Document:

Exhibit 10.70 

     

    

     

     

    

    CERTAIN IDENTIFIED INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE EXHIBIT BECAUSE IT IS BOTH (I) NOT MATERIAL AND (II) WOULD BE COMPETITIVELY HARMFUL IF PUBLICLY DISCLOSED. SUCH EXCLUDED INFORMATION HAS BEEN
      MARKED WITH “[***]”.

    

    

    October 4, 2019

    

    

    Pfizer Inc.

    235 East 42nd Street

    New York, NY  10017

    Attention: Morris J. Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D.

    

    

    Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.

    22 Boston Wharf Road

    9th Floor

    Boston, MA 02210

    Attention: Damien McDevitt, Ph.D.

    

    

    
      
        	

              	Re:	
                AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx License Agreement

              

      

    

    

    

    Dear Dr. Birnbaum and Dr. McDevitt:

    

    

    This letter agreement (“Letter Agreement”) is in reference to the License Agreement (the “Agreement”),

      dated October 4, 2019, by and between Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. (“Akcea”) and Pfizer Inc. (“Pfizer”), which Agreement includes a
      sublicense of certain rights licensed by Akcea from its Affiliate, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Ionis”), under the Development, Commercialization and License Agreement, dated December 18,
      2015, by and between Ionis (formerly known as Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) and Akcea (the “Ionis/Akcea License Agreement”).  Any capitalized terms not defined in this Letter Agreement will
      have the meanings set forth in the Agreement, unless expressly specified otherwise.  This Letter Agreement will become effective on the Closing Date of the Agreement.

    

    

    1.           Consent.  Pursuant to Section 4.2 of the Ionis/Akcea License Agreement, Ionis hereby consents to Akcea entering into the Agreement.

     

     

    
      
        

    

    
      Morris J. Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D.

      Damien McDevitt, Ph.D.

      October 4, 2019

      Page 2

    

     

    2.           Potential Follow-On Compounds.  After the Execution Date, subject to Article 6 (Exclusivity) of the Agreement and the terms of this Letter Agreement, Ionis may conduct discovery activities on
      any compound, other than AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx, that is designed to bind to the RNA that encodes
      ANGPTL3 (each such compound, a “Potential Follow-On Compound”), and may conduct pre-clinical research and pre-clinical development on each such Potential Follow-On Compound.  Ionis will
      provide written notice identifying and disclosing each Potential Follow-On Compound to Pfizer at each Development Update Meeting or sooner if a Potential Follow-On Compound has otherwise been identified.

    

    

    3.           ROFN for Potential Follow-On Compound Collaboration.  At any time on or after the Closing Date through the expiration of the Exclusivity Period (the “ROFN Period”), Pfizer may, on a one-time basis for each Potential Follow-On Compound, send written notice to Ionis requesting that Ionis and Pfizer enter
      into a collaboration to conduct research to discover, identify and Exploit a Potential Follow-On Compound (such notice the “Collaboration Request Notice”).  Upon Ionis’ receipt of the
      Collaboration Request Notice, Pfizer and Ionis will negotiate in good faith commercially reasonable terms for such collaboration for a period of not less than [***] days (the “Collaboration
        Negotiation Period”).  If Pfizer and Ionis cannot reach agreement during the Collaboration Negotiation Period, or if Pfizer does not exercise its right to negotiate under this paragraph 3 of this Letter Agreement before the expiration of the
      ROFN Period, then Ionis will have no further obligation to Pfizer under this paragraph 3 with respect to such Potential Follow-On Compound. For clarity, except as set forth in Section 6.2.1 and Section 6.2.2 of the Agreement, Ionis
      will not work independently or for or with any Third Party (including the grant of any license to any Third Party) with respect to the clinical development or Commercialization of a Potential Follow-On Compound until the Exclusivity Period expires.

    

    

    4.           Attendance at Meetings between Akcea and Pfizer.  Ionis has the right, but not the obligation, to attend any meetings between Akcea and Pfizer described in Schedule 4.1 (Project Management
      Activities) of the Agreement.

    

    

    5.           Pfizer Designee to the Ionis/Akcea Joint Patent Committee.  Pfizer hereby designates [***], as Pfizer’s initial designee to the JPC (as such term is defined in the Ionis/Akcea License Agreement)
      solely with respect to the Product, pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9.1.2 of the Ionis/Akcea License Agreement. Pfizer may replace its designee to the JPC (as such term is defined in the Ionis/Akcea License Agreement) at any time by
      written notice to Ionis and Akcea. For clarity, Pfizer’s designee to the JPC will not have any right to attend those portions of JPC meetings that do not concern the Product.

    

    

    6.           Ionis Covenants between Execution and Closing.  From the Execution Date and until the Closing Date or the earlier termination of the Agreement in accordance with Article 13 (Term and
      Termination) of the Agreement, except as consented to in writing by Pfizer, (a) Ionis will conduct its business in the ordinary course of business consistent with past practice and in accordance with all applicable Laws with respect to the
      performance of its obligations under this Letter Agreement, and (b) Ionis will not (i) [***], and, in addition, will not [***]; (ii) [***]; and (iii) enter into, modify, extend, renew or amend any contract that by its terms expressly limits or
      impairs in any material manner the ability of Ionis to carry out its obligations under this Letter Agreement or the ability of Akcea to carry out its obligations under the License Agreement.

    

    

    
      
        

    

    
      
        Morris J. Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D.

        Damien McDevitt, Ph.D.

        October 4, 2019

        Page 3

      

    

     

    7.           Intellectual Property.  Ionis will fulfill the obligations of Akcea as set forth in Article 9 (Intellectual Property) of the Agreement, to the extent that Ionis, rather than Akcea, has the
      requisite rights to fulfill such obligations under the Ionis/Akcea License Agreement.

    

    

    8.           New Agreements. Ionis will not enter into any new agreement or other obligation with any Third Party, or amend an existing agreement with any Third Party, in each case that restricts, limits or
      encumbers the rights granted to Pfizer under the Agreement.

    

    

    9.           Formulation or Delivery Technology. If, after the Closing Date, Ionis or its Affiliates becomes the owner or otherwise acquires Control of any formulation or delivery technology that would be
      necessary or useful in order for Pfizer to further Develop, Commercialize or Exploit the Product, Ionis will make such technology available to Pfizer on commercially reasonable terms.

    

    

    10.         Application of Additional Provisions of the Agreement to Ionis.

    

    

    (a)          To the extent that Ionis is expressly referenced or is referenced in its capacity as an Affiliate of Akcea in the Additional Provisions, Ionis hereby agrees to be bound by and to comply with such provisions
      as if it was a Party to the Agreement for such purposes. Additionally, to the extent that Ionis is not expressly referenced in the Additional Provisions, Ionis hereby agrees to be bound by and to comply with such Additional Provisions as if it was a
      Party to the Agreement for such purposes.

    

    

    (b)          “Additional Provisions” means the following provisions of the Agreement: Section 2.8.2 (Akcea Regulatory Transfer Cooperation), Section
        2.9 (Technology Transfer), Section 2.10 (Class Generic Claims for the Product), Section 2.11.3 (Ionis’ Internal Antisense Safety Database), Section 3.2 (Manufacturing Transition Assistance), Section 3.3 (Transfer
      of Existing Inventory), Section 5.1 (License Grant), Section 5.2 (Pfizer’s Sublicensing Rights), Section 5.3 (Requests to Grant Sublicense to CMOs), Article 6 (Exclusivity Provisions), Article 10
      (Confidentiality) and Article 11 (Representations and Warranties), provided, however, that the [***] hours of no-cost manufacturing transition assistance set forth in Section 3.2
      (Manufacturing Transition Assistance) of the Agreement and the [***] hours of no-cost regulatory transfer assistance set forth in Section 2.8.2 (Akcea Regulatory Transfer Cooperation) of the Agreement are aggregate caps such that hours
      contributed by Ionis or Akcea will count toward each such cap, as applicable.

    

    

    (c)          Article 14 (Miscellaneous) and Section 13.4 of the Agreement shall apply to this Letter Agreement mutatis mutandis.

    

    

    11.         Indemnification.

    

    

    (a)          Ionis is an intended third party beneficiary with respect to Section 12.1 (Indemnification by Pfizer) of the Agreement.

    

    

    
      
        

    

    
      
        
          Morris J. Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D.

          Damien McDevitt, Ph.D.

          October 4, 2019

          Page 4

          

        

      

    

     

    (b)          Ionis hereby agrees to defend, and indemnify and hold harmless, the Pfizer Indemnified Parties from and against any and all Losses, to the extent arising out of or resulting from any Third Party Claims to
      the extent based upon:

    

    

    (i)          any breach of any representation, warranty or covenant made by Ionis in this Letter Agreement;

    

    

    (ii)         the Exploitation of the Product by Ionis or its Affiliates, subcontractors or Sublicensees, to the extent applicable; or

    

    

    (iii)        the gross negligence or willful misconduct by Ionis in the exercise of its rights or performance of its obligations hereunder;

    

    

    provided that, in the case of each of paragraph 11(b)(i) through 11(b)(iii) above, Ionis will not be obligated to so defend, and indemnify and hold harmless, the Pfizer Indemnified Parties for any Third
      Party Claims to the extent that Pfizer has an obligation to indemnify the Akcea Indemnified Parties under Section 12.1 (Indemnification by Pfizer) of the Agreement.

    

    

    (c)          Section 12.3 (Procedure) and Section 12.5 (Damages Waiver) of the Agreement shall apply to this Letter Agreement mutatis mutandis.

    

    

    (d)          Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Agreement or this Letter Agreement, Pfizer’s obligation to indemnify Ionis pursuant to paragraph 11(a) of this Letter Agreement is not duplicative of or in
      addition to Pfizer’s indemnification obligation pursuant to Section 12.1 (Indemnification by Pfizer) of the Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, neither this Letter Agreement nor the Agreement shall permit a duplicate claim for
      indemnification or a duplicate payment of Losses arising from the same facts and circumstances giving rise to a pending or previously made claim for indemnification as a claim for indemnification pursuant to either paragraph 11(a) of this Letter
      Agreement or Section 12.1 (Indemnification by Pfizer) of the Agreement.

    

    

    12.         Incorporation by Reference.  Article 1 (Definitions) is hereby incorporated herein by reference with the same force and effect as though fully set forth herein.

    

    

    13.         Term.  The term of this Side Letter Agreement will be the Term under the Agreement.

    

    

    14.         Effect of Termination of the Agreement. If the Agreement terminates for any reason, Pfizer will, from the effective date of such termination, automatically become a direct licensee of Ionis with
      respect to the rights licensed to Pfizer by Akcea on the terms substantially the same as the terms set forth in the Agreement.

    

    

    [Signature page to follow]

     

    
      
        

    

    
      Morris J. Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D.

      Damien McDevitt, Ph.D.

      October 4, 2019

      Page 5

      

    

     

    If the terms of this Letter Agreement are acceptable, please so indicate by executing a copy of this Letter Agreement and returning it to Ionis.

    

    

    Very truly yours,

    

    

    /s/Brett Monia

    Brett Monia

    Chief Operating Officer

    IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

    

    

    AGREED TO AND CONFIRMED BY AKCEA THERAPEUTICS, INC.:

    

    

    	
            By:/s/Damien McDevitt

          	

          

    	
            Name:

          	
            Damien McDevitt

          	

          
	
            Title:

          	
            Interim Chief Executive Officer

          	

          

    

    

    AGREED TO AND CONFIRMED BY PFIZER INC.:

    

    

    	
            By:/s/Morris J. Birnbaum

          	

          

    	
            Name:

          	
            Morris J. Birnbaum

          	

          
	
            Title:

          	
            SVP-CSO, Internal MedicineExhibit

Exhibit 4.3

DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
The following description of the common stock, par value $0.001 per share of Natus Medical Incorporated (“Natus,” we,” “us,” and “our”) is based upon our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) Company’s certificate of incorporation as currently in effect (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), our Second Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) and applicable provisions of law. We have summarized certain portions of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws below. The summary is not complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by express reference to, the provisions of the our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, each of which is filed as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part.
Authorized Capital Stock
Under the Certificate of Incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 120,000,000 shares of common stock and  10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.
Common Stock 
Voting Rights
Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share for the election of directors and on all matters that require stockholder approval. 
Dividend Rights
Subject to any preferential dividend rights granted to the holders of any shares of any preferred stock that may at the time be outstanding, holders of the common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared from time to time by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Rights upon Liquidation
Subject to any preferential rights of any then outstanding preferred stock, the holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in the assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation preferences of any then outstanding preferred stock. 
Other Rights
Our common stock does not carry any preemptive rights enabling a holder to subscribe for, or receive shares of, any class of our common stock or any other securities convertible into shares of our common stock, or any conversion, call or redemption rights. 
Transfer Agent and Exchange Listing
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc., P.O. Box 1342, Brentwood, NY 11717. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the trading symbol “NTUS.”
Preferred Stock
The board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to determine and alter the powers, rights, preferences and privileges and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions granted to or imposed upon such series. The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of Natus.
Certain Provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Certain additional provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws could make it more difficult to acquire us by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise and the removal of incumbent officers and directors. These provisions, summarized below, are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with us. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging takeover or acquisition proposals because, among other things, negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms. 
Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws require that any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of the stockholders and may not be effected by a consent in writing. In addition, special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority of the board of directors, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or holders of at least 10% of the shares of our capital stock entitled to vote at such a meeting. 
Removal of Directors and Vacancies. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our directors may be removed without cause by the affirmative vote of at least 66-2/3% of the voting power of all outstanding stock. This requirement of a supermajority vote to remove directors without cause could enable a minority of our stockholders to prevent a change in the composition of our board. Vacancies in the board of directors may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director; however, a vacancy created by the removal of a director by the vote or written consent of the stockholders or by a court order may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of shares represented and voting at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is present, or by the unanimous written consent of all shares entitled to vote thereon.
Advance Notice Procedures. Our Bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although the Bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, the Bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the company.

Certain Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law
 
We are subject to Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“Section 203”). In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

		
	•
	Prior to such time the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

		
	•
	Upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

		
	•
	At or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 662/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

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