SEC Form 424B5 filed by Taysha Gene Therapies Inc.
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Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-260069
The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell the securities and are not soliciting an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion, dated June 26, 2024
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated October 14, 2021)
$75,000,000
Common Stock
Pre-Funded Warrants to Purchase up to shares of Common Stock
We are offering shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, or the common stock and, in lieu of common stock to certain investors that so choose, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to shares of our common stock. The purchase price of each pre-funded warrant will equal the price per share at which shares of our common stock are being sold to the public in this offering, minus $0.001, the exercise price of each pre-funded warrant. Each pre-funded warrant will be immediately exercisable for one share of common stock, subject to the limitations described in the section “Description of the Pre-Funded Warrants—Exercisability.” The public offering price for each share of common stock is $ . We are also offering the shares of our common stock that are issuable from time to time upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants.
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TSHA.” The last reported sale price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 25, 2024 was $2.456 per share. There is no established public trading market for the pre-funded warrants, and we do not expect a market to develop. We do not intend to apply for listing of the pre-funded warrants on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system. Without an active trading market, the liquidity of the pre-funded warrants will be limited.
We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” under applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules and are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
See “Prospectus Supplement Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company.”
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-21 of this prospectus supplement, page 7 of the accompanying prospectus and under similar headings in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Public offering price |
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Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) |
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Proceeds to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc., before expenses |
$ | $ | $ |
(1) | See “Underwriting” for a description of the compensation payable to the underwriters. |
We intend to grant the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to $11,250,000 of additional shares of our common stock at the initial price to the public less the underwriting discount.
The underwriters expect to deliver the shares and pre-funded warrants against payment in New York, New York on June , 2024.
Jefferies | Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | Cantor |
Prospectus Supplement dated June , 2024
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This document is part of a “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of this offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein. The second part, the accompanying prospectus, provides more general information. Generally, when we refer to this prospectus, we are referring to both parts of this document combined. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the information contained in the accompanying prospectus or any document incorporated by reference therein filed prior to the date of this prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement; provided that if any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date – for example, a document incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus – the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference herein were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.
We have not authorized anyone to provide any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction to or from any person to whom or from whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation of an offer in such jurisdiction. The information contained in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or incorporated by reference herein or therein is accurate only as of the respective dates thereof, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or of any sale of our common stock or pre-funded warrants. It is important for you to read and consider all information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, in making your investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the documents to which we have referred you in the sections entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” in this prospectus supplement and in the accompanying prospectus.
We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of our common stock and pre-funded warrants only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the offering of the common stock and pre-funded warrants in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the common stock and pre-funded warrants and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus outside the United States. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offer or solicitation.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, as used in this prospectus supplement, unless the context otherwise requires, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” “the company” and “Taysha” refer to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc.
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference herein and therein contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference herein and therein, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
The forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference herein and therein include, among other things, statements about:
• | the timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of studies or trials and related preparatory work, the period during which the results of the trials will become available and our research and development programs; |
• | the timing of our planned Investigational New Drug, or IND, and Clinical Trial Agreement submissions, initiation of clinical trials and timing of expected clinical results for TSHA-102 for Rett and any other current and future product candidates that we advance; |
• | the timing of any submission of filings for regulatory approval of, and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for, our current and future product candidates; |
• | our ability to identify patients with the diseases treated by our product candidates, and to enroll patients in trials; |
• | our expectations regarding the size of the patient populations, market acceptance and opportunity for and clinical utility of our product candidates, if approved for commercial use; |
• | our manufacturing capabilities and strategy, including the scalability and commercial viability of our manufacturing methods and processes; |
• | our expectations regarding the scope of any approved indication for TSHA-102 or any other current or future product candidate that we advance; |
• | our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates; |
• | our ability to leverage our platform, including our next-generation technologies, to identify and develop future product candidates; |
• | our estimates of our expenses, ongoing losses, future revenue, capital requirements and our need for or ability to obtain additional funding before we can expect to generate any revenue from product sales; |
• | our ability to establish or maintain collaborations or strategic relationships; |
• | our ability to identify, recruit and retain key personnel; |
• | our reliance upon intellectual property licensed from third parties and our ability to obtain such licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all; |
• | our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property position for our product candidates, and the scope of such protection; |
• | our ability to comply with the terms of our term loan agreement; |
• | our financial performance; |
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• | our competitive position and the development of and projections relating to our competitors or our industry; |
• | our estimates regarding future revenue, expenses and needs for additional financing; |
• | our expectations regarding the time during which we will be an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act; |
• | our preliminary financial information as of May 31, 2024; and |
• | our intended use of proceeds from this offering. |
We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this prospectus supplement, particularly in the “Risk Factors” section, that we believe could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.
You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference herein and therein completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
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This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and in the documents we incorporate by reference. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus carefully, especially the risks of investing in our common stock discussed under “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-21 of this prospectus supplement and under a similar heading in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, or the 2023 Form 10-K, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, along with our financial statements and notes to those financial statements and the other information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, before making an investment decision.
Company Overview
We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on advancing AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of severe monogenic diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS. Our lead clinical program TSHA-102 is in development for the treatment of Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with no approved disease-modifying therapies that address the genetic root cause of the disease. With a singular focus on developing transformative medicines, we aim to address severe unmet medical needs and dramatically improve the lives of patients and their caregivers. Our management team has proven experience in gene therapy development and commercialization. We leverage this experience, our manufacturing process and a clinically and commercially proven AAV9 capsid in an effort to rapidly translate treatments from bench to bedside.
We are evaluating TSHA-102 in the REVEAL Phase 1/2 adolescent and adult trial, which is a first-in-human, open-label, randomized, dose-escalation and dose-expansion study evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of TSHA-102 in adolescent and adult females aged 12 years and older with Rett syndrome due to MECP2 loss-of-function mutation. The trial is taking place in Canada and the United States. We dosed the first two adult patients with Rett syndrome in 2023. TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no serious adverse events, or SAEs, related to TSHA-102 or dose-limiting toxicities, or DLTs, as of the 52-week assessment post-treatment for patient one and 36-week assessment post-treatment for patient two. The independent data monitoring committee, or IDMC, meeting to review the clinical data from the first two adult patients and the first pediatric patient took place in February 2024. The IDMC approved our request to proceed to earlier dose escalation in the adolescent and adult trial, enabling early advancement to cohort 2. The first patient in cohort 2 (high dose, 1x1015 total vg) was dosed in the second quarter of 2024. We expect to report initial available safety and efficacy data from cohort 2 (high dose, 1x1015 total vg) in the second half of 2024.
We are also evaluating TSHA-102 in the REVEAL Phase 1/2 pediatric trial, which is an open-label, randomized, dose-escalation and dose-expansion study evaluating the safety and preliminary efficacy of TSHA-102 in pediatric females with Rett syndrome due to MECP2 loss-of-function mutation. The trial is taking place in the United States. We submitted submitted an IND application for pediatric patients with Rett syndrome to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, for TSHA-102 early in the third quarter of 2023.
We have received orphan drug designation and rare pediatric disease designation from the FDA and orphan drug designation from the European Commission for TSHA-102 for the treatment of Rett syndrome. We also received Fast Track Designation from the FDA for TSHA-102 for the treatment of Rett syndrome. We also received Clinical Trial Authorisation, or CTA, clearance from the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, or U.K. MHRA, in early 2024 for pediatric patients with Rett syndrome. In February 2024, we received Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, or ILAP, designation for TSHA-102 from the U.K. MHRA. The ILAP aims to facilitate patient access to novel treatments by accelerating time to market through
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opportunities for enhanced engagements with U.K. regulatory authorities and other stakeholders. In April 2024, the FDA granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, or RMAT, designation for TSHA-102 in Rett syndrome. RMAT designation follows the FDA’s review of available safety and efficacy data from the first three patients with Rett syndrome dosed with the low dose of TSHA-102 (5.7x1014 total vg) across the REVEAL Phase 1/2 adolescent and adult trial and the REVEAL Phase 1/2 pediatric trial. RMAT designation was designed to expedite the development and review of regenerative medicine therapies. A regenerative medicine therapy is eligible for RMAT designation if it is intended to treat, modify, reverse or cure a serious condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates the therapy has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such condition. Sponsor companies receiving RMAT designation can benefit from increased interactions with the FDA involving senior managers, with the goal of expediting drug development.
Our Pipeline
We are focused on discovering, developing and commercializing gene therapies for the treatment of monogenic diseases of the CNS in both rare and large patient populations. Our primary focus is advancing our lead clinical program in Rett syndrome, while our pipeline of CNS programs offers the potential for additional development opportunities in the future. The stage of development of our Rett syndrome program, including the progress in our ongoing clinical trials, is represented in the below table:
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REVEAL Phase 1/2 Clinical Trials Update
We currently are conducting two Phase 1/2 clinical trials for TSHA-102: an adolescent/adult study in the United States and Canada and a pediatric study in the United States. In addition, approval has been granted to expand the pediatric study into the United Kingdom. The trials are described below:
IT – Intrathecal; MTD – Maximum Tolerated Dose; MAD – Maximum Administered Dose.
We dosed the first adult patient with Rett syndrome in May 2023. The second adult patient was dosed in September 2023. We dosed the first pediatric patient with Rett syndrome in the Phase 1/2 REVEAL pediatric trial in December 2023, and the second pediatric patient was dosed in the first quarter of 2024. In early 2024, we announced that the U.K. MHRA authorized the CTA for TSHA-102 in pediatric patients with Rett syndrome, enabling expansion of our ongoing pediatric trial into the United Kingdom. In February 2024, we announced the expansion of the ongoing REVEAL Phase 1/2 adolescent and adult trial in Canada into the United States following submission of the adolescent and adult trial protocol to the FDA.
Cohort 1, which evaluates the low dose of TSHA-102 of 5.7x1014 total vg, is considered complete for both REVEAL trials. Two adult patients have been dosed in cohort 1 in the REVEAL adolescent and adult trial, and TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no SAEs related to TSHA-102 or DLTs as of the 52-week assessment post-treatment for patient one and 36-week assessment post-treatment for patient two. Following review of available clinical data from the first two adult patients and first pediatric patient showing that TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated, and in light of the potential for improved benefit at the higher dose (1x1015 total vg), in February 2024, the Independent Data Monitoring Committee, or IDMC, approved our request to proceed to earlier dose escalation in the adolescent and adult trial, enabling earlier advancement to cohort 2 evaluating the 1x1015 total vg dose. The first patient in cohort 2 of the adolescent and adult trial was dosed in the second quarter of 2024.
Additionally, two pediatric patients have been dosed in cohort 1 in the REVEAL pediatric trial, and TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no SAEs related to TSHA-102 or DLTs as of the 22-week assessment post-treatment for patient one and 11-week assessment post-treatment for patient two. There were two SAEs reported in the second pediatric patient that were not deemed treatment related. Both were related to underlying disease and one was also attributed to immunosuppression, and both have resolved. In May 2024, the IDMC approved our request to proceed to earlier dose escalation in the REVEAL pediatric trial, enabling earlier advancement to
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cohort 2 evaluating the 1x1015 total vg dose, with dosing to occur following IDMC review of the 42-day safety data from the patient treated with the high dose of TSHA-102 in the adolescent and adult trial. We expect to dose the first pediatric patient in cohort 2 in the third quarter of 2024. We expect to report initial available safety and efficacy data from cohort 2 of both the adolescent and adult trial and the pediatric trial in the second half of 2024.
The maximum tolerated dose, or MTD, or maximum administered dose, or MAD, established in Part A will be administered during dose expansion in Part B. Data from Part A will be assessed by regulatory agencies and the IDMC to determine key elements of Part B of the study, including efficacy endpoints, study duration and the MTD or MAD.
TSHA-102 REVEAL Phase 1/2 Adolescent / Adult Trial Safety and Efficacy Summary
Efficacy endpoints include patient assessments performed by clinicians, including the Clinical Global Impressions Scale – Improvement, or CGI-I, the Clinical Global Impressions Scale – Severity, or CGI-S, Rett Syndrome Hand Function Scale, or RSHFS, and Revised Motor Behavior Assessment, or R-MBA. Additional efficacy endpoints also include patient assessments by caregivers, including Parental Global Impressions Improvement, or PGI-I, the Rett Syndrome Behavior Questionnaire, or RSBQ, and seizure diaries.
Overview of Cohort 1 Patients and Results
The first adult patient, a 20-year-old female at the time of dosing, has the most advanced stage of Rett syndrome, Stage IV, with a genetic change consisting of a large deletion within the MECP2 gene that is known to cause Rett syndrome. This patient’s phenotypic manifestation is severe. She lost the ability to walk, stand, and sit without support by age eight (non-ambulatory, wheelchair bound, limited movements of her lower extremities), lost fine motor and hand function by age six (unable to grasp and hold objects of any size, with essentially no function in non-dominant hand) and speak around age six (non-verbal, minimal vocalizations). She experienced frequent apnea and hyperventilation episodes by age three and has a history of seizures since the age of five. Per the Principal Investigator, or PI, the first adult patient’s baseline reported seizure frequency was approximately two to four seizures per year.
In the first adult patient, TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no SAEs related to TSHA-102 or DLTs as of the 52-week assessment post-treatment. Per the protocol, prophylactic immunosuppressant therapy began seven days prior to TSHA-102 administration. The first adult patient’s steroid taper was completed by week 36, and her sirolimus taper was completed by week 43. At week 52 post-treatment, the first adult patient demonstrated sustained and new improvements across multiple clinical domains compared to baseline after the completion of her immunosuppression taper. Specifically, the PI reported that the patient sustained improvements in motor function, with the gained ability to kick her legs against gravity and sit unassisted for the first time in over a decade, and sustained improvements in fine motor and hand function with gained function in her non-dominant hand. Additionally, she could open her hands, dissociate her fingers, scratch her nose and touch a screen through week 52 post-treatment. The PI reported sustained improvements in communication and socialization at week 52 post-treatment as the patient was more alert and socially interactive, with increased communication using vocalizations. Caregivers reported an enhanced ability to use an eye-gaze driven communication device at week 25, which she had not expressed interest in before treatment. The first adult patient also demonstrated sustained improvements in autonomic function at week 52 post-treatment, including improved breathing patterns with infrequent hyperventilation and fewer breath holding spells compared to before treatment, normalized sleep/night-time behaviors with the ability to sleep through the night for the first time in 20 years, and improved circulation with the patient’s hands and feet restored to normal temperature and color (whereas before treatment, her hands and feet were usually cold and blue). The PI also reported that the first patient’s seizures were overall well-controlled through week 52 following treatment at lower levels of anti-seizure medication, relative to baseline, and the patient no longer experienced unprovoked seizures. The PI’s clinical observations are supported by clinical, caregiver and video evidence.
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The second adult patient, a 21-year-old female at the time of dosing, has the most advanced stage of Rett syndrome, Stage IV, with a missense mutation in the MECP2 gene, which has been reported to cause Rett syndrome. This patient’s phenotypic manifestation is milder than the first adult patient. Prior to treatment, she had partial loss of ambulation (able to walk/stand without support, but she had impaired gait and balance that developed at age 18) and impaired fine motor and hand function (significant stereotypies that emerged by age three, and she mostly held her hands firmly together, with weak ability to reach and grasp objects). She has been mostly nonverbal since the age of two and experienced frequent hyperventilation episodes by age three. She had a history of seizures since the age of 10. Per the PI, the second adult patient’s baseline reported seizure frequency was approximately two to four seizures per week.
In the second adult patient, TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no SAEs related to TSHA-102 or DLTs as of the 36-week assessment post-treatment. The PI reported that the second adult patient demonstrated sustained and new improvements across multiple clinical domains compared to baseline following completion of her steroid taper at week 25 post-treatment. Her sirolimus taper was completed by week 31. She sustained improvements in motor skills, with a reduction in hand stereotypies (repetitive, purposeless hand movements and a diagnostic hallmark of Rett syndrome) for the first time since regression at age three. Before treatment, the patient mostly held her hands firmly together, and post-treatment, she displays less forceful hand wringing and more open and relaxed hands. The second patient also sustained improvements in communication and socialization through week 25, including increased response to spoken words and eye contact compared to baseline. The PI also reported sustained improvements in autonomic function, with improvements in breathing dysrhythmia, including hyperventilation and reduced apneic spells, and circulation at week 25 post-treatment, evident by the restoration of the patient’s hands and feet to normal temperature and color compared to the cold and blue appearance before treatment. Additionally, the second adult patient demonstrated new improvements in gross motor skills at week 25 post-treatment, with improved posture and stability. Notably, she also demonstrated pronounced improvements in seizure frequency at week 25, with a significant reduction in seizures at 25% lower levels of anti-seizure medication, relative to the baseline seizure frequency of two to four seizures per week. Following treatment with TSHA-102, the second patient had a single seizure event, with 8.5 months reported seizure free as of week 36 post-treatment.
Adult Patient 1 Efficacy Data (Cohort 1)
The first adult patient showed clinically significant improvement in CGI-S from a score of six (severely ill) at baseline to a score of five (markedly ill) in this measure four weeks post-TSHA-102 administration, which was sustained through week 52 post-treatment. Similarly, the patient demonstrated sustained improvement in CGI-I post-TSHA-102 administration with a score of three (minimally improved) at week 52 and new improvement in PGI-I with a score of one (considerably better) as of the week 52 assessment post-TSHA-102 administration.
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The first adult patient demonstrated continued improvement in RSBQ Total Score at week 52 post-TSHA-102 administration as depicted in the graph below.
A 35-point improvement was reported in RSBQ Total Score at week 52 compared to baseline, which was driven by improvements in hand behaviors, general mood, breathing, repetitive face movements, body rocking and expressionless face, nighttime behaviors and fear and anxiety.
The first adult patient demonstrated continued improvement in R-MBA Total Score at week 52 post-TSHA-102 administration as depicted in the graph below.
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A 17-point improvement was reported in R-MBA Total Score at week 52 compared to baseline, which was driven by improvements in motor dysfunction, functional skills, social skills and respiratory behaviors.
Per the seizure diary and caregiver reports, the first adult patient demonstrated stable seizure events relative to baseline through week 52 post-treatment, based on caregiver-reported medical history, and seizures are confined to periods where phenytoin level declines to <50 mmol/L (previously <100 mmol/L). The first adult patient had been on phenytoin as antiepileptic therapy prior to treatment, which she has continued following TSHA-102. Prior to treatment and per the patient’s medical history, she required phenytoin levels of >100 µmol/L to control her seizures. The first adult patient had seizures prior to TSHA-102 administration on day –8 and day –7, and post-administration she had seizures on days 45-49 and day 82 associated with lower than target phenytoin levels. Specifically, the seizures on days 45-49 corresponded with a phenytoin level of 45.9 µmol/L, and the seizure on day 82 corresponded with a phenytoin level of 35.9 umol/L.
Loss of hand function is a hallmark characteristic of Rett syndrome and a key area of concern for caregivers. It impacts a patient’s ability to communicate and impedes daily activities, which ultimately limits independence. The RSHFS is a scale designed to evaluate hand function in patients with Rett syndrome. Hand function is evaluated by an experienced independent physical therapist with expertise in evaluating hand function in patients with Rett syndrome. Sessions are videotaped in which the patient’s caregiver offers the patient both large (e.g. a toy, cup, or spoon) and small (e.g. a grape or small piece of sandwich) objects so that she may demonstrate her ability to grasp, pick up, and hold the objects. The independent physical therapist then codes the demonstrated hand function in each video at the demonstrated level of hand function, ranging from no active grasping of any objects to independent grasping and function.
The first adult patient showed an improvement in the RSHFS at 25 weeks post-TSHA-102 administration as depicted in the tables below. As of week 25 following treatment, the first adult patient was using her non-dominant hand for some basic grasping whereas before treatment, she was not able to grasp at all. As of the week 25 assessment, her dominant hand function improved from baseline with the demonstrated ability to grasp two different objects (spoon and toy) rather than just one object (spoon). These clinical observations reported by the independent physical therapist are supported by video evidence. The RSHFS for week 52 was not completed as of the cutoff date.
Adult Patient 2 Efficacy Data (Cohort 1)
While the two adult patients dosed in cohort 1 in our REVEAL trial both have the most advanced stage of Rett syndrome, Stage IV, they possess different genetic backgrounds and mutation types, which manifest in different phenotypes and clinical severity.
While there was no change at week 25 post-TSHA-102 administration in the second adult patient’s CGI-S baseline score of four (moderately ill), her CGI-I and PGI-I scores showed sustained improvement at week 25 (score of three, minimally improved and a little better, respectively) post-TSHA-102 administration.
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An increase in RSBQ Total Score was reported at week 25 post-TSHA-102 administration as depicted in the graph below.
A two-point increase was reported in the RSBQ Total Score at week 25 compared to baseline. Improvements in RSBQ were reported by caregivers in breathing and general mood. However, there was an increase in hand behaviors and fear and anxiety compared to baseline, impacting the total score.
The second adult patient demonstrated continued improvement in the R-MBA Total Score at week 25 post-TSHA-102 administration as depicted in the graph below.
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A 23-point improvement was reported in the R-MBA Total Score at week 25 compared to baseline. Improvements were reported in all domains, including social skills, respiratory behaviors, seizures, functional skills, motor dysfunction, aberrant behavior, and truncal rocking and stereotypic hand movements.
Per the seizure diary and caregiver reports, the second adult patient demonstrated significantly reduced seizure events relative to baseline through 36 weeks post-treatment at 25% lower levels of anti-seizure medication, based on caregiver-reported medical history. Pre-treatment, the second adult patient had approximately two to four seizures per week, and there has been a significant reduction in seizures post-treatment with TSHA-102 as of the 36-week visit. Post-treatment, the second adult patient had a single seizure event on day 13. The seizure was an unknown type, with motor manifestations and lasted less than one minute duration. The patient has been seizure-free for eight and a half months as of the week 36 post-treatment time point.
Hand function in the dominant hand for the second adult patient is challenging to interpret due to inconsistency in the video recording. At the week 25 post-treatment assessment, the second adult patient’s dominant hand received a hand function score of four, an independent grasp (pick up and hold) and was able to grasp two objects. There was no change reported in the patient’s non-dominant hand score at week 25 compared to baseline. However, the rater reported that the patient displayed nice opening of her non-dominant hand and the ability to grasp three objects weakly (hold for about one second). These clinical observations reported by the independent physical therapist are supported by video evidence.
TSHA-102 REVEAL Phase 1/2 Pediatric Trial Safety and Efficacy Summary
Efficacy endpoints include patient assessments performed by clinicians, including CGI-I, CGI-S, R-MBA and Adapted Mullen Scales for Early Learning, or MSEL-A. Additional efficacy endpoints also include patient assessments by caregivers, including PGI-I, RSBQ and seizure diaries.
Overview of Cohort 1 Patients and Results
The first pediatric patient, a six-year-old female at the time of dosing, has Stage III Rett syndrome, with a deletion within her MECP2 gene that manifests as a moderate phenotype. The patient’s severity is evident by her clinical presentation at baseline. Prior to treatment, the patient was non-ambulatory (unable to walk without assistance), with impaired gross motor function (could sit unassisted for only up to 30 seconds and stand with support by age three) and impaired fine motor and hand function (lost the ability to use eating utensils at one and half years old and lost pincer grasp by age two). The patient could hold an object for a maximum of 12 seconds at baseline based on medical records and video evidence. She has been mostly non-verbal since the age of one (could use her eye-gaze driven communication device and speak three words inconsistently at baseline). The first pediatric patient experienced breath holding spells and had a history of seizures since three years old. Per the PI, the patient’s baseline reported seizure frequency was approximately one seizure every three months.
In the first pediatric patient, TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no SAEs related to TSHA-102 or DLTs as of the 22-week assessment post-treatment. The PI reported significant challenges with adverse events,
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or AEs, due to the immunosuppressive regimen. As of 12 weeks post-treatment, the PI reported improvements across multiple clinical domains and early evidence of developmental gains, compared to baseline, including motor skills, with improved hand function and grasping. The first pediatric patient demonstrated the ability to hold an object in her hand for up to three minutes while moving her arm (compared to baseline where she could hold an object for up to 12 seconds, but would drop objects when she moved her arm), and improved truncal stability and balance with the gained ability to move her leg on her own to better take a step with assistance for the first time and the ability to sit unassisted for one minute (compared to 30 seconds at baseline). In addition, the first pediatric patient showed improvement in oral motor and autonomic function, with improved swallowing and oral intake relative to the use of a gastrostomy tube for feeding at week 12 post-treatment. Importantly, we believe this indicates that TSHA-102 impacts both motor and autonomic function in a coordinated manner to further improve functional capabilities for patients with Rett syndrome impacting activities of daily living. The PI also observed improvements in the patient’s communication and socialization, with enhanced use of an eye-gaze driven communication device, including the use of new words, and the gained ability to string multiple words together and identify object functions for the first time. The patient also gained new skills in visual reception and receptive language, including the ability to identify an object from memory, follow two unrelated commands and identify the function of objects and action words, which she was unable to do pre-treatment. Further, the first pediatric patient showed improvements in autonomic function with improved breathing patterns at week 12. The PI observed that the first pediatric patient had stable seizure events as of 22 weeks post-treatment, relative to baseline.
The second pediatric patient, a seven-year-old female at the time of dosing, has Stage III Rett syndrome, with a missense mutation in the MECP2 gene that manifests as a milder phenotype as compared to the first pediatric patient, which is reflected in her clinical presentation at baseline as well as her baseline scores across multiple efficacy measures. Prior to treatment, the second patient was ambulatory (could stand and walk independently, but developed a mildly apraxic gait at one and half years old, impacting her gait and balance), with impaired fine motor and hand function by age one (could reach, swipe and transfer objects between hands at baseline, but her ability to reach and grasp objects was weak). The patient has been non-verbal since she was one year old (could use her eye-gaze driven communication device at baseline), and she experienced frequent hyperventilation by the age of four and had a history of seizures since the age of three. Per the PI, the patient’s baseline reported seizure frequency was approximately two to four seizures daily.
In the second pediatric patient, TSHA-102 was generally well-tolerated with no SAEs related to TSHA-102 or DLTs as of the 11-week assessment post-treatment. There were two SAEs reported in the second pediatric patient that were not deemed treatment-related. Both were related to underlying disease, and one was also attributed to immunosuppression. Both events have resolved. The PI reported significant challenges with AEs due to the patient’s immunosuppressive regimen. As of eight weeks post-treatment, the PI observed improvements across multiple clinical domains compared to baseline and early evidence of developmental gains in the second pediatric patient. Specifically, following treatment, the patient showed improvements in motor skills, with improved hand function and the ability to reach more quickly, as well as improved gait, speed and stability when walking, with new skills gained that were lost pre-treatment, including the ability to stand up from a chair and walk up a stair. The PI also observed improvements in the patient’s communication and socialization, including improved social interest and eye contact. The second pediatric patient also showed improvements in autonomic function, including improved breathing patterns with less hyperventilation and breath holding episodes. The second pediatric patient also had an increase in days reported seizure-free since dosing as of week 11 post-treatment, which was one of the most severe aspects of disease impacting the patient and her caregivers’ quality of life prior to treatment (although, a new anti-seizure medication was added to the regimen at week four, which has been maintained through week 11).
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Pediatric Patient 1 Efficacy Data (Cohort 1)
There was no change at week 12 post-TSHA-102 administration in the first pediatric patient’s CGI-S baseline score of five (markedly ill). The patient demonstrated an improvement in CGI-I and PGI-I at week four post-treatment with a score of three (minimally improved and a little better, respectively), which was sustained through week 12.
An increase in RSBQ Total Score was reported at week 12 post-TSHA-102 administration compared to baseline as depicted in the graph below.
*Pediatric patient one’s RSBQ week eight assessment was collected week 11.
A seven-point increase was reported in RSBQ Total Score at week 12 compared to baseline. The first pediatric patient demonstrated an improvement in hand behaviors and fear and anxiety compared to baseline. However, the patient’s observed increase in mood changes, body rocking and expressionless face, nighttime behavior, and repetitive face movements also impacted the RSBQ Total Score. These increased behaviors are attributed to impacts of the immunosuppresion regimen on the patient, per the PI.
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The first pediatric patient demonstrated an improvement in R-MBA Total Score at week 12 post-TSHA-102 administration compared to baseline as depicted in the graph below.
*Pediatric patient one’s R-MBA week eight assessment was collected week 11.
A four-point improvement was reported in R-MBA Total Score at week 12 compared to baseline, which was driven by an improvement in respiratory behavior, aberrant behavior and motor dysfunction.
Per the seizure diary and caregiver reports, the first pediatric patient demonstrated stable seizure events relative to baseline through 22 weeks post-treatment, based on caregiver-reported medical history. Pre-treatment, the patient had approximately one seizure every three months. Following treatment, the patient had three seizure episodes. The patient has been seizure-free as of week nine following treatment through week 22.
The Adapted Mullen Scales of Early Learning, or MSEL-A, is a standardized cognitive developmental assessment adapted for use in patients with Rett syndrome. The MSEL-A functionally evaluates skills compared to developmental milestones across four subscales, including visual reception - which is one’s ability to visually interpret the surrounding environment, receptive language – one’s ability to comprehend spoken language, fine motor - one’s ability to use their hands to manipulate an object and communicate, and expressive language - one’s ability to produce language and communication. The MSEL-A is administered by a trained psychologist or psychometrician, and the scores are reviewed by a certified, central rater.
The assessment evaluates where patients with Rett syndrome fall on a developmental curve compared to standard developmental milestones. For each domain assessed, the patient’s developmental age equivalence is calculated based on standardized developmental norms.
At week 12 following treatment with TSHA-102, which is the first post-treatment assessment of the Mullen scale, the first pediatric patient showed an improvement in the age equivalence of skills she was able to demonstrate across multiple domains compared to baseline, including visual reception, receptive language and fine motor, with new developmental gains demonstrated, as depicted in the graph.
Before treatment, the patient was able to identify objects from a picture, resulting in an age equivalent baseline score of 25 months for visual reception. At week 12 post-treatment, she gained the ability to identify an object from memory based on three choices, resulting in an improvement in the age equivalent score of 26 months at week 12. Additionally, before treatment, the patient was able to follow one unrelated command and comprehend questions from a picture, resulting in an age equivalent baseline score of 22 months for receptive language.
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Post-treatment, she gained the ability to follow two unrelated commands and identify the function of objects and action words, such as eating, sleeping, or washing, resulting in an improvement in her age equivalent score of 24 months at week 12. Further, the patient lost her ability to grasp at age two and displayed limited hand function at baseline, resulting in an age equivalent baseline score of three months for fine motor. At week 12 post-treatment, she gained the ability to use a refined thumb grasp, resulting in an improvement in the age equivalent score of five months as noted in the below chart. There was no change in the expressive language score at week 12.
The patient was not able to demonstrate these skills before treatment per the MSEL-A baseline assessment, medical history, and caregiver reports. These developmental gains suggest clinically meaningful improvements for the patient as she has generalized these newly gained skills beyond demonstrating them during the MSEL-A assessment. Specifically, per the PI and administrating psychometrician, the patient used her eye-gaze driven communication device to identify object functions while using the device at home, and she held an object for up to three minutes at week 12 compared to up to 12 seconds pre-treatment, which supports her grasping improvements captured on the MSEL-A.
Pediatric Patient 2 Efficacy Data (Cohort 1)
The two pediatric patients dosed to date in our REVEAL trial possess different genetic backgrounds and mutation types, which manifest in different phenotypes and clinical severity.
There was no change at week eight post-TSHA-102-administration in the second pediatric patient’s CGI-S score of four (moderately ill) at baseline. The patient demonstrated an improvement in CGI-I and PGI-I of three (minimally improved and a little better, respectively) at week four. At week eight, the patient demonstrated continued improvement in CGI-I and PGI-I, with a CGI-I score of two (much improved) and a PGI-I score of two (much better).
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The second pediatric patient demonstrated an improvement in RSBQ Total Score eight weeks post-TSHA-102 administration compared to the week four assessment as depicted in the graph below. RSBQ was not assessed at baseline.
At week eight, the second pediatric patient demonstrated a 13-point improvement in RSBQ Total Score, compared to week four, which was driven by improvements in breathing, repetitive face movements, nighttime behaviors, and fear and anxiety.
The second pediatric patient demonstrated an improvement in R-MBA Total Score at week eight post-TSHA-102 administration compared to baseline as depicted in the graph below.
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At week eight, the second pediatric patient demonstrated an 11-point improvement in R-MBA Total Score. The most notable improvements were reported in respiratory behaviors, seizures and truncal rocking.
Per the seizure diary and caregiver reports, the second pediatric patient had an increase in days reported seizure-free since dosing through 11 weeks post-treatment, based on caregiver-reported medical history. Pre-treatment, the patient had approximately two to four seizures per day, with a medical history of seizure disorder including prior hospitalizations for seizure control since the age of three. Two weeks post-TSHA-102, the patient demonstrated a reduction in seizure frequency, with several days reported seizure-free. The patient experienced an episode of seizures during the week four post-treatment assessment, resulting in hospitalization, which was deemed unrelated to TSHA-102 and due to underlying disease, a concurrent urinary tract infection and Propofol sedation for protocol requirement MRI. Although her seizures improved prior to discharge, a new anti-seizure medication was added to the patient’s regimen at week four, which she has maintained through week 11 post-treatment. The second pediatric patient had an increase in days reported seizure-free post-treatment since dosing through week 11.
Risks Associated with Our Business
Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making an investment decision. These risks are discussed more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following this prospectus summary and under similar headings in our filings with the SEC which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. These risks include the following:
• | We have incurred significant losses since our inception. We expect to incur losses over the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability. |
• | We will need substantial additional funding to meet our financial obligations and to pursue our business objectives. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to curtail our planned operations and the pursuit of our growth strategy. |
• | We have a limited operating history and no history of commercializing products, which may make it difficult for an investor to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability. |
• | We are very early in our development efforts and all of our product candidates are in preclinical or clinical development. If we are unable to successfully develop, receive regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates for these or any other indications, or successfully develop any other product candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be harmed. |
• | Interim “top-line” and preliminary results from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data. |
• | Because gene therapy is novel and the regulatory landscape that governs any product candidates we may develop is rigorous, complex, uncertain and subject to change, we cannot predict the time and cost of obtaining regulatory approval, if we receive it at all, for any product candidates we may develop. |
• | We intend to identify and develop novel gene therapy product candidates, which makes it difficult to predict the time, cost and potential success of product candidate development. |
• | The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, European Medicines Agency and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time consuming and inherently unpredictable. If we are not able to obtain required regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed. |
• | We have not yet completed testing of any product candidates in clinical trials. Success in preclinical studies or earlier clinical trials may not be indicative of results in future clinical trials. |
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• | We may not be successful in our efforts to build a pipeline of additional product candidates or our next-generation platform technologies. |
• | Unfavorable conditions in our industry or the global economy could limit our ability to grow our business and negatively affect our results of operations. |
• | Gene therapies are novel, complex and difficult to manufacture. We could experience manufacturing problems that result in delays in the development or commercialization of our product candidates or otherwise harm our business. |
• | We and our contract manufacturers for AAV9 are subject to significant regulation with respect to manufacturing our products. The third-party manufacturing facilities on which we rely, and any manufacturing facility that we may have in the future, may have limited capacity or fail to meet the applicable stringent regulatory requirements. |
• | We currently rely exclusively on our collaboration with UT Southwestern for our preclinical research and development programs, including for discovering, preclinically developing and conducting all IND-enabling studies for our lead product candidates and our near-term future pipeline. Failure or delay of UT Southwestern to fulfill all or part of its obligations to us under the agreement, a breakdown in collaboration between the parties or a complete or partial loss of this relationship would materially harm our business. |
• | UT Southwestern has entered into collaborations with third parties, including certain of our competitors, addressing targets and disease indications outside the scope of our collaboration. As a result, UT Southwestern may have competing interests with respect to their priorities and resources. |
• | Negative public opinion of gene therapy and increased regulatory scrutiny of gene therapy and genetic research may adversely impact the development or commercial success of our current and future product candidates. |
• | We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively. |
• | Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain. |
• | Our term loan agreement contains restrictions that potentially limit our flexibility in operating our business, and we may be required to make a prepayment or repay our outstanding indebtedness earlier than we expect. |
• | If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights related to any of our product candidates, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market. |
• | We are subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time that may seek material damages or otherwise may have a material adverse effect on our business, including shareholder derivative lawsuits against certain of our current and former directors in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. The costs we incur in defending ourselves or associated with settling any of these proceedings, as well as a material final judgment or decree against us, could materially adversely affect our financial condition. |
• | Raising additional capital, including as a result of this offering, may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our product candidates. |
• | If you purchase shares of common stock or pre-funded warrants in this offering, you will suffer immediate dilution of your investment. |
• | We have broad discretion over the use of our cash and cash equivalents, including the net proceeds we receive in this offering, and may not use them effectively. |
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Preliminary Financial Information
We estimate that we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $105 million, as of May 31, 2024. However, this estimate is preliminary and subject to the completion of our unaudited financial statements as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024. The actual cash and cash equivalents that we report as of June 30, 2024 will be subject to the completion of our financial closing procedures and any final adjustments that may be made prior to the time our financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, are finalized and filed with the SEC. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not audited, reviewed, compiled, or performed any procedures with respect to our cash and cash equivalents and, accordingly, does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on it. This estimate should not be viewed as a substitute for financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and is not necessarily indicative of the results to be achieved in any future period. Accordingly, you should not draw any conclusions based on the foregoing estimate and should not place undue reliance on this preliminary estimate. We assume no duty to update this preliminary estimate except as required by law.
Company Information
We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas in September 2019. In February 2020, we converted to a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Suite 1430, Dallas, Texas 75247 and our telephone number is (214) 612-0000. Our website address is www.tayshagtx.com. The information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement. We have included our website in this prospectus supplement solely as an inactive textual reference.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of relief from certain reporting requirements and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:
• | reduced obligations with respect to financial data, including only being required to present two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure; |
• | an exception from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended; |
• | reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; |
• | exemptions from the requirements of holding non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and |
• | an exemption from compliance with the requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor’s report on financial statements. |
We may take advantage of these provisions until we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company. We will cease to qualify as an emerging growth company on the date that is the earliest of: (i) December 31, 2025, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.235 billion in total annual gross revenues, (iii) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the SEC, which means the market value of
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our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over the prior three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced reporting burdens. We have taken advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus supplement. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than you might obtain from other public companies in which you hold equity interests.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards and to adopt certain of the reduced disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies. As a result of the accounting standards election, we will not be subject to the same implementation timing for new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, which may make comparison of our financials to those of other public companies more difficult. As a result of these elections, the information that we provide in this prospectus supplement may be different than the information you may receive from other public companies in which you hold equity interests. In addition, it is possible that some investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result of these elections, which may result in a less active trading market for our common stock and higher volatility in our share price.
We are also a “smaller reporting company,” meaning that the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million and our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company, we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.
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THE OFFERING
Common stock offered by us |
shares |
Pre-funded warrants offered by us |
We are also offering, in lieu of common stock to certain investors that so choose, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to shares of our common stock. The purchase price of each pre-funded warrant equals the price per share at which the shares of our common stock are being sold to the public in this offering, minus $0.001, which is the exercise price of each pre-funded warrant per share. Each pre-funded warrant will be exercisable at any time after the date of issuance of such pre-funded warrant, subject to an ownership limitation. See “Description of the Pre-Funded Warrants” on page S-35 of this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement also relates to the offering of the shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants. |
Underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares |
shares |
Common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering |
shares (or shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares), assuming no exercise of any pre-funded warrants issued in this offering. |
Use of proceeds |
We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $ million, (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase up to additional shares of common stock), assuming a public offering price of $ per share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. These estimates exclude the nominal proceeds, if any, from the exercise of the pre-funded warrants sold in this offering. |
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our current cash and cash equivalents, to fund the ongoing clinical, regulatory and manufacturing development of TSHA-102 and for working capital and other general corporate purposes. See the section titled “Use of Proceeds” beginning on page S-25 for additional information. |
Risk factors |
You should read the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus supplement beginning on page S-21, page 7 of the accompanying prospectus and the “Risk Factors” section in our 2023 Form 10-K, which is incorporated by reference, for a discussion of factors to consider carefully before deciding to invest in our securities. |
Nasdaq Global Select Market symbol |
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TSHA”. We do not intend to apply for listing of the pre-funded warrants on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system. |
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The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 187,018,275 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024, and excludes:
• | 15,220,809 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2024, at a weighted average exercise price of $3.16 per share; |
• | 4,657,971 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of March 31, 2024; |
• | 44,250,978 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024 with an exercise price of $0.001 per share; |
• | 316,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding common warrants to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024 with an exercise price of $0.7090 per share; |
• | 1,316,339 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2020 Stock Incentive Plan as of March 31, 2024; |
• | 1,914,621 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of March 31, 2024; and |
• | 3,215,300 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2023 Inducement Plan as of March 31, 2024. |
Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus supplement assumes (i) no exercise of the outstanding options or settlement of unvested restricted stock units described above, (ii) no exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants or common warrants described above, (iii) no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock and (iv) no exercise of the pre-funded warrants offered and sold in this offering.
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Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before you decide to invest in our common stock, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all other information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and in our filings with the SEC that we have incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The risk factors included in this prospectus supplement update the corresponding risk factors incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement from our 2023 Form 10-K. If any of the following risks or any of the risks incorporated herein by reference actually occurs, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could suffer materially. In such event, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you might lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to the Development of our Product Candidates
Interim “top-line” and preliminary results from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
From time to time, we may publish interim top-line or preliminary results from our clinical trials. Interim results from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Preliminary or top-line results also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. For example, in June 2024, we announced initial clinical data from the first two pediatric patients and interim clinical data from the first two adult patients treated in the Phase 1/2 REVEAL trials of TSHA-102. However, those observations may not endure or be repeated in subsequently dosed patients or any age or disease severity, including patients receiving higher doses of TSHA-102 in either the adolescent/adult or pediatric trial. Initial clinical observations also may not translate into success on primary endpoints of the REVEAL trial. Differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.
Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Compliance Matters
We are subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time that may seek material damages or otherwise may have a material adverse effect on our business. The costs we incur in defending ourselves or associated with settling any of these proceedings, as well as a material final judgment or decree against us, could materially adversely affect our financial condition.
We are subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time that may seek material damages or otherwise may have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, in January 2024 and April 2024, we were named a nominal defendant in a shareholder derivative lawsuits against certain of our current and former directors in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. These lawsuits seek unspecified monetary damages, disgorgement of profits, and reasonable costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, and other relief. See “Item 3-Legal Proceedings” and “Part II, Item 8, Note 13-Commitments and Contingencies” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and “Part I, Item 2, Note 13-Commitments and Contingencies in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q” for more information. Due to the inherent uncertainties in legal proceedings, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings. This or any future litigation, regardless of the merits of any such proceeding, could harm our reputation and result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could adversely impact our business. Although we have directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, it provides for a substantial retention of liability and is subject to limitations and may not cover a significant portion, or any, of the expenses or liabilities we may incur or be subject to in connection with these lawsuits or other litigation to which we are party. The costs we incur in defending ourselves or associated
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with settling such proceedings, as well as a material final judgment or decree against us, that are not covered by our directors’ and officers’ liability insurance could materially adversely affect our financial condition. In addition, additional lawsuits may be filed, the conclusion of which in a manner adverse to us and for which we incur substantial costs or damages not covered by our directors’ and officers’ liability insurance could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and business.
Risks Related to this Offering
Raising additional capital, including as a result of this offering, may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our product candidates.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings and license and collaboration agreements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities, including from this offering, or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, intellectual property, potential future revenue streams, or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other arrangements with third parties when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product candidate development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to third parties to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
If you purchase shares of common stock or pre-funded warrants in this offering, you will suffer immediate dilution of your investment.
The price of our common stock in this offering is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock. Therefore, if you purchase shares of our common stock or pre-funded warrants in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our net tangible book value per share after this offering. To the extent outstanding options, common warrants or pre-funded warrants are exercised or restricted stock units are settled in shares of our common stock, you will incur further dilution. Based on a public offering price of $ per share and $ per pre-funded warrant, which equals the offering price per share of the common stock less the $0.001 per share exercise price of each such pre-funded warrant (and excluding shares of common stock issued or any resulting accounting associated with the pre-funded warrants), you will experience immediate dilution of $ per share, representing the difference between our as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering and the public offering price. Furthermore, if the pre-funded warrants are exercised, you will incur further dilution. For additional information on the dilution that you will experience immediately after this offering, see the section titled “Dilution.”
We have broad discretion over the use of our cash and cash equivalents, including the net proceeds we receive in this offering, and may not use them effectively.
Our management has broad discretion to use our cash and cash equivalents, including the net proceeds we receive in this offering, to fund our operations and could spend these funds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common stock. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could have an adverse effect on our business, cause the price of our common stock to decline and delay the development of our product candidates. Pending their use to fund operations, we may invest our cash and cash equivalents in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.
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A sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock may cause the price of our common stock to decline.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. If our stockholders sell, or the market perceives that our stockholders intend to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly.
We cannot predict what effect, if any, sales of our shares in the public market or the availability of shares for sale will have on the market price of our common stock. However, future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, including shares issued upon exercise of outstanding options or warrants, or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
In addition, Jefferies LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC may, in their sole discretion, release all or some portion of the shares subject to the lock-up agreements associated with this offering at any time and for any reason. Sales of a substantial number of such shares upon expiration of the lock-up and market stand-off agreements, the perception that such sales may occur, or early release of these agreements, could cause our market price to fall or make it more difficult for you to sell your common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate.
There is no public market for the pre-funded warrants being offered in this offering.
There is no public trading market for the pre-funded warrants being offered in this offering, and we do not expect a market to develop. In addition, we do not intend to apply to list the pre-funded warrants on any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system, including The Nasdaq Global Select Market. Without an active market, the liquidity of the pre-funded warrants will be limited.
We will not receive a significant amount, or potentially any, additional funds upon the exercise of the pre-funded warrants; however, any exercise would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.
Each pre-funded warrant may be exercised by way of a cashless exercise, meaning that the holder may not pay a cash purchase price upon exercise, but instead would receive upon such exercise the net number of shares of our common stock determined according to the formula set forth in the pre-funded warrant. Accordingly, we may not receive any additional funds upon the exercise of the pre-funded warrants. Even if a pre-funded warrant is exercised for cash, we will not receive any meaningful additional funds upon the exercise of the pre-funded warrants. To the extent such pre-funded warrants are exercised, additional shares of common stock will be issued for nominal or no additional consideration, which will result in dilution to the then existing holders of our common stock and will increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market.
Holders of any pre-funded warrants purchased in this offering will have no rights as holders of our common stock with respect to the shares of common stock underlying such pre-funded warrants until such holders exercise their pre-funded warrants and acquire our common stock.
Until holders of pre-funded warrants acquire shares of our common stock upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants, holders of pre-funded warrants will have no rights with respect to the shares of our common stock underlying such pre-funded warrants including with respect to dividends and voting rights. Upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants, the holders will be entitled to exercise the rights of a holder of our common stock with respect to the shares of common stock underlying such pre-funded warrants only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.
Significant holders or beneficial holders of our common stock may not be permitted to exercise pre-funded warrants that they hold.
A holder of a pre-funded warrant will not be entitled to exercise any portion of any pre-funded warrant which, upon giving effect to such exercise, would cause (i) the aggregate number of shares of our common stock
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beneficially owned by the holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed 4.99% or 9.99%, as the case may be, of the number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to or after giving effect to the exercise, or (ii) the combined voting power of our securities beneficially owned by the holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed 4.99% or 9.99%, as the case may be, of the combined voting power of all of our securities then outstanding immediately prior to or after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the pre-funded warrants. Such percentage may be increased by the holder of the pre-funded warrant to any other percentage not in excess of 19.99% upon at least 61 days’ prior notice from the holder to us. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your pre-funded warrants for shares of our common stock at a time when it would be financially beneficial for you to do so. In such circumstance you could seek to sell your pre-funded warrants to realize value, but you may be unable to do so in the absence of an established trading market for the pre-funded warrants.
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As of March 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $124.0 million. We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $ million, or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase up to additional shares of common stock, based on the public offering price of $ per share, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. These estimates exclude the nominal proceeds, if any, from the exercise of the pre-funded warrants sold in this offering.
We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our current cash and cash equivalents, to fund the ongoing clinical, regulatory and manufacturing development of TSHA-102 and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Our expected use of the net proceeds from this offering represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which could change in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including the progress of our product candidate development, the status of and results from clinical trials, as well as any collaborations that we may enter into with third parties for our product candidates, and any unforeseen cash needs.
As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from this offering, and investors will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds from this offering. The timing and amount of our actual expenditures will be based on many factors, including cash flows from operations and the anticipated growth of our business. Pending these uses, we expect to invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest bearing obligations, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States. The goal with respect to the investment of these net proceeds is capital preservation and liquidity so that such funds are readily available to fund our operations.
Based on the planned use of proceeds described above, we believe that the net proceeds from this offering, together with our current cash and cash equivalents, will be sufficient to enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into . We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.
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If you invest in our common stock or pre-funded warrants in this offering, your interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share or pre-funded warrant you will pay in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering. Our historical net tangible book value as of March 31, 2024 was $53.8 million, or $0.29 per share of common stock. Historical net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of our common stock outstanding on March 31, 2024.
After giving effect to our issuance and sale of shares of common stock in this offering at a public offering price of $ per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to shares of our common stock at the public offering price of $ per share (and excluding shares of common stock issued or any resulting accounting associated with the pre-funded warrants), and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and excluding proceeds, if any, from the exercise of the pre-funded warrants issued pursuant to this offering or any resulting accounting associated with the pre-funded warrants, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2024 would have been $ million, or $ per share. This represents an immediate increase in as adjusted net tangible book value per share of $ to existing stockholders and immediate dilution of $ in as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering. Dilution per share to new investors is determined by subtracting as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering from the public offering price per share paid by new investors. The following table illustrates this per share dilution to the new investors purchasing securities in this offering without giving effect to the option to purchase additional shares granted to the underwriters:
Public offering price per share (or pre-funded warrant in lieu thereof at the public offering price less $0.001) |
$ | |||||||
Net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2024 |
$ | 0.29 | ||||||
Increase per share attributable to sale of shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants in this offering |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering |
||||||||
|
|
|||||||
Dilution per share to new investors |
$ | |||||||
|
|
If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full at the public offering price of $ per share, the as adjusted net tangible book value will increase to $ per share, representing an immediate increase to existing stockholders of $ per share and an immediate dilution of $ per share to new investors.
The above discussion and table are based on 187,018,275 shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024, and excludes:
• | 15,220,809 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2024, at a weighted average exercise price of $3.16 per share; |
• | 4,657,971 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of March 31, 2024; |
• | 44,250,978 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024 with an exercise price of $0.001 per share; |
• | 316,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding common warrants to purchase shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024 with an exercise price of $0.7090 per share; |
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• | 1,316,339 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2020 Stock Incentive Plan as of March 31, 2024; |
• | 1,914,621 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of March 31, 2024; and |
• | 3,215,300 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2023 Inducement Plan as of March 31, 2024. |
If holders of the pre-funded warrants exercise the pre-funded warrants, the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering would be $ per share, representing an immediate increase to existing stockholders of $ per share, and immediate dilution to new investors in this offering of $ per share.
To the extent that any options, common warrants and pre-funded warrants are exercised, restricted stock units are settled in shares of our common stock, new stock awards are issued under our equity incentive plans or we otherwise issue additional shares of common stock in the future at a price less than the public offering price, there may be further dilution to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering.
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The following description of our capital stock and provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws are summaries. References to our certificate of incorporation herein refer to our certificate of incorporation as amended to the date of this prospectus supplement. You should also refer to the certificate of incorporation (including the certificate of amendment thereto) and the bylaws, which are filed as exhibits to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated by reference herein.
General
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 400,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.00001 par value per share. Our board of directors may establish the rights and preferences of the preferred stock from time to time. As of March 31, 2024, we had outstanding 187,018,275 shares of common stock and no shares of preferred stock outstanding.
Common Stock
Voting Rights
Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 662/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock, voting as a single class, is required to amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to amending the Company’s bylaws, the classified board, the size of the Company’s board, removal of directors, director liability, vacancies on the Company’s board, special meetings, stockholder notices, actions by written consent and exclusive forum.
Dividends
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then-outstanding preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of legally available funds.
Liquidation
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of common stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then-outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Rights and Preferences
Holders of common stock have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the right of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate in the future.
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, from time to time, to designate and issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, to fix the rights, preferences and privileges of the shares of each wholly unissued series and any qualifications, limitations or
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restrictions thereon, and to increase or decrease the number of shares of any such series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. The purpose of authorizing our board of directors to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock.
Our board of directors will fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of each series, as well as the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of the preferred stock of each series that we offer under this prospectus and applicable prospectus supplements in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of that series of preferred stock. This description will include:
• | the title and stated value; |
• | the number of shares we are offering; |
• | the liquidation preference per share; |
• | the purchase price per share; |
• | the dividend rate per share, dividend period and payment dates and method of calculation for dividends; |
• | whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate; |
• | our right, if any, to defer payment of dividends and the maximum length of any such deferral period; |
• | the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any; |
• | the provisions for a sinking fund, if any; |
• | the provisions for redemption or repurchase, if applicable, and any restrictions on our ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights; |
• | any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market; |
• | whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock or other securities of ours, including depositary shares and warrants, and, if applicable, the conversion period, the conversion price, or how it will be calculated, and under what circumstances it may be adjusted; |
• | whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange period, the exchange price, or how it will be calculated, and under what circumstances it may be adjusted; |
• | voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock; |
• | preemption rights, if any; |
• | restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any; |
• | whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares; |
• | a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock; |
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• | the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; |
• | any limitations on issuances of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock being issued as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and |
• | any other specific terms, rights, preferences, privileges, qualifications or restrictions of the preferred stock. |
The General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or DGCL, the state of our incorporation, provides that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote separately as a class (or, in some cases, as a series) on an amendment to our certificate of incorporation if the amendment would change the par value or, unless the certificate of incorporation provided otherwise, the number of authorized shares of the class or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the class or series so as to adversely affect the class or series, as the case may be. This right is in addition to any voting rights that may be provided for in the applicable certificate of designation.
The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and reduce the likelihood that common stockholders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. The issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of the common stock. The issuance of preferred stock also could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us.
Registration Rights
Astellas Registration Rights
In October 2022, we entered into a registration rights agreement, or the Astellas Registration Rights Agreement, with Astellas Gene Therapies, Inc. (f/k/a Audentes Therapeutics, Inc. (d/b/a Astellas Gene Therapy)), or Astellas, pursuant to which we agreed to register the resale of 7,266,342 shares of our common stock issued and sold to Astellas in a private placement, or the Astellas Shares. We agreed to use reasonable best efforts to keep such registration statement continuously effective until the earlier of (i) the date the Astellas Shares covered by such registration statement have been sold or may be resold pursuant to Rule 144 without restriction, or (ii) October 24, 2025.
In the event sales cannot be made pursuant to the registration statement, subject to certain limited exceptions, we agreed to make pro rata payments to each purchaser as liquidated damages in an amount equal to 1.0% of the aggregate amount paid by the purchaser for the registrable securities then held by the purchaser, per 30-day period or pro rata for any portion thereof for each such 30-day period during which such event continues, subject to certain caps set forth in the Astellas Registration Rights Agreement.
If we propose to register shares of our common stock for our own account or for the account of other stockholders, the holders of Astellas Shares are entitled to notice of the registration and are entitled to include their shares of common stock in the registration statement. These piggyback registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, including the right of the underwriters to limit the number of shares included in any such registration under specified circumstances.
SSI Registration Rights
In April 2023, we entered into a securities purchase agreement, or the SSI Securities Purchase Agreement, with two affiliates of SSI Strategy Holdings LLC, or SSI, named therein, or the SSI Investors. Under the terms of the SSI Securities Purchase Agreement, we agreed to file a registration statement covering the resale of 705,218 shares of our common stock issued and sold to the SSI Investors, or the SSI Shares, and 525,000 shares of
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common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants to purchase shares of our common stock, or SSI Warrant Shares, issued and sold to the SSI Investors in a private placement. We agreed to use reasonable best efforts to keep such registration statement continuously effective until the earlier of (i) the date the SSI Shares and SSI Warrant Shares covered by such registration statement have been sold or may be resold pursuant to Rule 144 without restriction, or (ii) April 5, 2026.
In the event sales cannot be made pursuant to the registration statement, subject to certain limited exceptions, we agreed to make pro rata payments to each purchaser as liquidated damages in an amount equal to 1.0% of the aggregate amount paid by the purchaser for the registrable securities then held by the purchaser, per 30-day period or pro rata for any portion thereof for each such 30-day period during which such event continues, subject to certain caps set forth in the SSI Securities Purchase Agreement.
If we propose to register shares of our common stock for our own account or for the account of other stockholders, the holders of SSI Shares and SSI Warrant Shares are entitled to notice of the registration and are entitled to include their shares of common stock in the registration statement. These piggyback registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, including the right of the underwriters to limit the number of shares included in any such registration under specified circumstances.
2023 Private Placement Registration Rights
In August 2023, we entered into a securities purchase agreement, or the 2023 Purchase Agreement, with certain institutional and other accredited investors, or the PIPE Investors. Under the terms of the 2023 Purchase Agreement, we agreed to prepare and file one or more registration statements to register for resale 122,412,376 shares of our common stock issued and sold to the PIPE Investors and 44,250,978 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of our common stock issued and sold to the PIPE Investors, collectively the PIPE Shares. We also agreed to use our best efforts to keep such registration statement effective until the earlier of (i) the third anniversary of the date the initial registration statement is declared effective, or (ii) the date all PIPE Shares (assuming cashless exercise of the pre-funded warrants) held by or issuable to a Holder (as defined in the 2023 Purchase Agreement), may be sold under Rule 144 without being subject to any volume, manner of sale or publicly available information requirements.
In the event the registration statement is suspended, ceases to remain continuously effective or is unavailable for purchasers to sell registrable securities, subject to certain limited exceptions, we agreed to make pro rata payments to each purchaser as liquidated damages in an amount equal to 1.0% of the Purchaser’s Subscription Amount (as defined in the 2023 Purchase Agreement), per 20-day period or pro rata for any portion thereof for each such 20-day period during which such event continues, subject to certain caps set forth in the 2023 Purchase Agreement.
Board Observer Rights
In October 2022, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with Astellas, or the Astellas SPA, pursuant to which Astellas has the right to designate one individual to attend all meetings of the board of directors in a non-voting observer capacity, or the Astellas Board Observer. The Astellas Board Observer is entitled to all notices, minutes, consents and other materials provided to our directors at the same time and in the same manner as provided to such directors. The Astellas Board Observer right terminates upon a Change of Control (as defined in the Astellas SPA) or when Astellas no longer holds shares of our common stock.
In June 2023, our board of directors appointed Paul B. Manning as a non-voting board observer, and in such capacity, Mr. Manning may attend, in a non-voting capacity, all meetings of the Board.
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Anti-Takeover Provisions
Section 203 of the DGCL
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, or Section 203, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:
• | before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
• | upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or |
• | on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
In general, Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include the following:
• | any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; |
• | any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
• | subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; |
• | any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or |
• | the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation. |
In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation provides for our board of directors to be divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, stockholders holding a majority of the shares of common stock outstanding will be able to elect all of our directors. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that directors may be removed by the stockholders only for cause upon the vote of 662/3% or more of the our outstanding common stock. Furthermore, the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors, and vacancies and newly created directorships on the board of directors may, except as otherwise required by law or determined by the board, only be filled by a majority vote of the directors then serving on the board, even though less than a quorum.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also provide that all stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and will eliminate the right of stockholders to act by written consent without a
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meeting. The bylaws provide that only the Chairman of the board, Chief Executive Officer or the board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors may call a special meeting of stockholders. The bylaws also provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide timely advance notice in writing, and will specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that the stockholders cannot amend many of the provisions described above except by a vote of 662/3% or more of our outstanding common stock.
Our certificate of incorporations gives our board of directors the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate, including the right to approve an acquisition or other change in control.
The combination of these provisions will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Since our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of our company.
These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to hostile takeovers and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of delaying changes in control or management of our company. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. We believe that the benefits of these provisions, including increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure our company, outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging takeover proposals, because negotiation of takeover proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Choice of Forum
Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:
• | any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; |
• | any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; |
• | any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; |
• | any claim or cause of action seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; |
• | any claim or cause of action as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware; or |
• | any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. |
The provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or to claims for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act
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creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our certificate of incorporation also provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Although our certificate of incorporation contains the choice of forum provision described above, it is possible that a court could rule that such a provision is inapplicable for a particular claim or action or that such provision is unenforceable.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Equiniti Trust Company, LLC (f/k/a American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC), with offices at 55 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660. The transfer agent for any series of preferred stock that we may offer under this prospectus will be named and described in the prospectus supplement for that series.
Listing on Nasdaq
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TSHA.”
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PRE-FUNDED WARRANTS
The following is a brief summary of certain terms and conditions of the pre-funded warrants being offered by us. The following description is subject in all respects to the provisions contained in the pre-funded warrants.
Form
The pre-funded warrants will be issued as individual warrant agreements to each individual purchaser of a pre-funded warrant. The form of pre-funded warrant will be filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K that we will file with the SEC.
Term
The pre-funded warrants do not expire.
Exercisability
The pre-funded warrants are exercisable at any time after their original issuance. The pre-funded warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part, by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice and by payment in full of the exercise price in immediately available funds for the number of shares of our common stock purchased upon such exercise. As an alternative to payment of the exercise price in immediately available funds, the holder may elect to exercise the pre-funded warrant through a cashless exercise, in which case the holder would receive upon such exercise the net number of shares of our common stock determined according to the formula set forth in the pre-funded warrant. No fractional shares of our common stock will be issued in connection with the exercise of a pre-funded warrant. In lieu of fractional shares, we will, at our election, either pay the holder an amount in cash equal to such fraction multiplied by the exercise price or round up to the next whole share.
Exercise Limitations
Under the pre-funded warrants, we may not effect the exercise of any pre-funded warrant, and a holder will not be entitled to exercise any portion of any pre-funded warrant, which, upon giving effect to such exercise, would cause (i) the aggregate number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by the holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed 4.99% or 9.99%, as the case may be, of the number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to or after giving effect to the exercise, or (ii) the combined voting power of our securities beneficially owned by the holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed 4.99% or 9.99%, as the case may be, of the combined voting power of all of our securities then outstanding immediately prior to or after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the pre-funded warrants, subject to such holder’s rights under the pre-funded warrant to increase or decrease such percentage to another percentage not in excess of 19.99% upon at least 61 days’ prior notice from such holder to us.
Exercise Price
The exercise price per whole share of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of the pre-funded warrants is $0.001 per share of our common stock. The exercise price of the pre-funded warrants and the number of shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants are subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of certain stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting our common stock and also upon any distributions of assets, including cash, stock or other property to our stockholders.
Transferability
Subject to applicable laws, the pre-funded warrants may be offered for sale, sold, transferred or assigned without our consent. The pre-funded warrants will be held in definitive form by the purchasers. The ownership of the
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pre-funded warrants and any transfers of the pre-funded warrants will be registered in a warrant register maintained by us or our transfer agent.
Exchange Listing
We do not plan on applying to list the pre-funded warrants on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, any other national securities exchange or any other nationally recognized trading system.
Subsequent Rights Offerings
If at any time we grant, issue or sell any specified common stock equivalents or rights to purchase stock, warrants, securities or other property to the record holders of any class of shares of common stock, or the Purchase Rights, then the holder of a pre-funded warrant will be entitled to acquire, upon the terms applicable to such Purchase Rights, the aggregate Purchase Rights which the holder could have acquired if the holder had held the number of shares of common stock acquirable upon complete exercise of the holder’s pre-funded warrant, without regard to any limitations on exercise, including without limitation, such holder’s beneficial ownership limitation, immediately before the date on which a record is taken for the grant, issuance or sale of such Purchase Rights, or, if no such record is taken, the date as of which the record holders of shares of common stock are to be determined for the grant, issue or sale of such Purchase Rights (provided, however, that, to the extent that the holder’s right to participate in any such Purchase Right would result in the holder exceeding the holder’s beneficial ownership limitation, then the holder shall not be entitled to participate in such Purchase Right to such extent (or beneficial ownership of such shares of common stock as a result of such Purchase Right to such extent) and such Purchase Right to such extent shall be held in abeyance for the holder until such time, if ever, as its right thereto would not result in the holder exceeding the holder’s beneficial ownership limitation).
Pro Rata Distributions
During such time as a holder’s pre-funded warrant is outstanding, if we declare or make any dividend or other distribution of our assets (or rights to acquire its assets) to holders of shares of our common stock, by way of return of capital or otherwise (including, without limitation, any distribution of cash, stock or other securities, property or options by way of a dividend, spin off, reclassification, corporate rearrangement, scheme of arrangement or other similar transaction), or a Distribution, at any time after the issuance of the pre-funded warrants, then, in each such case, the holder of a pre-funded warrant shall be entitled to participate in such Distribution to the same extent that the holder would have participated therein if the holder had held the number of shares of common stock acquirable upon complete exercise of the pre-funded warrant (without regard to any limitations on exercise, including without limitation, the holder’s beneficial ownership limitation) immediately before the date of which a record is taken for such Distribution, or, if no such record is taken, the date as of which the record holders of shares of common stock are to be determined for the participation in such Distribution (provided, however, that, to the extent that the holder’s right to participate in any such Distribution would result in the holder exceeding the holder’s beneficial ownership limitation, then the holder shall not be entitled to participate in such Distribution to such extent (or in the beneficial ownership of any shares of common stock as a result of such Distribution to such extent) and the portion of such Distribution shall be held in abeyance for the benefit of the holder until such time, if ever, as its right thereto would not result in such holder exceeding its beneficial ownership limitation).
Fundamental Transactions
In the event of a fundamental transaction, as described in the pre-funded warrants and generally including any reorganization, recapitalization or reclassification of our common stock, the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of our properties or assets, our consolidation or merger with or into another person, the acquisition of more than 50% of our outstanding common stock, or any person or group becoming the beneficial owner of 50% of the voting power represented by our outstanding common stock, upon consummation of such a fundamental transaction, the holders of the pre-funded warrants will be entitled to receive upon exercise of the
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pre-funded warrants the kind and amount of securities, cash or other property that the holders would have received had they exercised the pre-funded warrants immediately prior to such fundamental transaction without regard to any limitations on exercise contained in the pre-funded warrants, and any additional consideration receivable as a result of such fundamental transaction.
No Rights as a Stockholder
Except by virtue of such holder’s ownership of shares of our common stock, the holder of a pre-funded warrant does not have the rights or privileges of a holder of our common stock, including any voting rights or the rights to receive dividends, until the holder exercises the pre-funded warrant.
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
The following is a general discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations of the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering, or the shares, and the purchase, ownership and disposition of pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering, or the pre-funded warrants. The shares and the pre-funded warrants are collectively referred to herein as our “securities.” All prospective holders of our securities should consult their tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities.
This discussion is not a complete analysis of all potential U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities. This discussion is based on current provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which we refer to as the Code, existing U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, published administrative pronouncements and rulings of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, and judicial decisions, all as in effect as of the date of this prospectus supplement. These authorities are subject to change and to differing interpretation, possibly with retroactive effect. Any change or differing interpretation could alter the tax consequences to holders described in this discussion. There can be no assurance that a court or the IRS will not challenge one or more of the tax consequences described herein, and we have not obtained, nor do we intend to obtain, a ruling with respect to the U.S. federal income tax consequences to a holder of the purchase, ownership or disposition of our securities.
We assume in this discussion that a holder holds our securities as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to a particular holder in light of that holder’s individual circumstances, nor does it address any alternative minimum, Medicare contribution, estate or gift tax consequences, or any aspects of U.S. state, local or non-U.S. taxes or any other U.S. federal tax laws. This discussion also does not address consequences relevant to holders subject to special tax rules, such as holders that own, or are deemed to own, more than 5% of our capital stock (except to the extent specifically set forth below), corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax, tax-exempt organizations, governmental organizations, banks, financial institutions, investment funds, insurance companies, brokers, dealers or traders in securities, commodities or currencies, regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts, persons that have a “functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar, tax-qualified retirement plans, holders who hold or receive our securities pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation, holders holding our securities as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction strategy, conversion transaction or other integrated investment, holders deemed to sell our securities under the constructive sale provisions of the Code, holders subject to special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code, controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents.
In addition, this discussion does not address the tax treatment of partnerships (or entities or arrangements that are treated as partnerships or disregarded entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes) or persons that hold our securities through such partnerships. If a partnership, including any entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holds our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in such partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner, and the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Such partners and partnerships should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities.
Treatment of Pre-Funded Warrants
Although it is not entirely free from doubt, we believe a pre-funded warrant should be treated as a share for U.S. federal income tax purposes and a holder of pre-funded warrants should generally be taxed in the same manner as a holder of shares, as described below. Accordingly, no gain or loss should be recognized (other than with respect to cash paid in lieu of a fractional share) upon the exercise of a pre-funded warrant and, upon exercise, the
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holding period of a pre-funded warrant should carry over to the share received. Similarly, the tax basis of the pre-funded warrant should carry over to the shares received upon exercise, increased by the exercise price of $0.001 per share. However, our characterization is not binding on the IRS, and the IRS may treat the pre-funded warrants as warrants to acquire our shares. If so, the amount and character of your gain or loss with respect to an investment in our pre-funded warrants could change. Accordingly, each holder should consult his, her or its own tax advisor regarding the risks associated with the acquisition of pre-funded warrants pursuant to this offering (including potential alternative characterizations). Except where specifically noted below, the balance of this discussion generally assumes that the characterization described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, some portions of the below discussion make reference to potential consequences associated with the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the pre-funded warrants independent of their potential characterization as shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Tax Considerations Applicable to U.S. Holders
Definition of U.S. Holder
In general, a “U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of our securities (other than a partnership or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
• | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
• | a corporation, or an entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
• | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or |
• | a trust if (a) a U.S. court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of the trust’s substantial decisions or (b) the trust has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
Distributions on the Shares and Pre-Funded Warrants
We do not anticipate declaring or paying any future distributions. However, if we do make distributions on our securities, such distributions will constitute dividends to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, and will be includible in your income as ordinary income when received. However, with respect to dividends received by individuals, such dividends are generally taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rates, provided certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied. If a distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated as a tax-free return of the U.S. holder’s investment, up to such U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our securities. Any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain from the sale or exchange of such securities, subject to the tax treatment described below in “—Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of the Shares or Pre-Funded Warrants.”
Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of the Shares or Pre-Funded Warrants
Upon the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of our securities, a U.S. holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received upon the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition and such U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our securities. This capital gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder’s holding period in such securities is more than one year at the time of the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition. Long-term capital gains recognized by certain non-corporate U.S. holders, including individuals, generally will be subject to reduced rates of U.S. federal income tax. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
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Constructive Distributions on Pre-Funded Warrants
A U.S. holder of a pre-funded warrant may, in some circumstances, be deemed to have received a distribution subject to U.S. federal income tax as a result of an adjustment or the non-occurrence of an adjustment to the exercise price or number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrant. U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the proper treatment of any adjustments (or the non-occurrence of any adjustments) to the pre-funded warrants.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting
A U.S. holder may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding when such holder receives payments on our securities (including constructive distributions) or receives proceeds from the sale or other taxable disposition of our securities. Certain U.S. holders are exempt from backup withholding, including C corporations and certain tax-exempt organizations. A U.S. holder will be subject to backup withholding if such holder is not otherwise exempt and such holder:
• | fails to furnish the holder’s taxpayer identification number, which for an individual is ordinarily his or her social security number; |
• | furnishes an incorrect taxpayer identification number; |
• | is notified by the IRS that the holder previously failed to properly report payments of interest or dividends; or |
• | fails to certify under penalties of perjury that the holder has furnished a correct taxpayer identification number and that the IRS has not notified the holder that the holder is subject to backup withholding. |
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a refund or a credit against a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS. U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their qualification for an exemption from backup withholding and the procedures for obtaining such an exemption.
Tax Considerations Applicable to Non-U.S. Holders
Definition of non-U.S. Holder
For purposes of this discussion, a “non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of our securities that is neither a U.S. holder nor a partnership or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Distributions on the Shares and Pre-Funded Warrants
If we make distributions on our securities such distributions will constitute dividends to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. If a distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated as a tax-free return of the non-U.S. holder’s investment, up to such non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our securities. Any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain from the sale or exchange of such securities, subject to the tax treatment described below in “—Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Shares or Pre-Funded Warrants.”
Dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder will generally be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such non-U.S. holder’s country of residence for purposes of such treaty.
Dividends that are treated as effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by a non-U.S. holder within the United States and, if an applicable income tax treaty so provides, that are attributable to a permanent
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establishment or a fixed base maintained by the non-U.S. holder within the United States, are generally exempt from the 30% withholding tax if the non-U.S. holder satisfies applicable certification and disclosure requirements. However, such U.S. effectively connected income, net of specified deductions and credits, is taxed at the same U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to U.S. persons (as defined in the Code). Any U.S. effectively connected income received by a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation may also, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such non-U.S. holder’s country of residence for purposes of such treaty.
To claim a reduction or exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. holder generally will be required to provide (a) a properly executed IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (or successor form) and satisfy applicable certification and other requirements to claim the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such non-U.S. holder’s country of residence, or (b) a properly executed IRS Form W-8ECI stating that dividends are not subject to withholding because they are effectively connected with such non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Non-U.S. holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under a relevant income tax treaty.
A non-U.S. holder that is eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. withholding tax under an income tax treaty may obtain a refund or credit of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS.
Distributions will also be subject to the discussion below under the headings “—Backup Withholding and Information Reporting” and “—Foreign Accounts.”
Gain on Sale, Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Shares or Pre-Funded Warrants
Subject to the discussion below under the headings “—Backup Withholding and Information Reporting” and “—Foreign Accounts,” in general, a non-U.S. holder will not be subject to any U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon such non-U.S. holder’s sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of our securities unless:
• | the gain is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. holder and, if an applicable income tax treaty so provides, is attributable to a permanent establishment or a fixed base maintained in the United States by such non-U.S. holder, in which case the non-U.S. holder generally will be taxed at the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to U.S. persons (as defined in the Code) and, if the non-U.S. holder is a foreign corporation, the branch profits tax described above in “—Distributions on the Shares and Pre-Funded Warrants” also may apply; |
• | the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the disposition and certain other conditions are met, in which case the non-U.S. holder will be subject to a 30% U.S. federal income tax (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on the net gain derived from the disposition, which may be offset by U.S. source capital losses of the non-U.S. holder, if any (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States); or |
• | we are, or have been, at any time during the five-year period preceding such disposition (or the non-U.S. holder’s holding period, if shorter) a “U.S. real property holding corporation” in which case such non-U.S. holder generally will be taxed on its net gain derived from the disposition as effectively connected income taxable at the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to U.S. persons (as defined in the Code); however, the branch profits tax described above will not apply to a U.S. holder that is a foreign corporation. Generally, a corporation is a U.S. real property holding corporation if the fair market value of its U.S. real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of its worldwide real property interests plus its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business. Although there can be no assurance, we do not believe that we are, or have been, a U.S. real |
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property holding corporation, or that we are likely to become one in the future. Even if we are or become a U.S. real property holding corporation, provided that our common stock is regularly traded, as defined by applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations, on an established securities market, our securities will be treated as a U.S. real property interest only with respect to a non-U.S. holder that holds more than 5% of our securities (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), directly or indirectly, actually or constructively, during the shorter of the 5-year period ending on the date of the disposition or the period that the non-U.S. holder held our securities. There can be no assurance that our common stock will continue to qualify as regularly traded on an established securities market. |
Constructive Distributions on Pre-Funded Warrants
A non-U.S. holder of pre-funded warrants can be treated as receiving deemed payment of a taxable dividend under certain circumstances as a result of an adjustment or the non-occurrence of an adjustment to the exercise price or number of shares issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrant. Any resulting withholding tax attributable to deemed dividends may be collected from other amounts payable or distributable to the non-U.S. holder. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the proper treatment of any adjustments (or the non-occurrence of any adjustments) to the pre-funded warrants.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting
We must report annually to the IRS and to each non-U.S. holder the gross amount of the distributions (including constructive distributions) on our securities paid to such non-U.S. holder and the tax withheld, if any, with respect to such distributions. Non-U.S. holders will have to comply with specific certification procedures to establish that the holder is not a U.S. person (as defined in the Code) in order to avoid backup withholding at the applicable rate with respect to any dividends on our securities. A non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. backup withholding with respect to payments of distributions on our securities if it certifies its non-U.S. status by providing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E (or successor form) or IRS Form W-8ECI, or otherwise establishes an exemption; provided we do not have actual knowledge or reason to know such non-U.S. holder is a U.S. person, as defined in the Code. Distributions paid to non-U.S. holders subject to the U.S. withholding tax, as described above in “—Distributions on the Shares and Pre-Funded Warrants” generally will be exempt from U.S. backup withholding.
Information reporting and backup withholding generally will apply to the proceeds of a disposition of our securities by a non-U.S. holder effected by or through the U.S. office of any broker, U.S. or foreign, unless the holder certifies its status as a non-U.S. holder and satisfies certain other requirements, or otherwise establishes an exemption. Generally, information reporting and backup withholding will not apply to a payment of disposition proceeds to a non-U.S. holder where the transaction is effected outside the United States through a non-U.S. office of a broker. However, for information reporting purposes, dispositions effected through a non-U.S. office of a broker with substantial U.S. ownership or operations generally will be treated in a manner similar to dispositions effected through a U.S. office of a broker. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the information reporting and backup withholding rules to them.
Copies of information returns may be made available to the tax authorities of the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is established under the provisions of a specific treaty or agreement.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to a non-U.S. holder may be allowed as a credit against the non-U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
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Foreign Accounts
The Code generally imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on dividends and, subject to the discussion below regarding proposed regulations issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the gross proceeds of a disposition of our securities paid to a “foreign financial institution” (as defined in the Code), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the U.S. government to, among other things, withhold on certain payments and to collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities substantial information regarding accounts held by certain “specific United States persons” or “United States owned foreign entities” (each as defined in the Code), or otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. A U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% also applies to dividends and, subject to the discussion below regarding proposed regulations issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, will apply to the gross proceeds of a disposition of our securities paid to a “non-financial foreign entity” (as defined in the Code), unless such entity provides the withholding agent with either a certification that it does not have any “substantial United States owners” (as defined in the Code), provides information regarding each substantial United States owners of the entity, or otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. Under certain circumstances, a non-U.S. holder might be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify the requirements described in this paragraph.
The withholding provisions described above currently apply to dividends paid on our securities. The U.S. Treasury Department released proposed regulations which, if finalized in their present form, would eliminate the U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% applicable to the gross proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our securities. In its preamble to such proposed regulations, the U.S. Treasury Department stated that taxpayers may generally rely on the proposed regulations until final regulations are issued.
EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR SHOULD CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE PARTICULAR U.S. FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AND NON-U.S. TAX CONSEQUENCES OF PURCHASING, HOLDING AND DISPOSING OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY PROPOSED CHANGE IN APPLICABLE LAWS.
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We and the underwriters named below have entered into an underwriting agreement with respect to the shares and pre-funded warrants being offered. Subject to certain conditions, each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase the number of shares and pre-funded warrants indicated in the following table. Jefferies LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are the representatives of the underwriters.
Underwriters |
Number of Shares | Number of Pre-Funded Warrants |
||||||
Jefferies LLC |
||||||||
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC |
||||||||
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
The underwriters are committed to take and pay for all of the shares and pre-funded warrants being offered, if any are taken, other than the shares covered by the option described below unless and until this option is exercised.
The underwriters have an option to buy up to an additional shares from us to cover sales by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than the total number set forth in the table above. They may exercise that option for 30 days. If any shares are purchased pursuant to this option, the underwriters will severally purchase shares in approximately the same proportion as set forth in the table above.
The following table shows the per share, per pre-funded warrant and total underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid to the underwriters by us. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.
Paid by us |
No Exercise | Full Exercise | ||||||
Per Share |
$ | $ | ||||||
Per Pre-Funded Warrant |
$ | $ | ||||||
Total |
$ | $ |
Shares and pre-funded warrants sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus supplement. Any shares or pre-funded warrants sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount of up to $ per share from the public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares and pre-funded warrants, the representatives may change the offering price and the other selling terms. The offering of the shares and pre-funded warrants by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.
We, our executive officers and our directors have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of their common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock during the period from the date of this prospectus supplement continuing through the date 60 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, except with the prior written consent of the representatives and subject to certain exceptions.
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TSHA.” The pre-funded warrants will not be listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell shares of common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering, and a short position represents the amount of such sales that have not been
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covered by subsequent purchases. A “covered short position” is a short position that is not greater than the amount of additional shares for which the underwriters’ option described above may be exercised. The underwriters may cover any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional shares or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to cover the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase additional shares pursuant to the option described above. “Naked” short sales are any short sales that create a short position greater than the amount of additional shares for which the option described above may be exercised. The underwriters must cover any such naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
Purchases to cover a short position and stabilizing transactions, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our stock, and together with the imposition of the penalty bid, may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the common stock. As a result, the price of the common stock may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time. These transactions may be effected on NASDAQ, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
We estimate that our share of the total expenses of the offering, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $ . We have agreed to reimburse the underwriter for expenses of up to $20,000 related to the clearance of this offering with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. For example, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is a sales agent under the sales agreement, dated October 5, 2021, as amended on March 30, 2022 (the “Sales Agreement”), by and between us, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and Leerink Partners LLC (f/k/a SVB Securities LLC) (collectively, the “Sales Agents”). Under the Sales Agreement, we may offer and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock through the Sales Agents through an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) and/or persons and entities with relationships with the issuer. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.
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European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each, a “Relevant Member State”), an offer to the public of any securities may not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any securities may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the EU Prospectus Regulation:
a) | to any legal entity which is a “qualified investor” as defined under the EU Prospectus Regulation; |
b) | to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than “qualified investors” as defined under the EU Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or |
c) | in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the EU Prospectus Regulation, |
provided that no such offer of securities shall result in a requirement for us or any representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or a supplemental prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any securities or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with each of the representatives and us that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2 of the EU Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any securities being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 1(4) of the EU Prospectus Regulation, each financial intermediary will also be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed that the securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any securities to the public, other than their offer or resale in a Relevant Member State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
We, the representatives and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties and agreements. Notwithstanding the above, a person who is not a “qualified investor” and who has notified the representatives of such fact in writing may, with the prior consent of the representatives, be permitted to acquire securities in the offer.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities, and the expression “EU Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
United Kingdom
An offer to the public of any securities may not be made in the United Kingdom, except that an offer to the public in the United Kingdom of any securities may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the UK Prospectus Regulation:
a) | to any legal entity which is a “qualified investor” as defined under the UK Prospectus Regulation; |
b) | to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than “qualified investors” as defined under the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representativesfor any such offer; or |
c) | in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended, “FSMA”); |
provided that no such offer of securities shall result in a requirement for us or any representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or a supplemental prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK
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Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any securities or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with each of the representatives and us that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any securities being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 1(4) of the UK Prospectus Regulation, each financial intermediary will also be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed that the securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any securities to the public, other than their offer or resale in the United Kingdom to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
We, the representatives and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, warranties and agreements. Notwithstanding the above, a person who is not a “qualified investor” and who has notified the representatives of such fact in writing may, with the prior consent of the representatives, be permitted to acquire securities in the offer.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any securities in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities.
This prospectus supplement is only being distributed to and is only directed at: (A) persons who are outside the United Kingdom; or (B) qualified investors who are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”), or (ii) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this prospectus supplement or any of its contents.
Canada
The securities may be sold in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions, and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the securities must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus supplement (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
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Hong Kong
The securities may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (“Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance”) or which do not constitute an invitation to the public within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (“Securities and Futures Ordinance”), or (ii) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance, and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the securities may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” in Hong Kong as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made thereunder.
Singapore
This prospectus supplement has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus supplement and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined under Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”)) under Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to conditions set forth in the SFA.
Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor, the securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation shall not be transferable for six months after that corporation has acquired the securities under Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an offer in that corporation’s securities pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation of law, (5) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore (“Regulation 32”).
Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an accredited investor, the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferable for six months after that trust has acquired the securities under Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an offer that is made on terms that such rights or interest are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction (whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets), (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation of law, (5) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as specified in Regulation 32.
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Japan
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (Act No. 25 of 1948, as amended) (the “FIEA”). The securities may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan (including any person resident in Japan or any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan) or to others for reoffering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the FIEA and otherwise in compliance with any relevant laws and regulations of Japan.
Australia
No prospectus or other disclosure document, as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia (the “Corporations Act”), in relation to our securities has been or will be lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (“ASIC”). This document has not been lodged with ASIC and is only directed to certain categories of exempt persons. Accordingly, if you receive this document in Australia:
(a) | you confirm and warrant that you are either: |
(i) | a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act; |
(ii) | a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to us which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made; |
(iii) | a person associated with us under section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or |
(iv) | a “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act, and to the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act, any offer made to you under this document is void and incapable of acceptance; and |
(b) | you warrant and agree that you will not offer any of our securities for resale in Australia within 12 months of that security being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act. |
Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968, or the Securities Law, and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the common stock is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum, or the Addendum, to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
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Brazil
THE OFFER AND SALE OF THE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED WITH THE BRAZILIAN SECURITIES COMMISSION (COMISSÃO DE VALORES MOBILIÁRIOS, OR “CVM”) AND, THEREFORE, WILL NOT BE CARRIED OUT BY ANY MEANS THAT WOULD CONSTITUTE A PUBLIC OFFERING IN BRAZIL UNDER CVM RESOLUTION NO 160, DATED 13 JULY 2022, AS AMENDED OR UNAUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTION UNDER BRAZILIAN LAWS AND REGULATIONS. THE SECURITIES MAY ONLY BE OFFERED TO BRAZILIAN PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS (AS DEFINED BY APPLICABLE CVM REGULATION), WHO MAY ONLY ACQUIRE THE SECURITIES THROUGH A NON-BRAZILIAN ACCOUNT, WITH SETTLEMENT OUTSIDE BRAZIL IN NON-BRAZILIAN CURRENCY. THE TRADING OF THESE SECURITIES ON REGULATED SECURITIES MARKETS IN BRAZIL IS PROHIBITED.
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The validity of the shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Cooley LLP, New York, New York. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, New York. As of the date of this prospectus supplement, GC&H Investments, LLC, an entity consisting of current and former partners and associates of Cooley LLP, beneficially holds an aggregate of 16,396 shares of our common stock.
The financial statements of Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement by reference to the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report. Such financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of such firm given their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of certain information filed by us with the SEC are also available on our website at www.tayshatx.com. Our website is not a part of this prospectus supplement and is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement.
This prospectus supplement is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC. The registration statement contains more information than this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding us and the securities, including certain exhibits and schedules. You can obtain a copy of the registration statement from the SEC at the address listed above or from the SEC’s internet site.
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus much of the information we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those publicly available documents. The information that we incorporate by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Because we are incorporating by reference future filings with the SEC, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is continually updated and those future filings may modify or supersede some of the information included or incorporated in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This means that you must look at all of the SEC filings that we incorporate by reference to determine if any of the statements in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any document previously incorporated by reference have been modified or superseded. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus incorporate by reference the documents listed below (File No. 001-39536) and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (in each case, other than those documents or the portions of those documents not deemed to be filed) until the offering of the securities under the registration statement is terminated or completed:
• | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 19, 2024; |
• | the information specifically incorporated by reference into our 2023 Form 10-K from our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A (other than information furnished rather than filed), filed with the SEC on April 18, 2024; |
• | our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on May 14, 2024; |
• | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 30, 2024 and June 18, 2024, to the extent the information in such reports is filed and not furnished; and |
• | the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on September 18, 2020, including any amendments or reports filed for the purposes of updating this description. |
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus supplement is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement but not delivered with the prospectus supplement, including exhibits that are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You should direct any requests for documents to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Suite 1430, Dallas, Texas 75247, and our telephone number is (214) 612-0000.
Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
In accordance with Rule 412 of the Securities Act, any statement contained in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement.
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PROSPECTUS
$350,000,000
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Debt Securities
Warrants
From time to time, we may offer and sell up to $350,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. We may also offer securities as may be issuable upon conversion, redemption, repurchase, exchange or exercise of any securities registered hereunder, including any applicable anti-dilution provisions.
This prospectus provides a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities, we will provide specific terms of the securities offered in a supplement to this prospectus. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as any documents incorporated by reference, before you invest in any of the securities being offered.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under the federal securities laws and, as such, are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company.”
This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
We will sell these securities directly to investors, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers, on a continuous or delayed basis. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commissions, discounts or over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.
Our common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TSHA.” On October 1, 2021, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $19.20 per share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any securities market or other exchange of the securities, if any, covered by the prospectus supplement.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” on page 7 of this prospectus and in any applicable prospectus supplement and related free writing prospectus we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus .
NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THESE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS PROSPECTUS IS TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
The date of this prospectus is October 14, 2021.
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This prospectus is a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration statement, we may sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings up to a total aggregate offering price of $350,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer.
Each time we sell securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in any documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference,” before investing in any of the securities offered.
THIS PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSUMMATE A SALE OF SECURITIES UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.
Neither we, nor any agent, underwriter or dealer has authorized any person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. This prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do this prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.
You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate on any date subsequent to the date set forth on the front of the document or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference, even though this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is delivered, or securities are sold, on a later date.
This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference contain summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
As used in this prospectus, unless the context otherwise requires, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” “the company,” “Taysha” and “Taysha Gene Therapies” refer to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries. We own various U.S. federal trademark applications and unregistered trademarks, including our company name. All other trademarks or trade names referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this prospectus are referred to without the symbols ® and ™, but such references should not be construed as any indication that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto.
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This summary highlights selected information from this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, including the risks of investing in our securities discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should also carefully read the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes, and the exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, before making your investment decision.
Overview
We are a patient-centric gene therapy company focused on developing and commercializing AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of monogenic diseases of the central nervous system, or CNS, in both rare and large patient populations. We were founded in partnership with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, or UT Southwestern, to develop and commercialize transformative gene therapy treatments. Together with UT Southwestern, we are advancing a deep and sustainable product portfolio of 27 gene therapy product candidates, with exclusive options to acquire four additional development programs at no cost. By combining our management team’s proven experience in gene therapy drug development and commercialization with UT Southwestern’s world-class gene therapy research capabilities, we believe we have created a powerful engine to develop transformative therapies to dramatically improve patients’ lives.
In April 2021, we acquired exclusive worldwide rights to a clinical-stage, intrathecally dosed AAV9 gene therapy program, now known as TSHA-120, for the treatment of giant axonal neuropathy, or GAN. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial of TSHA-120 is being conducted by the National Institutes of Health, or NIH under an accepted investigational new drug application, or IND, and we expect to provide a regulatory and clinical update by the end of 2021. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial of TSHA-101 in GM2 gangliosidosis was initiated by Queen’s University at Kingston, or Queen’s University, under an accepted Clinical Trial Application, or CTA, in Canada, and Queen’s University expects to report preliminary safety and biomarker data in the second half of 2021. We plan to submit an IND for TSHA-101 for the treatment of GM2 gangliosidosis to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in the United States, each in the second half of 2021. In addition, we plan to submit INDs / CTAs for TSHA-102 in Rett syndrome in the second half of 2021 and one of the following programs in 2021: TSHA-103 in SLC6A1 haploinsufficiency, TSHA-105 in SLC13A5 deficiency, TSHA-111-LAFORIN and TSHA-111-MALIN for two different forms of Lafora disease, TSHA-112 in APBD and TSHA-119 in GM2 AB variant. The TSHA-104 program for the treatment of SURF1-associated Leigh syndrome will transition to our collaborators at UT Southwestern to complete IND-enabling studies, followed by a planned investigator-initiated clinical trial by the end of 2022. We will continue to support the SURF1 natural history study in partnership with UT Southwestern. We are also developing TSHA-118 for the treatment of CLN1 disease (one of the forms of Batten disease) and intend to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of TSHA-118 in the second half of 2021. We anticipate dosing the first patient in that trial in the second half of 2021 and reporting biomarker data in the first half of 2022. Further, we plan to advance four new undisclosed programs focused on neurodevelopmental disorders, genetic epilepsies and neurodegenerative diseases into preclinical development in 2021. In addition to our product pipeline candidates, we are building a platform of next-generation technologies to optimize key components of our AAV-based gene therapies, including redosing, transgene regulation and capsid development.
Pipeline
We are advancing a deep and sustainable product portfolio of 27 gene therapy product candidates for monogenic diseases of the CNS in both rare and large patient populations, with exclusive options to acquire four
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additional development programs at no cost. Our portfolio of gene therapy candidates targets broad neurological indications across three distinct therapeutic categories: neurodegenerative diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic epilepsies. Our current pipeline, including the stage of development of each of our product candidates, is represented in the table below.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas in September 2019. In February 2020, we converted to a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Suite 1430, Dallas, Texas 75247 and our telephone number is (214) 612-0000. Our website address is www.tayshagtx.com. The information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We have included our website in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of relief from certain reporting requirements and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:
• | reduced obligations with respect to financial data, including only being required to present two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure; |
• | an exception from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended; |
• | reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; |
• | exemptions from the requirements of holding non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and |
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• | an exemption from compliance with the requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor’s report on financial statements. |
We may take advantage of these provisions until we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company. We will cease to qualify as an emerging growth company on the date that is the earliest of: (i) December 31, 2025, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.07 billion in total annual gross revenues, (iii) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over the prior three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced reporting burdens. We have taken advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than you might obtain from other public companies in which you hold equity interests.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards and to adopt certain of the reduced disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies. As a result of the accounting standards election, we will not be subject to the same implementation timing for new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, which may make comparison of our financials to those of other public companies more difficult. As a result of these elections, the information that we provide in this prospectus may be different than the information you may receive from other public companies in which you hold equity interests. In addition, it is possible that some investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result of these elections, which may result in a less active trading market for our common stock and higher volatility in our share price.
We are also a “smaller reporting company,” meaning that the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million and our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company, we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.
The Securities We May Offer
We may offer shares of our common stock and preferred stock, various series of debt securities and/or warrants to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in combination, up to a total aggregate offering price of $350,000,000 from time to time in one or more offerings under this prospectus, together with any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the relevant offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:
• | designation or classification; |
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• | aggregate principal amount or aggregate offering price; |
• | maturity; |
• | original issue discount, if any; |
• | rates and times of payment of interest or dividends, if any; |
• | redemption, conversion, exchange or sinking fund terms, if any; |
• | conversion or exchange prices or rates, if any, and, if applicable, any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the conversion or exchange prices or rates and in the securities or other property receivable upon conversion or exchange; |
• | ranking; |
• | restrictive covenants, if any; |
• | voting or other rights, if any; and |
• | material U.S. federal income tax considerations. |
The applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference. However, no prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus will offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
We may sell the securities directly to investors or through underwriters, dealers or agents. We, and our underwriters or agents, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we do offer securities through underwriters or agents, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:
• | the names of those underwriters or agents; |
• | applicable fees, discounts and commissions to be paid to them; |
• | details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and |
• | the estimated net proceeds to us. |
Common Stock. We may issue shares of our common stock from time to time. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and do not have cumulative voting rights. Holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends as may be declared by our board of directors, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably our net assets available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any outstanding preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.
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Preferred Stock. We may issue shares of our preferred stock from time to time, in one or more series. Under our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.00001 per share. You should refer to our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, both of which are included as exhibits to documents incorporated by reference in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Our board of directors may, without further action by our stockholders, from time to time, direct the issuance of shares of preferred stock in series and may, at the time of issuance, determine the rights, preferences and limitations of each series, including voting rights, dividend rights and redemption and liquidation preferences. Satisfaction of any dividend preferences of outstanding shares of preferred stock would reduce the amount of funds available for the payment of dividends on shares of our common stock. Holders of shares of preferred stock may be entitled to receive a preference payment in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our company before any payment is made to the holders of shares of our common stock. In some circumstances, the issuance of shares of preferred stock may render more difficult or tend to discourage a merger, tender offer or proxy contest, the assumption of control by a holder of a large block of our securities or the removal of incumbent management. Upon the affirmative vote of our board of directors, without stockholder approval, we may issue shares of preferred stock with voting and conversion rights which could adversely affect the holders of shares of our common stock.
If we offer a specific series of preferred stock under this prospectus, we will describe the terms of the preferred stock in the prospectus supplement for such offering and will file a copy of the certificate of designation establishing the terms of the preferred stock with the SEC. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) related to the series of preferred stock being offered, as well as the complete certificate of designation that contains the terms of the applicable series of preferred stock.
Debt Securities. We may issue debt securities from time to time, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt. The senior debt securities will rank equally with any other unsecured and unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in right of payment, to the extent and in the manner described in the instrument governing the debt, to all of our senior indebtedness. Convertible debt securities will be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or other securities. Conversion may be mandatory or at the holder’s option and would be at prescribed conversion rates.
Any debt securities issued under this prospectus will be issued under one or more documents called indentures, which are contracts between us and a national banking association or other eligible party, as trustee. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the debt securities. We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) related to the series of debt securities being offered, as well as the complete indentures that contain the terms of the debt securities. A form of indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and supplemental indentures and forms of debt securities containing the terms of the debt securities being offered will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will be incorporated by reference from reports that we file with the SEC.
Warrants. We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or together with common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the warrants. We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) related to the particular series of warrants being offered, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants. Forms of the warrant agreements and forms of warrant
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certificates containing the terms of the warrants that may be offered have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and supplemental warrant agreements and forms of warrant certificates will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will be incorporated by reference from reports that we file with the SEC before the issuance of such warrants.
Any warrants issued under this prospectus will be evidenced by warrant certificates. Warrants may be issued under an applicable warrant agreement that we enter into with a warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of the warrant agent, if applicable, in the prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of warrants being offered.
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Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as updated by any subsequently filed periodic reports and other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the securities being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Each of the risk factors described in the documents referenced above could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities, and the occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations.
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain forward-looking statements. These are based on our management’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions about future events, conditions and results and on information currently available to us. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements may be found, among other places, in the sections entitled “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in the documents incorporated by reference herein.
Any statements in this prospectus, or incorporated herein, about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. Within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, these forward-looking statements include statements regarding:
• | the timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of studies or trials and related preparatory work, the period during which the results of the trials will become available and our research and development programs; |
• | the timing of our planned IND and CTA submissions, initiation of clinical trials and timing of expected clinical results for TSHA-101, TSHA-118 and TSHA-102 and our other future product candidates; |
• | the timing of any submission of filings for regulatory approval of, and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for, our current and future product candidates; |
• | the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which could adversely impact our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials; |
• | our ability to identify patients with the diseases treated by our product candidates, and to enroll patients in trials; |
• | our expectations regarding the size of the patient populations, market acceptance and opportunity for and clinical utility of our product candidates, if approved for commercial use; |
• | our manufacturing capabilities and strategy, including the scalability and commercial viability of our manufacturing methods and processes; |
• | our expectations regarding the scope of any approved indication for TSHA-101, TSHA-118, TSHA-102, and TSHA-104 or any other product candidate; |
• | our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates; |
• | our ability to leverage our platform, including our next-generation technologies, to identify and develop future product candidates; |
• | our estimates of our expenses, ongoing losses, future revenue, capital requirements and our need for or ability to obtain additional funding before we can expect to generate any revenue from product sales; |
• | our ability to establish or maintain collaborations or strategic relationships; |
• | our ability to identify, recruit and retain key personnel; |
• | our reliance upon intellectual property licensed from third parties and our ability to obtain such licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all; |
• | our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property position for our product candidates, and the scope of such protection; |
• | our financial performance; |
• | our competitive position and the development of and projections relating to our competitors or our industry; |
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• | our estimates regarding future revenue, expenses and needs for additional financing; |
• | the impact of laws and regulations; and |
• | our expectations regarding the time during which we will be an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act. |
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words “may,” “might,” “can,” “will,” “to be,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “likely,” “continue” and “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
You should refer to the “Risk Factors” section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.
Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or developments occurring after the date of this prospectus, even if new information becomes available in the future.
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We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby. Except as described in any applicable prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectuses that we may authorize to be provided to you in connection with a specific offering, we currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of any securities sold pursuant to the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.
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The following description of our capital stock and provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws are summaries. You should also refer to the certificate of incorporation and the bylaws, which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is part.
General
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.00001 par value per share. Our board of directors may establish the rights and preferences of the preferred stock from time to time. As of June 30, 2021, we had outstanding 38,391,165 shares of common stock (which includes 470,215 restricted common shares outstanding that are subject to forfeiture or our right of repurchase as of such date) and no shares of preferred stock outstanding.
Common Stock
Voting Rights
Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 662/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock, voting as a single class, is required to amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to amending the Company’s bylaws, the classified board, the size of the Company’s board, removal of directors, director liability, vacancies on the Company’s board, special meetings, stockholder notices, actions by written consent and exclusive forum.
Dividends
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then-outstanding preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of legally available funds.
Liquidation
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of common stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then-outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Rights and Preferences
Holders of common stock have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the right of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate in the future.
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, from time to time, to designate and issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, to fix the rights, preferences and privileges of the shares of each wholly unissued series and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereon, and to increase or decrease the number of shares of any such series, but not below the
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number of shares of such series then outstanding. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. The purpose of authorizing our board of directors to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock.
Our board of directors will fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of each series, as well as the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of the preferred stock of each series that we offer under this prospectus and applicable prospectus supplements in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of that series of preferred stock. This description will include:
• | the title and stated value; |
• | the number of shares we are offering; |
• | the liquidation preference per share; |
• | the purchase price per share; |
• | the dividend rate per share, dividend period and payment dates and method of calculation for dividends; |
• | whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate; |
• | our right, if any, to defer payment of dividends and the maximum length of any such deferral period; |
• | the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any; |
• | the provisions for a sinking fund, if any; |
• | the provisions for redemption or repurchase, if applicable, and any restrictions on our ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights; |
• | any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market; |
• | whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock or other securities of ours, including depositary shares and warrants, and, if applicable, the conversion period, the conversion price, or how it will be calculated, and under what circumstances it may be adjusted; |
• | whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange period, the exchange price, or how it will be calculated, and under what circumstances it may be adjusted; |
• | voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock; |
• | preemption rights, if any; |
• | restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any; |
• | whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares; |
• | a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock; |
• | the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; |
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• | any limitations on issuances of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock being issued as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and |
• | any other specific terms, rights, preferences, privileges, qualifications or restrictions of the preferred stock. |
The General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or DGCL, the state of our incorporation, provides that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote separately as a class (or, in some cases, as a series) on an amendment to our certificate of incorporation if the amendment would change the par value or, unless the certificate of incorporation provided otherwise, the number of authorized shares of the class or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the class or series so as to adversely affect the class or series, as the case may be. This right is in addition to any voting rights that may be provided for in the applicable certificate of designation.
The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and reduce the likelihood that common stockholders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. The issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of the common stock. The issuance of preferred stock also could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us.
Registration Rights
We and certain holders of our common stock have entered into an amended and restated investors’ rights agreement. The registration rights provisions of this agreement provide those holders with demand, piggyback and Form S-3 registration rights with respect to the shares of common stock currently held by them. As of June 30, 2021, there were an aggregate of approximately 15,000,000 registrable securities that were entitled to registration rights. These shares are collectively referred to herein as registrable securities.
Demand Registration Rights
At any time, the holders of a majority of registrable securities then outstanding have the right to demand that we file a registration statement covering registrable securities then outstanding having an aggregate offering price in excess of $10.0 million, net of certain selling expenses. These registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, including the right of the underwriters, if any, to limit the number of shares included in any such registration under specified circumstances. Upon such a request, we are required to effect the registration as soon as practicable, but in any event no later than 60 days after the receipt of such request.
Piggyback Registration Rights
If we propose to register any of our securities under the Securities Act either for our own account or for the account of other stockholders, the holders of registrable securities will each be entitled to notice of the registration and will be entitled to include their shares of common stock in the registration statement. These piggyback registration rights are subject to specified conditions and limitations, including the right of the underwriters to limit the number of shares included in any such registration under specified circumstances.
Registration on Form S-3
At any time after we become eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3, the holders of a majority of registrable securities then outstanding will be entitled to request to have such shares registered by us on a Form S-3 registration statement. These Form S-3 registration rights are subject to other specified conditions and limitations, including the condition that the anticipated aggregate offering price, net of certain selling expenses, is at least $5.0 million. Upon receipt of this request, the holders of registrable securities will each be entitled to participate in this registration.
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Expenses of Registration
We are required to pay all expenses, including fees and expenses of one counsel to represent the selling stockholders (up to $50,000 total), relating to any demand, piggyback or Form S-3 registration, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, stock transfer taxes and any additional fees of counsel for the selling stockholders, subject to specified conditions and limitations. We are not required to pay registration expenses if a demand registration request is withdrawn at the request of a majority of holders of registrable securities to be registered, unless holders of a majority of the registrable securities agree to forfeit their right to one demand registration.
The amended and restated investors’ rights agreement contains customary cross-indemnification provisions, pursuant to which we are obligated to indemnify the selling stockholders in the event of material misstatements or omissions in the applicable registration statement attributable to us, and the selling stockholders are obligated to indemnify us for material misstatements or omissions in the registration statement attributable to them, subject to certain limitations.
Termination of Registration Rights
The registration rights granted under the amended and restated investors’ rights agreement will terminate with respect to any particular stockholder upon the earlier of the third anniversary of our initial public offering and with respect to each stockholder, at such time such stockholder is able to sell all of its shares pursuant to Rule 144 or another similar exemption under the Securities Act during a three-month period without registration.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Section 203 of the DGCL
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, or Section 203, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:
• | before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
• | upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or |
• | on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
In general, Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include the following:
• | any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; |
• | any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
• | subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; |
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• | any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or |
• | the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation. |
In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation provides for our board of directors to be divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, stockholders holding a majority of the shares of common stock outstanding will be able to elect all of our directors. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that directors may be removed by the stockholders only for cause upon the vote of 662/3% or more of the our outstanding common stock. Furthermore, the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors, and vacancies and newly created directorships on the board of directors may, except as otherwise required by law or determined by the board, only be filled by a majority vote of the directors then serving on the board, even though less than a quorum.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also provide that all stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and will eliminate the right of stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting. The bylaws provide that only the Chairman of the board, Chief Executive Officer or the board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors may call a special meeting of stockholders. The bylaws also provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide timely advance notice in writing, and will specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that the stockholders cannot amend many of the provisions described above except by a vote of 662/3% or more of our outstanding common stock.
Our certificate of incorporations gives our board of directors the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate, including the right to approve an acquisition or other change in control.
The combination of these provisions will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Since our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of our company.
These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to hostile takeovers and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others
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from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of delaying changes in control or management of our company. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. We believe that the benefits of these provisions, including increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure our company, outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging takeover proposals, because negotiation of takeover proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Choice of Forum
Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:
• | any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; |
• | any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; |
• | any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; |
• | any claim or cause of action seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; |
• | any claim or cause of action as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware; or |
• | any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. |
The provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or to claims for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our certificate of incorporation also provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Although our certificate of incorporation contains the choice of forum provision described above, it is possible that a court could rule that such a provision is inapplicable for a particular claim or action or that such provision is unenforceable.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, with offices at 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219. The transfer agent for any series of preferred stock that we may offer under this prospectus will be named and described in the prospectus supplement for that series.
Listing on Nasdaq
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TSHA.”
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
We may issue debt securities from time to time, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt securities offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. Unless the context requires otherwise, whenever we refer to the indenture, we also are referring to any supplemental indentures that specify the terms of a particular series of debt securities.
We will issue the debt securities under the indenture that we will enter into with the trustee named in the indenture. The indenture will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the Trust Indenture Act. We have filed the form of indenture as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and supplemental indentures and forms of debt securities containing the terms of the debt securities being offered will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will be incorporated by reference from reports that we file with the SEC.
The following summary of material provisions of the debt securities and the indenture is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of the indenture applicable to a particular series of debt securities. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements and any related free writing prospectuses related to the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as the complete indenture that contains the terms of the debt securities.
General
The indenture does not limit the amount of debt securities that we may issue. It provides that we may issue debt securities up to the principal amount that we may authorize and may be in any currency or currency unit that we may designate. Except for the limitations on consolidation, merger and sale of all or substantially all of our assets contained in the indenture, the terms of the indenture do not contain any covenants or other provisions designed to give holders of any debt securities protection against changes in our operations, financial condition or transactions involving us.
We may issue the debt securities issued under the indenture as “discount securities,” which means they may be sold at a discount below their stated principal amount. These debt securities, as well as other debt securities that are not issued at a discount, may be issued with “original issue discount,” or OID, for U.S. federal income tax purposes because of interest payment and other characteristics or terms of the debt securities. Material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to debt securities issued with OID will be described in more detail in any applicable prospectus supplement.
We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of debt securities being offered, including:
• | the title of the series of debt securities; |
• | any limit upon the aggregate principal amount that may be issued; |
• | the maturity date or dates; |
• | the form of the debt securities of the series; |
• | the applicability of any guarantees; |
• | whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt; |
• | whether the debt securities rank as senior debt, senior subordinated debt, subordinated debt or any combination thereof, and the terms of any subordination; |
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• | if the price (expressed as a percentage of the aggregate principal amount thereof) at which such debt securities will be issued is a price other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount thereof payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof, or if applicable, the portion of the principal amount of such debt securities that is convertible into another security or the method by which any such portion shall be determined; |
• | the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the dates interest will be payable and the regular record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates; |
• | our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period; |
• | if applicable, the date or dates after which, or the period or periods during which, and the price or prices at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional or provisional redemption provisions and the terms of those redemption provisions; |
• | the date or dates, if any, on which, and the price or prices at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities and the currency or currency unit in which the debt securities are payable; |
• | the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof; |
• | any and all terms, if applicable, relating to any auction or remarketing of the debt securities of that series and any security for our obligations with respect to such debt securities and any other terms which may be advisable in connection with the marketing of debt securities of that series; |
• | whether the debt securities of the series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of a global security or securities; |
• | the terms and conditions, if any, upon which such global security or securities may be exchanged in whole or in part for other individual securities; |
• | the depositary for such global security or securities; |
• | if applicable, the provisions relating to conversion or exchange of any debt securities of the series and the terms and conditions upon which such debt securities will be so convertible or exchangeable, including the conversion or exchange price, as applicable, or how it will be calculated and may be adjusted, any mandatory or optional (at our option or the holders’ option) conversion or exchange features, the applicable conversion or exchange period and the manner of settlement for any conversion or exchange; |
• | if other than the full principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of debt securities of the series which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof; |
• | additions to or changes in the covenants applicable to the particular debt securities being issued, including, among others, the consolidation, merger or sale covenant; |
• | additions to or changes in the events of default with respect to the securities and any change in the right of the trustee or the holders to declare the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, with respect to such securities to be due and payable; |
• | additions to or changes in or deletions of the provisions relating to covenant defeasance and legal defeasance; |
• | additions to or changes in the provisions relating to satisfaction and discharge of the indenture; |
• | additions to or changes in the provisions relating to the modification of the indenture both with and without the consent of holders of debt securities issued under the indenture; |
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• | the currency of payment of debt securities if other than U.S. dollars and the manner of determining the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars; |
• | whether interest will be payable in cash or additional debt securities at our or the holders’ option and the terms and conditions upon which the election may be made; |
• | the terms and conditions, if any, upon which we will pay amounts in addition to the stated interest, premium, if any and principal amounts of the debt securities of the series to any holder that is not a “United States person” for federal tax purposes; |
• | any restrictions on transfer, sale or assignment of the debt securities of the series; and |
• | any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities, any other additions or changes in the provisions of the indenture, and any terms that may be required by us or advisable under applicable laws or regulations. |
Conversion or Exchange Rights
We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or our other securities. We will include provisions as to settlement upon conversion or exchange and whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock or our other securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive would be subject to adjustment.
Consolidation, Merger or Sale
Unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, the indenture will not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of our assets as an entirety or substantially as an entirety. However, any successor to or acquirer of such assets (other than a subsidiary of ours) must assume all of our obligations under the indenture or the debt securities, as appropriate.
Events of Default under the Indenture
Unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, the following are events of default under the indenture with respect to any series of debt securities that we may issue:
• | if we fail to pay any installment of interest on any series of debt securities, as and when the same shall become due and payable, and such default continues for a period of 90 days; provided, however, that a valid extension of an interest payment period by us in accordance with the terms of any indenture supplemental thereto shall not constitute a default in the payment of interest for this purpose; |
• | if we fail to pay the principal of, or premium, if any, on any series of debt securities as and when the same shall become due and payable whether at maturity, upon redemption, by declaration or otherwise, or in any payment required by any sinking or analogous fund established with respect to such series; provided, however, that a valid extension of the maturity of such debt securities in accordance with the terms of any indenture supplemental thereto shall not constitute a default in the payment of principal or premium, if any; |
• | if we fail to observe or perform any other covenant or agreement contained in the debt securities or the indenture, other than a covenant specifically relating to another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90 days after we receive written notice of such failure, requiring the same to be remedied and stating that such is a notice of default thereunder, from the trustee or holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series; and |
• | if specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur. |
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If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series occurs and is continuing, other than an event of default specified in the last bullet point above, the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series, by notice to us in writing, and to the trustee if notice is given by such holders, may declare the unpaid principal of, premium, if any, and accrued interest, if any, due and payable immediately. If an event of default specified in the last bullet point above occurs with respect to us, the principal amount of and accrued interest, if any, of each issue of debt securities then outstanding shall be due and payable without any notice or other action on the part of the trustee or any holder.
The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of an affected series may waive any default or event of default with respect to the series and its consequences, except defaults or events of default regarding payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, unless we have cured the default or event of default in accordance with the indenture. Any waiver shall cure the default or event of default.
Subject to the terms of the indenture, if an event of default under an indenture shall occur and be continuing, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders have offered the trustee reasonable indemnity. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee, with respect to the debt securities of that series, provided that:
• | the direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the applicable indenture; and |
• | subject to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act, the trustee need not take any action that might involve it in personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not involved in the proceeding. |
A holder of the debt securities of any series will have the right to institute a proceeding under the indenture or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek other remedies only if:
• | the holder has given written notice to the trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to that series; |
• | the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request, |
• | such holders have offered to the trustee indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities to be incurred by the trustee in compliance with the request; and |
• | the trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series other conflicting directions within 90 days after the notice, request and offer. |
These limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities.
We will periodically file statements with the trustee regarding our compliance with specified covenants in the indenture.
Modification of Indenture; Waiver
We and the trustee may change an indenture without the consent of any holders with respect to specific matters:
• | to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture or in the debt securities of any series; |
• | to comply with the provisions described above under “Description of Debt Securities—Consolidation, Merger or Sale”; |
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• | to provide for uncertificated debt securities in addition to or in place of certificated debt securities; |
• | to add to our covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions such new covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions for the benefit of the holders of all or any series of debt securities, to make the occurrence, or the occurrence and the continuance, of a default in any such additional covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions an event of default or to surrender any right or power conferred upon us in the indenture; |
• | to add to, delete from or revise the conditions, limitations, and restrictions on the authorized amount, terms, or purposes of issue, authentication and delivery of debt securities, as set forth in the indenture; |
• | to make any change that does not adversely affect the interests of any holder of debt securities of any series in any material respect; |
• | to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of the debt securities of any series as provided above under “Description of Debt Securities—General” to establish the form of any certifications required to be furnished pursuant to the terms of the indenture or any series of debt securities, or to add to the rights of the holders of any series of debt securities; |
• | to evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment under any indenture by a successor trustee; or |
• | to comply with any requirements of the SEC in connection with the qualification of any indenture under the Trust Indenture Act. |
In addition, under the indenture, the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us and the trustee with the written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series that is affected. However, unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, we and the trustee may make the following changes only with the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities affected:
• | extending the fixed maturity of any debt securities of any series; |
• | reducing the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of payment of interest, or reducing any premium payable upon the redemption of any series of any debt securities; or |
• | reducing the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to consent to any amendment, supplement, modification or waiver. |
Discharge
Each indenture provides that we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for specified obligations, including obligations to:
• | provide for payment; |
• | register the transfer or exchange of debt securities of the series; |
• | replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of the series; |
• | pay principal of and premium and interest on any debt securities of the series; |
• | maintain paying agencies; |
• | hold monies for payment in trust; |
• | recover excess money held by the trustee; |
• | compensate and indemnify the trustee; and |
• | appoint any successor trustee. |
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In order to exercise our rights to be discharged, we must deposit with the trustee money or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, any premium, if any, and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the dates payments are due.
Form, Exchange and Transfer
We will issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indenture provides that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, or another depositary named by us and identified in the applicable prospectus supplement with respect to that series. To the extent the debt securities of a series are issued in global form and as book-entry, a description of terms relating to any book-entry securities will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indenture and the limitations applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.
Subject to the terms of the indenture and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange, we will impose no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.
We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.
If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:
• | issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or |
• | register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part. |
Information Concerning the Trustee
The trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under an indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under an indenture, the trustee must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to this provision, the trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indenture at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.
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Payment and Paying Agents
Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.
We will pay principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make interest payments by check that we will mail to the holder or by wire transfer to certain holders. Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will designate the corporate trust office of the trustee as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.
All money we pay to a paying agent or the trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities that remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the debt security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.
Governing Law
The indenture and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that the Trust Indenture Act is applicable.
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The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplement and in any related free writing prospectuses, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, which may consist of warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities and may be issued in one or more series. Warrants may be offered independently or together with common stock, preferred stock or debt securities offered by any prospectus supplement, and may be attached to or separate from those securities. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. However, no prospectus supplement will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness.
We have filed forms of the warrant agreements and forms of warrant certificates containing the terms of the warrants that may be offered as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of warrant agreement, if any, including a form of warrant certificate, that describes the terms of the particular series of warrants we are offering. The following summaries of material provisions of the warrants and the warrant agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to the particular series of warrants that we may offer under this prospectus. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements related to the particular series of warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as any related free writing prospectuses, and the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.
General
We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms relating to a series of warrants being offered, including, to the extent applicable:
• | the title of such securities; |
• | the offering price or prices and aggregate number of warrants offered; |
• | the currency or currencies for which the warrants may be purchased; |
• | if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each such security or each principal amount of such security; |
• | if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable; |
• | if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of such warrants which may be exercised at any one time; |
• | in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the principal amount of debt securities purchasable upon exercise of one warrant and the price at which, and currency in which, this principal amount of debt securities may be purchased upon such exercise; |
• | in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock, as the case may be, purchasable upon the exercise of one warrant and the price at which, and the currency in which, these shares may be purchased upon such exercise; |
• | the effect of any merger, consolidation, sale or other disposition of our business on the warrant agreements and the warrants; |
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• | the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants; |
• | the terms of any rights to force the exercise of the warrants; |
• | any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or number of securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants; |
• | the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and expire; |
• | the manner in which the warrant agreements and warrants may be modified; |
• | a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax consequences of holding or exercising the warrants; |
• | the terms of the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants; and |
• | any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or restrictions on the warrants. |
Before exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities purchasable upon such exercise, including:
• | in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the right to receive payments of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities purchasable upon exercise or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture; or |
• | in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the right to receive dividends, if any, or, payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or to exercise voting rights, if any. |
Exercise of Warrants
Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase the securities that we specify in the applicable prospectus supplement at the exercise price that we describe in the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.
Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants by delivering the warrant certificate representing the warrants to be exercised together with specified information, and paying the required amount to the warrant agent in immediately available funds, as provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. We will set forth on the reverse side of the warrant certificate and in the applicable prospectus supplement the information that the holder of the warrant will be required to deliver to the warrant agent in connection with the exercise of the warrant.
Upon receipt of the required payment and the warrant certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue and deliver the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If fewer than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate are exercised, then we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining amount of warrants. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may surrender securities as all or part of the exercise price for warrants.
Governing Law
Unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the warrants and warrant agreements, and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to the warrants or warrant agreements, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
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Enforceability of Rights by Holders of Warrants
Each warrant agent will act solely as our agent under the applicable warrant agreement and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any warrant. A single bank or trust company may act as warrant agent for more than one issue of warrants. A warrant agent will have no duty or responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable warrant agreement or warrant, including any duty or responsibility to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any demand upon us. Any holder of a warrant may, without the consent of the related warrant agent or the holder of any other warrant, enforce by appropriate legal action its right to exercise, and receive the securities purchasable upon exercise of, its warrants.
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We can issue securities in registered form or in the form of one or more global securities. We describe global securities in greater detail below. We refer to those persons who have securities registered in their own names on the books that we or any applicable trustee, depositary or warrant agent maintain for this purpose as the “holders” of those securities. These persons are the legal holders of the securities. We refer to those persons who, indirectly through others, own beneficial interests in securities that are not registered in their own names, as “indirect holders” of those securities. As we discuss below, indirect holders are not legal holders, and investors in securities issued in book-entry form or in street name will be indirect holders.
Book-Entry Holders
We may issue securities in book-entry form only, as we will specify in the applicable prospectus supplement. This means securities may be represented by one or more global securities registered in the name of a financial institution that holds them as depositary on behalf of other financial institutions that participate in the depositary’s book-entry system. These participating institutions, which are referred to as participants, in turn, hold beneficial interests in the securities on behalf of themselves or their customers.
Only the person in whose name a security is registered is recognized as the holder of that security. Global securities will be registered in the name of the depositary or its participants. Consequently, for global securities, we will recognize only the depositary as the holder of the securities, and we will make all payments on the securities to the depositary. The depositary passes along the payments it receives to its participants, which in turn pass the payments along to their customers who are the beneficial owners. The depositary and its participants do so under agreements they have made with one another or with their customers; they are not obligated to do so under the terms of the securities.
As a result, investors in a global security will not own securities directly. Instead, they will own beneficial interests in a global security, through a bank, broker or other financial institution that participates in the depositary’s book-entry system or holds an interest through a participant. As long as the securities are issued in global form, investors will be indirect holders, and not legal holders, of the securities.
Street Name Holders
We may terminate a global security or issue securities that are not issued in global form. In these cases, investors may choose to hold their securities in their own names or in “street name.” Securities held by an investor in street name would be registered in the name of a bank, broker or other financial institution that the investor chooses, and the investor would hold only a beneficial interest in those securities through an account he or she maintains at that institution.
For securities held in street name, we or any applicable trustee or depositary will recognize only the intermediary banks, brokers and other financial institutions in whose names the securities are registered as the holders of those securities, and we or any such trustee or depositary will make all payments on those securities to them. These institutions pass along the payments they receive to their customers who are the beneficial owners, but only because they agree to do so in their customer agreements or because they are legally required to do so. Investors who hold securities in street name will be indirect holders, not legal holders, of those securities.
Legal Holders
Our obligations, as well as the obligations of any applicable trustee or third party employed by us or a trustee, run only to the legal holders of the securities. We do not have obligations to investors who hold beneficial interests in global securities, in street name or by any other indirect means. This will be the case whether an investor chooses to be an indirect holder of a security or has no choice because we are issuing the securities only in global form.
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For example, once we make a payment or give a notice to the holder, we have no further responsibility for the payment or notice even if that holder is required, under agreements with its participants or customers or by law, to pass it along to the indirect holders but does not do so. Similarly, we may want to obtain the approval of the holders to amend an indenture, to relieve us of the consequences of a default or of our obligation to comply with a particular provision of an indenture, or for other purposes. In such an event, we would seek approval only from the holders, and not the indirect holders, of the securities. Whether and how the legal holders contact the indirect holders is up to the legal holders.
Special Considerations for Indirect Holders
If you hold securities through a bank, broker or other financial institution, either in book-entry form because the securities are represented by one or more global securities or in street name, you should check with your own institution to find out:
• | how it handles securities payments and notices; |
• | whether it imposes fees or charges; |
• | how it would handle a request for the holders’ consent, if ever required; |
• | whether and how you can instruct it to send you securities registered in your own name so you can be a holder, if that is permitted in the future; |
• | how it would exercise rights under the securities if there were a default or other event triggering the need for holders to act to protect their interests; and |
• | if the securities are in book-entry form, how the depositary’s rules and procedures will affect these matters. |
Global Securities
A global security is a security that represents one or any other number of individual securities held by a depositary. Generally, all securities represented by the same global securities will have the same terms.
Each security issued in book-entry form will be represented by a global security that we issue to, deposit with and register in the name of a financial institution or its nominee that we select. The financial institution that we select for this purpose is called the depositary. Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, DTC will be the depositary for all securities issued in book-entry form.
A global security may not be transferred to or registered in the name of anyone other than the depositary, its nominee or a successor depositary, unless special termination situations arise. We describe those situations below under “—Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated.” As a result of these arrangements, the depositary, or its nominee, will be the sole registered owner and legal holder of all securities represented by a global security, and investors will be permitted to own only beneficial interests in a global security. Beneficial interests must be held by means of an account with a broker, bank or other financial institution that in turn has an account with the depositary or with another institution that does. Thus, an investor whose security is represented by a global security will not be a legal holder of the security, but only an indirect holder of a beneficial interest in the global security.
If the prospectus supplement for a particular security indicates that the security will be issued as a global security, then the security will be represented by a global security at all times unless and until the global security is terminated. If termination occurs, we may issue the securities through another book-entry clearing system or decide that the securities may no longer be held through any book-entry clearing system.
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Special Considerations for Global Securities
As an indirect holder, an investor’s rights relating to a global security will be governed by the account rules of the investor’s financial institution and of the depositary, as well as general laws relating to securities transfers. We do not recognize an indirect holder as a holder of securities and instead deal only with the depositary that holds the global security.
If securities are issued only as global securities, an investor should be aware of the following:
• | an investor cannot cause the securities to be registered in his or her name, and cannot obtain non-global certificates for his or her interest in the securities, except in the special situations we describe below; |
• | an investor will be an indirect holder and must look to his or her own bank or broker for payments on the securities and protection of his or her legal rights relating to the securities, as we describe above; |
• | an investor may not be able to sell interests in the securities to some insurance companies and to other institutions that are required by law to own their securities in non-book-entry form; |
• | an investor may not be able to pledge his or her interest in the global security in circumstances where certificates representing the securities must be delivered to the lender or other beneficiary of the pledge in order for the pledge to be effective; |
• | the depositary’s policies, which may change from time to time, will govern payments, transfers, exchanges and other matters relating to an investor’s interest in the global security; |
• | we and any applicable trustee have no responsibility for any aspect of the depositary’s actions or for its records of ownership interests in the global security, nor will we or any applicable trustee supervise the depositary in any way; |
• | the depositary may, and we understand that DTC will, require that those who purchase and sell interests in the global security within its book-entry system use immediately available funds, and your broker or bank may require you to do so as well; and |
• | financial institutions that participate in the depositary’s book-entry system, and through which an investor holds its interest in the global security, may also have their own policies affecting payments, notices and other matters relating to the securities. |
There may be more than one financial intermediary in the chain of ownership for an investor. We do not monitor and are not responsible for the actions of any of those intermediaries.
Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated
In a few special situations described below, a global security will terminate and interests in it will be exchanged for physical certificates representing those interests. After that exchange, the choice of whether to hold securities directly or in street name will be up to the investor. Investors must consult their own banks or brokers to find out how to have their interests in securities transferred to their own names, so that they will be direct holders. We have described the rights of holders and street name investors above.
Unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, a global security will terminate when the following special situations occur:
• | if the depositary notifies us that it is unwilling, unable or no longer qualified to continue as depositary for that global security and we do not appoint another institution to act as depositary within 90 days; |
• | if we notify any applicable trustee that we wish to terminate that global security; or |
• | if an event of default has occurred with regard to securities represented by that global security and has not been cured or waived. |
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The applicable prospectus supplement may also list additional situations for terminating a global security that would apply only to the particular series of securities covered by the prospectus supplement. When a global security terminates, the depositary, and neither we nor any applicable trustee, is responsible for deciding the names of the institutions that will be the initial direct holders.
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We may sell the securities from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities to or through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers. We may distribute securities from time to time in one or more transactions:
• | at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed; |
• | at market prices prevailing at the time of sale; |
• | at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or |
• | at negotiated prices. |
We may also sell equity securities covered by this registration statement in an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act. Such offering may be made into an existing trading market for such securities in transactions at other than a fixed price on or through the facilities of The Nasdaq Global Select Market or any other securities exchange or quotation or trading service on which such securities may be listed, quoted or traded at the time of sale. Such at the market offerings, if any, may be conducted by underwriters acting as principal or agent.
A prospectus supplement or supplements (and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) will describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:
• | the name or names of any underwriters, dealers or agents, if any; |
• | the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale; |
• | any over-allotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us; |
• | any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents’ or underwriters’ compensation; |
• | any public offering price; |
• | any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and |
• | any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed. |
Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement are underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.
If underwriters are used in the sale, they will acquire the securities for their own account and may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. The obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to the conditions set forth in the applicable underwriting agreement. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Subject to certain conditions, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement, other than securities covered by any overallotment or other option. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time. We may use underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. We will describe in the prospectus supplement, naming the underwriter, the nature of any such relationship.
We may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities, and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, our agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
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We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.
We may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against civil liabilities related to this offering, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to these liabilities. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business.
All securities we may offer, other than common stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities.
Any underwriter may engage in overallotment, stabilizing transactions, short covering transactions and penalty bids. Overallotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. Short covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution is completed to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time. These transactions may be effected on any exchange or over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Any underwriters or agents who are qualified market makers on The Nasdaq Global Select Market may engage in passive market making transactions in the securities on The Nasdaq Global Select Market in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before the commencement of offers or sales of the securities. Passive market makers must comply with applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, however, the passive market maker’s bid must then be lowered when certain purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
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Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, certain legal matters in connection with the offering and the validity of the securities offered by this prospectus, and any supplement thereto, will be passed upon by Cooley LLP, New York, New York. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. As of the date of this prospectus, GC&H Investments, LLC, an entity consisting of current and former partners and associates of Cooley LLP, beneficially holds an aggregate of 16,021 shares of our common stock.
The financial statements incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed with the SEC. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits to the registration statement. For further information with respect to us and the securities we are offering under this prospectus, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as a part of the registration statement. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the securities offered by this prospectus.
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC.
Copies of certain information filed by us with the SEC are also available on our website at www.tayshagtx.com. Information contained in or accessible through our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus and is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have included our website address as an inactive textual reference only.
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The SEC file number for the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is 001-39536. The documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain important information that you should read about us.
The following documents are incorporated by reference into this document:
• | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2021; |
• | the information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 29, 2021; |
• | our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2021 and August 16, 2021, respectively; |
• | our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 15, 2021, January 19, 2021, February 1, 2021, February 12, 2021, March 9, 2021, April 12, 2021, April 14, 2021, June 17, 2021 and October 5, 2021, to the extent the information in such reports is filed and not furnished; and |
• | the description of our common stock set forth in the amendment to the registration statement on Form 8-A registering our common stock under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, which was filed with the SEC on September 18, 2020, including any amendments or reports filed for purposes of updating such description. |
We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus all documents (other than current reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits filed on such form that are related to such items) that are filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (i) after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement, or (ii) after the date of this prospectus but prior to the termination of the offering. These documents include periodic reports, such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as proxy statements.
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus, including exhibits that are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You should direct any requests for documents to Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc., Attn: Corporate Secretary, 3000 Pegasus Park Drive, Suite 1430, Dallas, Texas 75247, and our telephone number is (214) 612-0000.
Any statement contained in this prospectus or contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or any subsequently filed supplement to this prospectus, or document deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus, modifies or supersedes such statement.
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$75,000,000
Common Stock
Pre-Funded Warrants to Purchase up to shares of Common Stock
Jefferies | Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC | Cantor |
Prospectus Supplement dated June , 2024