F-3
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 2, 2015

Registration No. 333-        

 

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM F-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

PROQR THERAPEUTICS N.V.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

 

 

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s Name into English)

 

 

 

The Netherlands   Not applicable

(State or other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

Darwinweg 24

2333 CR Leiden

The Netherlands

31 88 166 7000

(Address and telephone number of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

CT Corporation System

111 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10011

(212) 894-8800

(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Mitchell S. Bloom, Esq.

Danielle M. Lauzon, Esq.

Goodwin Procter LLP

Exchange Place

53 State Street

Boston, MA 02109

(617) 570-1000

 

René Beukema, Chief Corporate

Development Officer & General Counsel

ProQR Therapeutics B.V.

Darwinweg 24

2333 CR Leiden

The Netherlands

+31 (0)85 4 89 49 32

 

 

Approximate Date of Commencement of Proposed Sale of the Securities to the Public:

From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

 

 

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ¨

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, please check the following box.  x

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ¨

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of each class of

securities to be registered

  Amount
to be
registered(1)
  Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
per Unit(2)
  Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price(3)
  Amount of
Registration Fee(3)

Ordinary Shares, nominal value €0.04 per share(4)

               

Warrants

               

Units

               

Total

  $200,000,000       $200,000,000   $20,140

 

 

(1) An indeterminate aggregate initial offering price or number of the securities of each identified class is being registered as may be sold from time to time at indeterminate prices, with any initial offering price not to exceed $200,000,000. Separate consideration may or may not be received for securities that are issuable on exercise, conversion or exchange of other securities or that are issued in units. Any separate consideration received for securities that are issuable upon exercise, conversion, or exchange of other securities or that are issued in units is included in, and subject to, the maximum aggregate offering price of all securities sold pursuant to this registration statement of $200,000,000.
(2) The proposed maximum aggregate offering price of each class of securities will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder and is not specified as to each class of securities pursuant to the General Instruction II.C. of Form F-3 under the Securities Act of 1933.
(3) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933. In no event will the aggregate offering price of all securities sold by the registrant from time to time pursuant to this Registration Statement exceed $200,000,000.
(4) Subject to the maximum aggregate offering price of all securities sold hereunder set forth above, there is being registered hereunder an indeterminate number of shares of ordinary shares as may from time to time be sold at indeterminate prices hereunder, and an indeterminate number of shares of ordinary shares as may from time to time be issued upon conversion of convertible securities and upon exercise of warrants and rights, which may be sold hereunder.

 

 

 


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The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This registration statement contains two prospectuses:

 

    a base prospectus which covers the offering, issuance and sale of up to $200,000,000 of the registrant’s ordinary shares, warrants and units; and

 

    a sales agreement prospectus covering the offering, issuance and sale of up to $60,000,000 of shares of the registrant’s ordinary shares that may be issued and sold under the Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement, dated October 2, 2015 (the “Sales Agreement”), between the registrant and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

The base prospectus immediately follows this explanatory note. The specific terms of any securities to be offered pursuant to the base prospectus will be specified in a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus. The sales agreement prospectus immediately follows the base prospectus. The ordinary shares that may be offered, issued and sold under the sales agreement prospectus is included in the $200,000,000 of securities that may be offered, issued and sold by the registrant under the base prospectus. Upon termination of the Sales Agreement, any portion of the $60,000,000 included in the sales agreement prospectus that is not sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement will be available for sale in other offerings pursuant to the base prospectus.


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This information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED OCTOBER 2, 2015

PROSPECTUS

LOGO

$200,000,000

ORDINARY SHARES

WARRANTS

UNITS

 

 

We may offer securities, warrants, rights, purchase contracts, units, or ordinary shares from time to time. We may also offer securities of the types listed above that are convertible or exchangeable into one or more of the other securities so listed. When we decide to sell a particular class or series of securities, we will provide specific terms of the offered securities in a prospectus supplement. The securities offered by us pursuant to this prospectus will have an aggregate public offering price of up to $200,000,000.

The securities covered by this prospectus may be offered and sold from time to time in one or more offerings, which may be through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers. The names of any underwriters, dealers or agents, if any, will be included in a supplement to this prospectus.

This prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to these securities and the general manner in which they may be offered. The specific terms of any securities to be offered, and the specific manner in which they may be offered, will be described in one or more supplements to this prospectus.

 

 

Our ordinary shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “PRQR.” On September 30, 2015, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market was $14.57 per share.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V. is a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands. Our principal executive offices are located at Darwinweg 24, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands. Our telephone number at such address is 31 88 166 7000.

 

 

Investing in our securities involves risks. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” on page 7 of this prospectus.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state or other 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                    , 2015.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     1   

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

     2   

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

     3   

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

     6   

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

     6   

RISK FACTORS

     7   

USE OF PROCEEDS

     8   

CAPITALIZATION

     9   

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER

     10   

WARRANTS

     10   

UNITS

     11   

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

     12   

FORM, EXCHANGE AND TRANSFER

     35   

BOOK-ENTRY PROCEDURES AND SETTLEMENT

     36   

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     38   

LEGAL MATTERS

     41   

EXPERTS

     41   

SERVICE OF PROCESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF LIABILITIES

     41   

EXPENSES

     42   

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, including the documents that we incorporate by reference herein, includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the “Securities Act,” and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the “Exchange Act.” For this purpose, any statements contained herein, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding: the progress and timing of our product development programs and related trials; our future opportunities; our strategy, future operations, anticipated financial position, future revenues and projected costs; our management’s prospects, plans and objectives; and any other statements about management’s future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements. We may, in some cases, use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and our most recent annual report on Form 20-F, as well as any amendments thereto reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, business development transactions, joint ventures or investments we may enter into or make in the future.

You should rely only on information contained, or incorporated by reference, in this prospectus, the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus and understand that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance or achievement. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law. Before deciding to purchase our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors included or incorporated herein by reference, in addition to the other information set forth in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement, any free writing prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference.

You should rely only on the information provided in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement, as well as the information incorporated by reference. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any documents incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the applicable document.

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf process, we may sell from time to time any combination of the securities described in this prospectus having an aggregate public offering price of $200,000,000 in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. When we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation Of Certain Information By Reference.”

 

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary provides a brief overview of the key aspects of ProQR Therapeutics N.V. and certain material terms of the securities that may be offered that are known as of the date of this prospectus. Before you decide to invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risks and discussion of risks set forth under the heading “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2015, and the subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC. When we use the words “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “ours” and “our,” we are referring to ProQR Therapeutics N.V. For a more complete understanding of the terms of a particular issuance of offered securities, and before making your investment decision, you should carefully read:

 

    this prospectus, which explains the general terms of the securities that we may offer;

 

    the accompanying prospectus supplement for such issuance, which explains the specific terms of the securities being offered and which may update or change information in this prospectus; and

 

    the documents referred to in “Where You Can Find Additional Information” for information about us, including our financial statements.

Our Company

We are an innovative biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of RNA-based therapeutics for the treatment of severe genetic disorders. Utilizing our unique proprietary RNA repair technologies we are building a pipeline in severe genetic disorders beyond cystic fibrosis, or CF and Leber’s congenital amaurosis or LCA. We believe we will be able to treat rare genetic disorders in which a single protein is defective due to certain types of genetic mutations. We design our therapeutic candidates to specifically target and repair the defective messenger RNA, or mRNA, that is transcribed from a mutated gene in order to restore the expression and function of normal, or wild-type, protein. We believe that targeting the mRNA to restore the production of normal protein is a unique approach that offers advantages compared with small molecule, gene therapy and other therapeutic approaches. The first two programs in our pipeline focus respectively on the development of a disease-modifying therapy for the treatment of CF and LCA. Further, based on our own research and initial selection criteria, we believe that our RNA repair technologies can potentially be used to treat a broad range of other severe genetic diseases with high unmet medical need, and to date we have identified more than 50 potential target indications.

CF is a genetic disease that affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 patients worldwide and causes early morbidity and mortality. CF currently has no cure. The median age of death for CF patients is 27, and more than 90% of CF patients die from respiratory failure. CF is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes for a protein called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, or CFTR. Although there are more than 1,900 different genetic mutations that cause CF, the DF508 mutation that we are targeting is the most prevalent and is present in approximately 70% of all CF patients. In CF patients, this mutated gene and the resulting defective protein lead to the dysfunction of multiple organ systems, including the lungs, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract. In the lung airways, absence of functional CFTR protein leads to unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and increases vulnerability to chronic, life-threatening lung infections. To date, all but one of the therapies approved to treat CF patients with this mutation are designed to treat the symptoms of CF rather than address the underlying cause.

Our lead product candidate, QR-010, a first-in-class RNA-based oligonucleotide, is designed to address the underlying cause of the disease by repairing the mRNA defect encoded by the DF508 mutation in the CFTR gene of CF patients. The DF508 mutation is a deletion of three of the coding base pairs, or nucleotides, in the CFTR gene, which results in the production of a misfolded CFTR protein that does not function normally. QR-010 is designed to bind to the defective CFTR mRNA and guide the insertion of the three missing nucleotides, thus repairing the mRNA and subsequently producing wild-type, or normal CFTR protein. QR-010 is designed to be self-administered through a small, handheld aerosol delivery device, or nebulizer, in the form of a mist inhaled

 

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into the lungs. We believe this method could allow maximum exposure of QR-010 to the primary target organ, the lung, as well as significant exposure to other affected organs through systemic absorption into the blood. To date, we have conducted extensive pre-clinical studies that have shown significant activity of QR-010 in restoring the expression of fully functional CFTR protein in cell and animal models that bear the DF508 mutation. We believe this activity in pre-clinical models of CF provides support for the clinical development and therapeutic potential of QR-010. QR-010 has been granted orphan drug designation in the United States and the European Union. Generally, if a product with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to a period of market exclusivity. This exclusivity precludes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, as applicable, from approving another marketing application for the same or, in the European Union, a similar drug for the same indication for that time period, unless the later product is clinically superior. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.

QR-010 is currently being tested in two clinical trials directly in CF patients. This first clinical trial is a Phase 1b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 28-day dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and absorption, distribution and degradation, or pharmacokinetics, of QR-010 in CF patients who have two copies of the DF508 mutation. We will also assess exploratory outcome measures that could be indicative of the potential efficacy of QR-010. In parallel with our Phase 1b trial, we are also conducting a proof-of-concept, or POC, study designed to investigate the drug candidate’s ability to restore CFTR function in the nasal lining of CF patients with the DF508 mutation. We expect to report top-line data from both our Phase 1b trial and our POC study in the fourth quarter of 2015 or early 2016.

LCA is the most common genetic blindness in childhood. LCA is caused by a genetic defect in 19 or more associated genes. The most common mutation is the p.Cys998X in the CEP290 (Centrosomal protein of 290 kDa) gene. We believe that approximately 2,000 patients in the Western world suffer from LCA due to this mutation in the CEP290 gene. Most patients affected by this mutation typically lose sight in the first few years after birth. There is currently no disease modifying therapy available on the market or being tested in development for this specific subtype of the disease. In LCA patients, this mutation leads to significant decrease of active CEP290 protein in the photoreceptor cells in the retina in the eye. The absence of this essential protein causes blindness.

Our product candidate QR-110, a first-in-class oligonucleotide, is designed to treat the disease by repairing the underlying cause in the mRNA, which results in the production of wild-type CEP290 protein. The p.Cys998X mutation is a substitution of one nucleotide in the pre-mRNA forming a cryptic splice site that causes a part of the following intron to be included in the mRNA. This leads to an out-of-frame mRNA that is not translated into the required protein. QR-110 is designed to bind to the mutated location in the pre-mRNA, masking the cryptic splice site, thereby leading to normally spliced or wild-type mRNA, which could produce wild-type or normal protein. QR-110 is designed to be administered through an intravitreal injection in the eye. To date, we have conducted pre-clinical studies that have shown significant activity of QR-110 in restoring the expression of fully functional CEP290 protein in cells that bear this. We believe this activity in pre-clinical models of LCA provides support for the clinical development and therapeutic potential of QR-110. In 2016 we intend to dose a first patient in our first clinical trial directly in LCA patients.

Beyond CF and LCA, our innovation unit, which is our internal discovery engine, is working on many more programs that we have identified in our own internal research. We see many opportunities where we can use our knowhow and RNA technologies to potentially make a life saving impact to patients suffering from different severe genetic disorders. The programs in the innovation unit vary in stage of discovery, from the idea phase to close to having a complete pre-clinical PoC. We believe based on this internal discovery effort we will be able to add two programs per year to our development pipeline.

ProQR was formed in February 2012 by Daniel de Boer, Gerard Platenburg, Henri Termeer and Dinko Valerio. Mr. de Boer is a passionate and driven entrepreneur and advocate for CF patients, and has assembled an

 

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experienced team of successful biotech executives as co-founders and early investors. ProQR’s team has extensive experience in discovery, development and commercialization of CF treatments and RNA therapeutics. To date, we have raised approximately € 133 million in gross proceeds from our initial public offering of shares on the NASDAQ Global Market and private placements of equity securities. In addition, we have received grants, loans and other funding from CF-focused patient organizations and government institutions supporting our program for CF, including from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the European Commission. ProQR headquarters are in Leiden, the Netherlands.

The Securities We May Offer

We may use this prospectus to offer any of the following types of securities having an aggregate public offering price of $200,000,000:

 

    ordinary shares;

 

    warrants; and

 

    units.

We may issue securities of the types listed above which are convertible or exchangeable for other securities so listed.

When we decide to sell a particular class or series of securities, we will provide specific terms of the offered securities in a prospectus supplement.

A prospectus supplement will describe the specific types, amounts, prices, and detailed terms of any of these offered securities and may describe certain risks associated with an investment in the securities. Terms used in the prospectus supplement will have the meanings described in this prospectus, unless otherwise specified.

Listing

Our ordinary shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “PRQR.” If any other securities are to be listed or quoted on a securities exchange or quotation system, the applicable prospectus supplement will so state.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

As required by the Securities Act, we have filed a registration statement relating to the securities offered by this prospectus with the SEC. This prospectus is a part of that registration statement, which includes additional information.

We file annual and other reports and other information with the SEC. Such filings are available to the public from the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any documents we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of these documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at that address. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room.

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we file with the SEC, by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. Any information that we file later with the SEC and that is deemed incorporated by reference will automatically update and supersede the information in this prospectus. In all such cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus or in any incorporated document. You should not assume that information in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement is current as of any date other than the date of that document. This prospectus will be deemed to incorporate by reference the following documents, except that we do not incorporate any document or portion of a document that was furnished and deemed by the rules of the SEC not to have been filed:

 

    our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2015;

 

    our Reports on Form 6-K, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2015, April 29, 2015, May 21, 2015, June 11, 2015, June 29, 2015, August 19, 2014 and September 14, 2015; and

 

    the description of our ordinary shares contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-36622), filed with the SEC on September 16, 2014.

We will also incorporate by reference any future filings made with the SEC under the Exchange Act after (i) the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement and (ii) the date of this prospectus and before the completion of the offering of the securities under the registration statement. In addition, we will incorporate by reference certain future materials furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K after the date of the initial registration statement, but only to the extent specifically indicated in those submissions or in a future prospectus supplement. Each subsequently filed Annual Report should be deemed to supersede entirely each earlier filed Annual Report and Reports on Form 6-K containing our quarterly earnings releases and, unless explicitly stated otherwise, such earlier reports should not be deemed to be part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement and you should not rely upon statements made in those earlier periodic reports.

You may request a copy of these filings, at no cost, by writing, telephoning or emailing us at the following address:

Darwinweg 24

2333 CR Leiden

The Netherlands

Attention: Company Secretary

Tel.: 31 88 166 7000

IR@proqr.com

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and discussion of risks set forth under the heading “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2015, and the other documents we have incorporated by reference in this prospectus, including the section entitled “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in future Annual Reports on Form 20-F that summarize the risks that may materially affect our business, before making an investment in our securities. Please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information By Reference.”

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise described in a prospectus supplement or related free writing prospectus, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the offered securities for general corporate purposes, which may include, but are not limited to, working capital, repayment of outstanding indebtedness, strategic acquisitions and other potential business development activities, ongoing research and development activities and capital expenditures. Pending any specific utilization, the proceeds from the sale of the offered securities may be invested in a manner designed to ensure levels of liquidity which correspond to our current and foreseeable cash needs. Such investments may include, but may not be limited to, short-term investments, including government bonds, or other interest-bearing investments.

We may raise additional funds from time to time through equity or debt financings not involving the issuance of securities described in this prospectus, including borrowings under credit facilities, to finance our business and operations and any acquisitions.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

Information on our consolidated capitalization will be contained in a prospectus supplement.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER

Warrants

The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplements or free writing prospectus, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, which may consist of warrants to purchase securities in one or more series. Warrants may be offered independently or together with ordinary shares or units offered by any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, and may be attached to or separate from those securities. While the terms we have summarized below will generally apply to any future warrants we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any warrants that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. The terms of any warrants we offer under a prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may differ from the terms we describe below.

We may issue warrants to purchase our equity securities or securities of third parties or other rights, including rights to receive payment in cash or securities based on the value, rate or price of one or more specified commodities, currencies, securities or indices, or any combination of the foregoing. Warrants may be issued independently or together with any other securities and may be attached to, or separate from, such securities. A series of warrants may be issued under a separate warrant indenture between us and a warrant agent. The terms of any warrants to be issued and a description of the material provisions of any applicable warrant indenture will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms of any warrants in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered:

 

    the title of such warrants;

 

    the aggregate number of such warrants;

 

    the price or prices at which such warrants will be issued;

 

    the currency or currencies, in which the price of such warrants will be payable;

 

    the securities or other rights, including rights to receive payment in cash or securities based on the value, rate or price of one or more specified commodities, currencies, securities or indices, or any combination of the foregoing, purchasable upon exercise of such warrants;

 

    the price at which and the currency or currencies, in which the securities or other rights purchasable upon exercise of such warrants may be purchased;

 

    the date on which the right to exercise such warrants shall commence and the date on which such right shall expire;

 

    if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of such warrants which may be exercised at any one time;

 

    if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which such warrants are issued and the number of such warrants issued with each such security;

 

    if applicable, the date on and after which such warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable;

 

    information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any;

 

    if applicable, a discussion of any material United States Federal income tax considerations; and

 

    any other terms of such warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of such warrants.

 

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Units

This section outlines some of the provisions of the units and the unit agreements. This information may not be complete in all respects and is qualified entirely by reference to the unit agreement with respect to the units of any particular series. The specific terms of any series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. If so described in a particular prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, the specific terms of any series of units may differ from the general description of terms presented below.

We may issue units comprised of ordinary shares and warrants in any combination. We may issue units in such amounts and in as many distinct series as we wish. This section outlines certain provisions of the units that we may issue. If we issue units, they will be issued under one or more unit agreements to be entered into between us and a bank or other financial institution, as unit agent. The information described in this section may not be complete in all respects and is qualified entirely by reference to the unit agreement with respect to the units of any particular series. The specific terms of any series of units offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If so described in a particular supplement, the specific terms of any series of units may differ from the general description of terms presented below. We urge you to read any prospectus supplement related to any series of units we may offer, as well as the complete unit agreement and unit certificate that contain the terms of the units. If we issue units, forms of unit agreements and unit certificates relating to such units will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement, which includes this prospectus.

We may issue units consisting of one or more ordinary shares, warrants or any combination of such securities. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe:

 

    the terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be traded separately;

 

    a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units; and

 

    a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange or the units.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

This section describes the general terms of our ordinary shares that we may offer from time to time. For more detailed information, a holder of our ordinary shares should refer to our certificate of incorporation and our by-laws, copies of which are filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

General

We were incorporated on February 21, 2012 as a private company with limited liability (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) under Dutch law. In connection with our initial public offering in 2014, our shareholders resolved to amend our articles of association and to convert into a public company with limited liability by means of a Deed of Amendment and Conversion, pursuant to which, we converted to a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) under the laws of the Netherlands. In connection with this conversion, our legal name changed from ProQR Therapeutics B.V. to ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

Our company is registered with the Dutch Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce (handelsregister van de Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken) in Leiden, the Netherlands under number 54600790. Our corporate seat is in Leiden, the Netherlands, and our registered office is at Darwinweg 24, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands.

As of the date hereof, our authorized share capital is €3,000,000, divided into 37,500,000 ordinary shares and 37,500,000 preferred shares, each with a nominal value of €0.04. Under Dutch law, our authorized share capital is the maximum capital that we may issue without amending our articles of association.

Our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “PRQR.”

We have listed our ordinary shares in registered form and our shares are not certificated. We have appointed American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC as our agent to maintain our shareholders register and to act as transfer agent, registrar and paying agent for the ordinary shares. Our ordinary shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Market in book-entry form.

Articles of Association and Dutch Law

Set forth below is a summary of relevant information concerning the material provisions of our articles of association and applicable Dutch law. This summary does not constitute legal advice regarding those matters and should not be regarded as such.

Anti-Takeover Measure

To enable us to pursue our business strategy and the successful development of our product pipeline and to protect our interests and those of our stakeholders (including shareholders, employees and patient populations), our business strategy, our continuity and our independence against actual and potential threats, we have adopted an anti-takeover measure by granting a perpetual and repeatedly exercisable call option to a protection foundation, Stichting Continuity ProQR Therapeutics. The call option confers on the protection foundation the right to acquire under certain conditions such number of preferred shares as equals, at the time of exercise of the call option, the lesser of: (i) the total number of shares equal to our issued share capital at that time, minus the number of preferred shares already held by the protection foundation at that time (if any) or (ii) the maximum number of preferred shares that may be issued under our authorized share capital under our articles of association from time to time. The protection foundation’s articles of association provide that it will act to promote and protect the best interests of us, our business and our stakeholders, including patient populations that may benefit from our products and pipeline, by opposing any influences that conflict with these interests and threaten to undermine our strategy, continuity, independence and identity. The board of the protection foundation is independent from us, our stakeholders and our subsidiaries.

 

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Upon exercise of the call option, the preferred shares will be issued to the protection foundation for their nominal value, of which only 25% will be due upon issuance. The voting rights of our shares are based on nominal value and as we expect our shares to trade substantially in excess of nominal value, a foundation acquiring preferred shares issued at 25% of their nominal value can obtain significant voting power for a substantially reduced price and thus be used as a defensive measure. These preferred shares will have both a liquidation and dividend preference over our ordinary shares and will accrue cash dividends at a fixed rate with deficits in a preferred dividend being carried forward. The protection foundation may exercise the call option to acquire preferred shares in order to protect us from influences that do not serve our best interests and threaten to undermine our strategy, continuity, independence and identity. These influences may include a third-party acquiring a significant percentage of our ordinary shares, the announcement of a public offer for our ordinary shares, other concentration of control over our ordinary shares or any other form of pressure on us to alter our strategic policies.

Company’s Shareholders’ Register

All of our registered shares are registered in our shareholders’ register. Subject to Dutch law and our articles of association, we must keep our shareholders’ register accurate and up-to-date. Our shareholders’ register shall be kept by our management board and, when it regards the subregister, on behalf of the management board by our agent. In our shareholders’ register the names and addresses and other relevant details of all holders of registered shares are recorded, showing the date on which the shares were acquired, the date of the acknowledgement by or notification of us as well as the amount paid on each share. The shareholders’ register also includes the names and addresses and other relevant details of those with a right usufruct (vruchtgebruik) or a right of pledge (pandrecht) in respect of such shares. The ordinary shares offered in this offering will be held through DTC, therefore DTC will be recorded in the shareholders register as the holder of those ordinary shares.

Shareholders, usufructuaries and pledgees whose particulars must be recorded in our shareholders’ register are required to provide our management board with the necessary particulars in a timely fashion. Upon request, shareholders, usufructuaries and pledgees shall be provided with an extract of our shareholders’ register in respect of their right to one or more registered shares.

Issuance of Shares and Preemptive Rights

Under Dutch law, shares are issued and rights to subscribe for shares are granted pursuant to a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders. Our articles of association provide that our general meeting of shareholders may only adopt such resolution upon a proposal of our management board, which proposal must have been approved by our supervisory board. Our general meeting of shareholders may authorize our management board to issue new shares or grant rights to subscribe for shares. The authorization can be granted and extended, in each case for a period not exceeding five years. For as long as such authorization is effective, our general meeting of shareholders will not have the power to issue shares and rights to subscribe for shares. Pursuant to our articles of association, our management board may only exercise the power to issue shares with the approval of our supervisory board.

On September 15, 2014, our general meeting of shareholders adopted a resolution pursuant to which our management board will be irrevocably authorized to, following approval of our supervisory board, issue up to 15% of our issued share capital for general purposes, plus 15% of our issued share capital for mergers, demergers, acquisitions and other strategic transactions and alliances, plus 15% of our issued share capital minus treasury shares for issuance under stock option plans, for a period of five years from the date of such resolution. Also, the call-option for preferred shares was issued to the protection foundation, as described above under “Anti-Takeover Measure”.

Under Dutch law, in the event of an issuance of ordinary shares or granting of rights to subscribe for ordinary shares, each shareholder will have a pro rata preemptive right in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of the

 

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ordinary shares held by such holder. A holder of ordinary shares does not have a preemptive right with respect to the issuance of—or granting of rights to subscribe for (i) ordinary shares for consideration other than cash, or (ii) ordinary shares to our employees or employees of one of our group companies, or (iii) ordinary shares to persons exercising a previously granted right to subscribe for shares, or (iv) preferred shares.

The preemptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares may be restricted or excluded by a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders. Our articles of association provide that our general meeting of shareholders may only adopt such resolution upon a proposal of our management board, which proposal must have been approved by our supervisory board. Our general meeting of shareholders may authorize our management board to restrict or exclude the preemptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares. Such authorization for the management board can be granted and extended, in each case for a period not exceeding five years. For as long as such authorization is effective, our general meeting of shareholders will not have the power to limit or exclude preemptive rights and such authorization may not be revoked unless stipulated otherwise in the authorization. A resolution of the general meeting of shareholders to restrict or exclude the preemptive rights or to designate our management board as the authorized body to do so requires at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if less than one half of our issued share capital is represented at the meeting.

Preferred shares do not carry preemptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares or preferred shares, nor do holders of ordinary shares have preemptive rights in respect of newly issued preferred shares. The call option of the protection foundation to acquire newly issued preferred shares of the company, see “Description of Share Capital—Anti-Takeover Measure”, is an irrevocable and repeatedly exercisable right to subscribe for preferred shares.

On September 15, 2014, our general meeting of shareholders adopted a resolution pursuant to which our management board will be irrevocably authorized to—following approval of our supervisory board—limit or exclude the preemptive rights of holders of ordinary shares for a period of five years from the date of such resolution.

Repurchases of our Shares

Under Dutch law, we may not subscribe for newly issued shares in our own capital. We may acquire our shares, subject to applicable provisions and restrictions of Dutch law and our articles of association, to the extent that:

 

    such shares are fully paid-up;

 

    such shares are acquired for no consideration or such repurchase would not cause our shareholders’ equity to fall below an amount equal to the sum of the paid-up and called-up part of the issued share capital and the reserves we are required to maintain pursuant to Dutch law or our articles of association; and

 

    after the acquisition of shares, we and our subsidiaries would not hold, or would not hold as pledgees, shares having an aggregate nominal value that exceeds 50% of our issued share capital.

Other than shares acquired for no consideration or by universal succession, we may acquire shares only if our general meeting of shareholders has authorized the management board to do so. An authorization by the general meeting of shareholders for the acquisition of shares can be granted for a maximum period of 18 months. Such authorization must specify the number of shares that may be acquired, the manner in which these shares may be acquired and the price range within which the shares may be acquired. No authorization of the general meeting of shareholders is required if ordinary shares are acquired by us on NASDAQ with the intention of transferring such ordinary shares to our employees or employees of a group company pursuant to an arrangement applicable to them. Our articles of association further provide that a resolution of our management board to acquire fully paid-up shares in our share capital requires the approval of our supervisory board.

On September 15, 2014, our general meeting of shareholders adopted a resolution pursuant to which our management board will be authorized to acquire (i) up to 10 % of our issued share capital on NASDAQ or by

 

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other means for an 18-month period from the date of such resolution for a price per share not exceeding 110% of the market price of the ordinary shares on NASDAQ (with the market price deemed to be the average of the closing price on each of the five consecutive days of trading preceding the three trading days prior to the date of acquisition) and (ii) the ordinary shares issued under our Option Plan at a price not exceeding $1,000 per share.

Capital Reductions; Cancellation

At a general meeting of shareholders, our shareholders may resolve to reduce our issued share capital by (i) cancelling shares or (ii) reducing the nominal value of the shares by virtue of an amendment to our articles of association. In either case, this reduction would be subject to applicable statutory provisions. A resolution to cancel shares may only relate (x) to shares held by the company itself or in respect of which the company holds the depository receipts, and (y) to all preferred shares. Our articles of association provide that our general meeting of shareholders may only adopt such resolution upon a proposal of our management board, which proposal must have been approved by our supervisory board. In order to be adopted by the general meeting of shareholders, a resolution to reduce the capital requires a simple majority of the votes cast at a general meeting of shareholders if at least half the issued capital is represented at the meeting or at least two-thirds of the votes cast at the general meeting of shareholders if less than half of the issued capital is represented at the general meeting of shareholders.

A reduction of the nominal value of shares without repayment and without release from the obligation to pay up the shares must be effectuated proportionally on shares of the same class (unless all shareholders concerned agree to a disproportionate reduction). A resolution that would result in a reduction of capital requires approval of the meeting of each group of holders of shares of the same class whose rights are prejudiced by the reduction. In addition, a reduction of capital involves a two month waiting period during which creditors have the right to object to a reduction of capital under specified circumstances.

In the event that all preferred shares are cancelled, distributions shall be made to the protection foundation as sole holder of such preferred shares.

Corporate Objectives

Under our articles of association, our corporate objectives are:

 

    the development, bringing to market and exploitation of products and technologies in the field of biotechnology;

 

    the research and development of (or the commission to research and develop) patents, know-how and intellectual and industrial property;

 

    to make our products available to the patient populations that may benefit from such products and to maintain a suitable pipeline of products that may be beneficial for relevant patient populations;

 

    to participate in, to finance, to hold any other interest in and to conduct the management or supervision of other entities, companies, partnerships and businesses;

 

    to furnish guarantees, to provide security, to warrant performance in any other way and to assume liability, whether jointly and severally or otherwise, in respect of obligations of group companies or other parties; and

 

    to do anything which, in the widest sense of the words, is connected with or may be conducive to the attainment of these objects.

Amendment of Articles of Association

Our general meeting of shareholders, at the proposal of our management board, with the prior approval of our supervisory board, may resolve to amend our articles of association. A resolution taken by the general meeting of shareholders to amend our articles of association requires a simple majority of the votes cast.

 

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General Meetings of Shareholders

General meetings of shareholders are held in Leiden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, or in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer (Schiphol Airport), the Netherlands. All shareholders and others entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders are authorized to attend the general meeting of shareholders, to address the meeting and, in so far as they have such right, to vote, either in person or by proxy.

We must hold at least one general meeting of shareholders each year, to be held within six months after the end of our financial year. A general meeting of shareholders shall also be held within three months after our management board has considered it to be likely that the company’s equity has decreased to an amount equal to or lower than half of its paid up and called up capital. If the management board and supervisory board have failed to ensure that such general meetings of shareholders as referred to in the preceding sentences are held in a timely fashion, each shareholder and other person entitled to attend shareholders’ meetings may be authorized by the Dutch court to convene the general meeting of shareholders.

Our management board and our supervisory board may convene additional extraordinary general meetings of shareholders whenever they so decide. Pursuant to Dutch law, one or more shareholders and/or others entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders, alone or jointly representing at least ten percent of our issued share capital may on their application, be authorized by the Dutch court to convene a general meeting of shareholders. The Dutch court will disallow the application if it does not appear to it that the applicants have previously requested that the management board or supervisory board convenes a shareholders’ meeting and neither the management board nor the supervisory board has taken the necessary steps so that the shareholders’ meeting could be held within eight weeks after the request.

General meetings of shareholders are convened by a notice which includes an agenda stating the items to be discussed. For the annual general meeting of shareholders the agenda will include, among other things, the adoption of our annual accounts, the appropriation of our profits or losses and proposals relating to the composition and filling of any vacancies of the management board or supervisory board. In addition, the agenda for a general meeting of shareholders includes such items as have been included therein by our management board or our supervisory board. Pursuant to Dutch law, one or more shareholders and/or others entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders, alone or jointly representing at least 3% of the issued share capital have the right to request the inclusion of additional items on the agenda of shareholders’ meetings. Such requests must be made in writing, substantiated, or by a proposal for a resolution and received by us no later than the sixtieth day before the day the relevant general meeting of shareholders is held. No resolutions will be adopted on items other than those which have been included in the agenda.

We will give notice of each general meeting of shareholders by publication on our website and, to the extent required by applicable law, in a Dutch daily newspaper with national distribution, and in any other manner that we may be required to follow in order to comply with Dutch law, applicable stock exchange and SEC requirements. We will observe the statutory minimum convening notice period for a general meeting of shareholders.

Pursuant to our articles of association, our management board may determine a record date (registratiedatum) of 28 calendar days prior to a general meeting of shareholders to establish which shareholders and others with meeting rights are entitled to attend and, if applicable, vote in the general meeting of shareholders. The record date, if any, and the manner in which shareholders can register and exercise their rights will be set out in the convocation notice of the general meeting of shareholders. Our articles of association provide that a shareholder must notify the company in writing of his identity and his intention to attend (or be represented at) the general meeting of shareholders, such notice to be received by us ultimately on the seventh day prior to the general meeting of shareholders. If this requirement is not complied with or if upon direction of the company to that effect no proper identification is provided by any person wishing to enter the general meeting of shareholders, the chairman of the general meeting of shareholders may, in his sole discretion, refuse entry to the shareholder or his proxy holder.

 

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Pursuant to our articles of association, our general meeting of shareholders is chaired by the chairman of our supervisory board. If the chairman of our supervisory board is absent and has not charged another person to chair the meeting in his place, the supervisory board members present at the meeting shall appoint one of them to be chairman. If no supervisory board members are present at the general meeting of shareholders, the general meeting of shareholders will be chaired by our CEO or, if our CEO is absent, another management board member present at the meeting and, if none of them is present, the general meeting of shareholders shall appoint its own chairman. The person who should chair the meeting may appoint another person in his stead.

The chairman of the general meeting of shareholders may decide at his discretion to admit other persons to the meeting. The chairman of the general meeting of shareholders shall appoint another person present at the shareholders’ meeting to act as secretary and to minute the proceedings at the meeting. The chairman of the general meeting of shareholders may instruct a civil law notary to draw up a notarial report of the proceedings at the company’s expense, in which case no minutes need to be taken. The chairman of the general meeting of shareholders is authorized to eject any person from the general meeting of shareholders if the chairman considers that person to disrupt the orderly proceedings. The general meeting of shareholders shall be conducted in the English language.

Voting Rights and Quorum Requirements

In accordance with Dutch law and our articles of association, each issued ordinary share and preferred share confers the right on the holder thereof to cast one vote at the general meeting of shareholders. The voting rights attached to any shares held by us or our direct or indirect subsidiaries are suspended as long as they are held in treasury. Dutch law does not permit cumulative voting for the election of management board members or supervisory board members.

Voting rights may be exercised by shareholders or by a duly appointed proxy holder (the written proxy being acceptable to the chairman of the general meeting of shareholders) of a shareholder, which proxy holder need not be a shareholder. Our articles of association do not limit the number of shares that may be voted by a single shareholder.

Under our articles of association, blank votes, abstentions and invalid votes shall not be counted as votes cast. Further, shares in respect of which a blank or invalid vote has been cast and shares in respect of which the person with meeting rights who is present or represented at the meeting has abstained from voting are counted when determining the part of the issued share capital that is present or represented at a general meeting of shareholders. The chairman of the general meeting of shareholders shall determine the manner of voting and whether voting may take place by acclamation.

In accordance with Dutch law and generally accepted business practices, our articles of association do not provide quorum requirements generally applicable to general meetings of shareholders. To this extent, our practice varies from the requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule 5620(c), which requires an issuer to provide in its bylaws for a generally applicable quorum, and that such quorum may not be less than one-third of the outstanding voting shares.

Resolutions of the general meeting of shareholders are adopted by a simple majority of votes cast without quorum requirement, except where Dutch law or our articles of association provide for a special majority and/or quorum in relation to specified resolutions.

The chairman of the general meeting of shareholders shall decide on the method of voting and may determine the voting procedure. The determination made by the chairman of the general meeting of shareholders with regard to the results of a vote shall be decisive. However, where the accuracy of the chairman’s determination is contested immediately after it has been made, a new vote shall take place if the majority of the general meeting of shareholders so requires or, where the original vote did not take place by response to a roll call or in writing, if any party with voting rights present at the meeting so requires.

 

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Our management board will keep a record of the resolutions passed at each general meeting of shareholders. The record shall be available at our office for inspection by any person entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders and upon request a copy of or extract from the record will be provided to such person at no more than the cost price.

Our articles of association and Dutch law provide that resolutions of our management board concerning a material change in the identity or character of the company or our business are subject to the approval of the general meeting of shareholders. Such changes include in any event:

 

    a transfer of all or materially all of our business to a third party;

 

    the entry into or termination of a long-lasting alliance of the company or of a subsidiary either with another entity or company, or as a fully liable partner of a limited partnership or partnership, if this alliance or termination is of significant importance for the company; and

 

    the acquisition or disposition of an interest in the capital of a company by the company or by a subsidiary with a value of at least one third of the value of the assets, according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes or, if the company prepares a consolidated balance sheet, according to the consolidated balance sheet with explanatory notes in the company’s most recently adopted annual accounts.

Adoption of Annual Accounts and Discharge of Management and Supervisory Liability

Pursuant to Dutch law, we are required to publish our annual accounts within eight days after adoption and ultimately within 13 months after the end of our financial year.

Each year within five months after the end of our financial year, save where this period is extended for a maximum of six months by the general meeting of shareholders on account of special circumstances, our management board will prepare the annual accounts. The annual accounts must be accompanied by an auditor’s certificate, an annual report and certain other mandatory information and must be made available for inspection by our shareholders at our offices within the same period. Under Dutch law, the general meeting of shareholders may appoint and remove our independent auditors, as referred to in Section 2:393 Dutch Civil Code, who audit the annual accounts. If the general meeting of shareholders fails to appoint an independent auditor, the auditor will be appointed by the supervisory board or, if the supervisory board fails to do so, the management board. The annual accounts are adopted by our shareholders at the general meeting of shareholders and will be prepared in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.

The adoption of the annual accounts by our shareholders does not release our management board members and our supervisory board members from liability for acts reflected in those documents. Any such release from liability requires a separate shareholders’ resolution.

Our financial reporting will be subject to the supervision of the Dutch regulator AFM. The AFM will review the content of the financial reports and has the authority to approach us with requests for information if, on the basis of publicly available information, it has reasonable doubts as to the integrity of our financial reporting. For a more detailed description we refer to the description below under the heading “—Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act.”

Dividends and other Distributions

We may only make distributions to our shareholders and other persons entitled to distributable profits, to the extent that our shareholders’ equity exceeds the sum of the paid-up and called-up share capital plus the reserves as required to be maintained by Dutch law or by our articles of association.

Under our articles of association, a (cumulative) dividend is first paid out of the profit, if available for distribution, on any preferred shares, of which none will be outstanding on completion of this offering. Any

 

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amount remaining out of the profit is carried to reserve as the management board determines. After reservation by the management board of any profit, the remaining profit will be at the disposal of the general meeting of shareholders. The management board is permitted, subject to certain requirements and subject to approval of the supervisory board, to declare interim dividends without the approval of the general meeting of shareholders.

Distributions shall be payable in such currency as determined by our management board. We intend that distributions, if any, shall be payable on such date as determined by our management board. Our management board will set the date that will be applied in order to establish which shareholders (or usufructuaries or pledgees, as the case may be) are entitled to the distribution, such date not being earlier than the date on which the distribution was announced. Claims for payment of dividends and other distributions not made within five years from the date that such dividends or distributions became payable, will lapse and any such amounts will be considered to have been forfeited to us (verjaring).

We do not anticipate paying any dividends for the foreseeable future.

Liquidation and Dissolution

The general meeting of shareholders may, based on a proposal by our management board, which proposal has been approved by our supervisory board, resolve to dissolve the company by a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast. In the event of the company being dissolved, the liquidation shall be effected by our management board under the supervision of the supervisory board, unless the general meeting of shareholders decides otherwise.

In the event of a dissolution and liquidation, the assets remaining after payment of all of the company’s debts (including any liquidation expenses) are to be distributed (i) firstly to the holders, if any, of preferred shares the nominal value of the preferred shares (to the extent paid-up) plus unpaid accrued dividends and deficits (if any) in preferred dividends, (ii) the balance remaining to the holders of ordinary shares in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of their ordinary shares. The liquidation and all distributions referred to in this paragraph will be made in accordance with the relevant provisions of Dutch law.

Limitations on Non-Residents and Exchange Controls

There are no limits under the laws of the Netherlands or in our articles of association on non-residents of the Netherlands holding or voting our ordinary shares. Under Dutch law, there currently are no exchange controls applicable to the transfer of dividends or other distributions with respect to, or of the proceeds from the sale of, shares in a Dutch company, to persons outside the Netherlands.

Netherlands Squeeze-Out Proceedings

Pursuant to Section 2:92a of the Dutch Civil Code, a shareholder who for its own account (or together with its group companies) provides at least 95% of our issued share capital may institute proceedings against our other shareholders jointly for the transfer of their shares to it. The proceedings are held before the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (Ondernemingskamer) and can be instituted by means of a writ of summons served upon each of the minority shareholders in accordance with the provisions of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering). The Enterprise Chamber may grant the claim for squeeze-out in relation to all minority shareholders and will determine the price to be paid for the shares, if necessary after appointment of one or three experts who will offer an opinion to the Enterprise Chamber on the value of the shares of the minority shareholders. Once the order to transfer by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal becomes final and irrevocable, the majority shareholder that instituted the squeeze-out proceedings shall give written notice of the date and place of payment and the price to the holders of the shares to be acquired whose addresses are known to the majority shareholder. Unless the addresses of all minority shareholders are known to the majority shareholder acquiring the shares, the majority shareholder is required to publish the same in a newspaper with a national circulation.

 

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A shareholder that provides a majority of our issued share capital, but less than the 95% required to institute the squeeze-out proceedings described above, may seek to propose and implement one or more restructuring transactions with the objective to obtain at least 95% of our issued share capital and thus to be allowed to initiate squeeze-out proceedings. Those restructuring transactions could, amongst other things, include a legal merger or demerger involving our company, a contribution of cash and/or assets against issuance of shares involving our company, the issue of new shares to the majority shareholder while excluding any pre-emption rights of minority shareholders in relation to such issuance or an asset sale transaction.

In Dutch public takeover practice, depending on the circumstances, an asset sale transaction is sometimes used as a way to squeeze out minority shareholders, for example, after a successful public offer, or tender offer, through which the offeror acquires a supermajority, but less than all, of the shares. In such a scenario, the business of the target company would be sold to an offeror, a buyer or a special purpose vehicle, followed by the liquidation of the target company. The purchase price would be distributed to all shareholders in proportion to their respective shareholding as liquidation proceeds, thus separating the business from the company in which minority shareholders participated.

Under our articles of association, any proposal to sell and transfer all of our assets and to dissolve and liquidate our company is subject to approval by a majority of the votes cast in our general meeting of shareholders which must be preceded by a proposal by our management board, which must be approved by our supervisory board.

Dutch Corporate Governance Code

The DCGC is based on a “comply or explain” principle. Accordingly, companies are required to disclose in their annual report filed in the Netherlands whether or not they are complying with the various rules of the DCGC that are addressed to the management board and supervisory board and, if they do not apply those provisions, to give the reasons for such non-application. The DCGC contains both principles and best practice provisions for the management board, supervisory board, shareholders and general meetings of shareholders, financial reporting, auditors, disclosure, compliance and enforcement standards. The principles and best practice provisions apply to our management board and supervisory board, for example in relation to its role and composition, conflicts of interest, independence requirements for supervisory board members, supervisory board committees and compensation; shareholders and the general meeting of shareholders, for example, regarding anti-takeover protection and obligations of the company to provide information to our shareholders; and financial reporting, including external auditor and internal audit requirements.

We acknowledge the importance of good corporate governance. However, at this stage, we do not comply with all the provisions of the DCGC, to a large extent because such provisions conflict with or are inconsistent with the corporate governance rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market and U.S. securities laws that apply to us, or because such provisions do not reflect best practices of global companies listed on the NASDAQ Global Market.

The discussion below summarizes the most important differences between our governance structure and the principles and best practices of the DCGC:

 

    Best practice provisions I.1 and I.2 provide that each substantial change in our corporate governance structure and in our compliance with the DCGC must be submitted to the general meeting of shareholders for discussion under a separate agenda item. As our ordinary shares will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Market only, we intend to comply with the corporate governance rules that apply to companies that are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market and therefore will not comply with these provisions.

 

    Best practice provision III. 2.1. stipulates that all supervisory board members, with the exception of not more than one person, shall be independent within the meaning of best practice provision III.2.2. As our ordinary shares will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Market only, we intend to comply with the corporate governance rules that apply to companies that are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market, and will therefore only apply the NASDAQ criteria on independence of members of the supervisory board.

 

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    Best practice provision III.7.1 prohibits the granting of shares or rights to shares to members of the supervisory board as compensation. It is common practice for companies listed on the NASDAQ Global Market to grant shares to the members of the supervisory board as compensation, in order to align the interests of the members of the supervisory board with our interests and those of our shareholders, and we have granted and expect to grant options to acquire ordinary shares to our supervisory board members.

 

    Pursuant to the best practice provisions II.2.4 through II.2.7 of the DCGC, options granted to our management board members should not be exercisable during the first three years after the date of grant; the option exercise price for our management board members may not be below a verifiable trading price (or an average thereof); neither the option exercise price nor the other terms and conditions applicable to options granted to our management board members may be modified during the term of those options (except as prompted by structural changes to our share capital or our company in accordance with market practice); shares granted to our management board members for no financial consideration should be retained by them for a period of at least five years or until they cease to hold office, whichever is the shorter period; and the number of options and/or shares granted to our management board members should be dependent on the achievement of pre-determined performance criteria. We do not intend to comply with all of the above requirements.

 

    Best practice provision IV.1.1 provides that the general meeting of shareholders may pass a resolution to cancel the binding nature of a nomination for the appointment of a member of the management board or of the supervisory board or a resolution to dismiss such member by an absolute majority of the votes cast. It may be provided that such majority should represent a given proportion of the issued capital, but this proportion may not exceed one third. In addition, best practice IV.1.1. provides that if such proportion of the share capital is not represented at the meeting, but an absolute majority of the votes cast is in favor of a resolution to cancel the binding nature of the nomination, a new general meeting of shareholders will be convened where the resolution may be adopted by absolute majority, regardless of the proportion of the share capital represented at the meeting. Our articles of association will provide that these resolutions can only be adopted with at least a 2/3 majority which must represent more than 50% of our issued capital, and that no such second meeting will be convened, because we believe that the decision to overrule a nomination by the management board or the supervisory board for the appointment or dismissal of a member of our management board or of our supervisory board must be widely supported by our shareholders.

 

    Best practice provision IV.3.1 stipulates that meetings with analysts, presentations to analysts, presentations to investors and institutional investors and press conferences must be announced in advance on the company’s website and by means of press releases. Provision must be made for all shareholders to follow these meetings and presentations in real time, for example by means of webcasting or telephone. After the meetings, the presentations must be posted on the company’s website. We believe that enabling shareholders to follow in real time all the meetings with analysts, presentations to analysts and presentations to investors, would create an excessive burden on our resources. We intend to post analyst presentations on our website after meetings with analysts.

 

    Pursuant to best practice provision II.2.8 the remuneration of the management board in the event of dismissal may not exceed one year’s salary. The management services agreements with our management board members provide for a lump-sum equal to 24 months of the individual’s monthly gross fixed salary. Based on the risk profile of the company and to be able to attract highly skilled management, we assumed this period to be appropriate.

Market Abuse

The Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, or FMSA) contains rules intended to prevent market abuse, such as insider trading, tipping and market manipulation. Such rules on market manipulation may restrict our ability to buy back our shares. In certain circumstances, our investors can also be subject to such rules intended to prevent market abuse.

 

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Pursuant to the FMSA, any member of our management board, any member of our supervisory board and any other person who has managerial or co-managerial responsibilities in respect of us or who has the authority to make decisions affecting our future developments and business prospects and who may have regular access to inside information relating, directly or indirectly, to us, must give written notice to the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, or AFM, by means of a standard form of all transactions conducted for his own account relating to our shares or in financial instruments the value of which is determined or co-determined by the value of our shares, conducted for its own account.

In addition, in accordance with the FMSA and the regulations promulgated thereunder, certain persons closely associated with members of our management board, supervisory board or any of the other persons as described above, must also notify the AFM of any transactions conducted for their own account relating to our shares or in financial instruments the value of which is determined or co-determined by the value of our shares. The FMSA and the regulations promulgated thereunder cover the following categories of persons: (i) the spouse or any partner considered by national law as equivalent to the spouse, (ii) dependent children of such persons, (iii) other relatives who have shared the same household for at least one year at the relevant transaction date and (iv) any legal person, trust or partnership whose, among other things, managerial responsibilities are discharged by a person referred to under (i), (ii) or (iii) above or by the relevant member of the management board or supervisory board or other person with any authority in respect of us as described above.

These notifications to the AFM must be made no later than on the fifth business day following the transaction date. Under certain circumstances, the notification may be postponed until the moment that the value of the transactions performed for that person’s own account, together with the transactions carried out by the persons closely associated with that person, reaches or exceeds an amount of €5,000 in the calendar year in question.

The AFM does not issue separate public announcements of notifications received by it. It does, however, keep a public register of all notifications under the FMSA accessible on its website, http://www.afm.nl. Third parties can request to be notified automatically by e-mail of changes to the public register in relation to a particular company’s shares or a particular notifying party.

Non-compliance with the notification obligations or other obligations under the FMSA could lead to criminal fines, administrative fines, imprisonment or other sanctions.

Pursuant to the rules intended to prevent market abuse, prior to the completion of this offering we will adopt an internal code on inside information in respect of the holding of and carrying out of transactions by management board members, supervisory board members and employees in our shares or in financial instruments the value of which is determined or co-determined by the value of our shares. Furthermore, we have drawn up a list of those persons working for us who could have access to inside information on a regular or incidental basis and have informed such persons of the rules on insider trading and market manipulation, including the sanctions which can be imposed in the event of a violation of those rules.

Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act

Under the Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act (Wet toezicht financiële verslaggeving) (the “FRSA”), the AFM supervises the application of financial reporting standards by, among others, companies whose corporate seats are in the Netherlands and whose securities are listed on a regulated market within the EU or in a non-EU country on a system similar to a regulated market. Since our company has its corporate seat in the Netherlands and our ordinary shares will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Market, the FRSA will be applicable to us.

Pursuant to the FRSA, the AFM has an independent right to (i) request an explanation from us regarding our application of the applicable financial reporting standards and (ii) recommend to us that we make available further explanations. If we do not comply with such a request or recommendation, the AFM may request that the Enterprise Chamber order us to (i) make available further explanations as recommended by the AFM, (ii) provide

 

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an explanation of the way we have applied the applicable financial reporting standards to our financial reports or (iii) prepare our financial reports in accordance with the Enterprise Chamber’s instructions.

Differences in Corporate Law

We are incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands. The following discussion summarizes material differences between the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and the rights of holders of the common stock of a typical corporation incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware, which result from differences in governing documents and the laws of the Netherlands and Delaware.

This discussion does not purport to be a complete statement of the rights of holders of our ordinary shares under applicable Dutch law and our articles of association or the rights of holders of the common stock of a typical corporation under applicable Delaware law and a typical certificate of incorporation and bylaws.

 

Delaware    The Netherlands

Duties of Directors

The board of directors of a Delaware corporation bears the ultimate responsibility for managing the business and affairs of a corporation.

 

In discharging this function, directors of a Delaware corporation owe fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the corporation and to its shareholders. The duty of care generally requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director act in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. In general, but subject to certain exceptions, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Delaware courts have also imposed a heightened standard of conduct upon directors of a Delaware corporation who take any action designed to defeat a threatened change in control of the corporation.

 

In addition, under Delaware law, when the board of directors of a Delaware corporation approves the sale or break-up of a corporation, the board of directors may, in certain circumstances, have a duty to obtain the highest value reasonably available to the shareholders.

  

In the Netherlands, a listed company typically has a two-tier board structure, with a management board comprising the executive directors and a supervisory board comprising the non-executive directors (although a single-tier board system may also be used).

 

Under Dutch law, the management board is responsible for the day-to-day management and the strategy, policy and operations of a company. The supervisory board is responsible for supervising the conduct of, and providing advice to, the management board and for supervising the company’s general affairs and business. Each managing director and supervisory director has a duty to act in the corporate interest of the company and the business connected with it.

 

Unlike under Delaware law, under Dutch law the corporate interest extends to the interests of all corporate stakeholders, such as shareholders, creditors, employees, customers and suppliers. The duty to act in the corporate interest of the company and the business connected with it also applies in the event of a proposed sale or break-up of the company, whereby the specific circumstances generally dictate how such duty is to be applied. Any management board resolution concerning a material change in the identity or character of the company or its business requires shareholders’ approval. The management board may decide in its sole discretion, within the confines of Dutch law and the articles of association, to incur additional indebtedness subject to any contractual restrictions pursuant to our existing financing arrangements.

 

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Director Terms

The Delaware General Corporation Law generally provides for a one-year term for directors, but permits directorships to be divided into up to three classes with up to three-year terms, with the years for each class expiring in different years, if permitted by the certificate of incorporation, an initial bylaw or a bylaw adopted by the shareholders. A director elected to serve a term on a “classified” board of directors may not be removed by shareholders without cause. There is no limit to the number of terms a director may serve.   

In contrast to Delaware law, under Dutch law a supervisory board member of a listed company is generally appointed for a maximum term of four years. There is no statutory limit to the number of terms a supervisory board member may serve, although the DCGC recommends that supervisory board members shall serve for a maximum of three four-year terms. It is currently anticipated that our supervisory board members will serve a maximum of three terms of four years.

 

A supervisory board member may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the general meeting of shareholders. Pursuant to our articles of association, our general meeting of shareholders may only adopt a resolution to suspend or dismiss such supervisory board member by at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such majority represents more than half of the issued share capital of the company, unless the proposal was made by the supervisory board, in which case a simple majority of the votes cast is sufficient.

Board Vacancies

The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that vacancies and newly created directorships may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office (even though less than a quorum) or by a sole remaining director unless (a) otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the corporation or (b) the certificate of incorporation directs that a particular class of stock is to elect such director, in which case a majority of the other directors elected by such class, or a sole remaining director elected by such class, will fill such vacancy.   

Under Dutch law, management board members and supervisory board members of a company such as ours are appointed by the general meeting of shareholders, rather than appointed by the management board as is typical for a Delaware corporation.

 

Under our articles of association, management board members and supervisory board members are appointed by our general meeting of shareholders upon the binding nomination by our supervisory board. However, the general meeting of shareholders, may at all times overrule such binding nomination by a resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, provided such majority represents more than half of our issued share capital, following which our supervisory board shall draw up a new binding nomination.

Conflict-of-Interest Transactions

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, transactions with directors must be approved by disinterested directors or by the shareholders, or otherwise proven to be fair to the company as of the time it is approved. Such transaction will be void or    Under Dutch law, a management board member and a supervisory board member with a direct or indirect personal interest that conflicts with the interests of the company or of the business connected with it must abstain from participating in the decision-

 

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voidable, unless (1) the material facts of any interested directors’ interests are disclosed or are known to the board of directors and the transaction is approved by the affirmative votes of a majority of the disinterested directors, even though the disinterested directors constitute less than a quorum; (2) the material facts of any interested directors’ interests are disclosed or are known to the shareholders entitled to vote thereon, and the transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the shareholders; or (3) the transaction is fair to the company as of the time it is approved.   

making process (i.e., the deliberations and the decision-making) with respect to the relevant matter. A board member with such a conflict of interest must promptly notify the other directors of his or her conflict. If it becomes apparent that such member was indeed involved in the decision-making process, then such decision may be nullified.

 

Our articles of association provide that if as a result of conflicts of interest no resolution of the management board can be adopted, the resolution will be adopted by our supervisory board. If as a result of a conflict of interest of supervisory board members no resolution of the supervisory board can be adopted, the resolution can nonetheless be adopted by our supervisory board as if there was no conflict of interest. In that case, each supervisory board member is entitled to participate in the discussion and decision making process and to cast a vote.

 

Management board members with a conflict of interest remain authorized to represent the company. However, the relevant management board members may under certain circumstances be held personally liable for any damage suffered by the company as a consequence of the transaction.

 

Agreements entered into with third parties contrary to the rules on decision-making in the case of a conflict of interest, may as a rule not be annulled. Only under special circumstances will a company be able to annul an agreement or claim damages, such as when a third party abuses a conflict of interest situation.

Proxy Voting by Directors

A director of a Delaware corporation may not issue a proxy representing the director’s voting rights as a director.    An absent management board member may issue a proxy for a specific meeting of the management board but only in writing to another management board member. An absent supervisory board member may issue a proxy for a specific meeting of the supervisory board but only in writing to another supervisory board member.

Voting Rights

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share of stock, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Either the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws may specify    Under Dutch law, shares have one vote per share, provided such shares have the same nominal value. Our articles of association do not provide quorum requirements generally applicable to general meetings of shareholders. All resolutions of the general meeting of shareholders are adopted by a simple majority of votes cast without quorum

 

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the number of shares or the amount of other securities that must be represented at a meeting in order to constitute a quorum, but in no event will a quorum consist of less than one-third of the shares entitled to vote at a meeting, except that, where a separate vote by a class or series or classes or series is required, a quorum will consist of no less than 1/3 of the shares of such class or series or classes or series.

 

Shareholders as of the record date for the meeting are entitled to vote at the meeting, and the board of directors may fix a record date that is no more than 60 days nor less than 10 days before the date of the meeting, and if no record date is set then the record date is the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. The determination of the shareholders of record entitled to notice or to vote at a meeting of shareholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting, but the board of directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

  

requirement, except where Dutch law or our articles of association provide for a special majority and/or quorum in relation to specified resolutions. Each holder of ordinary shares may cast as many votes as it holds shares. The voting rights attached to any shares held by us or our direct or indirect subsidiaries are suspended as long as they are held in treasury. Dutch law does not permit cumulative voting for the election of management board members and supervisory board members.

 

Pursuant to our articles of association, our management board may determine a record date (registratiedatum) of 28 calendar days prior to a general meeting of shareholders to establish which shareholders and others with meeting rights are entitled to attend and, if applicable, vote in the general meeting of shareholders. The record date, if any, and the manner in which shareholders can register and exercise their rights will be set out in the convocation notice of the general meeting of shareholders. There is no specific provision in Dutch law for adjournments.

Shareholder Proposals

Delaware law does not provide shareholders an express right to put any proposal before a meeting of shareholders, but it provides that a corporation’s bylaws may provide that if the corporation solicits proxies with respect to the election of directors, it may be required to include in its proxy solicitation materials one or more individuals nominated by a shareholder. In keeping with common law, Delaware corporations generally afford shareholders an opportunity to make proposals and nominations provided that they comply with the notice provisions in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws. Additionally, if a Delaware corporation is subject to the SEC’s proxy rules, a shareholder who owns at least $2,000 in market value or 1% of the corporation’s securities entitled to vote for a continuous period of one year as of the date he submits a proposal, may propose a matter for a vote at an annual or special meeting in accordance with those rules.   

Pursuant to Dutch law, one or more shareholders or others with meeting rights alone or jointly representing at least 10% of the issued share capital may on their application be authorized by the Dutch Court to convene a general meeting of shareholders if the management board and the supervisory board fail to do so in a timely manner.

 

The agenda for a general meeting of shareholders must contain such items as the management board, supervisory board or the person or persons convening the meeting decide. Pursuant to Dutch law, unlike under Delaware law, the agenda will also include such other items as one or more shareholders and/or others entitled to attend general meetings of shareholders, alone or jointly representing at least 3% of the issued share capital may request of the management board in writing and substantiated or by a proposal for a resolution, received by the company no later than on the 60th day before the date of the meeting.

Action by Written Consent

Unless otherwise provided in the corporation’s certificate of incorporation, any action required or    Under Dutch law, shareholders’ resolutions may be adopted in writing without holding a meeting of

 

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permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of shareholders of a corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if one or more consents in writing, setting forth the action to be so taken, are signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted.   

shareholders, provided (a) the articles of association expressly so allow, (b) no bearer shares or depository receipts are issued, (c) there are no persons entitled to the same rights as holders of depository receipts issued with the company’s cooperation, (d) the management board and supervisory board members have been given the opportunity to give their advice on the resolution, and (e) the resolution is adopted unanimously by all shareholders that are entitled to vote.

 

The requirement of unanimity renders the adoption of shareholder resolutions without a meeting not feasible for publicly traded companies. Our articles of association only expressly allow resolutions of the holders of preferred shares to be adopted without holding a meeting.

Shareholder Suits

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder may bring a derivative action on behalf of the corporation to enforce the rights of the corporation. An individual also may commence a class action suit on behalf of himself and other similarly situated shareholders where the requirements for maintaining a class action under Delaware law have been met. A person may institute and maintain such a suit only if that person was a shareholder at the time of the transaction which is the subject of the suit. In addition, under Delaware case law, the plaintiff normally must be a shareholder not only at the time of the transaction that is the subject of the suit, but also throughout the duration of the derivative suit. Delaware law also requires that the derivative plaintiff make a demand on the directors of the corporation to assert the corporate claim before the suit may be prosecuted by the derivative plaintiff in court, unless such a demand would be futile.    Unlike under Delaware law, in the event a third party is liable to a Dutch company, only the company itself can bring a civil action against that party. Individual shareholders do not have the right to bring an action on behalf of the company. An individual shareholder may, in its own name, have an individual right to take action against such third party in the event that the cause for the liability of that third party also constitutes a tortious act directly against that individual shareholder. The Dutch Civil Code provides for the possibility to initiate such actions collectively. A foundation or an association whose objective is to protect the rights of a group of persons having similar interests can institute a collective action. The collective action itself cannot result in an order for payment of monetary damages but may only result in a declaratory judgment (verklaring voor recht). In order to obtain compensation for damages, the foundation or association and the defendant may reach—often on the basis of such declaratory judgment—a settlement. A Dutch court may declare the settlement agreement binding upon all the injured parties with an opt-out choice for an individual injured party. An individual injured party may also itself—outside the collective action—institute a civil claim for damages.

Repurchase of Shares

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may purchase or redeem its own shares unless the capital of the corporation is impaired or the    Under Dutch law, a company such as ours may not subscribe for newly issued shares in its own capital. Such company may, however, repurchase its existing

 

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purchase or redemption would cause an impairment of the capital of the corporation. A Delaware corporation may, however, purchase or redeem out of capital any of its preferred shares or, if no preferred shares are outstanding, any of its own shares if such shares will be retired upon acquisition and the capital of the corporation will be reduced in accordance with specified limitations.   

and outstanding shares or depository receipts if permitted under its articles of association.

 

We may acquire our shares, subject to applicable provisions and restrictions of Dutch law and our articles of association, to the extent that: (i) such shares are fully paid-up; (ii) such shares are acquired for no consideration or such repurchase would not cause our shareholders’ equity to fall below an amount equal to the sum of the paid-up and called-up part of the issued share capital and the reserves we are required to maintain pursuant to Dutch law or our articles of association; and (iii) after the acquisition of shares, we and our subsidiaries would not hold, or would not hold as pledgees, shares having an aggregate nominal value that exceeds 50% of our issued share capital.

 

Other than shares acquired for no consideration or by universal succession, our management board may acquire shares only if our general meeting of shareholders has authorized the management board to do so. An authorization by the general meeting of shareholders for the acquisition of shares can be granted for a maximum period of 18 months. Such authorization must specify the number of shares that may be acquired, the manner in which these shares may be acquired and the price range within which the shares may be acquired.

 

No authorization of the general meeting of shareholders is required if listed ordinary shares are acquired by us with the intention of transferring such ordinary shares to our employees under an applicable employee stock purchase plan. Our articles of association further provide that a resolution of our management board to acquire fully paid-up shares in our share capital, requires the approval of our supervisory board.

 

On September 15, 2014, our general meeting of shareholders adopted a resolution pursuant to which our management board will be authorized to acquire (i) up to 10% of our issued share capital on the NASDAQ or by other means for an 18-month period from the date of such resolution for a price per share not exceeding 110% of the market price of the ordinary shares on the NASDAQ (with the market price deemed to be the average of the closing price on each of the five consecutive days of trading preceding the three trading days prior to the date of

 

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   acquisition) and (ii) the ordinary shares issued under our Option Plan at a price not exceeding $1,000 per share.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

In addition to other aspects of Delaware law governing fiduciary duties of directors during a potential takeover, the Delaware General Corporation Law also contains a business combination statute that protects Delaware companies from hostile takeovers and from actions following the takeover by prohibiting some transactions once an acquirer has gained a significant holding in the corporation.

 

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits “business combinations,” including mergers, sales and leases of assets, issuances of securities and similar transactions by a corporation or a subsidiary with an interested shareholder that beneficially owns 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock (or which is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and owned 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock within the past three years), within three years after the person becomes an interested shareholder, unless:

 

•    the transaction that will cause the person to become an interested shareholder is approved by the board of directors of the target prior to the transactions;

 

•    after the completion of the transaction in which the person becomes an interested shareholder, the interested shareholder holds at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation not including shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers of interested shareholders and shares owned by specified employee benefit plans; or

 

•    after the person becomes an interested shareholder, the business combination is approved by the board of directors of the corporation and holders of at least 66.67% of the outstanding voting stock, excluding shares held by the interested shareholder.

 

A Delaware corporation may elect not to be governed by Section 203 by a provision contained in the original certificate of incorporation of the corporation or an amendment to the original certificate of incorporation or to the bylaws of the company.

  

Under Dutch law, various protective measures are possible and permissible within the boundaries set by Dutch statutory law and Dutch case law. We have adopted several provisions that may have the effect of making a takeover of our company more difficult or less attractive, including:

 

•    the authorization of a class of preferred shares that may be issued to a protection foundation, for which we expect to grant a perpetual and repeatedly exercisable call option to such protection foundation on or prior to the completion of this offering;

 

•    a provision that our management board members and our supervisory board members may only be appointed upon a binding nomination by our supervisory board, which can be set aside by a two-thirds majority of our shareholders representing more than half of our issued share capital;

 

•    a provision that our management board members and supervisory board members may only be removed by our general meeting of shareholders by at least a two-thirds majority of votes cast representing more than 50% of our issued share capital (unless the removal was proposed by the supervisory board); and

 

•    a requirement that certain matters, including an amendment of our articles of association, may only be brought to our shareholders for a vote upon a proposal by our management board that has been approved by our supervisory board.

 

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Inspection of Books and Records

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, any shareholder may inspect for any proper purpose the corporation’s stock ledger, a list of its shareholders and its other books and records during the corporation’s usual hours of business.   

Our shareholders’ register is available for inspection by the shareholders and usufructuraries and pledgees whose particulars must be registered therein.

 

Our management board and our supervisory board provide our shareholders, at the general meeting of shareholders, with all information that the general meeting of shareholders reasonably requests unless doing so would be contrary to an overriding interest of ours. Our management board or our supervisory board will in principle give a reason for electing not to provide such information on the basis of overriding interest.

Removal of Directors

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, any director or the entire board of directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors, except (a) unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise, in the case of a corporation whose board of directors is classified, shareholders may effect such removal only for cause, or (b) in the case of a corporation having cumulative voting, if less than the entire board of directors is to be removed, no director may be removed without cause if the votes cast against his removal would be sufficient to elect him if then cumulatively voted at an election of the entire board of directors, or, if there are classes of directors, at an election of the class of directors of which he is a part.    Under our articles of association, the general meeting of shareholders is at all times entitled to suspend or remove a management board member or supervisory board member. The general meeting of shareholders may only adopt a resolution to suspend or remove such a member by at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, provided such majority represents more than half of the issued share capital of our company, unless the proposal was made by our supervisory board in which case a simple majority of the votes cast is sufficient.

Preemptive Rights

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, shareholders have no preemptive rights to subscribe to additional issues of stock or to any security convertible into such stock unless, and except to the extent that, such rights are expressly provided for in the certificate of incorporation.    Under our articles of association, the preemptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares may be restricted or excluded by a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders upon proposal of our management board, which proposal must have been approved by our supervisory board. Our general meeting of shareholders may authorize our management board, to restrict or exclude the preemptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary shares. Such authorization for the management board can be granted and extended, in each case for a period not exceeding five years. A resolution of the general meeting of shareholders to restrict or exclude the preemptive rights or to designate our management board as the authorized body to do so requires at least a two-thirds majority of the votes

 

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cast, if less than one half of our issued share capital is represented at the meeting.

 

On September 15, 2014, our general meeting of shareholders adopted a resolution pursuant to which our management board will be irrevocably authorized to—following approval of our supervisory board—limit or exclude the preemptive rights of holders of ordinary shares for a period of five years from the date of such resolution.

 

No preemptive rights apply in respect of preferred shares.

Dividends

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a Delaware corporation may, subject to any restrictions contained in its certificate of incorporation, pay dividends out of its surplus (the excess of net assets over capital), or in case there is no surplus, out of its net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared or the preceding fiscal year (provided that the amount of the capital of the corporation is not less than the aggregate amount of the capital represented by the issued and outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets). In determining the amount of surplus of a Delaware corporation, the assets of the corporation, including stock of subsidiaries owned by the corporation, must be valued at their fair market value as determined by the board of directors, without regard to their historical book value. Dividends may be paid in the form of ordinary shares, property or cash.   

Dutch law provides that dividends may only be distributed after adoption of the annual accounts by the general meeting of shareholders from which it appears that such dividend distribution is allowed. Moreover, dividends may be distributed only to the extent the shareholders’ equity exceeds the sum of the paid-up and called-up share capital and the reserves that must be maintained under Dutch law or the articles of association. Interim dividends may be declared as provided in the articles of association and may be distributed to the extent that the shareholders’ equity exceeds the paid-up and called-up share capital and the reserves that must be maintained under Dutch law or the articles of association as apparent from an (interim) financial statement. Interim dividends should be regarded as advances on the final dividend to be declared with respect to the financial year in which the interim dividends have been declared. Should it be determined after adoption of the annual accounts with respect to the relevant financial year that the distribution was not permissible, the company may reclaim the paid interim dividends as unduly paid.

 

Under our articles of association, a (cumulative) dividend is first paid out of the profit, if available for distribution, on any preferred shares, of which none will be outstanding on completion of this offering. Any amount remaining out of the profit is carried to reserve as the management board determines. After reservation by the management board of any profit, the remaining profit will be at the disposal of the general meeting of shareholders.

 

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   five years from the date that such dividends became payable, will lapse and any such amounts will be considered to have been forfeited to us.

Appraisal Rights and Shareholder Vote on Certain Reorganizations

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote thereon generally is necessary to approve a merger or consolidation or the sale of substantially all of the assets of a corporation. The Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a provision requiring for any corporate action the vote of a larger portion of the stock or of any class or series of stock than would otherwise be required.

 

The Delaware General Corporation Law provides for stockholder appraisal rights, or the right to demand payment in cash of the judicially determined fair value of the stockholder’s shares, in connection with certain mergers and consolidations.

 

  

Under Dutch law, resolutions of the management board concerning a material change in the identity or character of the company or its business are subject to the approval of the general meeting of shareholders. Such changes include in any event:

 

•    a transfer of all or materially all of our business to a third party;

 

•    the entry into or termination of a long-lasting alliance of the company or of a subsidiary either with another entity or company, or as a fully liable partner of a limited partnership or partnership, if this alliance or termination is of significant importance for the company; and

 

•    the acquisition or disposition of an interest in the capital of a company by the company or by a subsidiary with a value of at least one third of the value of the assets, according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes or, if the company prepares a consolidated balance sheet, according to the consolidated balance sheet with explanatory notes in the company’s most recently adopted annual accounts.

 

The concept of appraisal rights does not exist under Dutch law. However, pursuant to Dutch law, a shareholder who for its own account (or together with its group companies) provides at least 95% of the company’s issued capital may institute proceedings against the company’s other shareholders jointly for the transfer of their shares to that shareholder. The proceedings are held before the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (Ondernemingskamer), which may grant the claim for squeeze-out in relation to all minority shareholders and will determine the price to be paid for the shares, if necessary after appointment of one or three experts who will offer an opinion to the Enterprise Chamber on the value of the shares to be transferred.

 

Furthermore, Dutch law provides that, to the extent the acquiring company in a cross-border merger is organized under the laws of another EU member state, a shareholder of a Dutch disappearing company

 

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Delaware    The Netherlands
   who has voted against the cross-border merger may file a claim with the Dutch company for compensation. The compensation is to be determined by one or more independent experts.

Compensation of Directors

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, the shareholders do not generally have the right to approve the compensation policy for the board of directors or the senior management of the corporation, although certain aspects of the compensation policy may be subject to shareholder vote due to the provisions of federal securities and tax law.   

In contrast to Delaware law, under Dutch law and our articles of association, the general meeting of shareholders must upon the proposal of our supervisory board adopt the compensation policy for the management board, which includes the outlines of the compensation of any members who serve on our management board. The supervisory board determines the compensation of the management board members in accordance with the compensation policy. A proposal by the supervisory board with respect to compensation schemes in the form of shares or rights to shares is submitted for approval by the supervisory board to the general meeting of shareholders. Such proposal must set out at least the maximum number of shares or rights to shares to be granted to the management board and the criteria for granting such shares.

 

The general meeting of shareholders, may determine the compensation of supervisory board members. The supervisory directors will be reimbursed for their expenses.

Registration Rights

Following this offering’s completion, the holders of an aggregate of 11,629,198 ordinary shares, or their permitted transferees, are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of these shares under the Securities Act. These rights are provided under the terms of a Registration Rights Agreement dated as of September 17, 2014 (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) between us and the holders of these shares, which was entered into following our initial public offering, and includes demand registration rights, short-form registration rights and piggyback registration rights. These registration rights are assignable, subject to certain conditions, including that the assignee be bound by the terms and conditions of the Registration Rights Agreement.

Demand Registration Rights

Under the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, we are required, upon the written request of the holders of at least one-third of the shares that are then outstanding and entitled to rights under the Registration Rights Agreement, that the company file a Form F-1 registration statement with respect to such securities having an anticipated aggregate offering price, net of selling expense, of at least $10,000,000, then we must give notice of such initiating holders’ request to all holders of shares entitled to rights under the Registration Rights Agreement, and as soon as practicable within 60 days of such request file a Form F-1 registration statement covering all shares entitled to rights under the Registration Rights Agreement requested to be included by either the initiating holders or by any other holders of shares entitled to rights under the Registration Rights Agreement as specified by notice given by each such holder within 20 days of receiving notice of the initiating holders’ request. We are not required to effect a registration pursuant to this provision of the Registration Rights Agreement: (i) during the

 

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period that is 30 days before our good faith estimate of the date of filing of, and ending on a date that is 90 days after the effective date of, a registration initiated by us; provided that we are actively employing in good faith commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective; (ii) after we have effected two registration statements pursuant to this provision of the Registration Rights Agreement; or (iii) if the initiating holders propose to dispose of securities that may be registered on a Form F-3 registration statement. We may defer the filing of a registration statement twice during any twelve-month period for a period of not more than 90 days, if we provide a certificate signed by our chief executive officer stating that in the good faith judgment of our board of directors it would be materially detrimental to us and our shareholders for such registration statement to be effected at this time.

Short Form Registration Rights

If we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form F-3 and have not effected more than two such registrations within the preceding twelve-month period, these holders have the right, upon written notice to us from the holders of at least 30% of the shares that are then outstanding and entitled to rights under the Registration Rights Agreement, that the company file a Form F-3 registrations statement with respect to securities of such holders having an anticipated aggregate offering price, net of selling expenses, of at least $5,000,000, then we must give notice to all other holders of such initiating holders’ request to all holders of shares entitled to rights under the Registration Rights Agreement, and as soon as practicable within 45 days of such request file a Form F-3 registration statement covering all shares entitled to registration rights requested to be included by either the initiating holders or by any other holders of shares entitled to registration rights within 20 days of receiving notice of the initiating holders’ request. We are not required to effect a registration pursuant to this provision of the Registration Rights Agreement during the period that is 30 days before our good faith estimate of the date of filing of, and ending on a date that is 90 days after the effective date of, a registration initiated by us; provided that we are actively employing in good faith commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective. We may defer the filing of a registration statement twice during any twelve-month period for a period of not more than 90 days, if we provide a certificate signed by our chief executive officer stating that in the good faith judgment of our board of directors it would be materially detrimental to us and our shareholders for such registration statement to be effected at this time.

Piggyback Registration Rights

If we propose to register any of our ordinary shares, the holders of these shares are entitled to include their shares in the registration. If such registration is to be an underwritten offering, then the holders’ registration rights are conditioned on such holders’ participation in such underwriting.

 

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FORM, EXCHANGE AND TRANSFER

We will issue securities only in registered form; no securities will be issued in bearer form. We will issue each security in book-entry form only, unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Securities in book-entry form will be represented by a global security registered in the name of a depositary, which will be the holder of all the securities represented by the global security. Those who own beneficial interests in a global security will do so through participants in the depositary’s system, and the rights of these indirect owners will be governed solely by the applicable procedures of the depositary and its participants. Only the depositary will be entitled to transfer or exchange a security in global form, since it will be the sole holder of the security. These book-entry securities are described below under “Book-Entry Procedures and Settlement.”

If any securities are issued in non-global form or cease to be book-entry securities (in the circumstances described in the next section), the following will apply to them:

 

    The securities will be issued in fully registered form in denominations stated in the prospectus supplement. You may exchange securities for securities of the same series in smaller denominations or combined into fewer securities of the same series of larger denominations, as long as the total amount is not changed.

 

    You may exchange, transfer, present for payment or exercise securities at the office of the relevant indenture trustee or agent indicated in the prospectus supplement. You may also replace lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated securities at that office. We may appoint another entity to perform these functions or we may perform them ourselves.

 

    You will not be required to pay a service charge to transfer or exchange your securities, but you may be required to pay any tax or other governmental charge associated with the transfer or exchange. The transfer or exchange, and any replacement, will be made only if our transfer agent is satisfied with your proof of legal ownership. The transfer agent may also require an indemnity before replacing any securities.

 

    If we have the right to redeem, accelerate or settle any securities before their maturity or expiration, and we exercise that right as to less than all those securities, we may block the transfer or exchange of those securities during the period beginning 15 days before the day we mail the notice of exercise and ending on the day of that mailing, in order to freeze the list of holders to prepare the mailing. We may also refuse to register transfers of or exchange any security selected for early settlement, except that we will continue to permit transfers and exchanges of the unsettled portion of any security being partially settled.

 

    If fewer than all of the securities represented by a certificate that are payable or exercisable in part are presented for payment or exercise, a new certificate will be issued for the remaining amount of securities.

 

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BOOK-ENTRY PROCEDURES AND SETTLEMENT

Most offered securities will be book-entry (global) securities. Upon issuance, all book-entry securities will be represented by one or more fully registered global securities, without coupons. Each global security will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTC, a securities depositary, and will be registered in the name of Cede & Co. or another nominee of DTC. DTC, Cede & Co., or such nominee, will thus be the only registered holder of these securities. Except as set forth below, the registered global securities may be transferred, in whole but not in part, only to Cede & Co., another nominee of DTC or to a successor of DTC or its nominee.

Purchasers of securities may only hold interests in the global securities through DTC if they are participants in the DTC system. Individual certificates in respect of the securities will not be issued in exchange for the registered global securities, except in very limited circumstances. Purchasers may also hold interests through a securities intermediary—banks, brokerage houses and other institutions that maintain securities accounts for customers—that has an account with DTC or its nominee. DTC will maintain accounts showing the security holdings of its participants, and these participants will in turn maintain accounts showing the security holdings of their customers. Some of these customers may themselves be securities intermediaries holding securities for their customers. Thus, each beneficial owner of a book-entry security will hold that security indirectly through a hierarchy of intermediaries, with DTC at the top and the beneficial owner’s own securities intermediary at the bottom.

The securities of each beneficial owner of a book-entry security will be evidenced solely by entries on the books of the beneficial owner’s securities intermediary. The actual purchaser of the securities will generally not be entitled to have the securities represented by the global securities registered in its name and will not be considered the owner under the declaration. In most cases, a beneficial owner will also not be able to obtain a paper certificate evidencing the holder’s ownership of securities. The book-entry system for holding securities eliminates the need for physical movement of certificates and is the system through which most publicly traded common stock is held in the United States. However, the laws of some jurisdictions require some purchasers of securities to take physical delivery of their securities in definitive form. These laws may impair the ability to transfer book-entry securities.

Title to book-entry interests in the securities will pass by book-entry registration of the transfer within the records of DTC in accordance with its procedures.

If DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a clearing system in connection with the registered global securities or ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, and a successor clearing system is not appointed by us within 90 days after receiving that notice from DTC or upon becoming aware that DTC is no longer so registered, we will issue or cause to be issued individual certificates in registered form on registration of transfer of, or in exchange for, book-entry interests in the securities represented by registered global securities upon delivery of those registered global securities for cancellation. We may also permit beneficial owners of book-entry securities represented by a global security to exchange their beneficial interests for definitive (paper) securities if, in our sole discretion, we decide to allow some or all book-entry securities to be exchangeable for definitive securities in registered form.

Unless we indicate otherwise, any global security that is exchangeable will be exchangeable in whole for definitive securities in registered form, with the same terms and of an equal aggregate principal amount. Definitive securities will be registered in the name or names of the person or persons specified by DTC in a written instruction to the registrar of the securities. DTC may base its written instruction upon directions that it receives from its participants.

In this prospectus, for book-entry securities, references to actions taken by security holders will mean actions taken by DTC upon instructions from its participants, and references to payments and notices of redemption to

 

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security holders will mean payments and notices of redemption to DTC as the registered holder of the securities for distribution to participants in accordance with DTC’s procedures.

Initial settlement for the securities offered on a global basis through DTC will be made in immediately available funds. Secondary market trading between DTC’s participants will occur in the ordinary way in accordance with DTC’s rules and will be settled in immediately available funds using DTC’s Same-Day Funds Settlement System.

Although DTC has agreed to the foregoing procedures in order to facilitate transfers of interests in the securities among participants thereof, it is under no obligation to perform or continue to perform the foregoing procedures and these procedures may be changed or discontinued at any time.

DTC is a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the State of New York, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a clearing corporation within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a clearing agency registered under section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

We will not have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to, or payments made on account of, beneficial ownership interest in the book-entry securities or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to the beneficial ownership interests.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell the securities in and outside the United States (a) through underwriters or dealers, (b) directly to purchasers, including our affiliates, (c) through agents or (d) through a combination of any of these methods. The applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus will include the following information:

 

    the terms of the offering;

 

    the names of any underwriters or agents;

 

    the name or names of any managing underwriter or underwriters;

 

    the purchase price of the securities;

 

    the net proceeds from the sale of the securities;

 

    any delayed delivery arrangements;

 

    any underwriting discounts, commissions and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation;

 

    any initial public offering price;

 

    any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

 

    any commissions paid to agents.

The sale of the securities may be effected in transactions (a) on any national or international securities exchange or quotation service on which the securities may be listed or quoted at the time of sale, (b) in the over-the-counter market, (c) in transactions otherwise than on such exchanges or in the over-the-counter market or (d) through the writing of options.

The distribution of offered securities may be effected 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 the market prices, or at negotiated prices.

Sale Through Underwriters or Dealers

If underwriters are used in the sale of any of these securities, the underwriters will acquire the securities for their own account. The underwriters may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless we inform you otherwise in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the offered securities if they purchase any of them. We may grant underwriters an option to purchase additional securities to cover over-allotment, if any, or otherwise in connection with the distribution. The underwriters may change from time to time any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers.

Any underwriter may engage in overallotment, stabilizing transactions, short covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. 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 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.

 

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Any underwriters who are qualified market makers on NASDAQ (or any exchange or quotation system on which our securities are listed) may engage in passive market making transactions in our ordinary shares, warrants or units, as applicable, on NASDAQ in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M, 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.

Some or all of the securities that we offer though this prospectus may be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters to whom we sell these securities for public offering and sale may make a market in those securities, but they will not be obligated to and they may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the liquidity of, or continued trading markets for, any securities that we offer.

If dealers are used in the sale of securities, we will sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. We will include in the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.

Direct Sales and Sales Through Agents

We may sell the securities directly, and not through underwriters or agents. We may also sell the securities through agents designated from time to time. In the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, we will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered securities, and we will describe any commissions payable to the agent. Unless we inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.

We may sell the securities directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those securities. We will describe the terms of any such sales in the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus.

We may enter into derivative transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus (or a post-effective amendment).

Delayed Delivery Contracts

If we so indicate in the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, we may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from certain types of institutions to purchase securities from us at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts. These contracts would provide for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The contracts would be subject only to those conditions described in the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. The prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus will describe any commission payable for solicitation of those contracts.

 

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Subscription Offerings

Direct sales to investors or our shareholders may be accomplished through subscription offerings or through subscription rights distributed to shareholders. In connection with subscription offerings or the distribution of subscription rights to shareholders, if all of the underlying securities are not subscribed for, we may sell any unsubscribed securities to third parties directly or through underwriters or agents. In addition, whether or not all of the underlying securities are subscribed for, we may concurrently offer additional securities to third parties directly or through underwriters or agents. If securities are to be sold through subscription rights, the subscription rights will be distributed as a dividend to the shareholders for which they will pay no separate consideration.

General Information

We may have agreements with the agents, dealers and underwriters to indemnify them against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute with respect to payments that the agents, dealers or underwriters may be required to make. Agents, dealers and underwriters may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of their businesses.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

Legal matters with respect to U.S. federal and New York law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for us by Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, Massachusetts. Certain legal matters with respect to Dutch law in connection with the validity of the ordinary shares being offered by this prospectus and other legal matters will be passed upon for us by NautaDutilh N.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 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.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of ProQR Therapeutics N.V. as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 and for the year ended December 31, 2014 and for the period from February 21, 2012 (inception) through December 31, 2012 included in this prospectus have been audited by Deloitte Accountants B.V., an independent registered public accounting firm as stated in their report appearing herein. Such financial statements are included in reliance upon the report of such firm, given upon their authority as experts in auditing and accounting.

SERVICE OF PROCESS AND ENFORCEMENT OF LIABILITIES

We are incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands. Substantially all of our business is conducted, and substantially all of our assets are located, in the Netherlands. Most of our directors and the experts named in this prospectus are residents of, and most of their assets are located in, jurisdictions outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to serve process on us or these persons within the United States or to enforce against us or these persons in courts in the United States, judgments of these courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws. In addition, it is not clear whether a Dutch court would impose civil liability on us, members of our management board, supervisory board or any of the experts named in this prospectus in an original action based solely upon the federal securities laws of the United States brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in the Netherlands. We have appointed CT Corporation System, New York, New York, as our agent for service of process in the United States with respect to any action brought against us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the securities laws of the United States or any State of the United States or any action brought against us in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York under the securities laws of the State of New York.

As there is no treaty on the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between the United States and the Netherlands, courts in the Netherlands will not automatically recognize and enforce a final judgment rendered by a U.S. court. In order to obtain a judgment enforceable in the Netherlands, claimants must obtain from a Dutch court leave to enforce the judgment rendered by a U.S. court. Under current practice, however, a Dutch court will grant leave to enforce, without a review on the merits of the underlying claim, if it finds that:

 

    the jurisdiction of the U.S. court has been based on grounds that are internationally acceptable;

 

    the final judgment results from proceedings compatible with Dutch concepts of due process; or

 

    the final judgment does not contravene public policy of the Netherlands.

If no leave to enforce is granted, claimants must litigate the claim again before a Dutch competent court.

In the event a third party is liable to a Dutch company, only the company itself can bring a civil action against that party. The individual shareholders do not have the right to bring an action on behalf of the company. Only in the event that the cause for the liability of a third party to the company also constitutes a tortious act directly against a shareholder does that shareholder have an individual right of action against such third party in its own name. The Dutch Civil Code does provide for the possibility to initiate such actions collectively. A foundation or

 

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an association whose objective is to protect the rights of a group of persons having similar interests can institute a collective action. The collective action itself cannot result in an order for payment of monetary damages but may only result in a declaratory judgment (verklaring voor recht). To obtain compensation for damages, individual claimants can base their claim on the declaratory judgment obtained by the foundation or association but they still need to individually sue the defendant for damages. Alternatively, in order to obtain compensation for damages, the foundation or association and the defendant may reach—often on the basis of such declaratory judgment—a settlement. A Dutch court may declare the settlement agreement binding upon all the injured parties with an opt-out choice for an individual injured party. An individual injured party may also itself institute a civil claim for damages.

EXPENSES

The following table sets forth the expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation, if any) expected to be incurred by us in connection with a possible offering of $200 million of the securities registered under this registration statement. All amounts other than the SEC registration fee and FINRA filing fee are estimates.

 

SEC registration fee

   $ 20,140   

FINRA filing fee

     30,500   

NASDAQ fees

     *   

Printing and engraving expenses

     *   

Legal fees and expenses

     *   

Accountants’ fees and expenses

     *   

Trustee’s fees and expenses

     *   

Miscellaneous costs

     *   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ *   
  

 

 

 

 

* To be provided by a prospectus supplement or as an exhibit to a Report on Form 6-K that is incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

 

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The information contained in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to Completion, dated October 2, 2015

PROSPECTUS

 

 

LOGO

Up to $60,000,000

Ordinary Shares

 

 

We have entered into a Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement, or the sales agreement, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., or Cantor, pursuant to which we may offer and sell our ordinary shares from time to time through Cantor, acting as agent, having an aggregate offering price of up to $60,000,000.

Sales of our ordinary shares, if any, under this prospectus may be made in sales deemed to be “at-the-market offerings” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Global Market, the existing trading market for our ordinary shares, sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange or otherwise, in negotiated transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to such prevailing market prices, and/or any other method permitted by law. Cantor will act as sales agent on a best efforts basis and use commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the ordinary shares requested to be sold by us, consistent with its normal trading and sales practices, on mutually agreed terms between Cantor and us. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

Cantor will be entitled to compensation under the terms of the sales agreement at a commission rate equal to 3.0% of the gross sales price per share sold. In connection with the sale of ordinary shares on our behalf, Cantor will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation of Cantor will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts.

Our ordinary shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “PRQR.” On September 30, 2015, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market was $14.57 per share.

 

 

Investing in our ordinary shares involves risks. Before making an investment decision, you should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-7 and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference herein.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or the accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

LOGO

The date of this prospectus is                     , 2015.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

About This Prospectus

     S-1   

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

     S-2   

Our Company

     S-3   

The Offering

     S-6   

Risk Factors

     S-7   

Capitalization

     S-8   

Use of Proceeds

     S-9   

Dilution

     S-10   

Description of Our Ordinary Shares

     S-11   

Plan of Distribution

     S-12   

Legal Matters

     S-13   

Experts

     S-13   

Documents Incorporated by Reference

     S-13   

Where You Can Find More Information

     S-15   

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus relates to the offering of our ordinary shares. Before buying any of the ordinary shares that we are offering, we urge you to carefully read this prospectus, together with the information incorporated by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Documents Incorporated by Reference” in this prospectus. These documents contain important information that you should consider when making your investment decision.

This prospectus describes the specific terms of the ordinary shares we are offering and also adds to, and updates information contained in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus, on the one hand, and the information contained in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, before the date of this prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus. 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 into this prospectus—the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.

You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and in any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with this offering. We have not, and Cantor has not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and Cantor is not, making an offer to sell or soliciting an offer to buy our ordinary shares in any jurisdiction in which an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making that offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with this offering, is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should read this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the documents to which we have referred you in the sections of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Documents Incorporated by Reference.”

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, including the documents that we incorporate by reference herein, includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the “Securities Act,” and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the “Exchange Act.” For this purpose, any statements contained herein, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the progress and timing of our product development programs and related trials; our future opportunities; our strategy, future operations, anticipated financial position, future revenues and projected costs; our management’s prospects, plans and objectives; and any other statements about management’s future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements. We may, in some cases, use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and our most recent annual report on Form 20-F, as well as any amendments thereto reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC. If one or more of these factors materialize, or if any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, business development transactions, joint ventures or investments we may enter into or make in the future.

You should rely only on information contained, or incorporated by reference, in this prospectus, the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus and understand that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in the foregoing documents by these cautionary statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance or achievement. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law. Before deciding to purchase our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors included or incorporated herein by reference, in addition to the other information set forth in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement, any free writing prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference.

 

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OUR COMPANY

This business overview highlights information contained in certain documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This business overview does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our ordinary shares. You should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the “Risk Factors” section and the financial statements and the notes to those statements incorporated herein by reference, before making an investment decision.

References in this prospectus to the terms “ProQR Therapeutics,” “company,” “we,” “our” or “us” or other similar terms means ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

Overview

We are an innovative biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of RNA-based therapeutics for the treatment of severe genetic disorders. Utilizing our unique proprietary RNA repair technologies we are building a pipeline in severe genetic disorders beyond cystic fibrosis, or CF and Leber’s congenital amaurosis or LCA. We believe we will be able to treat rare genetic disorders in which a single protein is defective due to certain types of genetic mutations. We design our therapeutic candidates to specifically target and repair the defective messenger RNA, or mRNA, that is transcribed from a mutated gene in order to restore the expression and function of normal, or wild-type, protein. We believe that targeting the mRNA to restore the production of normal protein is a unique approach that offers advantages compared with small molecule, gene therapy and other therapeutic approaches. The first two programs in our pipeline focus respectively on the development of a disease-modifying therapy for the treatment of CF and LCA. Further, based on our own research and initial selection criteria, we believe that our RNA repair technologies can potentially be used to treat a broad range of other severe genetic diseases with high unmet medical need, and to date we have identified more than 50 potential target indications.

CF is a genetic disease that affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 patients worldwide and causes early morbidity and mortality. CF currently has no cure. The median age of death for CF patients is 27, and more than 90% of CF patients die from respiratory failure. CF is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes for a protein called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, or CFTR. Although there are more than 1,900 different genetic mutations that cause CF, the DF508 mutation that we are targeting is the most prevalent and is present in approximately 70% of all CF patients. In CF patients, this mutated gene and the resulting defective protein lead to the dysfunction of multiple organ systems, including the lungs, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract. In the lung airways, absence of functional CFTR protein leads to unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and increases vulnerability to chronic, life-threatening lung infections. To date, all but one of the therapies approved to treat CF patients with this mutation are designed to treat the symptoms of CF rather than address the underlying cause.

Our lead product candidate, QR-010, a first-in-class RNA-based oligonucleotide, is designed to address the underlying cause of the disease by repairing the mRNA defect encoded by the DF508 mutation in the CFTR gene of CF patients. The DF508 mutation is a deletion of three of the coding base pairs, or nucleotides, in the CFTR gene, which results in the production of a misfolded CFTR protein that does not function normally. QR-010 is designed to bind to the defective CFTR mRNA and guide the insertion of the three missing nucleotides, thus repairing the mRNA and subsequently producing wild-type, or normal CFTR protein. QR-010 is designed to be self-administered through a small, handheld aerosol delivery device, or nebulizer, in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs. We believe this method could allow maximum exposure of QR-010 to the primary target organ, the lung, as well as significant exposure to other affected organs through systemic absorption into the blood. To date, we have conducted extensive pre-clinical studies that have shown significant activity of QR-010 in restoring the expression of fully functional CFTR protein in cell and animal models that bear the DF508 mutation. We believe this activity in pre-clinical models of CF provides support for the clinical development and therapeutic potential of QR-010. QR-010 has been granted orphan drug designation in the United States and the

 

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European Union. Generally, if a product with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to a period of market exclusivity. This exclusivity precludes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, as applicable, from approving another marketing application for the same or, in the European Union, a similar drug for the same indication for that time period, unless the later product is clinically superior. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.

QR-010 is currently being tested in two clinical trials directly in CF patients. This first clinical trial is a Phase 1b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 28-day dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and absorption, distribution and degradation, or pharmacokinetics, of QR-010 in CF patients who have two copies of the DF508 mutation. We will also assess exploratory outcome measures that could be indicative of the potential efficacy of QR-010. In parallel with our Phase 1b trial, we are also conducting a proof-of-concept, or POC, study designed to investigate the drug candidate’s ability to restore CFTR function in the nasal lining of CF patients with the DF508 mutation. We expect to report top-line data from both our Phase 1b trial and our POC study in the fourth quarter of 2015 or early 2016.

LCA is the most common genetic blindness in childhood. LCA is caused by a genetic defect in 19 or more associated genes. The most common mutation is the p.Cys998X in the CEP290 (Centrosomal protein of 290 kDa) gene. We believe that approximately 2,000 patients in the Western world suffer from LCA due to this mutation in the CEP290 gene. Most patients affected by this mutation typically lose sight in the first few years after birth. There is currently no disease modifying therapy available on the market or being tested in development for this specific subtype of the disease. In LCA patients, this mutation leads to significant decrease of active CEP290 protein in the photoreceptor cells in the retina in the eye. The absence of this essential protein causes blindness.

Our product candidate QR-110, a first-in-class oligonucleotide, is designed to treat the disease by repairing the underlying cause in the mRNA, which results in the production of wild-type CEP290 protein. The p.Cys998X mutation is a substitution of one nucleotide in the pre-mRNA forming a cryptic splice site that causes a part of the following intron to be included in the mRNA. This leads to an out-of-frame mRNA that is not translated into the required protein. QR-110 is designed to bind to the mutated location in the pre-mRNA, masking the cryptic splice site, thereby leading to normally spliced or wild-type mRNA, which could produce wild-type or normal protein. QR-110 is designed to be administered through an intravitreal injection in the eye. To date, we have conducted pre-clinical studies that have shown significant activity of QR-110 in restoring the expression of fully functional CEP290 protein in cells that bear this. We believe this activity in pre-clinical models of LCA provides support for the clinical development and therapeutic potential of QR-110. In 2016 we intend to dose a first patient in our first clinical trial directly in LCA patients.

Beyond CF and LCA, our innovation unit, which is our internal discovery engine, is working on many more programs that we have identified in our own internal research. We see many opportunities where we can use our knowhow and RNA technologies to potentially make a life saving impact to patients suffering from different severe genetic disorders. The programs in the innovation unit vary in stage of discovery, from the idea phase to close to having a complete pre-clinical PoC. We believe based on this internal discovery effort we will be able to add two programs per year to our development pipeline.

ProQR was formed in February 2012 by Daniel de Boer, Gerard Platenburg, Henri Termeer and Dinko Valerio. Mr. de Boer is a passionate and driven entrepreneur and advocate for CF patients, and has assembled an experienced team of successful biotech executives as co-founders and early investors. ProQR’s team has extensive experience in discovery, development and commercialization of CF treatments and RNA therapeutics. To date, we have raised approximately € 133 million in gross proceeds from our initial public offering of shares on the NASDAQ Global Market and private placements of equity securities. In addition, we have received grants, loans and other funding from CF-focused patient organizations and government institutions supporting our program for CF, including from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the European Commission. ProQR headquarters are in Leiden, the Netherlands.

 

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Company Information

Our ordinary shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, under the trading symbol “PRQR.”

Our principal executive office is at Darwinweg 24, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands, and our telephone number is 31 88 166 7000. Our website address is www.proqr.com. Information found on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus, and you should not consider it part of this prospectus or part of any prospectus supplement. Our website address is included in this document as an inactive textual reference only.

 

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THE OFFERING

 

Ordinary shares offered by us

Ordinary shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $60,000,000.

 

Ordinary shares to be outstanding after this offering

27,461,421 ordinary shares

 

Manner of offering

“At-the-market offering” that may be made from time to time through our agent, Cantor. See “Plan of Distribution.”

 

Use of Proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, for general corporate purposes, which may include, but are not limited to, working capital, strategic acquisitions and other potential business development activities, ongoing research and development activities and capital expenditures. See “Use of Proceeds”.

 

Risk Factors

Investing in our ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. Please read the information contained in and incorporated by reference under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and under similar headings in the other documents that are filed after the date hereof and incorporated by reference into this prospectus, together with the other information included in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to invest in our ordinary shares.

 

NASDAQ Global Market symbol

PRQR

The number of ordinary shares to be outstanding after this offering and, unless otherwise indicated, the information in this prospectus are based on 23,343,371 ordinary shares outstanding as of June 30, 2015 and assumes the sale and issuance of $60,000,000 of ordinary shares at $14.57 per share, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market on September 30, 2015, and excludes 1,177,443 treasury shares held by us for issuance under our equity incentive plans as of June 30, 2015, of which there were outstanding options to purchase 1,077,564 ordinary shares at a weighted average exercise price of $4.31 (€3.85) per share.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our ordinary shares, you should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below and discussed under the section entitled “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus in their entirety, as updated or superseded by the risks and uncertainties described under similar headings in the other documents that are filed after the date hereof and incorporated by reference into this prospectus, together with the other information in this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with this offering. The risks described in these documents are not the only ones we face, but those that we consider to be material. There may be other unknown or unpredictable economic, business, competitive, regulatory or other factors that could have material adverse effects on our future results. Past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could be seriously harmed. This could cause the trading price of our ordinary shares to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment. Please also carefully read the section below entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Risks Related to this Offering

Management will have broad discretion as to the use of the proceeds from this offering, and may not use the proceeds effectively.

Because we have not designated the amount of net proceeds from this offering to be used for any particular purpose, our management will have broad discretion as to the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of the offering. Accordingly, you will be relying on the judgment of our management with regard to the use of any proceeds from the sale of ordinary shares in this offering, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. Our management may use the net proceeds for corporate purposes that may not improve our financial condition or market value.

You may experience immediate and substantial dilution.

The offering price per share in this offering may exceed the net tangible book value per share of our ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering. Assuming that an aggregate of 4,118,050 of our ordinary shares are sold at a price of $14.57 per share pursuant to this prospectus, which was the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market on September 30, 2015, for aggregate gross proceeds of $60,000,000, after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us, you would experience immediate dilution of $8.32 (€7.34) per share, representing the difference between our as adjusted net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2015, after giving effect to this offering and the assumed offering price. The exercise of outstanding share options may result in further dilution of your investment. See the section entitled “Dilution” below for a more detailed illustration of the dilution you would incur if you participate in this offering.

You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings.

In order to raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional ordinary shares or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our ordinary shares at prices that may not be the same as the price per share in this offering. We may sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is less than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing shareholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our ordinary shares, or securities convertible or exchangeable into ordinary shares, in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share paid by investors in this offering.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of June 30, 2015:

 

    on an actual basis; and

 

    on an as adjusted basis to give effect to the sale of 4,118,050 ordinary shares by us in this offering, at the offering price of $14.57 per ordinary share, which was the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market on September 30, 2015, for aggregate gross proceeds of $60,000,000, after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

     As of June 30, 2015  
     Actual      As Adjusted  
    

(€ in thousands, except
share

and per share data)

 

Cash and cash equivalents

   106,382       158,129   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total debt:

     

Finance lease liability

     29         29   

Borrowings

     4,232         4,232   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total debt

     4,261         4,261   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Shareholders’ equity:

     

Ordinary share capital

     934         1,099   

Share premium

     123,587         175,170   

Equity settled employee benefit reserve

     1,306         1,306   

Accumulated deficit

     (24,187      (24,187
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total shareholders’ equity

     101,640         153,388   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   105,901       157,649   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The table above excludes:

 

    1,077,564 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of June 30, 2015 at a weighted average exercise price of $4.31 (€3.85) per share; and

 

    1,177,443 treasury shares held by us for issuance under our equity incentive plans.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, if any, for general corporate purposes, which may include, but are not limited to, working capital, strategic acquisitions and other potential business development activities, ongoing research and development activities and capital expenditures. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to us from this offering. Accordingly, our management will have broad discretion in the timing and application of these proceeds. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we intend to temporarily invest the proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing instruments.

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering. We calculate net tangible book value per share by dividing the net tangible book value, which is tangible assets less total liabilities, by the number of our outstanding ordinary shares. Dilution represents the difference between the portion of the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our ordinary shares immediately after giving effect to this offering. Our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2015, was approximately $113.5 (€101.5) million, or $4.86 (€4.35) per share.

After giving effect to the sale of our ordinary shares pursuant to this prospectus in the aggregate amount of $60,000,000 at an assumed offering price of $14.57 per share, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market on September 30, 2015, and after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us, our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2015 would have been $171.5 (€153.2) million, or $6.25 (€5.58) per ordinary share. This represents an immediate increase in the net tangible book value of $1.39 (€1.23) per share to our existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $8.32 (€7.43) per share to new investors. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

Assumed offering price per share

   $ 14.57       13.01   

Net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2015

     4.86         4.35   

Increase per share attributable to new investors

     1.39         1.23   

As adjusted net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2015, after giving effect to this offering

     6.25         5.58   

Dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering

     8.32         7.43   

The table above assumes for illustrative purposes that an aggregate of 4,118,050 of our ordinary shares are sold pursuant to this prospectus at a price of $14.57 per share, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on the NASDAQ Global Market on September 30, 2015, for aggregate gross proceeds of $60,000,000. The shares are being sold from time to time at various prices pursuant to the sales agreement with Cantor. An increase of $1.00 per share in the price at which the shares are sold from the assumed offering price of $14.57 per share shown in the table above, assuming all of our ordinary shares in the aggregate amount of $60,000,000 is sold at that price, would increase our adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering to $6.31 (€5.63) per share and would increase the dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering to $9.26 (€8.27) per share, after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us. A decrease of $1.00 per share in the price at which the shares are sold from the assumed offering price of $14.57 per share shown in the table above, assuming all of our ordinary shares in the aggregate amount of $60,000,000 is sold at that price, would decrease our adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering to $6.18 (€5.52) per share and would decrease the dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering to $7.39 (€6.59) per share, after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us. This information is supplied for illustrative purposes only.

The above discussion and table are based on 23,343,371 ordinary shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2015.

To the extent that options outstanding as of June 30, 2015, have been or are exercised, or other shares are issued, investors purchasing shares in this offering could experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our shareholders.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF OUR ORDINARY SHARES

As of the date hereof, our authorized share capital is €3,000,000, divided into 37,500,000 ordinary shares and 37,500,000 preferred shares, each with a nominal value of €0.04. As of September 30, 2015, there were 23,347,518 of our ordinary shares outstanding.

In accordance with Dutch law and our articles of association, each issued ordinary share and preferred share confers the right on the holder thereof to cast one vote at the general meeting of shareholders.

Dutch law does not permit cumulative voting for the election of management board members or supervisory board members. Because of this, subject to the voting rights of any outstanding preferred shares, the holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election.

We may only make distributions to our shareholders and other persons entitled to distributable profits, to the extent that our shareholders’ equity exceeds the sum of the paid-up and called-up share capital plus the reserves as required to be maintained by Dutch law or by our articles of association.

In the event of a dissolution and liquidation, the assets remaining after payment of all of the company’s debts (including any liquidation expenses) are to be distributed (i) firstly to the holders, if any, of preferred shares the nominal value of the preferred shares (to the extent paid-up) plus unpaid accrued dividends and deficits (if any) in preferred dividends, (ii) the balance remaining to the holders of ordinary shares in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of their ordinary shares. The liquidation and all distributions referred to in this paragraph will be made in accordance with the relevant provisions of Dutch law.

Our ordinary shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market. The trading symbol for our ordinary shares is “PRQR.”

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC is the transfer agent and registrar for our ordinary shares.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

In accordance with the terms of our Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement, or the sales agreement, with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., or Cantor, we may offer and sell our ordinary shares from time to time through Cantor, acting as agent, having an aggregate offering price of up to $60,000,000. This summary of the material provisions of the sales agreement does not purport to be a complete statement of its terms and conditions. A copy of our Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement that we entered into with Cantor is filed with the SEC as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Cantor may sell the ordinary shares by any method that is deemed to be an “at-the-market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Global Market or any other existing trading market for our ordinary shares in the United States or to or through a market maker. Subject to the terms of the placement notice, Cantor may also sell the ordinary shares by any other method permitted by law, including in privately negotiated transactions.

Each time we wish to issue and sell ordinary shares under the sales agreement, we will notify Cantor of the number of shares to be issued, the dates on which such sales are anticipated to be made and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. Once we have so instructed Cantor, unless it declines to accept the terms of this notice, Cantor has agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such shares up to the amount specified on such terms. The obligations of Cantor under the sales agreement to sell our ordinary shares are subject to a number of conditions that we must meet. We or Cantor may suspend the offering of our ordinary shares upon notice and, subject to other conditions, our prior approval.

The settlement between us and Cantor is generally anticipated to occur on the third trading day following the date on which the sale was made, or on some other date that is agreed upon by us and Cantor in connection with a particular transaction, in return for payment of the net proceeds to us. Sales of our ordinary shares as contemplated in this prospectus will be settled through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company or by such other means as we and Cantor may agree upon. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

Pursuant to the sales agreement, Cantor will be entitled to a commission equal to an aggregate of 3.0% of the gross proceeds we receive from the sales of our ordinary shares. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. In connection with the sale of the ordinary shares on our behalf, Cantor will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of each sales agent will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to Cantor with respect to certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We have also agreed to reimburse Cantor for certain specified expenses, including the fees and disbursements of its legal counsel in an amount not to exceed $50,000. We estimate that the total expenses for the offering, excluding compensation payable to the Cantor under the terms of the sales agreement, will be approximately $225,000 (€200,800).

The offering of ordinary shares pursuant to the sales agreement and this prospectus will terminate upon the termination of the sales agreement as permitted therein. We and Cantor may each terminate the sales agreement at any time upon 10 days’ prior notice.

Cantor and its affiliates have in the past and may in the future provide various investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services for us and our affiliates, for which services they have or may in the future receive customary fees. To the extent required by Regulation M under the Exchange Act, Cantor will not engage in any market making activities involving our ordinary shares while the offering is ongoing under this prospectus.

This prospectus in electronic format may be made available on a website maintained by Cantor and Cantor may distribute this prospectus and the accompanying base prospectus electronically.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

NautaDutilh N.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands, has passed upon the validity of the ordinary shares offered by this prospectus. Certain legal matters with respect to U.S. federal law and New York law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for us by Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, Massachusetts. Cooley LLP, New York, New York, is counsel for Cantor in connection with this offering with respect to U.S. federal law and New York law. Stibbe N.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is counsel to Cantor with respect to Dutch law.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of ProQR Therapeutics N.V. as of December 31, 2013 and 2014 and for the year ended December 31, 2014 and for the period from February 21, 2012 (inception) through December 31, 2012 included in this prospectus have been audited by Deloitte Accountants B.V., an independent registered public accounting firm as stated in their report appearing herein. Such financial statements are included in reliance upon the report of such firm, given upon their authority as experts in auditing and accounting.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we file with the SEC, by referring you to other documents filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus. Any information that we file later with the SEC and that is deemed incorporated by reference will automatically update and supersede the information in this prospectus. In all such cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus or in any incorporated document. You should not assume that information in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement is current as of any date other than the date of that document. This prospectus will be deemed to incorporate by reference the following documents, except that we do not incorporate any document or portion of a document that was furnished and deemed by the rules of the SEC not to have been filed:

 

    our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2015;

 

    our Reports on Form 6-K, filed with the SEC on February 26, 2015, April 29, 2015, May 21, 2015, June 11, 2015, June 29, 2015, August 19, 2014 and September 14, 2015; and

 

    the description of our ordinary shares contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-36622), filed with the SEC on September 16, 2014.

We will also incorporate by reference any future filings made with the SEC under the Exchange Act after (i) the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement and (ii) the date of this prospectus and before the completion of the offering of the securities under the registration statement. In addition, we will incorporate by reference certain future materials furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K after the date of the initial registration statement, but only to the extent specifically indicated in those submissions or in a future prospectus supplement. Each subsequently filed Annual Report should be deemed to supersede entirely each earlier filed Annual Report and Reports on Form 6-K containing our quarterly earnings releases and, unless explicitly stated otherwise, such earlier reports should not be deemed to be part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement and you should not rely upon statements made in those earlier periodic reports.

 

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You may request a copy of these filings, at no cost, by writing, telephoning or emailing us at the following address:

Darwinweg 24

2333 CR Leiden

The Netherlands

Attention: Company Secretary

Tel.: 31 88 166 7000

IR@proqr.com

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy the reports, proxy statements and other information that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information about the operation of its Public Reference Room and for its prescribed rates to obtain copies of such material. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s Internet site is www.sec.gov. Our Internet site is www.proqr.com. Information contained on our Internet site is not a part of this prospectus.

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC. To see more detail, you should read the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with, or incorporated by reference into, our registration statement.

This registration statement, including the exhibits contained or incorporated by reference therein, can be read at the SEC web site or at the SEC office referred to above. Any statement made or incorporated by reference in this prospectus concerning the contents of any contract, agreement or other document is only a summary of the actual contract, agreement or other document. If we have filed or incorporated by reference any contract, agreement or other document as an exhibit to the registration statement, you should read the exhibit for a more complete understanding of the document or matter involved. Each statement regarding a contract, agreement or other document is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual document.

 

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LOGO

Up to $60,000,000

Ordinary Shares

 

 

PROSPECTUS

 

 

 

 

 

LOGO

 

 

                    , 2015

 

 

 


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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

ITEM 8. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

Although Dutch law does not expressly provide for the indemnification of directors, the concept of indemnification of directors of a company for liabilities arising from their actions as members of the management board and supervisory board is, in principle, accepted in the Netherlands. Our articles of association provide that we will indemnify our management board members, supervisory board members, former management board members and former supervisory board members against (i) any financial losses or damages incurred by such indemnified person and (ii) any expense reasonably paid or incurred by such indemnified person in connection with any threatened, pending or completed suit, claim, action or legal proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative and whether formal or informal, in which he becomes involved, to the extent this relates to his position with the company, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. No indemnification shall be given to an indemnified person (a) if a Dutch court has established, without possibility for appeal, that the acts or omissions of such indemnified person that led to the financial losses, damages, suit, claim, action or legal proceedings result from either an improper performance of his duties as an officer of the company or an unlawful or illegal act and (b) to the extent that his financial losses, damages and expenses are covered by an insurance and the insurer has settled these financial losses, damages and expenses (or has indicated that it would do so). Our supervisory board may stipulate additional terms, conditions and restrictions in relation to such indemnification.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.

 

ITEM 9. EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

  1.1    Form of underwriting agreement (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  1.2    Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement, dated October 2, 2015, by and between ProQR Therapeutics N.V. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
  3.1    Amended Articles of Association of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-198151) filed on September 8, 2014)
  4.1    Form of warrant agreement (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  4.2    Form of warrant (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  4.3    Form of unit certificate (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  5.1    Opinion of NautaDutilh N.V. (Dutch counsel to the Company) relating to the base prospectus (filed herewith).
  5.2    Opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP (United States counsel to the Company) relating to the base prospectus (filed herewith).

 

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Exhibit No.

  

Description

  5.3    Opinion of NautaDutilh N.V. (Dutch counsel to the Company) relating to the sales agreement prospectus (filed herewith).
23.1    Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (filed herewith).
23.2    Consent of NautaDutilh N.V. (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.3    Consent of Goodwin Procter LLP (included in Exhibit 5.2).
23.4    Consent of NautaDutilh N.V. (included in Exhibit 5.3).
24.1    Power of Attorney (included in signature page to this Registration Statement).

 

ITEM 10. UNDERTAKINGS

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 of 1933;

(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 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(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 set forth in the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, 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.

(4) To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act need not be furnished, provided, that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include

 

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financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act or Rule 3-19 of Regulation S-X if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement.

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(i) If the registrant is relying on Rule 430B (Section 230.430B of this chapter):

(A) Each prospectus filed by each registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in this registration statement or a prospectus that is part of this registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into this registration statement or a prospectus that is part of this registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in this registration statement or a prospectus that was part of this registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

(6) That, for the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of an undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of an undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about an undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of an undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by an undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

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Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Leiden, the Netherlands, on October 2, 2015.

 

PROQR THERAPEUTICS N.V.
By:  

/s/ Daniel de Boer

  Name:       Daniel de Boer
  Title:       Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints each of Daniel de Boer and René Beukema his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments or supplements to this Registration Statement, whether pre-effective or post-effective and any and all additional registration statements pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing necessary or appropriate to be done with respect to this Registration Statement or any amendments or supplements hereto or any and all additional registration statements pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on October 2, 2015.

 

SIGNATURES

  

TITLE

 

DATE

/s/ Daniel de Boer

Daniel de Boer

  

Chief Executive Officer and Director, Management Board

(Principal Executive Officer)

  October 2, 2015

/s/ Smital Shah

Smital Shah

  

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

  October 2, 2015

/s/ René Beukema

René Beukema

   Director, Management Board   October 2, 2015

/s/ Dinko Valerio

Dinko Valerio

   Chairman, Supervisory Board   October 2, 2015

/s/ Antoine Benjamin Papiernik

Antoine Benjamin Papiernik

   Director, Supervisory Board   October 2, 2015

/s/ Henri Termeer

Henri Termeer

   Director, Supervisory Board   October 2, 2015

 

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SIGNATURES

  

TITLE

 

DATE

/s/ Alison Lawton

Alison Lawton

   Director, Supervisory Board   October 2, 2015

/s/ Paul Baart

Paul Baart

   Director, Supervisory Board   October 2, 2015

AUTHORIZED UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE

Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of the aforementioned Registrant, has signed this Registration Statement on October 2, 2015.

 

PUGLISI & ASSOCIATES

Authorized Representative in the United States

 

By:  

  /s/ Donald J. Puglisi

   October 2, 2015
Name:     Donald J. Puglisi   
Title:     Managing Director   

 

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INDEX OF EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit No.

  

Description

  1.1    Form of underwriting agreement (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  1.2    Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement, dated October 2, 2015, by and between ProQR Therapeutics N.V. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
  3.1    Amended Articles of Association of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-198151) filed on September 8, 2014)
  4.1    Form of warrant agreement (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  4.2    Form of warrant (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  4.3    Form of unit certificate (to be filed as an exhibit to a report on Form 6-K and incorporated herein by reference).
  5.1    Opinion of NautaDutilh N.V. (Dutch counsel to the Company) relating to the base prospectus (filed herewith).
  5.2    Opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP (United States counsel to the Company) relating to the base prospectus (filed herewith).
  5.3    Opinion of NautaDutilh N.V. (Dutch counsel to the Company) relating to the sales agreement prospectus (filed herewith).
23.1    Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (filed herewith).
23.2    Consent of NautaDutilh N.V. (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.3    Consent of Goodwin Procter LLP (included in Exhibit 5.2).
23.4    Consent of NautaDutilh N.V. (included in Exhibit 5.3).
24.1    Power of Attorney (included in signature page to this Registration Statement).
EX-1.2

EXHIBIT 1.2

PROQR THERAPEUTICS N.V.

Ordinary Shares

(nominal value €0.04 per share)

Controlled Equity OfferingSM

Sales Agreement

October 2, 2015

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

499 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Ladies and Gentlemen:

ProQR Therapeutics N.V., a Dutch public company with limited liability (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (the “Agent”), as follows:

1. Issuance and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through the Agent, ordinary shares (the “Placement Shares”) of the Company, nominal value €0.04 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”); provided, however, that in no event shall the Company issue or sell through the Agent such number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that would (a) exceed the number or dollar amount of shares of Ordinary Shares registered on the effective Registration Statement (defined below) pursuant to which the offering is being made, (b) exceed the number of shares the Company’s board of directors is authorized to issue pursuant to a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders and following approval of the Company’s supervisory board, (c) exceed the number or dollar amount of Ordinary Shares permitted to be sold under Form F-3 (including General Instruction I.B.5 thereof, if applicable) or (d) exceed the number or dollar amount of Ordinary Shares for which the Company has filed a Prospectus Supplement (defined below) (the lesser of (a), (b), (c) and (d), the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 1 on the amount of Placement Shares issued and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company and that Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement Shares through Agent will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and which will be declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement to issue any Placement Shares.

The Company has filed or will file, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “Securities Act Regulations”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form F-3,


including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations thereunder. The Company has prepared a prospectus or a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus included as part of the registration statement, which prospectus or prospectus supplement relates to the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented, by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares to be issued from time to time by the Company. The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable (which shall be a Prospectus Supplement), with respect to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement(s), including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act Regulations or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B of the Securities Act Regulations, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus or base prospectuses, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented, if necessary, by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus or prospectuses and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act Regulations, together with the then issued Issuer Free Writing Prospectus(es), is herein called the “Prospectus.”

Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (defined below) shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents, if any, incorporated by reference therein (the “Incorporated Documents”), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the documents, if any, filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents. Any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act on or after the most-recent effective date of the Registration Statement, or the date of the Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as the case may be, and incorporated therein by reference. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include the most recent copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System, or if applicable, the Interactive Data Electronic Application system when used by the Commission (collectively, “EDGAR”).

2. Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Agent by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) of the number of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made (a “Placement Notice”), the form of which is attached hereto as

 

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Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 3 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from the Agent set forth on Schedule 3, as such Schedule 3 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective unless and until (i) the Agent declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, in which case the Agent shall, within two Business Days after delivery of the Placement Notice to the Agent, notify the Company, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares thereunder have been sold, (iii) the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice or (iv) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 12. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Agent in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 2. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor the Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Agent and the Agent does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.

3. Sale of Placement Shares by Agent. Subject to the provisions of Section 5(a), the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the NASDAQ Global Market (the “Exchange”), to sell the Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. The Agent will provide written confirmation to the Company no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent pursuant to Section 2 with respect to such sales, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company, with an itemization of the deductions made by the Agent (as set forth in Section 5(b)) from the gross proceeds that it receives from such sales. Subject to the terms of the Placement Notice, the Agent may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act Regulations, including without limitation sales made directly on the Exchange, on any other existing trading market for the Ordinary Shares or to or through a market maker. Subject to the terms of a Placement Notice, the Agent may also sell Placement Shares by any other method permitted by law, including but not limited to in privately negotiated transactions. “Trading Day” means any day on which Ordinary Shares are traded on the Exchange.

4. Suspension of Sales. The Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 3, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 3), suspend any sale of Placement Shares (a “Suspension”); provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair any party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such

 

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notice. While a Suspension is in effect any obligation under Sections 7(l), 7(m), and 7(n) with respect to the delivery of certificates, opinions, or comfort letters to the Agent, shall be waived. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against any other party unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 3 hereto, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time.

5. Sale and Delivery to the Agent; Settlement.

(a) Sale of Placement Shares. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Agent’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell such Placement Shares as required under this Agreement and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise agreed by the Agent and the Company.

(b) Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the third (3rd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date”). The Agent shall notify the Company of each sale of Placement Shares no later than the opening of the Trading Day immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder. The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by the Agent, after deduction for (i) the Agent’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, and (ii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.

(c) Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting the Agent’s or its designee’s account (provided the Agent shall have given the Company written notice of such designee at least one Trading Day prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, the Agent will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its

 

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obligation to deliver Placement Shares on a Settlement Date, the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 10(a) hereto, it will (i) hold the Agent harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company or its transfer agent (if applicable) and (ii) pay to the Agent any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.

(d) Denominations; Registration. Certificates for the Placement Shares, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Agent may request in writing at least one full Business Day (as defined below) before the Settlement Date. The certificates for the Placement Shares, if any, will be made available by the Company for examination and packaging by the Agent in The City of New York not later than noon (New York time) on the Business Day prior to the Settlement Date.

(e) Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement Shares, the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of (A) together with all sales of Placement Shares under this Agreement, the Maximum Amount, (B) the amount available for offer and sale under the currently effective Registration Statement and (C) the number authorized from time to time to be issued and sold under this Agreement by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof and the Company’s supervisory board or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof and the Company’s supervisory board or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent in writing. Further, under no circumstances shall the Company cause or permit the aggregate offering amount of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement to exceed the Maximum Amount.

6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with Agent that as of the date of this Agreement and as of each Applicable Time (as defined below):

(a) Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the applicable conditions set forth in Form F-3 (including General Instruction I.A and I.B) under the Securities Act. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” as such term is defined in Rule 3b-4 under the Exchange Act. The Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”). The Registration Statement has been or will be filed with the Commission and will be declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act prior to the issuance of any Placement Notices by the Company. The Prospectus Supplement will name the Agent as the agent in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution.” The Company has not received, and has no notice of, any order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of the Registration Statement, or threatening or instituting proceedings for that purpose. The Registration Statement and the offer and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby meet the requirements of Rule 415 under

 

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the Securities Act and comply in all material respects with said Rule. Any statutes, regulations, contracts or other documents that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement have been so described or filed. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, and any such amendments or supplements and all documents incorporated by reference therein that were filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available through EDGAR, to Agent and its counsel. The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of each Settlement Date and completion of the distribution of the Placement Shares, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering or sale of the Placement Shares other than the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below) to which the Agent has consented. The Ordinary Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and are currently listed on the Exchange under the trading symbol “PRQR.” The Company has taken no action designed to, or likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act, delisting the Ordinary Shares from the Exchange, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or the Exchange is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. To the Company’s knowledge, it is in compliance with all applicable listing requirements of the Exchange.

(b) No Misstatement or Omission. The Registration Statement, when it became or becomes effective, and the Prospectus, and any amendment or supplement thereto, on the date of such Prospectus or amendment or supplement, conformed and will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act. At each Settlement Date, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as of such date, will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act. The Registration Statement, when it became or becomes effective, did not, and will not, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus and any amendment and supplement thereto, on the date thereof and at each Applicable Time (defined below), did not or will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The documents incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement did not, and any further documents filed and incorporated by reference therein will not, when filed with the Commission, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated in such document or necessary to make the statements in such document, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The foregoing shall not apply to statements in, or omissions from, any such document made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Company by Agent specifically for use in the preparation thereof.

(c) Conformity with Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, and the documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents were or are filed with the Commission under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or became or become effective under the Securities Act, as the case may be, conformed or will conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as applicable.

 

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(d) Financial Information. The consolidated financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) as of the dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations, cash flows and changes in shareholders’ equity (eigen vermogen) of the Company for the periods specified and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and Exchange Act and in conformity with IFRS (as defined below) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved; the other financial and statistical data with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, are accurately and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, or the Prospectus that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement (excluding the exhibits thereto), and the Prospectus; and all disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable.

(e) Conformity with EDGAR Filing. The Prospectus delivered to Agent for use in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement will be identical to the versions of the Prospectus created to be transmitted to the Commission for filing via EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

(f) Organization. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are duly organized, validly existing as a corporation and, where applicable, in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries are duly licensed or qualified as a foreign corporation for transaction of business and, where applicable, in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such license or qualification, and have all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to be so qualified or, where applicable, in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect or would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on or affecting the assets, business, operations, earnings, properties, condition (financial or otherwise), prospects, stockholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or prevent or materially interfere with consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (a “Material Adverse Effect”).

(g) Subsidiaries. The subsidiaries set forth on Schedule 4 (collectively, the “Subsidiaries”), are the Company’s only significant subsidiaries (as such term is defined in Rule

 

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1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Commission). Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and in the Prospectus, the Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the equity interests of the Subsidiaries free and clear of any lien, charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal or other restriction, and all the equity interests of the Subsidiaries are validly issued and are fully paid and free of preemptive and similar rights. No Subsidiary is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such Subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such Subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other Subsidiary of the Company.

(h) No Violation or Default. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except, in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company’s knowledge, no other party under any material contract or other agreement to which it or any of its Subsidiaries is a party is in default in any respect thereunder where such default would have a Material Adverse Effect.

(i) No Material Adverse Change. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Free Writing Prospectuses, if any (including any document deemed incorporated by reference therein), there has not been (i) any Material Adverse Effect or the occurrence of any development that the Company reasonably expects will result in a Material Adverse Effect, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company or any Subsidiary, which is material to the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iv) any material change in the capital stock (other than the grant of additional options under the Company’s existing stock option plans, or changes in the number of outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, Ordinary Shares) or outstanding long-term indebtedness of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any Subsidiary, other than in each case above in the ordinary course of business or as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus (including any document deemed incorporated by reference therein).

(j) Capitalization. The issued and outstanding shares in the capital of the Company have been validly issued, are fully paid and, other than as disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, are not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or similar rights. The Company has an authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein (other than the grant of additional options under the Company’s existing stock option plans, or changes in the

 

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number of outstanding Ordinary Shares of the Company due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, Ordinary Shares outstanding on the dates referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus) and such authorized share capital conforms to the description thereof set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The description of the securities of the Company in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is complete and accurate in all material respects. Except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as of the date referred to therein, the Company does not have outstanding any options to purchase, or any rights or warrants to subscribe for, or any securities or obligations convertible into, or exchangeable for, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, any shares of capital stock or other securities.

(k) Authorization; Enforceability. The Company has full legal right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles.

(l) Authorization of Placement Shares. The Placement Shares, when issued and delivered pursuant to the terms approved by (1) the board of directors of the Company or a duly authorized committee thereof and (2) the supervisory board of the Company or a duly authorized committee thereof, or a duly authorized executive committee, against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of any pledge, lien, encumbrance, security interest or other claim, including any statutory or contractual preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights, and will be registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act. The Placement Shares, when issued, will conform in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in or incorporated into the Prospectus.

(m) No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale by the Company of the Placement Shares, except for such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable state securities laws or by the by-laws and rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or the Exchange in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares by the Agent.

(n) No Preferential Rights. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) no person, as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act (each, a “Person”), has the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to such Person any Ordinary Shares or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, (ii) no Person has any preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal, rights of co-sale, or any other rights (whether pursuant to a “poison pill” provision or otherwise) to purchase any Ordinary Shares or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, (iii) no Person has the right to act as an underwriter or as a

 

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financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of the Ordinary Shares, and (iv) no Person has the right, contractual or otherwise, to require the Company to register under the Securities Act any Ordinary Shares or shares of any other capital stock or other securities of the Company, or to include any such shares or other securities in the Registration Statement or the offering contemplated thereby, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated thereby or otherwise other than such rights that are contained in agreements which are incorporated by reference in the Prospectus or any Prospectus Supplement and filed with the Commission.

(o) Independent Public Accounting Firm. Deloitte Accountants B.V. (the “Accountant”), whose report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company is filed with the Commission as part of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Commission and incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are and, during the periods covered by their report, were an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). To the Company’s knowledge, the Accountant is not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) with respect to the Company.

(p) Enforceability of Agreements. All agreements between the Company and third parties expressly referenced in the Prospectus are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent that (i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general equitable principles and (ii) the indemnification provisions of certain agreements may be limited by federal or state securities laws or public policy considerations in respect thereof.

(q) No Litigation. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings pending, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any legal, governmental or regulatory audits or investigations, to which the Company or a Subsidiary is a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending legal, governmental or regulatory audits or investigations, actions, suits or proceedings that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Prospectus that are not so described; and (ii) there are no contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not so filed.

(r) Consents and Permits. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries have made all filings, applications and submissions required by, possesses and is operating in compliance with, all approvals, licenses, certificates, certifications, clearances, consents, grants, exemptions, marks, notifications, orders, permits and other authorizations issued by, the appropriate federal, state or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities (including, without limitation, the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the United States Drug Enforcement Administration or any other foreign, federal, state, provincial, court or local government or regulatory authorities including

 

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self-regulatory organizations engaged in the regulation of clinical trials, pharmaceuticals, biologics or biohazardous substances or materials) necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or to conduct its businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (collectively, “Permits”), except for such Permits the failure of which to possess, obtain or make the same would not have a Material Adverse Effect; the Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Permits, except where the failure to be in compliance would not have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Permits are valid and in full force and effect, except where any invalidity, individually or in the aggregate, would not be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice of proceedings relating to the limitation, revocation, cancellation, suspension, modification or non-renewal of any such Permit which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would have a Material Adverse Effect, and has any reason to believe that any such license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course.

(s) Regulatory Filings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has failed to file with the applicable regulatory authorities (including, without limitation, the FDA, or any foreign, federal, state, provincial or local governmental or regulatory authority performing functions similar to those performed by the FDA) any required filing, declaration, listing, registration, report or submission, except for such failures that, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect; except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, all such filings, declarations, listings, registrations, reports or submissions were in compliance with applicable laws when filed and no deficiencies have been asserted by any applicable regulatory authority with respect to any such filings, declarations, listings, registrations, reports or submissions, except for any deficiencies that, individually or in the aggregate, would not have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has operated and currently is in compliance with the United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, all applicable rules and regulations of the FDA and other federal, state, local and foreign governmental bodies exercising comparable authority, except where the failure to so operate or be in compliance would not have a Material Adverse Effect.

(t) Intellectual Property. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries own, possess, license or have other rights to use all foreign and domestic patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, Internet domain names, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, the “Intellectual Property”), necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as now conducted except to the extent that the failure to own, possess, license or otherwise hold adequate rights to use such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (i) there are no rights of third parties to any such Intellectual Property owned by the Company and its Subsidiaries; (ii) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no infringement by third parties of any such Intellectual Property; (iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s and its Subsidiaries’ rights in or to any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (iv)

 

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there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property; (v) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company and its Subsidiaries infringe or otherwise violate any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others; (vi) to the Company’s knowledge, there is no third-party U.S. patent or published U.S. patent application which contains claims for which an Interference Proceeding (as defined in 35 U.S.C. §135) has been commenced against any patent or patent application described in the Prospectus as being owned by or licensed to the Company; and (vii) the Company and its Subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or such Subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect, except, in the case of any of clauses (i)-(vii) above, for any such infringement by third parties or any such pending or threatened suit, action, proceeding or claim as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. All patents and patent applications owned by or licensed to the Company or under which the Company has rights have, to the knowledge of the Company, been duly and properly filed and maintained; to the knowledge of the Company, each individual associated with the filing and prosecution of such patents and applications has complied with their duty of candor and disclosure to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) in connection with such patents and applications; and the Company is not aware of any information required to be disclosed to the USPTO that was not disclosed to the USPTO in connection with the prosecution of the aforementioned patents and applications.

(u) Clinical Studies. To the Company’s knowledge, the preclinical studies and tests and clinical trials described in the Prospectus were, and, if still pending, are being, to the Company’s knowledge, conducted in all material respects in accordance with the experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to, where applicable, accepted professional and scientific standards for products or product candidates comparable to those being developed by the Company; the descriptions of such studies, tests and trials, and the results thereof, contained in the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects; the Company has not received any written communication that the results of any tests, studies or trials not described in the Prospectus reasonably call into question the results of the tests, studies and trials described in the Prospectus; and the Company has not received any written notice or correspondence from the FDA or any foreign, state or local governmental body exercising comparable authority or any institutional review board or comparable authority requiring the termination, suspension, clinical hold or material modification of any tests, studies or trials.

(v) Market Capitalization. At the time the Registration Statement was or will be originally declared effective, and at the time the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F was filed with the Commission, the Company met or will meet the then applicable requirements for the use of Form F-3 under the Securities Act, including but not limited to Instruction I.B.1 of Form F-3. The Company is not a shell company (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) and has not been a shell company for at least 12 calendar months previously and if it has been a shell company at any time previously, has filed current Form 10 information (as defined in Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3) with the Commission at least 12 calendar months previously reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.

 

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(w) No Material Defaults. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not filed a report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the filing of its last Annual Report on Form 20-F, indicating that it (i) has failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock or (ii) has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect.

(x) Certain Market Activities. Neither the Company, nor any of the Subsidiaries, nor any of their respective directors, officers or controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares.

(y) Broker/Dealer Relationships. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries (i) is required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act or (ii) directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is a “person associated with a member” or “associated person of a member” (within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual).

(z) No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon the Agent or legal counsel for the Agent for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.

(aa) Taxes. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, local and foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed and paid all taxes shown thereon through the date hereof, to the extent that such taxes have become due and are not being contested in good faith, except where the failure to so file or pay would not have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries which has had, or would have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any federal, state or other governmental tax deficiency, penalty or assessment which has been or might be asserted or threatened against it which would have a Material Adverse Effect.

(bb) Title to Real and Personal Property. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all items of real property owned by them, good and valid title to all personal property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being owned by them that are material to the businesses of the Company or such Subsidiary, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims, except those matters that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and any of its Subsidiaries or (ii) would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Any real or personal property described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus as being leased by the Company and any of its Subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases, except those that (A) do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be

 

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made of such property by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (B) would not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. Each of the properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries complies with all applicable codes, laws and regulations (including, without limitation, building and zoning codes, laws and regulations and laws relating to access to such properties), except if and to the extent disclosed in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or except for such failures to comply that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its Subsidiaries or otherwise have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the Company or its subsidiaries has received from any governmental or regulatory authorities any notice of any condemnation of, or zoning change affecting, the properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries, and the Company knows of no such condemnation or zoning change which is threatened, except for such that would not reasonably be expected to interfere in any material respect with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its Subsidiaries or otherwise have a Material Adverse Effect, individually or in the aggregate.

(cc) Environmental Laws. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance with any and all applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws, rules, regulations, decisions and orders relating to the protection of human health and safety, the environment or hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) have received and are in compliance with all permits, licenses or other approvals required of them under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and (iii) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, except, in the case of any of clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) above, for any such failure to comply or failure to receive required permits, licenses, other approvals or liability as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(dd) Disclosure Controls. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries maintain systems of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). Since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included in the Prospectus, there has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (other than as set forth in the Prospectus). The Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15) for the Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the Company and each of its

 

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Subsidiaries is made known to the certifying officers by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F or Reports on Form 6-K disclosing financial information, as the case may be, is being prepared. The Company’s certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of the Form 20-F for the fiscal year most recently ended (such date, the “Evaluation Date”). The Company presented in its Form 20-F for the fiscal year most recently ended the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date and the disclosure controls and procedures are effective. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no significant changes in the Company’s internal controls (as such term is defined in Item 307(b) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act) or, to the Company’s knowledge, in other factors that could significantly affect the Company’s internal controls.

(ee) Sarbanes-Oxley. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Each of the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Company (or each former principal executive officer of the Company and each former principal financial officer of the Company as applicable) has made all certifications required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with respect to all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by it or furnished by it to the Commission. For purposes of the preceding sentence, “principal executive officer” and “principal financial officer” shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

(ff) Finder’s Fees. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has incurred any liability for any finder’s fees, brokerage commissions or similar payments in connection with the transactions herein contemplated, except as may otherwise exist with respect to Agent pursuant to this Agreement.

(gg) Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened which would result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(hh) Investment Company Act. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is or, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares, will be an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company,” as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

(ii) Operations. The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record keeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions to which the Company or its Subsidiaries are subject, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), except as would not result in a Material Adverse Effect; and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

 

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(jj) Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements. There are no transactions, arrangements and other relationships between and/or among the Company, and/or any of its affiliates and any unconsolidated entity, including, but not limited to, any structural finance, special purpose or limited purpose entity (each, an “Off-Balance Sheet Transaction”) that could reasonably be expected to affect materially the Company’s liquidity or the availability of or requirements for its capital resources, including those Off-Balance Sheet Transactions described in the Commission’s Statement about Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations (Release Nos. 33-8056; 34-45321; FR-61), required to be described in the Prospectus which have not been described as required.

(kk) Underwriter Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at-the-market” or continuous equity transaction.

(ll) ERISA. To the knowledge of the Company, each material employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), that is maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any of its affiliates for employees or former employees of the Company and any of its Subsidiaries has been maintained in material compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred which would result in a material liability to the Company with respect to any such plan excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; and for each such plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no “accumulated funding deficiency” as defined in Section 412 of the Code has been incurred, whether or not waived, and the fair market value of the assets of each such plan (excluding for these purposes accrued but unpaid contributions) exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such plan determined using reasonable actuarial assumptions.

(mm) Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) (a “Forward-Looking Statement”) contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith. The Forward-Looking Statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year most recently ended (i) are within the coverage of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act, Rule 175(b) under the Securities Act or Rule 3b-6 under the Exchange Act, as applicable, (ii) were made by the Company with a reasonable basis and in good faith and reflect the Company’s good faith commercially reasonable best estimate of the matters described therein, and (iii) have been prepared in accordance with Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.

(nn) Agent Purchases. The Company acknowledges and agrees that Agent has informed the Company that the Agent may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell Ordinary Shares for its own account while this Agreement is

 

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in effect, provided, that (i) no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except to the extent the Agent may engage in sales of Placement Shares purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity) and (ii) the Company shall not be deemed to have authorized or consented to any such purchases or sales by the Agent.

(oo) Margin Rules. Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.

(pp) Insurance. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries carry, or are covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company and each of its Subsidiaries reasonably believe are adequate for the conduct of their properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.

(qq) No Improper Practices. (i) Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any of their respective executive officers has, in the past five years, made any unlawful contributions to any candidate for any political office (or failed fully to disclose any contribution in violation of law) or made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state, municipal, or foreign office or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public duty in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Prospectus; (ii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any Subsidiary or any affiliate of any of them, on the one hand, and the directors, officers and stockholders of the Company or any Subsidiary, on the other hand, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described; (iii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any Subsidiary or any affiliate of them, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, or stockholders of the Company or any Subsidiary, on the other hand, that is required by the rules of FINRA to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus that is not so described; (iv) except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no material outstanding loans or advances or material guarantees of indebtedness by the Company or any Subsidiary to or for the benefit of any of their respective officers or directors or any of the members of the families of any of them; and (v) the Company has not offered, or caused any placement agent to offer, Ordinary Shares to any person with the intent to influence unlawfully (A) a customer or supplier of the Company or any Subsidiary to alter the customer’s or supplier’s level or type of business with the Company or any Subsidiary or (B) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any Subsidiary or any of their respective products or services, and, (vi) neither the Company nor any Subsidiary nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or any Subsidiary has made any payment of funds of the Company or any Subsidiary or received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation (including, without limitation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977), which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.

(rr) Status Under the Securities Act. The Company was not and is not an ineligible issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act at the times specified in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares.

 

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(ss) No Misstatement or Omission in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time (as defined in Section 25 below), did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any incorporated document deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent specifically for use therein.

(tt) No Conflicts. Neither the execution of this Agreement, nor the issuance, offering or sale of the Placement Shares, nor the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, nor the compliance by the Company with the terms and provisions hereof and thereof will conflict with, or will result in a breach of, any of the terms and provisions of, or has constituted or will constitute a default under, or has resulted in or will result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any contract or other agreement to which the Company may be bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, except (i) such conflicts, breaches or defaults as may have been waived and (ii) such conflicts, breaches and defaults that would not have a Material Adverse Effect; nor will such action result (x) in any violation of the provisions of the organizational or governing documents of the Company, or (y) in any material violation of the provisions of any statute or any order, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or of any court or of any federal, state or other regulatory authority or other government body having jurisdiction over the Company.

(uu) Sanctions. (i) The Company represents that, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries (collectively, the “Entity”) or any director, officer, employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Entity, is a government, individual, or entity (in this paragraph (uu), “Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is:

(A) the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor

(B) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).

(ii) The Entity represents and covenants that it will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person:

(A) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or

 

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(B) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).

(iii) The Entity represents and covenants that, except as detailed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, for the past 5 years, it has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

(vv) Stock Transfer Taxes. On each Settlement Date, all stock transfer or other taxes (other than income taxes) which are required to be paid in connection with the sale and transfer of the Placement Shares to be sold hereunder will be, or will have been, fully paid or provided for by the Company and all laws imposing such taxes will be or will have been fully complied with.

(ww) Compliance with Laws. Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries: (A) is and at all times has been in compliance with all statutes, rules, or regulations applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, marketing, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, storage, import, export or disposal of any product manufactured or distributed by the Company or its Subsidiaries (“Applicable Laws”), except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; (B) has not received any FDA Form 483, notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or notice from the FDA or any other Governmental Authority alleging or asserting noncompliance with any Applicable Laws or any licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws (“Authorizations”); (C) possesses all material Authorizations and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect and are not in material violation of any term of any such Authorizations; (D) has not received notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any Governmental Authority or third party alleging that any product operation or activity is in violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and has no knowledge that any such Governmental Authority or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding; (E) has not received notice that any Governmental Authority has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any Authorizations and has no knowledge that any such Governmental Authority is considering such action; (F) has filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and that all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and correct on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission); and (G) has not, either voluntarily or involuntarily, initiated, conducted, or issued or caused to be initiated, conducted or issued, any recall, market withdrawal or replacement, safety alert, post sale warning, “dear healthcare provider” letter, or other notice or action relating to the alleged lack of safety or efficacy of any product or any alleged product defect or violation and, to the Company’s knowledge, no third party has initiated, conducted or intends to initiate any such notice or action.

 

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Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or to counsel for the Agent pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company, as applicable, to the Agent as to the matters set forth therein.

7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with Agent that:

(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Agent under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify the Agent promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus or for additional information, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Agent’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in such Agent’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by the Agent (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the failure to make such filing shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement until such amendment or supplement is filed); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Agent within a reasonable period of time before the filing and the Agent has not objected thereto (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy Agent shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to obtain such consent shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to the Agent at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act or, in the case of any document to be incorporated therein by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the Commission under this Section 7(a), based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or reasonable objections, shall be made exclusively by the Company). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Company has no obligation to provide the Agent any advanced copy of any supplement to the Prospect if such supplement does not relate to the Placement Shares or to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

(b) Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise the Agent, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened

 

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issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. The Company will advise the Agent promptly after it receives any request by the Commission for any amendments to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplements to the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or for additional information related to the offering of the Placement Shares or for additional information related to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.

(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares, (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act. If the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, it will use its best efforts to comply with the provisions of and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430B and to notify the Agent promptly of all such filings. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify Agent to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance.

(d) Listing of Placement Shares. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement Shares, the Company will use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on the Exchange.

(e) Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to the Agent and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as the Agent may from time to time reasonably request and, at the Agent’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to the Agent to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

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(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act.

(g) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”

(h) Notice of Other Sales. Without the prior written consent of Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Ordinary Shares (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Ordinary Shares during the period beginning on the fifth (5th) Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to Agent hereunder and ending on the fifth (5th) Trading Day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement Shares covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at-the-market” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Ordinary Shares (other than the Placement Shares offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Ordinary Shares prior to the later of the termination of this Agreement and the sixtieth (60th) day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement Shares sold pursuant to such Placement Notice; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s issuance or sale of (i) Ordinary Shares, options to purchase Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of options, pursuant to any employee or director stock option or benefits plan, stock ownership plan or dividend reinvestment plan (but not Ordinary Shares subject to a waiver to exceed plan limits in its dividend reinvestment plan) of the Company whether now in effect or hereafter implemented, (ii) Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, and disclosed in filings by the Company available on EDGAR or otherwise in writing to the Agent and (iii) Ordinary Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Ordinary Shares as consideration for mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or strategic alliances occurring after the date of this Agreement which are not issued for capital raising purposes.

(i) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during the pendency of a Placement Notice advise the Agent promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document required to be provided to the Agent pursuant to this Agreement.

(j) Due Diligence Cooperation. The Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by the Agent or its representatives in connection with

 

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the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request.

(k) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that on such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing date under Rule 424(b), a “Filing Date”), which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the amount of Placement Shares sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement Shares, and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market.

(l) Representation Dates; Certificate. (1) Prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and (2) each time the Company:

(i) files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements (other than a prospectus supplement relating solely to an offering of securities other than the Placement Shares) the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of documents by reference into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares;

(ii) files an annual report on Form 20-F under the Exchange Act (including any Form 20-F/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 20-F);

(iii) files its quarterly or semi-annual financial statements on Form 6-K under the Exchange Act; or

(iv) files a report on Form 6-K containing amended financial information under the Exchange Act (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Representation Date”);

the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if the Agent reasonably determines that the information contained in such Form 6-K is material) with a certificate dated the Representation Date, in the form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to the form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(l) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time a Suspension is in effect, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers instructions for the sale of Placement Shares hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when a Suspension was in effect and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 7(l), then before the Company delivers the instructions for the sale

 

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of Placement Shares or the Agent sells any Placement Shares pursuant to such instructions, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate in conformity with this Section 7(l) dated as of the date that the instructions for the sale of Placement Shares are issued.

(m) Legal Opinions. (1) Prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and (2) within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent a written opinion of Goodwin Procter LLP, U.S. counsel to the Company, and NautaDutilh N.V., Dutch counsel for the Company (together, “Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to the Agent, in form and substance satisfactory to Agent and its counsel, substantially similar to a form previously provided to the Agent and its counsel, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, the Company shall be required to furnish to Agent no more than one opinion hereunder per calendar quarter; provided, further, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent periodic filings under the Exchange Act, counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this Section 7(m) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented as of the date of the Reliance Letter).

(n) Comfort Letter. (1) Prior to the date of the first Placement Notice and (2) within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l) for which no waiver is applicable and excluding the date of this Agreement, the Company shall cause its independent registered public accounting firm to furnish the Agent letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(n); provided, that if requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to the Agent within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event, including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. The Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm shall be in a form and substance satisfactory to the Agent, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.

(o) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of Ordinary Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase Ordinary Shares Stock, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than the Agent.

 

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(p) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor any of its Subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, required to register as an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.

(q) No Offer to Sell. Other than an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus approved in advance by the Company and the Agent in its capacity as agent hereunder, neither the Agent nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Agent in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.

(r) Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Agent, to qualify the Placement Shares for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Placement Shares to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Agent may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement); provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject. In each jurisdiction in which the Placement Shares have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).

(s) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company and the Subsidiaries will maintain and keep accurate books and records reflecting their assets and maintain internal accounting controls in a manner designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and including those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, (iii) that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with management’s and the Company’s directors’ authorization, and (iv) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on its financial statements. The Company and the Subsidiaries will maintain such controls and other procedures, including, without limitation, those required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the applicable regulations thereunder that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including, without limitation, controls and procedures designed

 

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to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to ensure that material information relating to the Company or the Subsidiaries is made known to them by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which such periodic reports are being prepared.

(t) Certificate; Further Documentation. Prior to the date of the first Placement Notice, the Company shall deliver to the Agent a certificate of a member of the Company’s board of directors, dated as of such date, certifying as to (i) the articles of association of the Company, (ii) the resolutions of the board of directors and the supervisory board of the Company authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance of the Placement Shares and (iii) the incumbency of the representatives of the Company duly authorized to execute this Agreement and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement. Within five (5) Trading Days of each Representation Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such further information, certificates and documents as the Agent may reasonably request.

(u) Emerging Growth Company. The Company will promptly notify the Agent if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time during the term of this Agreement.

8. Payment of Expenses. The Company will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, including any fees required by the Commission, and the printing or electronic delivery of the Prospectus as originally filed and of each amendment and supplement thereto, in such number as the Agent shall deem necessary, (ii) the printing and delivery to the Agent of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates, if any, for the Placement Shares to the Agent, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any capital duties, stamp duties or other similar duties or taxes payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement Shares to the Agent, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the counsel, accountants and other advisors to the Company, (v) the fees and expenses of Agent including but not limited to the fees and expenses of the counsel to the Agent, payable upon the execution of this Agreement, in an amount not to exceed $50,000, (vi) the qualification or exemption of the Placement Shares under state securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(r) hereof, including filing fees, but excluding fees of the Agent’s counsel, (vii) the printing and delivery to the Agent of copies of any Permitted Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto in such number as the Agent shall deem necessary, (viii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Agent of copies of the blue sky survey, (ix) the fees and expenses of the transfer agent and registrar for the Ordinary Shares, (x) the filing and other fees incident to any review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Placement Shares including the fees of the Agent’s counsel (subject to the cap, set forth in clause (v) above), and (xi) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the Placement Shares on the Exchange.

 

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9. Conditions to Agent’s Obligations. The obligations of the Agent hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by the Agent of a due diligence review satisfactory to it in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by the Agent in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:

(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall have become effective and shall be available for the (i) resale of all Placement Shares issued to the Agent and not yet sold by the Agent and (ii) sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.

(b) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state Governmental Authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state Governmental Authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(c) No Misstatement or Material Omission. Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’s reasonable opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

(d) Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect or any development that could cause a Material Adverse Effect, or a downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities) by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of the Agent (without relieving the Company of any

 

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obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.

(e) Legal Opinions. The Agent shall have received the opinions of Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(m).

(f) Comfort Letter. The Agent shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(n).

(g) Representation Certificate. The Agent shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(l) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(l).

(h) No Suspension. Trading in the Ordinary Shares shall not have been suspended on the Exchange and the Ordinary Shares shall not have been delisted from the Exchange.

(i) Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(l), the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such appropriate further information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may reasonably request. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents will be in compliance with the provisions hereof.

(j) Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.

(k) Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares shall either have been approved for listing on the Exchange, subject only to notice of issuance, or the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on the Exchange at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice.

(l) FINRA. If applicable, FINRA shall have raised no objection to the terms of this offering and the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Agent as described in the Prospectus.

(m) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit the Agent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 12(a).

10. Indemnification and Contribution.

(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents and each person, if any, who controls the Agent within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act as follows:

 

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(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, joint or several, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any related Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, joint or several, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 10(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company, which consent shall not unreasonably be delayed or withheld; and

(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the fees and disbursements of counsel), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above,

provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made solely in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Agent expressly for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), or in any related Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto).

(b) Agent Indemnification. Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 10(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to the Agent and furnished to the Company in writing by the Agent expressly for use therein. The Company hereby acknowledges that the only information that the Agent has furnished to the Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) are the statements set forth in the seventh and eighth paragraphs under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus.

 

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(c) Procedure. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 10 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party or parties under this Section 10, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this Section 10 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 10 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party. If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any other legal expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as they are incurred. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this Section 10 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (1) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (2) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

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(d) Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for reasonable fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 10(a)(ii) effected without its written consent if (1) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (2) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (3) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.

(e) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 10 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or the Agent, the Company and the Agent will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than the Agent, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and the Agent may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by the Agent (before deducting expenses) from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Agent, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 10(e) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 10(e) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 10(e), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with Section 10(c) hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 10(e), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of

 

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Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 10(e), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of the Agent, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each director of the Company and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this Section 10(e), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 10(e) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 10(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to Section 10(c) hereof.

11. Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 10 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of the Agent, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.

12. Termination.

(a) The Agent may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, as hereinafter specified at any time (1) if there has been, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus, any change, or any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the business, properties, earnings, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, which individually or in the aggregate, in the sole judgment of the Agent is material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares, (2) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Agent, impracticable or inadvisable to market the Placement Shares or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Placement Shares, (3) if trading in the Ordinary Shares has been suspended or limited by the Commission or the Exchange, or if trading generally on the Exchange has been suspended or limited, or minimum prices for trading have been fixed on the Exchange, (4) if any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any exchange or in the over-the-counter market shall have occurred and be continuing, (5) if a major disruption of securities settlements or clearance services in the United States shall have occurred and be continuing, or

 

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(6) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either U.S. Federal or New York authorities. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8 (Payment of Expenses), Section 10 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 11 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 17 (Governing Law and Time; Waiver of Jury Trial), Section 18 (Consent to Jurisdiction), Section 19 (Appointment of Agent for Service) and Section 20 (Judgment Currency) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If the Agent elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 12(a), the Agent shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 13 (Notices).

(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8, Section 10, Section 11, Section 17, Section 18, Section 19 and Section 20 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(c) The Agent shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 8, Section 10, Section 11, Section 17, Section 18, Section 19 and Section 20 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

(d) This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 12(a), (b), or (c) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that Section 8, Section 10, Section 11, Section 17, Section 18, Section 19 and Section 20 shall remain in full force and effect.

(e) Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by the Agent or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

13. Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified, and if sent to the Agent, shall be delivered to:

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

499 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Attention: Capital Markets/Jeff Lumby

Facsimile: (212) 307-3730

 

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with copies to:

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

499 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Attention: General Counsel

Facsimile: (212) 829-4708

and with a copy to (such copy not to constitute notice):

Cooley LLP

1114 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

Attention: Daniel I. Goldberg, Esq.

Facsimile: (212) 479-6275

and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:

ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

Darwinweg 24

2333 CR Leiden

The Netherlands

Attention: René Beukema

email: rbeukema@proqr.com

with a copy to (such copy not to constitute notice):

Goodwin Procter LLP

Exchange Place

53 State Street

Boston, MA 02109

Attention: Mitchell S. Bloom, Esq. and Danielle M. Lauzon, Esq.

Facsimile: (617) 523-1231

Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Exchange and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.

An electronic communication (“Electronic Notice”) shall be deemed written notice for purposes of this Section 13 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party under separate cover or as specified above by Company. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives verification of receipt by the

 

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receiving party. Any party receiving Electronic Notice may request and shall be entitled to receive the notice on paper, in a nonelectronic form (“Nonelectronic Notice”) which shall be sent to the requesting party within ten (10) days of receipt of the written request for Nonelectronic Notice.

14. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and the Agent and their respective successors and the parties referred to in Section 10 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that the Agent may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate thereof who is a registered broker dealer without obtaining the Company’s consent.

15. Adjustments for Stock Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any stock split, stock dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Placement Shares.

16. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and the Agent. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement. No implied waiver by a party shall arise in the absence of a waiver in writing signed by such party. No failure or delay in exercising any right, power, or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any right, power, or privilege hereunder.

17. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

 

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18. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE NON-EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS SITTING IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN, FOR THE ADJUDICATION OF ANY DISPUTE HEREUNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREBY, AND HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, AND AGREES NOT TO ASSERT IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING, ANY CLAIM THAT IT IS NOT PERSONALLY SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF ANY SUCH COURT, THAT SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM OR THAT THE VENUE OF SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING IS IMPROPER. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES PERSONAL SERVICE OF PROCESS AND CONSENTS TO PROCESS BEING SERVED IN ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING BY MAILING A COPY THEREOF (CERTIFIED OR REGISTERED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED) TO SUCH PARTY AT THE ADDRESS IN EFFECT FOR NOTICES TO IT UNDER THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREES THAT SUCH SERVICE SHALL CONSTITUTE GOOD AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE OF PROCESS AND NOTICE THEREOF. NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO LIMIT IN ANY WAY ANY RIGHT TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY MANNER PERMITTED BY LAW. NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHALL BE DEEMED TO LIMIT IN ANY WAY ANY RIGHT TO SERVE PROCESS IN ANY MANNER PERMITTED BY LAW. TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COMPANY HAS OR HEREAFTER MAY ACQUIRE ANY IMMUNITY (ON THE GROUNDS OF SOVEREIGNTY OR OTHERWISE) FROM THE JURISDICTION OF ANY COURT OR FROM ANY LEGAL PROCESS WITH RESPECT TO ITSELF OR ITS PROPERTY, THE COMPANY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SUCH IMMUNITY IN RESPECT OF ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING.

19. Appointment of Agent for Service. The Company hereby irrevocably appoints CT Corporation System, with offices at 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011 as its agent for service of process in any suit, action or proceeding described in Section 18 and agrees that service of process in any such suit, action or proceeding may be made upon it at the office of such agent. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. The Company represents and warrants that such agent has agreed to act as the Company’s agent for service of process, and the Company agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect.

20. Judgment Currency. If for the purposes of obtaining judgment in any court it is necessary to convert a sum due hereunder into any currency other than United States dollars, the parties hereto agree, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that the rate of exchange used shall be the rate at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Agent could purchase United States dollars with such other currency in The City of New York on the Business Day preceding that on which final judgment is given. The obligation of the Company with respect to any sum due from it to the Agent or any person controlling the Agent shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged until the first Business Day following receipt by the Agent or any person controlling the Agent of any sum in such other

 

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currency, and only to the extent that the Agent or controlling person may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase United States dollars with such other currency. If the United States dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to the Agent or controlling person hereunder, the Company agrees as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify the Agent or controlling person against such loss. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to the Agent or controlling person hereunder, the Agent or controlling person agrees to pay to the Company an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to the Agent or controlling person hereunder.

21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile or electronic transmission.

22. Construction. The section and exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof. References herein to any law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any Governmental Authority shall be deemed to refer to such law, statute, ordinance, code, regulation, rule or other requirement of any Governmental Authority as amended, reenacted, supplemented or superseded in whole or in part and in effect from time to time and also to all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

23. Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Agent, and the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Placement Shares that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405, required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Agent or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. For the purposes of clarity, the parties hereto agree that all free writing prospectuses, if any, listed in Exhibit 23 hereto are Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses.

24. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a) the Agent is acting solely as agent in connection with the public offering of the Placement Shares and in connection with each transaction contemplated by this Agreement and the process leading to such transactions, and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, stockholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether or not the Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters, and the Agent has no obligation to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement;

 

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(b) it is capable of evaluating and understanding, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

(c) neither the Agent nor its affiliates have provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;

(d) it is aware that the Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and the Agent and its affiliates have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and

(e) it waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Agent or its affiliates for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of Placement Shares under this Agreement and agrees that the Agent and its affiliates shall not have any liability (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) to it in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on its behalf or in right of it or the Company, employees or creditors of Company, other than in respect of the Agent’s obligations under this Agreement and to keep information provided by the Company to the Agent and the Agent’s counsel confidential to the extent not otherwise publicly-available.

25. Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the respective meanings set forth below:

Applicable Time” means (i) each Representation Date and (ii) the time of each sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement.

Governmental Authority” means (i) any federal, provincial, state, local, municipal, national or international government or governmental authority, regulatory or administrative agency, governmental commission, department, board, bureau, agency or instrumentality, court, tribunal, arbitrator or arbitral body (public or private); (ii) any self-regulatory organization; or (iii) any political subdivision of any of the foregoing.

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, relating to the Placement Shares that (1) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company, (2) is a “road show” that is a “written communication” within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) whether or not required to be filed with the Commission, or (3) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Placement Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Securities Act Regulations.

Rule 164,” “Rule 172,” “Rule 405,” “Rule 415,” “Rule 424,” “Rule 424(b),” “Rule 430B,” and “Rule 433” refer to such rules under the Securities Act Regulations.

 

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All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information that is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be.

All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; all references in this Agreement to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (other than any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses that, pursuant to Rule 433, are not required to be filed with the Commission) shall be deemed to include the copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR; and all references in this Agreement to “supplements” to the Prospectus shall include, without limitation, any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement Shares by the Agent outside of the United States.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the Agent, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Agent.

 

Very truly yours,
PROQR THERAPEUTICS N.V.

By:

 

/s/ René Beukema

  Name: René Beukema
  Title: CDO & General Counsel
ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written:
CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO.

By:

 

/s/ Jeffrey Lumby

  Name: Jeffrey Lumby
  Title: Senior Managing Director


SCHEDULE 1

 

 

Form of Placement Notice

 

 

 

From:    ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

 

To:

   Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
   Attention: [●]

 

Subject:

   Placement Notice

 

Date:

   [●], 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between ProQR Therapeutics N.V., a Dutch public company with limited liability (the “Company”), and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Agent”), dated October 2, 2015, the Company hereby requests that the Agent sell up to [●] of the Company’s ordinary shares, nominal value €0.04 per share, at a minimum market price of $[●] per share, during the time period beginning [month, day, time] and ending [month, day, time].


SCHEDULE 2

 

 

Compensation

 

 

The Company shall pay to the Agent in cash, upon each sale of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, an amount equal to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of Placement Shares.


SCHEDULE 3

 

 

Notice Parties

 

 

The Company

René Beukema (rbeukema@proqr-tx.com)

Smital Shah (sshah@proqr.com)

The Agent

Jeff Lumby (jlumby@cantor.com)

Josh Feldman (jfeldman@cantor.com)

Sameer Vasudev (svasudev@cantor.com)

With copies to:

CFControlledEquityOffering@cantor.com


SCHEDULE 4

 

 

Subsidiaries

 

 

ProQR Therapeutics Holding B.V.

ProQR Therapeutics I B.V.

ProQR Therapeutics II B.V.

ProQR Therapeutics III B.V.

ProQR Therapeutics IV B.V.

ProQR Therapeutics V B.V.

ProQR Therapeutics I Inc.


Exhibit 23

Permitted Free Writing Prospectus

None.

EX-5.1

EXHIBIT 5.1

 

ADVOCATEN • NOTARISSEN • BELASTINGADVISEURS    LOGO

 

P.O. Box 7113

1007 JC Amsterdam

Strawinskylaan 1999

1077 XV Amsterdam

T +31 20 71 71 000

F +31 20 71 71 111

  

 

        Amsterdam, 2 October 2015

 

        ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (the “Company”)

        Darwinweg 24

        2333 CR Leiden

        The Netherlands

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Exhibit 5.1 opinion letter

We have acted as your legal counsel as to Netherlands law, and are rendering this opinion letter to you, in connection with your filing of a registration statement on Form F-3 (the “Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with the registration of the ordinary shares, nominal value of EUR 0.04 each, in the Company’s capital, to be issued after the date hereof, not exceeding the limitations referred to in the Registration Statement (the “Future Shares”).

This opinion letter is addressed solely to you. It may only be relied upon in connection with the Registration Statement. This opinion letter is strictly limited to the matters stated in it and may not be read as extending by implication to any matters not specifically referred to in it. Nothing in this opinion letter should be taken as expressing an opinion in respect of any representations or warranties, or other information, contained in any document.

In rendering the opinions expressed in this opinion letter, we have exclusively reviewed and relied upon the following documents:

 

(i) a pdf copy of the deed of incorporation (akte van oprichting) of the Company, dated 21 February 2012;

 

(ii) a pdf copy of the continuous text of the articles of association of the Company as they read after the execution of a deed of conversion and amendment to the articles of association of the Company, dated 23 September 2014;

 

(iii) a draft of the Registration Statement dated 2 October, 2015;

This communication is confidential and may be subject to professional privilege. All legal relationships are subject to NautaDutilh N.V.‘s general terms and conditions (see www.nautadutilh.com/terms), which apply mutatis mutandis to our relationship with third parties relying on statements of NautaDutilh N.V., include a limitation of liability clause, have been filed with the Rotterdam District Court and will be provided free of charge upon request. NautaDutilh N.V.; corporate seat Rotterdam; trade register no. 24338323.


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2

 

 

(iv) a pdf copy of a certificate, dated the date of this opinion letter purported to have been signed by the members of the Company’s management board (the “Certificate”); and

 

(v) a pdf copy of an extract from the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce (handelsregister van de Kamer van Koophandel) relating to the Company, dated the date of this opinion letter (the “Extract”).

This opinion letter sets out our opinion on certain matters of the laws with general applicability of the Netherlands, and, insofar as they are directly applicable in the Netherlands, of the European Union, as at today’s date and as presently interpreted under published authoritative case law of the Netherlands courts, the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. We do not express any opinion on Netherlands or European competition law, regulatory law or tax law. No undertaking is assumed on our part to revise, update or amend this opinion letter in connection with or to notify or inform you of, any developments and/or changes of Netherlands law subsequent to today’s date.

The opinions expressed in this opinion letter are to be construed and interpreted in accordance with Netherlands law. The competent courts at Amsterdam, the Netherlands have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any issues of interpretation or liability arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter. Any legal relationship arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter (whether contractual or non-contractual), including the above submission to jurisdiction, is governed by Netherlands law and the general terms and conditions of NautaDutilh N.V. Any liability arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter shall be limited to the amount which is paid out under the insurance policy of NautaDutilh N.V. in the matter concerned and no person other than NautaDutilh N.V. may be held liable in connection with this opinion letter.

In this opinion letter, legal concepts are expressed in English terms. The Netherlands legal concepts concerned may not be identical in meaning to the concepts described by the English terms as they exist under the law of other jurisdictions. In the event of a conflict or inconsistency, the relevant expression shall be deemed to refer only to the Netherlands legal concepts described by the English terms.


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3

 

For the purposes of this opinion letter, we have assumed that:

 

a. drafts of documents reviewed by us shall be in conformity with the executed originals, each copy of a document conforms to the original, each original is authentic, and each signature is the genuine signature of the individual purported to have placed that signature;

 

b. the Registration Statement has been or shall be filed with the SEC and shall become effective, in the form referred to in this opinion letter;

 

c. no defects attach to the incorporation of the Company (aan haar totstandkoming geen gebreken kleven) and the deed of incorporation of the Company has been executed by a civil law notary (notaris) or a deputy (waarnemer) of a civil law notary (notaris) who had the power and authority to execute that deed;

 

d. the issue by the Company of the Future Shares (or the granting of any rights to subscribe for such Future Shares) will have been validly approved, authorised and resolved upon (where appropriate, with due observance of any information and/or consultation rights of employees or employee representatives) by the appropriate corporate body/bodies of the Company, and any pre-emption rights in respect of the issue of the Future Shares (or the granting of any rights to subscribe for such Future Shares) will have been observed or validly excluded, all in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and its other internal rules and organisation at the relevant time and otherwise in accordance with all applicable laws (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Dutch law);

 

e. the Company’s authorised share capital at the time of issue of any Future Share (or the granting of any rights to subscribe for such Future Shares) will be sufficient to allow for the issue (or grant);

 

f. the Future Shares will have been issued in the form and manner required by applicable law, the Company’s articles of association and its other internal rules and regulations at the time of issue, and otherwise offered to, issued to and accepted by their subscribers in accordance with all applicable laws (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Dutch law);

 

g.

any instrument pursuant to which the Future Shares will have been issued will have validly been signed on behalf of the relevant parties thereto and, in case of such instrument being signed on the basis of a power of attorney or similar authorisation, such power of attorney or authorisation will be in full force and effect at the relevant time and validly authorises


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4

 

  the person(s) purported to be granted power of attorney or authorisation thereunder to represent and bind the party/parties concerned in relation to the transactions contemplated by and for the purposes stated in such instrument;

 

h. at the time of issue of the Future Shares, the Company will not have (i) been dissolved (ontbonden), (ii) ceased to exist pursuant to a merger (fusie) or a division (splitsing), (iii) been converted (omgezet) into another legal form, either national or foreign, (iv) had its assets placed under administration (onder bewind gesteld), (v) been declared bankrupt (failliet verklaard), been granted a suspension of payments (surseance van betaling verleend), or (vi) been made subject to similar proceedings in any jurisdiction or otherwise been limited in its power to dispose of its assets;

 

i. the nominal amount of the Future Shares and any stipulated share premium (bedongen agio) will have been paid or satisfied by means of a contribution in kind, in each case with due observance of the relevant formalities under all applicable laws (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Dutch law); and

 

j. none of the opinions stated in this opinion letter will be affected by any foreign law.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set forth in this opinion letter and to any matters, documents or events not disclosed to us, we express the following opinion:

When issued, the Future Shares will have been validly issued, will have been fully paid and will be non-assessable.

The opinion expressed above is subject to the following qualifications:

 

A. The information contained in the Extract does not constitute conclusive evidence of the facts reflected in it.

 

B.

Pursuant to Article 2:7 of the Dutch Civil Code, any transaction entered into by a legal entity may be nullified by the legal entity itself or its liquidator in bankruptcy proceedings (curator) if the objects of that entity were transgressed by the transaction and the other party to the transaction knew or should have known this without independent investigation (wist


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5

 

  of zonder eigen onderzoek moest weten). The Netherlands Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) has ruled that in determining whether the objects of a legal entity are transgressed, not only the description of the objects in that legal entity’s articles of association (statuten) is decisive, but all (relevant) circumstances must be taken into account, in particular whether the interests of the legal entity were served by the transaction.

 

C. Pursuant to Article 2:98c of the Dutch Civil Code, a naamloze vennootschap may grant loans (leningen verstrekken) only in accordance with the restrictions set out in Article 2:98c of the Dutch Civil Code, and may not provide security (zekerheid stellen), give a price guarantee (koersgarantie geven) or otherwise bind itself, whether jointly and severally or otherwise with or for third parties (zich op andere wijze sterk maken of zich hoofdelijk of anderszins naast of voor anderen verbinden) with a view to (met het oog op) the subscription or acquisition by third parties of shares in its share capital or depository receipts. This prohibition also applies to its subsidiaries (dochtervennootschappen). It is generally assumed that a transaction entered into in violation of Article 2:98c of the Dutch Civil Code is null and void (nietig).

 

D. The opinions expressed in this opinion letter may be limited or affected by:

 

  a. any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganisation, moratorium or other similar laws or procedures now or hereinafter in effect, relating to or affecting the enforcement or protection of creditors’ rights generally;

 

  b. the provisions of fraudulent preference and fraudulent conveyance (Actio Pauliana) and similar rights available in other jurisdictions to liquidators in bankruptcy proceedings or creditors;

 

  c. claims based on tort (onrechtmatige daad); and

 

  d. sanctions and measures, including but not limited to those concerning export control, implemented or effective in the Netherlands under the Sanctions Act 1977 (Sanctiewet 1977), or European Union regulations or other legislation;

 

  e. the Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 on protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom, as well as related legislation;


  f. the rules of force majeure (niet toerekenbare tekortkoming), reasonableness and fairness (redelijkheid en billijkheid), suspension (opschorting), dissolution (ontbinding), unforeseen circumstances (onvoorziene omstandigheden) and vitiated consent (i.e., duress (bedreiging), fraud (bedrog), abuse of circumstances (misbruik van omstandigheden) and error (dwaling)) or a difference of intention (wil) and declaration (verklaring).

 

E. As used in the opinion expressed in this opinion letter, the term “non-assessable” - which term has no equivalent in Dutch - means that a holder of a share will not by reason of merely being such a holder, be subject to assessment or calls by the Company or its creditors for further payment on such share.

 

F. This opinion letter does not purport to express any opinion or view on the operational rules and procedures of any clearing or settlement system or agency.

We consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and also consent to the reference to NautaDutilh N.V. in the Registration Statement under the caption “Legal Matters”.

Sincerely yours,

/s/NautaDutilh N.V.

NautaDutilh N.V.

EX-5.2

Exhibit 5.2

[Goodwin Procter LLP Letterhead]

October 2, 2015

ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

Darwinweg 24

2333 CR Leiden

The Netherlands

Re: Securities Being Registered under Registration Statement on Form F-3

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as United States counsel to you in connection with your filing of a Registration Statement on Form F-3 (as amended or supplemented, the “Registration Statement”) pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), relating to the registration of up to $200,000,000 of any combination of (i) ordinary shares, nominal value €0.04 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), of ProQR Therapeutics N.V., a Dutch public company with limited liability (the “Company”), (ii) warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares or Units (as defined below ) (“Warrants”) or (iii) units comprised of Ordinary Shares, Warrants and other securities in any combination (“Units”). The Ordinary Shares, Warrants and Units are sometimes referred to collectively herein as the “Securities.” Securities may be issued in an unspecified number. The Registration Statement provides that the Securities may be offered separately or together, in separate series, in amounts, at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more prospectus supplements (each a “Prospectus Supplement”) to the prospectus contained in the Registration Statement.

We have reviewed such documents and made such examination of law as we have deemed appropriate to give the opinions set forth below. We have relied, without independent verification, on certificates of public officials and, as to matters of fact material to the opinions set forth below, on certificates of officers of the Company. We have also relied, with the permission of NautaDutilh N.V., upon the legal opinion letter of NautaDutilh N.V.to the Company dated October 2, 2015 with respect to certain matters concerning the Company and the Securities.

The opinions set forth below are limited to the law of New York and the federal law of the United States. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, we express no opinion with respect to (i) state securities or “blue sky” laws, or (ii) state or federal antifraud laws.

For purposes of the opinions set forth below, without limiting any other exceptions or qualifications set forth herein, we have assumed that after the issuance of any Securities offered pursuant to the Registration Statement, the total number of issued Ordinary Shares together with the total number of shares of such share capital issuable upon the exercise, exchange, conversion or settlement, as the case may be, of any exercisable, exchangeable or convertible security (including without limitation any Unit), as the case may be, then outstanding, will not exceed the total number of authorized Ordinary Shares under the Company’s articles of incorporation, as then in effect.

For purposes of the opinions set forth below, we refer to the following as the “Future Authorization and Issuance” of Securities:

 

    with respect to any of the Securities, (a) the authorization by the Company of the amount, terms and issuance of such Securities (the “Authorization”) and (b) the issuance of such Securities in accordance with the Authorization therefor upon the receipt by the Company of the consideration to be paid therefor in accordance with the Authorization; and

 

    with respect to Warrants or Units, (a) the authorization, execution and delivery by the Company and the other parties thereto of any agreement under which such Securities are to be issued and (b) the establishment of the terms of such Securities, and the execution and delivery of such Securities, in conformity with any applicable agreement under which such Securities are to be issued and applicable law.


Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the additional qualifications set forth below, we are of the opinion that:

1. Upon the Future Authorization and Issuance of Warrants, such Warrants will be valid and binding obligations of the Company.

2. Upon the Future Authorization and Issuance of Units, such Units will be valid and binding obligations of the Company.

The opinions expressed above are subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and to general principles of equity.

This opinion letter and the opinions it contains shall be interpreted in accordance with the Legal Opinion Principles issued by the Committee on Legal Opinions of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section as published in 53 Business Lawyer 831 (May 1998).

We hereby consent to the inclusion of this opinion as Exhibit 5.2 to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. In giving our consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

   Very truly yours,
  

 

/s/ GOODWIN PROCTER LLP

  

 

GOODWIN PROCTER LLP

EX-5.3
ADVOCATEN • NOTARISSEN • BELASTINGADVISEURS    LOGO

 

P.O. Box 7113

1007 JC Amsterdam

Strawinskylaan 1999

1077 XV Amsterdam

T +31 20 71 71 000

F +31 20 71 71 111

  

 

        Amsterdam, 2 October 2015

 

        ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (the “Company”)

        Darwinweg 24

        2333 CR Leiden

        The Netherlands

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Exhibit 5.3 opinion letter

We have acted as your legal counsel as to Netherlands law, and are rendering this opinion letter to you, in connection with the registration statement on Form F-3 (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), relating to the sale for a consideration of up to USD 60,00,000 of ordinary shares, nominal value of EUR 0.04 each, in the Company’s capital, that may be issued by the Company to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. pursuant to the prospectus contained in the Registration Statement (the “Future Shares”) in connection with a Sales Agreement (as defined below).

This opinion letter is addressed solely to you. It may only be relied upon in connection with the Registration Statement. This opinion letter is strictly limited to the matters stated in it and may not be read as extending by implication to any matters not specifically referred to in it. Nothing in this opinion letter should be taken as expressing an opinion in respect of any representations or warranties, or other information, contained in any document.

In rendering the opinions expressed in this opinion letter, we have exclusively reviewed and relied upon the following documents:

 

(i) a pdf copy of the deed of incorporation (akte van oprichting) of the Company, dated 21 February 2012;

 

(ii) a pdf copy of the continuous text of the articles of association of the Company as they read after the execution of a deed of conversion and amendment to the articles of association of the Company, dated 23 September 2014;

 

(iii) a draft of the Registration Statement dated 2 October, 2015;

This communication is confidential and may be subject to professional privilege. All legal relationships are subject to NautaDutilh N.V.‘s general terms and conditions (see www.nautadutilh.com/terms), which apply mutatis mutandis to our relationship with third parties relying on statements of NautaDutilh N.V., include a limitation of liability clause, have been filed with the Rotterdam District Court and will be provided free of charge upon request. NautaDutilh N.V.; corporate seat Rotterdam; trade register no. 24338323.


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(iv) a pdf copy of a certificate, dated the date of this opinion letter purported to have been signed by the members of the Company’s management board (the “Certificate”);

 

(v) a pdf copy of a sales agreement between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (the “Sales Agreement”); and

 

(vi) a pdf copy of an extract from the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce (handelsregister van de Kamer van Koophandel) relating to the Company, dated the date of this opinion letter (the “Extract”).

This opinion letter sets out our opinion on certain matters of the laws with general applicability of the Netherlands, and, insofar as they are directly applicable in the Netherlands, of the European Union, as at today’s date and as presently interpreted under published authoritative case law of the Netherlands courts, the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. We do not express any opinion on Netherlands or European competition law, regulatory law or tax law. No undertaking is assumed on our part to revise, update or amend this opinion letter in connection with or to notify or inform you of, any developments and/or changes of Netherlands law subsequent to today’s date.

The opinions expressed in this opinion letter are to be construed and interpreted in accordance with Netherlands law. The competent courts at Amsterdam, the Netherlands have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any issues of interpretation or liability arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter. Any legal relationship arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter (whether contractual or non-contractual), including the above submission to jurisdiction, is governed by Netherlands law and the general terms and conditions of NautaDutilh N.V. Any liability arising out of or in connection with this opinion letter shall be limited to the amount which is paid out under the insurance policy of NautaDutilh N.V. in the matter concerned and no person other than NautaDutilh N.V. may be held liable in connection with this opinion letter.

In this opinion letter, legal concepts are expressed in English terms. The Netherlands legal concepts concerned may not be identical in meaning to the concepts described by the English terms as they exist under the law of other jurisdictions. In the event of a conflict or inconsistency, the relevant expression shall be deemed to refer only to the Netherlands legal concepts described by the English terms.


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For the purposes of this opinion letter, we have assumed that:

 

a. drafts of documents reviewed by us shall be in conformity with the executed originals, each copy of a document conforms to the original, each original is authentic, and each signature is the genuine signature of the individual purported to have placed that signature;

 

b. the Registration Statement has been or shall be filed with the SEC and shall become effective, in the form referred to in this opinion letter;

 

c. no defects attach to the incorporation of the Company (aan haar totstandkoming geen gebreken kleven) and the deed of incorporation of the Company has been executed by a civil law notary (notaris) or a deputy (waarnemer) of a civil law notary (notaris) who had the power and authority to execute that deed;

 

d. the issue by the Company of the Future Shares (or the granting of any rights to subscribe for such Future Shares) will have been validly approved, authorised and resolved upon (where appropriate, with due observance of any information and/or consultation rights of employees or employee representatives) by the appropriate corporate body/bodies of the Company, and any pre-emption rights in respect of the issue of the Future Shares (or the granting of any rights to subscribe for such Future Shares) will have been observed or validly excluded, all in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and its other internal rules and organisation at the relevant time and otherwise in accordance with all applicable laws (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Dutch law);

 

e. the Company’s authorised share capital at the time of issue of any Future Share (or the granting of any rights to subscribe for such Future Shares) will be sufficient to allow for the issue (or grant);

 

f. the Future Shares will have been issued in the form and manner required by applicable law, the Company’s articles of association and its other internal rules and regulations at the time of issue, and otherwise offered to, issued to and accepted by their subscribers in accordance with all applicable laws (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Dutch law);

 

g.

any instrument pursuant to which the Future Shares will have been issued will have validly been signed on behalf of the relevant parties thereto


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  and, in case of such instrument being signed on the basis of a power of attorney or similar authorisation, such power of attorney or authorisation will be in full force and effect at the relevant time and validly authorises the person(s) purported to be granted power of attorney or authorisation thereunder to represent and bind the party/parties concerned in relation to the transactions contemplated by and for the purposes stated in such instrument;

 

h. at the time of issue of the Future Shares, the Company will not have (i) been dissolved (ontbonden), (ii) ceased to exist pursuant to a merger (fusie) or a division (splitsing), (iii) been converted (omgezet) into another legal form, either national or foreign, (iv) had its assets placed under administration (onder bewind gesteld), (v) been declared bankrupt (failliet verklaard), been granted a suspension of payments (surseance van betaling verleend), or (vi) been made subject to similar proceedings in any jurisdiction or otherwise been limited in its power to dispose of its assets;

 

i. the nominal amount of the Future Shares and any stipulated share premium (bedongen agio) will have been paid or satisfied by means of a contribution in kind, in each case with due observance of the relevant formalities under all applicable laws (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Dutch law); and

 

j. none of the opinions stated in this opinion letter will be affected by any foreign law.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing and subject to the qualifications set forth in this opinion letter and to any matters, documents or events not disclosed to us, we express the following opinion:

When issued, the Future Shares will have been validly approved, authorised and resolved upon, and will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

The opinion expressed above is subject to the following qualifications:

 

A. The information contained in the Extract does not constitute conclusive evidence of the facts reflected in it.


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B. Pursuant to Article 2:7 of the Dutch Civil Code, any transaction entered into by a legal entity may be nullified by the legal entity itself or its liquidator in bankruptcy proceedings (curator) if the objects of that entity were transgressed by the transaction and the other party to the transaction knew or should have known this without independent investigation (wist of zonder eigen onderzoek moest weten). The Netherlands Supreme Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden) has ruled that in determining whether the objects of a legal entity are transgressed, not only the description of the objects in that legal entity’s articles of association (statuten) is decisive, but all (relevant) circumstances must be taken into account, in particular whether the interests of the legal entity were served by the transaction.

 

C. Pursuant to Article 2:98c of the Dutch Civil Code, a naamloze vennootschap may grant loans (leningen verstrekken) only in accordance with the restrictions set out in Article 2:98c of the Dutch Civil Code, and may not provide security (zekerheid stellen), give a price guarantee (koersgarantie geven) or otherwise bind itself, whether jointly and severally or otherwise with or for third parties (zich op andere wijze sterk maken of zich hoofdelijk of anderszins naast of voor anderen verbinden) with a view to (met het oog op) the subscription or acquisition by third parties of shares in its share capital or depository receipts. This prohibition also applies to its subsidiaries (dochtervennootschappen). It is generally assumed that a transaction entered into in violation of Article 2:98c of the Dutch Civil Code is null and void (nietig).

 

D. The opinions expressed in this opinion letter may be limited or affected by:

 

  a. any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganisation, moratorium or other similar laws or procedures now or hereinafter in effect, relating to or affecting the enforcement or protection of creditors’ rights generally;

 

  b. the provisions of fraudulent preference and fraudulent conveyance (Actio Pauliana) and similar rights available in other jurisdictions to liquidators in bankruptcy proceedings or creditors;

 

  c. claims based on tort (onrechtmatige daad); and

 

  d. sanctions and measures, including but not limited to those concerning export control, implemented or effective in the Netherlands under the Sanctions Act 1977 (Sanctiewet 1977), or European Union regulations or other legislation;


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  e. the Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 on protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom, as well as related legislation;

 

  f. the rules of force majeure (niet toerekenbare tekortkoming), reasonableness and fairness (redelijkheid en billijkheid), suspension (opschorting), dissolution (ontbinding), unforeseen circumstances (onvoorziene omstandigheden) and vitiated consent (i.e., duress (bedreiging), fraud (bedrog), abuse of circumstances (misbruik van omstandigheden) and error (dwaling)) or a difference of intention (wil) and declaration (verklaring).

 

E. As used in the opinion expressed in this opinion letter, the term “non-assessable” - which term has no equivalent in Dutch - means that a holder of a share will not by reason of merely being such a holder, be subject to assessment or calls by the Company or its creditors for further payment on such share.

 

F. This opinion letter does not purport to express any opinion or view on the operational rules and procedures of any clearing or settlement system or agency.

We consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and also consent to the reference to NautaDutilh N.V. in the Registration Statement under the caption “Legal Matters”.

Sincerely yours,

/s/NautaDutilh N.V.

NautaDutilh N.V.

EX-23.1

EXHIBIT 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form F-3 of our report dated April 22, 2015 relating to the financial statements, which appears in ProQR Therapeutics N.V.’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such registration statement.

/s/ Deloitte Accountants B.V.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

October 2, 2015