EXHIBIT 3.3



CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION



SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK



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($.01 Par Value)

of

CURAGEN CORPORATION



Pursuant to Section 151 of the

General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware



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CuraGen Corporation, a corporation organized and existing
under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the Corporation), in accordance with the provisions of Section 103 thereof, DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:



FIRST: That pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Board of Directors by the Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of the Corporation filed on March 23, 1998 and as amended on May 25, 2000, the Board of Directors of the Corporation at a meeting of the Board of Directors on March 27, 2002, adopted the following resolutions creating a series of
1,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, $.01 par value per share, designated as Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock:



| | RESOLVED: |  | That pursuant to the authority vested in the Board of Directors of this Corporation in accordance with the provisions of Article FOURTH, Section B of its Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, a series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation (the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock) be, and it hereby is, created, and that the designation and amount thereof and the voting
powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights of the shares of the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, shall be as follows:
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Section 1. Designation and
Amount. The shares of such series shall be designated as Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and the number of shares constituting such series shall be 1,000,000. Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by
resolution of the Board of Directors; provided, however, that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of
shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.



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Section 2.
Dividends and Distributions.



(A) Subject
to the rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior and superior to the shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of Common Stock, $.01 par value per share (the Common Stock), of the Corporation, and of any other junior stock, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of
Directors, out of funds of the Corporation legally available for the payment of dividends, quarterly dividends payable in cash on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 in each year (each suchdate being referred to herein as a
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the
nearest cent) equal to the greater of (a) $1.00 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 100 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 100 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of
all non-cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately
preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation
shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock or effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the outstanding Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in
shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under
clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of
shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.



(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph (A) above immediately after it declares a dividend or
distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock) and the Corporation shall pay such dividend or distribution on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock before the dividend or distribution declared
on the Common Stock is paid or set apart; provided, however, that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next
subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, a dividend of $1.00 per share on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.



(C) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on
outstanding shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, unless the date of issue of such shares is
prior to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of



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issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the
determination of holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be
cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at
the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be no more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.



Section 3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:



(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 100 votes on all matters submitted to
a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock or effect a subdivision, combination of consolidation of the outstanding
Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such
event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.



(B) Except as otherwise provided herein, by law, or in any other Certificate of Designation creating a series of Preferred Stock or any
similar stock, the holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, the holders of shares of Common Stock and any other capital stock of the Corporation having general voting rights shall vote together as one class on all matters
submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.



(C) (i) If at any time dividends on any Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall be in arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends thereon, the occurrence of such contingency shall mark the beginning of a
period (herein called a default period) which shall extend until such time when all accrued and unpaid dividends for all previous quarterly dividend periods and for the current quarterly dividend period on all shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock then outstanding shall have been declared and paid or set apart for payment. During each default period, all holders of Preferred Stock (including holders of the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock) with
dividends in arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends thereon, voting as a class, irrespective of series, shall have the right to elect two (2) Directors.



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(ii) During
any default period, such voting right of the holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock may be exercised initially at a special meeting called pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of this Section 3(C) or at any annual meeting of
stockholders, and thereafter at annual meetings of stockholders, provided that neither such voting right nor the right of the holders of any other series of Preferred Stock, if any, to increase, in certain cases, the authorized number of Directors
shall be exercised unless the holders of ten percent (10%) in number of shares of Preferred Stock outstanding shall be present in person or by proxy. The absence of a quorum of the holders of Common Stock shall not affect the exercise by the holders
of Preferred Stock of such voting right. At any meeting at which the holders of Preferred Stock shall exercise such voting right initially during an existing default period, they shall have the right, voting as a class, to elect Directors to fill
such vacancies, if any, in the Board of Directors as may then exist up to two (2) Directors or, if such right is exercised at an annual meeting, to elect two (2) Directors. If the number which may be so elected at any special meeting does not amount
to the required number, the holders of the Preferred Stock shall have the right to make such increase in the number of Directors as shall be necessary to permit the election by them of the required number. After the holders of the Preferred Stock
shall have exercised their right to elect Directors in any default period and during the continuance of such period, the number of Directors shall not be increased or decreased except by vote of the holders of Preferred Stock as herein provided or
pursuant to the rights of any equity securities ranking senior to or pari passu with the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.



(iii) Unless the holders of Preferred Stock shall, during an existing default period, have previously exercised their right to elect
Directors, the Board of Directors may order the calling of a special meeting of the holders of Preferred Stock, which meeting shall thereupon be called by the Chairman of the Board or the President of the Corporation. Notice of such meeting and of
any annual meeting at which holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to vote pursuant to this paragraph (C)(iii) shall be given to each holder of record of Preferred Stock by mailing a copy of such notice to him at his last address as the same
appears on the books of the Corporation. Such meeting shall be called for a time not earlier than 10 days and not later than 60 days after such order or request. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (C)(iii), no such special meeting
shall be called during the period within 60 days immediately preceding the date fixed for the next annual meeting of the stockholders.



(iv) In any default period, the holders of Common Stock, and other classes of stock of the Corporation if applicable, shall continue to
be entitled to elect the whole number of Directors until the holders of Preferred Stock shall have exercised their right to elect two (2) Directors voting as a class, after the exercise of which right (x) the Directors so elected by the holders of
Preferred Stock shall continue in office until their successors shall have been elected by such holders or until the expiration of the default period, and (y) any vacancy in the Board of Directors may (except as provided in paragraph (C)(ii) of this
Section 3) be filled by vote of a majority of the remaining Directors theretofore elected by the holders of the class of stock which elected the Director whose office shall have become vacant. References in this paragraph (C) to Directors elected by
the holders of a particular class of stock shall include Directors elected by such Directors to fill vacancies as provided in clause (y) of the foregoing sentence.



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(v)
Immediately upon the expiration of a default period, (x) the right of the holders of Preferred Stock as a class to elect Directors shall cease, (y) the term of any Directors elected by the holders of Preferred Stock as a class shall terminate, and
(z) the number of Directors shall be such number as may be provided for in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws irrespective of any increase made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (C)(ii) of this Section 3 (such number being subject,
however, to change thereafter in any manner provided by law or in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws). Any vacancies in the Board of Directors effected by the provisions of clauses (y) and (z) in the preceding sentence may be filled by a
majority of the remaining Directors.



(D) Except
as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders
of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.



Section 4. Certain Restrictions.



(A) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends on distributions payable on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and
distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:



(i) declare or pay dividends on or make any other distributions on any shares of stock ranking junior
(either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock;



(ii) declare or pay dividends on or make any other distributions on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or
upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in
arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;



(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon
liquidation/dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, provided that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such junior stock in exchange for shares of any stock of
the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock;



(iv) purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, or any shares of stock
ranking on a parity with the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the
Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall



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determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.



(B) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of
theCorporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.



Section 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares
of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become
authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors, subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth
herein.



Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution
on Winding Up. (A) Upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation,
dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall have received $150 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and
unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment (the Series A Liquidation Preference). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference, no additional
distributions shall be made to the holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock shall have received an amount per share (the Common Adjustment) equal to
the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Series A Liquidation Preference by (ii) 100 (as appropriately adjusted as set forth in subparagraph C below to reflect such events as stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the
Common Stock) (such number in clause (ii), the Adjustment Number). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference and the Common Adjustment in respect of all outstanding shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock and Common Stock, respectively, holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and holders of shares of Common Stock shall receive their ratable and proportionate share of the remaining assets to be
distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to 1 with respect to such Preferred Stock and Common Stock, on a per share basis, respectively.



(B) In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Series A Liquidation Preference
and the liquidation preferences of all other series of Preferred Stock, if any, which rank on a parity with the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of such parity
shares in proportion to their respective liquidation preferences. In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Common Adjustment, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to
the holders of Common Stock.



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(C) In the
event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the outstanding Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by
payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the Adjustment Number in effect immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such Adjustment
Number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.



(D) Neither the consolidation, merger or other
business combination of the Corporation with or into any other corporation the sale, lease, exchange or conveyance of all or any part of the property, assets or business of the Corporation shall be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding
up of the Corporation for purposes of this Section 6.



Section 7. Consolidation, Merger, etc. In case the Corporation shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or
securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case the shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed in an amount per share (subject to the provision for adjustment
hereinafter set forth) equal to 100 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged. In the event the
Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the outstanding Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a
dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denomination of which is the number of shares of Common Stock
that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.



Section 8. No Redemption. The shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.



Section 9. Ranking. The Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall rank junior to all other series of the
Corporations Preferred Stock as to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, unless the terms of any such series shall provide otherwise.



Section 10. Amendment. The Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation shall not be further amended in any manner
which would materially alter or change the owers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least seventy-five percent of the
outstanding shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.



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Section 11.
Fractional Shares. Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock may be issued in fractions of a share which shall entitle the holder, in proportion to such holders fractional shares, to exercise voting rights, receive dividends,
participate in distributions and to have the benefit of all other rights of holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.



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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, said CuraGen Corporation has caused this Certificate of Designation to
be signed by its duly authorized officer this              day of             , 2002.



CURAGEN CORPORATIONByJonathan M. Rothberg, Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board