,633.10         19,058.26         1,645.03   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  27,633.10      19,058.26      1,645.03   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash at banks earn interest at floating rates based on daily bank deposit rates.

 

 

 

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2.12     Subsidiaries fully consolidated

 

Name    Country of
Incorporation and
Place of Business
     Nature of Business   

Proportion of

ordinary
shares directly
held by parent
(%)

    Proportion of
ordinary shares
held by the
group (%)
    Proportion of
ordinary shares
held by non-
controlling
interests (%)
 

Cardio3 Inc

     US       Biopharma      100     100     0

CorQuest

     US       Medical Device      100     100     0

Cardio3 Inc was incorporated in 2011 to support clinical and regulatory activities of the Group in the US. It has little activities and shows a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 of respectively $71,132 and $6,397. The initiation of the CHART-2 trial should generate material activities in the course of 2015.

Corquest Inc was acquired on November 5, 2014. Corquest Inc. is developing Heart XS, a new access route to the left atrium. Further details on the acquisition are disclosed in Note 2.14.1.

2.13     Investment in joint venture

 

Name   Country of
Incorporation and
Place of Business
   Nature of Business   Ownership
interests
(%)
  Nature of
relationship
  Measurement
method

Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd

 



Hong-Kong

  



Pharmaceuticals

  40%   Note 1   Equity Method

Note 1: Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd is a joint venture created in July 2014 with Medisun International, a financial partner and shareholder of the Group. The joint venture aims to initiate the clinical development of C-Cure and further commercialize C-Cure in Greater China. The Group owns 40% of the shares of Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd. The Group will contribute its know-how in clinical operations and regulatory offers, and will bear the cost of production of C-Cure clinical batches of the upcoming Phase III clinical trial to be conducted in Greater China.

Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd is a private company and there is no quoted market price available for its shares.

 

(€’000)    2014  

At January 1

     —     

Incorporation of JV

     312   

Share of (loss) for the period

     (252

FX adjustment

     8   
  

 

 

 

At December 31

  68   
  

 

 

 

The Group has no commitments relating to its joint venture and there are no contingent liabilities relating to the Group’s interest in the joint venture.

Summarized financial information for the joint venture:

Set out below is the summarized financial information for Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd which is accounted for using the equity method.

 

 

 

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Summarized balance sheet :

 

(€’000)   

As of December 31,

2014

 

Current

  

Cash and cash equivalents

     429   
  

 

 

 

Total current assets

  429   
  

 

 

 

Other current liabilities

  824   
  

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

  824   
  

 

 

 

Non-current assets

  565   
  

 

 

 

Total non-current assets

  565   
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

  170   
  

 

 

 

Summarized statement of comprehensive loss :

 

(€’000)    For year ended
December 31, 2014
 

Revenue

     —     

Depreciation and amortisation

     (5

Operating expense

     (624

Interest income

     —     
  

 

 

 

Pre-tax loss from continuing operations

  (629
  

 

 

 

Income tax expense

  —     
  

 

 

 

Post-tax loss from continuing operations

  (629
  

 

 

 

Total comprehensive loss

  (629
  

 

 

 

The information above reflects the amounts presented in the consolidated financial statements of the joint venture. There are no differences in accounting policies between the Group and the joint venture.

Reconciliation of summarised financial information :

Reconciliation of the summarized financial information presented to the carrying amount of the interest in the joint venture.

 

(€’000)    2014  

Opening equity incorporation JV

     780   

FX adjustment on equity as per Dec.31. 2014

     19   

Loss for the period

     (629
  

 

 

 

Closing net assets

  170   
  

 

 

 

Interest in joint venture

  40
  

 

 

 

Interest in net assets of joint venture

  68   
  

 

 

 

Carrying value

  68   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2.14    Business Combinations

2.14.1 Corquest Medical, Inc.

On November 5, 2014 the Group acquired a 100% interest in CorQuest Medical, Inc. (‘CorQuest’), a US private company based in Miami (Florida), through a single cash payment of k€1,500. With this acquisition, the Group intends to strengthen its Medical Device division. The CorQuest technology platform is fully complementary with Cardio3 BioSciences’ C-Cathez ® and C-Cure ® programs. The acquisition of CorQuest and the development of these technologies will not significantly affect the Company’s burn rate over the two coming years. However, the acquisition of an extra medical device with a potential to market by 2016, as well as other therapeutic applications, will enable the Company to create multiple short term value creation milestones for its shareholders. Although no workforce is transferred, this transaction is considered as a business combination since the Group acquired inputs and processes in the form of intellectual property and will be able to progress this intellectual property further through the appropriate clinical and regulatory approval processes with the aim of obtaining EC mark approval by the end of 2016 which would allow commercialisation in Europe. In order to guarantee the transfer of knowledge an exclusive consultancy agreement was concluded with one of the sellers.

The following table summarises the consideration paid for Corquest as well as the provisional fair value of assets acquired at the acquisition date.

 

Consideration at November 5, 2014 (€’000)  

Cash

     1,500   
  

 

 

 

Total consideration transferred

  1,500   
  

 

 

 

 

Recognised amounts of identifiable assets acquired (€’000)        

Licences & Patents

     1,493   

Trade and Other Receivables

     7   
  

 

 

 

Total identifiable net assets

  1,500   
  

 

 

 

This acquisition has been subject to a Purchase Price Allocation process which consists in booking, at “fair value”, all the assets and liabilities of a target company acquired in the consolidated balance sheet of the acquiring company. The acquired assets and liabilities have been valued at fair value by the Group with the assistance of an independent third-party valuation firm.

The fair value of the acquired assets was determined on a provisional basis. The fair value as stated is provisional because the integration process of the acquired entity and its activities is still ongoing. The provisional fair value of acquired assets can change when the final fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed is established.

The “Licences and Patents” of CorQuest can be considered as its only significant asset. It has been valued using a Risk-Adjusted Net Present Value (“rNPV”) method. Patents acquired are depreciated over 18 years, corresponding to the remaining intellectual property protection filed for the first patent application in 2012 ( See Note 2.6).

No cash or cash equivalents were acquired.

No deferred tax liability has been provisionally recorded on the PPA step up of intangible assets since the company intends to elect for IRS Section 338 which will lead to creating a tax deductible depreciation in the US Tax books.

 

 

 

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There were no revenues contributed by Corquest Medical, Inc in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. Since 5 November 2014 all expenses associated to the development of the assets acquired were incurred by the Company itself. Had Corquest Medical, Inc. been consolidated from 1 January 2014, the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss would show an additional pro-forma loss of $124,643.70.

There were no material acquisition-related costs related to the acquisition of Corquest Medical, Inc.

2.14.2    Oncyte LLC

On 21 January 2015, the Company acquired 100% of the share capital of Oncyte LLC from Celdara Medical LLC in exchange for a cash consideration of USD 6 million and 93,087 new shares of Cardio3 BioSciences for a total value of USD 4 million, or (EUR 3,451,680). The fair value of the 93,087 ordinary shares issued as part of the consideration paid for Oncyte LLC was based on a share price of EUR 37.08, the share price at the date of acquisition.

Oncyte LLC is the company holding the CAR T-Cell portfolio of clinical-stage immuno-oncology assets. The portfolio includes three autologous CAR T-Cell cell therapy products and an allogeneic T-Cell platform, targeting a broad range of cancer indications. CAR T-Cell immuno-oncology represents one of the most promising cancer treatment areas today. The lead portfolio candidate CAR-NKG2D is expected to start U.S. Phase I trial Q1 2015. The final results are expected by mid-2016.

Although no workforce is transferred, this transaction is considered as a business combination since the Group will be able to produce outputs based on the inputs acquired and processes transferred in the form of intellectual property. The transfer of knowledge to the Group is guaranteed by the conclusion of a service agreement between the Group and the seller.

The following table summarises the consideration paid for Oncyte LLC, the provisional fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date.

 

Consideration at January 21, 2015 (€’000)        

Cash

     5,181   

Equity instruments (93,087 ordinary shares)

     3,452   

Contingent Consideration

     36,267   
  

 

 

 

Total consideration transferred

  44,900   
  

 

 

 
Recognised amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed (€’000)        

In-process research and development

     44,900   
  

 

 

 

Total identifiable net assets

  44,900   
  

 

 

 

This acquisition has been subject to a Purchase Price Allocation, process which consists in booking, at “fair value”, all the assets and liabilities of a target company acquired in the consolidated balance sheet of the acquiring company. The acquired assets and liabilities have been valued at fair value by the Group with the assistance of an independent third-party valuation firm.

The fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed was determined on a provisional basis. The fair value as stated here above is provisional because the integration process of the acquired entity and its

 

 

 

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activities is still ongoing. The provisional fair value of acquired assets and liabilities assumed can change when the final fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed is established.

The Intangible asset of Oncyte can be considered as its only significant asset.

The sales price also includes a provisional estimate of the fair value of the contingent consideration payment, the potential remaining part of the purchase price, based on future outcome of the research and development and potential future sales that are estimated, through a risk-adjusted Net Present Value, at USD 42 million (considering the impact of the discount and the probability of success). For the successful development of the most advanced product CAR-NKG2D, the seller could receive up to USD 50 million in development and regulatory milestones until market approval. The seller will be eligible to additional payments on the other products upon achievement of development and regulatory milestones totalling up to USD 21 million per product. In addition, the seller will receive up to USD 80 million in sales milestones when net sales will exceed USD 1 billion and royalties ranging from 5 to 8%. The provisional estimate of fair value for contingent consideration is subject to change as the Company finalizes its accounting for the acquisition of Oncyte.

No deferred taxes have been taken up in the overview of provisional fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed since the company intends to elect for IRS Section 338 which will lead to creating a tax deductible depreciation in the US Tax books.

No revenues are included in the consolidated financial statements of 2014 since Oncyte LLC was only acquired in 2015.

Had Oncyte LLC been consolidated from January 1, 2014, the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss would show pro-forma revenue of €146 and loss of €16,625.

No material acquisition-related costs have been charged to the consolidated income statement for the year ended December 31, 2014.

2.15    Share Capital & convertible loans

The number of shares issued is expressed in units.

 

     As of December 31,  
      2014      2013  

Number of ordinary shares

     7,040,387         6,332,792   

Share Capital (€’000)

     24,615         22,138   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total number of issued and outstanding shares

  7,040,387      6,332,792   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total share capital (€’000)

  24,615      22,138   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2014, the share capital amounts to €24,615k represented by 7,040,387 fully authorized and subscribed and paid-up shares with a nominal value of €3.50. This number does not include warrants issued by the Company and granted to certain directors, employees and non-employees of the Company.

History of the capital of the Company

The Company has been incorporated on July 24, 2007 with a share capital of €62,500 by the issuance of 409,375 class A shares. On August 31, 2007, the Company has issued 261,732 class A shares to Mayo Clinic by way of a contribution in kind of the upfront fee that was due upon execution of the Mayo Licence for a total amount of €9,500,000.

 

 

 

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Round B Investors have participated in a capital increase of the Company by way of a contribution in kind of a convertible loan (€2,387,049) and a contribution in cash (€4,849,624 of which €1,949,624 uncalled) on December 23, 2008; 204,652 class B shares have been issued at the occasion of that capital increase. Since then, the capital is divided in 875,759 shares, of which 671,107 are class A shares and 204,652 are class B shares.

On October 29, 2010, the Company closed its third financing round resulting in a capital increase totalling €12,100,809. The capital increase can be detailed as follows:

 

Ø   capital increase in cash by certain existing investors for a total amount of €2,609,320.48 by the issuance of 73,793 class B shares at a price of €35.36 per share;

 

Ø   capital increase in cash by certain existing investors for a total amount of €471,240 by the issuance of 21,000 class B shares at a price of €22.44 per share;

 

Ø   capital increase in cash by certain new investors for a total amount of €399,921.60 by the issuance of 9,048 class B shares at a price of €44.20 per share;

 

Ø   exercise of 12,300 warrants (“Warrants A”) granted to the Round C investors with total proceeds of €276,012 and issuance of 12,300 class B shares. The exercise price was €22.44 per Warrant A;

 

Ø   contribution in kind by means of conversion of the loan C for a total amount of €3,255,524.48 (accrued interest included) by the issuance of 92,068 class B shares at a conversion price of €35.36 per share;

 

Ø   contribution in kind by means of conversion of the loan D for a total amount of €2,018,879.20 (accrued interest included) by the issuance of 57,095 class B shares at a conversion price of €35.36 per share. The loan D is a convertible loan granted by certain investors to the Company on 14 October 2010 for a nominal amount of €2,010,000.

 

Ø   contribution in kind of a payable towards Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research for a total amount of €3,069,911 by the issuance of 69,455 class B shares at a price of €44.20 per share. The payable towards Mayo Clinic was related to (i) research undertaken by Mayo Clinic in the years 2009 and 2010, (ii) delivery of certain materials, (iii) expansion of the Mayo Clinical Technology Licence Contract by way the Second Amendment dated 18 October 2010.

On May 5, 2011, pursuant the decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting, the capital was reduced by an amount of €18,925,474 equivalent to the outstanding net loss as of 31 December 2010.

On May 6, 2013 and May 31, 2013, the Company closed its fourth financing round, the ‘Round D financing’. The convertible loans E, F, G and H previously recorded as financial debt were converted in shares which led to an increase in equity for a total amount of €28,645k of which € 5,026k is accounted for as capital and € 6,988k as share premium. The remainder (€16,631k) is accounted for as other reserves. Furthermore a contribution in cash by existing shareholders of the Company led to an increase in share capital and issue premium by an amount of €7,000k.

At the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting of June 11, 2013 all existing classes of shares of the Company have been converted into ordinary shares. Preferred shares have been converted at a 1 for 1 ratio and subsequently.

On July 7, 2013, the Company completed its Initial Public Offering. The Company issued 1,381,500 new shares at €16.65 per shares, corresponding to a total of €23,002k.

 

 

 

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On July 17, 2013, the over-allotment option was fully exercised for a total amount of €3,450k corresponding to 207,225 new shares. The total IPO proceeds amounted to €26,452k and the capital and the share premium of the Company increased accordingly.

The costs relating to the capital increases performed in 2013 amounted to €2.8 million and are presented in deduction of share premium.

On June 11, 2013, the Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting of Cardio3 BioSciences SA authorized the Board of Directors to increase the share capital of the Company, in one or several times, and under certain conditions set forth in extenso in the articles of association. This authorization is valid for a period of five years starting on July 26, 2013 and until July 26, 2018. The Board of Directors may increase the share capital of the Company within the framework of the authorized capital for an amount of up to €21,413k.

Over the course of 2014, the capital of the Company was increased in June 2014 by way of a capital increase of €25,000k represented by 568,180 new shares fully subscribed by Medisun International Limited.

The capital of the Company was also increased by way of exercise of Company warrants. Over four different exercise periods, 139,415 warrants were exercised resulting in the issuance of 139,415 new shares. The capital and the share premium of the Company were therefore increased respectively by €488k and €500k.

As of December 31, 2014 all shares issued have been fully paid.

 

 

 

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The following share issuances occurred during 2013 and 2014:

 

Category    Transaction date    Description   

# of

shares

     Par value (in €)  

Class A shares

   July 24, 2007    Company incorporation      409,375         0.15   

Class A shares

   August 31, 2007    Contribution in kind (upfront
fee Mayo Licence)
     261,732         36.30   

Class B shares

   December 23, 2008    Capital increase (Round B)      137,150         35.36   

Class B shares

   December 23, 2008    Contribution in kind (Loan B)      67,502         35.36   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Contribution in cash      21,000         22.44   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Contribution in kind (Loan C)      92,068         35.36   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Contribution in kind (Loan D)      57,095         35.36   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Contribution in cash      73,793         35.36   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Exercise of warrants      12,300         22.44   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Contribution in kind (Mayo
receivable)
     69,455         44.20   

Class B shares

   October 28, 2010    Contribution in cash      9,048         44.20   

Class B shares

   May 6, 2013    Contribution in kind (Loan E)      118,365         38,39   

Class B shares

   May 6, 2013    Contribution in kind (Loan F)      56,936         38,39   

Class B shares

   May 6, 2013    Contribution in kind (Loan G)      654,301         4,52   

Class B shares

   May 6, 2013    Contribution in kind (Loan H)      75,755         30,71   

Class B shares

   May 31, 2013    Contribution in cash      219,016         31,96   

Class B shares

   June 4, 2013    Conversion of warrants      2,409,176         0,01   

Ordinary shares

   June 11, 2013    Conversion of Class A and
Class B shares in ordinary
shares
     4,744,067         —     

Ordinary shares

   July 9, 2013    Initial Public Offering      1,381,500         16.65   

Ordinary shares

   July 17, 2013    Exercise of over-allotment
option
     207,225         16.65   

Ordinary shares

   January 31, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
September 2008
     5,966         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   January 31, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
May 2010
     333         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   January 31, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
January 2013
     120,000         4.52   

Ordinary shares

   May 5, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
September 2008
     2,366         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   June 16, 2014    Capital increase      284,090         44.00   

Ordinary shares

   June 30, 2014    Capital increase      284,090         44.00   

Ordinary shares

   August 4, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
September 2008
     5,000         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   August 4, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
October 2010
     750         35.36   

Ordinary shares

   November 3, 2014    Exercise of warrants issued in
September 2008
     5,000         22.44   

 

 

 

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(€000)                                      
Date    Nature of the transactions    Share Capital      Share premium      Number of shares      Nominal value  
   Balance as of January 1st, 2013      9,975         —           1,210,518         9,975   
   Issue of shares related to exercise of warrants      24         —           2,409,176         24   
   Capital increase by issuance of ordinary common shares (after deduction of transaction costs)      12,139         30,474         2,713,098         45,466   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
Balance as of December 31, 2013   22,138      30,474      6,332,792      55,465   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(€000)                                      
Date    Nature of the transactions    Share Capital      Share premium      Number of shares      Nominal value  
   Balance as of January 1, 2014      22,138         30,474         6,332,792         55,465   
   Issue of shares related to exercise of warrants      488         500         139,415         988   
   Capital increase by issuance of ordinary common shares (after deduction of transaction costs)      1,989         21,899         568,180         25,000   
   Share based payments      —           429         —           429   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
Balance as of December 31, 2014   24,615      53,302      7,040,387      81,882   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of January 1, 2013, the company had Class A shares of 671,107 and Class B shares of 539,411, respectively, totalling 1,210,518, which along with 1,124,373 Class B shares issued in 2013 and 2,409,176 warrants converted into Class B shares in 2013 were converted into 4,744,067 ordinary common shares in 2013. The total number of shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 totals 7,040,387 and 6,332,792, respectively, and are ordinary common shares.

2.16    Share based payments

The Company operates an equity-based compensation plan, whereby warrants are granted to directors, management and selected employees and non-employees. The warrants are accounted for as equity-settled share-based payment plans since the Company has no legal or constructive obligation to repurchase or settle the warrants in cash.

Each warrant gives the beneficiaries the right to subscribe to one common share of the Company. The warrants are granted for free and have an exercise price equal to the fair market price of the underlying shares at the date of the grant, as determined by the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

 

 

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Movements in the number of warrants outstanding and their related weighted average exercise prices are as follows:

 

      2014      2013  
      Weighted
average
exercise
price (in €)
     Number of
warrants
     Weighted
average
exercise
price (in €)
     Number of
warrants
 

Outstanding as of January 1

     5.32         404,961         28.77         114,645   

Granted

     35.79         49,000         3.24         373,150   

Forfeited

     2.64         15,950         29.14         82,834   

Exercised

     7.09         139,415         —           —     

Expired

     22.44         1,666         —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

At December 31

  9.57      296,930      5.32      404,961   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Warrants exercised in 2014 resulted in 139,415 shares being issued at a weighted average price of € 7.09 each. In 2013 no warrants were exercised. For those exercised in 2014 the related weighted average share price at the time of exercise was € 31,31.

Warrants outstanding at the end of the year have the following expiry date and exercise price:

 

Grant date    Vesting date      Expiry date      Number of
warrants
outstanding as
of 31
December,
2014
     Number of
warrants
outstanding as
of 31
December, 2013
     Exercise
price per
share
 

September 26, 2008

     Sep 26, 2011         Dec 31, 2014         —           19,165         22.44   

May 5, 2010 (warrants B)

     May 5, 2010         May 5, 2016         5,000         5,000         35.36   

May 5, 2010 (warrants C)

     May 5, 2013         May 5, 2016         2,298         3,464         22.44   

October 29, 2010

     Oct 29, 2013         Oct 28, 2020         6,882         7,632         35.36   

January 31, 2013

     Dec 31, 2013         Jan 31, 2023         —           120,000         4.52   

May 6, 2013

     May 6, 2016         May 6, 2023         233,750         249,700         2.64   

May 5, 2014

     May 5, 2017         May 5, 2024         49,000            35.79   
        

 

 

    

 

 

    
  296,930      404,961   
        

 

 

    

 

 

    

Warrants issued on January 31, 2013

On January 31, 2013, the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting issued a total of 140,000 Personnel Warrants. Out of the 140,000 warrants, 120,000 were granted to certain members of the Executive Management Team and a pool of 20,000 warrants was created. The exercise price of these warrants is €4.52. The warrants attributed to certain members of the Executive Management Team were fully vested at December 31, 2013. The warrants attributed to the Executive Management Team add a 10 years exercise period, as from January 1, 2014 and were all exercised in January 2014 and therefore converted into ordinary shares.

The remaining 20,000 warrants were not granted and therefore lapsed.

 

 

 

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Warrants issued on May 6, 2013

At the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting of May 6, 2013, a plan of 266,241 warrants was approved. Warrants were offered to Company’s employees and management team. Out of the 266,241 warrants offered, 253,150 warrants were accepted by the beneficiaries and 233,750 warrants are outstanding on the date hereof.

The 253,150 warrants will be vested in equal tranches over a period of three years. The warrants become 100% vested after the third anniversary the issuance. The warrants that are vested can only be exercised at the end of the third calendar year following the issuance date, thus starting on January 1, 2017. The exercise price amounts to €2.64. Warrants not exercised within 10 years after issue become null and void.

Warrants issued on May 5, 2014

At the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting of May 5, 2014, a plan of 100,000 warrants was approved. Warrants were offered to Company’s new comers (employees, non-employees and directors) in several tranches. Out of the warrants offered, 49,000 warrants were accepted by the beneficiaries and 49,000 warrants are outstanding on the date hereof.

The 100,000 warrants will be vested in equal tranches over a period of three years. The warrants become 100% vested after the third anniversary the issuance. The warrants that are vested can only be exercised at the end of the third calendar year following the issuance date, thus starting on January 1, 2018. The exercise price amounts of the different tranches amount respectively to €35.79 and €39.22. Warrants not exercised within 10 years after issue become null and void.

The fair value of the warrants has been determined at grant date based on the Black-Scholes formula. The variables, used in this model, are:

 

     Warrants issued on  
     

May 5, 2010

(warrants B)

    

May 5, 2010

(warrants C)

    

October 29,

2010

     January 31,
2013
     May 6,
2013
     May 5,
2014 1
 

Number of warrants issued

     5,000         30,000         79,500         140,000         266,241         100,000   

Number of warrants granted

     5,000         21,700         61,050         120,000         253,150         49,000   

Number of warrants not fully vested as of December 31, 2014

     —           2,298         6,882         —           233,750         100,000   

Value of shares

     22.44         22.44         35.36         4.52         14.99         35.79   

Exercise price (in €)

     35.36         22.44         35.36         4.52         2.64         35.79 4   

Expected dividend yield

     —           —           —           —           

Expected share value volatility

     35.60%*         35.60%*         35.60%*         35.60%*         39.55%*         67.73%²   

Risk-free interest rate

     3.31%         3.31%         3.21%         2.30%         2.06%         1.09%   

Fair value (in €)

     5.72         9.05         9.00         2.22         12.44         26.16³   

Weighted average remaining contractual life

     1.42         1.42         5.78         8.09         8.35         9.35   

 

( * )     Expected volatility has been determined based on the benchmark of peer companies
( 1 )     Warrants issued on May 5, 2014 are offered in several tranches, in May 2014, September 2014 and December 2014. Assumptions on each tranche are disclosed in the following notes

 

 

 

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( 2 )     The volatility has been determined based on the stock price evolution post IPO: 67.73% in May 2014, 60.84% in September 2014 and 58.17% in December 2014.
( 3 )     The fair value of the three tranches are 26.16€ in May 2014, 26.75€ in September 2014 and 22.56€ in December 2014.
( 4 )     The value of shares and exercise price of the three tranches are 35.79€ in May 2014 and 39.22€ in September 2014.

The total net expense recognised in the income statement for the outstanding warrants totals € 1,527k for 2014 (2013: € 1,258k).

2.17    Post-employment benefits

 

(€000)    As of December 31,  
      2014      2013  

Pension obligations

     182         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  182      —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The Group operates a pension plan which requires contributions to be made by the Group to an insurance company. Because of the Belgian legislation applicable to 2nd pillar pension plans (so-called “Law Vandenbroucke”), all Belgian defined contribution plans have to be accounted for under IFRS as defined benefit plans because of the minimum guaranteed returns on these plans.

Prior to 2014, the Group did not apply the defined benefit accounting for these plans because higher discount rates were applicable and the return on plan assets provided by the insurance company was sufficient to cover the minimum guaranteed return. As a result of continuous low interest rates offered by the European financial markets, in 2014 Cardio 3 Biosciences has decided to measure and account for the potential impact of defined benefit accounting for these pension plans with a minimum fixed guaranteed return because of the higher financial risk related to these plans than in the past. The prior year financial statements were not revised due to such effect not being material.

The contributions to the plan are determined as a percentage of the yearly salary. There are no employee contributions. The benefit also includes a death in service benefit.

The amounts recognised in the balance sheet are determined as follows:

 

     As of December 31,  
(€’000)        2014             2013      

Present value of funded obligations

     1,073        738   

Fair value of plan assets

     (891     (727
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deficit of funded plans

  182      11   

Total deficit of defined benefit pension plans

  182      11   

Liability in the balance sheet

  182      0   

As explained above the liability as per December 31, 2013 is not recognized as it is not material to the financial statements. Interest expense / (income) and remeasurements for 2013 have not been calculated as these were assessed as not material since discount rate as per January 1, 2013 is comparable to the one used as per December 31, 2013 and participants to the post-employment plan have not changed substantially between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.

 

 

 

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The movement in the defined benefit liability over the year is as follows:

 

(€’000)    Present value
of obligation
    Fair value
of plan
assets
    Total  

As of January 1, 2013

     597        586        11   

Current service cost

     141          141   

Interest expense / (income)

     —          —          —     

Remeasurements

     —          —          —     

Employer contributions

     —          141        (141
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As of January 1, 2014

  738      727      11   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Current service cost

  190      190   

Interest expense/(income)

  26      28      (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  954      755      199   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Remeasurements

- return on plan assets, excluding amounts included in interest expense/(income)

  (15   15   

- (Gain)/loss from change in financial assumptions

  177      177   

- Experience (gains)/losses

  (38   (38
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  139      (15   154   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Employer contributions:

  171      (171

Benefits Paid

  -20      -20      0   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2014

  1,073      891      182   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The charge included in operating profit for post-employment benefits amount to:

 

(€’000)    2014     2013  

Current service cost

     190        141   

Interest expense on DBO

     26        —     

Interest (income) on plan assets

     (28     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total defined benefit costs at December 31, 2014

  188      141   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The re-measurements included in other comprehensive loss amount to:

 

(€’000)    2014     2013  

Effect of changes in financial assumptions

     177        —     

Effect of experience adjustments

     (38     —     

Return on plan assets

     15        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 31, 2014

  154      —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Plan assets relate all to qualifying insurance policies. The significant actuarial assumptions as per December 31, 2014 were as follows:

Demographic assumptions:

 

Ø   Mortality tables: MR-5 year for the men, MR-5 year for the women

 

Ø   Withdrawal rate: 5% each year

 

 

 

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Economic assumptions:

 

Ø   Yearly inflation rate: 1,75%

 

Ø   Yearly salary raise: 1,5% (above inflation)

 

Ø   Yearly discount rate: 2%

If the discount rate would decrease/increase with 0,25%, the defined benefit obligation would increase resp. decrease with 2,2% and 5%.

The above sensitivity analysis is based on a change in an assumption while holding all other assumptions constant. In practice, this is unlikely to occur, and changes in some of the assumptions may be correlated. When calculating the sensitivity of the defined benefit obligation to significant actuarial assumptions the same method (present value of the defined benefit obligation calculated with the projected unit credit method at the end of the reporting period) has been applied as when calculating the pension liability recognised within the statement of financial position.

Through its defined benefit pension plan, the Group is exposed to a number of risks, the most significant of which are detailed below:

 

Ø   Changes in discount rate: a decrease in discount rate will increase plan liabilities;

 

Ø   Inflation risk: the pension obligations are linked to inflation, and higher inflation will lead to higher liabilities. The majority of the plan’s assets are either unaffected by or loosely correlated with inflation, meaning that an increase in inflation will also increase the deficit.

The investment positions are managed by the insurance company within an asset-liability matching framework that has been developed to achieve long-term investments that are in line with the obligations under the pension schemes.

Expected contributions to pension benefit plans for the year ending December 31, 2015 are k€176. The weighted average duration of the defined benefit obligation is estimated at 28 years.

2.18    Advances repayable

 

(€’000)    2014      2013  

Total Non-Current portion as of January 1

     12,072         11,157   

Total Non-Current portion at December 31

     10,778         12,072   

Total Current portion as of January 1,

     429         685   

Total Current potion at December 31

     777         429   

The Group receives government support in the form of recoverable cash advances from the Walloon Region in order to compensate the research and development costs incurred by the Group. These advances are recognised in the income statement as other operating income over the period in which the Group recognises the expenses for which the advances are intended to compensate.

The advances received only become contingently reimbursable if certain conditions are met. Assessing if these conditions are met (or not) can only reasonably be performed at the end of the ‘research phase’. At the end of this research phase, the Group should, within a period of six months, decide whether or not to exploit the results of the research programs (‘decision phase’). In the event the Group decides to exploit

 

 

 

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the results under an RCA, the relevant RCA becomes contingently refundable to the Walloon Region and the company applies the recognition criteria of IAS 37 related to liability recognition, with any amounts being recognized as a reduction of other operating income in the income statement.

The total estimated amount to be reimbursed as per December 31, 2014 includes the sales-independent reimbursements as well as the sales-dependent reimbursements and interests (if applicable) if the reimbursement of these amounts is probable. The contingent liability is discounted using a discount rate made up of two components: a risk free rate reflecting the maturity of the advances repayable and the spread reflecting the Company credit risk.

The amounts recorded under ‘Current Advances Repayable’ correspond to the sales-independent amounts estimated to be repaid to the Region in the next 12 months period. Non-current Advances repayable are the sum of the estimated sales-independent and sales-dependent reimbursements discounted using a discount rate of 12.5%.

Each year, the Group reassesses the amounts to be reimbursed based on the updated sales projections over the reimbursement period.

For 2014 no new advances were recognized as contingently repayable.

In 2014, the Company notified the Region of its decision to not exploit the outcome of two RCAs related to the industrialization of the C-Cure production process in bioreactors (Agreement n°5914 and 6548), resulting in a decrease of estimated amounts to be reimbursed of €0.5 million.

Reference is made to the table below which shows (i) the year for which amounts under those agreements have been received and initially recognised in the income statement as other operating income and (ii) a description of the specific characteristics of those recoverable cash advances including repayment schedule and information on other outstanding advances.

As per December 31, 2014, the Company has received a total of €16,951k in recoverable cash advances out of a total contractual amount of €18,733k. Taking into account the unused amounts of the terminated contracts, the residual amount to receive out of the existing contracts amounts to €1,782k and should be received over 2015 and 2016 depending on the progress of the different programs partially funded by the Region.

 

(in €’000)                    Amounts received for the years ended December 31      Amounts yet to
receive
 
Contract
number
   Project      Contractual
amount
     Previous
years
     2013      2014      Total      2015 and beyond  

5160

     C-Cure         2,920         2,920         —           —           2,920         —     

5731

     C-Cure         3,400         3,400         —           —           3,400         —     

5914

     C-Cure         700         687         —           —           687         —     

5915

     C-Cath ez         910         910         —           —           910         —     

5951

     Industrialization         1,470         866         —           —           866         604   

6003

     C-Cure         1,729         1,715         —           —           1,715         —     

6230

     C-Cure         1,084         1,083         —           —           1,084         —     

6363

     C-Cure         1,140         1,020         106         —           1,126         —     

6548

     Industrialization         660         418         124         —           541         119   

6633

     C-Cath ez         1,020         920         100         —           1,020         —     

6646

     Proteins         1,200         450         —           —           450         750   

7027

     C-Cath ez         2,500         —           625         1,607         2,232         268   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  18,733      14,389      955      1,607      16,951      1,741   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(in €’000)                         as of December 31, 2014  

Contract

number

   Contractual
amount
     Total      2015 and
beyond
     Status      Contingent
liability
recognized
(before
discounting)
     Amount
reimbursed
(cumulative)
 

5160

     2,920         2,920         —           Exploitation         2,920         —     

5731

     3,400         3,400         —           Exploitation         3,400         —     

5914

     700         687         —           Abandoned            180   

5915

     910         910         —           Exploitation         910         180   

5951

     1,470         866         604         Research         —           —     

6003

     1,729         1,715         —           Exploitation         1,715         —     

6230

     1,084         1,083         —           Exploitation         1,084         —     

6363

     1,140         1,126         —           Exploitation         1,126         241   

6548

     660         541         119         Abandoned         —           —     

6633

     1,020         1,020         —           Exploitation         1,020         32   

6646

     1,200         450         750         Research         —           —     

7027

     2,500         2,232         268         Research         —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

       

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  18,733      16,951      1,741      12,175      633   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

       

 

 

    

 

 

 

The contracts 5160, 5731, 5914, 5915 and 5951 have the following specific characteristics:

 

Ø   funding by the Region covers 70% of the budgeted project costs;

 

Ø   certain activities have to be performed within the Region;

 

Ø   in case of an outlicensing agreement or a sale to a third party, Cardio3 BioSciences will have to pay 10% of the price received (excl. of VAT) to the Region;

 

Ø   sales-independent reimbursements, sales-dependent reimbursements, and amounts due in case of an outlicensing agreement or a sale to a third party, are, in the aggregate, capped at 100% of the principal amount paid out by the Region;

 

Ø   sales-dependent reimbursements payable in any given year can be set-off against sales-independent reimbursements already paid out during that year;

 

Ø   the amount of sales-independent reimbursement and sales-dependant reimbursement may possibly be adapted in case of an outlicensing agreement, a sale to a third party or industrial use of a prototype or pilot installation, when obtaining the consent of the Walloon Region to proceed thereto.

The other contracts have the following specific characteristics:

 

Ø   funding by the Region covers 60% of the budgeted project costs;

 

Ø   certain activities have to be performed within the European Union;

 

Ø   sales-independent reimbursements represent in the aggregate 30% of the principal amount;

 

Ø   sales-dependent reimbursements range between 50% and 200% (including accrued interest) of the principal amount of the RCA depending on the actual outcome of the project compared to the outcome projected at the time of grant of the RCA (below or above projections);

 

Ø   interests (at Euribor 1 year (as applicable on the first day of the month in which the decision to grant the relevant RCA was made + 100 basis points) accrue as of the 1 st day of the exploitation phase;

 

Ø   the amount of sales-independent reimbursement and sales-dependant reimbursement may possibly be adapted in case of an outlicensing agreement, a sale to a third party or industrial use of a prototype or pilot installation, when obtaining the consent of the Region to proceed thereto.

 

 

 

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Ø   sales-independent reimbursements and sales-dependent reimbursements are, in the aggregate (including the accrued interests), capped at 200% of the principal amount paid out by the Region;

 

Ø   in case of bankruptcy, the research results obtained by the Company under those contracts are expressed to be assumed by the Region by operation of law.

The table below summarizes, in addition to the specific characteristics described above, certain terms and conditions for the recoverable cash advances:

 

Contract

number

  Research
phase
  Percentage
of total
project
costs
  Turnover-
dependent
reimbursement
 

Turnover-

independent
reimbursement

  Interest
rate
accrual
 

Amounts due in
case of licensing (per

year) resp. Sale

(€’000)                              

5160

  01/05/05-
30/04/08
  70%   0.18%   Consolidated with 6363   N/A   N/A

5731

  01/05/08-
31/10/09
  70%   0.18%   Consolidated with 6363   N/A   N/A

5914

  01/09/08-
30/06/11
  70%   5.00%   30 in 2012 and 70 each year after   N/A   10% with a minimum of 100/Y

5915

  01/08/08-
30/04/11
  70%   5.00%   40 in 2012 and 70 each year after   N/A   10% with a minimum of 100/Y

5951

  01/09/08-
31/08/11
  70%   5.00%   100 in 2014 and 150 each year after   N/A   10% with a minimum of 200/Y

6003

  01/01/09-
30/09/11
  60%   0.18%   Consolidated with 6363   N/A   N/A

6230

  01/01/10-
31/03/12
  60%   0.18%   Consolidated with 6363   N/A   N/A

6363

  01/03/10-
30/06/12
  60%   0.18%   From 103 to 514 starting in 2013 until 30% of advance is reached   Starting
on
01/01/13
  N/A

6548

  01/01/11-
31/03/13
  60%   0.01%   From 15 to 29 starting in 2014 until 30% of advance is reached   Starting
on
01/10/13
  N/A

6633

  01/05/11-
30/11/12
  60%   0.27%   From 10 to 51 starting in 2013 until 30% of advance is reached   Starting
on
01/06/13
  N/A

6646

  01/05/11-
30/04/13
  60%   0.01%   From 12 to 60 starting in 2015 until 30% of advance is reached   Starting
on
01/01/14
  N/A

7027

  01/11/12-
31/10/14
  50%   0.33%   From 25 to 125 starting in 2015 until 30% of advance is reached   Starting
on
01/01/15
  N/A

 

 

 

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In 2015 and 2016, the Company will have to make exploitation decisions on the remaining RCAs (Agreement 5951, 6646 and 7027) with a potential recognition of an additional contingent liability of €3.5 million (maximum undiscounted amount). This amount is determined based on the amount effectively perceived by the Company as of December 31, 2014.

2.19    Trade payables and other current liabilities

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,      As of
January 1,
2013
 
          2014              2013         

Total trade payables

     4,042         2,169         1,770   

Other current liabilities

        

Social security

     242         155         174   

Payroll accruals and taxes

     825         539         415   

Other current liabilities

     33         18         275   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total other current liabilities

  1,100      712      864   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Trade payables (composed of supplier’s invoices and accruals for supplier’s invoices not yet received at closing) are non-interest bearing and are normally settled on a 60-day terms. Other current liabilities are non-interest bearing and have an average term of six months. Fair value equals approximately the carrying amount of the trade payables and other current liabilities.

The Other current liabilities include the short term debts to employees and social welfare and tax agencies.

No discounting was performed to the extent that the amounts do not present payments terms longer than one year at the end of each fiscal year presented.

2.20    Maturity analysis of financial liabilities

The table below analyses the Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities into relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period at the balance sheet date to the contractual maturity date. The amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash flows.

Financial liabilities as of December 31, 2013:

 

(€’000)    Total      Less than one
year
     One to five
years
     More than five
years
 

As of December 31, 2013

           

Financial leases

     109         81         28         —     

Trade payables and other current liabilities

     2,881         2,881         —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

  2,990      2,962      28      —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial liabilities posted as of December 31, 2014:

 

(€’000)    Total      Less than one
year
     One to five
years
     More than five
years
 

As of December 31, 2014

           

Financial leases

     425         140         285         —     

Trade payables and other current liabilities

     5,142         5,142         —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

  5,567      5,282      285      —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2.21    Financial instruments by category

 

     As of December 31, 2013  
(€’000)    Loans and
    receivables    
         Total      

Assets as per balance sheet

     

Deposits

     140         140   

Trade and other receivables

     422         422   

Other current assets

     123         123   

Short term investment

     3,000         3,000   

Cash and cash equivalents

     19,058         19,058   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  22,743      22,743   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the financial assets as mentioned above, the carrying amount as per December 31, 2013 is a reasonable approximation of their fair value.

 

     As of December 31, 2013  
(€’000)    Financial liabilities
at amortised cost
     Total  

Liabilities as per balance sheet

     

Finance lease liabilities

     106         106   

Trade payables and other current liabilities

     2,881         2,881   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  2,987      2,987   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the financial liabilities as mentioned above the carrying amount as per December 31, 2013 is a reasonable approximation of their fair value.

 

     As of December 31, 2014  
(€’000)    Loans and
    receivables    
         Total      

Assets as per balance sheet

     

Deposits

     109         109   

Trade and other receivables

     830         830   

Other current assets

     1,801         1,801   

Short term investment

     2,671         2,671   

Cash and cash equivalents

     27,633         27,633   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  33,044      33,044   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the financial assets as mentioned above, the carrying amount as per December 31, 2014 is a reasonable approximation of their fair value.

 

     As of December 31, 2014  
(€’000)    Financial
liabilities at
amortised cost
     Total  

Liabilities as per balance sheet

     

Finance lease liabilities

     413         413   

Trade payables and other current liabilities

     5,142         5,142   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  5,555      5,555   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For the financial liabilities as mentioned above the carrying amount as per December 31, 2013 is a reasonable approximation of their fair value.

2.22    Deferred taxes

The following table shows the reconciliation between the effective and theoretical tax expense at the theoretical standard Belgian tax rate of 33.99% (excluding additional contributions):

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014             2013      

Loss before taxes

     (16,453     (14,489

Theoretical group tax rate

     33.99     33.99

Theoretical tax gain

     5,592        4,925   

Increase/decrease in tax expense arising from:

    

Permanent differences (1)

     378        970   

Fair value convertible loans

     —          (394

Share-based compensation

     (519     (428

C3BS Asia

     21        —     

Capitalization of R&D costs

     (4,634     (2,721

Depreciation of Mayo license

     (42     (42

Recoverable cash advances

     794        (136

Other temporary differences

     (10     —     

Non recognition of deferred tax assets related to statutory tax losses

     (1,806     (2,494

Non taxable statutory losses

     226        320   

Effective tax gain / (expense)

     —          —     

Effective tax rate

     —       —  

 

(1)     The significant balance of permanent differences is mainly affected by transaction costs on capital increases occurred in 2014 and 2013. These transaction costs are booked in equity and are subject to a tax deduction

Unrecognized deferred tax assets:

 

(€’000)    For the year ended
December 31,
 
      2014     2013  

Net loss carried forward

     (44,504     (39,192

Opening temporary differences

     (20,883     (12,354

Amortization of intangibles

     118        111   

Recoverable cash advances

     2,336        (400

Capitalization of development costs

     (13,873     (8,240

Post employment benefits

     (183  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total temporary differences of the period

  (11,602   (8,529
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accumulated temporary differences

  (32,485   (20,883

Total IFRS tax losses carried forward and Deductible temporary difference (net)

  (76,989   (60,075

Unrecognised deferred tax assets

  26,169      20,419   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Group has unused tax losses carried forward that are available indefinitely for offset against future taxable profits of the Group. In addition to the net loss carried forward, the Group can benefit from additional tax benefits (notional interest deduction) which can be carry-forward for a period of 7 years.

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,  
          2014             2013      

Notional interest

     (1,861     (1,861

The Group has a history of losses and significant uncertainty exists surrounding the Group’s ability to realise taxable profits in the near future. Therefore, the Group did not recognise any deferred tax assets in respect of these losses, unless sufficient taxable temporary differences were available by which these deferred tax assets can be offset.

The table below present the accumulated deferred tax assets and liabilities as per end of the periods.

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,  
      2014     2013  

Deferred tax assets

     30,074        23,490   

Deferred tax liabilities

     (3,905     (3,071

Unrecognized deferred tax assets

     26,169        20,419   

The statutory tax rate is 33.99%. It should be noted that the Group has obtained on October 14, 2009 a tax ruling issued by the Belgian tax authorities by whom the Group is allowed to exempt 80% of all future revenues originated from patents and licences registered in the books of the Group. The tax ruling has no expiration date and will be applicable until the patents will fall in the public domain.

2.23    Other reserves

 

(€’000)    Note      Share based
payment
reserve
    Convertible
loan
    Translation     Total  

Balance as of January 1, 2013 as previously reported

        1,006        11,406        —          12,412   

Effect of restatement

     2.36           (11,406       (11,406
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of January 1, 2013 (restated)

  1,006      —        —        1,006   

Contribution in kind convertible loans

  2.15      —        16,631      —        16,631   

Vested share-based payments

  2.16      274      —        —        274   

Restatement share-based payments

  2.36      984      984   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2013 (restated)

  2,264      16,631      —        18,894   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Vested share-based payments

  2.16      1,527      —        —        1,527   

Exercise of warrants

  (429   (429

Currency Translation differences subsidiaries

  —        —        (18   (18

Currency Translation differences joint venture

  2.13      8      8   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2014

  3,362      16,631      (10   19,982   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2.24    Depreciation and amortisation

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
      2014      2013  

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

     187         213   

Amortisation of intangible assets

     677         673   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total depreciation and amortisation

  864      886   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

2.25    Employee benefit expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Salaries, wages and bonuses

     3,113         2,151   

Executive Management team compensation

     1,448         1,126   

Share based payments

     1,527         1,258   

Social security

     889         666   

Post employment benefits

     188         141   

Hospitalisation insurance

     30         22   

Other benefit expenses

     3         4   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Employee expenses

  7,198      5,368   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

Headcount    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Research & Development

     65.8         46   

General and administrative staff

     8.9         5   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Headcount

  74.7      51   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

2.26    Research and Development expenses

The following expenses are aggregated and presented under the caption ‘Research and development expenses’ in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss:

 

  -   Manufacturing expenses;
  -   Clinical, Quality and Regulatory expenses;
  -   Other research and development expenses.

Manufacturing expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Employee expenses

     1,501         842   

Contractor fees

     402         76   

Pilot Plan consulting fees

     348         289   

Raw materials

     2,060         988   

Rent & utilities

     234         133   

Other manufacturing costs

     591         87   

Total Manufacturing expenses

     5,136         2,415   

 

 

 

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Clinical, quality and regulatory expenses

 

      2014      2013  

Employee expenses

     1,780         1,460   

Study cost

     4,924         2,169   

IP filing & maintenance fees

     351         360   

Travel & living

     249         180   

Consulting fees

     436         269   

Other costs

     12         34   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Clinical, quality and regulatory expenses

  7,752      4,472   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other research and development expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014             2013      

Employee expenses

     954        898   

Mayo research Project

     751        4   

Pre-clinical studies

     274        275   

Delivery systems

     51        459   

Other costs

     120        67   

R&D consultant fees

     13        29   

Capitalization C-Cath ez development costs

     (50     (459
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Subtotal

  2,113      1,273   

Depreciation and amortization

  864      886   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Other research and development expenses

  2,977      2,159   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

2.27    General administrative expenses

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Employee expenses

     1,408         910   

Share-based payment

     1,528         1,258   

Rent

     315         323   

Communication & Marketing

     394         206   

Consulting fees

     741         975   

Travel & Living

     399         147   

Post employment benefits

     28         —     

Other

     203         153   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total General and administration

  5,016      3,972   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2.28    Other operating income

Other operating income is related to government grants received. For the government grants received in the form of recoverable cash advances (RCAs) we refer to note 2.18 for more information.

 

(€’000)    For the year ended 31 December  
              2014                      2013          

Recoverable cash advances (RCAs)

     2,791         955   

Subsidies

     636         129   

Reversal provision for reimbursement RCA

     507         —     

Additional provision for reimbursement RCA

     —           (1,020

Realized gain on contribution IP into joint venture

     312         —     

Other

     167         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Operating Income

  4,413      64   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

2.29    Operating leases

The Group has entered into various leasing contracts for the purpose of renting buildings and equipment. These leases have an average life of three to five years with no renewal option included in the contracts. There are no restrictions placed upon the Group by entering into these leases.

Operating lease expenses amounts to €709k in 2014 and €576k in 2013.

Future minimum rentals payable under non-cancellable operating leases as of December 31 are detailed as follows:

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Within one year

     751         624   

After one year but no more than five years

     767         1,068   

More than five years

     165         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Operating leases

  1,683      1,692   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

2.30    Finance income and expense

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Interest shareholders loans

     —           401   

Interest finance leases

     6         6   

Interest on overdrafts and other finance costs

     16         19   

Fair value convertible loans

     —           1,158   

Exchange Differences

     19         11   

Finance expenses

     41         1,595   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Interest income bank account

  277      48   

Exchange Differences

  —        12   

Finance income

  277      60   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2.31    Loss per share

The loss per share is calculated by dividing loss for the year by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. As the Group is incurring net losses, outstanding warrants have an anti-dilutive effect. As such, there is no difference between the basic and the diluted earnings per share. In case the warrants would be included in the calculation of the loss per share, this would decrease the loss per share.

 

(€’000)    As of December 31,  
      2014     2013  

Loss of the year attributable to Equity Holders

     (16,453     (14,489

Weighted average number of shares outstanding

     6,750,383        4,099,216   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Earnings per share (non-fully diluted)

  (2.44   (3.53
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

2.32    Contingent assets and liabilities

As mentioned in note 2.18 the Group has to reimburse certain government grants received in the form of recoverable cash advances under certain conditions. For more information we refer to note 1.18.

Over 2015 and 2016, the Group will have to make exploitation decisions on the remaining RCAs (Agreement 5951, 6646 and 7027) with a potential recognition of an additional contingent liability of €3.5 million (maximum undiscounted amount).

2.33    Commitments

2.33.1    Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Based on the terms of the second amendment of the licence agreement dated October 18, 2010, the Company is committed to the following payments:

Undirected research grants

The Company will fund research in the Field at Mayo Clinic of $1,000,000 per year for four years beginning in or after 2015, as soon as the Company has had both a first commercial sale of a Licensed Product and a positive cash flow from operations in the previous financial year. The Company will have an exclusive right of first negotiation to acquire an exclusive license to inventions that are the direct result of work carried out under these grants. In case the Company exercises its option to negotiate, but no agreement is reached within a certain period, then Mayo Clinic during the following nine-month period cannot enter into a licence with a third party.

Royalties

The Company will pay a 2% royalty (on net commercial sales by itself or its sub-licensees) to Mayo Clinic, for all of the products that absent the Mayo Licence would infringe a valid claim of a Licensed Patent (each, a “Licensed Product”), during a royalty period (on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis) beginning on the date of first commercial sale of such Licensed Product and ending on the earlier of: (i) 15 years from first commercial sale; (ii) the date on which such Licensed Product is no longer covered by a valid claim of a Licensed Patent in the territories in which it is sold; (iii) or termination of the Mayo Licence.

Currently no liability has been accounted for by the Group for these variable payments to Mayo Foundation.

 

 

 

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2.33.2    Corquest Inc

Based on the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement dated November 5, 2014, former shareholders of Corquest Inc will be entitled to an earn-out payment based on the net revenues generated by the Company, which revenues should be generated from the selling or divesting, in all or in part, of Proprietary Intellectual Property Rights of the Company to a third party.

As from the November 5, 2014 date until the tenth anniversary of the Agreement, former shareholders of Corquest Inc are entitled to:

 

Ø   an Earn-Out royalty of 2% if Net Revenue are bellow or equal to 10 million euro

 

Ø   or an Earn-Out royalty of 4% if Net Revenue are higher than 10 million euro

2.34    Related-party transactions

2.34.1    Remuneration of key management

Key management consists of the members of the Executive Management Team and the entities controlled by any of them.

 

     As of December 31,  
      2014      2013  

Number of Management Members

     6         4   

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
          2014              2013      

Short term employee benefits [1]

     275         —     

Post employee benefits

     —           —     

Share-based compensation

     976         1,029   

Other employment costs [2]

     —        

Management fees

     1,239         987   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total benefits

  2,490      2,016   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

[1]     Include salaries, social security, bonuses, lunch vouchers
[2]     Such as Company cars

 

     As of December 31,  
      2014      2013  

Number of warrants granted

     17,500         294,500   

Number of warrants lapsed

     —           60,000   

Cumulative outstanding warrants

     192,225         294,725   

Exercised warrants

     120,000         —     

Outstanding payables (in ‘000€)

     363         216   

Shares owned

     166,160         96,768   

 

 

 

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2.34.2     Transactions with non-executive directors

 

     For the year ended December 31,  
(€’000)    2014      2013  

Share-based compensation

     46         —     

Management fees

     54         22   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total benefits

  100      22   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     As of December 31,  
      2014      2013  

Number of warrants granted

     5,000         —     

Number of warrants lapsed

     —           —     

Number of exercised warrants

     10,000         —     

Cumulative outstanding warrants

     12,904         15,400   

Outstanding payables (in ‘000€)

     —           27   

Shares owned

     3,317,283         485,278   

2.34.3     Transactions with shareholders

 

     For the year ended December 31,  
(€’000)        2014              2013      

Rent (1)

     299         249   

Patent costs (2)

     592         592   

Scientific collaboration (3)

     754         —     

Other

     —        
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

  1,645      841   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

[1]     Relate to lease paid to Biological Manufacturing Services, company controlled by Tolefi SA
[2]     Relate to Mayo License depreciation
[3]     Relate to directed research grant paid to Mayo Clinic under License Agreement

 

     As of December 31,  
(€’000)    2014      2013  

Outstanding payables

     76         115   

2.35     Events after the balance sheet date

2.35.1    Acquisition of Oncyte LLC

On January 21, 2015, the Company acquired 100% of the share capital of Oncyte LLC from Celdara Medical LLC in exchange for a cash consideration of USD 6 million and new shares of Cardio3 BioSciences for a total value of USD 4 million. The sales price also includes a contingent consideration payment based on future outcome of the research and development and potential future sales provisionally estimated to USD 42 million (considering the impact of the discount and the probability of success). For the successful development of the most advanced product CAR-NKG2D, the seller could receive up to USD 50 million in development and regulatory milestones until market approval. The seller will be eligible to additional payments on the other products upon achievement of development and regulatory milestones totalling up to USD 21 million per product. In addition, the seller will receive up to USD 80 million in sales milestones when net sales will exceed USD 1 billion and royalties ranging from 5 to 8%.

 

 

 

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Oncyte LLC is the company holding the CAR T-Cell portfolio of clinical-stage immuno-oncology assets. The portfolio includes three autologous CAR T-Cell cell therapy products and an allogeneic T-Cell platform, targeting a broad range of cancer indications. CAR T-Cell immuno-oncology represents one of the most promising cancer treatment areas today. The lead portfolio candidate CAR-NKG2D is expected to start U.S. Phase I trial Q1 2015. The final results are expected by mid-2016.

2.35.2     Private placement of €31.7 million on March 3, 2015

On March 3, 2015, the Company completed a €31.7 million capital increase via a private placement subscribed by qualified institutional investors in the United States and Europe at a price of €44.50 per share. The placed shares represent 10% of the current number of outstanding shares, bringing the total number of shares outstanding after the issue to 7,847,187, and the capital of the Company to €27,438,380.63. The net proceeds, after deduction of the placement fees amount to € 29.8 million and will be dedicated to:

 

Ø   Further develop its newly acquired CAR-T cell technology platform;

 

Ø   Strengthen the leadership of C-Cure ® for the treatment of congestive heart failure, and;

 

Ø   For general corporate purposes.

2.36    Restatement of 2013 financial statements: correction of prior period errors

The financial statements of the Group of 2013 were restated to reflect a co rrection in the IFRS accounting treatment of the shareholders convertible loans as well as a change in the IFRS 2 calculations for the fair value of the warrants that were issued on May 6, 2013.

The restatement for the IFRS accounting treatment of the shareholders convertible loans is related to the reconsideration of the shareholders convertible loans E, F, G and H as financial debt, instead of equity (previously called ‘quasi equity’) as originally reflected in the 2013 financial statements. After due consideration with its auditors, the Group decided that the shareholders convertible loans should have been accounted for as a financial debt, because the loans were convertible into a variable number of shares. This correction in the IFRS accounting treatment triggers the valuation of this financial debt at redemption amount at inception and at each subsequent reporting date up till conversion in May 2013. The redemption amount of this financial debt as per December 31, 2012 amounts to € 26,9 million. Therefore equity as per January 1, 2013 decreased with € 26,9 million compared to previously reported figures. The increase in the financial liability led to an additional loss of € 1,1 million in the 2013 income statement. An amount of € 0,6 million has also been reclassified from equity to liability before May 2013. The financial liability before conversion in May 2013 therefore amounted to € 28,6 million, including € 0,6 million. Due to the conversion of these convertible loans in May 2013, the amount of the financial liability has been reclassified into equity, leading to an increase in equity by € 28,6 million. The total net equity of the Group as of 31 December 2013 remains unchanged.

The restatement due to a correction in the IFRS 2 calculations for the fair value of the warrants that were issued on May 6, 2013 led to an additional loss of € 1 million in the 2013 income statement and to an increase in the other reserves with the same amount. Therefore there is no impact on total equity as per December 31, 2013. The restatement was done to take into account the value of the shares at the moment of IPO in July 2013 amounting to EUR 16,65 whereas the value of the shares was previously determined at EUR 2,64.

These adjustments have no impact on the net cash position of the Company as of January 1, 2013 and as of December 31, 2013 as these are non-cash adjustments.

 

 

 

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Tables below show the 2013 consolidated statement of financial position and of comprehensive loss as it was originally reported and the restated financials.

2013 Consolidated statement of financial position

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
      2013
(reported)
    2013
(restated)
 

NON-CURRENT ASSETS

     9,783        9,783   

Intangible assets

     9,400        9,400   

Property, Plant and Equipment

     243        243   

Investment accounted for using the equity method

     —          —     

Other non-current assets

     140        140   

CURRENT ASSETS

     22,603        22,603   

Trade and Other Receivables

     422        422   

Grants receivables

     —          —     

Other current assets

     123        123   

Short term investments

     3,000        3,000   

Cash and cash equivalents

     19,058        19,058   

TOTAL ASSETS

     32,386        32,386   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

EQUITY

  16,898      16,898   

Share Capital

  22,138      22,138   

Share premium

  30,474      30,474   

Other reserves

  675      18,894   

Retained loss

  (36,389   (54,608

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

  12,099      12,099   

Finance leases

  27      27   

Advances repayable

  12,072      12,072   

Post employment benefits

  —        —     

CURRENT LIABILITIES

  3,389      3,389   

Finance leases

  79      79   

Convertible loan

Advances repayable

  429      429   

Trade payables

  2,169      2,169   

Other current liabilities

  712      712   

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES

  32,386      32,386   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Consolidated statement of comprehensive loss

 

(€’000)    For the year ended December 31,  
      2013
(reported)
   

2013

(restated)

 

Revenue

     —          —     

Cost of sales

     —          —     

Gross profit

     —          —     

Research and Development expenses

     (9,046     (9,046

General administrative expenses

     (2,987     (3,972

Other operating income

     64        64   

Operating Loss

     (11.969     (12,954

Financial income

     60        60   

Financial expenses

     (437     (1,595

Loss before taxes

     (12,346     (14,489

Income taxes

     —          —     

Loss for the year

     (12,346     (14,489
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share (in €)

  (3.01   (3.53
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive loss

Other comprehensive loss for the year, net of tax

  —        —     

Total comprehensive loss for the year

  (12,346   (14,489

Total comprehensive loss for the year attributable to Equity Holders

  (12,346   (14,489
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Independent Auditor’s Report

To the Members and Board of Directors of Celdara Medical, LLC

Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statement

We have audited the accompanying statements of financial position of OnCyte Clinical Trials Program (the carved-out operations of certain activities of Celdara Medical, LLC) as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the related statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), changes in net parent company investment, and cash flows for the years then ended.

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; this includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits 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.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Opinion

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the OnCyte Clinical Trials Program as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

/s/ Gallagher, Flynn & Company, LLP

February 26, 2015

South Burlington, Vermont, USA

 

 

 

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ONCYTE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM

(CARVE-OUT OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OF CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013

 

 

 

      2014      2013  
ASSETS   

CURRENT ASSETS

  

Accounts receivable

   $ 171,765       $ 257,314   

Prepaid expenses

     4,182         2,344   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current assets

  175,947      259,658   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

EQUIPMENT, at cost, net of accumulated depreciation of $27,899 in 2014 and $9,701 in 2013

  27,296      45,494   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

OTHER ASSETS

Patent development costs

  38,942      —     

Prepaid technology licensing fees, less current portion

  35,545      22,271   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
  74,487      22,271   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

$ 277,730    $ 327,423   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
LIABILITIES AND NET PARENT COMPANY INVESTMENT   

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Accrued expenses

$ 212,314    $ 177,282   

Deferred income, current portion

  10,919      18,198   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

  223,233      195,480   

DEFERRED INCOME, less current portion

  29,544      49,189   

NET PARENT COMPANY INVESTMENT

  24,953      82,754   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities and net parent company investment

$ 277,730    $ 327,423   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

 

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ONCYTE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM

(CARVE-OUT OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OF CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013

 

 

 

      2014     2013  

GRANT INCOME

    

Cost reimbursement

   $ 954,791      $ 1,318,520   

Fixed fees

     50,823        76,435   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
  1,005,614      1,394,955   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

COSTS OF OPERATIONS

Direct costs

  903,707      944,144   

Indirect costs

  330,178      390,867   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
  1,233,885      1,335,011   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

NET INCOME (LOSS)

  (228,271   59,944   

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME, NET OF TAX

  —        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

$ (228,271 $ 59,944   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

 

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ONCYTE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM

(CARVE-OUT OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OF CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET PARENT COMPANY INVESTMENT

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013

 

 

 

NET PARENT COMPANY INVESTMENT, JANUARY 1, 2013

$ 212,677   

Parent company repayments during the year, net

  (189,867

Net comprehensive income for the year

  59,944   
  

 

 

 

NET PARENT COMPANY INVESTMENT, DECEMBER 31, 2013

  82,754   

Parent company advances and investments during the year, net

  170,470   

Net comprehensive loss for the year

  (228,271
  

 

 

 

NET PARENT COMPANY INVESTMENT, DECEMBER 31, 2014

$ 24,953   
  

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

 

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ONCYTE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM

(CARVE-OUT OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OF CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC)

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013

 

 

 

      2014     2013  

INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

    

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

    

Net comprehensive income (loss)

   $ (228,271   $ 59,944   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Noncash items included in net comprehensive income (loss):

Depreciation

  20,543      11,703   

Changes in assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable

  85,549      57,815   

Prepaid expenses

  —        8,579   

Accrued expenses

  17,575      39,292   

Deferred income

  (26,924   49,304   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
  96,743      166,693   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

  (131,528   226,637   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH FLOW FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Patent development costs

  (38,942   —     

Purchase of equipment

  —        (36,770
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

  (38,942   (36,770
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Contributions from (repayments to) parent, net

  170,470      (189,867
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
  170,470      (189,867
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

  —        —     

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of year

  —        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of year

$ —      $ —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flows Information:

Cash paid during the year for:

Interest expense

$ —      $ —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income taxes

$ —      $ —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

 

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ONCYTE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM

(CARVE-OUT OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OF CELDARA MEDICAL, LLC)

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2014 AND 2013

 

 

A) SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Operations:

Celdara Medical, LLC, (“Celdara,” “Parent”) is a bio-tech company building academic and early-stage innovations into high-potential medical companies, identifying discoveries of exceptional value at the earliest stages and moving them toward the market. OnCyte Clinical Trial Program (“the Program”) is one of Celdara’s research programs.

Accounting policies:

A summary of the significant accounting policies applied by the Program is as follows:

1.     Basis of presentation

As described in greater detail in Note E, on January 21, 2015, the Program and all related intellectual property rights were sold by Celdara Medical, LLC to a newly-formed entity called OnCyte, LLC in exchange for the full membership interest in OnCyte, LLC. Simultaneously, the membership interest in OnCyte, LLC was sold to Cardio3 Biosciences, SA (a Belgian Company, “C3BS”) for $6,000,000 in cash, $4,000,000 in stock subscriptions in C3BS plus C3BS’ assumption of all liabilities related to the Program (including the agreements described in Note C).

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America from the financial statements of Celdara Medical, LLC. These financial statements have been prepared solely to demonstrate its historical results of operations, financial position, and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 under Celdara Medical, LLC’s management that are specifically identifiable to the Program, which utilized the intellectual property sold into OnCyte LLC, which was subsequently sold to C3BS.

The assets and liabilities in the financial statements have been reflected on a historical cost basis, as included in the historical statements of financial position of the Parent.

The statements of comprehensive income (loss) include “direct costs” that are allocated to the Program by the Parent for certain functions that are attributable exclusively to the Program, such as personnel, equipment and lab supplies, subaward expenses, and consulting fees. Fringe benefits are allocated to the Program as a direct cost as a percentage of salaries and wages based upon the ratio of actual costs of fringe benefits to total salaries and wages for the Parent as a whole.

The statements of comprehensive income (loss) also include “indirect costs” that are allocated to the Program at a rate of 40% of indirect costs based upon an indirect cost rate established by the National Institute of Health for Facilities and Administrative costs for Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Grants of 40% of the direct Program costs. Indirect costs consist of costs incurred by Celdara as a whole for facilities, administration, information systems, finance, risk management, corporate legal costs, and other shared costs and are allocated to the Program. Certain costs, such as salaries, may be allocated as either direct or indirect costs to projects depending on the nature of the work performed.

 

 

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Management believes the assumptions underlying the financial statements, including the assumptions regarding allocating general corporate expenses from the Parent, are reasonable. Nevertheless, the financial statements may not include all actual expenses that would have been incurred by the Program and may not reflect the combined results of operations, financial position and cash flows had it been a standalone business during the periods presented. Actual costs that would have been incurred if the Program had been a stand-alone business would depend on multiple factors, including organizational structure and strategic decisions made in various areas, including information technology and infrastructure, facilities, and personnel.

These financial statements do not intend to represent the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of Celdara Medical, LLC as a whole.

2.     Income recognition

Income relates to amounts earned under a United States Department of Health and Human Services - National Institute of Health (“NIH”) Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) grant. Income is recognized upon recognition of qualifying costs of the activities under the grant (see Note A3), and a “fixed fee” as a percentage of total costs pursuant to the grant agreement. Income related to amounts received from the NIH for reimbursement of equipment costs are deferred until related depreciation costs are recognized.

3.     Expense recognition

Expenses of the Program are recognized as incurred as described in Note A1.

4.     Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable consists of amounts due from the federal government under a grant from the National Institute of Health. Accounts receivable are stated at the amount the Program expects to collect. Past due balances over 60 days are reviewed for collectability. Uncollectible amounts, if any, are written off through a charge to bad debt expense and a credit to accounts receivable. There was no allowance required as of December 31, 2014 and 2013.

5.     Equipment

Equipment consists of laboratory equipment used in the Program’s activities funded by the SBIR grant (see Note A2). Depreciation is provided for in amounts sufficient to relate the cost of depreciable assets to operations over their estimated service lives, which is seven years. The double-declining method of depreciation is followed for substantially all assets for financial reporting purposes based upon the expected utilization of the equipment.

6.     Patent development costs

Patent costs under development consist of legal costs related to the preparation for filing of applications for patents for various technologies. Upon approval, patent development costs will be amortized by charges to operations on a straight-line basis over their expected useful lives.

 

 

 

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7.     Impairment of long-lived assets

Long-lived assets, such as equipment, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows. An impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. During 2014 and 2013, no impairment losses were required to be recognized.

8.     Income taxes

As a limited liability company, Celdara’s and (as a component of Celdara) the Program’s taxable income or loss is passed through to members in accordance with their respective percentage ownership. Therefore, no provision or liability for income taxes has been included in the financial statements.

Management evaluated Celdara’s tax positions and concluded that Celdara had taken no uncertain tax positions that require adjustment to the Program’s financial statements. With few exceptions, Celdara is no longer subject to income tax examinations by the U.S. federal, state or local tax authorities for years before 2011.

9.     Use of estimates

In preparing financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, management is required to make estimated and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

10.     Net parent company investment

Net parent company investment includes the Parent’s investment in the Program and the net amounts due to or due from the Parent. Recorded amounts reflect capital contributions as well as the results of operations and other comprehensive income (loss). The net parent company investment is also discussed in Note D.

11.     New accounting pronouncements

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.” ASU No. 2013-02 requires companies to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. Additionally, companies are required to disclose these reclassifications by each respective line item on the statements of income. ASU No. 2013-02 is effective for the Program for the year ending December 31, 2014, though the Program has early adopted as permitted. The adoption of this guidance had no impact on the Program’s financial condition or results of operations.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income.” ASU No. 2011-05 eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of shareholders’ equity. All non-owner changes in shareholders’ equity instead must be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive

 

 

 

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income or in two separate but consecutive statements. ASU No. 2011-05 was effective for the Program for the year ended December 31, 2013. The adoption of this guidance had no impact on the Program’s financial condition or results of operations.

12.     Comprehensive income (loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) is the total of net income (loss) plus all other changes in net assets arising from nonowner sources, which are referred to as other comprehensive income (loss). An analysis of changes in the components of accumulated other comprehensive earnings is presented in the statements of comprehensive income (loss). There were no comprehensive income (loss) activities during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

B)     ACCRUED EXPENSES

Accrued expenses consist of the following as of December 31:

 

      2014      2013  

Accrued subaward payments

   $ 112,705       $ 150,146   

Accrued payroll and fringe benefits

     —           11,502   

Accrued materials costs

     —           8,880   

Accrued licensing fees

     75,000         —     

Accrued legal fees

     18,375         —     

Other accrued expenses

     6,234         6,754   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
$ 212,314    $ 177,282   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

C)     COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES – LICENSING AGREEMENTS

The Program has entered into two agreements under which it licenses technology from a third party for an annual fee, fees related to future milestones, and royalties on future sales in the event that the technologies are commercialized.

The first agreement, entered into in April 2010, is for certain technology for a fourteen-year period expiring April 2024. The Program paid an advance fee of $38,520 for the use of certain technology over the life of the agreement. The advance payment is being amortized on a straight-line basis over the life of the agreement. The agreement provides for additional payments to the licensor for various milestones as well as annual payments of $20,000. The Program has recognized a charge to operations and a related liability in the amount of $75,000 in 2014 and $0 in 2013 related to milestone achievement. Total expense related to this agreement was $97,344 in 2014 and 2013. The agreement may be terminated by the licensor if payments related to milestones are not made on a timely basis as defined in the agreement.

The second agreement, entered into during June 2014, is for certain technology for an undefined period that expires pursuant to the expiration of the final patents created, if any, under the use of the technology. The Program paid an advance fee of $18,375 for the use of certain technology over the life of the agreement. The advance payment will be amortized on a straight-line basis over the life of the agreement. The agreement provides for additional payments to the licensor for various milestones as well a payment of $10,000 for the first year and annual payments of $20,000 thereafter payable at the anniversary date of the agreement. Total expense related to this agreement was $10,919 in 2014 and $0 in 2013. The agreement may be terminated by the licensor if payments related to milestones are not made on a timely basis as defined in the agreement.

 

 

 

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Future noncancelable minimum payments due under the licensing agreements are as follows at December 31, 2014:

 

Years Ending December 31,    Amount  

2015

   $ 30,000   

2016

     40,000   

2017

     40,000   

2018

     40,000   

2019

     40,000   

Thereafter

     180,000   
  

 

 

 
$ 370,000   
  

 

 

 

D)     RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The Program is conducted as a component of Celdara Medical, LLC. All income is billed by Celdara and credited to the Program, all operating costs are paid for by Celdara and charged to the Program, and all equipment acquisitions and intangible assets are paid for by Celdara and charged to the Program.

E)     SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

ASC 855, “Subsequent Events,” requires disclosure of the date through which subsequent events have been evaluated, as well as whether the date is the date the financial statements were issued or the date the financial statements were available to be issued. The Program has evaluated subsequent events through February 26, 2015, the date the financial statements were issued. No significant subsequent events have occurred through this date requiring adjustment to the financial statements or disclosures.

On January 21, 2015, the Program and all related intellectual property rights were sold by Celdara Medical, LLC to a newly-formed entity called OnCyte, LLC in exchange for the full membership interest in OnCyte, LLC. Simultaneously, the membership interest in OnCyte, LLC was sold to Cardio3 Biosciences, SA (a Belgian Company, “C3BS”) for $6,000,000 in cash, $4,000,000 in stock subscriptions in C3BS plus C3BS’ assumption of all liabilities related to the Program (including the agreements described in Note C). The agreements also include contingent consideration to be paid to Celdara related to the achievement of developmental milestones and sales targets, and royalties on certain sales volumes.

 

 

 

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LOGO

Through and including                    , 2015 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade ADSs or our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in the global offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.


Table of Contents

  

 

 

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 6.    Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Under Belgian law, the directors of a company may be liable for damages to the company in case of improper performance of their duties. Our directors may be liable to our company and to third parties for infringement of our articles of association or Belgian company law. Under certain circumstances, directors may be criminally liable. We maintain liability insurance for the benefit of our directors and members of our executive management team.

We maintain liability insurance for our directors and officers, including insurance against liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and we intend to enter into agreements with our directors and executive officers to provide contractual indemnification. With certain exceptions and subject to limitations on indemnification under Belgian law, these agreements will provide for indemnification for damages and expenses including, among other things, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding arising out of his or her actions in that capacity.

These agreements may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and executive officers for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and executive officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these insurance agreements.

Certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their employers or partnerships, be insured and/or indemnified against certain liabilities in their capacity as members of our board of directors.

In the underwriting agreement, the form of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement, the underwriters will agree to indemnify, under certain conditions, us, the members of our board of directors and persons who control our company within the meaning of the Securities Act against certain liabilities, but only to the extent that such liabilities are caused by information relating to the underwriters furnished to us in writing expressly for use in this registration statement and certain other disclosure documents.

 

 

 

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INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

Item 7.    Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

Set forth below is information regarding share capital issued and warrants granted by us since January 1, 2012. Some of the transactions described below involved directors, officers and 5% shareholders and are more fully described under the section of the prospectus titled “Certain Relationships and Related-Party Transactions.”

Issuances of Shares

 

Category    Transaction date    Description   

# of

shares

     Issue
price (in €)
 

Class B shares

  

May 6, 2013

   Issue upon contribution in kind (Loan E)      118,365         38.39   

Class B shares

  

May 6, 2013

   Issue upon contribution in kind (Loan F)      56,936         38.39   

Class B shares

  

May 6, 2013

   Issue upon contribution in kind (Loan G)      654,301         4.52   

Class B shares

  

May 6, 2013

   Issue upon contribution in kind (Loan H)      75,755         30.71   

Class B shares

  

May 31, 2013

   Issue upon contribution in cash      219,016         31.96   

Class B shares

  

June 4, 2013

   Issue upon conversion of warrants      2,409,176         0.01   

Ordinary shares

  

June 11, 2013

   Conversion of Class A and Class B shares in ordinary shares      4,744,067         —     

Ordinary shares

  

July 9, 2013

   Issue at Initial Public Offering      1,381,500         16.65   

Ordinary shares

  

July 17, 2013

   Issue upon exercise of over-allotment option      207,225         16.65   

Ordinary shares

  

January 31, 2014

   Issue upon exercise of warrants      5,966         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  

January 31, 2014

   Issue upon exercise of warrants      333         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  

January 31, 2014

   Issue upon exercise of warrants      120,000         4.52   

Ordinary shares

  

May 5, 2014

   Issue upon exercise of warrants      2,366         22.44   

Ordinary shares

  

June 16, 2014

   Issue upon contribution in cash      284,090         44.00   

Ordinary shares

  

June 30, 2014

   Issue upon contribution in cash      284,090         44.00   

Ordinary shares

   August 4, 2014    Issue upon exercise of warrants      5,000         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   August 4, 2014    Issue upon exercise of warrants      750         35.36   

Ordinary shares

   November 3, 2014    Issue upon exercise of warrants      5,000         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   January 21, 2015    Issue upon contribution in in kind      93,087         37.08   

Ordinary shares

   February 7, 2015    Issue upon exercise of warrants      333         22.44   

Ordinary shares

   March 3, 2015    Issue upon contribution in cash      713,380         44.50   

Ordinary shares

   May 11, 2015    Issue upon exercise of warrants      500         22.44   

The offers, sales and issuances of the securities described in the preceding paragraphs were exempt from registration either (a) under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act in that the transactions were between an issuer and sophisticated investors and did not involve any public offering within the meaning of Section 4(a)(2) or (b) under Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act in that offers, sales and issuances were not made to persons in the United States and no directed selling efforts were made in the United States.

 

 

 

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INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

Issuances Under Our Warrant Plans

Since January 1, 2012, we granted to employees, consultants, members of our Scientific Advisory Board and non-employee directors, pursuant to our warrant plans and in exchange for services rendered or to be rendered, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,147,084 ordinary shares with exercise prices ranging from €0.01 to €35.79 per share. Since January 1, 2012, an aggregate of 2,548,924 ordinary shares were issued upon the exercise of warrants issued under our warrant plans, at exercise prices between €0.01 to €35.36 per share, for aggregate proceeds of €1,019,326.88. Since January 1, 2012, an aggregate of 223,686 warrants issued under our warrant plans were cancelled.

As a result, on December 31, 2014, there are 296,930 warrants outstanding which represent approximately 4.05% of the total number of all our issued and outstanding voting financial instruments.

The offers, sales and issuances of the securities described in the preceding paragraph were exempt from registration either (a) under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act in that the transactions were between an issuer and members of its senior executive management and did not involve any public offering within the meaning of Section 4(a)(2), (b) under Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act in that the transactions were under compensatory benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation or (c) under Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act in that offers, sales and issuances were not made to persons in the United States and no directed selling efforts were made in the United States.

Item 8.    Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

(a)    Exhibits.

The exhibits to the registration statement are listed in the Exhibit Index to this registration statement and are incorporated herein by reference.

(b)    Financial Statement Schedules.

All information for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission is either included in the financial statements or is not required under the related instructions or is inapplicable, and therefore has been omitted.

Item 9.    Undertakings.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6 hereof, 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 Securities 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 Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

 

 

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INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

 

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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.

 

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this Amendment No. 2 to registration statement on Form F-1 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Mechelen, Belgium, on June 15, 2015.

 

CELYAD SA

By: 

 

/s/ Christian Homsy

 

Name: Christian Homsy

 

Title: Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment No. 2 to registration statement on Form F-1 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on June 15, 2015.

 

Signature    Title

/s/ Christian Homsy

  

Chief Executive Officer and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

Christian Homsy   
/s/ Patrick Jeanmart   

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

Patrick Jeanmart   
*    Chairman of the Board
Michel Lussier   
*    Director
William Wijns   
*    Director
Serge Goblet   
*    Director
Chris Buyse   
*    Director
Rudy Dekeyser   
*    Director
Jean-Marc Heynderickx   
*    Director
Chris De Jonghe   
*    Director
Hanspeter Spek   
*    Director
Danny Wong   

 

*   Pursuant to Power of Attorney

 

By:   /s/ Christian Homsy
  Christian Homsy

 

 

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number
   Description of Exhibit
  1.1    Form of Underwriting Agreement
  3.1**    Articles of Association (English translation)
  4.1    Form of Deposit Agreement
  4.2    Form of American Depositary Receipt (included in Exhibit 4.1)
  5.1**    Opinion of Allen & Overy LLP, dated May 29, 2015
  8.1**    Tax Opinion of Allen & Overy LLP, dated May 29, 2015
10.1**    Non-Commercial Lease Agreement, dated October 31, 2007, between Immobilière Belin 12 SA and the registrant, as amended (English translation).
10.2    Intentionally omitted
10.3†**    Services Agreement, dated January 7, 2008, between the registrant and Patrick Jeanmart SPRL (English translation).
10.4**    Open-Ended Employment Contract, dated April 2, 2014, between the registrant and George Rawadi (English translation).
10.5**    Employment Agreement, dated as of September 16, 2014, between the registrant and Warren Sherman, MD.
10.6**    Management Services Agreement, dated February 22, 2008, between the registrant and Christian Homsy.
10.7**    Services Agreement, dated November 2, 2010, between the registrant and Peter de Waele.
10.8**    Service Agreement, dated as of December 28, 2014, between the registrant and Vincent Brichard.
10.9**    Exclusive License Agreement, dated April 30, 2010, between the Trustees of Dartmouth College and Celdara Medical, LLC, as amended.
10.10**    Exclusive License Agreement, dated June 27, 2014, between the Trustees of Dartmouth College and Celdara Medical, LLC, as amended.
10.11**    Technology License Contract, dated June 4, 2007, between the registrant and Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, as amended.
10.12**    Stock Purchase Agreement, by and among the registrant and Celdara Medical, LLC, dated as of January 5, 2015.
10.13**    Asset Purchase Agreement, by and among OnCyte, LLC, Celdara Medical, LLC and the registrant, dated January 21, 2015.
10.14**    Share Purchase Agreement, by and between the registrant and Didier de Canniere and Serge Elkiner, dated as of October 31, 2014.
10.15**    Agreement for the Provision of Services for Production of Cardiac Cells between Biological Manufacturing Services and the registrant, dated April 11, 2011 (English translation).
10.16†**    Warrant Plans (English translation)
16.1**    Letter of Ernst & Young.
21.1**    List of Subsidiaries of the registrant
23.1    Consent of PwC Reviseurs d’Entreprises SCCRL
23.2**    Consent of Gallagher, Flynn & Company, LLP
23.3**    Consent of Allen & Overy (included in Exhibits 5.1 and 8.1)
24.1**    Power of Attorney (included on signature page to the original filing of this Registration Statement on Form F-1)

 

 

 

 


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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

 

 

*   To be filed by amendment.
**   Previously filed.
  Indicates a management contract or any compensatory plan, contract or arrangement.
##   Certain exhibits and schedules to these agreements have been omitted from the registration statement pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The registrant will furnish copies of any of the exhibits and schedules to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.

 

 

 

Exhibit 1.1

C ELYAD SA

[●] Ordinary Shares

and

[●] Ordinary Shares

delivered in the form of [●] American Depository Shares

(without nominal value)

U NDERWRITING A GREEMENT

[●], 2015


U NDERWRITING A GREEMENT

[●], 2015

UBS Securities LLC

as Managing Underwriter

c/o UBS Securities LLC

299 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10171-0026

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Celyad SA, a limited liability company ( société anonyme ), incorporated under the laws of Belgium as Cardio3 Biosciences SA (the “ Company ”), proposes to issue and sell to the underwriters named in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “ Underwriters ”), for whom you are acting as representative (the “ Representative ”), an aggregate of (i) [●] ordinary shares, without nominal value (“ Ordinary Shares ”), of the Company (the “ Firm Shares ”) in a private placement in Europe and countries outside the United States and Canada, and (ii) [●] Ordinary Shares to be delivered in the form of American Depository Shares (“ ADS ”) through a public offering in the United States (the “ Firm ADSs ”, and together with the Firm Shares, the “ Firm Securities ”).

In addition, solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments in the context of the offering of the Firm Shares and Firm ADSs, the Company proposes to grant to the Underwriters the option to purchase from the Company up to an additional [●] Ordinary Shares (the “ Additional Shares ”, and together with the Firm Shares, the “ Shares ”) and [●] Ordinary Shares, to be delivered in the form of ADSs (the “ Additional ADSs ”, and together with the Additional Shares, the “ Additional Securities ”). The Firm Securities and the Additional Securities (to the extent that the Over-Allotment Option pursuant to Section 2 is exercised) are collectively referred to as the “ Securities ”. The Securities are described in the Prospectus which is referred to below.

The Company shall, following subscription by the Underwriters of the Securities, deposit, on behalf of the Underwriters, the Ordinary Shares being delivered in the form of Firm ADSs (the “ Firm ADS Shares ”) and the Ordinary Shares being delivered in the form of Additional ADSs (the “ Additional ADS Shares ”, and together with the Firm ADS Shares, the “ ADS Shares ”) with Citibank International Limited as custodian (the “ Custodian ”) for Citbank, N.A., (the “ Depositary ”), which shall deliver the ADSs to the Representative for the account of the several Underwriters for subsequent delivery to the other several Underwriters or the investors, as the case may be.

Each ADS will represent one Ordinary Share and will be evidenced by American Depository Receipts (“ ADRs ”) to be issued by the Depositary, pursuant to the deposit agreement dated [●] 2015 (the “ Deposit Agreement ”) by and among the Company, the Depositary and the holders and beneficial holders from time to time of the ADSs. Each reference herein to an ADR shall include the corresponding ADS and vice versa.


The Company’s board of directors has decided on June [12], 2015, pursuant to article 7 ( capital autorisé ) of the Company’s articles of association (the “ Articles of Association ”), to increase its share capital by issuing the Firm Shares and the Firm ADS Shares and, subject to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option pursuant to Section 2, the Additional Shares and the Additional ADS Shares, without preferential subscription rights for existing shareholders (the “ Capital Increase ”).

The Company has prepared and filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “ Act ”), with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) a registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333- 204251) under the Act, including a prospectus, relating to the registration of the sale of the Securities. The Company has filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-204724) relating to the registration of the Firm ADSs and the Additional ADSs.

Except where the context otherwise requires, “ Registration Statement ”, as used herein, means the registration statement, as amended, at the time of such registration statement’s effectiveness for purposes of Section 11 of the Act, as such section applies to the respective Underwriters (the “ Effective Time ”), including (i) all documents filed as a part thereof, (ii) any information contained in a prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, to the extent such information is deemed, pursuant to Rule 430A or Rule 430C under the Act, to be part of the registration statement at the Effective Time, and (iii) any registration statement filed to register the offer and sale of Securities pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act.

Except where the context otherwise requires, “ Prospectus ”, as used herein, means the prospectus, relating to the Securities, filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act on or before the second business day after the date hereof (or such earlier time as may be required under the Act), or, if no such filing is required, the final prospectus included in the Registration Statement at the time it became effective under the Act, in each case in the form furnished by the Company to you for use by the Underwriters and by dealers in connection with the offering of the Securities.

Preliminary Prospectus ”, as used herein, means, as of any time, the prospectus relating to the Securities that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Effective Time.

Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses ”, as used herein, means the documents listed on Schedule B attached hereto and each “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Act), if any, related to the offering of the Securities contemplated hereby that is a “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) (each such road show, an “ Electronic Road Show ”). The Underwriters have not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, without the Company’s consent, any Securities by means of any “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) that is required to be filed by the Underwriters with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433 under the Act, other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.

Covered Free Writing Prospectuses ”, as used herein, means (i) each “issuer free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 433(h)(1) under the Act), if any, relating to the Securities, which is not a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and (ii) each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.

 

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Exempt Written Communication ”, as used herein, means each written communication, if any, by the Company or any person authorized to act on behalf of the Company made to one or more qualified institutional buyers (“ QIBs ”) as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the Act and/or one or more institutions that are accredited investors (“ IAIs ”), as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Act to determine whether such investors might have an interest in a contemplated securities offering.

Exempt Oral Communication ”, as used herein, means each oral communication made prior to the filing of the Registration Statement by the Company or any person authorized to act on behalf of the Company made to one or more QIBs and/or one or more IAIs to determine whether such investors might have an interest in a contemplated securities offering.

Permitted Exempt Written Communication ”, as used herein, means the documents listed on Schedule B attached hereto.

Covered Exempt Written Communication ”, as used herein, means (i) each Exempt Written Communication that is not a Permitted Exempt Written Communication and (ii) each Permitted Exempt Written Communication.

Disclosure Package ”, as used herein, means, collectively, with the pricing information set forth on Schedule B attached hereto, the Preliminary Prospectus and all Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, considered together.

Applicable Time ”, as used herein, means [●] [“A.M.” / “P.M.”], New York City time, on [●], 2015.

As used in this Agreement, “ business day ” shall mean a day on which The NASDAQ Stock Market and/or Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris are open for trading, as applicable. The terms “herein,” “hereof,” “hereto,” “hereinafter” and similar terms, as used in this Agreement, shall in each case refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular section, paragraph, sentence or other subdivision of this Agreement. The term “or,” as used herein, is not exclusive.

The Company has prepared and filed, in accordance with Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “ Exchange Act ”), a registration statement (as amended, the “ Exchange Act Registration Statement ”) on Form 8-A (File No. [●]) under the Exchange Act to register, under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, the class of securities consisting of the Ordinary Shares and the ADSs.

The Company and the Underwriters agree as follows:

1. Sale and Purchase . Upon the basis of the representations and warranties and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to the respective Underwriters and each of the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, agrees to

 

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purchase from the Company (i) the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule A attached hereto, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 9 hereof, in each case at a purchase price of €[●] per Share (the “ Share Purchase Price ”) and (ii) the number of Firm ADSs set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule A attached hereto, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 9 hereof, in each case at a purchase price of $[●] per ADS (the “ ADS Purchase Price ”). The Company is advised by you that the Underwriters intend (i) to make a public offering in the United States of their respective portions of the Firm ADSs as soon after the effective date of the Registration Statement as in your judgment is advisable, (ii) to participate in a concurrent private placement in Europe and countries outside of the United States and Canada of their respective portions of the Firm Shares as soon after the effective date of the Registration Statement as in your judgment is advisable and (iii) initially to offer the Firm ADSs and Firm Shares upon the terms set forth in the Prospectus. You may from time to time increase or decrease the public offering price after the initial public offering to such extent as you may determine. The Company agrees to deliver the Firm ADS Shares, on behalf of the Underwriters, to the Custodian acting as custodian for the Depositary, in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus.

2. In addition, the Company hereby grants to the several Underwriters the option (the “ Over-Allotment Option ”) to purchase, and upon the basis of the representations and warranties and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Underwriters shall have the right to purchase, severally and not jointly, from the Company, ratably in accordance with the number of Firm Shares and Firm ADSs to be purchased by each of them, all or a portion of the Additional Shares and Additional ADSs as may be necessary to cover over-allotments made in connection with the offering of the Firm Shares and the Firm ADSs, at the Share Purchase Price and ADS Purchase Price, as applicable. The Over-Allotment Option may be exercised by UBS Securities LLC (“ UBS ”) on behalf of the several Underwriters at any time and from time to time on or before the thirtieth day following the date of the Prospectus, by written notice to the Company. Such notice shall set forth the aggregate number of Additional Shares and Additional ADSs as to which the Over-Allotment Option is being exercised and the date and time when the Additional Shares and Additional ADSs are to be delivered; provided , however , that the Additional Closing Date shall not be earlier than the Closing Date (as defined below), nor earlier than the second business day after the date on which the Over-Allotment Option shall have been exercised, nor later than the tenth business day after the date on which the Over-Allotment Option shall have been exercised. The number of Additional Shares and Additional ADSs to be sold to each Underwriter shall be the number which bears the same proportion to the aggregate number of Additional Shares and Additional ADSs being purchased as the number of Firm Shares and Firm ADSs set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter on Schedule A hereto bears to the total number of Firm Shares and Firm ADSs (subject, in each case, to such adjustment as UBS may determine to eliminate fractional shares), subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 9 hereof. The Company agrees to take such steps to cause the delivery of the Additional Shares and Additional ADSs to the Underwriters (for the Additional ADSs, on behalf of the Underwriters, to the Custodian acting as custodian for the Depositary), in the manner contemplated by the Prospectus.

 

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3. Payment and Delivery . Payment of the Share Purchase Price or ADS Purchase Price, as applicable, for the Firm Securities shall be made to the Company in Euro, with the ADS Purchase Price to be converted from USD to Euro at the USD to Euro rate of June [18], 2015 as agreed by the Company and the Representative on the date hereof, by or on behalf of the Representative in immediately available funds to a blocked account opened in the name of the Company with ING Belgium SA/NV (“ ING ”) with number BE 66 3631 4849 7643 (the “ Blocked Account ”). Such payment is to be received at or before 9:00 am, Central European Time, by the 3rd business day after the date of this Agreement, such time and date being referred to as the “ Closing Date ”, or in the case of the Additional Securities, on the date and the time specified by the Representative in written notice to the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Additional Securities. The time and date for such payment for the Additional Securities, if other than the Closing Date, is herein referred to as the “ Additional Closing Date ”.

The Blocked Account shall be an account that qualifies as special account pursuant to Article 600 of the Belgian Company Code. Promptly upon receipt of the funds on the Blocked Account in accordance with this Section 3, ING shall issue to the Company a certificate in accordance with Article 600 of the Belgian Company Code confirming receipt of the purchase price for all of the Firm Securities on the Blocked Account. The effective realization of the Capital Increase and issuance of [•] Ordinary Shares to be issued by the Company, as decided by the meeting of the board of directors held on June [12], 2015, shall then be acknowledged by two directors of the Company (or an attorney-in-fact that has been substituted for such directors) and recorded by notarial deed in accordance with Article 589 of the Belgian Company Code (the “ Deed ”), and the Firm Securities will be issued and subscribed by the Underwriters which, for the purposes of the Capital Increase, shall be acting in their own name but for the account of the investors to whom the Firm Securities will be placed (including in the form of ADSs).

As compensation for the Underwriters’ commitments, the Company shall pay to the Representative for the Underwriters’ commitments such amounts as set forth on the attached Schedule D hereto. Such payment shall be made by the Company promptly following the issuance of the Firm Securities (or the Additional Securities, as the case may be) and the acknowledgment and recording of the Deed on the Closing Date (or the Additional Closing Date).

Following the completion of the Capital Increase and the issuance of the Firm Securities to the Underwriters, the Underwriters shall transfer title with respect to the Firm ADS Shares to the Custodian acting as the custodian of the Depositary on the Closing Date to enable delivery by the Depositary of the Firm ADSs in respect of the Firm ADS Shares to the Representative for the account of the several Underwriters, for subsequent delivery to the other several Underwriters or the investors, as the case may be.

Payment of the purchase price for the Additional Securities and transfer of title with respect to the Additional ADS Shares and delivery of the Additional ADSs shall be made at the Additional Closing Date in the same manner and at the same office and time of day as the payment, transfer of title and delivery for the Firm Securities and Firm ADSs.

Deliveries of the documents described in Section 7 hereof with respect to the purchase of the Securities shall be made at the offices of Cooley LLP at 500 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116, at 9:00 A.M., New York City time, on the Closing Date and/or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.

 

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4. Representations and Warranties of the Company . The Company represents and warrants to and agrees with each of the Underwriters that:

(a) the Registration Statement has heretofore become effective under the Act or, with respect to any registration statement to be filed to register the offer and sale of Securities pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act, will be filed with the Commission and become effective under the Act no later than 10:00 P.M., New York City time, on the date of determination of the public offering price for the Securities; no stop order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or, to the Company’s knowledge, are contemplated by the Commission; the Exchange Act Registration Statement has become effective as provided in Section 12 of the Exchange Act;

(b) as of the Effective Time, the Registration Statement complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Act and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; the conditions to the use of Form F-1 in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities as contemplated hereby have been satisfied; as of the Applicable Time, the Preliminary Prospectus complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Act (including, without limitation, Section 10(a) of the Act) and the Disclosure Package did not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; the Prospectus will comply, as of its date, the Closing Date and each Additional Closing Date, if any, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Act (including, without limitation, Section 10(a) of the Act) and, as of the date the Prospectus is filed with the Commission, the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, if any, the Prospectus will not, as then amended or supplemented, include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided , however , that the Company makes no representation or warranty in this Section 4(b) with respect to any statement contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information concerning an Underwriter and furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Underwriter through you to the Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus;

(c) prior to the execution of this Agreement, the Company has not, directly or indirectly, offered or sold any Securities by means of any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act) or used any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities, in each case other than the Preliminary Prospectus, the listing prospectus for the purposes of the listing of the Shares, the ADS

 

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Shares and the Non-Listed Shares (as defined herein) on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, pursuant to article 23 of the Belgian law of June 16, 2006 on public offerings of investment instruments and admission to trading on a regulated markets, as amended (the “ Listing Prospectus ”) and the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, and the Permitted Exempt Written Communications, if any; the Company has not, directly or indirectly, prepared, used or referred to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus except in compliance with Rules 164 and 433 under the Act; assuming that such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus is accompanied or preceded by the most recent Preliminary Prospectus that contains a price range or the Prospectus, as the case may be, and that such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus is so sent or given after the Registration Statement was filed with the Commission (and after such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus was, if required pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, filed with the Commission), the sending or giving, by any Underwriter, of any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus will satisfy the provisions of Rule 164 and Rule 433 (without reliance on subsections (b), (c) and (d) of Rule 164); each of the Preliminary Prospectuses dated [•], 2015 is a prospectus that, other than by reason of Rule 433 or Rule 431 under the Act, satisfies the requirements of Section 10 of the Act, including a price range where required by rule; neither the Company nor the Underwriters are disqualified, by reason of subsection (f) or (g) of Rule 164 under the Act, from using, in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities, “free writing prospectuses” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) pursuant to Rules 164 and 433 under the Act; the Company is not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Act) as of the eligibility determination date for purposes of Rules 164 and 433 under the Act with respect to the offering of the Securities contemplated by the Registration Statement, without taking into account any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 under the Act that it is not necessary under the circumstances that the Company be considered an “ineligible issuer”; the parties hereto agree and understand that the content of any and all “road shows” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Act), Exempt Oral Communications and Covered Exempt Written Communications related to the offering of the Securities contemplated hereby are solely the property of the Company; the Company has caused there to be made available at least one version of a “ bona fide electronic road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Act) in a manner that, pursuant to Rule 433(d)(8)(ii) under the Act, causes the Company not to be required, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act, to file, with the Commission, any Electronic Road Show;

(d) a registration statement on Form F-6 (No. 333-204724), and any amendments thereto, in respect of the ADSs has been filed with the Commission; such registration statement in the form heretofore delivered to the Underwriters has become effective under the 1933 Act; no other document with respect to such registration statement has heretofore been filed with the Commission; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement has been issued and, to the Company’s knowledge, no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the Commission (the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, being hereinafter called the “ ADS Registration Statement ”); and the ADS Registration Statement when it became effective conformed, and any further amendments

 

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thereto will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the 1933 Act, and did not, as of the applicable effective date, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading;

(e) the Listing Prospectus, as at its date and as at the Closing Date (i) did not contain and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; (ii) did not contain and will not contain any statement that conflicts with the Prospectus and (iii) contains and will contain all material information with respect to the Company, the Shares and ADS Shares and no material fact or matter was or will be omitted which will be necessary to enable investors to make an informed assessment of the assets and liabilities, financial position, profits and losses of the Company and of the rights attaching to the Shares and ADS Shares;

(f) as of the date of this Agreement, the Company qualifies as an emerging growth company (“ EGC ”), as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Act;

(g) each Permitted Exempt Written Communication, if any, did not as of its date include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(h) [Reserved];

(i) the Company has filed publicly on the Commission’s EDGAR database at least 21 calendar days prior to any “road show,” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Act) any confidentially submitted registration statements and registration amendments relating to the offer and sale of the Securities;

(j) each Covered Exempt Written Communication, if any, does not as of the date hereof conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(k) as of the date of this Agreement, the Company has an issued share capital ( capital social ) and authorized share capital ( capital autorisé ) as set forth in the sections of the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus entitled “Capitalization” and “Description of Share Capital”, and, as of the Closing Date and the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, the Company shall have an authorized share capital ( capital autorisé ) and issued share capital ( capital social ) as set forth in the sections of the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus entitled “Capitalization” and “Description of Share Capital” (subject, in each case, to the issuance of Ordinary Shares upon exercise of warrants disclosed as outstanding in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; except as described in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus

 

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and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding rights (including, without limitation, pre-emptive rights), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments convertible or exchangeable for, any Ordinary Shares or other equity interests in the Company, or any contract, commitment, agreement, understanding or arrangement of any kind relating to the issuance of any Ordinary Shares or other equity interests in the Company, any such convertible or exchangeable securities or any such rights, warrants or options; the Company has the statutorily required minimum capital under Belgian law; all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interests, including the Ordinary Shares, of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws in Belgium and in compliance with all other securities laws and were not issued in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal or similar right; and the Articles of Association of the Company, in the form filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, have been heretofore duly authorized and approved in accordance with the Belgian Company Code and shall be in full force and effect at or before the Closing Date, except for the Capital Increase and issuance of any Ordinary Shares pursuant to this Agreement; the ADSs are duly listed, and admitted and authorized for trading, subject to official notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution, on The NASDAQ Global Market (“ NASDAQ ”). The ADS Shares, when issued to the Underwriters, may be freely deposited by the Underwriters with the Custodian for the account of the Depositary against issuance of ADRs evidencing ADSs; the ADSs, when issued and delivered, will be freely transferable by the Company to or for the account of the several Underwriters and (to the extent described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus) the initial purchasers thereof; and there are no restrictions on subsequent transfers of the Shares or the ADSs under the laws of Belgium or the United States except as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the captions “Description of Share Capital”, “Description of American Depositary Shares” and “Shares and ADSs Eligible for Future Sale”;

(l) the resolutions of the Company’s board of directors in relation to the approval and authorization of the Capital Increase, the issuance of the Securities and the amendment to the Articles of Association resulting from the Capital Increase have been validly passed, any pre-emptive rights relating thereto were validly dis-applied, and no objections against the Capital Increase or action to have such resolutions declared void have been taken or filed to the knowledge of the Company, and following the issuance and delivery of the Shares and the ADS Shares, the Shares and the ADS Shares shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as, and will in all respect, including entitlement to dividends, be of similar ranking ( pari passu ) as the existing and outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company at the time of their issuance; the authorization of the Company’s board of directors to increase the share capital of the Company by issuing the Shares and the ADS Shares has not been withdrawn;

(m) the Company has been duly incorporated for an unlimited duration and is validly existing as a limited liability company ( société anonyme ) in good standing under the laws of Belgium and no steps have been taken or contemplated by the Company or, to

 

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the knowledge of the Company, taken or threatened by a third party for its nullity, bankruptcy, liquidation, receivership or reorganization or any other similar proceeding, has not had any petition filed or other proceedings commenced for an administration order, had not been appointed a receiver, liquidator, trustee, custodian or similar official in any jurisdiction in respect of any part of the business or assets of the Company, and has full corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and to execute and deliver this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement and to issue, sell and deliver the Securities as contemplated herein;

(n) the Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where the ownership or leasing of its properties or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified and in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, either (i) have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) taken as a whole, (ii) prevent or materially interfere with consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or (iii) prevent the ADSs from being accepted for listing on, or result in the delisting of the ADSs from, NASDAQ (the occurrence of any such effect or any such prevention or interference or any such result described in the foregoing clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) being herein referred to as a “ Material Adverse Effect ”);

(o) the Company has no subsidiaries (as defined under the Act) other than Cardio3 Inc. and CorQuest Medical, Inc. (collectively, the “ Subsidiaries ”); the Company owns all of the issued and outstanding share capital or capital stock, as applicable, of each of the Subsidiaries; other than the share capital or capital stock, as applicable, of the Subsidiaries and Cardio3 BioSciences Asia Ltd. (a joint venture of which the Company has 40% of the ownership interests), the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any shares of stock or any other equity interests or long-term debt securities of any corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, association or other entity; complete and correct copies of the Articles of Association, Certificate of Incorporation and Certificate of Formation, as applicable, as amended and restated from time to time (the “ Articles ”), and the By-laws, as applicable, of the Company and each Subsidiary have been delivered to you, and, except as set forth in the exhibits to the Registration Statement, no changes therein will be made on or after the date hereof through and including the Closing Date or, if later, any Additional Closing Date (except to reflect the Capital Increase and the issuance of any Ordinary Shares pursuant to this Agreement); each Subsidiary has been duly incorporated or formed, as applicable, and is validly existing as a corporation or limited liability company, as applicable, in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation, with full corporate or organizational power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, except where the

 

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failure to be in good standing would not have a Material Adverse Effect; each Subsidiary is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation or limited liability company, as applicable, and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where the ownership or leasing of its properties or the conduct of its business requires such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified and in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the outstanding share capital or shares of capital stock of each of the Subsidiaries have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, have been issued in compliance with all applicable securities laws, were not issued in violation of any preemptive right, resale right, right of first refusal or similar right and, except as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, are owned by the Company subject to no security interest, other encumbrance or adverse claims; and no options, warrants or other rights to purchase, agreements or other obligations to issue or other rights to convert any obligation into share capital or shares of capital stock or ownership interests in the Subsidiaries are outstanding;

(p) the Securities have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of statutory and contractual preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights; the Securities, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be free of any restriction upon the voting or transfer thereof pursuant to the Belgian Company Code or the Company’s Articles of Association or any agreement or other instrument to which the Company is a party;

(q) the share capital of the Company, including the Securities, conforms to each description thereof, if any, contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;

(r) this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action by the Company, have been duly executed and delivered by the authorized representatives of the Company and each constitutes a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject, as to enforceability, to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and similar laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles; upon issuance by the Depositary of ADRs evidencing ADSs and the deposit of ADS Shares in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, such ADSs will be duly and validly issued and the persons in whose names the ADRs are registered will be entitled to the rights specified therein and in the Deposit Agreement; and the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs and ADSs conform in all material respects to the descriptions thereof contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;

(s) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in breach or violation of or in default under (nor has any event occurred which, with notice, lapse of time or both, would result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default under or give the holder of any indebtedness (or a person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a part of such indebtedness under) (A) its Articles of Association or By-laws, as applicable, (B) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or credit agreement or other evidence of indebtedness, or any license, lease, contract or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by

 

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which it or any of its properties may be bound or affected, (C) any U.S. or Belgian federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule, (D) any rule or regulation of any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company or the Subsidiaries (including, without limitation, the rules and regulations of Euronext or NASDAQ), or (E) any decree, judgment or order applicable to it or any of its properties, except, in the case of clauses (B), (C), (D) and (E), for any such breach, violation, default, repurchase, redemption or repayment as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

(t) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement, the issuance and sale of the Securities and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby will not conflict with, result in any breach or violation of or constitute a default under (nor constitute any event which, with notice, lapse of time or both, would result in any breach or violation of, constitute a default under or give the holder of any indebtedness (or a person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a part of such indebtedness under) (or result in the creation or imposition of a lien, charge or encumbrance on any property or assets of the Company or any Subsidiary pursuant to) (A) the Articles of Association or By-laws, as applicable, of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, (B) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, bank loan or credit agreement or other evidence of indebtedness, or any license, lease, contract or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them or any of their respective properties may be bound or affected, (C) any U.S. or Belgian federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule, (D) any rule or regulation of any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company or the Securities (including, without limitation, the rules and regulations of Euronext or NASDAQ), or (E) any decree, judgment or order applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, except, in the case of clauses (B), (C), (D) and (E), for any such breach, violation, default, repurchase, redemption or repayment as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

(u) the ADSs have been listed on NASDAQ, and the Company is not aware of any notice of delisting;

(v) the Ordinary Shares of the Company currently issued with the exception of 102,395 Ordinary Shares (the “ Non-Listed Shares ”) are, and all Ordinary Shares of the Company (including the Non-Listed Shares) will on the Closing Date be, duly listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris and freely tradable; the Company is in compliance with all listing and admission requirements and continuing obligations pursuant to applicable laws and the rules of Euronext and is in compliance in all material respects with the applicable laws and circulars published by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (“ FSMA ”);

 

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(w) the Company is not aware of any price sensitive information (within the meaning of Article 2, 14° of the Belgian law of August 2, 2002, as amended) concerning the Company and/or its securities or any other information required to be made public by the Company under applicable law and regulation that has not been publicly disclosed. The issuance and delivery of the Securities to the final investors will not constitute a violation by the Company of any applicable law prohibiting “insider dealing” in securities or “market abuse” in any jurisdiction;

(x) no approval, authorization, consent or order of or filing with any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency, or of or with any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without limitation, Euronext or NASDAQ), or approval of the shareholders of the Company, is required to be obtained or made by the Company in connection with the deposit of the ADS Shares with the Depositary against issuance of ADRs evidencing the ADSs to be delivered, the issuance and sale of the Securities or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby and under the Deposit Agreement, other than (i) registration of the Securities under the Act, which has been effected (or, with respect to any registration statement to be filed hereunder pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act, will be effected in accordance herewith), (ii) any necessary qualification under the securities or blue sky laws of the various jurisdictions in which the Securities are being offered by the Underwriters, (iii) under the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“ FINRA ”), (iv) any listing applications and related consents or any notices required by NASDAQ in the ordinary course of the offering of the Securities; (v) the approval by the FSMA of the Listing Prospectus; (vi) the approval for listing on Euronext of the Shares and the ADS Shares to be issued and sold by the Company pursuant to this Agreement or (vii) filings with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act;

(y) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or as otherwise have been waived, no person has (i) the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to it any shares of Ordinary Shares or shares of any other share capital or other equity interests of the Company, (ii) any preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase any Ordinary Shares or share capital of or other equity interests in the Company or (iii) the right to act as an underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities; no person has the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to register under the Act any shares of Ordinary Shares or shares of any other capital stock of or other equity interests in the Company or to include any such shares or interests in the Registration Statement or the offering contemplated thereby other than those that have been otherwise waived;

(z) each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals and has made all necessary filings required under any applicable law, regulation or rule, and has obtained all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals from other persons, in order to conduct their respective businesses, except where the failure to obtain such license, authorization, consent and approval would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in violation of, or in

 

- 13 -


default under, or has received notice of any proceedings relating to revocation or modification of, any such license, authorization, consent or approval or any federal, state, local or foreign law, regulation or rule or any decree, order or judgment applicable to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, except where such violation, default, revocation or modification would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

(aa) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no actions, suits, claims, investigations or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened or contemplated to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective directors or officers is or would be a party or of which any of their respective properties is or would be subject at law or in equity, before or by any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency, or before or by any self-regulatory organization or other non-governmental regulatory authority (including, without limitation, NASDAQ or Euronext), except any such action, suit, claim, investigation or proceeding which, if resolved adversely to the Company or any Subsidiary, would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

(bb) the Company is a “foreign private issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the Act;

(cc) PricewaterhouseCoopers Réviseurs d’Entreprises scrl, whose report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company and the Subsidiaries is included in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, are (i) independent registered public accountants as required by the Act and by the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and (ii) independent auditors as required by the laws of Belgium and the applicable rules and regulations under such laws;

(dd) the financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Act and Exchange Act and in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“ IFRS ”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (the “ IASB ”) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved; the other financial data contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are, in all material respects, accurately and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package or the Prospectus that are not included as required; the Company and the Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and all disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Act, to the extent applicable;

 

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(ee) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, each warrant granted under any equity incentive plan of the Company or any Subsidiary (each, an “ Equity Plan ”) was granted with a per share exercise price no less than the fair market value per share of Ordinary Shares on the grant date of such warrant, which is determined under the Company’s warrant plans to be the lower of (x) the average closing prices for the Company’s stock during thirty days preceding the grant date and (y) the closing sales price for the Company’s stock on the last market trading day prior to the grant date or determined by the Company’s board of directors, as applicable; each such warrant (i) was granted in compliance with applicable law and with the applicable Equity Plan(s), (ii) was duly approved by the board of directors (or a duly authorized committee thereof or an officer of the Company duly authorized by the board of directors or authorized committee thereof to make such grants) of the Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable, and (iii) has been properly accounted for in the Company’s financial statements in accordance with IFRS and disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Commission;

(ff) subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, in each case excluding any amendments or supplements to the foregoing made after the execution of this Agreement, there has not been (i) any material adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the business, properties, management, financial condition or results of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company or any Subsidiary, which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iv) any change in the capital stock or outstanding indebtedness of the Company or any Subsidiaries, other than exercise of warrants issued under equity plans or other routine equity awards or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary;

(gg) the Company has obtained for the benefit of the Underwriters the agreement (a “ Lock-Up Agreement ”), in the form set forth as Exhibit A hereto, of (i) each of its directors and “officers” (within the meaning of Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act) and (ii) each holder set forth on Schedule C hereto;

(hh) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is, and solely after giving effect to the offering and sale of Securities and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, neither of them will be, an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company,” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “ Investment Company Act ”) or a “controlled foreign corporation” (a “ CFC ”), as such terms are

 

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defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “ Internal Revenue Code ”); the Company does not have any plan or intention to conduct its business in a manner that would reasonably be expected, under current laws and regulations, to result in the Company becoming a CFC for its current taxable year or in the foreseeable future;

(ii) the Company and each of the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all property (real and personal, excluding for the purposes of this Section 4(hh), Intellectual Property (as defined below)) described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as being owned by any of them, free and clear of all liens, claims, security interests or other encumbrances, except for such liens, claims, security interests or other encumbrances as would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; all the property described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as being held under lease by the Company or a Subsidiary is held thereby under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases, except where such failure to own or hold would not have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect and except that the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws relating to creditor’s rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought;

(jj) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and the Subsidiaries own, or have obtained valid and enforceable licenses for, or other rights to use, the inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks (both registered and unregistered), tradenames, service names, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary information described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as being owned or licensed by them or which are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted or as currently proposed to be conducted (including the commercialization of products or services described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as under development), except where the failure to own, license or have such rights would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect (collectively, “ Intellectual Property ”); except as disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (i) there are no third parties who have or, to the Company’s knowledge, will be able to establish rights to any Intellectual Property owned or purported to be owned by the Company or the Subsidiaries, except for, and to the extent of, the ownership rights of the owners of the Intellectual Property which the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus disclose is licensed to the Company; (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property; (iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (iv) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity, enforceability or

 

- 16 -


scope of any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (v) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company or any Subsidiary infringes or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or service described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as under development, infringe or violate, any patent, trademark, tradename, service name, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (vi) the Company and the Subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or any Subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect; (vii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no patent or patent application that contains claims that interfere with the issued or pending claims of any of the Intellectual Property or that challenges the validity, enforceability or scope of any of the Intellectual Property; (viii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no prior art that may render any patent application within the Intellectual Property unpatentable that has not been disclosed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and (ix) the product candidates described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus as under development by the Company or any Subsidiary fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company or any Subsidiary;

(kk) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is engaged in any unfair labor practice; except for matters which would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) there is (A) no unfair labor practice complaint pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries before the National Labor Relations Board or any other court in the US, Belgium or elsewhere, and no grievance or arbitration proceeding arising out of or under collective bargaining agreements is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened, (B) no strike, labor dispute, slowdown or stoppage pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and (C) no union representation dispute currently existing concerning the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, no union organizing activities are currently taking place concerning the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and (iii) there has been no violation of any U.S. or Belgian federal, state, local or foreign law relating to discrimination in the hiring, promotion or pay of employees, any applicable wage or hour laws or any provision of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, or any similar legislation from elsewhere in the world or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, to the extent applicable to the employees of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries;

(ll) the Company and the Subsidiaries and their respective properties, assets and operations are in compliance with, and the Company and each of the Subsidiaries hold all permits, authorizations and approvals required under, Environmental Laws (as defined below), except to the extent that failure to so comply or to hold such permits, authorizations or approvals would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material

 

- 17 -


Adverse Effect; there are no past or present events, conditions, circumstances, activities, practices, actions or omissions that could reasonably be expected to give rise to any material costs or liabilities to the Company or any Subsidiary under, or to interfere with or prevent compliance by the Company or any Subsidiary with, Environmental Laws; except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries (i) is the subject of any investigation, (ii) has received any notice or claim, (iii) is a party to or affected by any pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit or proceeding, (iv) is bound by any judgment, decree or order known to the Company or (v) has entered into any agreement, in each case relating to any alleged violation of any Environmental Law or any actual or alleged release or threatened release or cleanup at any location of any Hazardous Materials (as defined below) (as used herein, “ Environmental Law ” means any U.S. or Belgian federal, state, local or foreign law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, order, decree, judgment, injunction, permit, license, authorization or other binding requirement, or common law, relating to health, safety or the protection, cleanup or restoration of the environment or natural resources, including those relating to the distribution, processing, generation, treatment, storage, disposal, transportation, other handling or release or threatened release of Hazardous Materials, and “ Hazardous Materials ” means any material (including, without limitation, pollutants, contaminants, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes) that is regulated by or may give rise to liability under any Environmental Law);

(mm) all tax returns required to be filed by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries have been timely filed (within any applicable time limit extensions permitted by the relevant tax authority), and all taxes and other assessments of a similar nature (whether imposed directly or through withholding) including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto due or claimed to be due from such entities have been timely paid, other than those being contested in good faith and for which adequate reserves have been provided;

(nn) the Company and each of the Subsidiaries maintain insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses as the Company reasonably deems adequate; such insurance insures against such losses and risks in accordance with customary industry practice to protect the Company and the Subsidiaries and their respective businesses; all such insurance is fully in force on the date hereof and is expected to be fully in force at the Closing Date and each Additional Closing Date, if any; neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has reason to believe that it will not be able to (i) renew any such insurance as and when such insurance expires or (ii) obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted at a cost that would not result in any Material Adverse Effect;

(oo) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has sent or received any communication regarding termination of, or intent not to renew, any of the contracts or agreements referred to or described in any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or referred to or described in, or filed as an exhibit to,

 

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the Registration Statement, and no such termination or non-renewal has been threatened by the Company or any Subsidiary or, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party to any such contract or agreement;

(pp) the Company and each of the Subsidiaries, in the aggregate, maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences;

(qq) the Company has established and, as of the Effective Time, maintains and evaluates “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) and “internal control over financial reporting” (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act); such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer by others within those entities, and such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to perform the functions for which they were established; the Company’s independent registered public accountants and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies, if any, in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data; and (ii) all fraud, if any, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a role in the Company’s internal controls; all “significant deficiencies” and “material weaknesses” (as such terms are defined in Rule 1-02(a)(4) of Regulation S-X under the Act) of the Company, if any, have been identified to the Company’s independent registered public accountants and are disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus; since the date of the most recent evaluation of such disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses, except for such changes, as are disclosed in the Registration Statement, that the Company is undertaking or has undertaken to remediate the material weaknesses disclosed in the Registration Statement, which changes (i) are reasonably designed to effect such remediation in a timely manner and, except as described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, without material cost or a materially adverse effect on the business or operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, and (ii) are being diligently pursued by the Company, in accordance with the recommendations of the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, and with the supervision of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and such other appropriate personnel of the

 

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Company; and the Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that, upon and at all times after the filing of the Registration Statement, the Company and the Subsidiaries and their respective officers and directors, in their capacities as such, will be in compliance in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “ Sarbanes-Oxley Act ”) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;”

(rr) each “forward-looking statement” (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus has been made with a reasonable basis and in good faith;

(ss) all statistical or market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably believes to be reliable and accurate, and the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources to the extent required;

(tt) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Anti-Corruption Laws (as defined below); and the Company, the Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure continued compliance therewith;

In this Agreement, “ Anti-Corruption Laws ” means (i) the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, 1997 (the “ OECD Convention ”); (ii) the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ”); (iii) the English common law offence of bribery and the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom (the “ English Bribery Laws ”); and (iv) any other applicable law in any applicable jurisdiction (including any (a) statute, ordinance, rule or regulation; (b) order of any court, tribunal or any other judicial body; and (c) rule, regulation, guideline or order of any public body, or any other administrative requirement) which: (x) prohibits the conferring of any gift, payment or other benefit on any person or any officer, employee, agent or adviser of such person; and/or (y) is broadly equivalent to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the English Bribery Laws or was intended to enact the provisions of the OECD Convention or which has as its objective the prevention of corruption.

(uu) the operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the USA Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, as amended (to the extent applicable to the Company and the Subsidiaries), the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “ Money Laundering Laws ”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any

 

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arbitrator or non-governmental authority involving the Company or any of the Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened;

(vv) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is currently subject to any sanctions administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury or any other relevant sanctions authority; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities contemplated hereby, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently subject to any sanctions administered or enforced by such authorities;

(ww) the Company acknowledges that, in accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients;

(xx) no Subsidiary is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company, except as described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(yy) the preclinical tests and clinical trials conducted or sponsored by the Company and the Subsidiaries that are described in, or the results of which are referred to in, the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus were and, if still pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with protocols, procedures and controls filed with the appropriate regulatory authorities for each such test or trial, as the case may be, and with standard medical and scientific research procedures; each description of the results of such tests and trials contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus is accurate in all material respects and fairly presents the data derived from such tests and trials, and the Company and the Subsidiaries have no knowledge of any other studies or tests the results of which are inconsistent with, or otherwise call into question, the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; neither the Company nor any Subsidiaries has received any notices or other correspondence from the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or any committee thereof or from any other U.S. or foreign government or drug or medical device regulatory agency (collectively, the “ Regulatory Agencies ”) requiring the termination, suspension or modification of any clinical trials that are described or referred

 

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to in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and the Company and the Subsidiaries have each operated and currently are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable rules, regulations and policies of the Regulatory Agencies;

(zz) the issuance and sale of the Securities as contemplated hereby will not cause any holder of any shares of capital stock, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares or options, warrants or other rights to purchase shares or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any preferred shares of the Company;

(aaa) all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the ADSs may under the current laws and regulations of Belgium be paid in United States dollars and may be freely transferred out of Belgium. All such dividends and other distributions are not subject to withholding or other taxes under the current laws and regulations of Belgium and are otherwise free and clear of any other tax, withholding or deduction in, and without the necessity of obtaining any consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, licenses, registrations, clearances and qualifications of or with any court or governmental agency or body or any stock exchange authorities in, Belgium, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;

(bbb) except pursuant to this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has incurred any liability for any finder’s or broker’s fee or agent’s commission in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby;

(ccc) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of their respective directors or officers, affiliates or controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or which has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities;

(ddd) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no affiliations or associations between (i) any member of FINRA and (ii) the Company or any of the Company’s officers, directors or 5% or greater security holders or any beneficial owner of the Company’s unregistered equity securities that were acquired at any time on or after the 180th day immediately preceding the date the Registration Statement was initially filed with the Commission, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;

(eee) no stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties, levies, deductions, or charges are payable by, or required to be withheld on behalf of, the Underwriters to Belgium or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (1) the deposit with the Depositary of the ADS Shares by the Underwriters against the issuance of the ADRs evidencing the ADSs, (2) the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement or (3) the issuance, sale or

 

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delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, other than (A) a Belgian stock exchange tax, if the Underwriters act, for purposes of the Belgian stock exchange tax, as a professional intermediary in Belgium on behalf of purchasers of Securities in relation to the purchase of Securities (secondary market transaction) (unless the purchasers are exempted from the Belgian stock exchange tax), and (B) a stamp duty of EUR 0.15 which is payable for each original copy of agreements containing a debt obligation or indebtedness for the benefit of banks, if signed or registered in Belgium; for those Underwriters that are not otherwise subject to taxation in Belgium, no capital gains, income or other taxes are payable by or on behalf of those Underwriters to Belgium or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (x) the deposit with the Depositary of the ADS Shares by those Underwriters against the issuance of the ADRs evidencing the ADSs, (y) the execution, delivery or performance of this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement or (z) the issuance, sale or delivery of the Securities to those Underwriters;

(fff) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries nor any of its or their properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of Belgium; the irrevocable and unconditional waiver and agreement of the Company contained in Section 13 of this Agreement not to plead or claim any such immunity in any legal action, suit or proceeding based on this Agreement is valid and binding under the laws of Belgium;

(ggg) the choice of the law of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of Belgium and will be honored by courts in Belgium;

(hhh) the Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 14 of this Agreement and to Section 7.6 of the Deposit Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each New York State and United States Federal court sitting in the City of New York and has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court;

(iii) subject to compliance with the laws of Belgium on recognition and enforcement of judgments, any final judgment for a fixed sum of money rendered by a New York court having jurisdiction under its own domestic laws in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement would be recognized and enforced by courts in Belgium, without re-examining the merits of the case; and

(jjj) upon execution and delivery, this Agreement will be in proper legal form under the laws of Belgium for the enforcement hereof against the Company, except to the extent enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and general equity principles and, with respect to any indemnification or contribution provision, limited by the federal and state securities laws;

 

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and to ensure the legality, validity, enforceability, priority or admissibility in evidence of this Agreement it is not necessary that this Agreement or any other document related hereto be filed, registered or recorded with or executed or notarized before, any governmental or regulatory authority or agency of Belgium.

In addition, any certificate signed by any officer of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries and delivered to any Underwriter or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Securities shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.

5. Certain Covenants of the Company . The Company hereby agrees:

(a) to prepare and file a Listing Prospectus and to use its best efforts to have such Listing Prospectus approved by the FSMA and cause the Shares, ADS Shares and the Non-Listed Shares to be listed on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris on the Closing Date and to maintain such listing so long as any Share or ADS Share is outstanding;

(b) to furnish such information as may be required and otherwise to cooperate in qualifying the Securities for offering and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of such states or other jurisdictions as you may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect so long as you may reasonably request for the distribution of the Securities; provided , however , that the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to consent to the service of process under the laws of any such jurisdiction (except service of process with respect to the offering and sale of the Securities); and to promptly advise you of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offer or sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose;

(c) to make available to the Underwriters in New York City, as soon as practicable after this Agreement becomes effective, and thereafter from time to time to furnish to the Underwriters, as many copies of the Prospectus (or of the Prospectus as amended or supplemented if the Company shall have made any amendments or supplements thereto after the effective date of the Registration Statement) as the Underwriters may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated by the Act; in case any Underwriter is required to deliver (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule), in connection with the sale of the Securities, a prospectus after the nine-month period referred to in Section 10(a)(3) of the Act, the Company will prepare, at its expense, promptly upon request such amendment or amendments to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as may be necessary to permit compliance with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;

(d) if, at the time this Agreement is executed and delivered, it is necessary or appropriate for a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, or a Registration Statement under Rule 462(b) under the Act, to be filed with the Commission and become effective before the Securities may be sold, the Company will use its best

 

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efforts to cause such post-effective amendment or such Registration Statement to be filed and become effective, and will pay any applicable fees in accordance with the Act, as soon as possible; and the Company will advise you promptly and, if requested by you, will confirm such advice in writing, (i) when such post-effective amendment or such Registration Statement has become effective, and (ii) if Rule 430A under the Act is used, when the Prospectus is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act (which the Company agrees to file in a timely manner in accordance with such Rules);

(e) for so long as a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) to notify you immediately upon an event that causes the Company to no longer qualify as an EGC;

(f) if, at any time during the period when a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Securities, the Registration Statement shall cease to comply with the requirements of the Act with respect to eligibility for the use of the form on which the Registration Statement was filed with the Commission, to (i) promptly notify you, (ii) promptly file with the Commission a new registration statement under the Act, relating to the Securities, or a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, which new registration statement or post-effective amendment shall comply with the requirements of the Act and shall be in a form reasonably satisfactory to you, (iii) use its best efforts to cause such new registration statement or post-effective amendment to become effective under the Act as soon as practicable, (iv) promptly notify you of such effectiveness and (v) take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the public offering and sale of the Securities to continue as contemplated in the Prospectus; all references herein to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to include each such new registration statement or post-effective amendment, if any;

(g) to advise you promptly, confirming such advice in writing, of any request by the Commission for amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Exchange Act Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or any request by the FSMA or Euronext for amendments or supplements to the Listing Prospectus or for additional information with respect thereto, or of notice of institution of proceedings for, or the entry of a stop order, suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and, if the Commission should enter a stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, to use its best efforts to obtain the lifting or removal of such order as soon as possible; to advise you promptly of any proposal to amend or supplement the Registration or the Exchange Act Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, and to provide you and Underwriters’ counsel copies of any such documents for review and comment a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing and to file no such amendment or supplement to which you shall reasonably object in writing;

 

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(h) subject to Section 5(g) hereof, to file promptly all reports and documents required to be filed by the Company with the Commission in order to comply with the Exchange Act for so long as a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Securities; and to provide you, for your review and comment, with a copy of such reports and statements and other documents to be filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during such period a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing, and to file no such report, statement or document to which you shall have reasonably objected in writing; and to promptly notify you of such filing;

(i) to advise the Underwriters promptly of the happening of any event within the period during which a prospectus is required by the Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Act or any similar rule) in connection with any sale of Securities, which event could require the making of any change in the Prospectus then being used so that the Prospectus would not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading, and to advise the Underwriters promptly if, during such period, it shall become necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to cause the Prospectus to comply with the requirements of the Act, and, in each case, during such time, subject to Section 5(g) hereof, to prepare and furnish, at the Company’s expense, to the Underwriters promptly such amendments or supplements to such Prospectus as may be necessary to reflect any such change or to effect such compliance;

(j) to make generally available (within the meaning of Rule 158 under the Act) to its security holders, and, if not available on the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“ EDGAR ”), to deliver to you, an earnings statement (which need not be audited) of the Company (which will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act) covering a period of twelve months beginning after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act) as soon as is reasonably practicable after the termination of such twelve-month period but in any case not later than the date determined in accordance with the provisions of the last paragraph of Section 11(a) of the Act and (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158(c) thereunder);

(k) if requested by you, to furnish to you three copies of the Registration Statement, as initially filed with the Commission, and of all amendments thereto (including all exhibits thereto) and sufficient copies of the foregoing (other than exhibits) for distribution of a copy to each of the other Underwriters;

(l) if requested by you, to furnish to you as early as practicable prior to the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, but not later than two business days prior thereto, a copy of the latest available unaudited interim and monthly consolidated financial statements, if any, of the Company and the Subsidiaries which have been read by the Company’s independent registered public accountants, as stated in their letter to be furnished pursuant to Section 7(e) hereof, provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any materials pursuant to this clause if such materials are available via EDGAR;

 

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(m) to apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Securities in the manner set forth under the caption “Use of proceeds” in the Prospectus and to file such reports with the Commission with respect to the sale of the Securities and the application of the proceeds therefrom as may be required by Rule 463 under the Act;

(n) to pay all costs, expenses, fees and taxes in connection with (i) the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus, each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and the printing and furnishing of copies of each thereof to the Underwriters and to dealers (including costs of mailing and shipment), (ii) the registration, issue, sale and delivery of the Securities pursuant to and in accordance with this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any stock transfer taxes and stamp or similar duties payable upon the deposit of the ADS Shares with the Depositary against issuance of ADRs evidencing the ADSs or the sale, or delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters), (iii) the producing, word processing and/or printing of this Agreement, any Agreement Among Underwriters, any dealer agreements, any Powers of Attorney and any closing documents (including compilations thereof) and the reproduction and/or printing and furnishing of copies of each thereof to the Underwriters and (except closing documents) to dealers (including costs of mailing and shipment), (iv) the qualification of the Securities for offering and sale under state or foreign laws and the determination of their eligibility for investment under state or foreign law (including the legal fees and filing fees and other disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters) and the printing and furnishing of copies of any blue sky surveys or legal investment surveys to the Underwriters and to dealers, (v) any listing of the Securities on any securities exchange, including, for the avoidance of any doubt, the listing of the Shares, the ADS Shares and the Non-Listed Shares on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, or qualification of the Securities for quotation on NASDAQ and any registration thereof under the Exchange Act, (vi) any filing for review of the public offering of the Securities by FINRA, including the legal fees and filing fees and other disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters relating to FINRA matters, up to a maximum of $30,000, (vii) the fees and disbursements of any transfer agent, registrar or depositary for the Securities, (viii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to presentations or meetings undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering and sale of the Securities to prospective investors and the Underwriters’ sales forces, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, travel, lodging and other expenses incurred by the officers of the Company and any such consultants, and the costs of all Exempt Oral Communications and Covered Exempt Written Communications, and half of the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show, provided , however , that except as otherwise provided herein, the Underwriters will pay all of their own costs and expenses, including the transportation and other expenses incurred by the Underwriters on their own behalf in connection with presentations to prospective purchasers of the Securities (including half of the cost of any

 

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aircraft chartered in connection with the road show), (ix) the costs and expenses of qualifying the Securities for inclusion in the book-entry settlement system of the DTC, (x) the preparation and filing of the Exchange Act Registration Statement, including any amendments thereto, (xi) the preparation and filing with the FSMA of the Listing Prospectus, and (xii) the performance of the Company’s other obligations hereunder;

(o) to comply with Rule 433(d) under the Act (without reliance on Rule 164(b) under the Act) and with Rule 433(g) under the Act;

(p) beginning on the date hereof and ending on, and including, the date that is 90 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “ Lock-Up Period ”), without the prior written consent of UBS, not to (i) issue, sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agree to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder, with respect to any ADSs or Ordinary Shares or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to ADSs or Ordinary Shares, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or any warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, (ii) file or cause to become effective a registration statement under the Act relating to the offer and sale of any ADSs or Ordinary Shares or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to ADSs or Ordinary Shares, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or any warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, (iii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of ADSs or Ordinary Shares or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to ADSs or Ordinary Shares, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or any warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of ADSs or Ordinary Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise, or (iv) publicly announce an intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i), (ii) or (iii), except, in each case, for (A) the registration of the offer and sale of the Securities as contemplated by this Agreement, (B) issuances of ADSs or Ordinary Shares upon the exercise of options or warrants disclosed as outstanding in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, (C) the issuance of employee warrants not exercisable during the Lock-Up Period and any filings related thereto pursuant to equity plans described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, (D) the filing of a registration statement on Form S-8 to register securities issuable by the Company upon the exercise of warrants granted by the Company and (E) issuances of ADSs or Ordinary Shares or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to ADSs or Ordinary Shares, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or any warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of ADSs or Ordinary Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise in connection with the acquisition of businesses, technologies, assets or intellectual property of another entity as long as (i) the aggregate amount of any such shares does not exceed

 

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5% of the number of shares of ADSs or Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after the issuance and sale of the Securities contemplated by the Registration Statement and (ii) each of the recipients of any such shares execute a Lock-Up Agreement for the remainder of the Lock-Up Period;

(q) except as required by applicable law, prior to the Closing Date or Additional Closing Date to provide you with reasonable advance notice of and opportunity to comment on any press release or other communication directly or indirectly and hold no press conferences with respect to the Company or any Subsidiary, the financial condition, results of operations, business, properties, assets, or liabilities of the Company or any Subsidiary, or the offering of the Securities, and to issue no such press release or communications or hold such press conference without your prior consent;

(r) not, at any time at or after the execution of this Agreement during the period when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) in connection with sales of the Securities, to, directly or indirectly, offer or sell any Securities by means of any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act), or use any “prospectus” (within the meaning of the Act) in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities, in each case other than the Prospectus;

(s) not to, and to cause the Subsidiaries not to, take, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or which will constitute, or has constituted, or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities;

(t) to use its best efforts to cause the ADSs, including the Securities, to be listed for quotation on NASDAQ and to maintain the listing of the ADSs, including the Securities, for quotation on NASDAQ;

(u) to maintain a transfer agent or registrar, which such transfer agent or registrar may be the Depositary;

(v) for so long as the Company is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13(g) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, to furnish to the Commission on Form 6-K under the Exchange Act, semi-annually (other than the second semi-annual period, which shall be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F), information, within 60 days of the end of such semi-annual period, with substantially the same form and content as would have been required for a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act if the Company was not a “foreign private issuer” (as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), provided that the unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company contained therein shall be prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB;

 

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(w) to announce the Underwriters’ intention to release any director or “officer” (within the meaning of Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act) of the Company from any of the restrictions imposed by any Lock-Up Agreement, by issuing, through a major news service, a press release, the form of which is attached as Exhibit A-2 hereto, that is reasonably satisfactory to UBS promptly following the Company’s receipt of any notification from UBS in which the Underwriters indicate such intention, but in any case not later than the close of the second business day prior to the date on which such release or waiver is to become effective; provided , however , that nothing shall prevent UBS, on behalf of the Underwriters, from announcing the same through a major news service, irrespective of whether the Company has made the required announcement; and further provided that no such announcement shall be made of any release or waiver granted solely to permit a transfer of securities that is not for consideration and where the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the terms of a Lock-Up Agreement in the form set forth as Exhibit A hereto; and

(x) to, prior to the time of the closing, [facilitate][deliver on behalf of] the Underwriters [to deposit] the ADS Shares with the [Depositary][Custodian] in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and otherwise to comply with the Deposit Agreement so that ADRs evidencing ADSs will be issued by the Depositary against receipt of such ADS Shares and delivered to the Underwriters at the time of the closing.

6. Reimbursement of the Underwriters’ Expenses . If, after the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Securities are not delivered for any reason other than the termination of this Agreement pursuant to the fifth paragraph of Section 9 hereof or the default by one or more of the Underwriters in its or their respective obligations hereunder, the Company shall, in addition to paying the amounts described in Section 5(n) hereof, reimburse the Underwriters for all of their out-of-pocket expenses, including the fees and disbursements of their counsel; provided , however , that the Company shall not be required to reimburse the out of pocket expenses for any defaulting Underwriter.

7. Conditions of the Underwriters’ Obligations . The several obligations of the Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company on the date hereof, at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the Additional Closing Date, the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions precedent:

(a) The Company shall furnish to you on the Closing Date its Articles of Association and an executed copy of (i) the notarized minutes of the board of directors of the Company held on June [12], 2015; (ii) the special report of the Company’s board of directors pursuant to Article 596 of the Belgian Company Code; (iii) the special report of the Company’s statutory auditor pursuant to Article 596 of the Belgian Company Code; (iv) the minutes of the Company’s pricing committee held on June [18], 2015; and (v) a copy of the notarial deed of June [24], 2015 recording the issuance of the Firm Securities and ADS Shares. The Company shall furnish to you at the Additional Closing Date (if applicable), an executed copy of the notarial deed recording the issuance of such Additional Securities.

 

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(b) The Company shall furnish to you at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the Additional Closing Date, an opinion and negative assurance letter of Goodwin Procter LLP, U.S. counsel for the Company, addressed to the Underwriters, and dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, with executed copies for each Underwriter, in the forms set forth in Exhibits B1-1 and B1-2 hereto.

(c) The Company shall furnish to you at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the Additional Closing Date, an opinion of Allen & Overy, LLP, Belgian counsel for the Company, addressed to the Underwriters, and dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, with executed copies for each Underwriter, in the form set forth in Exhibit B2 hereto.

(d) The Company shall furnish to you at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the additional Closing Date, an opinion of [●], special counsel for the Company with respect to certain intellectual property matters, addressed to the Underwriters, and dated the Closing Date or the additional Closing Date, as the case may be, with executed copies for each Underwriter, in the form set forth in Exhibit B3 hereto.

(e) The Company shall furnish to you at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the additional Closing Date, an opinion of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, counsel for the Depositary, addressed to the Underwriters, and dated the Closing Date or the additional Closing Date, as the case may be, with executed copies for each Underwriter, in the form set forth in Exhibit B4 hereto.

(f) You shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers Réviseurs d’Enterprises scrl letters dated, respectively, the date of this Agreement, the date of the Prospectus, the Closing Date and, if applicable, the additional Closing Date, and addressed to the Underwriters (with executed copies for each Underwriter) in the forms reasonably satisfactory to UBS, which letters shall cover, without limitation, the various financial disclosures contained in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(g) You shall have received at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the Additional Closing Date, the favorable opinions of Cooley LLP, U.S. counsel for the Underwriters, dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to UBS.

(h) You shall have received at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the Additional Closing Date, the favorable opinions of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Belgian counsel for the Underwriters, dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to UBS.

(i) No Prospectus or amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall have been filed to which you shall have objected in writing.

 

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(j) The Registration Statement, the Exchange Act Registration Statement, the registration statement on Form F-6 and any registration statement required to be filed, prior to the sale of the Securities, under the Act pursuant to Rule 462(b) shall have been filed and shall have become effective under the Act or the Exchange Act, as the case may be. If Rule 430A under the Act is used, the Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act at or before 5:30 P.M., New York City time, on the second full business day after the date of this Agreement (or such earlier time as may be required under the Act).

(k) Prior to and at the Closing Date, and, if applicable, the Additional Closing Date, (i) no stop order with respect to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall have been issued under the Act or proceedings initiated under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the Act; (ii) the Registration Statement and all amendments thereto shall not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; (iii) neither the Preliminary Prospectus nor the Prospectus, and no amendment or supplement thereto, shall include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; (iv) no Disclosure Package, and no amendment or supplement thereto, shall include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; and (v) none of the Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, and none of the Permitted Exempt Written Communications, if any, shall include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading.

(l) The Company will, at the Closing Date and, if applicable, at the Additional Closing Date, deliver to you a certificate of its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer, dated the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, in the form attached as Exhibit C hereto.

(m) You shall have received each of the signed Lock-Up Agreements referred to in Section 4(gg) hereof, and each such Lock-Up Agreement shall be in full force and effect at the Closing Date and the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.

(n) The Company shall have furnished to you such other documents and certificates as to the accuracy and completeness of any statement in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as of the Closing Date and, if applicable, the Additional Closing Date, as you may reasonably request.

(o) The ADRs shall have been approved for quotation on NASDAQ, subject only to notice of issuance and evidence of satisfactory distribution at or prior to the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.

(p) The Company shall have received a letter or other satisfactory documentation from the FSMA confirming the approval of the Listing Prospectus (as such prospectus has been published on or before the Closing Date).

 

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(q) The Company shall have received a letter from Euronext confirming that on the Closing Date, or with respect to Additional Securities, on the Additional Closing Date, the Shares, the ADS Shares and the Non-Listed Shares shall have been approved for listing on Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris.

(r) FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness or reasonableness of the underwriting, or other arrangements of the transactions, contemplated hereby.

(s) The ADS Shares to be sold by the Company will be deposited with the Depositary, or the Custodian (acting as custodian for the Depositary), on behalf of the Underwriters, in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and otherwise comply with the Deposit Agreement so that ADSs representing such Ordinary Shares will be issued by the Depositary, or the Custodian (acting as custodian for the Depositary), against receipt of such Ordinary Shares and ADSs and/or ADRs evidencing ADSs representing such Ordinary Shares delivered to the Underwriters at the Closing Date. The Depositary, or the Custodian (acting as custodian for the Depositary), shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Representative at the Closing Time certificates reasonably satisfactory to the Representative evidencing the deposit with it of the ADS Shares being so deposited against issuance of ADRs evidencing the ADSs to be delivered by the Company at the Closing Date, and the execution, countersignature (if applicable), issuance and delivery of ADRs evidencing such ADSs pursuant to the Deposit Agreement.

(t) The Deposit Agreement shall be in full force and effect.

8. Effective Date of Agreement; Termination . This Agreement shall become effective when the parties hereto have executed and delivered this Agreement.

The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder shall be subject to termination in the absolute discretion of UBS, if (1) since the time of execution of this Agreement or the earlier respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus there has been any change or any development involving a prospective change in the business, properties, management, financial condition or results of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, the effect of which change or development is, in the judgment of UBS, so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or (2) since the time of execution of this Agreement, there shall have occurred: (A) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on Euronext, the NYSE, the American Stock Exchange or NASDAQ; (B) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on NASDAQ or Euronext; (C) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States or Belgium; (D) an outbreak or escalation of hostilities or

 

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acts of terrorism involving the United States or Belgium or a declaration by the United States or Belgium of a national emergency or war; or (E) any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States, Belgium or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (D) or (E), in the judgment of UBS, makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Securities on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

If UBS elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 8, the Company and each other Underwriter shall be notified promptly in writing.

If the sale to the Underwriters of the Securities, as contemplated by this Agreement, is not carried out by the Underwriters for any reason permitted under this Agreement, or if such sale is not carried out because the Company shall be unable to comply with any of the terms of this Agreement, the Company shall not be under any obligation or liability under this Agreement (except to the extent provided in Sections 5(n), 8 and 10 hereof), and the Underwriters shall be under no obligation or liability to the Company under this Agreement (except to the extent provided in Section 10 hereof) or to one another hereunder.

9. Increase in Underwriters’ Commitments . Subject to Sections 7 and 8 hereof, if any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to take up and pay for the Firm Securities to be purchased by it hereunder (otherwise than for a failure of a condition set forth in Section 7 hereof or a reason sufficient to justify the termination of this Agreement under the provisions of Section 8 hereof) and if the number of Firm Securities which all Underwriters so defaulting shall have agreed but failed to take up and pay for does not exceed 10% of the total number of Firm Securities, the non-defaulting Underwriters (including the Underwriters, if any, substituted in the manner set forth below) shall take up and pay for (in addition to the aggregate number of Firm Securities they are obligated to purchase pursuant to Section 1 hereof) the number of Firm Securities agreed to be purchased by all such defaulting Underwriters, as hereinafter provided. Such Securities shall be taken up and paid for by such non-defaulting Underwriters in such amount or amounts as you may designate with the consent of each Underwriter so designated or, in the event no such designation is made, such Securities shall be taken up and paid for by all non-defaulting Underwriters pro rata in proportion to the aggregate number of Firm Shares and Firm ADSs set forth opposite the names of such non-defaulting Underwriters in Schedule A .

Without relieving any defaulting Underwriter from its obligations hereunder, the Company agrees with the non-defaulting Underwriters that it will not sell any Firm ADSs hereunder unless all of the Firm ADS Shares are purchased by the Underwriters (or by substituted Underwriters selected by you with the approval of the Company or selected by the Company with your approval).

If a new Underwriter or Underwriters are substituted by the Underwriters or by the Company for a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters in accordance with the foregoing provision, the Company or you shall have the right to postpone the Closing Date for a period not exceeding five business days in order that any necessary changes in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and other documents may be effected.

 

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The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall refer to and include any Underwriter substituted under this Section 9 with like effect as if such substituted Underwriter had originally been named in Schedule A hereto.

If the aggregate number of Firm Securities which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed to purchase exceeds 10% of the total number of Firm Securities which all Underwriters agreed to purchase hereunder, and if neither the non-defaulting Underwriters nor the Company shall make arrangements within the five business day period stated above for the purchase of all the Firm Securities which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed to purchase hereunder, this Agreement shall terminate without further act or deed and without any liability on the part of the Company to any Underwriter and without any liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter to the Company. Nothing in this paragraph, and no action taken hereunder, shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.

10. Indemnity and Contribution .

(a) The Company agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless each Underwriter, its partners, directors, officers and members, any person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and any “affiliate” (within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act) of such Underwriter, and the successors and assigns of all of the foregoing persons, from and against any loss, damage, expense, liability or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which, jointly or severally, any such Underwriter or any such person may incur under the Act, the Exchange Act, the common law or otherwise, insofar as such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or in the Registration Statement as amended by any post-effective amendment thereof by the Company) or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, except insofar as any such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information concerning such Underwriter furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Underwriter through you to the Company expressly for use in, the Registration Statement or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in the Registration Statement in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was required to be stated in such Registration Statement or was necessary to make such information not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any Prospectus (the term Prospectus for the purpose of this Section 10 being deemed to include any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements to the foregoing), in the Listing Prospectus, in any Covered Free Writing Prospectus, in any Covered Exempt Written Communication, in any “issuer information” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Act) of the Company, or in any Prospectus together with any combination

 

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of one or more of the Covered Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, and one or more Covered Exempt Written Communications, if any, or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except, with respect to such Prospectus, any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or any Permitted Exempt Written Communication, insofar as any such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information concerning such Underwriter furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Underwriter through you to the Company expressly for use in, such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or Permitted Exempt Written Communication or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or Permitted Exempt Written Communication in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was necessary in order to make the statements in such information, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and will reimburse each “indemnified party” (defined below) for any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending against any loss, damage, expense, liability, claim, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such indemnified party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to the above as such fees and expenses are incurred.

(b) Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Company, its directors and officers, and any person who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the successors and assigns of all of the foregoing persons, from and against any loss, damage, expense, liability or claim (including the reasonable cost of investigation) which, jointly or severally, the Company or any such person may incur under the Act, the Exchange Act, the common law or otherwise, insofar as such loss, damage, expense, liability or claim arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information concerning such Underwriter furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Underwriter through you to the Company expressly for use in, the Registration Statement (or in the Registration Statement as amended by any post-effective amendment thereof by the Company), or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in such Registration Statement in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was required to be stated in such Registration Statement or was necessary to make such information not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in, and in conformity with information concerning such Underwriter furnished in writing by or on behalf of such Underwriter through you to the Company expressly for use in, a Prospectus or a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, or a Permitted Exempt Written Communication, or arises out of or is based upon any omission or alleged omission to state a material fact in such Prospectus or Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or Permitted

 

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Exempt Written Communication in connection with such information, which material fact was not contained in such information and which material fact was necessary in order to make the statements in such information, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(c) If any action, suit or proceeding (each, a “ Proceeding ”) is brought against a person (an “ indemnified party ”) in respect of which indemnity may be sought against the Company or an Underwriter (as applicable, the “ indemnifying party ”) pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), respectively, of this Section 10, such indemnified party shall promptly notify such indemnifying party in writing of the institution of such Proceeding and such indemnifying party shall assume the defense of such Proceeding, including the retention of counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, and pay all legal or other fees and expenses related to such Proceeding or incurred in connection with such indemnified party’s enforcement of subsection (a) of this Section 10; provided , however , that the omission to so notify such indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability that such indemnifying party may have to any indemnified party or otherwise except to the extent of any prejudice caused to the indemnifying party by any omission or delay to notify. The indemnified party or parties shall have the right to retain its or their own counsel in any such case, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such indemnified party or parties unless (i) the retention of such counsel shall have been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party in connection with the defense of such Proceeding, (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have, within a reasonable period of time in light of the circumstances, retained counsel to defend such Proceeding or (iii) such indemnified party or parties shall have reasonably concluded that there may be defenses available to it or them that are different from, additional to or in conflict with those available to such indemnifying party (in which case such indemnifying party shall not have the right to direct the defense of such Proceeding on behalf of the indemnified party or parties), in any of which events such fees and expenses shall be borne by such indemnifying party and paid as incurred (it being understood, however, that such indemnifying party shall not be liable for the fees or expenses of more than one separate counsel (in addition to any local counsel) in any one Proceeding or series of related Proceedings in the same jurisdiction representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such Proceeding). The indemnifying party shall not be liable for any settlement of any Proceeding effected without its written consent but, if settled with its written consent, such indemnifying party agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the indemnified party or parties from and against any loss or liability by reason of such settlement. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by the second sentence of this Section10(c), then the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any Proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 60 business days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have fully reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement and (iii) such indemnified party shall have given the indemnifying party at least 30 days’ prior notice of its intention to settle. No indemnifying party shall,

 

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without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened Proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such Proceeding and does not include an admission of fault or culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of such indemnified party.

(d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 10 is unavailable to an indemnified party under subsections (a) and (b) of this Section 10 or insufficient to hold an indemnified party harmless in respect of any losses, damages, expenses, liabilities or claims referred to therein, then each applicable indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, damages, expenses, liabilities or claims (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, damages, expenses, liabilities or claims, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total proceeds from the offering (net of underwriting discounts and commissions but before deducting expenses) received by the Company, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Securities. The relative fault of the Company on the one hand and of the Underwriters on the other shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission relates to information supplied by the Company or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, damages, expenses, liabilities and claims referred to in this subsection shall be deemed to include any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating, preparing to defend or defending any Proceeding.

(e) The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 10 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation that does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in subsection (d) above. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 10, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by such Underwriter and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damage which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent

 

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misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 10 are several in proportion to their respective underwriting commitments and not joint.

(f) The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in this Section 10 and the covenants, warranties and representations of the Company contained in this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, its partners, directors, officers or members or any person (including each partner, officer, director or member of such person) who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or by or on behalf of the Company, its directors or officers or any person who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and shall survive any termination of this Agreement or the issuance and delivery of the Securities. The Company and each Underwriter agree promptly to notify each other of the commencement of any Proceeding against it and, in the case of the Company, against any of the Company’s officers or directors in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities, or in connection with the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.

11. Information Furnished by the Underwriters . The statements set forth in the last paragraph on the cover page of the Prospectus regarding the delivery of the Securities, the list of Underwriters and their respective participation in the sale of the Securities, the statements set forth under “Underwriting Commissions” in the Prospectus and the statements set forth in the paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting” in the Prospectus, only insofar as such statements relate to the amount of selling concession and reallowance or to over-allotment and stabilization activities that may be undertaken by the Underwriters, constitute the only information furnished by or on behalf of the Underwriters, as such information is referred to in Sections 4 and 10 hereof.

12. Notices . Except as otherwise herein provided, all statements, requests, notices and agreements shall be in writing or by telegram or facsimile and, if to the Underwriters, shall be sufficient in all respects if delivered or sent to 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019, Attention: Syndicate (fax: (212) 713-3371); and if to the Company, shall be sufficient in all respects if delivered or sent to the Company at the offices of the Company at Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium (facsimile: +32(0) 10 39 41 41, Attention: Christian Homsy.

13. Governing Law; Construction . This Agreement and any claim, counterclaim or dispute of any kind or nature whatsoever arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement (“ Claim ”), directly or indirectly, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflicts of law principles thereof. The section headings in this Agreement have been inserted as a matter of convenience of reference and are not a part of this Agreement.

 

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14. Submission to Jurisdiction . Except as set forth below, no Claim may be commenced, prosecuted or continued in any court other than the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (each, a “ New York Court ”), which courts shall have jurisdiction over the adjudication of such matters, and the Company consents to the jurisdiction of such courts and personal service with respect thereto. The Company hereby consents to personal jurisdiction, service and venue in any court in which any Claim arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement is brought by any third party against any Underwriter or any indemnified party. The Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of venue of any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, the offering of the Securities or any transactions contemplated hereby in a New York Court, and irrevocably and unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit or proceeding in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

The Company hereby irrevocably appoints CT Corporation System (the “ Authorized Agent ”) as its agent for service of process upon which process may be served in any such suit or proceeding that may be instituted in a New York Court, and agrees that service of process in any manner permitted by applicable law upon such Authorized Agent shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process in any manner permitted by applicable law upon the Company in any such suit or proceeding. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. The Company represents and warrants that the Authorized Agent has agreed to act as agent for service of process. The Company further agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, as may be necessary to maintain such designation and appointment of such agent in full force and effect for a period of seven years from the date of this Agreement.

Each Underwriter and the Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its shareholders and affiliates) waive all right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement. The Company agrees that a final judgment in any such action, proceeding or counterclaim brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and may be enforced in any other courts to the jurisdiction of which the Company is or may be subject, by suit upon such judgment.

The Company irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, all immunity (whether on the basis of sovereignty or otherwise) from jurisdiction, service of process, attachment (both before and after judgment) and execution to which it might otherwise be entitled in the New York Courts, and with respect to any judgment in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement, each party waives any such immunity in the New York Courts or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and will not raise or claim or cause to be pleaded any such immunity at or in respect of any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement or related judgment, including, without limitation, any immunity pursuant to the United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, as amended.

 

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15. Parties at Interest . The Agreement herein set forth has been and is made solely for the benefit of the Underwriters and the Company and to the extent provided in Section 10 hereof the controlling persons, partners, directors, officers, members and affiliates referred to in such Section, and their respective successors, assigns, heirs, personal representatives and executors and administrators. No other person, partnership, association or corporation (including a purchaser, as such purchaser, from any of the Underwriters) shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement.

16. No Fiduciary Relationship . The Company hereby acknowledges that the Underwriters are acting solely as underwriters in connection with the purchase and sale of the Company’s securities. The Company further acknowledges that the Underwriters are acting pursuant to a contractual relationship created solely by this Agreement entered into on an arm’s length basis, and in no event do the parties intend that the Underwriters act or be responsible as a fiduciary to the Company, its management, stockholders or creditors or any other person in connection with any activity that the Underwriters may undertake or has undertaken in furtherance of the purchase and sale of the Company’s securities, either before or after the date hereof. The Underwriters hereby expressly disclaim any fiduciary or similar obligations to the Company, either in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions, and the Company hereby confirms its understanding and agreement to that effect. The Company and the Underwriters agree that they are each responsible for making their own independent judgments with respect to any such transactions and that any opinions or views expressed by the Underwriters to the Company regarding such transactions, including, but not limited to, any opinions or views with respect to the price or market for the Company’s securities, do not constitute advice or recommendations to the Company. The Company and the Underwriters agree that the Underwriters are acting as principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company and no Underwriter has assumed, and none of them will assume, any advisory responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether any Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters). The Company hereby waives and releases, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims that the Company may have against the Underwriters with respect to any breach or alleged breach of any fiduciary, advisory or similar duty to the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any matters leading up to such transactions.

17. Counterparts . This Agreement may be signed by the parties in one or more counterparts which together shall constitute one and the same agreement among the parties.

18. Successors and Assigns . This Agreement shall be binding upon the Underwriters and the Company and their successors and assigns and any successor or assign of any substantial portion of the Company’s and any of the Underwriters’ respective businesses and/or assets.

19. Judgment Currency . In respect of any judgment or order given or made for any amount due hereunder that is expressed and paid in a currency (the “ judgment currency ”) other than United States dollars, the Company will indemnify each Underwriter against any loss incurred by such Underwriter as a result of any variation as between (a) the rate of exchange at which the United States dollar amount is converted into the judgment currency for the purpose of

 

- 41 -


such judgment or order and (b) the rate of exchange at which an Underwriter is able to purchase United States dollars with the amount of the judgment currency actually received by such Underwriter. The foregoing indemnity shall constitute a separate and independent obligation of the Company and shall continue in full force and effect notwithstanding any such judgment or order as aforesaid. The term “rate of exchange” shall include any premiums and costs of exchange payable in connection with the purchase of or conversion into United States dollars.

20. Miscellaneous . UBS, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of UBS AG, is not a bank and is separate from any affiliated bank, including any U.S. branch or agency of UBS AG. Because UBS is a separately incorporated entity, it is solely responsible for its own contractual obligations and commitments, including obligations with respect to sales and purchases of securities. Securities sold, offered or recommended by UBS are not deposits, are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, are not guaranteed by a branch or agency, and are not otherwise an obligation or responsibility of a branch or agency. Any placement services to be provided by UBS pursuant to the terms of this Agreement in the European Economic Area (“ EEA ”) shall be provided by its affiliate, UBS Limited, a limited liability company, with registered seat at 1 Finsbury Avenue London, EC2M 2PP, United Kingdom.

[ The Remainder of This Page Intentionally Left Blank; Signature Page Follows ]

 

- 42 -


If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the several Underwriters, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this Agreement and your acceptance shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Underwriters, severally.

 

Very truly yours,
C ELYAD SA
By:

 

Name:
Title:

 


Accepted and agreed to as of the date first above written, on behalf of itself and the other several Underwriters named in Schedule A
UBS S ECURITIES LLC
By: UBS S ECURITIES LLC
By:

 

Name:
Title:
By:

 

Name:
Title:


SCHEDULE A

 

Underwriter

   Number of
Firm Shares
   Number of
Firm ADSs

UBS SECURITIES LLC

      [●]

PIPER JAFFRAY & CO

     

PETERCAM NV/SA

     

BRYAN, GARNIER & CO.

     

LIFESCI CAPITAL, LLC

     

LAKE STREET CAPITAL MARKETS LLC

     

Total

      [●]


SCHEDULE B

Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses

 

 

Permitted Exempt Written Communications

 

 

Pricing Information Provided Orally by Underwriters

Price per Share to the public: $[●]

Price per ADS to the public: $[●]

Number of Firm Shares Offered: [●]

Number of Firm ADSs Offered: [●]

Number of Additional Shares: [●]

Number of Additional ADSs: [●]


SCHEDULE C


SCHEDULE D

As compensation for the Underwriters’ commitments, the Company shall pay to the Representative for the Underwriters’ proportionate accounts the sum of (i) the product of €[●] and the number of Ordinary Shares (including any Additional Securities in the form of Ordinary Shares) purchased by the Underwriters from the Company on the Closing Date (or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be) and (ii) the product of $[●] and the number of ADSs (including any Additional Securities in the form of ADSs) purchased by the Underwriters from the Company on the Closing Date (or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be). Such payment shall be made by the Company promptly following the issuance of the Firm Securities (or the Additional Securities, as the case may be) and the acknowledgment and recording of the Deed on the Closing Date (or the Additional Closing Date) with respect to such Firm Securities (or such Additional Securities, as the case may be) purchased on such date by wire transfer or credit of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Representative, in Euro, with the amount of USD being converted to Euro at the Exchange Rate.

Exhibit 4.1

EXECUTION COPY

 

 

DEPOSIT AGREEMENT

 

 

by and among

CELYAD SA

AND

CITIBANK, N.A.,

as Depositary,

AND

THE HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF

AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

ISSUED HEREUNDER

 

 

Dated as of [DATE] , 2015


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page  
ARTICLE I    DEFINITIONS      1   
Section 1.1    “ADS Record Date”      1   
Section 1.2    “Affiliate”      2   
Section 1.3    “American Depositary Receipt(s)”, “ADR(s)” and “Receipt(s)”      2   
Section 1.4    “American Depositary Share(s)” and “ADS(s)”      2   
Section 1.5    “Applicant”      2   
Section 1.6    “Beneficial Owner”      2   
Section 1.7    “Certificated ADS(s)”      3   
Section 1.8    “Commission”      3   
Section 1.9    “Company”      3   
Section 1.10    “Custodian”      3   
Section 1.11    “Deliver” and “Delivery”      3   
Section 1.12    “Deposit Agreement”      3   
Section 1.13    “Depositary”      4   
Section 1.14    “Deposited Property”      4   
Section 1.15    “Deposited Securities”      4   
Section 1.16    “Dollars” and “$”      4   
Section 1.17    “DTC”      4   
Section 1.18    “DTC Participant”      4   
Section 1.19    “Euro” and “€”      4   
Section 1.20    “Euroclear”      4   
Section 1.21    “Exchange Act”      4   
Section 1.22    “Foreign Currency”      5   
Section 1.23    “Full Entitlement ADR(s)”, “Full Entitlement ADS(s)” and “Full Entitlement Share(s)”      5   
Section 1.24    “Holder(s)”      5   
Section 1.27    “Partial Entitlement ADR(s)”, “Partial Entitlement ADS(s)” and “Partial Entitlement Share(s)”      5   
Section 1.28    “Pre-Release Transaction”      5   
Section 1.29    “Principal Office”      5   
Section 1.30    “Registrar”      5   
Section 1.31    “Restricted Securities”      5   
Section 1.32    “Restricted ADR(s)”, “Restricted ADS(s)” and “Restricted Shares”      6   
Section 1.33    “Securities Act”      6   
Section 1.34    “Settlement System”      6   
Section 1.35    “Shares”      6   
Section 1.36    “Uncertificated ADS(s)”      7   
Section 1.37    “United States” and “U.S.”      7   

 

i


ARTICLE II APPOINTMENT OF DEPOSITARY; FORM OF RECEIPTS; DEPOSIT OF SHARES; EXECUTION AND DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS   7   
Section 2.1 Appointment of Depositary   7   
Section 2.2 Form and Transferability of ADSs   7   
Section 2.3 Deposit of Shares   9   
Section 2.4 Registration and Safekeeping of Deposited Securities   11   
Section 2.5 Issuance of ADSs   11   
Section 2.6 Transfer, Combination and Split-up of ADRs   12   
Section 2.7 Surrender of ADSs and Withdrawal of Deposited Securities   13   
Section 2.8 Limitations on Execution and Delivery, Transfer, etc. of ADSs; Suspension of Delivery, Transfer, etc   14   
Section 2.9 Lost ADRs, etc   15   
Section 2.10 Cancellation and Destruction of Surrendered ADRs; Maintenance of Records   15   
Section 2.11 Escheatment   15   
Section 2.12 Partial Entitlement ADSs   16   
Section 2.13 Certificated/Uncertificated ADSs   16   
Section 2.14 Restricted ADSs   18   
ARTICLE III CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF ADSs   19   
Section 3.1 Proofs, Certificates and Other Information   19   
Section 3.2 Liability for Taxes and Other Charges   20   
Section 3.3 Representations and Warranties on Deposit of Shares   20   
Section 3.4 Compliance with Information Requests   21   
Section 3.5 Ownership Restrictions   21   
Section 3.6 Reporting Obligations and Regulatory Approvals   21   
Section 3.7 Disclosure of Interest   22   
ARTICLE IV THE DEPOSITED SECURITIES   24   
Section 4.1 Cash Distributions   24   
Section 4.2 Distribution in Shares   25   
Section 4.3 Elective Distributions in Cash or Shares   25   
Section 4.4 Distribution of Rights to Purchase Additional Shares in the Form of ADSs   26   
Section 4.5 Distributions Other Than Cash, Shares or Rights to Purchase Shares   28   
Section 4.6 [RESERVED]   29   
Section 4.7 Redemption   29   
Section 4.8 Conversion of Foreign Currency   30   
Section 4.9 Fixing of ADS Record Date   30   
Section 4.10 Voting of Deposited Securities   31   
Section 4.11 Changes Affecting Deposited Securities   33   
Section 4.12 Available Information   34   
Section 4.13 Reports   34   
Section 4.14 List of Holders   34   
Section 4.15 Taxation   34   

 

ii


ARTICLE V THE DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIAN AND THE COMPANY   36   
Section 5.1 Maintenance of Office and Transfer Books by the Registrar   36   
Section 5.2 Exoneration   36   
Section 5.3 Standard of Care   37   
Section 5.4 Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary   38   
Section 5.5 The Custodian   38   
Section 5.6 Notices and Reports   39   
Section 5.7 Issuance of Additional Shares, ADSs etc   40   
Section 5.8 Indemnification   41   
Section 5.9 ADS Fees and Charges   42   
Section 5.10 Pre-Release Transactions   43   
Section 5.11 Restricted Securities Owners   44   
ARTICLE VI AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION   44   
Section 6.1 Amendment/Supplement   44   
Section 6.2 Termination   45   
ARTICLE VII MISCELLANEOUS   46   
Section 7.1 Counterparts   46   
Section 7.2 No Third-Party Beneficiaries   46   
Section 7.3 Severability   46   
Section 7.4 Holders and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect   46   
Section 7.5 Notices   47   
Section 7.6 Governing Law and Jurisdiction   47   
Section 7.7 Assignment   49   
Section 7.8 Compliance with U.S. Securities Laws   49   
Section 7.9 Belgian Law References   49   
Section 7.10 Titles and References   49   
EXHIBITS
Form of ADR   A-1   
Fee Schedule   B-1   

 

iii


DEPOSIT AGREEMENT

DEPOSIT AGREEMENT , dated as of [DATE] , 2015, by and among (i) CELYAD SA, a company organized and existing under the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium, and its successors (the “Company”), (ii) CITIBANK, N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of the United States of America acting in its capacity as depositary, and any successor depositary hereunder (the “Depositary”), and (iii) all Holders and Beneficial Owners of American Depositary Shares issued hereunder (all such capitalized terms as hereinafter defined).

W I T N E S S E T H     T H A T :

WHEREAS , the Company desires to establish with the Depositary an ADR facility to provide for the deposit of the Shares (as hereinafter defined) and the creation of American Depositary Shares representing the Shares so deposited and for the execution and delivery of American Depositary Receipts (as hereinafter defined) evidencing such American Depositary Shares; and

WHEREAS , the Depositary is willing to act as the Depositary for such ADR facility upon the terms set forth in the Deposit Agreement (as hereinafter defined); and

WHEREAS , any American Depositary Receipts issued pursuant to the terms of the Deposit Agreement are to be substantially in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto, with appropriate insertions, modifications and omissions, as hereinafter provided in the Deposit Agreement; and

WHEREAS , the Shares are listed on the Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris, and American Depositary Shares to be issued pursuant to the terms of the Deposit Agreement are to be listed for trading on Nasdaq; and

WHEREAS , the Board of Directors of the Company (or an authorized committee thereof) has duly approved the establishment of an ADR facility upon the terms set forth in the Deposit Agreement, the execution and delivery of the Deposit Agreement on behalf of the Company, and the actions of the Company and the transactions contemplated herein.

NOW, THEREFORE , for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

All capitalized terms used, but not otherwise defined, herein shall have the meanings set forth below, unless otherwise clearly indicated:

Section 1.1 ADS Record Date ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 4.9.

 

1


Section 1.2 Affiliate ” shall have the meaning assigned to such term by the Commission (as hereinafter defined) under Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act (as hereinafter defined), or under any successor regulation thereto.

Section 1.3 American Depositary Receipt(s) ”, “ ADR(s) ” and “ Receipt(s) ” shall mean the certificate(s) issued by the Depositary to evidence the American Depositary Shares issued under the terms of the Deposit Agreement in the form of Certificated ADS(s) (as hereinafter defined), as such ADRs may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement. An ADR may evidence any number of ADSs and may, in the case of ADSs held through a central depository such as DTC, be in the form of a “Balance Certificate.”

Section 1.4 American Depositary Share(s) ” and “ ADS(s) ” shall mean the rights and interests in the Deposited Property (as hereinafter defined) granted to the Holders and Beneficial Owners pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and, if issued as Certificated ADS(s) (as hereinafter defined), the ADR(s) issued to evidence such ADSs. ADS(s) may be issued under the terms of the Deposit Agreement in the form of (a) Certificated ADS(s) (as hereinafter defined), in which case the ADS(s) are evidenced by ADR(s), or (b) Uncertificated ADS(s) (as hereinafter defined), in which case the ADS(s) are not evidenced by ADR(s) but are reflected on the direct registration system maintained by the Depositary for such purposes under the terms of Section 2.13. Unless otherwise specified in the Deposit Agreement or in any ADR, or unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to ADS(s) shall include Certificated ADS(s) and Uncertificated ADS(s), individually or collectively, as the context may require. Each ADS shall represent the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial ownership interests in, the number of Shares specified in the form of ADR attached hereto as Exhibit A (as amended from time to time) that are on deposit with the Depositary and/or the Custodian, subject, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR (if issued as a Certificated ADS), until there shall occur a distribution upon Deposited Securities referred to in Section 4.2 or a change in Deposited Securities referred to in Section 4.11 with respect to which additional ADSs are not issued, and thereafter each ADS shall represent the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial ownership interests in, the applicable Deposited Property on deposit with the Depositary and the Custodian determined in accordance with the terms of such Sections, subject, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR (if issued as a Certificated ADS).

Section 1.5 Applicant ” shall have the meaning given to such term in Section 5.10.

Section 1.6 Beneficial Owner ” shall mean, as to any ADS, any person or entity having a beneficial interest deriving from the ownership of such ADS. Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement, any ADR(s) or any other instruments or agreements relating to the ADSs and the corresponding Deposited Property, the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective nominees are intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the Deposit Agreement be, the record holders only of the Deposited Property represented by the ADSs for the benefit of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of the corresponding ADSs. The Depositary, on its own behalf and on behalf of the Custodian and their respective nominees, disclaims any beneficial ownership interest in the Deposited Property held on behalf of the

 

2


Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs. The beneficial ownership interests in the Deposited Property are intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the Deposit Agreement continue to be, vested in the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing the Deposited Property. The beneficial ownership interests in the Deposited Property shall, unless otherwise agreed by the Depositary, be exercisable by the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs only through the Holders of such ADSs, by the Holders of the ADSs (on behalf of the applicable Beneficial Owners) only through the Depositary, and by the Depositary (on behalf of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of the corresponding ADSs) directly, or indirectly through the Custodian or their respective nominees, in each case upon the terms of the Deposit Agreement and, if applicable, the terms of the ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs. A Beneficial Owner of ADSs may or may not be the Holder of such ADSs. A Beneficial Owner shall be able to exercise any right or receive any benefit hereunder solely through the person who is the Holder of the ADSs owned by such Beneficial Owner. Unless otherwise identified to the Depositary, a Holder shall be deemed to be the Beneficial Owner of all the ADSs registered in his/her/its name.

Section 1.7 Certificated ADS(s) ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.13.

Section 1.8 Commission ” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States or any successor governmental agency thereto in the United States.

Section 1.9 Company ” shall mean Celyad SA, a company organized and existing under the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium, and its successors.

Section 1.10 Custodian ” shall mean (i) as of the date hereof, Citibank International Limited, having its principal office at EGSP 186, 1 North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 Ireland, as the custodian of Deposited Property for the purposes of the Deposit Agreement, (ii) Citibank, N.A., acting as custodian of Deposited Property pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) any other entity that may be appointed by the Depositary pursuant to the terms of Section 5.5 as successor, substitute or additional custodian hereunder. The term “Custodian” shall mean any Custodian individually or all Custodians collectively, as the context requires.

Section 1.11 Deliver ” and “ Delivery ” shall mean (x)  when used in respect of Shares and other Deposited Securities in registered form , a record of transfer of ownership in the register of the relevant registered securities, (y)  when used in respect of Shares and other Deposited Securities in dematerialized form (book-entry form) , the book-entry transfer and recordation of such securities on the books of any Settlement System (as hereinafter defined), and (z)  when used in respect of ADSs , either (i) the physical delivery of ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs, or (ii) the book-entry transfer and recordation of ADSs on the books of the Depositary or any book-entry settlement system in which the ADSs are settlement-eligible.

Section 1.12 Deposit Agreement ” shall mean this Deposit Agreement and all exhibits hereto, as the same may from time to time be amended and supplemented from time to time in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement.

 

3


Section 1.13 Depositary ” shall mean Citibank, N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of the United States, in its capacity as depositary under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, and any successor depositary hereunder.

Section 1.14 Deposited Property ” shall mean the Deposited Securities and any cash and other property held on deposit by the Depositary and the Custodian in respect of the ADSs or the Deposited Securities under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, subject, in the case of cash, to the provisions of Section 4.8. All Deposited Property shall be held by Custodian, the Depositary and their respective nominees for the benefit of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing the Deposited Property. The Deposited Property is not intended to, and shall not, constitute proprietary assets of the Depositary, the Custodian or their nominees. Beneficial ownership in the Deposited Property is intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the Deposit Agreement continue to be, vested in the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing the Deposited Property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the collateral delivered in connection with Pre-Release Transactions described in Section 5.10 shall not constitute Deposited Property.

Section 1.15 Deposited Securities ” shall mean the Shares and any other securities held on deposit by the Custodian from time to time in respect of the ADSs under the Deposit Agreement and constituting Deposited Property.

Section 1.16 Dollars ” and “ $ ” shall refer to the lawful currency of the United States.

Section 1.17 DTC ” shall mean The Depository Trust Company, a national clearinghouse and the central book-entry settlement system for securities traded in the United States and, as such, the custodian for the securities of DTC Participants (as hereinafter defined) maintained in DTC, and any successor thereto.

Section 1.18 DTC Participant ” shall mean any financial institution (or any nominee of such institution) having one or more participant accounts with DTC for receiving, holding and delivering the securities and cash held in DTC. A DTC Participant may or may not be a Beneficial Owner. If a DTC Participant is not the Beneficial Owner of the ADSs credited to its account at DTC, or of the ADSs in respect of which the DTC Participant is otherwise acting, such DTC Participant shall be deemed, for all purposes hereunder, to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of the Beneficial Owner(s) of the ADSs credited to its account at DTC or in respect of which the DTC Participant is so acting.

Section 1.19 Euro ” and “ ” shall refer to the lawful currency of the European Union.

Section 1.20 Euroclear ” shall mean Caisse interprofessionnelle de dépôts et de virements de titres/Interprofessionele effectendeposito- en girokas (CIK, with commercial name Euroclear Belgium), the entity which provides the book-entry settlement system for equity securities in the Kingdom of Belgium, or any successor entity thereto.

Section 1.21 Exchange Act ” shall mean the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

 

4


Section 1.22 Foreign Currency ” shall mean any currency other than Dollars.

Section 1.23 Full Entitlement ADR(s) ”, “ Full Entitlement ADS(s) ” and “ Full Entitlement Share(s) ” shall have the respective meanings set forth in Section 2.12.

Section 1.24 Holder(s) ” shall mean the person(s) in whose name the ADSs are registered on the books of the Depositary (or the Registrar, if any) maintained for such purpose. A Holder may or may not be a Beneficial Owner. If a Holder is not the Beneficial Owner of the ADS(s) registered in its name, such person shall be deemed, for all purposes hereunder, to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs registered in its name.

Section 1.25 Partial Entitlement ADR(s) ”, “ Partial Entitlement ADS(s) ” and “ Partial Entitlement Share(s) ” shall have the respective meanings set forth in Section 2.12.

Section 1.26 Pre-Release Transaction ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 5.10.

Section 1.27 Principal Office ” shall mean, when used with respect to the Depositary, the principal office of the Depositary at which at any particular time its depositary receipts business shall be administered, which, at the date of the Deposit Agreement, is located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, U.S.A.

Section 1.28 Registrar ” shall mean the Depositary or any bank or trust company having an office in the United States, which shall be appointed by the Depositary to register issuances, transfers and cancellations of ADSs as herein provided, and shall include any co-registrar appointed by the Depositary for such purposes. Registrars (other than the Depositary) may be removed and substitutes appointed by the Depositary. Each Registrar (other than the Depositary) appointed pursuant to the Deposit Agreement shall be required to give notice in writing to the Depositary accepting such appointment and agreeing to be bound by the applicable terms of the Deposit Agreement.

Section 1.29 Restricted Securities ” shall mean Shares, Deposited Securities or ADSs which (i) have been acquired directly or indirectly from the Company or any of its Affiliates in a transaction or chain of transactions not involving any public offering and are subject to resale limitations under the Securities Act or the rules issued thereunder, or (ii) are held by an executive officer or director (or persons performing similar functions) or other Affiliate of the Company, or (iii) are subject to other restrictions on sale or deposit under the laws of the United States, the Kingdom of Belgium, or under a shareholder agreement or the Articles of Association of the Company or under the regulations of an applicable securities exchange unless, in each case, such Shares, Deposited Securities or ADSs are being transferred or sold to persons other than an Affiliate of the Company in a transaction (a) covered by an effective resale registration statement, or (b) exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act (as hereinafter defined), and the Shares, Deposited Securities or ADSs are not, when held by such person(s), Restricted Securities.

 

5


Section 1.30 Restricted ADR(s) ”, “ Restricted ADS(s) ” and “ Restricted Shares ” shall have the respective meanings set forth in Section 2.14.

Section 1.31 Securities Act ” shall mean the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended from time to time.

Section 1.32 Settlement System ” shall mean any settlement system recognized under any applicable law to record a book-entry transfer of Shares and other Deposited Securities including any settlement organism ( organisme de liquidation / vereffeningsinstellingen ) or designated account holder ( teneur de compte agréé / erkende rekeninghouder ) recognized from time to time under Belgian law. On the date hereof, the only Settlement System eligible for Shares in dematerialized form is Euroclear and any reference to the books of the Settlement System is to be construed as the books of Euroclear and, as the case may be, any designated accountholder through which Shares are held in the settlement system of Euroclear.

Section 1.33 Shares ” shall mean the Company’s ordinary shares, no nominal value, validly issued and outstanding and fully paid and may, if the Depositary so agrees after consultation with the Company, include evidence of the right to receive Shares; provided that in no event shall Shares include evidence of the right to receive Shares with respect to which the full purchase price has not been paid or Shares as to which preemptive rights have theretofore not been validly waived or exercised; provided further, however, that, if there shall occur any change in nominal value, split up, consolidation, reclassification, exchange, conversion or any other event described in Section 4.11 in respect of the Shares of the Company, the term “Shares” shall thereafter, to the maximum extent permitted by law, represent the successor securities resulting from such event.

Section 1.34 Uncertificated ADS(s) ” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.13.

Section 1.35 United States ” and “ U.S. ” shall have the meaning assigned to it in Regulation S as promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act.

 

6


ARTICLE II

APPOINTMENT OF DEPOSITARY; FORM OF RECEIPTS;

DEPOSIT OF SHARES; EXECUTION AND

DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS

Section 2.1 Appointment of Depositary . The Company hereby appoints the Depositary as depositary for the Deposited Property and hereby authorizes and directs the Depositary to act in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADRs. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner, upon acceptance of any ADSs (or any interest therein) issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed for all purposes to (a) be a party to and bound by the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), and (b) appoint the Depositary its attorney-in-fact, with full power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take any and all actions contemplated in the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), to adopt any and all procedures necessary to comply with applicable law and to take such action as the Depositary in its sole discretion may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), the taking of such actions to be the conclusive determinant of the necessity and appropriateness thereof.

Section 2.2 Form and Transferability of ADSs .

(a) Form . Certificated ADSs shall be evidenced by definitive ADRs which shall be engraved, printed, lithographed or produced in such other manner as may be agreed upon by the Company and the Depositary. ADRs may be issued under the Deposit Agreement in denominations of any whole number of ADSs. The ADRs shall be substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement, with any appropriate insertions, modifications and omissions, in each case as otherwise contemplated in the Deposit Agreement or required by law. ADRs shall be (i) dated, (ii) signed by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary, (iii) countersigned by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Registrar, and (iv) registered in the books maintained by the Registrar for the registration of issuances and transfers of ADSs. No ADR and no Certificated ADS evidenced thereby shall be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable for any purpose against the Depositary or the Company, unless such ADR shall have been so dated, signed, countersigned and registered. ADRs bearing the facsimile signature of a duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, who at the time of signature was a duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, as the case may be, shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding the fact that such signatory has ceased to be so authorized prior to the delivery of such ADR by the Depositary. The ADRs shall bear a CUSIP number that is different from any CUSIP number that was, is or may be assigned to any depositary receipts previously or subsequently issued pursuant to any other arrangement between the Depositary (or any other depositary) and the Company and which are not ADRs outstanding hereunder.

(b) Legends . The ADRs may be endorsed with, or have incorporated in the text thereof, such legends or recitals not inconsistent with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement as may be (i) necessary to enable the Depositary and the Company to perform their respective

 

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obligations hereunder, (ii) required to comply with any applicable laws or regulations, or with the rules and regulations of any securities exchange or market upon which ADSs may be traded, listed or quoted, or to conform with any usage with respect thereto, (iii) necessary to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which any particular ADRs or ADSs are subject by reason of the date of issuance of the Deposited Securities or otherwise, or (iv) required by any book-entry system in which the ADSs are held. Holders and Beneficial Owners shall be deemed, for all purposes, to have notice of, and to be bound by, the terms and conditions of the legends set forth, in the case of Holders, on the ADR registered in the name of the applicable Holders or, in the case of Beneficial Owners, on the ADR representing the ADSs owned by such Beneficial Owners.

(c) Title . Subject to the limitations contained herein and in the ADR, title to an ADR (and to each Certificated ADS evidenced thereby) shall be transferable upon the same terms as a certificated security under the laws of the State of New York, provided that, in the case of Certificated ADSs, such ADR has been properly endorsed or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer. Notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, the Depositary and the Company may deem and treat the Holder of an ADS (that is, the person in whose name an ADS is registered on the books of the Depositary) as the absolute owner thereof for all purposes. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any obligation nor be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or any ADR to any holder or any Beneficial Owner unless, in the case of a holder of ADSs, such holder is the Holder registered on the books of the Depositary or, in the case of a Beneficial Owner, such Beneficial Owner, or the Beneficial Owner’s representative, is the Holder registered on the books of the Depositary.

(d) Book-Entry Systems . The Depositary shall make arrangements for the acceptance of the ADSs into DTC. All ADSs held through DTC will be registered in the name of the nominee for DTC (“Cede & Co.” or a successor nominee). As such, the nominee for DTC will be the only “Holder” of all ADSs held through DTC. Unless issued by the Depositary as Uncertificated ADSs, the ADSs registered in the name of Cede & Co. will be evidenced by one or more ADR(s) in the form of a “Balance Certificate,” which will provide that it represents the aggregate number of ADSs from time to time indicated in the records of the Depositary as being issued hereunder and that the aggregate number of ADSs represented thereby may from time to time be increased or decreased by making adjustments on such records of the Depositary and of DTC or its nominee as hereinafter provided. Citibank, N.A. (or such other entity as is appointed by DTC or its nominee) may hold the “Balance Certificate” as custodian for DTC. Each Beneficial Owner of ADSs held through DTC must rely upon the procedures of DTC and the DTC Participants to exercise or be entitled to any rights attributable to such ADSs. The DTC Participants shall for all purposes be deemed to have all requisite power and authority to act on behalf of the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs held in the DTC Participants’ respective accounts in DTC and the Depositary shall for all purposes be authorized to rely upon any instructions and information given to it by DTC Participants. So long as ADSs are held through DTC or unless otherwise required by law, ownership of beneficial interests in the ADSs registered in the name of the nominee for DTC will be shown on, and transfers of such ownership will be effected only through, records maintained by (i) DTC or its nominee (with respect to the interests of DTC Participants), or (ii) DTC Participants or their nominees (with respect to the interests of clients of DTC Participants).

 

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Section 2.3 Deposit of Shares . Subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law, Shares or evidence of rights to receive Shares (other than Restricted Securities) may be deposited by any person (including the Depositary in its individual capacity but subject, however, in the case of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company, to Section 5.7) at any time, whether or not the transfer books of the Company or any Settlement System, if any, are closed, by Delivery of the Shares to the Custodian. Every deposit of Shares shall be accompanied by the following: (A) (i)  in the case of Shares in registered form , evidence of the record of the holding in the name of the Custodian in the Company’s shareholders register, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Custodian, and (ii)  in the case of Shares in dematerialized form and delivered by book-entry transfer and recordation , confirmation of such book-entry transfer and recordation in the books of any Settlement System, to the Custodian or that irrevocable instructions have been given to cause such Shares to be so transferred and recorded, (B) such certifications and payments (including, without limitation, the Depositary’s fees and related charges) and evidence of such payments (including, without limitation, stamping or otherwise marking such Shares by way of receipt) as may be reasonably required by the Depositary or the Custodian in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law, (C) if the Depositary so requires, a written order directing the Depositary to issue and deliver to, or upon the written order of, the person(s) stated in such order the number of ADSs representing the Shares so deposited, (D) evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary (which may be an opinion of counsel) that all necessary approvals have been granted by, or there has been compliance with the rules and regulations of, any applicable governmental agency in the Kingdom of Belgium, and (E) if the Depositary so requires, (i) an agreement, assignment or instrument reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary or the Custodian which provides for the prompt transfer by any person in whose name the Shares are or have been recorded to the Custodian of any distribution, or right to subscribe for additional Shares or to receive other property in respect of any such deposited Shares or, in lieu thereof, such indemnity or other agreement as shall be reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary or the Custodian and (ii) if the Shares are registered in the name of the person on whose behalf they are presented for deposit, a proxy or proxies entitling the Custodian to exercise voting rights in respect of the Shares for any and all purposes until the Shares so deposited are registered in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or any nominee.

Without limiting any other provision of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall instruct the Custodian not to, and the Depositary shall not knowingly, accept for deposit (a) any Restricted Securities (except as contemplated by Section 2.14) nor (b) any fractional Shares or fractional Deposited Securities nor (c) a number of Shares or Deposited Securities which upon application of the ADS to Shares ratio would give rise to fractional ADSs. No Shares shall be accepted for deposit unless accompanied by evidence, if any is required by the Depositary, that is reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary or the Custodian that all conditions to such deposit have been satisfied by the person depositing such Shares under the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Belgium and any necessary approval has been granted by any applicable governmental body in the Kingdom of Belgium, if any. The Depositary may issue ADSs against evidence of rights to receive Shares from the Company, any agent of the Company or any custodian, registrar, transfer agent, clearing agency or other entity involved in ownership or transaction records in respect of the Shares. Such evidence of rights shall consist of written blanket or specific guarantees of ownership of Shares furnished by the Company or any such custodian, registrar, transfer agent, clearing agency or other entity involved in ownership or transaction records in respect of the Shares.

 

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Without limitation of the foregoing, the Depositary shall not knowingly accept for deposit under the Deposit Agreement (A) any Shares or other securities required to be registered under the provisions of the Securities Act, unless (i) a registration statement is in effect as to such Shares or other securities or (ii) the deposit is made upon terms contemplated in Section 2.14, or (B) any Shares or other securities the deposit of which would violate any provisions of the Articles of Association of the Company or Belgian law. For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the Depositary shall be entitled to rely upon representations and warranties made or deemed made pursuant to the Deposit Agreement and shall not be required to make any further investigation. The Depositary will comply with written instructions of the Company (received by the Depositary reasonably in advance) not to accept for deposit hereunder any Shares identified in such instructions at such times and under such circumstances as may reasonably be specified in such instructions in order to facilitate the Company’s compliance with the securities laws of the United States.

 

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Section 2.4 Registration and Safekeeping of Deposited Securities . The Depositary shall instruct the Custodian upon each Delivery of registered Shares being deposited hereunder with the Custodian (or other Deposited Securities pursuant to Article IV hereof), together with the other documents above specified, to present such Shares, together with the appropriate instrument(s) of transfer or endorsement, duly stamped, to the Company for transfer and registration of the Shares (as soon as transfer and registration can be accomplished and at the expense of the person for whom the deposit is made) in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or a nominee of either. Deposited Securities shall be held by the Depositary, or by a Custodian for the account and to the order of the Depositary or a nominee of the Depositary, in each case, on behalf of the Holders and Beneficial Owners, at such place(s) as the Depositary or the Custodian shall determine. Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement, any ADR(s), or any other instruments or agreements relating to the ADSs and the corresponding Deposited Property, the registration of the Deposited Securities in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or any of their respective nominees, shall, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, vest in the Depositary, the Custodian or the applicable nominee the record ownership in the applicable Deposited Securities with the beneficial ownership rights and interests in such Deposited Securities being at all times vested with the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing the Deposited Securities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Depositary, the Custodian and the applicable nominee shall at all times be entitled to exercise the beneficial ownership rights in all Deposited Property, in each case only on behalf of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing the Deposited Property, upon the terms set forth in the Deposit Agreement and, if applicable, the ADR(s) representing the ADSs. The Depositary, the Custodian and their respective nominees shall for all purposes be deemed to have all requisite power and authority to act in respect of Deposited Property on behalf of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs representing the Deposited Property, and upon making payments to, or acting upon instructions from, or information provided by, the Depositary, the Custodian or their respective nominees all persons shall be authorized to rely upon such power and authority.

Section 2.5 Issuance of ADSs . The Depositary has made arrangements with the Custodian for the Custodian to confirm to the Depositary upon receipt of a deposit of Shares (i) that a deposit of Shares has been made pursuant to Section 2.3, (ii) that such Deposited Securities have been recorded in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or a nominee of either on the shareholders’ register maintained by or on behalf of the Company on the books of the relevant Settlement System, (iii) that all required documents have been received, and (iv) the person(s) to whom or upon whose order ADSs are deliverable in respect thereof and the number of ADSs to be so delivered. Such notification may be made by letter, cable, telex, SWIFT message or, at the risk and expense of the person making the deposit, by facsimile or other means of electronic transmission. Upon receiving such notice from the Custodian, the Depositary, subject to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law, shall issue the ADSs representing the Shares so deposited to or upon the order of the person(s) named in the notice delivered to the Depositary and, if applicable, shall execute and deliver at its Principal Office Receipt(s) registered in the name(s) requested by such person(s) and evidencing the aggregate number of ADSs to which such person(s) are entitled, but, in each case, only upon payment to the Depositary of the charges of the Depositary for accepting a deposit and issuing ADSs (as set forth in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B hereto) and all taxes and governmental charges and fees payable in connection with such deposit and the transfer of the Shares and the issuance of the

 

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ADS(s). The Depositary shall only issue ADSs in whole numbers and deliver, if applicable, ADR(s) evidencing whole numbers of ADSs. Nothing herein shall prohibit any Pre-Release Transaction upon the terms set forth in the Deposit Agreement.

Section 2.6 Transfer, Combination and Split-up of ADRs .

(a) Transfer . The Registrar shall register the transfer of ADRs (and of the ADSs represented thereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the Depositary shall (x) cancel such ADRs and execute new ADRs evidencing the same aggregate number of ADSs as those evidenced by the ADRs canceled by the Depositary, (y) cause the Registrar to countersign such new ADRs and (z) Deliver such new ADRs to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto, if each of the following conditions has been satisfied: (i) the ADRs have been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a transfer thereof, (ii) the surrendered ADRs have been properly endorsed or are accompanied by proper instruments of transfer (including signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice), (iii) the surrendered ADRs have been duly stamped (if required by the laws of the State of New York or of the United States), and (iv) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B hereto) have been paid, subject, however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of the applicable ADRs, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

(b) Combination & Split-Up . The Registrar shall register the split-up or combination of ADRs (and of the ADSs represented thereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the Depositary shall (x) cancel such ADRs and execute new ADRs for the number of ADSs requested, but in the aggregate not exceeding the number of ADSs evidenced by the ADRs canceled by the Depositary, (y) cause the Registrar to countersign such new ADRs and (z) Deliver such new ADRs to or upon the order of the Holder thereof, if each of the following conditions has been satisfied: (i) the ADRs have been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a split-up or combination thereof, and (ii) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B hereto) have been paid, subject, however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of the applicable ADRs, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

(c) Co-Transfer Agents . The Depositary may appoint one or more co-transfer agents for the purpose of effecting transfers, combinations and split-ups of ADRs at designated transfer offices on behalf of the Depositary and the Depositary shall notify the Company in writing upon any such appointment. In carrying out its functions, a co-transfer agent may require evidence of authority and compliance with applicable laws and other requirements by Holders or persons entitled to such ADRs and will be entitled to protection and indemnity to the same extent as the Depositary. Such co-transfer agents may be removed and substitutes appointed by the Depositary and the Depositary shall notify the Company in writing upon any such removal or substitution. Each co-transfer agent appointed under this Section 2.6 (other than the Depositary) shall give notice in writing to the Depositary accepting such appointment and agreeing to be bound by the applicable terms of the Deposit Agreement.

 

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Section 2.7 Surrender of ADSs and Withdrawal of Deposited Securities. The Holder of ADSs shall be entitled to Delivery (at the Custodian’s designated office) of the Deposited Securities at the time represented by the ADSs upon satisfaction of each of the following conditions: (i) the Holder (or a duly-authorized attorney of the Holder) has duly Delivered ADSs to the Depositary at its Principal Office (and if applicable, the ADRs evidencing such ADSs) for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented thereby, (ii) if applicable and so required by the Depositary, the ADRs Delivered to the Depositary for such purpose have been properly endorsed in blank or are accompanied by proper instruments of transfer in blank (including signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice), (iii) if so required by the Depositary, the Holder of the ADSs has executed and delivered to the Depositary a written order directing the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be Delivered to or upon the written order of the person(s) designated in such order, and (iv) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B ) have been paid, subject, however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of the ADRs evidencing the surrendered ADSs, of the Deposit Agreement, of the Company’s Articles of Association and of any applicable laws and the rules of the relevant Settlement System, and to any provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

Upon satisfaction of each of the conditions specified above, the Depositary (i) shall cancel the ADSs Delivered to it (and, if applicable, the ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs so Delivered), (ii) shall direct the Registrar to record the cancellation of the ADSs so Delivered on the books maintained for such purpose, and (iii) shall direct the Custodian to Deliver, or cause the Delivery of, in each case, without unreasonable delay, the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs so canceled together with any certificate or other document of title for the Deposited Securities, or evidence of the electronic transfer thereof (if available), as the case may be, to or upon the written order of the person(s) designated in the order delivered to the Depositary for such purpose, subject however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, of the ADRs evidencing the ADSs so canceled, of the Articles of Association of the Company, of any applicable laws and of the rules of the relevant Settlement System, and to the terms and conditions of or governing the Deposited Securities, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

The Depositary shall not accept for surrender ADSs representing less than one (1) Share. In the case of Delivery to it of ADSs representing a number other than a whole number of Shares, the Depositary shall cause ownership of the appropriate whole number of Shares to be Delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall, at the discretion of the Depositary, either (i) return to the person surrendering such ADSs the number of ADSs representing any remaining fractional Share, or (ii) sell or cause to be sold an aggregated number of fractional Shares (represented by the ADSs so surrendered) which equal one Share or an integral multiple thereof and remit the proceeds of such sale (net of (a) applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes required to be withheld as a result of such sale) to the person surrendering the ADSs.

 

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Notwithstanding anything else contained in any ADR or the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may make delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary of Deposited Property consisting of (i) any cash dividends or cash distributions, or (ii) any proceeds from the sale of any non-cash distributions, which are at the time held by the Depositary in respect of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs surrendered for cancellation and withdrawal. At the request, risk and expense of any Holder so surrendering ADSs, and for the account of such Holder, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward (to the extent permitted by law) any Deposited Property (other than Deposited Securities) held by the Custodian in respect of such ADSs to the Depositary for delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary. Such direction shall be given by letter or, at the request, risk and expense of such Holder, by cable, telex or facsimile transmission.

Section 2.8 Limitations on Execution and Delivery, Transfer, etc. of ADSs; Suspension of Delivery, Transfer, etc .

(a) Additional Requirements . As a condition precedent to the execution and delivery, the registration of issuance, transfer, split-up, combination or surrender, of any ADS, the delivery of any distribution thereon, or the withdrawal of any Deposited Property, the Depositary or the Custodian may require (i) payment from the depositor of Shares or presenter of ADSs or of an ADR of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other governmental charge and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect to Shares being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees and charges of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B , (ii) the production of proof reasonably satisfactory to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature or any other matter contemplated by Section 3.1, and (iii) compliance with (A) any laws or governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery of ADRs or ADSs or to the withdrawal of Deposited Securities and (B) such reasonable regulations as the Depositary and the Company may establish consistent with the provisions of the representative ADR, if applicable, the Deposit Agreement and applicable law.

(b) Additional Limitations . The issuance of ADSs against deposits of Shares generally or against deposits of particular Shares may be suspended, or the deposit of particular Shares may be refused, or the registration of transfer of ADSs in particular instances may be refused, or the registration of transfers of ADSs generally may be suspended, during any period when the transfer books of the Company, the Depositary, a Registrar or a Settlement System are closed or if any such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the Depositary or the Company, in good faith, at any time or from time to time because of any requirement of law or regulation, any government or governmental body or commission or any securities exchange on which the ADSs or Shares are listed, or under any provision of the Deposit Agreement or the representative ADR(s), if applicable, or under any provision of, or governing, the Deposited Securities, or because of a meeting of shareholders of the Company or for any other reason, subject, in all cases, to Section 7.8.

(c) Regulatory Restrictions . Notwithstanding any provision of the Deposit Agreement or any ADR(s) to the contrary, Holders are entitled to surrender outstanding ADSs to withdraw the Deposited Securities associated herewith at any time subject only to (i) temporary

 

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delays caused by closing of the transfer books of the Depositary or the Company or a Settlement System (when applicable) or the deposit of Shares in connection with voting at a shareholders’ meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees, taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations relating to the ADSs or to the withdrawal of the Deposited Securities, and (iv) other circumstances specifically contemplated by Instruction I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such General Instructions may be amended from time to time).

Section 2.9 Lost ADRs, etc . In case any ADR shall be mutilated, destroyed, lost, or stolen, the Depositary shall execute and deliver a new ADR of like tenor at the expense of the Holder (a)  in the case of a mutilated ADR, in exchange of and substitution for such mutilated ADR upon cancellation thereof, or (b)  in the case of a destroyed, lost or stolen ADR, in lieu of and in substitution for such destroyed, lost, or stolen ADR, after the Holder thereof (i) has submitted to the Depositary a written request for such exchange and substitution before the Depositary has notice that the ADR has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser, (ii) has provided such security or indemnity (including an indemnity bond) as may be required by the Depositary to save it and any of its agents harmless, and (iii) has satisfied any other reasonable requirements imposed by the Depositary, including, without limitation, evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary of such destruction, loss or theft of such ADR, the authenticity thereof and the Holder’s ownership thereof.

Section 2.10 Cancellation and Destruction of Surrendered ADRs; Maintenance of Records . All ADRs surrendered to the Depositary shall be canceled by the Depositary. Canceled ADRs shall not be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable against the Depositary for any purpose. The Depositary is authorized to destroy ADRs so canceled, provided the Depositary maintains a record of all destroyed ADRs. Any ADSs held in book-entry form ( i.e. , through accounts at DTC) shall be deemed canceled when the Depositary causes the number of ADSs evidenced by the Balance Certificate to be reduced by the number of ADSs surrendered (without the need to physically destroy the Balance Certificate).

Section 2.11 Escheatment . In the event any unclaimed property relating to the ADSs, for any reason, is in the possession of Depositary and has not been claimed by the Holder thereof or cannot be delivered to the Holder thereof through usual channels, the Depositary shall, upon expiration of any applicable statutory period relating to abandoned property laws, escheat such unclaimed property to the relevant authorities in accordance with the laws of each of the relevant States of the United States.

 

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Section 2.12 Partial Entitlement ADSs . In the event any Shares are deposited which (i) entitle the holders thereof to receive a per-share distribution or other entitlement in an amount different from the Shares then on deposit or (ii) are not fully fungible (including, without limitation, as to settlement or trading) with the Shares then on deposit (the Shares then on deposit collectively, “ Full Entitlement Shares ” and the Shares with different entitlement, “ Partial Entitlement Shares ”), the Depositary shall (i) cause the Custodian to hold Partial Entitlement Shares separate and distinct from Full Entitlement Shares, and (ii) subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement, issue ADSs representing Partial Entitlement Shares which are separate and distinct from the ADSs representing Full Entitlement Shares, by means of separate CUSIP numbering and legending (if necessary) and, if applicable, by issuing ADRs evidencing such ADSs with applicable notations thereon (“ Partial Entitlement ADSs/ADRs ” and “ Full Entitlement ADSs/ADRs ”, respectively). If and when Partial Entitlement Shares become Full Entitlement Shares, the Depositary shall (a) give notice thereof to Holders of Partial Entitlement ADSs and give Holders of Partial Entitlement ADRs the opportunity to exchange such Partial Entitlement ADRs for Full Entitlement ADRs, (b) cause the Custodian to transfer the Partial Entitlement Shares into the account of the Full Entitlement Shares, and (c) take such actions as are necessary to remove the distinctions between (i) the Partial Entitlement ADRs and ADSs, on the one hand, and (ii) the Full Entitlement ADRs and ADSs on the other. Holders and Beneficial Owners of Partial Entitlement ADSs shall only be entitled to the entitlements of Partial Entitlement Shares. Holders and Beneficial Owners of Full Entitlement ADSs shall be entitled only to the entitlements of Full Entitlement Shares. All provisions and conditions of the Deposit Agreement shall apply to Partial Entitlement ADRs and ADSs to the same extent as Full Entitlement ADRs and ADSs, except as contemplated by this Section 2.12. The Depositary is authorized to take any and all other actions as may be necessary (including, without limitation, making the necessary notations on ADRs) to give effect to the terms of this Section 2.12. The Company agrees to give timely written notice to the Depositary if any Shares issued or to be issued are Partial Entitlement Shares and shall assist the Depositary with the establishment of procedures enabling the identification of Partial Entitlement Shares upon Delivery to the Custodian.

Section 2.13 Certificated/Uncertificated ADSs . Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may, at any time and from time to time, issue ADSs that are not evidenced by ADRs (such ADSs, the “ Uncertificated ADS(s) ” and the ADS(s) evidenced by ADR(s), the “ Certificated ADS(s) ”). When issuing and maintaining Uncertificated ADS(s) under the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall at all times be subject to (i) the standards applicable to registrars and transfer agents maintaining direct registration systems for equity securities in New York and issuing uncertificated securities under New York law, and (ii) the terms of New York law applicable to uncertificated equity securities. Uncertificated ADSs shall not be represented by any instruments but shall be evidenced by registration in the books of the Depositary maintained for such purpose. Holders of Uncertificated ADSs, that are not subject to any registered pledges, liens, restrictions or adverse claims of which the Depositary has notice at such time, shall at all times have the right to exchange the Uncertificated ADS(s) for Certificated ADS(s) of the same type and class, subject in each case to applicable laws and any rules and regulations the Depositary may have established in respect of the Uncertificated ADSs. Holders of Certificated ADSs shall, if the Depositary maintains a direct registration system for the ADSs, have the right to exchange the Certificated ADSs for Uncertificated ADSs

 

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upon (i) the due surrender of the Certificated ADS(s) to the Depositary for such purpose and (ii) the presentation of a written request to that effect to the Depositary, subject in each case to (a) all liens and restrictions noted on the ADR evidencing the Certificated ADS(s) and all adverse claims of which the Depositary then has notice, (b) the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the rules and regulations that the Depositary may establish for such purposes hereunder, (c) applicable law, and (d) payment of the Depositary fees and expenses applicable to such exchange of Certificated ADS(s) for Uncertificated ADS(s). Uncertificated ADSs shall in all material respects be identical to Certificated ADS(s) of the same type and class, except that (i) no ADR(s) shall be, or shall need to be, issued to evidence Uncertificated ADS(s), (ii) Uncertificated ADS(s) shall, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement, be transferable upon the same terms and conditions as uncertificated securities under New York law, (iii) the ownership of Uncertificated ADS(s) shall be recorded on the books of the Depositary maintained for such purpose and evidence of such ownership shall be reflected in periodic statements provided by the Depositary to the Holder(s) in accordance with applicable New York law, (iv) the Depositary may from time to time, upon notice to the Holders of Uncertificated ADSs affected thereby, establish rules and regulations, and amend or supplement existing rules and regulations, as may be deemed reasonably necessary to maintain Uncertificated ADS(s) on behalf of Holders, provided that (a) such rules and regulations do not conflict with the terms of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law, and (b) the terms of such rules and regulations are readily available to Holders upon request, (v) the Uncertificated ADS(s) shall not be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable for any purpose against the Depositary or the Company unless such Uncertificated ADS(s) is/are registered on the books of the Depositary maintained for such purpose, (vi) the Depositary may, in connection with any deposit of Shares resulting in the issuance of Uncertificated ADSs and with any transfer, pledge, release and cancellation of Uncertificated ADSs, require the prior receipt of such documentation as the Depositary may deem reasonably appropriate, and (vii) upon termination of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall not require Holders of Uncertificated ADSs to affirmatively instruct the Depositary before remitting proceeds from the sale of the Deposited Property represented by such Holders’ Uncertificated ADSs under the terms of Section 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement. When issuing ADSs under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, including, without limitation, issuances pursuant to Sections 2.5, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 and 4.11, the Depositary may in its discretion determine to issue Uncertificated ADSs rather than Certificated ADSs, unless otherwise specifically instructed by the applicable Holder to issue Certificated ADSs. All provisions and conditions of the Deposit Agreement shall apply to Uncertificated ADSs to the same extent as to Certificated ADSs, except as contemplated by this Section 2.13. The Depositary is authorized and directed to take any and all actions and establish any and all procedures deemed reasonably necessary to give effect to the terms of this Section 2.13. Any references in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR(s) to the terms “American Depositary Share(s)” or “ADS(s)” shall, unless the context otherwise requires, include Certificated ADS(s) and Uncertificated ADS(s). Except as set forth in this Section 2.13 and except as required by applicable law, the Uncertificated ADSs shall be treated as ADSs issued and outstanding under the terms of the Deposit Agreement. In the event that, in determining the rights and obligations of parties hereto with respect to any Uncertificated ADSs, any conflict arises between (a) the terms of the Deposit Agreement (other than this Section 2.13) and (b) the terms of this Section 2.13, the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 2.13 shall be controlling and shall govern the rights and obligations of the parties to the Deposit Agreement pertaining to the Uncertificated ADSs.

 

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Section 2.14 Restricted ADSs . The Depositary shall, at the request and expense of the Company, establish procedures enabling the deposit hereunder of Shares that are Restricted Securities in order to enable the holder of such Shares to hold its ownership interests in such Restricted Shares in the form of ADSs issued under the terms hereof (such Shares, “ Restricted Shares ”). Upon receipt of a written request from the Company to accept Restricted Shares for deposit hereunder, the Depositary agrees to establish procedures permitting the deposit of such Restricted Shares and the issuance of ADSs representing the right to receive, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR (if issued as a Certificated ADS), such deposited Restricted Shares (such ADSs, the “ Restricted ADSs ,” and the ADRs evidencing such Restricted ADSs, the “ Restricted ADRs ”). Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section 2.14, the Depositary and the Company may, to the extent not prohibited by law, agree to issue the Restricted ADSs in uncertificated form (“ Uncertificated Restricted ADSs ”) upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary may deem necessary and appropriate. The Company shall assist the Depositary in the establishment of such procedures and agrees that it shall take all steps necessary and reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary to ensure that the establishment of such procedures does not violate the provisions of the Securities Act or any other applicable laws. The depositors of such Restricted Shares and the Holders of the Restricted ADSs may be required prior to the deposit of such Restricted Shares, the transfer of the Restricted ADRs and Restricted ADSs or the withdrawal of the Restricted Shares represented by Restricted ADSs to provide such written certifications or agreements as the Depositary or the Company may require. The Company shall provide to the Depositary in writing the legend(s) to be affixed to the Restricted ADRs (if the Restricted ADSs are to be issued as Certificated ADSs ) , or to be included in the statements issued from time to time to Holders of Uncertificated ADSs (if issued as Uncertificated Restricted ADSs), which legends shall (i) be in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary and (ii) contain the specific circumstances under which the Restricted ADSs, and, if applicable, the Restricted ADRs evidencing the Restricted ADSs, may be transferred or the Restricted Shares withdrawn. The Restricted ADSs issued upon the deposit of Restricted Shares shall be separately identified on the books of the Depositary and the Restricted Shares so deposited shall, to the extent required by law, be held separate and distinct from the other Deposited Securities held hereunder. The Restricted Shares and the Restricted ADSs shall not be eligible for Pre-Release Transactions. The Restricted ADSs shall not be eligible for inclusion in any book-entry settlement system, including, without limitation, DTC, and shall not in any way be fungible with the ADSs issued under the terms hereof that are not Restricted ADSs. The Restricted ADSs, and, if applicable, the Restricted ADRs evidencing the Restricted ADSs, shall be transferable only by the Holder thereof upon delivery to the Depositary of (i) all documentation otherwise contemplated by the Deposit Agreement and (ii) an opinion of counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary setting forth, inter alia , the conditions upon which the Restricted ADSs presented, and, if applicable, the Restricted ADRs evidencing the Restricted ADSs, are transferable by the Holder thereof under applicable securities laws and the transfer restrictions contained in the legend applicable to the Restricted ADSs presented for transfer. Except as set forth in this Section 2.14 and except as required by applicable law, the Restricted ADSs and the Restricted ADRs evidencing Restricted ADSs shall be treated as ADSs and ADRs issued and outstanding under the terms of the Deposit Agreement.

 

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In the event that, in determining the rights and obligations of parties hereto with respect to any Restricted ADSs, any conflict arises between (a) the terms of the Deposit Agreement (other than this Section 2.14) and (b) the terms of (i) this Section 2.14 or (ii) the applicable Restricted ADR, the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 2.14 and of the Restricted ADR shall be controlling and shall govern the rights and obligations of the parties to the Deposit Agreement pertaining to the deposited Restricted Shares, the Restricted ADSs and Restricted ADRs.

If the Restricted ADRs, the Restricted ADSs and the Restricted Shares cease to be Restricted Securities, the Depositary, upon receipt of (x) an opinion of counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary setting forth, inter alia , that the Restricted ADRs, the Restricted ADSs and the Restricted Shares are not as of such time Restricted Securities, and (y) instructions from the Company to remove the restrictions applicable to the Restricted ADRs, the Restricted ADSs and the Restricted Shares, shall (i) eliminate the distinctions and separations that may have been established between the applicable Restricted Shares held on deposit under this Section 2.14 and the other Shares held on deposit under the terms of the Deposit Agreement that are not Restricted Shares, (ii) treat the newly unrestricted ADRs and ADSs on the same terms as, and fully fungible with, the other ADRs and ADSs issued and outstanding under the terms of the Deposit Agreement that are not Restricted ADRs or Restricted ADSs, and (iii) take all actions necessary to remove any distinctions, limitations and restrictions previously existing under this Section 2.14 between the applicable Restricted ADRs and Restricted ADSs, respectively, on the one hand, and the other ADRs and ADSs that are not Restricted ADRs or Restricted ADSs, respectively, on the other hand, including, without limitation, by making the newly-unrestricted ADSs eligible for Pre-Release Transactions and for inclusion in the applicable book-entry settlement systems.

ARTICLE III

CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS OF HOLDERS

AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF ADSs

Section 3.1 Proofs, Certificates and Other Information . Any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder and any Beneficial Owner may be required, and every Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees, from time to time to provide to the Depositary and the Custodian such proof of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, payment of all applicable taxes or other governmental charges, exchange control approval, legal or beneficial ownership of ADSs and Deposited Property, compliance with applicable laws, the terms of the Deposit Agreement or the ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs and the provisions of, or governing, the Deposited Property, to execute such certifications and to make such representations and warranties, and to provide such other information and documentation (or, in the case of Shares in registered form presented for deposit, such information relating to the registration on the books of the Company) as the Depositary or the Custodian may deem necessary or proper or as the Company may reasonably require by written request to the Depositary consistent with its obligations under the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s). The Depositary and the Registrar, as applicable, may, and at the reasonable request of the Company, shall, to the extent practicable, withhold the execution or delivery or registration of transfer of any ADR or ADS or the distribution or sale of any dividend or distribution of rights or of the proceeds thereof or, to the extent not limited by

 

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the terms of Section 7.8, the delivery of any Deposited Property until such proof or other information is filed or such certifications are executed, or such representations and warranties are made, or such other documentation or information provided, in each case to the Depositary’s, the Registrar’s and the Company’s satisfaction. The Depositary shall provide the Company, in a timely manner, with copies or originals if necessary and appropriate of (i) any such proofs of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, or exchange control approval or copies of written representations and warranties which it receives from Holders and Beneficial Owners, and (ii) any other information or documents which the Company may reasonably request and which the Depositary shall request and receive from any Holder or Beneficial Owner or any person presenting Shares for deposit or ADSs for cancellation, transfer or withdrawal. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to (i) obtain any information for the Company if not provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners, or (ii) verify or vouch for the accuracy of the information so provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners.

Section 3.2 Liability for Taxes and Other Charges . Any tax or other governmental charge payable by the Custodian or by the Depositary with respect to any Deposited Property, ADSs or ADRs shall be payable by the Holders and Beneficial Owners to the Depositary. The Company, the Custodian and/or the Depositary may withhold or deduct from any distributions made in respect of Deposited Property, and may sell for the account of a Holder and/or Beneficial Owner any or all of the Deposited Property and apply such distributions and sale proceeds in payment of, any taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) or charges that are or may be payable by Holders or Beneficial Owners in respect of the ADSs, Deposited Property and ADRs, the Holder and the Beneficial Owner remaining liable for any deficiency. The Custodian may refuse the deposit of Shares and the Depositary may refuse to issue ADSs, to deliver ADRs, register the transfer of ADSs, register the split-up or combination of ADRs and (subject to Section 7.8) the withdrawal of Deposited Property until payment in full of such tax, charge, penalty or interest is received. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian, and any of their agents, officers, employees and Affiliates for, and to hold each of them harmless from, any claims with respect to taxes (including applicable interest and penalties thereon) arising from any tax benefit obtained for such Holder and/or Beneficial Owner.

Section 3.3 Representations and Warranties on Deposit of Shares . Each person depositing Shares under the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that (i) such Shares and the certificates therefor are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained by such person, (ii) all preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Shares have been validly waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit is duly authorized so to do, (iv) the Shares presented for deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim, (v) the Shares presented for deposit are not, and the ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not be, Restricted Securities (except as contemplated in Section 2.14), (vi) the Shares presented for deposit have not been stripped of any rights or entitlements and (vii) the deposit of the Shares do not violate any provisions of Belgian law. Such representations and warranties shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares, the issuance and cancellation of ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such ADSs. If any such representations or warranties are false in any way, the Company and the Depositary shall be authorized, at the cost and expense of the person depositing Shares, to take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences thereof.

 

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Section 3.4 Compliance with Information Requests . Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or any ADR(s), each Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to comply with requests from the Company pursuant to applicable law, the rules and requirements of any stock exchange on which the Shares or ADSs are, or will be, registered, traded or listed or the Articles of Association of the Company, which are made to provide information, inter alia , as to the capacity in which such Holder or Beneficial Owner owns ADSs (and Shares as the case may be) and regarding the identity of any other person(s) interested in such ADSs and the nature of such interest and various other matters, whether or not they are Holders and/or Beneficial Owners at the time of such request. The Depositary agrees to use its reasonable efforts to forward, upon the request of the Company and at the Company’s expense, any such request from the Company to the Holders and to forward to the Company, as promptly as practicable, any such responses to such requests received by the Depositary.

Section 3.5 Ownership Restrictions . Subject to applicable law, notwithstanding any other provision in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Company may restrict transfers of the Shares where such transfer might result in ownership of Shares exceeding limits imposed by applicable law or the Articles of Association of the Company. The Company may also restrict, in such manner as it deems appropriate, transfers of the ADSs where such transfer may result in the total number of Shares represented by the ADSs owned by a single Holder or Beneficial Owner to exceed any such limits. The Company may, in its sole discretion but subject to applicable law, instruct the Depositary to take action with respect to the ownership interest of any Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of the limits set forth in the preceding sentence, including, but not limited to, the imposition of restrictions on the transfer of ADSs, the removal or limitation of voting rights or mandatory sale or disposition on behalf of a Holder or Beneficial Owner of the Shares represented by the ADSs held by such Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of such limitations, if and to the extent such disposition is permitted by applicable law and (if required) the Articles of Association of the Company. Nothing herein shall be interpreted as obligating the Depositary or the Company to ensure compliance with the ownership restrictions described in this Section 3.5.

Section 3.6 Reporting Obligations and Regulatory Approvals . Applicable laws and regulations may require holders and beneficial owners of Shares, including the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs, to satisfy reporting requirements and obtain regulatory approvals in certain circumstances. Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs are solely responsible for determining and complying with such reporting requirements and obtaining such approvals. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees to make such determination, file such reports, and obtain such approvals to the extent and in the form required by applicable laws and regulations as in effect from time to time. Neither the Depositary, the Custodian, the Company or any of their respective agents or affiliates shall be required to take any actions whatsoever on behalf of Holders or Beneficial Owners to determine or satisfy such reporting requirements or obtain such regulatory approvals under applicable laws and regulations.

 

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Section 3.7 Disclosure of Interest. The Company has advised the Depositary and the parties to the Deposit Agreement acknowledge that, Belgian law, as in effect on the date of the Deposit Agreement, provides that:

(a) Any person or legal entity, which owns or acquires securities of the Company granting voting rights (including Shares) (either directly or by ownership of ADSs or both), whether representing the share capital or not, must disclose to the Company and to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) the number of securities that such person or legal entity owns, alone or jointly with one or several other persons or legal entities, when the voting rights attached to such securities amount to 5 percent or more of the total of the voting rights existing when the situation triggering the disclosure obligation occurs. Such person or legal entity must make the same disclosure in the event of a transfer or of an additional acquisition of such securities when, after such transaction, the voting rights attached to securities owned by such person or legal entity amount to 5 percent, 10 percent, and so on by blocks of 5 percent of the total of the voting rights existing when the situation triggering the disclosure obligation occurs, or when the voting rights attached to securities owned by such person or legal entity fall below one of the thresholds referred to in this Section 3.7(a);

(b) Any person or legal entity which acquires or transfers, alone or jointly, the direct or indirect control of a corporation or other legal entity which owns 5 percent at least of the voting rights of the Company (either directly or by ownership of ADSs or both) must disclose such acquisition or transfer to the Company and to the FSMA;

(c) A disclosure described above is also required when, as a result of events changing the breakdown of voting rights, the percentage of the voting rights attached to the voting securities reaches, exceeds or falls below the thresholds referred to in Section 3.7(a) above, even when no acquisition or disposal of securities has occurred (e.g., as a result of a capital increase or a capital decrease of the Company). A disclosure is equally required when persons or legal entities enter into, modify or terminate an agreement of action in concert, when as result thereof, the percentage of the voting rights subject to the action in concert or the percentage of the voting rights of one of the parties to the agreement of action in concert reaches, exceeds or falls below the thresholds referred to in Section 3.7(a) above;

(d) Disclosure statements referred to in this Section 3.7 must be addressed to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (whose offices are currently located Rue du Congrès 12-14, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) and to the board of directors of the Company at the latest the fourth trading day in Euronext Brussels following the day on which (i) the person or legal entity is aware of the acquisition or the disposal or the possibility of exercising voting rights, or, having regard to the circumstances, should have been aware of it, regardless of the date on which the acquisition, disposal or possibility of exercising voting rights takes effect, (ii) the person or legal entity is aware of the event changing the break down of voting rights, (iii) an agreement of action in concert is entered into, modified or terminated, or (iv) for securities acquired by succession, the succession is accepted by the heirs, as the case may be, under the benefit of inventory (as such term is defined under Belgian law);

 

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(e) Unless otherwise provided by legal provisions in force, no one will be allowed to vote at a meeting of the holders of the Shares a number of securities greater than the number validly disclosed, to the extent required, at the latest twenty (20) days before such meeting, in compliance with legal provisions in force and with the Articles of Association; and

(f) The disclosure requirements and limitations set out in Sections 3.7 (a) to (e) above are applicable to any Holder of ADSs and/or Beneficial Owner by reference to the number of both ADSs and Shares (that are not Deposited Securities) held by such Holder and/or beneficially owned by such Beneficial Owner. This Section 3.7 is a summary of the applicable provisions of Belgian law, as in effect as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, regarding disclosure of interests in the Company and shall not limit the obligations of Holders and Beneficial Owners to comply with all relevant provisions of Belgian law, as applicable from time to time. Each Holder and Beneficial Owner shall be deemed to have authorized the Depositary and the Custodian to comply with any request from the Company or any competent authority to disclose any information about any interest or any transaction of such Holder or Beneficial Owner in ADSs or Shares or Deposited Securities.

 

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ARTICLE IV

THE DEPOSITED SECURITIES

Section 4.1 Cash Distributions . Whenever the Company intends to make a distribution of a cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least twenty (20) days prior to the proposed distribution specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable for determining the holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such distribution. Upon the timely receipt of such notice, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.9. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian of the receipt of any cash dividend or other cash distribution on any Deposited Securities, or upon receipt of proceeds from the sale of any Deposited Property held in respect of the ADSs under the terms hereof, the Depositary will (i) if at the time of receipt thereof any amounts received in a Foreign Currency can, in the judgment of the Depositary (pursuant to Section 4.8), be converted on a practicable basis into Dollars transferable to the United States, promptly convert or cause to be converted such cash dividend, distribution or proceeds into Dollars (on the terms described in Section 4.8), (ii) if applicable and unless previously established, establish the ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.9, and (iii) distribute promptly the amount thus received (net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes required to be withheld as a result of the distribution) to the Holders entitled thereto as of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the ADS Record Date. The Depositary shall distribute only such amount, however, as can be distributed without attributing to any Holder a fraction of one cent, and any balance not so distributed shall be held by the Depositary (without liability for interest thereon) and shall be added to and become part of the next sum received by the Depositary for distribution to Holders of ADSs outstanding at the time of the next distribution. If the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from any cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities, or from any cash proceeds from the sales of Deposited Property, an amount on account of taxes, duties or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to Holders on the ADSs shall be reduced accordingly. Such withheld amounts shall be forwarded by the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary to the relevant governmental authority. Evidence of payment thereof by the Company shall be forwarded by the Company to the Depositary upon request. The Depositary will hold any cash amounts it is unable to distribute in a non-interest bearing account for the benefit of the applicable Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs until the distribution can be effected or the funds that the Depositary holds must be escheated as unclaimed property in accordance with the laws of the relevant states of the United States. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed distribution provided for in this Section 4.1, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.1, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.1 where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

 

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Section 4.2 Distribution in Shares . Whenever the Company intends to make a distribution that consists of a dividend in, or free distribution of, Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least twenty (20) days prior to the proposed distribution, specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable to holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such distribution. Upon the timely receipt of such notice from the Company, the Depositary shall establish the ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.9. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian of the receipt of the Shares so distributed by the Company, the Depositary shall either (i) subject to Section 5.9, distribute to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the ADS Record Date, additional ADSs, which represent in the aggregate the number of Shares received as such dividend, or free distribution, subject to the other terms of the Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), or (ii) if additional ADSs are not so distributed, take all actions necessary so that each ADS issued and outstanding after the ADS Record Date shall, to the extent permissible by law, thenceforth also represent rights and interests in the additional integral number of Shares distributed upon the Deposited Securities represented thereby (net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes). In lieu of delivering fractional ADSs, the Depositary shall sell the number of Shares or ADSs, as the case may be, represented by the aggregate of such fractions and distribute the net proceeds upon the terms described in Section 4.1. In the event that the Depositary determines that any distribution in property (including Shares) is subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, or, if the Company in the fulfillment of its obligation under Section 5.7, has furnished an opinion of U.S. counsel determining that Shares must be registered under the Securities Act or other laws in order to be distributed to Holders (and no such registration statement has been declared effective), the Depositary may, after consultation with the Company to the extent reasonably practicable, dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale (after deduction of (a) taxes and (b) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary) to Holders entitled thereto upon the terms described in Section 4.1. The Depositary shall hold and/or distribute any unsold balance of such property in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed distribution provided for in this Section 4.2, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.2, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.2 where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

Section 4.3 Elective Distributions in Cash or Shares . Whenever the Company intends to make a distribution payable at the election of the holders of Deposited Securities in cash or in additional Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed distribution specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable to holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such elective distribution and whether or not it wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders of ADSs.

 

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Upon the timely receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make such elective distribution available to the Holders of ADSs. The Depositary shall make such elective distribution available to Holders only if (i) the Company shall have timely requested that the elective distribution be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably practicable and (iii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date on the terms described in Section 4.9 and, to the extent permitted by law, distribute to the Holders, on the basis of the same determination as is made in the Kingdom of Belgium in respect of the Shares for which no election is made, either (X) cash upon the terms described in Section 4.1 or (Y) additional ADSs representing such additional Shares upon the terms described in Section 4.2. If the above conditions are satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date on the terms described in Section 4.9 and establish procedures to enable Holders to elect the receipt of the proposed distribution in cash or in additional ADSs. The Company shall assist the Depositary in establishing such procedures to the extent necessary. If a Holder elects to receive the proposed distribution (X) in cash, the distribution shall be made upon the terms described in Section 4.1, or (Y) in ADSs, the distribution shall be made upon the terms described in Section 4.2. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make available to Holders a method to receive the elective distribution in Shares (rather than ADSs). There can be no assurance that Holders generally, or any Holder in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Shares. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed distribution provided for in this Section 4.3, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.3, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.3 where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

Section 4.4 Distribution of Rights to Purchase Additional Shares in the Form of ADSs .

(a) Offer to holders of the Deposited Securities . Whenever the Company intends to offer, distribute, or cause to be offered or distributed to the holders of the Deposited Securities rights to subscribe for additional Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed offer specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable to holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such rights and whether or not it wishes such rights to be made available to Holders of ADSs. Upon the timely receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes such rights to be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make such rights available to the Holders. The Depositary shall make such rights available to Holders only if (i) the Company shall have timely requested that such rights be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7,

 

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and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution of rights is reasonably practicable. In the event any of the conditions set forth above are not satisfied or if the Company requests that the rights not be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall proceed with the sale of the rights as contemplated in Section 4.4(b) below. In the event all conditions set forth above are satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date (upon the terms described in Section 4.9) and establish procedures to (x) distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs (by means of warrants or otherwise), (y) to enable the Holders to exercise such rights (upon payment of the subscription price and of the applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), and (z) to deliver ADSs upon the valid exercise of such rights. The Company shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary in establishing such procedures. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make available to the Holders a method to exercise rights to subscribe for Shares (rather than ADSs).

(b) Sale of Rights . If (i) the Company does not timely request the Depositary to make the rights available to Holders or requests that the rights not be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary fails to receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7, or determines it is not reasonably practicable to make the rights available to Holders, or (iii) any rights made available are not exercised and appear to be about to lapse, the Depositary shall determine whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to sell such rights, in a riskless principal capacity, at such place and upon such terms (including public or private sale) as it may deem practicable. The Company shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary to determine such legality and practicability. The Depositary shall, upon such sale, convert and distribute proceeds of such sale (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) upon the terms set forth in Section 4.1.

(c) Lapse of Rights . If the Depositary is unable to make any rights available to Holders upon the terms described in Section 4.4(a) or to arrange for the sale of the rights upon the terms described in Section 4.4(b), the Depositary shall allow such rights to lapse.

The Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may be lawful or practicable to make such rights available to Holders in general or any Holders in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred in connection with such sale, or exercise, or (iii) the content of any materials forwarded to the Holders on behalf of the Company in connection with the rights distribution.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 4.4, if registration (under the Securities Act or any other applicable law) of the rights or the securities to which any rights relate may be required in order for the Company to offer such rights or such securities to Holders and to sell the securities represented by such rights, the Depositary will not distribute such rights to the Holders (i) unless and until a registration statement under the Securities Act (or other applicable law) covering such offering is in effect or (ii) unless the Company furnishes the Depositary opinion(s) of counsel for the Company in the United States and counsel to the Company in any other applicable country in which rights would be distributed, in each case reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary, to the effect that the offering and sale of such securities to Holders and Beneficial Owners are exempt from, or do not require registration under, the provisions of the Securities Act or any other applicable laws.

 

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In the event that the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian shall be required to withhold and does withhold from any distribution of Deposited Property (including rights) an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to the Holders of ADSs shall be reduced accordingly. In the event that the Depositary reasonably determines that any distribution of Deposited Property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such Deposited Property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay any such taxes or charges.

There can be no assurance that Holders generally, or any Holder in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive or exercise rights on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Shares or be able to exercise such rights. Nothing herein shall obligate the Company to file any registration statement in respect of any rights or Shares or other securities to be acquired upon the exercise of such rights.

Section 4.5 Distributions Other Than Cash, Shares or Rights to Purchase Shares .

(a) Whenever the Company intends to distribute to the holders of Deposited Securities property other than cash, Shares or rights to purchase additional Shares, the Company shall give timely notice thereof to the Depositary and shall indicate whether or not it wishes such distribution to be made to Holders of ADSs. Upon receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes such distribution be made to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company, and the Company shall assist the Depositary, to determine whether such distribution to Holders is lawful and reasonably practicable. The Depositary shall not make such distribution unless (i) the Company shall have requested the Depositary to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably practicable.

(b) Upon receipt of satisfactory documentation and the request of the Company to distribute property to Holders of ADSs and after making the requisite determinations set forth in (a) above, the Depositary shall distribute the property so received to the Holders of record, as of the ADS Record Date, in proportion to the number of ADSs held by them respectively and in such manner as the Depositary may deem practicable for accomplishing such distribution (i) upon receipt of payment or net of the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (ii) net of any taxes required to be withheld. The Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of the property so distributed and deposited, in such amounts and in such manner (including public or private sale) as the Depositary may deem practicable or necessary to satisfy any taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) or other governmental charges applicable to the distribution.

(c) If (i) the Company does not request the Depositary to make such distribution to Holders or requests not to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the Depositary does not receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7, or (iii) the Depositary determines that all or a portion of such distribution is not reasonably practicable, the Depositary shall sell or

 

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cause such property to be sold in a public or private sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem practicable and shall (i) cause the proceeds of such sale, if any, to be converted into Dollars and (ii) distribute the proceeds of such conversion received by the Depositary (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date upon the terms of Section 4.1. If the Depositary is unable to sell such property, the Depositary may dispose of such property for the account of the Holders in any way it deems reasonably practicable under the circumstances.

(d) Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be responsible for (i) any failure to determine whether it is lawful or practicable to make the property described in this Section 4.5 available to Holders in general or any Holders in particular, nor (ii) any loss incurred in connection with the sale or disposal of such property.

Section 4.6 [RESERVED].

Section 4.7 Redemption . If the Company intends to exercise any right of redemption (by way of shareholders resolution or otherwise) in respect of any of the Deposited Securities (where such Deposited Securities provide the Company with a right of redemption), the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least thirty (30) days prior to the intended date of redemption which notice shall set forth the particulars of the proposed redemption. Upon timely receipt of (i) such notice and (ii) satisfactory documentation given by the Company to the Depositary within the terms of Section 5.7, and only if, after consultation between the Depositary and the Company, the Depositary shall have determined that such proposed redemption is practicable, the Depositary shall provide to each Holder a notice setting forth the intended exercise by the Company of the redemption rights and any other particulars set forth in the Company’s notice to the Depositary. The Depositary shall instruct the Custodian to present to the Company the Deposited Securities in respect of which redemption rights are being exercised against payment of the applicable redemption price. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian that the redemption has taken place and that funds representing the redemption price have been received, the Depositary shall convert, transfer, and distribute the proceeds (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and the expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (b) taxes), retire ADSs and cancel ADRs, if applicable, upon delivery of such ADSs by Holders thereof and the terms set forth in Sections 4.1 and 6.2. If less than all outstanding Deposited Securities are redeemed, the ADSs to be retired will be selected by lot or on a pro rata basis, as may be determined by the Depositary after consultation with the Company. The redemption price per ADS shall be the dollar equivalent of the per share amount received by the Depositary (adjusted to reflect the ADS(s)-to-Share(s) ratio) upon the redemption of the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs (subject to the terms of Section 4.8 and the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and taxes) multiplied by the number of Deposited Securities represented by each ADS redeemed. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed redemption provided for in this Section 4.7, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.7, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in this Section 4.7 where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

 

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Section 4.8 Conversion of Foreign Currency . Whenever the Depositary or the Custodian shall receive Foreign Currency, by way of dividends or other distributions or the net proceeds from the sale of Deposited Property, which in the judgment of the Depositary can at such time be converted on a practicable basis, by sale or in any other manner that it may determine in accordance with applicable law, into Dollars transferable to the United States and distributable to the Holders entitled thereto, the Depositary shall convert or cause to be converted, by sale or in any other manner that it may determine, such Foreign Currency into Dollars, and shall distribute such Dollars (net of any applicable fees, any reasonable and customary expenses incurred in such conversion and any expenses incurred on behalf of the Holders in complying with currency exchange control or other governmental requirements) in accordance with the terms of the applicable sections of the Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary shall have distributed warrants or other instruments that entitle the holders thereof to such Dollars, the Depositary shall distribute such Dollars to the holders of such warrants and/or instruments upon surrender thereof for cancellation, in either case without liability for interest thereon. Such distribution may be made upon an averaged or other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among Holders on account of any application of exchange restrictions or otherwise.

If such conversion or distribution generally or with regard to a particular Holder can be effected only with the approval or license of any government or agency thereof, the Depositary shall have authority to file such application for approval or license, if any, as it may deem desirable. In no event, however, shall the Depositary be obligated to make such a filing.

If at any time the Depositary shall determine that in its judgment the conversion of any Foreign Currency and the transfer and distribution of proceeds of such conversion received by the Depositary is not practicable or lawful, or if any approval or license of any governmental authority or agency thereof that is required for such conversion, transfer and distribution is denied or, in the opinion of the Depositary, not obtainable at a reasonable cost or within a reasonable period, the Depositary may, in its reasonable discretion, (i) make such conversion and distribution in Dollars to the Holders for whom such conversion, transfer and distribution is lawful and practicable, (ii) distribute the Foreign Currency (or an appropriate document evidencing the right to receive such Foreign Currency) to Holders for whom this is lawful and practicable, or (iii) hold (or cause the Custodian to hold) such Foreign Currency (without liability for interest thereon) for the respective accounts of the Holders entitled to receive the same.

Section 4.9 Fixing of ADS Record Date . Whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of the fixing of a record date by the Company for the determination of holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive any distribution (whether in cash, Shares, rights, or other distribution), or whenever for any reason the Depositary causes a change in the number of Shares that are represented by each ADS, or whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or proxies of, holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities, or whenever the Depositary shall find it necessary or convenient in connection with the giving of any notice, solicitation of any consent or any other matter, the Depositary, after

 

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consultation with the Company to the extent reasonably practicable, shall fix a record date (the “ ADS Record Date ”) for the determination of the Holders of ADS(s) who shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting, to give or withhold such consent, to receive such notice or solicitation or to otherwise take action, or to exercise the rights of Holders with respect to such changed number of Shares represented by each ADS. The Depositary shall make reasonable efforts to establish the ADS Record Date as closely as possible to the applicable record date for the Deposited Securities (if any) set by the Company in the Kingdom of Belgium and shall not announce the establishment of any ADS Record Date prior to the relevant corporate action having been made public by the Company (if such corporate action affects the Deposited Securities). Subject to applicable law and the provisions of Section 4.1 through 4.8 and to the other terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, only the Holders of ADSs at the close of business in New York on such ADS Record Date shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give such voting instructions, to receive such notice or solicitation, or otherwise take action. For the ADS Record Date in respect of a shareholders meeting of the Company, such date shall be determined by the Depositary and the Company jointly, it being understood that such ADS Record Date shall not be established earlier than 30 days prior to the relevant shareholders meeting.

Section 4.10 Voting of Deposited Securities . As soon as practicable after receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of Deposited Securities are entitled to vote, or of solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall fix the ADS Record Date in respect of such meeting or solicitation of consent or proxy in accordance with Section 4.9. The Depositary shall, as soon as practicable after receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of Deposited Securities are entitled to vote, or of solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Deposited Securities, if requested by the Company in writing in a timely manner, at the Company’s expense and provided no U.S. legal prohibitions exist, distribute to Holders as of the ADS Record Date: (a) such notice of meeting or solicitation of consent or proxy, (b) a statement that the Holders at the close of business on the ADS Record Date and, if so required by the Company, who also hold the ADSs as of the applicable share record date, will be entitled, subject to any applicable law, the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, the Articles of Association of the Company and the provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities (which provisions, if any, shall be summarized in pertinent part by the Company), to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the Deposited Securities represented by such Holder’s ADSs, and (c) a brief statement as to the manner and timing (such timing to be determined after consultation with the Company) in which such voting instructions may be given, including the following express indications: (x) that no voting rights will be exercised by the Depositary if the Depositary does not receive voting instructions timely from a Holder; and (y) that the Depositary will deem a Holder (unless otherwise specified in the notice distributed to the Holders) to have instructed the Depositary to vote in favor of the items set forth in such voting instructions if the Depositary has timely received the voting instructions from such Holder but if such Holder has failed to specify the manner in which the Depositary is to vote the Deposited Securities represented by such Holder’s ADSs.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary may, to the extent not prohibited by law or regulations, or by the requirements of the

 

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stock exchange on which the ADSs are listed, and after consultation with the Company to the extent reasonably practicable, in lieu of distribution of the materials provided to the Depositary in connection with any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or proxies from, holders of Deposited Securities, distribute to the Holders a notice that provides Holders with, or otherwise publicizes to Holders, instructions on how to retrieve such materials or receive such materials upon request ( i.e ., by reference to a website containing the materials for retrieval or a contact for requesting copies of the materials); provided, that, upon request of any Holder, the Depositary timely distributes to such Holder the materials provided to the Depositary in connection with any meeting of the holders of the Shares.

Voting instructions may be given only in respect of a number of ADSs representing an integral number of Deposited Securities. Upon the timely receipt from a Holder of ADSs as of the ADS Record Date (and, if so required by the Company, who also hold the ADSs as of the applicable share record date) of voting instructions in the manner specified by the Depositary, the Depositary shall endeavor, insofar as practicable and permitted under applicable law, the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, Articles of Association of the Company and the provisions of the Deposited Securities, to vote, or cause the Custodian to vote, the Deposited Securities (in person or by proxy) represented by such Holder’s ADSs in accordance with such voting instructions. The Depositary agrees not to vote, cause to be voted or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches to any Deposited Securities, other than in accordance with valid voting instructions given or deemed given in compliance with this Section.

Deposited Securities represented by ADSs for which no timely voting instructions are received by the Depositary from the Holder shall not be voted (except as otherwise contemplated herein). Neither the Depositary nor the Custodian shall under any circumstances exercise any discretion as to voting and neither the Depositary nor the Custodian shall vote, attempt to exercise the right to vote, or in any way make use of, for purposes of establishing a quorum or otherwise, the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs, except pursuant to and in accordance with the voting instructions timely received from Holders or as otherwise contemplated herein. If the Depositary timely receives voting instructions from a Holder which fail to specify the manner in which the Depositary is to vote the Deposited Securities represented by such Holder’s ADSs, the Depositary will deem such Holder (unless otherwise specified in the notice distributed to Holders) to have instructed the Depositary to vote in favor of the items set forth in such voting instructions.

The right of any Holder to give instructions to the Depositary as to the exercise of voting rights or the right of any Holder to withdraw Deposited Securities in person or by proxy may be limited if such Holder fails to comply with the requirements described in Sections 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7.

Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary shall not have any obligation to take any action with respect to any meeting, or solicitation of consents or proxies, of holders of Deposited Securities if the taking of such action would violate U.S. laws. The Company agrees to take any and all actions reasonably necessary to enable Holders and Beneficial Owners to exercise the voting rights accruing to the Deposited Securities and to deliver to the Depositary an opinion of U.S. counsel addressing any actions requested to be taken if so reasonably requested by the Depositary.

 

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There can be no assurance that Holders generally or any Holder in particular will receive the notice described above with sufficient time to enable the Holder to return voting instructions to the Depositary, or otherwise take action, in a timely manner.

The Depositary agrees, upon the request of Company, to provide to the Company copies of the voting instructions it receives (in the case of voting instructions received from Holders by any electronic means, a tabulation of such voting instructions) as promptly as practicable, and at the latest six (6) business days prior to any upcoming meeting date, upon receipt thereof.

Holders who have delivered voting instructions agree that such voting instruction may, at the request of the Company, be disclosed by the Company, for purposes of compliance with Belgian law, in connection with any meeting of the holders of the Shares, whether prior, during or after such meeting.

Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement or any Receipt to the contrary, and to the extent not prohibited by law or regulations, the Depositary and the Company may, by agreement between them, with notice to the Holders, modify, amend or adopt additional voting procedures from time to time as they determine may be necessary or appropriate (subject, in each case, to the terms of Sections 6.1 and 7.8).

Section 4.11 Changes Affecting Deposited Securities . Upon any split-up, cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of Deposited Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets affecting the Company or to which it is a party, any property which shall be received by the Depositary or the Custodian in exchange for, or in conversion of, or replacement of, or otherwise in respect of, such Deposited Securities shall, to the extent permitted by law, be treated as new Deposited Property under the Deposit Agreement, and the ADSs shall, subject to the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, any ADR(s) evidencing such ADSs and applicable law, represent the right to receive such additional or replacement Deposited Property. In giving effect to such, split-up, cancellation, consolidation or other reclassification of Deposited Securities, recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets, the Depositary may, with the Company’s approval, and shall, if the Company shall so request, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and receipt of an opinion of counsel to the Company reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary that such actions are not in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, (i) issue and deliver additional ADSs as in the case of a stock dividend on the Shares, (ii) amend the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADRs, (iii) amend the applicable Registration Statement(s) on Form F-6 as filed with the Commission in respect of the ADSs, (iv) call for the surrender of outstanding ADRs to be exchanged for new ADRs, and (v) take such other actions as are appropriate to reflect the transaction with respect to the ADSs. The Company agrees to, jointly with the Depositary, amend the Registration Statement on Form F-6 as filed with the Commission to permit the issuance of such new form of ADRs. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any Deposited Property so received may not be lawfully distributed to some or all Holders, the

 

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Depositary may, with the Company’s approval, and shall, if the Company requests, subject to receipt of an opinion of Company’s counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary that such action is not in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, sell such Deposited Property at public or private sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem proper and may allocate the net proceeds of such sales (net of (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) applicable taxes) for the account of the Holders otherwise entitled to such Deposited Property upon an averaged or other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among such Holders and distribute the net proceeds so allocated to the extent practicable as in the case of a distribution received in cash pursuant to Section 4.1. The Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may be lawful or practicable to make such Deposited Property available to Holders in general or to any Holder in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred in connection with such sale, or (iii) any liability to the purchaser of such Deposited Property.

Section 4.12 Available Information . The Company is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and, accordingly, is required to file or submit certain reports with the Commission. These reports can be retrieved from the Commission’s website ( www.sec.gov ) and can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission located (as of the date of the Deposit Agreement) at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington D.C. 20549.

Section 4.13 Reports . The Depositary shall make available for inspection by Holders at its Principal Office, as promptly as practicable after receipt thereof, any reports and communications, including any proxy soliciting materials, received from the Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary, the Custodian, or the nominee of either of them as the holder of the Deposited Property and (b) made generally available to the holders of such Deposited Property by the Company. The Depositary shall also provide or make available to Holders copies of such reports when furnished by the Company pursuant to Section 5.6.

Section 4.14 List of Holders . Promptly upon written request by the Company, the Depositary shall furnish to it a list, as of a recent date, of the names, addresses and holdings of ADSs of all Holders.

Section 4.15 Taxation . The Depositary will, and will instruct the Custodian to, forward to the Company or its agents such information from its records as the Company may reasonably request to enable the Company or its agents to file the necessary tax reports with governmental authorities or agencies. The Depositary, the Custodian or the Company and its agents may file such reports as are necessary to reduce or eliminate applicable taxes on dividends and on other distributions in respect of Deposited Property under applicable tax treaties or laws for the Holders and Beneficial Owners. In accordance with instructions from the Company and to the extent practicable, the Depositary or the Custodian will take reasonable administrative actions to obtain tax refunds, reduced withholding of tax at source on dividends and other benefits under applicable tax treaties or laws with respect to dividends and other distributions on the Deposited Property. As a condition to receiving such benefits, Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs may be required from time to time, and in a timely manner, to file such proof of taxpayer status, residence and beneficial ownership (as applicable), to execute such

 

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certificates and to make such representations and warranties, or to provide any other information or documents, as the Depositary or the Custodian may deem necessary or proper to fulfill the Depositary’s or the Custodian’s obligations under applicable law. The Depositary and the Company shall have no obligation or liability to any person if any Holder or Beneficial Owner fails to provide such information or if such information does not reach the relevant tax authorities in time for any Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the benefits of any tax treatment. The Holders and Beneficial Owners shall indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian and any of their respective directors, employees, agents and Affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained.

If the Company (or any of its agents) withholds from any distribution any amount on account of taxes or governmental charges, or pays any other tax in respect of such distribution ( i.e ., stamp duty tax, capital gains or other similar tax), the Company shall (and shall cause such agent to) remit promptly to the Depositary information about such taxes or governmental charges withheld or paid, and, if so requested, the tax receipt (or other proof of payment to the applicable governmental authority) therefor, in each case, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary. The Depositary shall, to the extent required by U.S. law, report to Holders any taxes withheld by it or the Custodian, and, if such information is provided to it by the Company, any taxes withheld by the Company. The Depositary and the Custodian shall not be required to provide the Holders with any evidence of the remittance by the Company (or its agents) of any taxes withheld, or of the payment of taxes by the Company, except to the extent the evidence is provided by the Company to the Depositary or the Custodian, as applicable. Neither the Depositary nor the Custodian shall be liable for the failure by any Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the benefits of credits on the basis of non-U.S. tax paid against such Holder’s or Beneficial Owner’s income tax liability.

The Depositary is under no obligation to provide the Holders and Beneficial Owners with any information about the tax status of the Company, except to the extent that the Company provides such information to the Depositary for distribution to the Holders and Beneficial Owners. The Depositary shall not incur any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by Holders and Beneficial Owners on account of their ownership of the ADSs, including without limitation, tax consequences resulting from the Company (or any of its subsidiaries) being treated as a “Passive Foreign Investment Company” (in each case as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and the regulations issued thereunder) or otherwise.

 

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ARTICLE V

THE DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIAN AND THE COMPANY

Section 5.1 Maintenance of Office and Transfer Books by the Registrar. Until termination of the Deposit Agreement in accordance with its terms, the Registrar shall maintain in the United States, an office and facilities for the issuance and delivery of ADSs, the acceptance for surrender of ADS(s) for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities, the registration of issuances, cancellations, transfers, combinations and split-ups of ADS(s) and, if applicable, to countersign ADRs evidencing the ADSs so issued, transferred, combined or split-up, in each case in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement.

The Registrar shall keep books for the registration of ADSs which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the Company and by the Holders of such ADSs, provided that such inspection shall not be, to the Registrar’s knowledge, for the purpose of communicating with Holders of such ADSs in the interest of a business or object other than the business of the Company or other than a matter related to the Deposit Agreement or the ADSs.

The Registrar may close the transfer books with respect to the ADSs, at any time or from time to time, when deemed necessary or advisable by it in good faith in connection with the performance of its duties hereunder, or at the reasonable written request of the Company subject, in all cases, to Section 7.8.

If any ADSs are listed on one or more stock exchanges or automated quotation systems in the United States, the Depositary shall act as Registrar or, with written notice given as promptly as practicable to the Company, appoint a Registrar or one or more co-registrars for registration of issuances, cancellations, transfers, combinations and split-ups of ADSs and, if applicable, to countersign ADRs evidencing the ADSs so issued, transferred, combined or split-up, in accordance with any requirements of such exchanges or systems. Such Registrar or co-registrars may be removed and a substitute or substitutes appointed by the Depositary, upon written notice given as promptly as practicable to the Company.

Section 5.2 Exoneration . Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be obligated to do or perform any act which is inconsistent with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement or incur any liability (i) if the Depositary or the Company shall be prevented or forbidden from, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the Deposit Agreement, by reason of any provision of any present or future law or regulation of the United States, the Kingdom of Belgium or any other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory authority or stock exchange, or on account of the possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason of any provision, present or future, of the Articles of Association of the Company or any provision of or governing any Deposited Securities, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control (including, without limitation, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, acts of terrorism, revolutions, rebellions, explosions and computer failure), (ii) by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the Deposit Agreement or in the Articles of

 

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Association of the Company or provisions of or governing Deposited Securities, (iii) for any action or inaction in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder, any Beneficial Owner or authorized representative thereof, or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information, (iv) for the inability by a Holder or Beneficial Owner to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit which is made available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, made available to Holders of ADSs, or (v) for any consequential or punitive damages (including lost profits) for any breach of the terms of the Deposit Agreement.

The Depositary, its controlling persons, its agents, any Custodian and the Company, its controlling persons and its agents may rely and shall be protected in acting upon any written notice, request or other document reasonably believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.

No disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of the Deposit Agreement.

Section 5.3 Standard of Care . The Company and the Depositary assume no obligation and shall not be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or any ADRs to any Holder(s) or Beneficial Owner(s), except that the Company and the Depositary agree to perform their respective obligations specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement or the applicable ADRs without negligence or bad faith.

Without limitation of the foregoing, neither the Depositary, nor the Company, nor any of their respective controlling persons, or agents, shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Property or in respect of the ADSs, which in its reasonable opinion may involve it in expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be furnished as often as may be required (and no Custodian shall be under any obligation whatsoever with respect to such proceedings, the responsibility of the Custodian being solely to the Depositary).

The Depositary and its agents shall not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, or for the manner in which any vote is cast or the effect of any vote, provided that any such action or omission is in good faith, without negligence and in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall not incur any liability for any failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable, for the content of any information submitted to it by the Company for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the Deposited Property, for the validity or worth of the Deposited Property or for any tax consequences that may result from the ownership of ADSs, Shares or other Deposited Property, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the Deposit Agreement, for the failure or timeliness of any notice from the Company, or for any action of or failure to act by, or any information provided or not provided by, DTC or any DTC Participant.

 

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The Depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the Depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the Depositary, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such potential liability arises the Depositary performed its obligations without negligence or bad faith while it acted as Depositary.

Section 5.4 Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary . The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary hereunder by written notice of resignation delivered to the Company, such resignation to be effective on the earlier of (i) the 90th day after delivery thereof to the Company (whereupon the Depositary shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2), or (ii) the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.

The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written notice of such removal, which removal shall be effective on the later of (i) the 90th day after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2), or (ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.

In case at any time the Depositary acting hereunder shall resign or be removed, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York. Every successor depositary shall be required by the Company to execute and deliver to its predecessor and to the Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such successor depositary, without any further act or deed (except as required by applicable law), shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor (other than as contemplated in Sections 5.8 and 5.9). The predecessor depositary, upon payment of all sums due it and on the written request of the Company, shall, (i) execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor all rights and powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than as contemplated in Sections 5.8 and 5.9), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all of the Depositary’s right, title and interest to the Deposited Property to such successor, and (iii) deliver to such successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding ADSs and such other information relating to ADSs and Holders thereof as the successor may reasonably request. Any such successor depositary shall promptly provide notice of its appointment to such Holders.

Any entity into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any document or any further act.

Section 5.5 The Custodian . The Depositary has initially appointed Citibank International Limited as Custodian for the purpose of the Deposit Agreement. The Custodian or its successors in acting hereunder shall be subject at all times and in all respects to the direction of the Depositary for the Deposited Property for which the Custodian acts as custodian and shall be responsible solely to it. If any Custodian resigns or is discharged from its duties hereunder with respect to any Deposited Property and no other Custodian has previously been appointed

 

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hereunder, the Depositary shall promptly appoint a substitute custodian. The Depositary shall require such resigning or discharged Custodian to Deliver, or cause the Delivery of, the Deposited Property held by it, together with all such records maintained by it as Custodian with respect to such Deposited Property as the Depositary may request, to the Custodian designated by the Depositary. Whenever the Depositary determines, in its discretion, that it is appropriate to do so, it may appoint an additional custodian with respect to any Deposited Property, or discharge the Custodian with respect to any Deposited Property and appoint a substitute custodian, which shall thereafter be Custodian hereunder with respect to the Deposited Property. Immediately upon any such change, the Depositary shall give notice thereof in writing to all Holders of ADSs, each other Custodian and the Company.

Citibank, N.A. may at any time act as Custodian of the Deposited Property pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, in which case any reference to Custodian shall mean Citibank, N.A. solely in its capacity as Custodian pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, and the Depositary shall promptly give notice thereof to the Company. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary shall not be obligated to give notice to any Holders of ADSs or any other Custodian of its acting as Custodian pursuant to the Deposit Agreement.

Upon the appointment of any successor depositary, any Custodian then acting hereunder shall, unless otherwise instructed by the Depositary, continue to be the Custodian of the Deposited Property without any further act or writing, and shall be subject to the direction of the successor depositary. The successor depositary so appointed shall, nevertheless, on the written request of any Custodian, execute and deliver to such Custodian all such instruments as may be proper to give to such Custodian full and complete power and authority to act on the direction of such successor depositary.

The Depositary shall cause the Custodian to be at all time a participant of the securities settlement system operated by Euroclear.

Section 5.6 Notices and Reports . On or before the first date on which the Company gives notice, by publication or otherwise, of any meeting of holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities, or of any adjourned meeting of such holders, or of the taking of any action by such holders other than at a meeting, or of the taking of any action in respect of any cash or other distributions or the offering of any rights in respect of Deposited Securities, the Company shall transmit to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of the notice thereof in the English language but otherwise in the form given or to be given to holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities. The Company shall also furnish to the Custodian and the Depositary a summary, in English, of any applicable provisions or proposed provisions of the Articles of Association of the Company that may be relevant or pertain to such notice of meeting or be the subject of a vote thereat.

The Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company’s expense, to provide copies thereof to all Holders or make such notices, reports and other communications available to all Holders on a basis similar to that for holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities or on such other basis as the Company may advise the Depositary or as may be required by any applicable law, regulation or stock exchange requirement. The Company has

 

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delivered to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of the Company’s Articles of Association along with the provisions of or governing the Shares and any other Deposited Securities issued by the Company in connection with such Shares, and promptly upon any amendment thereto or change therein, the Company shall deliver to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of such amendment thereto or change therein. The Depositary may rely upon such copy for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement.

The Depositary will, at the expense of the Company, make available a copy of any such notices, reports or communications issued by the Company and delivered to the Depositary for inspection by the Holders of the ADSs at the Depositary’s Principal Office, at the office of the Custodian and at any other designated transfer office.

Section 5.7 Issuance of Additional Shares, ADSs etc . The Company agrees that in the event it or any of its Affiliates proposes (i) an issuance, sale or distribution of additional Shares, (ii) an offering of rights to subscribe for Shares or other Deposited Securities, (iii) an issuance or assumption of securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares, (iv) an issuance of rights to subscribe for securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares, (v) an elective dividend of cash or Shares, (vi) a redemption of Deposited Securities, (vii) a meeting of holders of Deposited Securities, or solicitation of consents or proxies, relating to any reclassification of securities, merger or consolidation or transfer of assets, (viii) any assumption, reclassification, recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets which affects the Deposited Securities, or (ix) a distribution of securities other than Shares, provided any such corporate action is available to the holders of Shares as a class, it will obtain U.S. legal advice and take all steps necessary to ensure that the proposed transaction does not violate the registration provisions of the Securities Act, or any other applicable laws (including, without limitation, the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Exchange Act and the securities laws of the states of the U.S.). In support of the foregoing, the Company will furnish to the Depositary (a) a written opinion of U.S. counsel (reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary) stating whether such transaction (1) requires a registration statement under the Securities Act to be in effect or (2) is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and (b) an opinion of Belgian counsel stating that (1) making the transaction available to Holders and Beneficial Owners does not violate the laws or regulations of the Kingdom of Belgium and (2) all requisite regulatory consents and approvals have been obtained in the Kingdom of Belgium. If the filing of a registration statement is required, the Depositary shall not have any obligation to proceed with the transaction unless it shall have received evidence reasonably satisfactory to it that such registration statement has been declared effective. If, being advised by counsel, the Company determines that a transaction is required to be registered under the Securities Act, the Company will either (i) register such transaction to the extent necessary, (ii) alter the terms of the transaction to avoid the registration requirements of the Securities Act or (iii) direct the Depositary to take specific measures, in each case as contemplated in the Deposit Agreement, to prevent such transaction from violating the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company agrees with the Depositary that neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates will at any time (i) deposit any Shares or other Deposited Securities, either upon original issuance or upon a sale of Shares or other Deposited Securities previously issued and reacquired by the Company or by any such Affiliate, or (ii) issue additional Shares, rights to subscribe for such Shares, securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares or rights to subscribe for such

 

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securities or distribute securities other than Shares, unless such transaction and the securities issuable in such transaction do not violate the registration provisions of the Securities Act, or any other applicable laws (including, without limitation, the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Exchange Act and the securities laws of the states of the U.S.).

Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement, nothing in the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed to obligate the Company to file any registration statement in respect of any proposed transaction.

Section 5.8 Indemnification . The Depositary agrees to indemnify the Company and its directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any direct loss, liability, tax, charge or expense of any kind whatsoever (including, but not limited to, the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) which may arise out of acts performed or omitted by the Depositary under the terms hereof due to the negligence or bad faith of the Depositary.

The Company agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Custodian and any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any direct loss, liability, tax, charge or expense of any kind whatsoever (including, but not limited to, the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) that may arise (a) out of, or in connection with, any offer, issuance, sale, resale, transfer, deposit or withdrawal of ADRs, ADSs, the Shares, or other Deposited Securities, as the case may be, (b) out of, or as a result of, any offering documents in respect thereof or (c) out of acts performed or omitted, including, but not limited to, any delivery by the Depositary on behalf of the Company of information regarding the Company in connection with the Deposit Agreement, the ADRs, the ADSs, the Shares, or any Deposited Property, in any such case (i) by the Depositary, the Custodian or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates, except to the extent such loss, liability, tax, charge or expense is due to the negligence or bad faith of any of them, or (ii) by the Company or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates, provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable for any fees, charges or expenses payable by Holders or Beneficial Owners under this Deposit Agreement. The Company shall not indemnify the Depositary or the Custodian against any liability or expense arising out of information relating to the Depositary or such Custodian, as the case may be, furnished in a writing to the Company, by the Depositary or such Custodian expressly for use in any registration statement, prospectus or preliminary prospectus relating to any Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs. The indemnities contained in this paragraph shall not extend to any liability or expense that may arise solely and exclusively out of any Pre-Release Transaction (as defined in Section 5.10), other than a Pre-Release Transaction entered into at the request of the Company.

The obligations set forth in this Section shall survive the termination of the Deposit Agreement and the succession or substitution of any party hereto.

Any person seeking indemnification hereunder (an “indemnified person”) shall notify the person from whom it is seeking indemnification (the “indemnifying person”) of the commencement of any indemnifiable action or claim promptly after such indemnified person

 

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becomes aware of such commencement (provided that the failure to make such notification shall not affect such indemnified person’s rights to seek indemnification except to the extent the indemnifying person is materially prejudiced by such failure) and shall consult in good faith with the indemnifying person as to the conduct of the defense of such action or claim that may give rise to an indemnity hereunder, which defense shall be reasonable in the circumstances. No indemnified person shall compromise or settle any action or claim that may give rise to an indemnity hereunder without the consent of the indemnifying person, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.

Section 5.9 ADS Fees and Charges . The Company, the Holders, the Beneficial Owners, and persons depositing Shares for issuance of ADSs or surrendering ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of Deposited Securities shall be required to pay the ADS fees and charges identified as payable by them respectively in the ADS fee schedule attached hereto as Exhibit B. All ADS fees and charges so payable may be deducted from distributions or must be remitted to the Depositary, or its designee, and may, at any time and from time to time, be changed by agreement between the Depositary and the Company, but, in the case of ADS fees and charges payable by Holders and Beneficial Owners, only in the manner contemplated in Section 6.1. The Depositary shall provide, without charge, a copy of its latest ADS fee schedule to anyone upon request.

ADS fees and charges payable upon (i) deposit of Shares against issuance of ADSs and (ii) surrender of ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of Deposited Securities will be payable by the person to whom the ADSs so issued are delivered by the Depositary (in the case of ADS issuances) and by the person who delivers the ADSs for cancellation to the Depositary (in the case of ADS cancellations). In the case of ADSs issued by the Depositary into DTC or presented to the Depositary via DTC, the ADS issuance and cancellation fees and charges will be payable by the DTC Participant(s) receiving the ADSs from the Depositary or the DTC Participant(s) surrendering the ADSs to the Depositary for cancellation, as the case may be, on behalf of the Beneficial Owner(s) and will be charged by the DTC Participant(s) to the account(s) of the applicable Beneficial Owner(s) in accordance with the procedures and practices of the DTC participant(s) as in effect at the time. ADS fees and charges in respect of distributions and the ADS service fee are payable by Holders as of the applicable ADS Record Date established by the Depositary. In the case of distributions of cash, the amount of the applicable ADS fees and charges is deducted from the funds being distributed. In the case of (i) distributions other than cash and (ii) the ADS service fee, the applicable Holders as of the ADS Record Date established by the Depositary will be invoiced for the amount of the ADS fees and charges and such ADS fees may be deducted from distributions made to Holders. For ADSs held through DTC, the ADS fees and charges for distributions other than cash and the ADS service fee may be deducted from distributions made through DTC, and may be charged to the DTC Participants in accordance with the procedures and practices prescribed by DTC from time to time and the DTC Participants in turn charge the amount of such ADS fees and charges to the Beneficial Owners for whom they hold ADSs.

 

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The Depositary may reimburse the Company for certain expenses incurred by the Company in respect of the ADR program established pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, by making available a portion of the ADS fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise, upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary agree from time to time. The Company shall pay to the Depositary such fees and charges, and reimburse the Depositary for such out-of-pocket expenses, as the Depositary and the Company may agree from time to time. Responsibility for payment of such fees, charges and reimbursements may from time to time be changed by agreement between the Company and the Depositary. Unless otherwise agreed, the Depositary shall present its statement for such fees, charges and reimbursements to the Company once every three months. The charges and expenses of the Custodian are for the sole account of the Depositary.

The obligation of Holders and Beneficial Owners to pay ADS fees and charges shall survive the termination of the Deposit Agreement. As to any Depositary, upon the resignation or removal of such Depositary as described in Section 5.4, the right to collect ADS fees, charges and expenses shall extend for those ADS fees and charges incurred prior to the effectiveness of such resignation or removal.

Section 5.10 Pre-Release Transactions . Subject to the further terms and provisions of this Section 5.10, and subject to any applicable securities laws and regulations (including without limitation any insider dealing restrictions), the Depositary, its Affiliates and their agents, on their own behalf, may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its Affiliates and in ADSs. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend Shares or ADSs; provided, however, that the Depositary may (i) issue ADSs prior to the receipt of Shares pursuant to Section 2.3 and (ii) deliver Shares prior to the receipt of ADSs for withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant to Section 2.7, including ADSs which were issued under (i) above but for which Shares may not have been received (each such transaction a “ Pre-Release Transaction ”). The Depositary may receive ADSs in lieu of Shares under (i) above and receive Shares in lieu of ADSs under (ii) above. Each such Pre-Release Transaction will be (a) subject to a written agreement whereby the person or entity (the “ Applicant ”) to whom ADSs or Shares are to be delivered (w) represents that at the time of the Pre-Release Transaction the Applicant or its customer owns the Shares or ADSs that are to be delivered by the Applicant under such Pre-Release Transaction, (x) agrees to indicate the Depositary as owner of such Shares or ADSs in its records and to hold such Shares or ADSs in trust for the Depositary until such Shares or ADSs are delivered to the Depositary or the Custodian, (y) unconditionally guarantees to deliver to the Depositary or the Custodian, as applicable, such Shares or ADSs, and (z) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that the Depositary deems appropriate, (b) at all times fully collateralized with cash, U.S. government securities or such other collateral as the Depositary deems appropriate, (c) terminable by the Depositary on not more than five (5) business days’ notice and (d) subject to such further indemnities and credit regulations as the Depositary deems appropriate. The Depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs and Shares involved in such Pre-Release Transactions at any one time to thirty percent (30%) of the ADSs outstanding (without giving effect to ADSs outstanding under (i) above), provided, however, that the Depositary reserves the right to change or disregard such limit from time to time as it deems appropriate.

 

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The Depositary may also set limits with respect to the number of ADSs and Shares involved in Pre-Release Transactions with any one person on a case-by-case basis as it deems appropriate. The Depositary may retain for its own account any compensation received by it in conjunction with the foregoing. Collateral provided pursuant to (b) above, but not the earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the Holders (other than the Applicant).

Section 5.11 Restricted Securities Owners . The Company agrees to advise in writing each of the persons or entities who, to the knowledge of the Company, holds Restricted Securities that such Restricted Securities are ineligible for deposit hereunder (except under the circumstances contemplated in Section 2.14) and, to the extent practicable, shall require each of such persons to represent in writing that such person will not deposit Restricted Securities hereunder (except under the circumstances contemplated in Section 2.14).

ARTICLE VI

AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

Section 6.1 Amendment/Supplement . Subject to the terms and conditions of this Section 6.1 and applicable law, the ADRs outstanding at any time, the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and the form of ADR attached hereto and to be issued under the terms hereof may at any time and from time to time be amended or supplemented by written agreement between the Company and the Depositary in any respect which they may deem necessary or desirable without the prior written consent of the Holders or Beneficial Owners. Any amendment or supplement which shall impose or increase any fees or charges (other than charges in connection with foreign exchange control regulations, and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery and other such expenses), or which shall otherwise materially prejudice any substantial existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall not, however, become effective as to outstanding ADSs until the expiration of thirty (30) days after notice of such amendment or supplement shall have been given to the Holders of outstanding ADSs. Notice of any amendment to the Deposit Agreement or any ADR shall not need to describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice invalid, provided , however , that, in each such case, the notice given to the Holders identifies a means for Holders and Beneficial Owners to retrieve or receive the text of such amendment ( i.e. , upon retrieval from the Commission’s, the Depositary’s or the Company’s website or upon request from the Depositary). The parties hereto agree that any amendments or supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by the Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on Form F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the ADSs to be settled solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed not to materially prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial Owners. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment or supplement so becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such ADSs, to consent and agree to such amendment or supplement and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement and the ADR, if applicable, as amended or supplemented thereby. In no event shall any amendment or supplement impair the right of the Holder to surrender such ADS and receive therefor the Deposited Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any governmental

 

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body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would require an amendment of, or supplement to, the Deposit Agreement to ensure compliance therewith, the Company and the Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit Agreement and any ADRs at any time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the Deposit Agreement and any ADRs in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to Holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance with such laws, rules or regulations.

Section 6.2 Termination . The Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company, terminate the Deposit Agreement by distributing notice of such termination to the Holders of all ADSs then outstanding at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination. If ninety (90) days shall have expired after (i) the Depositary shall have delivered to the Company a written notice of its election to resign, or (ii) the Company shall have delivered to the Depositary a written notice of the removal of the Depositary, and, in either case, a successor depositary shall not have been appointed and accepted its appointment as provided in Section 5.4 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may terminate the Deposit Agreement by distributing notice of such termination to the Holders of all ADSs then outstanding at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination. The date so fixed for termination of the Deposit Agreement in any termination notice so distributed by the Depositary to the Holders of ADSs is referred to as the “ Termination Date ”. Until the Termination Date, the Depositary shall continue to perform all of its obligations under the Deposit Agreement, and the Holders and Beneficial Owners will be entitled to all of their rights under the Deposit Agreement.

If any ADSs shall remain outstanding after the Termination Date, the Registrar and the Depositary shall not, after the Termination Date, have any obligation to perform any further acts under the Deposit Agreement, except that the Depositary shall, subject, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, continue to (i) collect dividends and other distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities, (ii) sell Deposited Property received in respect of Deposited Securities, (iii) deliver Deposited Securities, together with any dividends or other distributions received with respect thereto and the net proceeds of the sale of any other Deposited Property, in exchange for ADSs surrendered to the Depositary (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and all applicable taxes or governmental charges for the account of the Holders and Beneficial Owners, in each case upon the terms set forth in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement), and (iv) take such actions as may be required under applicable law in connection with its role as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement.

At any time after the Termination Date, the Depositary may sell the Deposited Property then held under the Deposit Agreement and shall after such sale hold un-invested the net proceeds of such sale, together with any other cash then held by it under the Deposit Agreement, in an un-segregated account and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the Holders whose ADSs have not theretofore been surrendered. After making such sale, the Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement except (i) to account for such net proceeds and other cash (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and all applicable

 

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taxes or governmental charges for the account of the Holders and Beneficial Owners, in each case upon the terms set forth in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement), and (ii) as may be required at law in connection with the termination of the Deposit Agreement. After the Termination Date, the Company shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement, except for its obligations to the Depositary under Sections 5.8, 5.9 and 7.6 of the Deposit Agreement. The obligations under the terms of the Deposit Agreement of Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs outstanding as of the Termination Date shall survive the Termination Date and shall be discharged only when the applicable ADSs are presented by their Holders to the Depositary for cancellation under the terms of the Deposit Agreement.

ARTICLE VII

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 7.1 Counterparts . The Deposit Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of such counterparts together shall constitute one and the same agreement. Copies of the Deposit Agreement shall be maintained with the Depositary and shall be open to inspection by any Holder during business hours.

Section 7.2 No Third-Party Beneficiaries . The Deposit Agreement is for the exclusive benefit of the parties hereto (and their successors) and shall not be deemed to give any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other person, except to the extent specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement. Nothing in the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed to give rise to a partnership or joint venture among the parties nor establish a fiduciary or similar relationship among the parties. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that (i) the Depositary and its Affiliates may at any time have multiple banking relationships with the Company and its Affiliates, (ii) the Depositary and its Affiliates may be engaged at any time in transactions in which parties adverse to the Company or the Holders or Beneficial Owners may have interests and (iii) nothing contained in the Deposit Agreement shall (a) preclude the Depositary or any of its Affiliates from engaging in such transactions or establishing or maintaining such relationships, and (b) obligate the Depositary or any of its Affiliates to disclose such transactions or relationships or to account for any profit made or payment received in such transactions or relationships.

Section 7.3 Severability . In case any one or more of the provisions contained in the Deposit Agreement or in the ADRs should be or become invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein or therein shall in no way be affected, prejudiced or disturbed thereby.

Section 7.4 Holders and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect . The Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of ADSs issued hereunder shall be parties to the Deposit Agreement and shall be bound by all of the terms and conditions hereof and of any ADR evidencing their ADSs by acceptance thereof or any beneficial interest therein.

 

46


Section 7.5 Notices . Any and all notices to be given to the Company shall be deemed to have been duly given if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter personally delivered or sent by mail or air courier, addressed to Celyad SA, Rue Edouard Belin 12, 1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, Attention: Legal Department, or to any other address which the Company may specify in writing to the Depositary.

Any and all notices to be given to the Depositary shall be deemed to have been duly given if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter personally delivered or sent by mail or air courier, addressed to Citibank, N.A., 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, U.S.A., Attention : Depositary Receipts Department, or to any other address which the Depositary may specify in writing to the Company.

Any and all notices to be given to any Holder shall be deemed to have been duly given if (a) personally delivered or sent by mail or cable, telex or facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to such Holder at the address of such Holder as it appears on the books of the Depositary or, if such Holder shall have filed with the Depositary a request that notices intended for such Holder be mailed to some other address, at the address specified in such request, or (b) if a Holder shall have designated such means of notification as an acceptable means of notification under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, by means of electronic messaging addressed for delivery to the e-mail address designated by the Holder for such purpose. Notice to Holders shall be deemed to be notice to Beneficial Owners for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement. Failure to notify a Holder or any defect in the notification to a Holder shall not affect the sufficiency of notification to other Holders or to the Beneficial Owners of ADSs held by such other Holders.

Delivery of a notice sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or facsimile transmission shall be deemed to be effective at the time when a duly addressed letter containing the same (or a confirmation thereof in the case of a cable, telex or facsimile transmission) is deposited, postage prepaid, in a post-office letter box or delivered to an air courier service, without regard for the actual receipt or time of actual receipt thereof by a Holder. The Depositary or the Company may, however, act upon any cable, telex or facsimile transmission received by it from any Holder, the Custodian, the Depositary, or the Company, notwithstanding that such cable, telex or facsimile transmission shall not be subsequently confirmed by letter.

Delivery of a notice by means of electronic messaging shall be deemed to be effective at the time of the initiation of the transmission by the sender (as shown on the sender’s records), notwithstanding that the intended recipient retrieves the message at a later date, fails to retrieve such message, or fails to receive such notice on account of its failure to maintain the designated e-mail address, its failure to designate a substitute e-mail address or for any other reason.

Section 7.6 Governing Law and Jurisdiction . The Deposit Agreement and the ADRs shall be interpreted in accordance with, and all rights hereunder and thereunder and provisions hereof and thereof shall be governed by, the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be wholly performed in that State. Notwithstanding anything contained

 

47


in the Deposit Agreement, any ADR or any present or future provisions of the laws of the State of New York, the rights of holders of Shares and of any other Deposited Securities and the obligations and duties of the Company in respect of the holders of Shares and other Deposited Securities, as such, shall be governed by the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium (or, if applicable, such other laws as may govern the Deposited Securities).

Except as set forth in the following paragraph of this Section 7.6, the Company and the Depositary agree that the federal or state courts in the City of New York shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any suit, action or proceeding and to settle any dispute between them that may arise out of or in connection with the Deposit Agreement and, for such purposes, each irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. The Company hereby irrevocably designates, appoints and empowers CT Corporation System (the “ Agent ”) at 111 8th Avenue, New York, New York 10011 as its authorized agent to receive and accept for and on its behalf, and on behalf of its properties, assets and revenues, service by mail of any and all legal process, summons, notices and documents that may be served in any suit, action or proceeding brought against the Company in any federal or state court as described in the preceding sentence or in the next paragraph of this Section 7.6. If for any reason the Agent shall cease to be available to act as such, the Company agrees to designate a new agent in New York on the terms and for the purposes of this Section 7.6 reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary. The Company further hereby irrevocably consents and agrees to the service of any and all legal process, summons, notices and documents in any suit, action or proceeding against the Company, by service by mail of a copy thereof upon the Agent (whether or not the appointment of such Agent shall for any reason prove to be ineffective or such Agent shall fail to accept or acknowledge such service), with a copy mailed to the Company by registered or certified air mail, postage prepaid, to its address provided in Section 7.5. The Company agrees that the failure of the Agent to give any notice of such service to it shall not impair or affect in any way the validity of such service or any judgment rendered in any action or proceeding based thereon.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Depositary and the Company unconditionally agree that in the event that a Holder or Beneficial Owner brings a suit, action or proceeding against (a) the Company, (b) the Depositary in its capacity as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement or (c) against both the Company and the Depositary, in any such case, in any state or federal court of the United States, and the Depositary or the Company have any claim, for indemnification or otherwise, against each other arising out of the subject matter of such suit, action or proceeding, then the Company and the Depositary may pursue such claim against each other in the state or federal court in the United States in which such suit, action, or proceeding is pending and, for such purposes, the Company and the Depositary irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. The Company agrees that service of process upon the Agent in the manner set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be effective service upon it for any suit, action or proceeding brought against it as described in this paragraph.

The Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any actions, suits or proceedings brought in any court as provided in this Section 7.6, and hereby further irrevocably and unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action, suit or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

 

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The Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and agrees not to plead or claim, any right of immunity from legal action, suit or proceeding, from setoff or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, from execution of judgment, or from any other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment, and consents to such relief and enforcement against it, its assets and its revenues in any jurisdiction, in each case with respect to any matter arising out of, or in connection with, the Deposit Agreement, any ADR or the Deposited Property.

No disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of the Deposit Agreement. The provisions of this Section 7.6 shall survive any termination of the Deposit Agreement, in whole or in part.

Section 7.7 Assignment . Subject to the provisions of Section 5.4, the Deposit Agreement may not be assigned by either the Company or the Depositary.

Section 7.8 Compliance with U.S. Securities Laws . Notwithstanding anything in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the withdrawal or delivery of Deposited Securities will not be suspended by the Company or the Depositary except as would be permitted by Instruction I.A.(1) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, under the Securities Act.

Section 7.9 Belgian Law References . Any summary of Belgian laws and regulations and of the terms of the Company’s Articles of Association set forth in the Deposit Agreement have been provided by the Company solely for the convenience of Holders, Beneficial Owners and the Depositary. While such summaries are believed by the Company to be accurate as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, (i) they are summaries and as such may not include all aspects of the materials summarized applicable to a Holder or Beneficial Owner, and (ii) these laws and regulations and the Company’s Articles of Association may change after the date of the Deposit Agreement. Neither the Depositary nor the Company has any obligation under the terms of the Deposit Agreement to update any such summaries.

Section 7.10 Titles and References .

(a) Deposit Agreement . All references in the Deposit Agreement to exhibits, articles, sections, subsections, and other subdivisions refer to the exhibits, articles, sections, subsections and other subdivisions of the Deposit Agreement unless expressly provided otherwise. The words “the Deposit Agreement”, “herein”, “hereof”, “hereby”, “hereunder”, and words of similar import refer to the Deposit Agreement as a whole as in effect at the relevant time between the Company, the Depositary and the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs and not to any particular subdivision unless expressly so limited. Pronouns in masculine, feminine and neuter gender shall be construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular form

 

49


shall be construed to include the plural and vice versa unless the context otherwise requires. Titles to sections of the Deposit Agreement are included for convenience only and shall be disregarded in construing the language contained in the Deposit Agreement. References to “applicable laws and regulations” shall refer to laws and regulations applicable to ADRs, ADSs or Deposited Property as in effect at the relevant time of determination, unless otherwise required by law or regulation.

(b) ADRs . All references in any ADR(s) to paragraphs, exhibits, articles, sections, subsections, and other subdivisions refer to the paragraphs, exhibits, articles, sections, subsections and other subdivisions of the ADR(s) in question unless expressly provided otherwise. The words “the Receipt”, “the ADR”, “herein”, “hereof”, “hereby”, “hereunder”, and words of similar import used in any ADR refer to the ADR as a whole and as in effect at the relevant time, and not to any particular subdivision unless expressly so limited. Pronouns in masculine, feminine and neuter gender in any ADR shall be construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular form shall be construed to include the plural and vice versa unless the context otherwise requires. Titles to paragraphs of any ADR are included for convenience only and shall be disregarded in construing the language contained in the ADR. References to “applicable laws and regulations” shall refer to laws and regulations applicable to ADRs, ADSs or Deposited Property as in effect at the relevant time of determination, unless otherwise required by law or regulation.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, CELYAD SA and CITIBANK, N.A. have duly executed the Deposit Agreement as of the day and year first above set forth and all Holders and Beneficial Owners shall become parties hereto upon acceptance by them of ADSs issued in accordance with the terms hereof, or upon acquisition of any beneficial interest therein.

 

CELYAD SA
By:

 

Name:
Title:
CITIBANK, N.A.
By:

 

Name:
Title:

 

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EXHIBIT A

[FORM OF ADR]

 

Number CUSIP NUMBER: [ ]
                        
American Depositary Shares (each American Depositary Share representing the right to receive one (1) fully paid ordinary share)

AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPT

FOR

AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

representing

DEPOSITED ORDINARY SHARES

of

CELYAD SA

(Organized and existing under the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium)

CITIBANK, N.A., a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America, as depositary (the “Depositary”), hereby certifies that                      is the owner of                      American Depositary Shares (hereinafter “ADS”) representing deposited ordinary shares, including evidence of rights to receive such ordinary shares (the “Shares”), of Celyad SA, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium (the “Company”). As of the date of the Deposit Agreement (as hereinafter defined), each ADS represents the right to receive one (1) Share deposited under the Deposit Agreement with the Custodian, which at the date of execution of the Deposit Agreement is Citibank International Limited (the “Custodian”). The ADS(s)-to-Share(s) ratio is subject to amendment as provided in Articles IV and VI of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary’s Principal Office is located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, U.S.A.

 

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(1) The Deposit Agreement . This American Depositary Receipt is one of an issue of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), all issued and to be issued upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Deposit Agreement, dated as of [DATE] , 2015 (as amended and supplemented from time to time, the “Deposit Agreement”), by and among the Company, the Depositary, and all Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of ADSs issued thereunder. The Deposit Agreement sets forth the rights and obligations of Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs and the rights and duties of the Depositary in respect of the Shares deposited thereunder and any and all other Deposited Property (as defined in the Deposit Agreement) from time to time received and held on deposit in respect of the ADSs. Copies of the Deposit Agreement are on file at the Principal Office of the Depositary and with the Custodian. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner, upon acceptance of any ADSs (or any interest therein) issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, shall be deemed for all purposes to (a) be a party to and bound by the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), and (b) appoint the Depositary its attorney-in-fact, with full power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take any and all actions contemplated in the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), to adopt any and all procedures necessary to comply with applicable law and to take such action as the Depositary in its sole discretion may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), the taking of such actions to be the conclusive determinant of the necessity and appropriateness thereof.

The statements made on the face and reverse of this ADR are summaries of certain provisions of the Deposit Agreement and the Articles of Association of the Company (as in effect on the date of the signing of the Deposit Agreement) and are qualified by and subject to the detailed provisions of the Deposit Agreement and the Articles of Association, to which reference is hereby made.

All capitalized terms used herein which are not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Deposit Agreement.

The Depositary makes no representation or warranty as to the validity or worth of the Deposited Property. The Depositary has made arrangements for the acceptance of the ADSs into DTC. Each Beneficial Owner of ADSs held through DTC must rely on the procedures of DTC and the DTC Participants to exercise and be entitled to any rights attributable to such ADSs. The Depositary may issue Uncertificated ADSs subject, however, to the terms and conditions of Section 2.13 of the Deposit Agreement.

(2) Surrender of ADSs and Withdrawal of Deposited Securities . The Holder of this ADR (and of the ADSs evidenced hereby) shall be entitled to Delivery (at the Custodian’s designated office) of the Deposited Securities at the time represented by the ADSs evidenced hereby upon satisfaction of each of the following conditions: (i) the Holder (or a duly-authorized attorney of the Holder) has duly Delivered ADSs to the Depositary at its Principal Office the ADSs evidenced hereby (and, if applicable, this ADR evidencing such ADSs) for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented thereby, (ii) if applicable and so required by the Depositary, this ADR Delivered to the Depositary for such purpose has been properly endorsed in blank or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer in blank (including

 

A-2


signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice), (iii) if so required by the Depositary, the Holder of the ADSs has executed and delivered to the Depositary a written order directing the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be Delivered to or upon the written order of the person(s) designated in such order, and (iv) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 of, and Exhibit B to, the Deposit Agreement) have been paid, subject, however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of this ADR evidencing the surrendered ADSs, of the Deposit Agreement, of the Company’s Articles of Association and of any applicable laws and the rules of the relevant Settlement System, and to any provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

Upon satisfaction of each of the conditions specified above, the Depositary (i) shall cancel the ADSs Delivered to it (and, if applicable, this ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs so Delivered), (ii) shall direct the Registrar to record the cancellation of the ADSs so Delivered on the books maintained for such purpose, and (iii) shall direct the Custodian to Deliver, or cause the Delivery of, in each case, without unreasonable delay, the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs so canceled together with any certificate or other document of title for the Deposited Securities, or evidence of the electronic transfer thereof (if available), as the case may be, to or upon the written order of the person(s) designated in the order delivered to the Depositary for such purpose, subject however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, of this ADR evidencing the ADS so canceled, of the Articles of Association of the Company, of any applicable laws and of the rules of the relevant Settlement System, and to the terms and conditions of or governing the Deposited Securities, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

The Depositary shall not accept for surrender ADSs representing less than one (1) Share. In the case of Delivery to it of ADSs representing a number other than a whole number of Shares, the Depositary shall cause ownership of the appropriate whole number of Shares to be Delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall, at the discretion of the Depositary, either (i) return to the person surrendering such ADSs the number of ADSs representing any remaining fractional Share, or (ii) sell or cause to be sold an aggregated number of fractional Shares (represented by the ADSs so surrendered ) which equals one Share or an integral multiple thereof and remit the proceeds of such sale (net of (a) applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes required to be withheld as a result of such sale) to the person surrendering the ADSs.

Notwithstanding anything else contained in this ADR or the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may make delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary of Deposited Property consisting of (i) any cash dividends or cash distributions, or (ii) any proceeds from the sale of any non-cash distributions, which are at the time held by the Depositary in respect of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs surrendered for cancellation and withdrawal. At the request, risk and expense of any Holder so surrendering ADSs represented by this ADR, and for the account of such Holder, the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward (to the extent permitted by law) any Deposited Property (other than Deposited Securities) held by the

 

A-3


Custodian in respect of such ADSs to the Depositary for delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary. Such direction shall be given by letter or, at the request, risk and expense of such Holder, by cable, telex or facsimile transmission.

(3) Transfer, Combination and Split-up of ADRs . The Registrar shall register the transfer of this ADR (and of the ADSs represented hereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the Depositary shall (x) cancel this ADR and execute new ADRs evidencing the same aggregate number of ADSs as those evidenced by this ADR when canceled by the Depositary, (y) cause the Registrar to countersign such new ADRs, and (z) Deliver such new ADRs to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto, if each of the following conditions has been satisfied: (i) this ADR has been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a transfer thereof, (ii) this surrendered ADR has been properly endorsed or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer (including signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice), (iii) this surrendered ADR has been duly stamped (if required by the laws of the State of New York or of the United States), and (iv) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 of, and Exhibit B to, the Deposit Agreement) have been paid, subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of this ADR, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

The Registrar shall register the split-up or combination of this ADR (and of the ADSs represented hereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the Depositary shall (x) cancel this ADR and execute new ADRs for the number of ADSs requested, but in the aggregate not exceeding the number of ADSs evidenced by this ADR (canceled by the Depositary), (y) cause the Registrar to countersign such new ADRs, and (z) Deliver such new ADRs to or upon the order of the Holder thereof, if each of the following conditions has been satisfied: (i) this ADR has been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a split-up or combination hereof, and (ii) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 of, and Exhibit B to, the Deposit Agreement) have been paid, subject, however, in each case , to the terms and conditions of this ADR, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case as in effect at the time thereof.

The Depositary may appoint one or more co-transfer agents for the purpose of effecting transfers, combinations and split-ups of ADRs at designated transfer offices on behalf of the Depositary and the Depositary shall notify the Company in writing upon any such appointment. In carrying out its functions, a co-transfer agent may require evidence of authority and compliance with applicable laws and other requirements by Holders or persons entitled to such ADRs and will be entitled to protection and indemnity to the same extent as the Depositary. Such co-transfer agents may be removed and substitutes appointed by the Depositary and the Depositary shall notify the Company in writing upon any such removal or substitution. Each co-transfer agent appointed under Section 2.6 of the Deposit Agreement (other than the Depositary) shall give notice in writing to the Depositary accepting such appointment and agreeing to be bound by the applicable terms of the Deposit Agreement.

 

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(4) Pre-Conditions to Registration, Transfer, Etc . As a condition precedent to the execution and delivery, the registration of issuance, transfer, split-up, combination or surrender, of any ADS, the delivery of any distribution thereon, or the withdrawal of any Deposited Property, the Depositary or the Custodian may require (i) payment from the depositor of Shares or presenter of ADSs or of this ADR of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other governmental charge and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect to Shares being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees and charges of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 and Exhibit B to the Deposit Agreement and in this ADR, (ii) the production of proof reasonably satisfactory to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature or any other matter contemplated by Section 3.1 of the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) compliance with (A) any laws or governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery of this ADR or ADSs or to the withdrawal of Deposited Securities and (B) such reasonable regulations as the Depositary and the Company may establish consistent with the provisions of this ADR, if applicable, the Deposit Agreement and applicable law.

The issuance of ADSs against deposits of Shares generally or against deposits of particular Shares may be suspended, or the deposit of particular Shares may be refused, or the registration of transfer of ADSs in particular instances may be refused, or the registration of transfer of ADSs generally may be suspended, during any period when the transfer books of the Company, the Depositary, a Registrar or any Settlement System are closed or if any such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the Depositary or the Company, in good faith, at any time or from time to time because of any requirement of law or regulation, any government or governmental body or commission or any securities exchange on which the ADSs or Shares are listed, or under any provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR, if applicable, or under any provision of, or governing, the Deposited Securities, or because of a meeting of shareholders of the Company or for any other reason, subject, in all cases to paragraph (25) of this ADR and Section 7.8 of the Deposit Agreement. Notwithstanding any provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR to the contrary, Holders are entitled to surrender outstanding ADSs to withdraw the Deposited Securities associated therewith at any time subject only to (i) temporary delays caused by closing of the transfer books of the Depositary or the Company or Settlement System (when applicable) or the deposit of Shares in connection with voting at a shareholders’ meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees, taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S. or foreign laws or governmental regulations relating to the ADSs or to the withdrawal of the Deposited Securities, and (iv) other circumstances specifically contemplated by Instruction I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such General Instructions may be amended from time to time).

(5) Compliance With Information Requests . Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR, each Holder and Beneficial Owner of the ADSs represented hereby agrees to comply with requests from the Company pursuant to applicable law, the rules and requirements of any stock exchange on which the Shares or ADSs are, or will

 

A-5


be, registered, traded or listed, or the Articles of Association of the Company, which are made to provide information, inter alia , as to the capacity in which such Holder or Beneficial Owner owns ADSs (and the Shares represented by such ADSs, as the case may be) and regarding the identity of any other person(s) interested in such ADSs (and the Shares represented by such ADSs, as the case may be) and the nature of such interest and various other matters, whether or not they are Holders and/or Beneficial Owners at the time of such request. The Depositary agrees to use its reasonable efforts to forward, upon the request of the Company and at the Company’s expense, any such request from the Company to the Holders and to forward to the Company, as promptly as practicable, any such responses to such requests received by the Depositary.

(6) Ownership Restrictions . Subject to applicable law, notwithstanding any other provision of this ADR or of the Deposit Agreement, the Company may restrict transfers of the Shares where such transfer might result in ownership of Shares exceeding limits imposed by applicable law or the Articles of Association of the Company. The Company may also restrict, in such manner as it deems appropriate, transfers of the ADSs where such transfer may result in the total number of Shares represented by the ADSs owned by a single Holder or Beneficial Owner to exceed any such limits. The Company may, in its sole discretion but subject to applicable law, instruct the Depositary to take action with respect to the ownership interest of any Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of the limits set forth in the preceding sentence, including but not limited to, the imposition of restrictions on the transfer of ADSs, the removal or limitation of voting rights or the mandatory sale or disposition on behalf of a Holder or Beneficial Owner of the Shares represented by the ADSs held by such Holder or Beneficial Owner in excess of such limitations, if and to the extent such disposition is permitted by applicable law and the Articles of Association of the Company. Nothing herein or in the Deposit Agreement shall be interpreted as obligating the Depositary or the Company to ensure compliance with the ownership restrictions described herein or in Section 3.5 of the Deposit Agreement.

(7) Reporting Obligations and Regulatory Approvals ; Disclosure of Interests. Applicable laws and regulations may require holders and beneficial owners of Shares, including the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs, to satisfy reporting requirements and obtain regulatory approvals in certain circumstances. Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs are solely responsible for determining and complying with such reporting requirements and for obtaining such approvals. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees to make such determination, file such reports, and obtain such approvals to the extent and in the form required by applicable laws and regulations as in effect from time to time. Neither the Depositary, the Custodian, the Company or any of their respective agents or affiliates shall be required to take any actions whatsoever on behalf of Holders or Beneficial Owners to determine or satisfy such reporting requirements or obtain such regulatory approvals under applicable laws and regulations.

 

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The Company has advised the Depositary and the parties to the Deposit Agreement acknowledge that, Belgian law, as in effect on the date of the Deposit Agreement, provides that:

(a) Any person or legal entity, which owns or acquires securities of the Company granting voting rights (including Shares) (either directly or by ownership of ADSs or both), whether representing the share capital or not, must disclose to the Company and to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) the number of securities that such person or legal entity owns, alone or jointly with one or several other persons or legal entities, when the voting rights attached to such securities amount to 5 percent or more of the total of the voting rights existing when the situation triggering the disclosure obligation occurs. Such person or legal entity must make the same disclosure in the event of a transfer or of an additional acquisition of such securities when, after such transaction, the voting rights attached to securities owned by such person or legal entity amount to 5 percent, 10 percent, and so on by blocks of 5 percent of the total of the voting rights existing when the situation triggering the disclosure obligation occurs, or when the voting rights attached to securities owned by such person or legal entity fall below one of the thresholds referred to in this Paragraph (7)(a);

(b) Any person or legal entity which acquires or transfers, alone or jointly, the direct or indirect control of a corporation or other legal entity which owns 5 percent at least of the voting rights of the Company (either directly or by ownership of ADSs or both) must disclose such acquisition or transfer to the Company and to the FSMA;

(c) A disclosure described above is also required when, as a result of events changing the breakdown of voting rights, the percentage of the voting rights attached to the voting securities reaches, exceeds or falls below the thresholds referred to in Paragraph (7)(a) above, even when no acquisition or disposal of securities has occurred (e.g., as a result of a capital increase or a capital decrease of the Company). A disclosure is equally required when persons or legal entities enter into, modify or terminate an agreement of action in concert, when as result thereof, the percentage of the voting rights subject to the action in concert or the percentage of the voting rights of one of the parties to the agreement of action in concert reaches, exceeds or falls below the thresholds referred to in Paragraph 7(a) above;

(d) Disclosure statements referred to in this Paragraph (7) must be addressed to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (whose offices are currently located Rue du Congrès 12-14, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) and to the board of directors of the Company at the latest the fourth trading day in Euronext Brussels following the day on which (i) the person or legal entity is aware of the acquisition or the disposal or the possibility of exercising voting rights, or, having regard to the circumstances, should have been aware of it, regardless of the date on which the acquisition, disposal or possibility of exercising voting rights takes effect, (ii) the person or legal entity is aware of the event changing the break down of voting rights, (iii) an agreement of action in concert is entered into, modified or terminated, or (iv) for securities acquired by succession, the succession is accepted by the heirs, as the case may be, under the benefit of inventory (as such term is defined under Belgian law);

(e) Unless otherwise provided by legal provisions in force, no one will be allowed to vote at a meeting of the holders of the Shares a number of securities greater than the number validly disclosed, to the extent required, at the latest twenty (20) days before such meeting, in compliance with legal provisions in force and with the Articles of Association; and

 

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(f) The disclosure requirements and limitations set out in Paragraphs (7) (a) to (e) above are applicable to any Holder of ADSs and/or Beneficial Owner by reference to the number of both ADSs and Shares (that are not Deposited Securities) held by such Holder and/or beneficially owned by such Beneficial Owner. This Paragraph (7) is a summary of the applicable provisions of Belgian law, as in effect as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, regarding disclosure of interests in the Company and shall not limit the obligations of Holders and Beneficial Owners to comply with all relevant provisions of Belgian law, as applicable from time to time. Each Holder and Beneficial Owner shall be deemed to have authorized the Depositary and the Custodian to comply with any request from the Company or any competent authority to disclose any information about any interest or any transaction of such Holder or Beneficial Owner in ADSs or Shares or Deposited Securities.

(8) Liability for Taxes and Other Charges . Any tax or other governmental charge payable by the Custodian or by the Depositary with respect to any Deposited Property, ADSs or this ADR shall be payable by the Holders and Beneficial Owners to the Depositary. The Company, the Custodian and/or the Depositary may withhold or deduct from any distributions made in respect of Deposited Property and may sell for the account of a Holder and/or Beneficial Owner any or all of the Deposited Property and apply such distributions and sale proceeds in payment of any taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) or charges that are or may be payable by Holders or Beneficial Owners in respect of the ADSs, Deposited Property and this ADR, the Holder and the Beneficial Owner hereof remaining liable for any deficiency. The Custodian may refuse the deposit of Shares and the Depositary may refuse to issue ADSs, to deliver ADRs, register the transfer of ADSs, register the split-up or combination of ADRs and (subject to paragraph (25) of this ADR and Section 7.8 of the Deposit Agreement) the withdrawal of Deposited Property until payment in full of such tax, charge, penalty or interest is received. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian, and any of their agents, officers, employees and Affiliates for, and to hold each of them harmless from, any claims with respect to taxes (including applicable interest and penalties thereon) arising from any tax benefit obtained for such Holder and/or Beneficial Owner.

(9) Representations and Warranties on Deposit of Shares . Each person depositing Shares under the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that (i) such Shares and the certificates therefor are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained by such person, (ii) all preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Shares have been validly waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit is duly authorized so to do, (iv) the Shares presented for deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim, (v) the Shares presented for deposit are not, and the ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not be, Restricted Securities (except as contemplated in Section 2.14 of the Deposit Agreement), (vi) the Shares presented for deposit have not been stripped of any rights or entitlements and (vii) the deposit of the Shares do not violate any provisions of Belgian law. Such representations and warranties shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares, the issuance and cancellation of ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such ADSs. If any such representations or warranties are false in any way, the Company and the Depositary shall be authorized, at the cost and expense of the person depositing Shares, to take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences thereof.

 

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(10) Proofs, Certificates and Other Information . Any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder and any Beneficial Owner may be required, and every Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees, from time to time to provide to the Depositary and the Custodian such proof of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, payment of all applicable taxes or other governmental charges, exchange control approval, legal or beneficial ownership of ADSs and Deposited Property, compliance with applicable laws, the terms of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR evidencing the ADSs and the provisions of, or governing, the Deposited Property, to execute such certifications and to make such representations and warranties, and to provide such other information and documentation (or, in the case of Shares in registered form presented for deposit, such information relating to the registration on the books of the Company as the Depositary or the Custodian may deem necessary or proper or as the Company may reasonably require by written request to the Depositary consistent with its obligations under the Deposit Agreement and this ADR. The Depositary and the Registrar, as applicable, may, and at the reasonable request of the Company, shall, to the extent practicable, withhold the execution or delivery or registration of transfer of any ADR or ADS or the distribution or sale of any dividend or distribution of rights or of the proceeds thereof or, to the extent not limited by paragraph (25) and Section 7.8 of the Deposit Agreement, the delivery of any Deposited Property until such proof or other information is filed or such certifications are executed, or such representations and warranties are made, or such other documentation or information provided, in each case to the Depositary’s, the Registrar’s and the Company’s satisfaction. The Depositary shall provide the Company, in a timely manner, with copies or originals if necessary and appropriate of (i) any such proofs of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, or exchange control approval or copies of written representations and warranties which it receives from Holders and Beneficial Owners, and (ii) any other information or documents which the Company may reasonably request and which the Depositary shall request and receive from any Holder or Beneficial Owner or any person presenting Shares for deposit or ADSs for cancellation, transfer or withdrawal. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to (i) obtain any information for the Company if not provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners, or (ii) verify or vouch for the accuracy of the information so provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners.

(11) ADS Fees and Charges . The following ADS fees are payable under the terms of the Deposit Agreement:

 

  (i) ADS Issuance Fee : by any person depositing Shares or to whom ADSs are issued upon the deposit of Shares (excluding issuances as a result of distributions described in paragraph (iv) below), a fee not in excess of U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) so issued under the terms of the Deposit Agreement;

 

  (ii) ADS Cancellation Fee : by any person surrendering ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of Deposited Property or by any person to whom Deposited Property is delivered, a fee not in excess of U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) surrendered;

 

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  (iii) Cash Distribution Fee : by any Holder of ADSs, a fee not in excess of U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held for the distribution of cash dividends or other cash distributions ( i.e. , sale of rights and other entitlements);

 

  (iv) Stock Distribution/Rights Exercise Fee : by any Holder of ADS(s), a fee not in excess of U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held for (a) stock dividends or other free stock distributions, or (b) exercise of rights to purchase additional ADSs;

 

  (v) Other Distribution Fee : by any Holder of ADS(s), a fee not in excess of U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held for the distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs ( i.e. , spin-off shares); and

 

  (vi) Depositary Services Fee : by any Holder of ADS(s), a fee not in excess of U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held on the applicable record date(s) established by the Depositary.

The Company, Holders, Beneficial Owners, persons depositing Shares and persons surrendering ADSs for cancellation and for the purpose of withdrawing Deposited Securities shall be responsible for the following ADS charges under the terms of the Deposit Agreement:

 

  (a) taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) and other governmental charges;

 

  (b) such registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration of Shares or other Deposited Securities on the share register and applicable to transfers of Shares or other Deposited Securities to or from the name of the Custodian, the Depositary or any nominees upon the making of deposits and withdrawals, respectively;

 

  (c) such cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery expenses as are expressly provided in the Deposit Agreement to be at the expense of the person depositing Shares or withdrawing Deposited Securities or of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs;

 

  (d) the expenses and charges incurred by the Depositary in the conversion of foreign currency;

 

  (e) such fees and expenses as are incurred by the Depositary in connection with compliance with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to Shares, Deposited Securities, ADSs and ADRs; and

 

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  (f) the fees and expenses incurred by the Depositary, the Custodian, or any nominee in connection with the delivery or servicing of Deposited Property.

All ADS fees and charges may, at any time and from time to time, be changed by agreement between the Depositary and Company but, in the case of ADS fees and charges payable by Holders and Beneficial Owners, only in the manner contemplated by paragraph (23) of this ADR and as contemplated in the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall provide, without charge, a copy of its latest ADS fee schedule to anyone upon request.

ADS fees and charges payable upon (i) deposit of Shares against issuance of ADSs and (ii) surrender of ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of Deposited Property will be payable by the person to whom the ADSs so issued are delivered by the Depositary (in the case of ADS issuances) and by the person who delivers the ADSs for cancellation to the Depositary (in the case of ADS cancellations). In the case of ADSs issued by the Depositary into DTC or presented to the Depositary via DTC, the ADS issuance and cancellation fees and charges will be payable by the DTC Participant(s) receiving the ADSs from the Depositary or the DTC Participant(s) surrendering the ADSs to the Depositary for cancellation, as the case may be, on behalf of the Beneficial Owner(s) and will be charged by the DTC Participant(s) to the account(s) of the applicable Beneficial Owner(s) in accordance with the procedures and practices of the DTC Participant(s) as in effect at the time. ADS fees and charges in respect of distributions and the ADS service fee are payable by Holders as of the applicable ADS Record Date established by the Depositary. In the case of distributions of cash, the amount of the applicable ADS fees and charges is deducted from the funds being distributed. In the case of (i) distributions other than cash and (ii) the ADS service fee, the applicable Holders as of the ADS Record Date established by the Depositary will be invoiced and such ADS fees may be deducted from distributions made to Holders for the amount of the ADS fees and charges. For ADSs held through DTC, the ADS fees and charges for distributions other than cash and the ADS service fee may be deducted from distributions made through DTC and may be are charged to the DTC Participants in accordance with the procedures and practices prescribed by DTC from time to time and the DTC Participants in turn charge the amount of such ADS fees and charges to the Beneficial Owners for whom they hold ADSs.

The Depositary may reimburse the Company for certain expenses incurred by the Company in respect of the ADR program established pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, by making available a portion of the ADS fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise, upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary agree from time to time. The Company shall pay to the Depositary such fees and charges, and reimburse the Depositary for such out-of-pocket expenses, as the Depositary and the Company may agree from time to time. Responsibility for payment of such fees, charges and reimbursements may from time to time be changed by agreement between the Company and the Depositary. Unless otherwise agreed, the Depositary shall present its statement for such fees, charges and reimbursements to the Company once every three months. The charges and expenses of the Custodian are for the sole account of the Depositary.

 

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The obligations of Holders and Beneficial Owners to pay ADS fees and charges shall survive the termination of the Deposit Agreement. As to any Depositary, upon the resignation or removal of such Depositary as described in Section 5.4 of the Deposit Agreement, the right to collect ADS fees, charges and expenses shall extend for those ADS fees and charges incurred prior to the effectiveness of such resignation or removal.

(12) Title to ADRs . Subject to the limitations contained in the Deposit Agreement and in this ADR, it is a condition of this ADR, and every successive Holder of this ADR by accepting or holding the same consents and agrees, that title to this ADR (and to each Certificated ADS evidenced hereby) shall be transferable upon the same terms as a certificated security under the laws of the State of New York, provided that, in the case of Certificated ADSs, this ADR has been properly endorsed or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer. Notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, the Depositary and the Company may deem and treat the Holder of this ADR (that is, the person in whose name this ADR is registered on the books of the Depositary) as the absolute owner thereof for all purposes. Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall have any obligation nor be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or this ADR to any holder of this ADR or any Beneficial Owner unless, in the case of a holder of ADSs, such holder is the Holder of this ADR registered on the books of the Depositary or, in the case of a Beneficial Owner, such Beneficial Owner, or the Beneficial Owner’s representative, is the Holder registered on the books of the Depositary.

(13) Validity of ADR . The Holder(s) of this ADR (and the ADSs represented hereby) shall not be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable for any purpose against the Depositary or the Company unless this ADR has been (i) dated, (ii) signed by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary, (iii) countersigned by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly-authorized signatory of the Registrar, and (iv) registered in the books maintained by the Registrar for the registration of issuances and transfers of ADRs. An ADR bearing the facsimile signature of a duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, who at the time of signature was a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, as the case may be, shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding the fact that such signatory has ceased to be so authorized prior to the delivery of such ADR by the Depositary.

(14) Available Information; Reports; Inspection of Transfer Books . The Company is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and, accordingly, is required to file or submit certain reports with the Commission. These reports can be retrieved from the Commission’s website ( www.sec.gov ) and can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission located (as of the date of the Deposit Agreement) at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington D.C. 20549. The Depositary shall make available for inspection by Holders at its Principal Office, as promptly as practicable after receipt thereof, any reports and communications, including any proxy soliciting materials, received from the Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary, the Custodian, or the nominee of either of them as the holder of the Deposited Property and (b) made generally available to the holders of such Deposited Property by the Company.

 

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The Registrar shall keep books for the registration of ADSs which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the Company and by the Holders of such ADSs, provided that such inspection shall not be, to the Registrar’s knowledge, for the purpose of communicating with Holders of such ADSs in the interest of a business or object other than the business of the Company or other than a matter related to the Deposit Agreement or the ADSs.

The Registrar may close the transfer books with respect to the ADSs, at any time or from time to time, when deemed necessary or advisable by it in good faith in connection with the performance of its duties hereunder, or at the reasonable written request of the Company subject, in all cases, to paragraph (25) and Section 7.8 of the Deposit Agreement.

Dated:

 

CITIBANK, N.A. CITIBANK, N.A.
Transfer Agent and Registrar as Depositary
By:

 

By:

 

Authorized Signatory Authorized Signatory

The address of the Principal Office of the Depositary is 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, U.S.A.

 

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[FORM OF REVERSE OF ADR]

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

OF THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT

(15) Dividends and Distributions in Cash, Shares, etc . Whenever the Company intends to make a distribution of a cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least twenty (20) days prior to the proposed distribution specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable for determining the holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such distribution. Upon the timely receipt of such notice, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian of the receipt of any cash dividend or other cash distribution on any Deposited Securities, or upon receipt of proceeds from the sale of any Deposited Property held in respect of the ADSs under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary will (i) if at the time of receipt thereof any amounts received in a Foreign Currency can, in the judgment of the Depositary (pursuant to Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement), be converted on a practicable basis into Dollars transferable to the United States, promptly convert or cause to be converted such cash dividend, distribution or proceeds into Dollars (on the terms described in Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement), (ii) if applicable and unless previously established, establish the ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) distribute promptly the amount thus received (net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes required to be withheld as a result of the distribution) to the Holders entitled thereto as of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the ADS Record Date. The Depositary shall distribute only such amount, however, as can be distributed without attributing to any Holder a fraction of one cent, and any balance not so distributed shall be held by the Depositary (without liability for interest thereon) and shall be added to and become part of the next sum received by the Depositary for distribution to Holders of ADSs outstanding at the time of the next distribution. If the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from any cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities, or from any cash proceeds from the sales of Deposited Property, an amount on account of taxes, duties or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to Holders on the ADSs shall be reduced accordingly. Such withheld amounts shall be forwarded by the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary to the relevant governmental authority. Evidence of payment thereof by the Company shall be forwarded by the Company to the Depositary upon request. The Depositary will hold any cash amounts it is unable to distribute in a non-interest bearing account for the benefit of the applicable Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs until the distribution can be effected or the funds that the Depositary holds must be escheated as unclaimed property in accordance with the laws of the relevant states of the United States. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed distribution provided for in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions

 

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contemplated in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

Whenever the Company intends to make a distribution that consists of a dividend in, or free distribution of, Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least twenty (20) days prior to the proposed distribution, specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable to holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such distribution. Upon the timely receipt of such notice from the Company, the Depositary shall establish the ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian of the receipt of Shares so distributed by the Company, the Depositary shall either (i) subject to Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement, distribute to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of ADSs held as of the ADS Record Date, additional ADSs, which represent in the aggregate the number of Shares received as such dividend, or free distribution, subject to the other terms of the Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), or (ii) if additional ADSs are not so distributed, take all actions necessary so that each ADS issued and outstanding after the ADS Record Date shall, to the extent permissible by law, thenceforth also represent rights and interests in the additional integral number of Shares distributed upon the Deposited Securities represented thereby (net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (b) taxes). In lieu of delivering fractional ADSs, the Depositary shall sell the number of Shares or ADSs, as the case may be, represented by the aggregate of such fractions and distribute the net proceeds upon the terms described in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement.

In the event that the Depositary determines that any distribution in property (including Shares) is subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, or, if the Company in the fulfillment of its obligations under Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, has furnished an opinion of U.S. counsel determining that Shares must be registered under the Securities Act or other laws in order to be distributed to Holders (and no such registration statement has been declared effective), the Depositary may, after consultation with the Company to the extent reasonably practicable, dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale (after deduction of (a) taxes and (b) fees and charges of, and the expenses incurred by, the Depositary) to Holders entitled thereto upon the terms of Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall hold and/or distribute any unsold balance of such property in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed distribution provided for in Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall

 

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have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

Whenever the Company intends to make a distribution payable at the election of the holders of Deposited Securities in cash or in additional Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed distribution specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable to holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such elective distribution and whether or not it wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders of ADSs. Upon the timely receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes such elective distribution to be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make such elective distribution available to the Holders of ADSs. The Depositary shall make such elective distribution available to Holders only if (i) the Company shall have timely requested that the elective distribution be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably practicable and (iii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement. If the above conditions are not satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date on the terms described in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement and, to the extent permitted by law, distribute to the Holders, on the basis of the same determination as is made in the Kingdom of Belgium in respect of the Shares for which no election is made, either (X) cash upon the terms described in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement or (Y) additional ADSs representing such additional Shares upon the terms described in Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement. If the above conditions are satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date on the terms described in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement and establish procedures to enable Holders to elect the receipt of the proposed distribution in cash or in additional ADSs. The Company shall assist the Depositary in establishing such procedures to the extent necessary. If a Holder elects to receive the proposed distribution (X) in cash, the distribution shall be made upon the terms described in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement, or (Y) in ADSs, the distribution shall be made upon the terms described in Section 4.2 of the Deposit Agreement. Nothing herein or in the Deposit Agreement shall obligate the Depositary to make available to the Holder a method to receive the elective distribution in Shares (rather than ADSs). There can be no assurance that the Holder generally, or any Holder in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive elective distributions on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Shares. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed distribution provided for in Section 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

 

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Whenever the Company intends to offer, distribute, or cause to be offered or distributed to the holders of the Deposited Securities rights to subscribe for additional Shares, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed offer specifying, inter alia , the record date applicable to holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive such rights and whether or not it wishes such rights to be made available to Holders of ADSs. Upon the timely receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes such rights to be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to make such rights available to the Holders. The Depositary shall make such rights available to Holders only if (i) the Company shall have timely requested that such rights be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement in the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution of rights is reasonably practicable. In the event any of the conditions set forth above are not satisfied or if the Company requests that the rights not be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall proceed with the sale of the rights as contemplated in Section 4.4(b) of the Deposit Agreement. In the event all conditions set forth above are satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date (upon the terms described in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement) and establish procedures to (x) distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs (by means of warrants or otherwise), (y) to enable the Holders to exercise such rights (upon payment of the subscription price and of the applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), and (z) to deliver ADSs upon the valid exercise of such rights. The Company shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary in establishing such procedures. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make available to the Holders a method to exercise rights to subscribe for Shares (rather than ADSs). If (i) the Company does not timely request the Depositary to make the rights available to Holders or requests that the rights not be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary fails to receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5,7 of the Deposit Agreement or determines it is not reasonably practicable to make the rights available to Holders, or (iii) any rights made available are not exercised and appear to be about to lapse, the Depositary shall determine whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to sell such rights, in a riskless principal capacity, at such place and upon such terms (including public and private sale) as it may deem practicable. The Company shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary to determine such legality and practicability. The Depositary shall, upon such sale, convert and distribute proceeds of such sale (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) upon the terms hereof and of Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary is unable to make any rights available to Holders upon the terms described in Section 4.4(a) of the Deposit Agreement or to arrange for the sale of the rights upon the terms described in Section 4.4(b) of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall allow such rights to lapse. The Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may be lawful or practicable to make such rights available to Holders in general or any Holders in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred in connection with such sale or exercise, or (iii) the content of any materials forwarded to the Holders on behalf of the Company in connection with the rights distribution.

 

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Notwithstanding anything herein or in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, if registration (under the Securities Act or any other applicable law) of the rights or the securities to which any rights relate may be required in order for the Company to offer such rights or such securities to Holders and to sell the securities represented by such rights, the Depositary will not distribute such rights to the Holders (i) unless and until a registration statement under the Securities Act (or other applicable law) covering such offering is in effect or (ii) unless the Company furnishes the Depositary opinion(s) of counsel for the Company in the United States and counsel to the Company in any other applicable country in which rights would be distributed, in each case reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary, to the effect that the offering and sale of such securities to Holders and Beneficial Owners are exempt from, or do not require registration under, the provisions of the Securities Act or any other applicable laws. In the event that the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian shall be required to withhold and does withhold from any distribution of Deposited Property (including rights) an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to the Holders of ADSs shall be reduced accordingly. In the event that the Depositary determines that any distribution of Deposited Property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such Deposited Property (including Shares and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay any such taxes or charges.

There can be no assurance that Holders generally, or any Holder in particular, will be given the opportunity to receive or exercise rights on the same terms and conditions as the holders of Shares or be able to exercise such rights. Nothing herein or in the Deposit Agreement shall obligate the Company to file any registration statement in respect of any rights or Shares or other securities to be acquired upon the exercise of such rights.

Whenever the Company intends to distribute to the holders of Deposited Securities property other than cash, Shares or rights to purchase additional Shares, the Company shall give timely notice thereof to the Depositary and shall indicate whether or not it wishes such distribution to be made to Holders of ADSs. Upon receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes such distribution be made to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company, and the Company shall assist the Depositary, to determine whether such distribution to Holders is lawful and reasonably practicable. The Depositary shall not make such distribution unless (i) the Company shall have requested the Depositary to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably practicable.

Upon receipt of satisfactory documentation and the request of the Company to distribute property to Holders of ADSs and after making the requisite determinations set forth in (a) above, the Depositary shall distribute the property so received to the Holders of record, as of the ADS Record Date, in proportion to the number of ADSs held by them respectively and in such manner as the Depositary may deem practicable for accomplishing such distribution (i) upon receipt of payment or net of the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary,

 

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and (ii) net of any taxes required to be withheld. The Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of the property so distributed and deposited, in such amounts and in such manner (including public or private sale) as the Depositary may deem practicable or necessary to satisfy any taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) or other governmental charges applicable to the distribution.

If (i) the Company does not request the Depositary to make such distribution to Holders or requests not to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the Depositary does not receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, or (iii) the Depositary determines that all or a portion of such distribution is not reasonably practicable, the Depositary shall sell or cause such property to be sold in a public or private sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem practicable and shall (i) cause the proceeds of such sale, if any, to be converted into Dollars and (ii) distribute the proceeds of such conversion received by the Depositary (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date upon the terms of Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary is unable to sell such property, the Depositary may dispose of such property for the account of the Holders in any way it deems reasonably practicable under the circumstances.

Neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be responsible for (i) any failure to determine whether it is lawful or practicable to make the property described in Section 4.5 of the Deposit Agreement available to Holders in general or any Holders in particular, nor (ii) any loss incurred in connection with the sale or disposal of such property.

(16) Redemption . If the Company intends to exercise any right of redemption (by way of shareholders resolution or otherwise) in respect of any of the Deposited Securities (where such Deposited Securities provide the Company with a right of redemption), the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at least thirty (30) days prior to the intended date of redemption which notice shall set forth the particulars of the proposed redemption. Upon timely receipt of (i) such notice and (ii) satisfactory documentation given by the Company to the Depositary within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, and only if, after consultation between the Depositary and the Company, the Depositary shall have determined that such proposed redemption is practicable, the Depositary shall provide to each Holder a notice setting forth the intended exercise by the Company of the redemption rights and any other particulars set forth in the Company’s notice to the Depositary. The Depositary shall instruct the Custodian to present to the Company the Deposited Securities in respect of which redemption rights are being exercised against payment of the applicable redemption price. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian that the redemption has taken place and that funds representing the redemption price have been received, the Depositary shall convert, transfer, and distribute the proceeds (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and the expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (b) taxes), retire ADSs and cancel ADRs , if applicable, upon delivery of such ADSs by Holders thereof and the terms set forth in Sections 4.1 and 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement. If less than all outstanding Deposited Securities are redeemed, the ADSs to be retired will be selected by lot or on a pro rata basis, as may be determined by the Depositary after consultation with the Company. The redemption price per ADS shall be the dollar equivalent of the per share amount

 

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received by the Depositary (adjusted to reflect the ADS(s)-to-Share(s) ratio) upon the redemption of the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs (subject to the terms of Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and taxes) multiplied by the number of Deposited Securities represented by each ADS redeemed. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the event the Company fails to give the Depositary timely notice of the proposed redemption provided for in Section 4.7 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary agrees to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.7 of the Deposit Agreement, and the Company, the Holders and the Beneficial Owners acknowledge that the Depositary shall have no liability for the Depositary’s failure to perform the actions contemplated in Section 4.7 of the Deposit Agreement where such notice has not been so timely given, other than its failure to use commercially reasonable efforts, as provided herein.

(17) Fixing of ADS Record Date . Whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of the fixing of a record date by the Company for the determination of holders of Deposited Securities entitled to receive any distribution (whether in cash, Shares, rights or other distribution), or whenever for any reason the Depositary causes a change in the number of Shares that are represented by each ADS, or whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or proxies of, holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities, or whenever the Depositary shall find it necessary or convenient in connection with the giving of any notice, solicitation of any consent or any other matter, the Depositary shall, after consultation with the Company to the extent reasonably practicable, fix the record date (the “ ADS Record Date ”) for the determination of the Holders of ADS(s) who shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting, to give or withhold such consent, to receive such notice or solicitation or to otherwise take action, or to exercise the rights of Holders with respect to such changed number of Shares represented by each ADS. The Depositary shall make reasonable efforts to establish the ADS Record Date as closely as possible to the applicable record date for the Deposited Securities (if any) set by the Company in the Kingdom of Belgium and shall not announce the establishment of any ADS Record Date prior to the relevant corporate action having been made public by the Company (if such corporate action affects the Deposited Securities). Subject to applicable law, and the provisions of Sections 4.1 through 4.8 and to the other terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, only the Holders of ADSs at the close of business in New York on such ADS Record Date shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give such voting instructions, to receive such notice or solicitation, or otherwise take action. For the ADS Record Date in respect of a shareholders meeting of the Company, such date shall be determined by the Depositary and the Company jointly, it being understood that such ADS Record Date shall not be established earlier than 30 days prior to the relevant shareholders meeting.

(18) Voting of Deposited Securities . As soon as practicable after receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of Deposited Securities are entitled to vote, or of solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall fix the ADS Record Date in respect of such meeting or solicitation of consent or proxy in accordance with Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall, as soon as practicable after receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of Deposited Securities are entitled to vote, or of

 

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solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Deposited Securities, if requested by the Company in writing in a timely manner, at the Company’s expense and provided no U.S. legal prohibitions exist, distribute to Holders as of the ADS Record Date: (a) such notice of meeting or solicitation of consent or proxy, (b) a statement that the Holders at the close of business on the ADS Record Date and, if so required by the Company, who also hold the ADSs as of the applicable share record date, will be entitled, subject to any applicable law, the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, the Articles of Association of the Company and the provisions of or governing the Deposited Securities (which provisions, if any, shall be summarized in pertinent part by the Company), to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the Deposited Securities represented by such Holder’s ADSs, and (c) a brief statement as to the manner and timing in which such voting instructions may be given, including the following express indications: (x) that no voting rights will be exercised by the Depositary if the Depositary does not receive voting instructions timely from a Holder; and (y) that the Depositary will deem a Holder (unless otherwise specified in the notice distributed to the Holders) to have instructed the Depositary to vote in favor of the items set forth in such voting instructions if the Depositary has timely received the voting instructions from such Holder but if such Holder has failed to specify the manner in which the Depositary is to vote the Deposited Securities represented by such Holder’s ADSs.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary may, to the extent not prohibited by law or regulations, or by the requirements of the stock exchange on which the ADSs are listed, and after consultation with the Company to the extent reasonably practicable, in lieu of distribution of the materials provided to the Depositary in connection with any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or proxies from, holders of Deposited Securities, distribute to the Holders a notice that provides Holders with, or otherwise publicizes to Holders, instructions on how to retrieve such materials or receive such materials upon request ( i.e. , by reference to a website containing the materials for retrieval or a contact for requesting copies of the materials); provided, that, upon request of any Holder, the Depositary timely distributes to such Holder the materials provided to the Depositary in connection with any meeting of the holders of the Shares.

Voting instructions may be given only in respect of a number of ADSs representing an integral number of Deposited Securities. Upon the timely receipt from a Holder of ADSs as of the ADS Record Date (and, if so required by the Company, who also hold the ADSs as of the applicable share record date) of voting instructions in the manner specified by the Depositary, the Depositary shall endeavor, insofar as practicable and permitted under applicable law, the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, Articles of Association of the Company and the provisions of the Deposited Securities, to vote, or cause the Custodian to vote, the Deposited Securities (in person or by proxy) represented by such Holder’s ADSs in accordance with such voting instructions. The Depositary agrees not to vote, cause to be voted or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches to any Deposited Securities, other than in accordance with valid voting instructions given or deemed given in compliance with this Section.

Deposited Securities represented by ADSs for which no timely voting instructions are received by the Depositary from the Holder shall not be voted (except as otherwise contemplated

 

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herein). Neither the Depositary nor the Custodian shall under any circumstances exercise any discretion as to voting and neither the Depositary nor the Custodian shall vote, attempt to exercise the right to vote, or in any way make use of, for purposes of establishing a quorum or otherwise, the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs, except pursuant to and in accordance with the voting instructions timely received from Holders or as otherwise contemplated herein. If the Depositary timely receives voting instructions from a Holder which fail to specify the manner in which the Depositary is to vote the Deposited Securities represented by such Holder’s ADSs, the Depositary will deem such Holder (unless otherwise specified in the notice distributed to Holders) to have instructed the Depositary to vote in favor of the items set forth in such voting instructions.

The right of any Holder to give instructions to the Depositary as to the exercise of voting rights or the right of any Holder to withdraw Deposited Securities in person or by proxy may be limited if such Holder fails to comply with the requirements described in Sections 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7 of the Deposit Agreement.

Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary shall not have any obligation to take any action with respect to any meeting, or solicitation of consents or proxies, of holders of Deposited Securities if the taking of such action would violate U.S. laws. The Company agrees to take any and all actions reasonably necessary to enable Holders and Beneficial Owners to exercise the voting rights accruing to the Deposited Securities and to deliver to the Depositary an opinion of U.S. counsel addressing any actions requested to be taken if so reasonably requested by the Depositary.

There can be no assurance that Holders generally or any Holder in particular will receive the notice described above with sufficient time to enable the Holder to return voting instructions to the Depositary, or otherwise take action, in a timely manner.

The Depositary agrees, upon the request of Company, to provide to the Company copies of the voting instructions it receives (in the case of voting instructions received from Holders by any electronic means, a tabulation of such voting instructions) as promptly as practicable, and at the latest six (6) business days prior to any upcoming meeting date, upon receipt thereof.

Holders who have delivered voting instructions agree that such voting instruction may, at the request of the Company, be disclosed by the Company, for purposes of compliance with Belgian law, in connection with any meeting of the holders of the Shares, whether prior, during or after such meeting.

Notwithstanding anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement or any Receipt to the contrary, and to the extent not prohibited by law or regulations, the Depositary and the Company may, by agreement between them, with notice to the Holders, modify, amend or adopt additional voting procedures from time to time as they determine may be necessary or appropriate (subject, in each case, to the terms of Sections 6.1 and 7.8 of the Deposit Agreement).

 

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(19) Changes Affecting Deposited Securities . Upon any split-up, cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of Deposited Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets affecting the Company or to which it is a party, any property which shall be received by the Depositary or the Custodian in exchange for, or in conversion of, or replacement of, or otherwise in respect of, such Deposited Securities shall, to the extent permitted by law, be treated as new Deposited Property under the Deposit Agreement, and this ADR shall, subject to the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, this ADR evidencing such ADSs and applicable law, represent the right to receive such additional or replacement Deposited Property. In giving effect to such split-up, cancellation, consolidation or other reclassification of Deposited Securities, recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets, the Depositary may, with the Company’s approval, and shall, if the Company shall so request, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and receipt of an opinion of counsel to the Company reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary that such actions are not in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, (i) issue and deliver additional ADSs as in the case of a stock dividend on the Shares, (ii) amend the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADRs, (iii) amend the applicable Registration Statement(s) on Form F-6 as filed with the Commission in respect of the ADSs, (iv) call for the surrender of outstanding ADRs to be exchanged for new ADRs, and (v) take such other actions as are appropriate to reflect the transaction with respect to the ADSs. The Company agrees to, jointly with the Depositary, amend the Registration Statement on Form F-6 as filed with the Commission to permit the issuance of such new form of ADRs. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any Deposited Property so received may not be lawfully distributed to some or all Holders, the Depositary may, with the Company’s approval, and shall, if the Company requests, subject to receipt of an opinion of Company’s counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary that such action is not in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, sell such Deposited Property at public or private sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem proper and may allocate the net proceeds of such sales (net of (a) fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) applicable taxes) for the account of the Holders otherwise entitled to such Deposited Property upon an averaged or other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among such Holders and distribute the net proceeds so allocated to the extent practicable as in the case of a distribution received in cash pursuant to Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may be lawful or practicable to make such Deposited Property available to Holders in general or to any Holder in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred in connection with such sale, or (iii) any liability to the purchaser of such Deposited Property.

(20) Exoneration . Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, neither the Depositary nor the Company shall be obligated to do or perform any act which is inconsistent with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement or incur any liability (i) if the Depositary or the Company shall be prevented or forbidden from, or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, by reason of any provision of any present or future law or regulation of the United States, the

 

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Kingdom of Belgium, or any other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory authority or stock exchange, or on account of the possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason of any provision, present or future, of the Articles of Association of the Company or any provision of or governing any Deposited Securities, or by reason of any act of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control (including, without limitation, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, acts of terrorism, revolutions, rebellions, explosions and computer failure), (ii) by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise, any discretion provided for in the Deposit Agreement or in the Articles of Association of the Company or provisions of or governing Deposited Securities, (iii) for any action or inaction in reliance upon the advice of or information from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder, any Beneficial Owner or authorized representative thereof, or any other person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or information, (iv) for the inability by a Holder or Beneficial Owner to benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit which is made available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of the Deposit Agreement, made available to Holders of ADSs, or (v) for any consequential or punitive damages (including lost profits) for any breach of the terms of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary, its controlling persons, its agents, any Custodian and the Company, its controlling persons and its agents may rely and shall be protected in acting upon any written notice, request or other document believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties. No disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR.

(21) Standard of Care . The Company and the Depositary assume no obligation and shall not be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or this ADR to any Holder(s) or Beneficial Owner(s), except that the Company and the Depositary agree to perform their respective obligations specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement or this ADR without negligence or bad faith. Without limitation of the foregoing, neither the Depositary, nor the Company, nor any of their respective controlling persons, or agents, shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Property or in respect of the ADSs, which in its reasonable opinion may involve it in expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be furnished as often as may be required (and no Custodian shall be under any obligation whatsoever with respect to such proceedings, the responsibility of the Custodian being solely to the Depositary).

The Depositary and its agents shall not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, or for the manner in which any vote is cast or the effect of any vote, provided that any such action or omission is in good faith, without negligence and in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall not incur any liability for any failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable, for the content of any information submitted to it by the Company for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the Deposited Property, for the validity or worth of the Deposited Property or for any tax consequences that may result from the ownership of ADSs,

 

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Shares or other Deposited Property, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the Deposit Agreement, for the failure or timeliness of any notice from the Company, or for any action of or failure to act by, or any information provided or not provided by, DTC or any DTC Participant.

The Depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the Depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the Depositary, provided that in connection with the issue out of which such potential liability arises the Depositary performed its obligations without negligence or bad faith while it acted as Depositary.

(22) Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary . The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement by written notice of resignation delivered to the Company, such resignation to be effective on the earlier of (i) the 90th day after delivery thereof to the Company (whereupon the Depositary shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement), or (ii) the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written notice of such removal, which removal shall be effective on the later of (i) the 90th day after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement), or (ii) the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment by the Company as provided in the Deposit Agreement. In case at any time the Depositary acting hereunder shall resign or be removed, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, the City of New York. Every successor depositary shall be required by the Company to execute and deliver to its predecessor and to the Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such successor depositary, without any further act or deed (except as required by applicable law), shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor (other than as contemplated in Sections 5.8 and 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement). The predecessor depositary, upon payment of all sums due it and on the written request of the Company, shall (i) execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor all rights and powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than as contemplated in Sections 5.8 and 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all of the Depositary’s right, title and interest to the Deposited Property to such successor, and (iii) deliver to such successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding ADSs and such other information relating to ADSs and Holders thereof as the successor may reasonably request. Any such successor depositary shall promptly provide notice of its appointment to such Holders. Any entity into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any document or any further act.

 

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(23) Amendment/Supplement . Subject to the terms and conditions of this paragraph 23, and Section 6.1 of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law, this ADR and any provisions of the Deposit Agreement may at any time and from time to time be amended or supplemented by written agreement between the Company and the Depositary in any respect which they may deem necessary or desirable without the prior written consent of the Holders or Beneficial Owners. Any amendment or supplement which shall impose or increase any fees or charges (other than charges in connection with foreign exchange control regulations, and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery and other such expenses), or which shall otherwise materially prejudice any substantial existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall not, however, become effective as to outstanding ADSs until the expiration of thirty (30) days after notice of such amendment or supplement shall have been given to the Holders of outstanding ADSs. Notice of any amendment to the Deposit Agreement or any ADR shall not need to describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice invalid, provided , however , that, in each such case, the notice given to the Holders identifies a means for Holders and Beneficial Owners to retrieve or receive the text of such amendment ( i.e. , upon retrieval from the Commission’s, the Depositary’s or the Company’s website or upon request from the Depositary). The parties hereto agree that any amendments or supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by the Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on Form F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the ADSs to be settled solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed not to materially prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial Owners. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment or supplement so becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such ADSs, to consent and agree to such amendment or supplement and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, if applicable, as amended or supplemented thereby. In no event shall any amendment or supplement impair the right of the Holder to surrender such ADS and receive therefor the Deposited Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any governmental body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would require an amendment of, or supplement to, the Deposit Agreement to ensure compliance therewith, the Company and the Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit Agreement and this ADR at any time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, if applicable, in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to Holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance with such laws, rules or regulations.

(24) Termination . The Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company, terminate the Deposit Agreement by distributing notice of such termination to the Holders of all ADSs then outstanding at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination. If ninety (90) days shall have expired after (i) the Depositary shall have delivered to the Company a written notice of its election to resign, or (ii) the Company shall have delivered to the Depositary a written notice of the removal of the Depositary, and, in either case, a successor depositary shall not have been appointed and accepted its appointment as

 

A-26


provided in Section 5.4 of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may terminate the Deposit Agreement by distributing notice of such termination to the Holders of all ADSs then outstanding at least thirty (30) days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination. The date so fixed for termination of the Deposit Agreement in any termination notice so distributed by the Depositary to the Holders of ADSs is referred to as the “ Termination Date ”. Until the Termination Date, the Depositary shall continue to perform all of its obligations under the Deposit Agreement, and the Holders and Beneficial Owners will be entitled to all of their rights under the Deposit Agreement. If any ADSs shall remain outstanding after the Termination Date, the Registrar and the Depositary shall not, after the Termination Date, have any obligation to perform any further acts under the Deposit Agreement, except that the Depositary shall, subject, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, continue to (i) collect dividends and other distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities, (ii) sell Deposited Property received in respect of Deposited Securities, (iii) deliver Deposited Securities, together with any dividends or other distributions received with respect thereto and the net proceeds of the sale of any other Deposited Property, in exchange for ADSs surrendered to the Depositary (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and all applicable taxes or governmental charges for the account of the Holders and Beneficial Owners, in each case upon the terms set forth in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement), and (iv) take such actions as may be required under applicable law in connection with its role as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement. At any time after the Termination Date, the Depositary may sell the Deposited Property then held under the Deposit Agreement and shall after such sale hold un-invested the net proceeds of such sale, together with any other cash then held by it under the Deposit Agreement, in an un-segregated account and without liability for interest, for the pro rata benefit of the Holders whose ADSs have not theretofore been surrendered. After making such sale, the Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement except (i) to account for such net proceeds and other cash (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and all applicable taxes or governmental charges for the account of the Holders and Beneficial Owners, in each case upon the terms set forth in Section 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement), and (ii) as may be required at law in connection with the termination of the Deposit Agreement. After the Termination Date, the Company shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement, except for its obligations to the Depositary under Sections 5.8, 5.9 and 7.6 of the Deposit Agreement. The obligations under the terms of the Deposit Agreement of Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs outstanding as of the Termination Date shall survive the Termination Date and shall be discharged only when the applicable ADSs are presented by their Holders to the Depositary for cancellation under the terms of the Deposit Agreement.

(25) Compliance with U.S. Securities Laws . Notwithstanding any provisions in this ADR or the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the withdrawal or delivery of Deposited Securities will not be suspended by the Company or the Depositary except as would be permitted by Instruction I.A.(1) of the General Instructions to the Form F-6 Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, under the Securities Act.

 

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(26) Certain Rights of the Depositary; Limitations . Subject to the further terms and provisions of this paragraph (26) and Section 5.10 of the Deposit Agreement and subject to any applicable securities laws and regulations (including without limitation any insider dealing restrictions), the Depositary, its Affiliates and their agents, on their own behalf, may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its Affiliates and in ADSs. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend Shares or ADSs; provided , however , that the Depositary may (i) issue ADSs prior to the receipt of Shares pursuant to Section 2.3 of the Deposit Agreement and (ii) deliver Shares prior to the receipt of ADSs for withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant to Section 2.7 of the Deposit Agreement, including ADSs which were issued under (i) above but for which Shares may not have been received (each such transaction a “ Pre-Release Transaction ”). The Depositary may receive ADSs in lieu of Shares under (i) above and receive Shares in lieu of ADSs under (ii) above. Each such Pre-Release Transaction will be (a) subject to a written agreement whereby the person or entity (the “ Applicant ”) to whom ADSs or Shares are to be delivered (w) represents that at the time of the Pre-Release Transaction the Applicant or its customer owns the Shares or ADSs that are to be delivered by the Applicant under such Pre-Release Transaction, (x) agrees to indicate the Depositary as owner of such Shares or ADSs in its records and to hold such Shares or ADSs in trust for the Depositary until such Shares or ADSs are delivered to the Depositary or the Custodian, (y) unconditionally guarantees to deliver to the Depositary or the Custodian, as applicable, such Shares or ADSs and (z) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that the Depositary deems appropriate, (b) at all times fully collateralized with cash, U.S. government securities or such other collateral as the Depositary deems appropriate, (c) terminable by the Depositary on not more than five (5) business days’ notice and (d) subject to such further indemnities and credit regulations as the Depositary deems appropriate. The Depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs and Shares involved in such Pre-Release Transactions at any one time to thirty percent (30%) of the ADSs outstanding (without giving effect to ADSs outstanding under (i) above), provided , however , that the Depositary reserves the right to change or disregard such limit from time to time as it deems appropriate. The Depositary may also set limits with respect to the number of ADSs and Shares involved in Pre-Release Transactions with any one person on a case-by-case basis as it deems appropriate. The Depositary may retain for its own account any compensation received by it in conjunction with the foregoing. Collateral provided pursuant to (b) above, but not the earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the Holders (other than the Applicant).

(27) Governing Law and Jurisdiction . The Deposit Agreement and the ADRs shall be interpreted in accordance with, and all rights hereunder and thereunder and provisions hereof and thereof shall be governed by, the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be wholly performed in that State. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement, any ADR or any present or future provisions of the laws of the State of New York, the rights of holders of Shares and of any other Deposited Securities and the obligations and duties of the Company in respect of the holders of Shares and other Deposited Securities, as such, shall be governed by the laws of the Kingdom of Belgium (or, if applicable, such other laws as may govern the Deposited Securities).

 

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(ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSFER SIGNATURE LINES)

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned Holder hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto                      whose taxpayer identification number is                      and whose address including postal zip code is                     , the within ADR and all rights thereunder, hereby irrevocably constituting and appointing                      attorney-in-fact to transfer said ADR on the books of the Depositary with full power of substitution in the premises.

 

Dated: Name:

 

By:
Title:
NOTICE: The signature of the Holder to this assignment must correspond with the name as written upon the face of the within instrument in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
If the endorsement be executed by an attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, the person executing the endorsement must give his/her full title in such capacity and proper evidence of authority to act in such capacity, if not on file with the Depositary, must be forwarded with this ADR.

 

SIGNATURE GUARANTEED
All endorsements or assignments of ADRs must be guaranteed by a member of a Medallion Signature Program approved by the Securities Transfer Association, Inc.

Legends

The ADRs issued in respect of Partial Entitlement American Depositary Shares shall bear the following legend on the face of the ADR: “This ADR evidences ADSs representing ‘partial entitlement’ Shares of [Company] and as such do not entitle the holders thereof to the same per-share entitlement as other Shares (which are ‘full entitlement’ Shares) issued and outstanding at such time. The ADSs represented by this ADR shall entitle holders to distributions and entitlements identical to other ADSs when the Shares represented by such ADSs become ‘full entitlement’ Shares.”

 

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EXHIBIT B

FEE SCHEDULE

ADS FEES AND RELATED CHARGES

All capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to such terms in the Deposit Agreement.

 

I. ADS Fees

The following ADS fees are payable under the terms of the Deposit Agreement:

 

Service

 

Rate

 

By Whom Paid

(1) Issuance of ADSs upon deposit of Shares (excluding issuances as a result of distributions described in paragraph (4) below).   Up to U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) issued.   Person depositing Shares or person receiving ADSs.
(2) Delivery of Deposited Securities against surrender of ADSs.   Up to U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) surrendered.   Person surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal of Deposited Securities or person to whom Deposited Securities are delivered.
(3) Distribution of cash dividends or other cash distributions ( i.e. , sale of rights and other entitlements).   Up to U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held.   Person to whom distribution is made.
(4) Distribution of ADSs pursuant to (i) stock dividends or other free stock distributions, or (ii) exercise of rights to purchase additional ADSs.   Up to U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held.   Person to whom distribution is made.
(5) Distribution of securities other than ADSs or rights to purchase additional ADSs ( i.e. , spin-off shares).   Up to U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held.   Person to whom distribution is made.
6) ADS Services.   Up to U.S. $5.00 per 100 ADSs (or fraction thereof) held on the applicable record date(s) established by the Depositary.   Person holding ADSs on the applicable record date(s) established by the Depositary.

 

B-1


II. Charges

The Company, Holders, Beneficial Owners, persons depositing Shares and persons surrendering ADSs for cancellation and for the purpose of withdrawing Deposited Securities shall be responsible for the following ADS charges under the terms of the Deposit Agreement:

 

(i) taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) and other governmental charges;

 

(ii) such registration fees as may from time to time be in effect for the registration of Shares or other Deposited Securities on the share register and applicable to transfers of Shares or other Deposited Securities to or from the name of the Custodian, the Depositary or any nominees upon the making of deposits and withdrawals, respectively;

 

(iii) such cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery expenses as are expressly provided in the Deposit Agreement to be at the expense of the person depositing Shares or withdrawing Deposited Securities or of the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs;

 

(iv) the expenses and charges incurred by the Depositary in the conversion of foreign currency;

 

(v) such fees and expenses as are incurred by the Depositary in connection with compliance with exchange control regulations and other regulatory requirements applicable to Shares, Deposited Securities, ADSs and ADRs; and

 

(vi) the fees and expenses incurred by the Depositary, the Custodian, or any nominee in connection with the servicing or delivery of Deposited Property.

 

B-2

  

 

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We hereby consent to the use in this Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form F-1 of Celyad S.A. of our report dated March 31, 2015 relating to the consolidated financial statements of Celyad S.A., formerly known as Cardio3 Biosciences S.A., which appears in such Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Reviseurs d’Entreprises sccrl

Liège, Belgium

June 15, 2015

 

/s/ Patrick Mortroux