UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 9, 2022
Zymeworks Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware |
001-41535 |
88-3099146 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) |
(IRS Employer Identification No.) |
108 Patriot Drive, Suite A |
19709 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
(302) 274-8744
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share | ZYME | New York Stock Exchange | ||
Preferred Stock Purchase Rights | New York Stock Exchange |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
ITEM 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On November 9, 2022, Zymeworks Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Sales Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2022, (the “Sales Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”). The Sales Agreement provides for the offer and sale of the Company’s common stock from time to time through Cantor as its sales agent, subject to the maximum aggregate dollar amount registered pursuant to the applicable prospectus supplement. Sales of shares of common stock through Cantor, if any, will be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at-the-market” offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including without limitation sales made directly on the New York Stock Exchange or any other existing trading market for the shares of common stock. The Company will pay Cantor a commission of up to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds of any shares of common stock sold through Cantor under the Sales Agreement. The Company has also provided Cantor with customary indemnification and contribution rights.
In accordance with the Sales Agreement, Cantor will use commercially reasonable efforts to sell the Company’s common stock from time to time, based upon instructions from the Company (including any price, time or size limits or other customary parameters or conditions the Company may impose). The Company is not obligated to make any sales of its common stock under the Sales Agreement. The Sales Agreement may be terminated by the Company or Cantor upon the written notice to the other party in accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement. The offering of the shares of common stock pursuant to the Sales Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the Sales Agreement in accordance with its terms.
The shares of common stock are being offered and sold pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-259970-01) (“Registration Statement”), including the prospectus, dated October 1, 2021, filed by Zymeworks BC Inc. (“Zymeworks BC”) and the prospectus supplement, dated November 9, 2022, filed by the Company. The Registration Statement was adopted by the Company pursuant to Rule 414 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Sales Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference. The Sales Agreement is also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
A copy of the opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. relating to the legality of the shares of common stock issuable under the Sales Agreement is filed as Exhibit 5.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.
This Current Report shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any sale of such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
ITEM 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
In reviewing the agreement included as an exhibit to this report, please remember that it is included to provide you with information regarding its terms and is not intended to provide any other factual or disclosure information about the Company or the other parties to the agreement. The agreement contains representations and warranties made by the Company. These representations and warranties have been made solely for the benefit of the other party to the agreement and:
• | should not in all instances be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate; |
• | may have been qualified by disclosures that were made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement, which disclosures are not necessarily reflected in the agreement; |
• | may apply standards of materiality in a way that is different from what may be viewed as material to you or other investors; and |
• | were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement and are subject to more recent developments. |
Accordingly, these representations and warranties may not describe the actual state of affairs as of the date they were made or at any other time. Additional information about the Company may be found elsewhere in this report and the Company’s other public filings, which are available without charge through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
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Exhibit |
Description | |
1.1 | Sales Agreement, dated November 9, 2022, by and between Zymeworks Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. | |
5.1 | Legal Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. | |
23.1 | Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1). | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded as Inline XBRL document). |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
ZYMEWORKS INC. | ||||||
(Registrant) | ||||||
Date: November 9, 2022 | By: | /s/ Chris Astle | ||||
Name: Title: |
Chris Astle Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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Exhibit 1.1
SALES AGREEMENT
November 9, 2022
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
499 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Zymeworks Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell from time to time through Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as sales agent and/or principal (the Agent), its common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the Common Shares), on the terms set forth in this agreement (this Agreement).
Section 1. DEFINITIONS
(a) Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the following respective meanings:
Affiliate of a Person means another Person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such first- mentioned Person. The term control (including the terms controlling, controlled by and under common control with) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
Agency Period means the period commencing on the date of this Agreement and expiring on the earliest to occur of (x) the date on which the Agent shall have placed the Maximum Program Amount pursuant to this Agreement, and (y) the date this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 7.
Canadian Authorities means the securities regulatory authorities in each of the Canadian Jurisdictions.
Canadian Jurisdictions means each of the provinces and territories of Canada.
Canadian Securities Laws means the applicable rules and regulations under such laws, together with applicable published national, multilateral and local policy statements, instruments, notices and blanket orders of the Canadian Authorities in each of the Canadian Jurisdictions.
Commission means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
Floor Price means the minimum price per share set by the Company in the Issuance Notice below which the Agent shall not sell Shares during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice, which may be adjusted by the Company at any time during the period set forth in the Issuance Notice by delivering written notice of such change to the Agent and which in no event shall be less than $1.00 without the prior written consent of the Agent, which may be withheld in the Agents sole discretion.
Issuance Amount means the aggregate Sales Price of the Shares to be sold by the Agent pursuant to any Issuance Notice.
Issuance Notice means a written notice delivered to the Agent by the Company in accordance with this Agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A that is executed by its Chief Executive Officer, President or Chief Financial Officer.
Issuance Notice Date means any Trading Day during the Agency Period that an Issuance Notice is delivered pursuant to Section 3(b)(i).
Issuance Price means the Sales Price less the Selling Commission.
Legacy Zymeworks means Zymeworks BC Inc., a company continued under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) and the predecessor reporting issuer of the Company.
Maximum Program Amount means Common Shares with an aggregate Sales Price of the lesser of (a) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares registered under the effective Registration Statement (defined below) pursuant to which the offering is being made, (b) the number of authorized but unissued Common Shares (less Common Shares issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of any outstanding securities of the Company or otherwise reserved from the Companys authorized capital stock), (c) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares permitted to be sold under Form S-3 (including General Instruction I.B.6 thereof, if applicable), or (d) the number or dollar amount of Common Shares for which the Company has filed a Prospectus (as defined below).
NYSE means the New York Stock Exchange.
Other Offering Amendment means an amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus relating solely to the issuance or offering of securities other than the Common Shares.
Person means an individual or a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust, incorporated or unincorporated association, joint venture, joint stock company, governmental authority or other entity of any kind.
Principal Market means the NYSE or such other national securities exchange on which the Common Shares, including any Shares, are then listed.
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Prospectus has the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 2(a).
Sales Price means the actual sale execution price of each Share placed by the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.
Securities Act means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
Selling Commission means up to three percent (3.0%) of the gross proceeds of Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement.
Settlement Date means the second business day following each Trading Day during the period set forth in the Issuance Notice on which Shares are sold pursuant to this Agreement, when the Company shall deliver to the Agent the amount of Shares sold on such Trading Day and the Agent shall deliver to the Company the Issuance Price received on such sales.
Shares shall mean the Companys Common Shares issued or issuable pursuant to this Agreement.
Time of Sale has the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 3(b)(v).
Trading Day means any day on which the Principal Market is open for trading.
Triggering Event Date has the meaning ascribed thereto in Section 4(o).
Section 2. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE COMPANY
The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Agent that as of (1) the date of this Agreement, (2) each Issuance Notice Date, (3) each Settlement Date, (4) each Triggering Event Date and (5) as of each Time of Sale (each of the times referenced above is referred to herein as a Representation Date), except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto) on or before a Representation Date:
(a) Registration Statement. Legacy Zymeworks has prepared and filed with the Commission an automatic shelf registration statement as defined under Rule 405 of the Securities Act on Form S-3 that contains a base prospectus, which registration statement was adopted by the Company on October 13, 2022, pursuant to Rule 414 of the Securities Act. Such registration statement registers the issuance and sale by the Company of the Shares under the Securities Act. The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable, with respect to the Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement(s), including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, including all financial statements, exhibits and schedules thereto and all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act as from time to time amended or supplemented, is herein referred to as the Registration Statement, and the prospectus constituting a part of such registration statement(s), together with any prospectus supplement filed with the Commission
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pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act relating to a particular issuance of the Shares, including all documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 under the Securities Act, in each case, as from time to time amended or supplemented, is referred to herein as the Prospectus, except that if any revised prospectus is provided to the Agent by the Company for use in connection with the offering of the Shares that is not required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, the term Prospectus shall refer to such revised prospectus from and after the time it is first provided to the Agent for such use. The Registration Statement at the time it originally became effective is herein called the Original Registration Statement. As used in this Agreement, the terms amendment or supplement when applied to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to include the filing by the Company with the Commission of any document under the Exchange Act after the date hereof that is or is deemed to be incorporated therein by reference. The Companys obligations under this Agreement to furnish, provide or deliver or make available (and all other references of like import) copies of any report or statement shall be deemed satisfied if the same is filed with the Commission through the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (EDGAR).
All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is contained, included or stated in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed under the Securities Act to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to mean and include, without limitation, the filing of any document under the Exchange Act which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed under the Securities Act to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date.
At the time the Original Registration Statement was or will be declared effective and at the time Legacy Zymeworks most recent annual report on Form 10-K was filed with the Commission, if later, Legacy Zymeworks met the then-applicable requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act. During the Agency Period, each time the Company files an annual report on Form 10-K the Company will meet the then-applicable requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act.
(b) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Original Registration Statement was automatically effective upon filing with the Commission under the Securities Act. Each of the Company and Legacy Zymeworks, as applicable, has complied to the Commissions satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.
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The Prospectus when filed complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and, if filed with the Commission through EDGAR (except as may be permitted by Regulation S-T under the Securities Act), was identical to the copy thereof delivered to the Agent for use in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares. Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective and each Representation Date, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. As of the date of this Agreement, the Prospectus and any Free Writing Prospectus (as defined herein) considered together (collectively, the Time of Sale Information) did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date and each Representation Date, did not 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 the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the three immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Agent furnished to the Company in writing by the Agent expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information described in Section 6 below. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required. The Registration Statement and the offer and sale of the Shares as contemplated hereby meet the requirements of Rule 415 under the Securities Act and comply in all material respects with said rule.
(c) Ineligible Issuer Status. The Company is not an ineligible issuer in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. Any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company is required to file pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act has been, or will be, filed with the Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act. Each Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used or referred to by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending, and each such Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and at all subsequent times through the completion of the issuance and sale of the Shares did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts with or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein. Except for the Free Writing Prospectus, if any, and electronic road shows, if any, furnished to the Agent before first use, the Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without the Agents prior consent, prepare, use or refer to, any Free Writing Prospectus.
(d) Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, at the time they were filed with the Commission, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, as applicable, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, do not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
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(e) Incorporation and Good Standing. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized with corporate power and authority to own or lease, as the case may be, and to operate its properties and conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing under the laws of each jurisdiction which requires such qualification, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined below).
(f) Capitalization. All the outstanding capital stock of the Company and each of its subsidiaries has been duly and validly authorized and issued and is fully paid and non-assessable, and, except as disclosed in the Prospectus, all outstanding share capital of each subsidiary of the Company is owned by the Company directly or indirectly, free and clear of any perfected security interest or any other security interests, claims, liens or encumbrances.
(g) Accurate Disclosure. There is no franchise, contract or other document of a character required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or to be filed as an exhibit thereto, which is not described in all material respects or filed as required; and the statements in (i) the Companys Quarterly Report for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2022 under the headings Risk Factors Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property, Risk Factors Risks Related to Our Business and the Development and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates, Risk Factors Risks Related to Additional Legal and Compliance Matters and (ii) Item 1 (Business) of Legacy Zymeworks Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 insofar as such statements summarize legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings discussed therein, fairly summarize such legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings in all material respects.
(h) Authorization. All necessary corporate action has been taken by the Company to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, as well as any amendments to any of the foregoing.
(i) Company Not an Investment Company. The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus, will not be an investment company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act).
(j) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, filing with or order of any court or governmental agency or body is required in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Shares contemplated herein and in the Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or as may be required under the Securities Act and Canadian Securities Laws and such as may be required under the blue sky laws of any jurisdiction, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) or the Principal Market in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Agent in the manner contemplated herein and in the Prospectus.
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(k) Exchange Listing. The issued and outstanding Common Shares are listed and posted for trading on the Principal Market and the Shares will be listed and posted for trading on the Principal Market upon the Company complying with the usual conditions imposed by the Principal Market, with respect thereto.
(l) Reporting Issuer. The Company is a reporting issuer or the equivalent thereof in each of the Canadian Jurisdictions where such concept exists.
(m) Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments. Neither the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Company nor the issue and sale of the Shares contemplated herein and in the Prospectus nor the fulfillment of the terms hereof will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, (i) the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or bound or to which its or their property is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its or their properties, except in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), for such breach or violation as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(n) Registration Rights. No holders of securities of the Company have rights to the registration of such securities under the Prospectus, except for any such rights as have been effectively waived.
(o) Financial Statements. The consolidated historical financial statements of Legacy Zymeworks or the Company, as applicable, and their consolidated subsidiaries included in the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of Legacy Zymeworks or the Company, as applicable, as of the dates and for the periods indicated, comply as to form with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act and have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved (except as noted therein).
(p) No Material Adverse Change. No action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or its or their property is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened that (i) could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the performance of this Agreement or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby or (ii) could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, earnings, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business (a Material Adverse Effect).
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(q) Title to Properties. Each of the Company and each of its subsidiaries owns or leases all such personal property (other than with respect to Intellectual Property (as defined below) which is addressed exclusively in Section 2(ii)) as are necessary to the conduct of its operations as presently conducted, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(r) No Violation or Default. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation or default of (i) any provision of its certificate of incorporation or bylaws, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which it is a party or bound or to which its property is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company or such subsidiary or any of its properties, as applicable, except in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), for such breach or violation as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(s) Independent Accountants. KPMG LLP (the Accountants), which have audited certain financial statements of Legacy Zymeworks and its consolidated subsidiaries and delivered their report with respect to the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Prospectus, are independent public accountants with respect to Legacy Zymeworks and the Company, as applicable, within the meaning of the Securities Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder and are independent with respect to Legacy Zymeworks and the Company, as applicable, as required by Canadian Securities Laws.
(t) Duties, Transfer Taxes, Etc. There are no transfer taxes or other similar fees or charges under U.S. or Canadian federal law or the laws of any state or province, or any political subdivision thereof, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance by the Company or sale by the Company of the Shares.
(u) Tax Law Compliance. Each of Legacy Zymeworks and the Company, as applicable, has filed all tax returns that are required to be filed or has requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure so to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect) and has paid all taxes required to be paid by it and any other assessment, fine or penalty levied against it, to the extent that any of the foregoing is due and payable, except for any such assessment, fine or penalty that is currently being contested in good faith or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. No transaction, stamp, capital or other issuance, registration, transaction, transfer or withholding tax or duty (in the case of any such withholding tax, only to the extent that no services were rendered in Canada by or on behalf of the Agent which is not a resident of Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada)) is payable in Canada by or on behalf of the Agent under the federal laws of Canada or the laws of any province or territory thereof in connection with (i) the issuance, sale and delivery of the Shares by the Company to or for the account of the Agent, (ii) the purchase from the Company and the initial sale and delivery by the Agent of the Shares to purchasers thereof or (iii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement or any other document to be furnished hereunder.
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(v) Labor Disputes. No labor problem or dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened or imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or its subsidiaries principal suppliers, contractors or strategic partners, that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(w) Insurance. Except in each case as could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and each of its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are, in the Companys reasonable judgement, prudent and customary in the businesses in which they are engaged; (ii) all policies of insurance and fidelity or surety bonds insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries or their respective businesses, assets, employees, officers and directors are in full force and effect; (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; (iv) there are no claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company is denying liability or defending under a reservation of rights clause; (v) neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has been refused any insurance coverage sought or applied for; and (vi) neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(x) Dividend Restrictions. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, no subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiarys share capital, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiarys property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.
(y) Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with managements general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with managements general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries are not aware of any material weakness in their internal controls over financial reporting.
(z) Stabilization. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that could constitute or cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares.
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(aa) Compliance with Environmental Laws. The Company and its subsidiaries are (i) in compliance with any and all applicable foreign, federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (Environmental Laws), (ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability under any environmental law, except where such non-compliance with Environmental Laws, failure to receive required permits, licenses or other approvals, or liability would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of the subsidiaries has been named as a potentially responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.
(bb) Review of Effect of Environmental Laws. In the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically reviews the effect of Environmental Laws on the business, operations and properties of the Company and each of its subsidiaries, in the course of which it identifies and evaluates associated costs and liabilities (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws, or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties). On the basis of such review, the Company has reasonably concluded that such associated costs and liabilities would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(cc) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects, and, to the extent required by such sources, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(dd) ERISA Compliance. None of the following events has occurred or exists: (i) a failure to fulfill the obligations, if any, under the minimum funding standards of Section 302 of the United States Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder with respect to a Plan, determined without regard to any waiver of such obligations or extension of any amortization period; (ii) an audit or investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation or any other federal or state governmental agency or any foreign regulatory agency with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by any of the Company or any of its subsidiaries that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; or (iii) any breach of any contractual obligation, or any violation of law or applicable qualification standards, with respect to the employment or compensation of employees by the Company or any of its subsidiaries that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (i) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans in the current fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such contributions made in the most recently completed fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries; (ii) a material increase in the accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations (within the meaning of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 106) of the Company and its subsidiaries compared to the amount of such obligations in the most recently completed fiscal year of the Company and its subsidiaries; (iii) any event or condition giving rise to a liability under Title IV of ERISA; or (iv) the filing of a claim by one or more employees or former employees of the Company or any
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of its subsidiaries related to their employment that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this paragraph, the term Plan means a plan (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA) subject to Title IV of ERISA with respect to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries may have any liability.
(ee) Sarbanes-Oxley. The Company has taken all reasonably necessary actions to maintain compliance with all applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) that are in effect and with which the Company is required to comply.
(ff) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that could result in a violation or a sanction for violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (Canada) or the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, each as may be amended, or similar law of any other relevant jurisdiction, or the rules or regulations thereunder; and the Company and its subsidiaries have instituted and maintain policies and procedures to comply therewith. No part of the proceeds of the offering will be used, directly or indirectly, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, each as may be amended, or similar law of any other relevant jurisdiction, or the rules or regulations thereunder.
(gg) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements and the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, including the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the Money Laundering Laws) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(hh) Sanctions. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (i) is, or is controlled or 50% or more owned in the aggregate by or is acting on behalf of, one or more individuals or entities that are currently the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by Canada or the United States (including any administered or enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of State or the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, a member state of the European Union (including sanctions administered or enforced by His Majestys Treasury of the United Kingdom) or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, Sanctions and such persons, Sanctioned Persons and each such person, a Sanctioned Person), (ii) is located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject of Sanctions that broadly prohibit dealings with that country or territory (collectively, Sanctioned Countries and each, a Sanctioned Country) or (iii) will, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of this offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other individual or entity
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in any manner that would result in a violation of any Sanctions by, or could result in the imposition of Sanctions against, any individual or entity (including any individual or entity participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise). Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has engaged in any dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country, in the preceding five years, nor does the Company or any of its subsidiaries have any plans to engage in dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country.
(ii) Intellectual Property. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries own, possess, license, have other rights to use or, to the knowledge of the Company, could acquire on reasonable terms, all patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, the Intellectual Property) necessary for the conduct of the Companys business as now conducted or as proposed to be conducted in the Prospectus, except where such failure to own, possess or acquire such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries, and to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property licensed to the Company and its subsidiaries, has not been adjudged invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part. To the Companys knowledge, except as disclosed in the Prospectus, there are no unreleased liens or security interests that have been filed against the Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries. To the Companys knowledge, except as set forth in the Prospectus, or as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (a) there are no rights of third parties to any Intellectual Property owned by the Company; (b) there is no material infringement by third parties of any issued United States patents owned or licensed by the Company; (c) there is no pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others in writing challenging the Companys rights in or to any Intellectual Property owned by the Company; (d) there is no pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others in writing challenging the validity or scope of any Intellectual Property owned by the Company; (e) there is no pending or threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others in writing that (i) the Company infringes, misappropriates, or otherwise violates any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others or (ii) the Company would, upon the commercialization of any product or service set forth in the Prospectus according to the Companys current commercial plans, infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any valid claim of an issued United States patent, or any trademark, copyright, or trade secret of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim which could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (f) the Company and its subsidiaries have disclosed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) all information relevant to the patentability of all issued United States patents and pending patent applications included in the Intellectual Property in accordance with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.56, and have not made any misrepresentation or concealed any information from the USPTO in any of the issued United States patents or pending patent applications included in the Intellectual Property, or in connection with the prosecution thereof, in violation of 37 C.F.R. Section 1.56; (g) except as set forth in the Prospectus, the Company is not aware of any employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries being or having ever been in violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such
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violation relates to such employees employment with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or actions undertaken by the employee while employed with the Company or any of its subsidiaries. All licenses to which the Company is a party relating to the Intellectual Property are in full force and effect and the Company is not in violation of any term of such license except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The product candidates described in the Prospectus as under development by the Company or its subsidiaries fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents or patent applications owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company or its subsidiary.
(jj) Lending Relationships. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of the Agent and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Shares hereunder to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of the Agent.
(kk) Compliance with Laws. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as applicable, the Company and its subsidiaries, to the extent applicable, (i) are and at all times have been in compliance with all statutes and regulations applicable to the ownership, research, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, marketing, advertising, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, storage, import, export or disposal of any product manufactured or distributed by the Company, including, without limitation, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.), the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.), the criminal false statements law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a), the exclusion law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7), all criminal laws relating to health care fraud and abuse, including without limitation 18 U.S.C. §§ 286, 287, 1035, 1347 and 1349, Title XVIII of the Social Security Act regarding the Medicare program (42 U.S.C. § 1395 et seq.) and Title XIX of the Social Security Act regarding the Medicaid program (42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq.), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C §§ 1320d et seq.), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C §§ 17921 et seq.), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), including without limitation, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act(codified as 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7h), regulations relating to Good Clinical Practices and Good Laboratory Practices, the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws and any comparable local, state, provincial, federal, national, supranational and foreign analog (collectively, the Health Care Laws), except for such non-compliance as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (ii) have not received any written notice from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party asserting non-compliance with any licenses, exemptions, certificates, approvals, clearances, authorizations, permits, registrations and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Health Care Laws (Health Care Authorizations), except for such non-compliance as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) possess all material Health Care Authorizations and such Health Care Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and are not in violation of any term of any such Health Care Authorizations, except in each case as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (iv) have not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation,
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arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product operation of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any Health Care Laws or Health Care Authorizations nor, to the Companys knowledge, is any such claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action threatened, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; (v) have filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Health Care Laws or Health Care Authorizations, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and accurate on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission), except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (vi) are not a party to any corporate integrity agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. In addition, none of the Company or its subsidiaries or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or agents is or, has been debarred, suspended or excluded, or has been convicted of any crime or, to the knowledge of the Company or its subsidiaries, engaged in any conduct that would result in a debarment, suspension or exclusion from any federal or state government health care program or human clinical research, or to the knowledge of the Company or its subsidiaries, is subject to any inquiry, investigation, proceeding, or other similar action by a governmental authority that could reasonably be expected to result in any such debarment, suspension or exclusion.
(ll) Clinical Studies. The clinical trials and pre-clinical studies conducted by or on behalf of or sponsored by the Company or its subsidiaries, or in which the Company or its subsidiaries have participated, that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as applicable, and are intended to be submitted to Regulatory Authorities as a basis for product approval, were and, if still pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with standard medical and scientific research procedures and all applicable statutes, rules and regulations of the FDA and comparable drug regulatory agencies outside of the United States to which it is subject (collectively, the Regulatory Authorities), including, without limitation, 21 C.F.R. Parts 50, 54, 56, 58, and 312, and current Good Clinical Practices and Good Laboratory Practices, except for such non-compliance as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; the descriptions in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus of the results of such studies and tests are accurate and complete in all material respects and accurately present the data derived from such trials; the Company has no knowledge of any other trials the results of which are inconsistent or otherwise call into question the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have received any written notices, correspondence or other communication from the Regulatory Authorities or any other governmental agency which could lead to the termination or suspension of any clinical or pre-clinical trials that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and, to the Companys knowledge, there are no reasonable grounds for same.
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(mm) Permits. Except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations (collectively, Permits) issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the applicable federal, state, provincial, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their properties or the conduct of their businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, or to permit all clinical and nonclinical studies and trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company and its subsidiaries, including, without limitation, all necessary FDA and applicable foreign regulatory agency approvals; (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries are not in violation of, or in default under, any such Permit; and (iii) the Company and its subsidiaries have not received notice of any revocation or modification of any such Permit and do not have any reason to believe that any such Permit will not be renewed in the ordinary course. Except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries (i) are, and at all times have been, in compliance with all Health Care Laws, and (ii) has not received any FDA Form 483, written notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or written notice from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority alleging or asserting non-compliance with (A) any Health Care Laws or (B) any Permits required by any such Health Care Laws.
(nn) Significant Acquisition. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, no acquisition has been made by the Company or any of its subsidiaries during its three most recently completed fiscal years that would require the preparation of financial statements of the business acquired or to be acquired or pro forma financial information pursuant to Rule 3-05 or Article 11 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act, and no proposed acquisition by the Company or any of its subsidiaries has progressed to a state where a reasonable person would believe that the likelihood of the Company or any of its subsidiaries completing the acquisition is high and that, if completed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries at the date of the Prospectus, would require the preparation of financial statements of the business acquired or to be acquired or pro forma financial information pursuant to Rule 3-05 or Article 11 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act.
(oo) Disagreement with Auditors. There has not been any reportable disagreement (within the meaning of Item 304 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act) with the auditors of the Company.
(pp) Canadian Disclosures and Filings. There are no reports or information that in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Securities Laws must be made publicly available in connection with the offering of the Shares that have not been made publicly available as required; except for filings that must be made pursuant to the timelines set out in BC Instrument 72-503, there are no documents required to be filed as of the date hereof with the Canadian Authorities or with any other Canadian securities regulatory authority in connection with the offering of the Shares that have not been filed as required or as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement.
(qq) Compliance with Regulation M. The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Shares or any other reference security (as defined in Rule 100 of Regulation M under the 1934 Act (Regulation M)) whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or otherwise, and has taken no action which would directly or indirectly violate Regulation M. The Company acknowledges that the Agent may engage in passive market making transactions in the Shares on the Principal Market in accordance with Regulation M.
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(rr) FINRA Matters. All of the information provided to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent by the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules 5110, 5121 and 5190 is true, complete and correct. Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is a person associated with any member firm of FINRA.
(ss) Well-known Seasoned Issuer. (A) At the original effectiveness of the Registration Statement, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment or incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or in the form of a prospectus), and (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Shares in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the Securities Act, the Company was and is a well-known seasoned issuer (as defined in Rule 405).
(tt) Cybersecurity. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, IT Systems) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with, the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of known material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have taken commercially reasonable measures to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of the IT Systems used in connection with their businesses as currently conducted and have remediated any known material security vulnerabilities.
(uu) Compliance with Data Privacy Laws. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with all applicable (i) laws, regulations, and binding directives concerning data protection, privacy, security or Personal Information, including without limitation the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended and supplemented by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (together, HIPAA),Canadas Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679) and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (collectively, the Privacy Laws), and (ii) contractual obligations relating to the privacy, security or protection of the IT Systems and all confidential information, sensitive non-public information and Personal Information under the control of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (the Company Data). Personal Information means any information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person or that otherwise constitutes personal data, personal information, personally identifiable information or similar information
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protected by applicable law. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have in place, comply in all material respects with and take appropriate steps to ensure compliance in all material respects with its policies, notices and procedures relating to data privacy and security and the collection, storage, use, disclosure, handling and analysis of Personal information. Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained, and comply in all material respects with, appropriate controls, policies, procedures and/or safeguards to maintain and protect the privacy, security, confidentiality and integrity of all Company Data and to protect Company Data from any unlawful or unauthorized access, destruction, loss, alteration, use, disclosure or other processing (each, a Security Incident). Except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, to the knowledge of the Company, there have been no losses of or Security Incidents affecting Company Data, except for those that have been or can be remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, entity or governmental authority. Except as set forth in the Prospectus, or as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, there is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened claim, known investigation or enforcement action against or involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries alleging any actual or potential violation of any of the Privacy Laws by the Company or any of its subsidiaries (or, to the knowledge of the Company, any third party processing Company Data on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries).
Any certificate signed by any officer or representative of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and delivered to the Agent or counsel for the Agent in connection with an issuance of Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Agent as to the matters covered thereby on the date of such certificate.
The Company acknowledges that the Agent and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(p) hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to the Agent, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.
Section 3. ISSUANCE AND SALE OF COMMON SHARES
(a) (i) Sale of Securities. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, but subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company and the Agent agree that the Company may from time to time seek to sell Shares through the Agent, acting as sales agent, or directly to the Agent, acting as principal, as follows, with an aggregate Sales Price of up to the Maximum Program Amount, based on and in accordance with Issuance Notices as the Company may deliver, during the Agency Period.
(b) Mechanics of Issuances.
(i) Issuance Notice. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, on any Trading Day during the Agency Period on which the conditions set forth in Sections 5(a) and 5(b) shall have been satisfied, the Company may exercise its right to request an issuance of Shares by delivering to the Agent an Issuance Notice; provided, however, that (A) in no event may the Company deliver an Issuance Notice to the extent that (I) the sum of (x) the aggregate Sales Price
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of the requested Issuance Amount, plus (y) the aggregate Sales Price of all Shares issued under all previous Issuance Notices effected pursuant to this Agreement, would exceed the Maximum Program Amount; and (B) prior to delivery of any Issuance Notice, the period set forth for any previous Issuance Notice shall have expired or been terminated. An Issuance Notice shall be considered delivered on the Trading Day that it is received by e-mail to the persons set forth in Schedule A hereto and confirmed by the Company by telephone (including a voicemail message to the persons so identified), with the understanding that, with adequate prior written notice, the Agent may modify the list of such persons from time to time.
(ii) Agent Efforts. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement, upon the receipt of an Issuance Notice, the Agent will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal sales and trading practices to place the Shares with respect to which the Agent has agreed to act as sales agent, subject to, and in accordance with the information specified in, the Issuance Notice, unless the sale of the Shares described therein has been suspended, cancelled or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, the parties to this Agreement may modify an Issuance Notice at any time provided they both agree in writing to any such modification.
(iii) Method of Offer and Sale. The Shares may be offered and sold (A) in negotiated transactions with the consent of the Company or (B) by any other method permitted by law deemed to be an at the market offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act, including block transactions, sales made directly on the Principal Market or sales made into any other existing trading market of the Common Shares. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to require either party to agree to the method of offer and sale specified in the preceding sentence, and (except as specified in clause (A) above) the method of placement of any Shares by the Agent shall be at the Agents discretion.
(iv) Confirmation to the Company. If acting as sales agent hereunder, the Agent will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day next following the Trading Day on which it has placed Shares hereunder setting forth the number of shares sold on such Trading Day, the corresponding Sales Price and the Issuance Price payable to the Company in respect thereof.
(v) Settlement. Each issuance of Shares will be settled on the applicable Settlement Date for such issuance of Shares and, subject to the provisions of Section 5, on or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Shares being sold by crediting the Agent or its designees account at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian (DWAC) System, or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto and, upon receipt of such Shares, which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form, the Agent will deliver, by wire transfer of immediately available funds, the related Issuance Price in same day funds delivered to an account designated by the Company prior to the Settlement Date. The Company may sell Shares to the Agent as principal at a price agreed upon at each relevant time Shares are sold pursuant to this Agreement (each, a Time of Sale).
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(vi) Suspension or Termination of Sales. Consistent with standard market settlement practices, the Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party hereto in writing or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable email), suspend any sale of Shares, and the period set forth in the Issuance Notice shall immediately terminate; provided, however, that (A) such suspension and termination shall not affect or impair either partys obligations with respect to any Shares placed or sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice; (B) if the Company suspends or terminates any sale of Shares after the Agent confirms such sale to the Company, the Company shall still be obligated to comply with Section 3(b)(v) with respect to such Shares; and (C) if the Company defaults in its obligation to deliver Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that it will hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage or expense (including, without limitation, penalties, interest and reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company. The parties hereto acknowledge and agree that, in performing its obligations under this Agreement, the Agent may borrow Common Shares from stock lenders in the event that the Company has not delivered Shares to settle sales as required by subsection (v) above, and may use the Shares to settle or close out such borrowings. The Company agrees that no such notice shall be effective against the Agent unless it is made to the persons identified in writing by the Agent pursuant to Section 3(b)(i).
(vii) No Guarantee of Placement, Etc. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (A) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in placing Shares, (B) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other Person if it does not sell Shares, (C) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise specifically agreed by the Agent and the Company, (D) there has not been, nor will there be, any advertisement or solicitation by such Agent in furtherance of the sale of the Shares in Canada, and (E) the Agent has not offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, any of the Shares in Canada or knowingly to a person resident in Canada, pursuant to this Agreement.
(viii) Material Non-Public Information. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company and the Agent agree that the Company shall not deliver any Issuance Notice to the Agent, and the Agent shall not be obligated to place any Shares, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information.
(c) Fees. As compensation for services rendered, the Company shall pay to the Agent, on the applicable Settlement Date, the Selling Commission for the applicable Issuance Amount (including with respect to any suspended or terminated sale pursuant to Section 3(b)(vi)) by the Agent deducting the Selling Commission from the applicable Issuance Amount.
(d) Expenses. The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and expenses incurred in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including without limitation (i) all expenses incident to the issuance and delivery of the Shares (including all printing and engraving costs); (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Shares; (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares; (iv) all fees and expenses of the Companys counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors; (v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statement (including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates of experts), the Prospectus, any Free Writing Prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company, and all amendments and supplements thereto,
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and this Agreement; (vi) all filing fees, attorneys fees and expenses incurred by the Company or the Agent in connection with qualifying or registering (or obtaining exemptions from the qualification or registration of) all or any part of the Shares for offer and sale under the state securities or blue sky laws, and, if requested by the Agent, preparing and printing a Blue Sky Survey or memorandum, and any supplements thereto, advising the Agent of such qualifications, registrations, determinations and exemptions; (vii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Agents counsel, including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Agent in connection with, FINRA review, if any, and approval of the Agents participation in the offering and distribution of the Shares; (viii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Agents counsel incurred otherwise in connection with this Agreement, (ix) the filing fees incident to FINRA review, if any; (x) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any road show undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Shares, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic road show, 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 with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives, employees and officers of the Company and of the Agent and any such consultants, and the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show; and (xi) the fees and expenses associated with listing the Shares on the Principal Market. The aggregate fees and disbursements of Agents counsel pursuant to subsections (vi), (vii) and (viii) will not exceed (A) $75,000 in connection with execution of this Agreement; (B) $25,000 in connection with each Triggering Event Date (as defined below) involving the filing of a Form 10-K on which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 4(o) and (C) $15,000 in connection with each other Triggering Event Date (as defined below) on which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 4(o).
Section 4. ADDITIONAL COVENANTS
The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent as follows, in addition to any other covenants and agreements made elsewhere in this Agreement:
(a) Securities Laws Compliance. During the Agency Period, the Company shall (i) file, on a timely basis, with the Commission all reports and documents required to be filed under Section 13, 14 or 15 of the Exchange Act in the manner and within the time periods required by the Exchange Act, (ii) either (A) include in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, a summary detailing, for the relevant reporting period, (1) the number of Shares sold through the Agent pursuant to this Agreement and (2) the net proceeds received by the Company from such sales or, in the Companys sole discretion, (B) prepare a prospectus supplement containing, or include in such other filing permitted by the Securities Act or Exchange Act (each an Interim Prospectus Supplement), such summary information and, at least once a quarter and subject to this Section 4, file such Interim Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (and within the time periods required by Rule 424(b) and Rule 430B under the Securities Act), and (iii) in each quarterly report, annual information form or annual financial statements filed by the Company in respect of any quarter in which sales of Shares were made by the Agent under this Agreement, the Company shall set forth with regard to such quarter the number of Shares sold through the Agent under this Agreement, the Issuance Price received by the Company and the compensation paid by the Company to the Agent with respect
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to sales of Shares pursuant to this Agreement. On the date that any Interim Prospectus Supplement is filed with the Commission, and on each date that any other supplement to the Registration Statement is filed with the Commission, the Company will file the Interim Prospectus Supplement and such other supplement with the British Columbia Securities Commission, pursuant to Section 4(c)(ii) of BC Instrument 72-503 Distribution of Securities outside British Columbia.
(b) Prospectus and Registration Statement Amendments and Stop Orders. After the date of this Agreement, the Company shall promptly advise the Agent in writing (i) of the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the Commission, (ii) of the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, any Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, (iii) of the time and date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus becomes effective and (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the Common Shares from any securities exchange upon which they are listed for trading or included or designated for quotation, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes. If the Commission shall enter any such stop order at any time, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the lifting of such order as soon as practicable. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with the provisions of Rule 424(b) and Rule 433, as applicable, under the Securities Act and will use its commercially reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under such Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 were received in a timely manner by the Commission.
(c) Amendments and Supplements to the Prospectus and Other Securities Law Matters. If any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus so that the Prospectus does 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 when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if in the opinion of the Agent or counsel for the Agent it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectus to comply with applicable law, including the Securities Act, the Company agrees (subject to Section 4(d) and 4(f)) to promptly prepare, file with the Commission and furnish at its own expense to the Agent, amendments or supplements to the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will 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 when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, be misleading or so that the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with applicable law including the Securities Act. Neither the Agents consent to, or delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the Companys obligations under Sections 4(d) or (f). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be required to file such amendment or supplement if there is no pending Issuance Notice and the Company believes that it is in its best interest not to file such amendment or supplement.
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(d) Agents Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. Prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement (including any registration statement filed under Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act) or the Prospectus (including any amendment or supplement through incorporation of any report filed under the Exchange Act), the Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, insofar as such proposed amendment or supplement relates to the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without the Agents prior consent, and the Company shall file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule.
(e) Use of Free Writing Prospectus. Neither the Company nor the Agent has prepared, used, referred to or distributed, or will prepare, use, refer to or distribute, without the other partys prior written consent, any written communication that constitutes a free writing prospectus as such terms are defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act with respect to the offering contemplated by this Agreement (any such free writing prospectus being referred to herein as a Free Writing Prospectus).
(f) Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each proposed Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any proposed Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto without the Agents consent. The Company shall furnish to the Agent, without charge, as many copies of any Free Writing Prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, or used by the Company, as the Agent may reasonably request. If at any time when a prospectus is required by the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d)) to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares (but in any event if at any time through and including the date of this Agreement) there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which any Free Writing Prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company shall promptly amend or supplement such Free Writing Prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict or so that the statements in such Free Writing Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will 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 prevailing at such subsequent time, not misleading, as the case may be; provided, however, that prior to amending or supplementing any such Free Writing Prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Agent for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of such proposed amended or supplemented Free Writing Prospectus and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any such amended or supplemented Free Writing Prospectus without the Agents consent.
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(g) Filing of Agent Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company shall not take any action that would result in the Agent or the Company being required to file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a Free Writing Prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Agent that the Agent otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.
(h) Copies of Registration Statement and Prospectuses. After the date of this Agreement through the last time that a prospectus is required by the Securities Act (including, without limitation, pursuant to Rule 173(d)) to be delivered in connection with sales of the Shares, the Company agrees to furnish the Agent with copies (which may be electronic copies) of the Registration Statement and each amendment thereto, and with copies of the Prospectus and each amendment or supplement thereto in the forms in which they are filed with the Commission pursuant to the Securities Act or Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, in such quantities as the Agent may reasonably request from time to time; and, if the delivery of a prospectus is required under the Securities Act or under the blue sky or securities laws of any jurisdiction at any time on or prior to the applicable Settlement Date for any period set forth in an Issuance Notice in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event has occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus are delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it is necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus or to file under the Exchange Act or Canadian Securities Laws any document incorporated by reference in the Prospectus in order to comply with the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or Canadian Securities Laws, to notify the Agent and to request that the Agent suspend offers to sell Shares (and, if so notified, the Agent shall cease such offers as soon as practicable); and if the Company decides to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented, to advise the Agent promptly by telephone (with confirmation in writing) and to prepare and cause to be filed promptly with the Commission an amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented that will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that if during such same period the Agent is required to deliver a prospectus in respect of transactions in the Shares, the Company shall promptly prepare and file with the Commission such an amendment or supplement.
(i) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company shall cooperate with the Agent and counsel for the Agent to qualify or register the Shares for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application of) the state securities or blue sky laws of those jurisdictions designated by the Agent, shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Shares. The Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general service of process in any such jurisdiction where it is not presently qualified or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign corporation. The Company will advise the Agent promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Shares for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof as soon as practicable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Shares will be offered or sold in Canada, or knowingly to a person resident in Canada, pursuant to this Agreement.
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(j) Earnings Statement. As soon as practicable, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Agent an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and Rule 158 under the Securities Act.
(k) Listing; Reservation of Shares. (a) The Company will maintain the listing of the Shares on the Principal Market, and (b) the Company will reserve and keep available at all times, free of preemptive rights, Shares for the purpose of enabling the Company to satisfy its obligations pursuant to an outstanding Issuance Notice under this Agreement.
(l) Transfer Agent. The Company shall engage and maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Shares.
(m) Due Diligence. During the term of this Agreement, the Company will reasonably cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during normal business hours and at the Companys principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request from time to time.
(n) Representations and Warranties. The Company acknowledges that each delivery of an Issuance Notice and each delivery of Shares on a Settlement Date shall be deemed to be (i) an affirmation to the Agent that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in or made pursuant to this Agreement are true and correct as of the date of such Issuance Notice or of such Settlement Date, as the case may be, as though made at and as of each such date, except as may be disclosed in the Prospectus (including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements thereto), and (ii) an undertaking that the Company will advise the Agent if any of such representations and warranties will not be true and correct as of the Settlement Date for the Shares relating to such Issuance Notice, as though made at and as of each such date (except that such representations and warranties shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented relating to such Shares).
(o) Deliverables at Triggering Event Dates; Certificates. The Company agrees that on or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and, during the term of this Agreement after the date of the first Issuance Notice, upon:
(A) the filing of the Prospectus or the amendment or supplement of any Registration Statement or Prospectus (other than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other than the Shares or a prospectus filed pursuant to Section 4(a)(ii)(B)), by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker or supplement, but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus;
(B) the filing with the Commission of an Annual Report on Form 10-K or a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (including any Form 10-K/A or Form 10-Q/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q), in each case, of the Company; or
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(C) the filing with the Commission of a current report on Form 8-K of the Company containing amended financial information (other than information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K or to provide disclosure pursuant to Item 8.01 of Form 8-K relating to reclassification of certain properties as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144) that is material to the offering of securities of the Company in the Agents reasonable discretion;
(any such event, a Triggering Event Date), the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (C) above only if the Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such Current Report on Form 8-K of the Company is material) with a certificate as of the Triggering Event Date, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented, (A) confirming that the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct, (B) that the Company has performed all of its obligations hereunder to be performed on or prior to the date of such certificate and as to the matters set forth in Section 5(a)(i) hereof, and (C) containing any other certification that the Agent shall reasonably request. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 4(o) shall be automatically waived for any Triggering Event Date occurring at a time when no Issuance Notice is pending or a suspension is in effect, which automatic waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers instructions for the sale of Shares hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Triggering Event Date) and the next occurring Triggering Event Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Shares following a Triggering Event Date when a suspension was in effect and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 4(o), then before the Company delivers the instructions for the sale of Shares or the Agent sells any Shares pursuant to such instructions, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate in conformity with this Section 4(o) dated as of the date that the instructions for the sale of Shares are issued.
(p) Legal Opinions. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(o) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, a negative assurances letter and the written legal opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, U.S. counsel for the Company, and the written legal opinion of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Canadian counsel to the Company, each dated the date of delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that the Company shall be required to furnish no more than one opinion (or negative assurance letter in the case of the Companys U.S. counsel) per Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by the Company from each of the Companys U.S. counsel and the Companys Canadian counsel. In lieu of such opinions for subsequent periodic filings, in the discretion of the Agent, the Company may furnish a reliance letter from such counsel to the Agent, permitting the Agent to rely on a previously delivered opinion letter, modified as appropriate for any passage of time or Triggering Event Date (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of such Triggering Event Date).
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(q) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 4(o) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, the Company shall cause the Accountants, the independent registered public accounting firm who has audited the financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, to furnish the Agent a comfort letter, dated the date of delivery, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel; provided, however, that any such comfort letter will only be required on the Triggering Event Date specified to the extent that it contains financial statements filed with the Commission under the Exchange Act and incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Prospectus. If requested by the Agent, the Company shall also cause a comfort letter to be furnished to the Agent within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event requiring the filing of a Current Report on Form 8-K containing material amended financial information of the Company, including the restatement of the Companys financial statements. The Company shall be required to furnish no more than one comfort letter hereunder per calendar quarter.
(r) Secretarys Certificate. On or prior to the date of the first Issuance Notice and on or prior to each Triggering Event Date, the Company shall furnish the Agent a certificate executed by the Secretary of the Company, signing in such capacity, dated the date of delivery (i) certifying that attached thereto are true and complete copies of the resolutions duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the issuance of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement), which authorization shall be in full force and effect on and as of the date of such certificate, (ii) certifying and attesting to the office, incumbency, due authority and specimen signatures of each Person who executed this Agreement for or on behalf of the Company, and (iii) containing any other certification that the Agent shall reasonably request.
(s) Agents Own Account; Clients Account. The Company consents to the Agent trading, in compliance with applicable law, in the Common Shares for the Agents own account and for the account of its clients at the same time as sales of the Shares occur pursuant to this Agreement.
(t) Investment Limitation. The Company shall not invest, or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Shares in such a manner as would require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
(u) Market Activities. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Shares or any other reference security, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares or otherwise, and the Company will, and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause each of its affiliates to, comply with all applicable provisions of Regulation M. If the limitations of Rule 102 of Regulation M (Rule 102) do not apply with respect to the Shares or any other reference security pursuant to any exception set forth in Section (d) of Rule 102, then promptly upon notice from the Agent (or, if later, at the time stated in the notice), the Company will, and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause each of its affiliates to, comply with Rule 102 as though such exception were not available but the other provisions of Rule 102 (as interpreted by the Commission) did apply. The Company shall promptly notify the Agent if it no longer meets the requirements set forth in Section (d) of Rule 102.
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(v) Notice of Other Sale. Without the written consent of the Agent, the Company will not (i) directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares (other than the Shares hereunder) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Shares, or effect a reverse stock split, recapitalization, share consolidation, reclassification or similar transaction affecting the outstanding Common Shares during the period beginning on the first Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Issuance Notice is delivered to Agent hereunder and ending on the first Trading Day immediately following the Settlement Date with respect to Shares sold pursuant to such Issuance Notice (or, if the Issuance Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Shares covered by an Issuance Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); or (ii) directly or indirectly, enter into any other at the market or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Common Shares (other than the Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Common Shares prior to the termination of this Agreement; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Companys (A) issuance or sale of Common Shares pursuant to this Agreement; (B) issuance or sale of Common Shares, equity awards to purchase or receive Common Shares, or Common Shares issuable upon the exercise or vesting of equity awards pursuant to any employee, consultant or director stock option, incentive or benefits plan, share purchase or ownership plan, long-term incentive plan, dividend reinvestment plan, inducement awards under Principal Market rules or other compensation plans of the Company or its subsidiaries as may be in effect from time to time; (C) issuance or sale of Common Shares issuable upon exchange, conversion or redemption of securities (including exchangeable shares issued by Zymeworks ExchangeCo Ltd.) or the exercise or vesting of warrants, options or other equity awards as may be outstanding from time to time; (D) modification of any outstanding equity awards, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Common Shares and (E) issuance or sale of Common Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares as consideration for mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or strategic alliances, licenses or collaborations.
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Section 5. CONDITIONS TO DELIVERY OF ISSUANCE NOTICES AND TO SETTLEMENT
(a) Conditions Precedent to the Right of the Company to Deliver an Issuance Notice and the Obligation of the Agent to Sell Shares. The right of the Company to deliver an Issuance Notice hereunder is subject to the satisfaction, on the date of delivery of such Issuance Notice, and the obligation of the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts to place Shares during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice is subject to the satisfaction, on each Trading Day during the applicable period set forth in the Issuance Notice, of each of the following conditions:
(i) Accuracy of the Companys Representations and Warranties; Performance by the Company. The Company shall have delivered the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 4(o) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 4(o). The Company shall have performed, satisfied and complied with all covenants, agreements and conditions required by this Agreement to be performed, satisfied or complied with by the Company at or prior to such date, including, but not limited to, the covenants contained in Section 4(p), Section 4(q) and Section 4(r).
(ii) No Injunction. No statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling or injunction shall have been enacted, entered, promulgated or endorsed by any court or governmental authority of competent jurisdiction or any self-regulatory organization having authority over the matters contemplated hereby that prohibits or directly and materially adversely affects any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and no proceeding shall have been commenced that may have the effect of prohibiting or materially adversely affecting any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(iii) Material Adverse Changes. Except as disclosed in the Prospectus and the Time of Sale Information, (a) in the judgment of the Agent there shall not have occurred any material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, operations or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its subsidiaries, considered as one entity; and (b) there shall not have occurred any downgrading, nor shall any notice have been given of any intended or potential downgrading or of any review for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, in the rating accorded any securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization as such term is defined for purposes of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act.
(iv) No Suspension of Trading in or Delisting of Common Shares; Other Events. The trading of the Common Shares (including without limitation the Shares) shall not have been suspended by the Commission, any of the Canadian Authorities, the Principal Market or FINRA and the Common Shares (including without limitation the Shares) shall have been approved for listing or quotation on and shall not have been delisted from the Principal Market. There shall not have occurred (and be continuing in the case of occurrences under clauses (i) and (ii) below) any of the following: (i) trading or quotation in any of the Companys securities shall have been suspended or limited by the Commission, any of the Canadian Authorities, or by the Principal Market, or trading in securities generally on the Principal Market shall have been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on any of such stock exchanges by the Commission or the FINRA; (ii) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any U.S. federal or New York authorities; or (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak
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or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States, Canadian or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States, Canadian or international political, financial or economic conditions, as in the judgment of the Agent is material and adverse and makes it impracticable to market the Shares in the manner and on the terms described in the Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities.
(b) Documents Required to be Delivered on each Issuance Notice Date. The Agents obligation to use its commercially reasonable efforts to place Shares hereunder shall additionally be conditioned upon the delivery to the Agent on or before the Issuance Notice Date of a certificate in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Agent, executed by the Chief Executive Officer, President or Chief Financial Officer of the Company, to the effect that all conditions to the delivery of such Issuance Notice shall have been satisfied as at the date of such certificate (which certificate shall not be required if the foregoing representations shall be set forth in the Issuance Notice).
(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission. Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement, Prospectus or the Time of Sale Information, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agents reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agents reasonable opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
Section 6. INDEMNIFICATION AND CONTRIBUTION
(a) Indemnification of the Agent. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its officers and employees, and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Agent or such officer, employee or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other federal, provincial or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and to reimburse the Agent and each such officer, employee and controlling person for any and all documented expenses (including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of one counsel chosen by the Agent) as such expenses are reasonably incurred by the Agent or such officer, employee or controlling person in
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connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action; provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense to the extent, but only to the extent, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any such Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information described in subsection (b) below. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 6(a) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.
(b) Indemnification of the Company. The Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Company or any such director, officer or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where Shares have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, including any information deemed to be a part thereof pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any Free Writing Prospectus that the Company has used, referred to or filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433(d) of the Securities Act or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; but, for each of (i) and (ii) above, only to the extent arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any such Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by the Agent to the Company consists of the information set forth in the seventh and eighth paragraphs under the caption Plan of Distribution in the Prospectus, and to reimburse the Company and each such director, officer and controlling person for any and all expenses (including the fees and disbursements of one counsel chosen by the Company) as such expenses are reasonably incurred by the Company or such officer, director or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 6(b) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Agent or the Company may otherwise have.
(c) Notifications and Other Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 6 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this Section 6, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof, but
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the omission so to notify the indemnifying party will not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party for contribution or otherwise than under the indemnity agreement contained in this Section 6 or to the extent it is not prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and such indemnified party seeks or intends to seek indemnity from an indemnifying party, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall elect, jointly with all other indemnifying parties similarly notified, by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of such indemnifying partys election so to assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 6 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action), which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the indemnified parties shall be selected by the indemnified party (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in Sections 6(a) and 6(b) above), (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized in writing the employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying party and shall be paid as they are incurred.
(d) Settlements. The indemnifying party under this Section 6 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by Section 6(a) and 6(b) hereof, the indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding.
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(e) Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section 6 is for any reason held to be unavailable to or otherwise insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such indemnified party, as incurred, as a result of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, from the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total gross proceeds from the offering of the Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total commissions received by the Agent. The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, on the one hand, or the Agent, on the other hand, and the parties relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 6(c), any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim. The provisions set forth in Section 6(c) with respect to notice of commencement of any action shall apply if a claim for contribution is to be made under this Section 6(e); provided, however, that no additional notice shall be required with respect to any action for which notice has been given under Section 6(c) for purposes of indemnification.
The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 6(e) were determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 6(e).
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 6(e), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the agent fees received by the Agent in connection with the offering contemplated hereby. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 6(e), each officer and employee of the Agent and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the
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meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Agent, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company with the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.
Section 7. TERMINATION & SURVIVAL
(a) Term. Subject to the provisions of this Section 7, the term of this Agreement shall continue from the date of this Agreement until the end of the Agency Period, unless earlier terminated by the parties to this Agreement pursuant to this Section 7.
(b) Termination; Survival Following Termination. (i) Either party may terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the Agency Period, by giving written notice as required by this Agreement, upon ten (10) Trading Days notice to the other party; provided that, (A) if the Company terminates this Agreement after the Agent confirms to the Company any sale of Shares, the Company shall remain obligated to comply with Section 3(b)(v) with respect to such Shares and (B) Section 2, Section 3(d), Section 6, Section 7 and Section 8 shall survive termination of this Agreement. If termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Shares, such sale shall nevertheless settle in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(ii) In addition to the survival provision of Section 7(b)(i), the respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, of its officers and of the Agent set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent or the Company or any of its or their partners, officers or directors or any controlling person, as the case may be, and, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, will survive delivery of and payment for the Shares sold hereunder and any termination of this Agreement.
Section 8. MISCELLANEOUS
(a) Press Releases and Disclosure. The Company may issue a press release describing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby as soon as practicable following the date of this Agreement, may, if required, file this Agreement with the Canadian Authorities, and may file with the Commission a Current Report on Form 8-K, with this Agreement attached as an exhibit thereto, describing the material terms of the transactions contemplated hereby, and the Company shall consult with the Agent prior to making such disclosures, and the parties hereto shall use all commercially reasonable efforts, acting in good faith, to agree upon a text for such disclosures that is reasonably satisfactory to all parties hereto. No party hereto shall issue thereafter any press release or like public statement (including, without limitation, any disclosure required in reports filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act or the Canadian Authorities pursuant to Canadian Securities Laws) related to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby without the prior written approval of the other party hereto, except as may be necessary or appropriate in the reasonable opinion of the party seeking to make disclosure to comply with the requirements of applicable law or stock exchange rules and except for the disclosure required pursuant to Section 4(a) of this Agreement in the Companys Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Annual Reports on Form 10-K. If any such press release or like public statement is so required, the party making such disclosure shall consult with the other party prior to making such disclosure, and the parties shall use all commercially reasonable efforts, acting in good faith, to agree upon a text for such disclosure that is reasonably satisfactory to all parties hereto.
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(b) No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including the determination of any fees, are arms-length commercial transactions between the Company and the Agent, (ii) when acting as a principal under this Agreement, the Agent is and has been acting solely as a principal is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (iii) the Agent has not assumed nor will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and the Agent does not have any obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (iv) the Agent and its affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (v) the Agent has not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.
(c) Research Analyst Independence. The Company acknowledges that the Agents research analysts and research departments are required to and should be independent from their respective investment banking divisions and are subject to certain regulations and internal policies, and as such the Agents research analysts may hold views and make statements or investment recommendations and/or publish research reports with respect to the Company or the offering that differ from the views of their respective investment banking divisions. The Company understands that the Agent is a full service securities firm and as such from time to time, subject to applicable securities laws, may effect transactions for its own account or the account of its customers and hold long or short positions in debt or equity securities of the companies that may be the subject of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(d) Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed, hand delivered, sent via electronic mail (if applicable), faxed or telecopied and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:
If to the Agent:
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
499 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Attention: Capital Markets
Facsimile: (212) 307-3730
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Cooley LLP
55 Hudson Yards
New York, NY 10001
Attention:Daniel I. Goldberg, Esq.
Email: dgoldberg@cooley.com
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If to the Company:
Zymeworks Inc.
108 Patriot Drive, Suite A
Middletown, Delaware 19709
Attention: Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Email: ken.galbraith@zymeworks.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Daniel Dex, Vice President, Legal & Corporate Secretary
Zymeworks Inc.
114 East 4th Avenue, Suite 800
Vancouver BC, Canada V5T 1G4
Email: daniel.dex@zymeworks.com
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.
650 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1050
Attention: Tony Jeffries, Esq. and Bryan King, Esq.
Email: tjeffries@wsgr.com; bking@wsgr.com
Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others in accordance with this Section 8(d).
(e) Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, and to the benefit of the employees, officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 6, and in each case their respective successors, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. The term successors shall not include any purchaser of the Shares as such from the Agent merely by reason of such purchase.
(f) Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any Article, Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other Article, Section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any Article, Section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
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(g) Governing Law Provisions. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in such state. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (Related Proceedings) may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York (collectively, the Specified Courts), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such partys address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
(h) General Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument, and may be delivered by electronic delivery of a portable document format (PDF) file (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com). This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition is meant to benefit. The Article and Section headings herein are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.
[Signature Page Immediately Follows]
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, kindly sign and return to the Company the enclosed copies hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in accordance with its terms
Very truly yours, | ||
ZYMEWORKS INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Christopher Astle | |
Name: Christopher Astle | ||
Title: Sr. VP and Chief Financial Officer |
The foregoing Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the Agent in New York, New York as of the date first above written.
CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO. | ||
By: | /s/ Sage Kelly | |
Name: Sage Kelly | ||
Title: Global Head of Investment Banking |
EXHIBIT A
ISSUANCE NOTICE
[Date]
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
499 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Attn: [__________]
Reference is made to the Sales Agreement between Zymeworks Inc. (the Company) and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (collectively, the Agent) dated as of November 9, 2022. The Company confirms that all conditions to the delivery of this Issuance Notice are satisfied as of the date hereof.
Date of Delivery of Issuance Notice (determined pursuant to Section 3(b)(i)): _______________________
Issuance Amount (equal to the total Sales Price for such Shares): | ||||
$ |
||||
Number of days in selling period: |
||||
First date of selling period: |
||||
Last date of selling period: |
||||
Settlement Date(s) if other than standard T+2 settlement: |
Floor Price Limitation (in no event less than $1.00 without the prior written consent of the Agent, which consent may be withheld in the Agents sole discretion): $ ____ per share
Comments: |
By: |
||
Name: | ||
Title: |
A-1
Schedule A
Notice Parties
The Company
Kenneth Galbraith
Email:
Phone:
Neil Klompas
Email:
Phone:
Christopher Astle
Email:
Phone:
Daniel Dex
Email:
Phone:
The Agent
Sameer Vasudev
With copies to:
Exhibit 5.1
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | ||
Professional Corporation 701 Fifth Avenue | ||
Suite 5100 | ||
Seattle, Washington 98104-7036 | ||
O: 206.883.2500 | ||
F: 206.883.2699 |
November 9, 2022
Zymeworks Inc.
108 Patriot Drive, Suite A
Middletown, Delaware 19709
Re: | Registration Statement on Form S-3 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Zymeworks Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), in connection with the registration of the offer and sale of up to $150,000,000 of shares (the Shares) of the Companys common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, pursuant to the Companys Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-259970-01) (the Registration Statement), filed on October 1, 2021 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act).
The offering and sale of the Shares are being made pursuant to the Sales Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2022 (the Sales Agreement), by and between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
We have examined copies of the Sales Agreement, the Registration Statement, the base prospectus that forms a part thereof and the prospectus supplement thereto related to the offering of the Shares. The prospectus supplement is dated as of November 9, 2022 and will be filed by the Company in accordance with Rule 424(b) promulgated under the Securities Act. We have also examined instruments, documents and records which we deemed relevant and necessary for the basis of our opinion hereinafter expressed.
In such examination, we have assumed (i) the authenticity of original documents and the genuineness of all signatures, (ii) the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to us as copies, and (iii) the truth, accuracy, and completeness of the information, representations and warranties contained in the records, documents, instruments and certificates we have reviewed.
Based on and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized by the Company and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
AUSTIN BEIJING BOSTON BRUSSELS HONG KONG LONDON LOS ANGELES NEW YORK PALO ALTO
SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE SHANGHAI WASHINGTON, DC WILMINGTON, DE
Zymeworks Inc.
November 9, 2022
Page 2
We express no opinion as to the laws of any other jurisdiction other than the federal laws of the United States of America and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.
We hereby consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on or about November 9, 2022, for incorporation by reference into the Registration Statement.
Sincerely, |
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI Professional Corporation |
/s/ Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. |
BKD: jho