SEC Form S-8 filed by Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc.
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22, 2024
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 83-3614316 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
5505 Morehouse Drive, Suite 100 San Diego, CA |
92121 | |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan
Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. 2024 Equity Incentive Plan
Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. 2024 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(Full titles of the plans)
Fred Aslan, M.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc.
5505 Morehouse Drive, Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 267-4467
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Carlos Ramirez
Charles S. Kim
Cooley LLP
10265 Science Center Drive
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 550-6000
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large Accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||
Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS
The information called for by Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the instructions to Form S-8. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 of the Securities Act.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. | Incorporation of Documents by Reference. |
The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed by the Registrant with the Commission:
(a) | The Registrant’s prospectus filed on July 22, 2024 pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act relating to the Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended (File No. 333-280568), initially filed with the Commission on June 28, 2024, which contains audited financial statements for the Registrant’s latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed; and |
(b) | The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed on July 16, 2024 (File No. 001-42179) under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or portions thereof that are furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement herein or in any other subsequently filed document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not constitute a part of this Registration Statement, except as so modified or superseded.
Item 4. | Description of Securities. |
Not applicable.
Item 5. | Interests of Named Experts and Counsel. |
Not applicable.
Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
As permitted by Sections 102 and 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Registrant has adopted provisions in its amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws that limit or eliminate the personal liability of its directors for a breach of their fiduciary duty of care as a director. The duty of care generally requires that, when acting on behalf of the corporation, directors exercise an informed business judgment based on all material information reasonably available to them. Consequently, a director will not be personally liable to the Registrant or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for:
• | any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Registrant or its stockholders; |
• | any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; |
• | any act related to unlawful stock repurchases, redemptions or other distributions or payment of dividends; or |
• | any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. |
These limitations of liability do not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission. The Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation also authorizes it to indemnify its officers, directors and other agents to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law.
As permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws provide that:
• | the Registrant may indemnify its directors, officers, employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, subject to limited exceptions; |
• | the Registrant may advance expenses to its directors, officers and employees in connection with a legal proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, subject to limited exceptions; and |
• | the rights provided in the Registrant’s bylaws are not exclusive. |
The Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and its bylaws, as amended, provide for the indemnification provisions described above. The Registrant has entered into, and intends to continue to enter into, separate indemnification agreements with its directors and officers that may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the Delaware General Corporation Law. These indemnification agreements generally require the Registrant, among other things, to indemnify its officers and directors against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers, other than liabilities arising from willful misconduct. These indemnification agreements also generally require the Registrant to advance any expenses incurred by the directors or officers as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified. These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrant’s officers and directors for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act.
The Registrant has purchased and currently intends to maintain insurance on behalf of each and every person who is one of its directors or officers, within the limits and subject to the terms and conditions thereof, against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.
Item 7. | Exemption from Registration Claimed. |
Not applicable.
Item 8. | Exhibits. |
The exhibits to this Registration Statement are listed below:
* | Filed herewith. |
Item 9. | Undertakings. |
(a) | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes: |
(1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement: |
(i) | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act; |
(ii) | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement; and |
(iii) | To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement. |
Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.
(2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
(3) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
(b) | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
(c) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Diego, State of California, on July 22, 2024.
ARTIVA BIOTHERAPEUTICS, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Fred Aslan, M.D. | |
Fred Aslan, M.D. | ||
President and Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Fred Aslan, M.D. and Neha Krishnamohan and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, with the full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place or stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this registration statement (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date | ||
/s/ Fred Aslan, M.D. Fred Aslan, M.D. |
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
July 22, 2024 | ||
/s/ Neha Krishnamohan Neha Krishnamohan |
Chief Financial Officer and EVP, Corporate Development (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
July 22, 2024 | ||
/s/ Brian Daniels, M.D. Brian Daniels, M.D. |
Chairperson of the Board of Directors | July 22, 2024 | ||
/s/ Laura Bessen, M.D. Laura Bessen, M.D. |
Director | July 22, 2024 | ||
/s/ Elizabeth Hougen |
Director | July 22, 2024 | ||
Elizabeth Hougen |
/s/ Yong Jun-Huh Yong-Jun Huh |
Director | July 22, 2024 | ||
/s/ Diego Miralles, M.D. Diego Miralles, M.D. |
Director | July 22, 2024 | ||
/s/ Laura Stoppel, Ph.D. Laura Stoppel, Ph.D. |
Director | July 22, 2024 |