Document:

EX-10.1

 Exhibit 10.1 

Amended and Restated Non-Competition,
Non-Solicitation & Severance Benefit Agreement 
 This Amended and Restated Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation & Severance Benefit Agreement (“Agreement”) is effective as of 12th
day of September, 2017 between Choice Hotels International, Inc. (“Choice”), a Delaware corporation with principal offices at 1 Choice Hotels Circle, Rockville, Maryland 20850, and Patrick Pacious (“Employee”), and amends and
restates the Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation & Severance Benefit Agreement between the parties dated May 5, 2011, as amended on March 12, 2012. 

Recitals 
 A. Employee
will become, on September 12, 2017, President & Chief Executive Officer of Choice and/or a subsidiary of Choice (collectively, “Choice”); 

B. Choice devotes significant time, resources and effort to the training and advancement of its management employees, and its management team
constitutes a significant asset and important competitive edge; 
 C. Choice has determined that it is in the best interest of the company
and its shareholders to enter into an agreement with Employee whereby Employee agrees to certain non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality restrictions in
consideration of, among other things, certain severance benefits. 
 NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises contained in this
Agreement, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree to the following terms: 

1. Definitions. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the ascribed meaning: 

(a) “Board” means the Board of Directors of Choice. 

(b) “Cause” means any one or more of the following, whether occurring before or after the date hereof: (i) Employee’s
deliberate and continued refusal to carry out duties and instructions of the Board and CEO consistent with the position; (ii) Employee’s commission of an act materially detrimental to the financial condition, operations and/or goodwill of
Choice; (iii) Employee’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of duties to Choice; (iv) Employee’s commission of any act of theft, fraud, material dishonesty, material breach of trust or breach of fiduciary
duty involving Choice; (v) Employee’s conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or any crime involving fraud or embezzlement; (vi) any material breach by Employee of the covenants contained in this Agreement, or
(vii) the material violation by Employee of any Choice policy communicated to Employee or of which he should reasonably have been aware or any statutory or common law duty to Choice. Cause shall not occur based upon Employee’s action or
inactions on the advice of the Board or counsel to Choice. Employee shall be entitled to fourteen (14) days advance written notice of termination, except in the case of clause (iv) or (v), in which case the termination shall be effective
upon receipt of notice. Such written notice shall specify in reasonable detail the grounds for Cause and, except in the case of clauses (iv) and (v), Employee shall have an opportunity to contest or cure such basis for termination during the
fourteen (14) day period after receipt of written notice. 

 (c) “Change in Control” means the happening of the earliest of the following to occur:

 (i) Any “person” as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended (other than (i) Choice, (ii) any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of Choice, (iii) any corporations owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of Choice in substantially
the same proportions as their ownership of stock, or (iv) any Existing Shareholder) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of
securities of Choice representing 33% or more of the combined voting power of Choice’s then outstanding voting securities. An “Existing Stockholder” means: 

(A) (i) all the lineal descendents of Stewart Bainum, Sr., his wife, their lineal descendants, and their spouses (so long
as they remain spouses) and adopted children of such descendents; (ii) all trusts for the benefit of any persons described in clause (i) and trustees of such trusts; (iii) all legal representatives of any person or trust described in
clauses (i) and (ii) in their respective capacities as such; and (iv) all partnerships, corporations, limited liability companies or other entities controlled by the persons described in clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) (such persons referred to
in this clause (A) collectively, “Bainum Affiliates”); and 
 (B) any other stockholder of Choice which,
together with such stockholder’s affiliates, owns more than 5% of the common stock of Choice Hotels International, Inc. as of the date of this Agreement so long as the Bainum Affiliates continue to own more common stock of Choice Hotels
International, Inc. than such stockholder. 
 (ii)    Individuals constituting the Board on the date of
this Agreement and the successors of such individuals (“Continuing Directors”) cease to constitute a majority of the Board. For this purpose, a director shall be a successor if and only if he or she was nominated by a Board (or a
Nominating Committee thereof) on which individuals constituting the Board on the date of this Agreement and their successors (determined by prior application of this sentence) constituted a majority. 

(iii)    The stockholders of Choice approve a plan of merger or consolidation (“Combination”)
with any other corporation or legal person, other than a Combination which would result in (x) stockholders of Choice immediately prior to the Combination owning, immediately thereafter, more than sixty-five percent (65%) of the combined voting
power of either the surviving entity or the entity owning directly or indirectly all of the common stock, or its equivalent, of the surviving entity; provided, however, that if stockholder approval is not required for such Combination, the Change in
Control shall occur upon the consummation of such Combination. 
 (iv)    The stockholders of Choice
approve a plan of complete liquidation of Choice or an agreement for the sale or disposition by Choice of all or substantially all of Choice’s stock and/or assets, or 

  
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accept a tender offer for substantially all of Choice’s stock (or any transaction having a similar effect); provided, however, that if stockholder approval is not required for such
transaction, the Change in Control shall occur upon consummation of such transaction. 
 Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of any payment or
benefit hereunder that constitutes deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Code and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder (collectively “Section 409A”), which is triggered based upon the occurrence of a
Change in Control, a Change in Control shall not be deemed to have occurred unless such transaction constitutes a change in the ownership of Choice, a change in effective control of Choice, or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of
Choice’s assets, in each case under Section 409A (collectively, a “Section 409A Change in Control”). 
 (d)
“Change in Control Termination” means and includes the termination of Employee’s employment with Choice at any time within three (3) months prior to and in anticipation of, or during the twelve (12) month period after, a
Change in Control if such termination is (i) by Choice for any reason other than Cause, (ii) by Employee for Good Reason. 
 (e)
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. 
 (f) “Competing Business” means any business or enterprise
that: (i) is engaged in the mid-market or economy hotel franchising business, (ii) competes in the same upscale, select service segment as Cambria Hotels and Suites or any successor or substantially
similar Choice brand, or (iii) competes in any other line of business in which Choice is materially engaged at the time of the Termination Date. 

(g) “Confidential Information” means any non-public information, in any format, relating to
the business of Choice, including, but not limited to, present or prospective operating, marketing and development plans, training manuals, training policies and procedures, financial and technical information, passwords, source codes, personnel
information, franchisee information, business systems, trade secrets, pricing and cost information, contact lists, strategic plans or strategies, operating data or Choice policies. 

(h) “Disability” means if Employee is unable to perform the essential functions of Employee’s position, after any legally
required reasonable accommodation, for more than 180 days (whether or not consecutive) in any period of 365 consecutive days. 
 (i)
“Good Reason” means a voluntary termination by Employee following: (i) a material diminution in either Employee’s compensation or position and responsibilities, (ii) relocating the Employee’s office location to a
location more than thirty-five (35) miles from Choice’s prior principal place of employment; (iii) a material change in Employee’s title or line of reporting; (iv) failure of Choice to place Employee’s name in
nomination for election or re-election to the Board of Directors; (v) a change in Choice’s annual bonus program that would materially and adversely affect Employee; (vi) failure of any successor
of Choice to assume this Agreement; (vii) any Non-Renewal initiated by Choice, and (viii) any other material breach by Choice of this Agreement or any equity agreement between Employee and Choice;
provided such termination occurs within forty-five days of Employee’s knowledge of the foregoing Good Reason(s). Employee must provide Choice with at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of electing a Good Reason termination,
during which Choice shall have the opportunity to cure such Good Reason for termination. If Choice fails to cure within the thirty (30) day period, Employee shall be considered to have terminated for Good Reason as of the last day of such
thirty (30) day period. 

  
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 (j) “Non-Renewal” shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 2. 
 (k) “Release Agreement” means the release of claims attached as Exhibit A. 

(l) “Severance Benefits” means the benefits specified in Section 6. 

(m) “Severance Benefit Period” means the two year period following the Termination Date. 

(n) “Termination Date” means the date the Employee’s employment with Choice ends. 

(o) “Works” means any ideas, concepts, methods of operation, processes, programs or other materials (including training manuals,
policies and procedures) that Employee conceived, created, developed or wrote while employed by Choice that relate in any manner to the business of Choice. 

2. Term. The initial term of this Agreement shall be for a period commencing on September 12, 2017 and will remain in effect until
December 31, 2022. The term of this Agreement shall be automatically extended for a five year period on December 31, 2022 and each subsequent five year anniversary thereafter, unless and until Choice or the Employee provides written notice
to the other party in accordance with Section 10 hereof not less than one hundred eighty (180) days before such date that such party is electing not to extend the term of this Agreement
(“Non-Renewal”). Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, if on the date of a Change in Control, the remaining term of this Agreement is less than twelve (12) months, the term of the
Agreement shall be automatically extended to the end of the twelve month period following such Change in Control. References herein to the term of this Agreement shall include the initial term and any additional period for which this Agreement is
extended. 
 3. Confidentiality. Employee acknowledges that Confidential Information and Works are valuable and unique assets
belonging to Choice. During employment and after the Termination Date, Employee shall not, except as required by law or a court or requested by a governmental or regulatory organization, required by Employee’s duties for Choice and for the
benefit of Choice or as reasonably appropriate in connection with any litigation between Employee and Choice or its affiliates (such disclosure to be to the minimum extent necessary), directly or indirectly, or cause others to, make use of or
disclose to others any Confidential Information or Works. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information does not include information which was or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by Employee.
Works constitute works made for hire and in all circumstances shall be and remain the sole and exclusive property of Choice, whether or not protectable under any laws, including patent, trademark, copyright or trade secret laws. 

Pursuant to 18 USC § 1833(b), Employee agrees and understands that an individual may not be held liable under any criminal or civil
federal or state trade secret law for disclosure of a trade secret: (i) made in confidence to a government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney, solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of
law or (ii) in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal. Additionally, an individual suing an entity for retaliation based on the reporting of a

  
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suspected violation of law may disclose a trade secret to his or her attorney and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, so long as any document containing the trade secret is
filed under seal and the individual does not disclose the trade secret except pursuant to court order. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to conflict with 18 USC § 1833(b) or create liability for disclosures of trade secrets that are
expressly allowed by 18 USC § 1833(b). Nothing in this Agreement prohibits or impedes Employee from reporting alleged violations of law to the SEC, the NLRB or OSHA or other government agencies or from otherwise communicating directly or
indirectly with and/or providing any information to staff of said agencies, or from receiving monetary relief for reporting alleged violations as a whistleblower. 

4. Non-Solicitation. During employment and for a period of two years following the Termination
Date, Employee agrees, except as required by Employee’s duties for Choice and for the benefit of Choice or with the prior written consent of Choice, not to solicit or attempt to solicit, directly or indirectly, on Employee’s behalf or on
behalf of any other person or entity, any person or entity who then is or who was as of the Termination Date, an employee, business partner or franchisee of Choice, or was actively solicited to have such a relationship with Choice within six
(6) months prior to the Termination Date, to cease, curtail or refrain from entering into such a relationship with Choice. Nothing in the foregoing shall be construed as preventing Employee from otherwise lawfully soliciting business from any
then current or prospective business partner or franchisee that is for a line of business other than any Competing Business. 
 5. Non-Competition. During employment and for a period of two years after the Termination Date, Employee will not, except as required by Employee’s duties for Choice and for the benefit of Choice, or with the
prior written consent of the Board, directly or indirectly, own, manage, operate, join, control, finance or participate in the ownership, management, operation, control or financing of, or be connected as an officer, director, employee, partner,
principal, agent, representative, consultant or in any other capacity, or use or permit Employee’s name to be used in connection with, any business or enterprise that is engaged in a Competing Business in the U.S. or Canada; provided, however,
that the foregoing shall not be construed as preventing Employee from otherwise lawfully (i) investing Employee’s assets in (A) the securities of any Competing Business that is a public company, or (B) the securities of any
Competing Business that is a privately-held corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company or other business entity, if such holdings are passive investments of one percent (1%) or less of such entity’s outstanding securities or
(ii) becoming an employee, agent or representative of, consultant to, or otherwise connected with, any business entity that has multiple lines of business, some of which are not a Competing Business, if Employee’s services for such entity
are restricted so that Employee will provide no services or other assistance in support of, and will not otherwise be involved with, any such Competing Business conducted by such entity. 

6. Severance Benefits. If Employee terminates with Good Reason or is terminated by Choice for any reason other than Cause, Change in
Control Termination, Disability or death and Employee executes the Release Agreement within twenty-one (21) days of the Termination Date (or forty-five (45) days if such longer review period is
required by the ADEA) and has not revoked the Release Agreement as permitted therein, Choice shall provide to Employee, in consideration of Employee’s promises and covenants contained in this Agreement and the Release Agreement, a Severance
Benefit equal to: 
  

	 	(a)	 A lump sum payment equal to 200% of Employee’s base salary at the rate in effect as of the Termination Date
(not taking into account any reduction in base salary that constitutes Good Reason), plus 200% of the amount of Employee’s eligible full year 

  
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bonus for that fiscal year based on a 100% attainment level for the company objectives and a 100% attainment level for the individual Management Bonus Objectives. 

 

	 	(b)	Earned but unpaid bonus for any fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the Termination Date occurs based on the actual attainment level for the company objectives and at a deemed achievement of the individual
Management Bonus Objectives at not less than 100%, paid out at such time as the other corporate officers receive their bonuses; and (ii) pro rata bonus for the fiscal year in which the Termination Date occurs, based on the actual attainment
level for the company objectives and at a deemed 100% achievement of the individual Management Bonus Objectives, paid out at such time as the other corporate officers receive their bonuses. 

 

	 	(c)	Stock option, stock awards, and performance based stock unit awards granted under Choice’s Long-Term Incentive Plan after the date of the initial Agreement (May 5, 2011) shall continue to vest pursuant to their
applicable terms during the Severance Benefit Period and vested stock options shall be exercisable during the Severance Benefit Period. At the end of the Severance Benefit Period, vesting shall cease and Employee shall have 90 days thereafter to
exercise all stock options that are vested at the end of the Severance Benefit Period. 

  

	 	(d)	During the Severance Benefit Period, Choice will provide Employee at its expense with its standard outplacement services for executive level employees. Upon obtaining other employment, Employee will be ineligible to
continue receiving these outplacement services at Choice’s expense. 

  

	 	(e)	Provided that Employee and his eligible dependents timely and properly elect to continue health care coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”), Employee and such eligible
dependents shall be entitled to continue to participate in such basic medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits as in effect from time to time, on the same terms and conditions as applicable to active senior executives of Choice, and
Choice shall reimburse Employee an amount equal to the monthly COBRA premium paid by Employee for him and his eligible dependents, until the date Employee becomes eligible to receive coverage from another employer or is otherwise no longer eligible
to receive COBRA continuation coverage. 

 The Release Agreement must be irrevocably effective within sixty (60) days following the
Termination Date. Subject to the six month delay referenced in Section 12(d), the payments shall begin or be made on the sixtieth day following the Termination Date. 

Following termination for any reason, Choice shall pay Employee all earned but unpaid wages under applicable state law and all accrued benefits as provided in
the applicable benefit plan or policy. 
 7. Re-employment. After the Termination Date,
Employee shall not be required to mitigate damages as a condition to receiving Severance Benefits and no mitigation shall apply. 

  
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 8. Change in Control. 

(a) If there occurs a Change in Control Termination, Employee shall receive as severance compensation a lump sum payment in an amount equal to
250% of Employee’s base salary at the rate in effect as of the Termination Date, plus 250% of the amount of Employee’s eligible full year bonus for that fiscal year based on a 100% attainment level for the company objectives and a 100%
attainment level for the individual Management Bonus Objectives. Additionally, all unvested restricted stock, performance vested restricted stock units and stock option awards granted after or prior to the date of this Agreement and then held by
Employee shall automatically become fully vested as of the date of the Change of Control Termination. 
 (b) Employee’s right to
receive the benefits described in Section 8(a) shall be conditioned upon Employee executing the Release Agreement. The Release Agreement must be irrevocably effective within sixty (60) days following the Termination Date. Subject to the
six month delay referenced in Section 12(d), the payments shall begin or be made on the sixtieth day following the Termination Date. 

(c) Best After-Tax 280G Results. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event that
an independent, nationally recognized, accounting or valuation firm which shall be designated by Choice with Employee’s written consent (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) (the “Accounting Firm”) shall determine that
any payment or distribution of any type to or for the Employee’s benefit made by Choice, by any of its affiliates, by any person who acquires ownership or effective control or ownership of a substantial portion of Choice’s assets within
the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and the regulations thereunder or by any affiliate of such person, whether paid or payable or distributed or distributable pursuant to the
terms of this Agreement or otherwise (collectively, the “Total Payments”), would be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code or any interest or penalties with respect to such excise tax (such excise tax,
together with any such interest or penalties, are collectively referred to as the “Excise Tax”), then the Accounting Firm shall determine whether such payments or distributions or benefits shall be reduced to such lesser amount as
would result in no portion of such payments or distributions or benefits being subject to the Excise Tax. Such reduction shall occur if and only to the extent that it would result in Employee retaining a larger amount, on an after-tax basis (taking into account federal, state and local income taxes, employment, social security and Medicare taxes, the imposition of the Excise Tax and all other taxes, determined by applying tax rates that
the Accounting Firm reasonably determines to be likely to apply to Employee in the relevant tax year(s) in which any of the Total Payments is expected to be made) than if Employee received all of the Total Payments. If the Accounting Firm determines
that Employee would not retain a larger amount on an after-tax basis if the Total Payments were so reduced, then Employee shall retain all of the Total Payments. For purposes of making the calculations
required by this Section 8(c), the Accounting Firm may make good faith interpretations concerning the application of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code. Choice and Employee shall furnish to the Accounting Firm such information and
documents as the Accounting Firm may reasonably request in order to make a determination under this section and shall cooperate in attempting to establish reasonable compensation under Sections 280G and 4999.of the Code if necessary. The
determinations by the Accounting Firm shall be binding on the parties absent manifest error, and Choice shall bear the cost of the Accounting Firm. 

Any applicable reduction shall be made by first reducing or eliminating any cash payments (with the payments to be made furthest in the
future being reduced first), then by reducing or eliminating any accelerated vesting of options or stock appreciation rights, then by reducing or eliminating any accelerated vesting of restricted stock or restricted stock units, then by reducing or
eliminating any other remaining amounts of the Total Payments 

  
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 9. Acknowledgments. Employee and Choice acknowledge and agree as follows: 

(a) The restrictions contained in Sections 3, 4 and 5 are reasonable and necessary to protect and preserve the legitimate interests,
properties, goodwill and business of Choice, that Choice would not have entered into this Agreement in the absence of such restrictions and that irreparable injury will be suffered by Choice should the Employee breach any of those provisions.
Employee represents and acknowledges that (i) the Employee has been advised by Choice to consult Employee’s own legal counsel at Employee’s expense prior to executing this Agreement, and (ii) that the Employee has had full
opportunity, prior to execution of this Agreement, to review thoroughly this Agreement with the Employee’s counsel. 
 (b) A breach of
any of the restrictions in this Agreement cannot be adequately compensated by monetary damages and Choice shall be entitled to seek preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, without the necessity of proving actual damages, as well as any other
appropriate equitable relief, which rights shall be cumulative and in addition to any other rights or remedies to which Choice may be entitled. 

(c) In the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement should ever be adjudicated to exceed the time, geographic, service, or other
limitations permitted by applicable law in any jurisdiction, it is the intention of the parties that the provision shall be amended to the extent of the maximum time, geographic, service, or other limitations permitted by applicable law, that such
amendment shall apply only within the jurisdiction of the court that made such adjudication and that the provision otherwise be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law. The invalidity of any provision of this Agreement shall not effect the
validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement. 
 (d) This Agreement supersedes and extinguishes any rights Employee may have under
Choice’s standard Severance Benefit Plan. 
 (e) This Agreement shall not be construed as giving the Employee the right to be retained
in the service of Choice for any definite period or otherwise to change Employee’s status as an at-will employee. 

(f) Employee agrees that Employee is not entitled to any unemployment benefits, and, to the extent permitted by law, that Employee does not
intend to seek any unemployment benefits, during the Severance Benefit Period. Choice will not contest Employee’s claim for unemployment benefits after the Severance Benefit Period. 

10. Notices. For purposes of this Agreement, notices and all other communications provided for in this Agreement shall be in writing
and shall be deemed to have been duly given when hand delivered, sent by overnight courier, or mailed by first-class, registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or transmitted fax, addressed as follows: 

If to Choice: 
 Choice Hotels
International, Inc. 
 1 Choice Hotels Circle 

  
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 Rockville, Maryland 20850 

Attn.: General Counsel 
 Fax: 301-592-6206 
 If to the Employee: 

Patrick Pacious 
 [redacted] 

With a copy to Katzke & Morgenbesser LLP 
 1345 Avenue
of the America ,11th Floor 
 New York, NY 10105 

or to such other address as either party may have furnished to the other party in writing in accordance herewith, except that notices of
change of address shall be effective only upon receipt. 
 11. Arbitration. 

(a) In the event of any dispute or claim relating to or arising out, directly or indirectly, of Employee’s employment relationship with
Choice, this Agreement, or the termination of employment with Choice for any reason (including, but not limited to, any claims of breach of contract, tort, wrongful termination, violation of any law, or unlawful discrimination, harassment or
retaliation), Employee and Choice agree that all such disputes shall be fully resolved by private, binding arbitration conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) before a single arbitrator in Montgomery County,
Maryland under the AAA’s Employment Arbitration Rules then in effect, which rules are available online at the AAA’s website at www.adr.org or by requesting a copy from Choice’s Human Resources Department. The arbitrator
shall be a currently licensed attorney with at least ten (10) years’ experience in employment law in the United States. This arbitration provision shall apply to any and all claims asserted by Employee against Choice or any of its
affiliates, and each of their respective employees, officers, agents, attorneys, owners, directors, or affiliates, and any and all claims against Employee by those entities.

(b) The arbitrator shall permit the parties to conduct reasonable discovery and is empowered to award all remedies otherwise available in a
court of competent jurisdiction and any judgment rendered by the arbitrator may be entered by any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator shall issue an award in writing and state the essential findings and conclusions on which the
award is based. This arbitration agreement shall provide the exclusive remedy of the parties to seek redress of claims, and each party knowingly and voluntarily waives the right to a trial before a judge or jury, and any right he, she, or it
might have to seek redress in any other forum, except for the right to file a charge with applicable administrative agencies (including, but not limited to the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Maryland
Workers’ Compensation Commission or Division of Unemployment Insurance ). If Employee still has the right to and chooses to pursue such administrative claim after exhausting all administrative remedies, such claim would be subject to
arbitration under this arbitration agreement to the extent permitted by applicable law. 

  
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 (c) In any arbitration conducted under this provision, each party will bear his, her or its own
fees, expenses and costs associated with the arbitration, provided that, to the extent applicable law requires Choice to pay any of Employee’s portion of the fees, expenses and costs of the AAA and the arbitrator to make the arbitration
agreement enforceable, Choice will pay or reimburse Employee for such fees, expenses and costs; and provided further, to the extent applicable law provides for the award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to the prevailing party, the
arbitrator may award such fees and costs. 
 (d) In the event any provision of this arbitration agreement is found to be unenforceable by an
arbitrator or court, such provision shall be deemed modified to the extent necessary to allow enforceability of the provision or deleted such that the enforceability of the remaining provisions remain unaffected. If the court or arbitrator
declines to modify this arbitration agreement to render it enforceable, the parties agree to do so. This arbitration agreement shall be interpreted and construed under the Federal Arbitration Act and the Maryland Uniform Arbitration Act.

(e) By agreeing to arbitration, Choice and Employee do not intend to deprive any court of its jurisdiction to issue a pre-arbitral injunction, pre-arbitral attachment, or other order in aid of arbitration proceedings and the enforcement of any award. In any such judicial action: (a) each
of the parties irrevocably and unconditionally consents to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal or state courts located in Montgomery County, Maryland (the “Maryland Courts”) for the purpose of any pre-arbitral injunction, pre-arbitral attachment, or other order in aid of arbitration proceedings, and to the non-exclusive
jurisdiction of such courts for the enforcement of any judgment on any award; (b) each of the parties irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent they may effectively do so, any objection, including any objection to the laying of venue or based
on the grounds of forum non conveniens or any right of objection to jurisdiction on account of its place of incorporation or domicile, which it may now or hereafter have to the bringing of any such action or proceeding in any Maryland Court. 

12. Section 409A.  

(a) The payments and benefits to be provided to Employee pursuant to this Agreement are intended to comply with, or be exempt from,
Section 409A and will be interpreted, administered and operated in a manner consistent with that intent. In the event that Employee and Choice believe that any payments or benefits may cause a violation of Section 409A, the parties shall
cooperate reasonably to modify this Agreement to cure such violation while preserving the applicable economic benefits hereunder. Any payments under this Agreement that may be excluded from Section 409A either as separation pay due to an
involuntary separation from service or as a short-term deferral shall be excluded from Section 409A to the maximum extent possible. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Choice makes no representations that the payments and benefits provided under
this Agreement comply with Section 409A, and in no event shall Choice be liable for all or any portion of any taxes, penalties, interest, or other expenses that may be incurred by Employee on account of
non-compliance with Section 409A. 
 (b) For purposes of Section 409A, Employee’s
right to receive any installment payments pursuant to this Agreement shall be treated as a right to receive a series of separate and distinct payments. 

(c) Any payments to be made under this Agreement upon a termination of employment shall only be made upon a “separation from
service” within the meaning of Section 409A. Whether Employee has a separation from service will be determined based on all of the facts and circumstances and in accordance with the guidance issued under Section 409A. 

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if at the time of Employee’s separation from service,
(i) Employee is a “specified employee” (within the meaning of Section 409A and using the identification methodology selected by Choice from time 

  
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to time), and (ii) Choice makes a good faith determination that an amount payable on account of such separation from service to Employee constitutes deferred compensation (within the meaning
of Section 409A) the payment of which is required to be delayed pursuant to the six-month delay rule set forth in Section 409A in order to avoid taxes or penalties under Section 409A (the
“Delay Period”), then Choice will not pay such amount on the otherwise scheduled payment date but will instead pay it in a lump sum on the first business day after such six-month period (or upon
Employee’s death, if earlier). To the extent that any benefits to be provided during the Delay Period are considered deferred compensation under Section 409A provided on account of a “separation from service,” and such benefits
are not otherwise exempt from Section 409A, Employee shall pay the cost of such benefits during the Delay Period, and Choice shall reimburse Employee, to the extent that such costs would otherwise have been paid by Choice or to the extent that
such benefits would otherwise have been provided by Choice at no cost to Employee, Choice’s share of the cost of such benefits upon expiration of the Delay Period, and any remaining benefits shall be reimbursed or provided by Choice in
accordance with the procedures specified herein. 
 (e) (i) Any amount that Employee is entitled to be reimbursed for under this
Agreement will be reimbursed to Employee as promptly as practical and in any event not later than the last day of the calendar year after the calendar year in which the expenses are incurred, (ii) any right to reimbursement or in kind benefits
will not be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit, and (iii) the amount of the expenses eligible for reimbursement during any taxable year will not affect the amount of expenses eligible for reimbursement in any other taxable
year. 
 13. Miscellaneous.      

(a) This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties, and supersedes all other agreements, discussions or understandings concerning
the subject matter. It may be changed only by an agreement in writing signed by both parties. 
 (b) This Agreement shall be governed by the
laws of the State of Maryland. 
 (c) No failure by either party hereto at any time to give notice of any breach by the other party of, or
to require compliance with, any condition or provision of this Agreement shall be deemed a waiver. 
 (d) All rights under this Agreement shall be binding
on and inure to the benefit of each party’s successors and permitted assigns, which in the case of Employee includes Employee’s heirs, administrators, representatives, and executors. 

[Signatures on next page] 

  
 - 11 - 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement on the date first set forth above.

  

			
	CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

  

			
	By:	 	 /s/ Simone Wu

 

			
	Employee:
	
	 /s/ Patrick Pacious

	Patrick Pacious

  
 - 12 - 

 EXHIBIT A 

RELEASE AGREEMENT 
 This
Release Agreement (“Release Agreement”) is made as of             , 20     by Patrick Pacious (“Employee”) in favor of Choice Hotels International,
Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively “Choice”). 
 WHEREAS, Employee and Choice have previously entered into an Amended and
Restated Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation and Severance Benefit Agreement dated January 1, 2018 (“Agreement”); and 

WHEREAS, in consideration for certain covenants and benefits under the Agreement, Employee is obligated to execute this Release Agreement upon
termination of employment; 
 NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises contained in this Agreement, and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agree to the following terms: 
 1. Last Day
Worked. Employee’s employment terminated, or will terminate, on             , 20     (“Termination Date”). Employee will return to Choice, no later
than the close of business on the Termination Date, any Choice property, including original and copied computer hardware or software, credit cards, long distance telephone cards, and keys or passcards to Choice buildings, and all other property in
Employee’s possession, custody or control; provided, that Employee may retain his contacts, calendar and personal correspondence and any information reasonably needed for tax return preparation purposes. 

2.    Release. Employee agrees, in exchange for the benefits set forth in the Agreement, to irrevocably and
unconditionally release Choice and its parents, subsidiaries and affiliated entities, and each of their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents, representatives, insurers, attorneys, employee welfare benefit plans and pension
or deferred compensation plans under Section 401 of the Code, and their trustees, administrators and other fiduciaries; and all persons acting by, through, under or in concert with them, and each of their predecessors, successors and assigns or
any of them (provided that shareholders, agents, representatives, insurers, attorneys, and fiduciaries (and those persons acting by, through, under or in concert with them) shall only be released in their respective capacities related to Choice and
its subsidiaries and affiliated entities)(collectively “Choice Releasees”), of and from any and all manner of action or actions, cause or causes of action, in law or equity, suits, debts, liens, contracts, agreements, promises, liability,
claims, demands, grievances, damages, loss, cost or expense, of any nature, known or unknown, fixed or contingent, which Employee now has or may later have against the Choice Releasees, or any one of them, by reason of any matter, cause, or thing
from the beginning of time to the Effective Date of this Agreement, including without limitation those arising out of, based on, or relating to the hire, employment, termination, remuneration (including any severance, salary, bonus, incentive or
other compensation; vacation sick leave or medical insurance benefits; or any benefits from any employee stock ownership, profit-sharing and/or any deferred compensation plan under Section 401 of the Code (“Claims”). The Claims that
Employee is releasing include, but are not limited to, a release of any rights or claims Employee may have under: 
  

	 	•	 	the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits age discrimination in employment; 

  
 - 13 - 

	 	•	 	Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, national origin, religion or sex; 

 

	 	•	 	the Civil Rights Act of 1991; 

  

	 	•	 	the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits paying men and women unequal pay for equal work; 

  

	 	•	 	the Americans with Disabilities Act; 

  

	 	•	 	the Family and Medical Leave Act; 

  

	 	•	 	and any other federal, state or local laws or regulations prohibiting employment discrimination, harassment or retaliation. 

Employee also releases any Claims for wrongful discharge or breach of contract, Claims for any personal injury or tort, Claims for any compensation, benefits,
expenses, bonuses, or any other employee rights or benefits, Claims for employment or reinstatement, Claims for attorneys’ fees and costs, and all other Claims under any applicable statute, contract or other cause of action. This Agreement
covers both Claims Employee knows about and those Employee may not know about. Employee assumes the risk of any and all unknown Claims which may exist at the time Employee signs this Agreement, and Employee agrees that this Agreement shall apply to
any and all known and unknown Claims. 
 3. No Release of Rights Under Agreement. By signing this Release Agreement, Employee does
not waive or release Employee’s right to enforce the Agreement. Employee does not release claims for or rights to earned compensation, vested benefits or equity or indemnification under Choice’s bylaws or coverage under any applicable
D&O insurance policies or any rights as a shareholder of Choice. 
 4. Lawsuits. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Employee
promises never to file a lawsuit, claim, complaint, charge, demand, administrative proceeding, agency action or any other legal proceeding (collectively “Lawsuit”) asserting any Claims that are released in this Agreement. Employee agrees
to withdraw with prejudice all Lawsuits, if any, Employee has filed against any Choice Releasee asserting any Claims with any agency or court. Except as provided below, Employee will not furnish information to or cooperate with any entity (other
than Choice) in connection with any Lawsuit against any Choice Releasee, provided that following the second anniversary of the Termination Date, such prohibition shall not extend to any such actions taken by Employee on behalf of
(A) Employee’s then current employer, (B) any entity with respect to which Employee is then a member of the board of directors or managers, as applicable, and (C) any non-publicly traded
entity with respect to which Employee is a 5% or more equity owner (or an affiliate of any shch entities referenced in clauses (A), (B), or (C)). Employee agrees not to make any derogatory remarks or provide and disparaging information about any
Choice Releasee; provided, that, this Agreement shall not prohibit Employee from testifying truthfully in connection with any legal proceeding or governmental or regulatory investigation. Choice agrees that it will not make any derogatory remarks
about Employee; however, this provision shall only apply to any Choice officer or director acting in their official capacity. 

  
 - 14 - 

 Employee agrees to reasonably assist Choice in any Lawsuit arising from circumstances that took
place during Employee’s employment, to the extent reasonably necessary to protect Choice’s interests. Choice will reimburse Employee for all reasonable and necessary expenses Employee incurs in complying with the foregoing sentence
(including independent counsel if reasonably appropriate), provided they are approved by Choice in writing prior to being incurred, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Such assistance shall be subject to Employee’s personal and
business commitments and shall not require Employee to cooperate against his own legal interests. 
 This Agreement shall not limit or
exclude Employee’s right to file, or participate in the investigation of, any administrative charge or complaint with the EEOC or any similar government agency. But Employee gives up any right to any money or other personal benefit from any
such charge or investigation only to the extent permitted by law. However, nothing in this Agreement prohibits or impedes Employee from reporting alleged violations of law to the SEC, the NLRB or OSHA or other government agencies or from
otherwise communicating directly or indirectly with and/or providing any information to staff of said agencies, or from receiving monetary relief for reporting alleged violations as a whistleblower, although Employee represents that Employee is
not aware of any such alleged violations. 
 5. No Admission. Employee agrees that this Release Agreement is not an admission of
guilt or wrongdoing by the Choice Releasees, and Employee acknowledges that the Choice Releasees do not believe or admit that they have done anything wrong. Employee acknowledges that Employee has not suffered any wrongful treatment by any Choice
Releasee relating to Employee’s employment. 
 6. Breach. If Employee breaches this Release Agreement and files a Lawsuit
against any Choice Releasee on Claims that Employee released in this Release Agreement, Employee agrees to pay for all costs incurred by the Choice Releasee, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, in defending against Employee’s Lawsuit.
Employee further agrees not to assist any other person in bringing any Lawsuit against any Choice Releasee, unless compelled to do so pursuant to a valid subpoena or court order. If Employee materially breaches the promises in this Release
Agreement, Choice may terminate all Severance Benefits under the Agreement that are still owed to Employee. 
 7. Governing Law. This
Agreement is governed by Maryland law, without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws. If a dispute arises under this Agreement, any Lawsuit must be brought exclusively in the courts for Montgomery County, Maryland. Employee and Choice
voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction and venue of said court. 
 8. Binding. Employee agrees and acknowledges this Release
Agreement binds Employee’s heirs, administrators, representatives, executors, successors, and assigns, and will inure to the benefit of all Choice Releasees and their respective heirs, administrators, representatives, executors, successors, and
assigns. 
 9. Severability. Any invalidity, in whole or in part, of any provision of this Release Agreement shall not affect the
validity of any other of its provisions. 

  
 - 15 - 

 10. Period for Review and Consideration. Employee has 21 days from the date Employee
receives this Release Agreement to review and consider this document before signing it. Employee may use as much of this 21 day period as Employee wishes before signing this Release Agreement. Choice advises Employee to consult with an attorney at
Employee’s own expense before signing this Release Agreement; whether to do so is Employee’s decision. If Employee wishes to sign this Release Agreement and thereafter be eligible to receive the Severance Benefits under the Agreement,
Employee must deliver one fully executed original of this Release Agreement, to Choice Hotels International, 1 Choice Hotels Circle, Rockville, Maryland 20850, Senior Vice President— Human Resources, no later than the close of business on the
21st day after Employee receives this Release Agreement. Employee’s failure to deliver timely the executed Release Agreement will nullify the Agreement, and Employee will not be entitled to receive the Severance Benefits. 

11. Revocation of Release Agreement. Employee may revoke this Release Agreement within 7 days after signing it (the “Revocation
Period”). If Employee wishes to revoke this Release Agreement after signing it, Employee must deliver a written notice of revocation to Choice Hotels International, 1 Choice Hotels Circle, Rockville, Maryland 20850, Attention: Senior Vice
President, Human Resources. Choice must receive this revocation no later than the close of business on the 7th day after Employee signs this Release Agreement. If Employee revokes this Release Agreement, it shall not be effective or enforceable and
Employee will not receive the Severance Benefits under the Agreement.] This Agreement will not become effective or enforceable until such date that is is signed by both parties and the Revocation Period expires without Employee exercising
Employee’s right of revocation (the “Effective Date”).  
 EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT EMPLOYEE HAS HAD AN
OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND CONSIDER THIS RELEASE AGREEMENT WITH AN ATTORNEY, AND THAT EMPLOYEE HAS HAD SUFFICIENT TIME TO CONSIDER IT. AFTER SUCH CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, EMPLOYEE KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY ENTERS INTO THIS RELEASE AGREEMENT WITH FULL
UNDERSTANDING OF ITS MEANING AND EFFECT. 
  

	
	Employee:
	
	  

  
 - 16 -Exhibit 10.1

 

uniQure N.V.

Up to 5,000,000 Ordinary Shares

(nominal value €0.05 per share)

 

SALES AGREEMENT

 

September 15, 2017

 

LEERINK PARTNERS LLC
 One Federal Street, 37th Floor
 Boston, Massachusetts 02110

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

uniQure N.V., a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink”), 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 to or through Leerink, acting as agent and/or principal, up to 5,000,000 ordinary shares, nominal value €0.05 per share, of the Company (the “Ordinary Shares”), subject to the limitations set forth in Section 5(c) (the “Placement Shares”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the number of Ordinary Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that Leerink shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.  The issuance and sale of Placement Shares to or through Leerink will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and 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 prepared and filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-3, including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Ordinary 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, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement at the time it became effective specifically relating to the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Company will furnish to Leerink, for use by Leerink, copies of the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement at the time it became effective, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, as amended when it became effective, 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 or deemed to be a part 

 

 

of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or 462(b) of the Securities Act, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), 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), is herein called the “Prospectus.”

 

Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, any Prospectus Supplement, Prospectus or any issuer free writing prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents, if any, that are or are deemed to be 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 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 any Placement Shares through Leerink, as agent, hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify Leerink by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires such Placement Shares to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the maximum 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 Trading Day (as defined in Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters is attached hereto as Schedule 1.  The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals authorized on behalf of the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (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 Leerink set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be updated by either party from time to time by sending a notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by Leerink unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, Leerink declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, within two (2) Trading Days from the time the Placement Notice was received, (ii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, Leerink suspends sales under the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (iii) the entire number of the Placement Shares has been sold, (iv) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Company suspends sales under or terminates the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (v) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with 

 

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parameters superseding those contained in the earlier dated Placement Notice, or (vi) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Leerink in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares effected through Leerink, as agent, shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3.  It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor Leerink will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to Leerink and Leerink 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 Leerink.  On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, including, without limitation, Section 5(c), upon Leerink’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice as provided in Section 2, 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, Leerink, 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 Select Market (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the number specified in, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of, such Placement Notice.  If acting as agent hereunder, Leerink will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) 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 volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company.  Subject to the terms of any Placement Notice, Leerink 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, including, without limitation, sales made through Nasdaq, on any other existing trading market for the Ordinary Shares or to or through a market maker. If expressly authorized by the Company in a Placement Notice, Leerink may also sell Placement Shares in negotiated transactions. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(tt), Leerink shall not purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and Leerink in a separate written agreement setting forth the terms thereof. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that Leerink will be successful in selling Placement Shares, (ii) Leerink 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 Leerink 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) Leerink shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement Shares on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement, except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and Leerink in a separate written agreement setting forth the terms thereof. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which Ordinary Shares are purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Ordinary Shares are listed or quoted.

 

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4.                                      Suspension of Sales.

 

(a)                                 The Company or Leerink 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 2, 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 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice.  Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such schedule may be amended from time to time.

 

(b)                                 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is in possession of material non-public information, the Company and Leerink agree that (i) no sale of Placement Shares will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and (iii) Leerink shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.

 

5.                                      Settlement and Delivery of the Placement Shares.

 

(a)                                 Settlement of Placement Shares.  Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the second (2nd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice or as is required for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date”).  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 Leerink at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction for (i) Leerink’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to Leerink hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.

 

(b)                                 Delivery of Placement Shares.  On each Settlement Date, subject to delivery of the related Net Proceeds by Leerink to the Company, the Company will issue the Placement Shares being sold on such date to its transfer agent pursuant to a deed of issue (each, a “Deed of Issue”) and the Company will cause its transfer agent to electronically transfer such Placement Shares by crediting Leerink’s or its designee’s account (provided Leerink shall have given the Company written notice of such designee prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System (“DWAC”) or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto, which in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date, Leerink will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date and in any event before the execution by the Company of the relevant Deed of Issue. Leerink shall be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or other instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of the Placement Shares being sold. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized Placement Shares by 2:30 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, 

 

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on a Settlement Date (other than as a result of a failure by Leerink to provide instructions for delivery), the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) (Company Indemnification) hereto, it will (i) take all necessary action to cause the full amount of the Net Proceeds that were delivered to the Company’s account with respect to such settlement, together with any costs incurred by Leerink and/or its clearing firm in connection with recovering such Net Proceeds, to be immediately returned to Leerink or its clearing firm no later than 5:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, on such Settlement Date, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by Leerink or its clearing firm, (ii) indemnify and hold Leerink and its clearing firm 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 and (iii) pay to Leerink any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.

 

(c)                                  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 aggregate number or gross sales proceeds of Placement Shares sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of: (i) the number or dollar amount of Ordinary Shares registered pursuant to the Registration Statement pursuant to which the offering is being made, (ii) the number of authorized but unissued and unreserved Ordinary Shares, (iii) the number or dollar amount of Ordinary Shares permitted to be offered and sold by the Company under Form S-3 (including General Instruction I.B.6. thereof, if applicable), (iv) the number of Ordinary Shares the Company’s board of directors is authorized to issue pursuant to a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and applicable Dutch law, and notified to Leerink in writing, or (v) the number of Ordinary Shares for which the Company has filed the Prospectus Supplement or other prospectus supplement specifically relating to the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement. 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, and notified to Leerink in writing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto acknowledge and agree that compliance with the limitations set forth in this Section 5(c) on the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that Leerink shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.

 

6.                                      Representations and Warranties of the Company.  The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, Leerink that as of the date of this Agreement (except for those representations, warranties and agreements that speak solely as of a specific date or time, in which case as of such date or time), and as of (i) each Representation Date (as defined in Section 7(m)), (ii) each date on which a Placement Notice is given, (iii) the time of each sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and (iv) each Settlement Date (each such time or date referred to in clauses (i) through (iv), an “Applicable Time”):

 

(a)                                 The Registration Statement has been filed with and has been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act. The Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the conditions for the use of Form S-3 (including General Instructions I.A. and I.B.1 of Form S-3) under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of Placement Shares as contemplated hereby comply with, the requirements of Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the 

 

5

 

Securities Act. Leerink is named as the agent engaged by the Company in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(1) under the Securities Act objecting to the use of the shelf registration statement form. No stop order of the Commission preventing or suspending the use of the base prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement or the Prospectus, or the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, has been issued, and no proceedings for such purpose are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission. At the time of the initial filing of the Registration Statement, the Company paid the required Commission filing fees relating to the securities covered by the Registration Statement, including the Ordinary Shares that may be sold pursuant to this Agreement, in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act. Copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, and any such amendments or supplements and all Incorporated Documents that were filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement have been delivered, or are available through EDGAR, to Leerink and its counsel.

 

(b)                                 Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective and at each deemed effective date with respect to Leerink pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) under the Securities Act, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any 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, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this sentence do not apply to Agent’s Information (as defined below). The Prospectus, when so filed with the Commission under Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, complied, complies and as of each Applicable Time will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act, and each Prospectus furnished to Leerink for use in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares was identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, as of its date and as of each Applicable Time, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this sentence do not apply to Agent’s Information. Each Incorporated Document heretofore filed, when it was filed (or, if any amendment with respect to any such document was filed, when such amendment was filed), conformed in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and any further Incorporated Documents so filed and incorporated after the date of this Agreement will, when they are filed, conform in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act; no such Incorporated Document when it was filed (or, if an amendment with respect to any such document was filed, when such amendment was filed), contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and no such Incorporated Document, when it is filed, will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

(c)                                  (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement and (ii) at the time of the execution of this Agreement (with such date being used as the determination date for purposes of this clause (ii)), the Company was not and is not an Ineligible Issuer (as defined 

 

6

 

in Rule 405), without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an Ineligible Issuer.

 

(d)                                 The Company is, and since February 4, 2014 has been, an “emerging growth company”, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).

 

(e)                                  Each “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time, 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, except that the representations and warranties set forth in this sentence do not apply to Agent’s Information. Each issuer free writing prospectus that the Company has filed, or is required to file, pursuant to Rule 433 or that was prepared by or on behalf of or used by the Company complies or will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act.

 

(f)                                   The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of Leerink’s distribution of the Placement Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below).

 

(g)                                  The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

 

(h)                                 The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.  The Ordinary Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and are listed on Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or reasonably likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the Ordinary Shares from Nasdaq, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. The Company is in compliance with the current listing standards of Nasdaq. The Company has filed a Notification of Listing of Additional Shares with Nasdaq with respect to the Placement Shares.

 

(i)                                     No person (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act) has the right to act as an underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares hereunder, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby or otherwise. Except for Leerink, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (as defined below) any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

 

(j)                                    The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) under the laws of the Netherlands, with the corporate power and authority to acquire, own, lease and operate its properties, and to lease the same to others, and to conduct its business as described in the Registration 

 

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Statement and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Company is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing (where such concept exists) under the laws of each other jurisdiction which requires such qualification, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on the condition (financial or other), earnings, business, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”). The articles of association and other organizational documents of the Company comply with the requirements of applicable Netherlands law and are in full force and effect.

 

(k)                                 Each of the Company’s “subsidiaries” (for purposes of this Agreement, as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) (each a “Subsidiary” and collectively, the “Subsidiaries”) has been duly organized and is validly existing in good standing (where such concept exists) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization and has the power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  Each Subsidiary is duly qualified to transact business and is in good standing (where such concept exists) in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where failure to be so qualified or in good standing could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.  All of the issued and outstanding share capital or other equity or ownership interests of each Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and nonassessable (where such concept exists) and is owned by the Company, directly or through Subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity, other than the Subsidiaries listed on Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Commission. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no Subsidiary is prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, or from making any other distribution with respect to such Subsidiary’s equity securities or from repaying to the Company or any other Subsidiary any amounts that may from time to time become due under any loans or advances to such Subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any property or assets to the Company or to any other Subsidiary.

 

(l)                                     The Company has an authorized and outstanding share capital as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as of the dates referred to therein (subject, in each case, to the issuance of Placement Shares under this Agreement, the issuance of Ordinary Shares upon exercise of share options and warrants disclosed as outstanding in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and the grant of options under existing share option plans described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus). The Ordinary Shares conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  All of the issued Ordinary Shares have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and have been issued in compliance with all Dutch or United States federal, state and local securities laws.  None of the outstanding Ordinary Shares was issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company.  There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable 

 

8

 

for, any share capital of the Company or any of its subsidiaries other than those described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.  The descriptions of the Company’s share option and other share plans or arrangements, and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus accurately and fairly present the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights.

 

(m)                             The Placement Shares have been duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement and a Deed of Issue, will be validly issued and fully paid, and the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby shall not be subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase the Placement Shares, other than statutory preemptive rights in relation to the Placement Shares that have been validly excluded.  When issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement and a Deed of Issue, the purchasers of the Placement Shares issued and sold hereunder will acquire good, marketable and valid title to such Placement Shares, free and clear of all pledges, liens, security interests, charges, claims or encumbrances. The issuance and sale of the Placement Shares as contemplated hereby will not cause any holder of any share capital, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for share capital or options, warrants or other rights to purchase share capital or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any preferred shares of the Company.

 

(n)                                 There is no franchise, contract, agreement or other document of a character required to be described in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or any Incorporated Document, or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or any Incorporated Document, which is not described or filed as required; and the statements set forth or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus under the headings “Material Dutch and U.S. Tax Consequences”, “Risk Factors”, “Business—Intellectual Property”, “Business—Licenses”, “Business—Government Regulation and Reimbursement”, “Legal Proceedings”, “Description of Ordinary Shares” and “Book Entry Procedures and Settlement”, insofar as such statements summarize legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings discussed therein, are accurate and fair summaries of such legal matters, agreements, documents or proceedings. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has sent or received any communication regarding termination of, or intent not to renew, any of the contracts or agreements referred to or described in the Prospectus or any free writing prospectus, or referred to or described in, or filed as an exhibit to, the Registration Statement, or any Incorporated Document, and no such termination or non-renewal has been threatened by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any other party to any such contract or agreement, which threat of termination or non-renewal has not been rescinded as of the date hereof.

 

(o)                                 This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability, including rights of indemnification, may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium and other similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally and by general principles of equity. This Agreement conforms in all material respects to the descriptions thereof in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

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(p)                                 The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. As of December 31, 2016, the Company was considered a “passive foreign investment company,” as such term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the “Code”). Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary of the Company is, and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Prospectus, none of them will be, a “controlled foreign corporation” as defined by the Code.

 

(q)                                 No consent, approval, license, permit, qualification, authorization or other order or decree of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental, taxing or regulatory authority or agency, including, without limitation, any Dutch court or other governmental, taxing or regulatory agency, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement or consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby or by the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Placement Shares hereunder), except such as have been already obtained or made or as may be required under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, applicable state securities or Blue Sky laws, the applicable rules of Nasdaq, or, if the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement no longer qualifies for the exemption from the filing requirements of Rule 5110 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) afforded by FINRA Rule 5110(b)(7)(C)(i), such additional filings or other actions as may be required by FINRA.

 

(r)                                    Neither the issue and sale of the Placement Shares nor the consummation of any other of the transactions herein contemplated nor the fulfillment of the terms hereof will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to, (i) the certificate or articles of incorporation, charter, bylaws, articles of association, limited liability company agreement, certificate or agreement of limited or general partnership, or other similar organizational documents, as the case may be, of such entity, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which it is a party or bound or to which its property or assets is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets, as applicable, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(s)                                   Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus: (i) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, of the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one entity; (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one entity, have not incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, including without limitation any losses or 

 

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interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, earthquakes, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any strike, labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, that are material, individually or in the aggregate, to the Company and its Subsidiaries, considered as one entity, or, except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, has entered into any material transactions not in the ordinary course of business; and (iii) there has not been any material decrease in the share capital or any material increase in any short-term or long-term indebtedness of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company or, except for dividends paid to the Company or other Subsidiaries, by any Subsidiary on any class of shares, or any repurchase or redemption by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any class of shares.

 

(t)                                    There are no persons (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act) with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, except for such rights as have been duly waived.

 

(u)                                 The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations and cash flows of the Company and the Subsidiaries for the periods specified and have been prepared in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Act and Exchange Act and in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved. To the extent applicable, any pro forma financial statements or data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply with the requirements of Regulation S-X of the Securities Act, including, without limitation, Article 11 thereof, and the assumptions used in the preparation of such pro forma financial statements and data are reasonable, the pro forma adjustments used therein are appropriate to give effect to the circumstances referred to therein and the pro forma adjustments have been properly applied to the historical amounts in the compilation of those statements and data. The other financial data set forth or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is accurately presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company. The Company and the Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations or any “variable interest entities” as that term is used in Accounting Standards Codification Paragraph 810-10-25-20), not disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. All disclosures contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that contain “non-GAAP financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission) comply, in all material respects, with Regulation G under the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. The statistical, industry-related and market-related data included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate, and the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources to the extent required. To the Company’s knowledge, no person who has been suspended or barred from being associated with a registered public accounting firm, or who has failed to comply with any sanction pursuant to Rule 5300 promulgated by the PCAOB, has participated in or otherwise aided the preparation of, or 

 

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audited, the financial statements, supporting schedules or other financial data filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(v)                                 There are no actions, suits, claims, investigations or proceedings pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is or would be a party, or of which any of the respective properties or assets of the Company and the Subsidiaries is or would be subject, at law or in equity, before any court or arbitral body or by or before any federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory commission, board, body, authority or agency, that (i) are required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and are not so described, (ii) could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or on the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby or (iii) could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, except as set forth or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the Company’s business, could not reasonably be expected to (A) result in a Material Adverse Effect or (B) have a material adverse effect on the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement or the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated hereby.

 

(w)                               The Company owns or leases all such real properties as are necessary to the conduct of its operations as presently conducted in all material respects.

 

(x)                                 Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is in violation or default of (i) any provision of its certificate or articles of incorporation, charter, bylaws, articles of association, limited liability company agreement, certificate or agreement of limited or general partnership, or other similar organizational documents, as the case may be, of such entity, (ii) the terms of any indenture, contract, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, loan agreement or other agreement, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which it is a party or bound or to which its property or assets is subject, or (iii) any statute, law, rule, regulation, judgment, order or decree of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body, arbitrator or other authority having jurisdiction over the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets, as applicable, except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(y)                                 PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V., 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 10-K filed with the Commission and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, is (i) an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), (ii) in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and (iii) a registered public accounting firm as defined by the PCAOB whose registration has not been suspended or revoked and who has not requested such registration to be withdrawn. PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V. has not been engaged by the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” (as defined in Section 10A of the Exchange Act).

 

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(z)                                  There are no transfer taxes or other similar fees or charges under federal law, the laws of any state, any foreign law, or any political subdivision thereof, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance by the Company or sale by the Company of the Placement Shares. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no transaction, stamp or other issuance or transfer taxes or duties, and assuming that Leerink is not otherwise subject to taxation in the Netherlands due to tax residence or the existence of a permanent establishment in the Netherlands, no capital gain, income, transfer, withholding or other tax or duty is payable in the Netherlands by or on behalf of Leerink to any taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (i) the issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares by the Company; (ii) the purchase from the Company, and the initial sale and delivery by Leerink of the Placement Shares to purchasers thereof; (iii) the holding or transfer of the Placement Shares; or (iv) the execution and delivery of this Agreement or any other document to be furnished hereunder.

 

(aa)                          All United States federal income tax returns of the Company and its Subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been filed or extensions thereof have been requested, and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except assessments that are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided.  Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries has filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by it pursuant to applicable foreign, state, provincial, local or other law except insofar as the failure to file such returns would not result in a Material Adverse Effect, and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and its Subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided and except for such taxes or assessments the nonpayment of which would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.  The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company and its Subsidiaries in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect. All material taxes which the Company and its Subsidiaries are required by law to withhold or to collect for payment have been duly withheld and collected and have been paid to the appropriate governmental authority or agency or have been accrued, reserved against and entered on the books of the Company and its Subsidiaries. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries has at all times been resident and centrally managed and controlled for tax purposes in its jurisdiction of incorporation and is not and has not been treated as resident or centrally managed and controlled in any other jurisdiction for any other tax purpose (including any double tax treaty arrangement).

 

(bb)                          No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries exists or, to the Company’s knowledge, is threatened or imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any of its Subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, in each case that would have a Material Adverse Effect. None of the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is represented by a union and, to the knowledge of the Company, no union organizing activities are taking place.  Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has violated any federal, state or local law or foreign law relating to the discrimination in hiring, promotion or pay of employees, nor any applicable wage or hour laws, or the rules and regulations thereunder, or analogous foreign laws and regulations, which would, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(cc)                            Each of the Company and its Subsidiaries are insured by recognized and reputable institutions with policies in such amounts and with such deductibles and covering such risks as are generally deemed adequate and customary for their businesses including, but not limited to, policies covering real and personal property owned or leased by the Company and its Subsidiaries against theft, damage, destruction, acts of vandalism and earthquakes and policies covering the Company and its Subsidiaries for clinical trial liability claims.  The Company has no reason to believe that it or any of its Subsidiaries will not be able (i) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (ii) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has been denied any material insurance coverage which it has sought or for which it has applied.

 

(dd)                          The Company and each of its Subsidiaries has good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them that is material to their business (except with respect to intellectual property, which is addressed exclusively in subsection 6(pp) below), in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any Subsidiary; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases (subject to the effects of (A) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights or remedies of creditors generally; (B) the application of general principles of equity (including, without limitation, concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, regardless of whether enforcement is considered in proceedings at law or in equity); and (C) applicable law and public policy with respect to rights to indemnity and contribution) with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the Company or such Subsidiary.

 

(ee)                            The Company and its Subsidiaries possess such valid and current material certificates, authorizations or permits required by United States federal, state or Dutch regulatory agencies or bodies to conduct their respective businesses as currently conducted and as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (collectively, “Permits”).  Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of, or in default under, any of the Permits or has received any written notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any such certificate, authorization or permit, which, individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(ff)                              The Company and each of its Subsidiaries make and keep accurate books and records and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that: (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (v) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information 

 

14

 

called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

 

(gg)                            Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act), which (i) are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated Subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the Exchange Act are being prepared; (ii) have been evaluated by management of the Company for effectiveness as of the end of the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter; and (iii) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established.  Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and 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.  The Company is not aware of any change in its internal control over financial reporting that has occurred during its most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

(hh)                          Neither the Company, nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor to the knowledge of the Company, any of its or their respective directors, officers or controlling persons has taken, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to any actions taken by Leerink, (i) any action designed to or that might constitute or reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or (ii) any action designed to or that might constitute or reasonably be expected to cause or result in a violation of Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

(ii)                                  Except as could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect:  (i) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any United States federal, state or local, or any Dutch, statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries have all material permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are in compliance with their requirements; (iii) there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; and (iv) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no events or circumstances that might reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or 

 

15

 

agency, against or affecting the Company or any of its Subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or any Environmental Laws.

 

(jj)                                Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any “employee benefit plan” (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively, “ERISA”)).

 

(kk)                          There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company and, to the Company’s knowledge, any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith, including Section 402 relating to loans.

 

(ll)                                  Neither the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of their respective directors, officers, agents, employees or affiliates, has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the unlawful payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any “government official” (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office) to influence official action or secure an improper advantage; and the Company, each of its Subsidiaries and, to the Company’s knowledge, each of their respective affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws.

 

(mm)                  None of the Company, any Subsidiary or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA; and the Company and its Subsidiaries and, to the knowledge of the Company, each of their respective affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

 

(nn)                          The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements and the money laundering statutes and 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”) 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.

 

(oo)                          Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee, affiliate or person acting on behalf of the 

 

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Company or any of its Subsidiaries is currently subject to any sanctions administered by the United States Government (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”)), the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of this offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Subsidiary, or any joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that currently is the subject of any Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transactions contemplated by this Agreement) of any Sanctions.

 

(pp)                          The Company and its Subsidiaries own, or have obtained valid and enforceable licenses to, the inventions, patent applications, patents, trademarks, trade names, service names, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property (i) that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as being owned or licensed by them or (ii) except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, which are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted or as currently proposed to be conducted (collectively, “Intellectual Property”).  To the Company’s knowledge and except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus: (i) there are no third parties who have rights to any Intellectual Property, except (A) for Intellectual Property licensed pursuant to non-exclusive licenses or sublicenses, and (B) for retained rights and customary reversionary rights of third-party licensors with respect, in the cases of clauses (A) and (B) above, to Intellectual Property that is disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as licensed to the Company or one or more of its Subsidiaries; and (ii) there is no infringement by third parties of any Intellectual Property.  There is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others: (A) challenging the Company’s rights in or to any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (B) challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; or (C) asserting that the Company or any of its subsidiaries infringes or otherwise violates, or would, upon the commercialization of any product or service described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as under clinical development, infringe or violate, any patent, trademark, trade name, service name, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim.  Except as could not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, 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 any Subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect.  Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the product candidates described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as under clinical development by the Company or any Subsidiary fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company or any Subsidiary, to the extent applicable.

 

(qq)                          The Company and each of its Subsidiaries possess all licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits issued by, and have made all filings with, the appropriate local, or other governmental or regulatory agencies or bodies (including, without limitation, the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), European Medicines Agency 

 

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(“EMA”) or by any local, or other governmental or regulatory authority performing functions similar to those performed by the FDA or EMA) that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (collectively, the “Governmental Permits”) except where any failures to possess or make the same would not, singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.  The Company and its Subsidiaries are in compliance with all such Governmental Permits; all such Governmental Permits are valid and in full force and effect, except where the validity or failure to be in full force and effect would not, singularly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.  Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has received notification of any revocation, modification, suspension, termination or invalidation (or proceedings related thereto) of any such Governmental Permit and the Company has no reason to believe that any such Governmental Permit will not be renewed.

 

(rr)   There is no legal or governmental proceeding to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject, including any proceeding before the FDA, the EMA or any foreign, local, national, or other governmental agency with jurisdiction over the types of products being developed by the Company that is required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus and is not described therein, or which, singularly or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated by governmental or regulatory authorities or threatened by others.  The Company and each of its Subsidiaries is in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, orders and decrees governing its business and the manufacture and regulation of pharmaceuticals or biohazardous substances or materials, except where noncompliance would not, singly or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(ss)                              The preclinical studies and clinical trials conducted or being conducted by or on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (collectively, “Company Studies”) and, to the Company’s knowledge, the preclinical studies and clinical trials directed or sponsored by the Company’s collaborators (collectively, “Collaborator Studies”) that are described in, or the results of which are referred to in, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus were and, if still pending, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with the protocols, procedures and controls designed and approved for such Company Studies and Collaborator Studies and with standard medical and scientific research procedures; each description of the results of such Company Studies and, to the Company’s knowledge, such Collaborator Studies is accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly presents the data derived from such Company Studies and Collaborator Studies, and the Company and its subsidiaries have no knowledge of any other nonclinical studies or clinical trials the results of which are inconsistent with, or otherwise call into question, the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; the Company and its subsidiaries have made all such filings and obtained all such approvals as may be required by the EMA, the FDA or any committee thereof or from any other United States or foreign government agency with jurisdiction over the types of products being developed by the Company (collectively, the “Regulatory Agencies”); except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any notice of, or correspondence from, any Regulatory Agency requiring the termination, suspension or modification of any Company Study or Collaborator Study; and the Company and its subsidiaries have each operated and currently are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable rules, regulations and policies of the Regulatory Agencies (it being understood 

 

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that the Company has no control over the design, progress, timing, resources or conduct of the Collaborator Studies).

 

(tt)                                The Company acknowledges and agrees that Leerink has informed the Company that Leerink 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 in effect; provided, that (i) no such purchase or sales shall take place while a Placement Notice is in effect (except to the extent Leerink 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 Leerink, except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and Leerink.

 

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

 

(vv)                          The Company is not required to register as a “broker” or “dealer” in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act and does not, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control or have any other association with (within the meaning of Article I of the By-laws of FINRA) any member firm of FINRA. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company, on the one hand, and the directors, officers or shareholders of the Company, on the other hand, which is required by the rules of FINRA to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, which is not so described. The offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement qualifies for the exemption from the filing requirements of FINRA Rule 5110 afforded by FINRA Rule 5110(b)(7)(C)(i). If, at any time after the date of this Agreement, the offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement no longer qualifies for the exemption from the filing requirements of FINRA Rule 5110 afforded by FINRA Rule 5110(b)(7)(C)(i), then all of the information (including, but not limited to, information regarding affiliations, security ownership and trading activity) provided to Leerink or its counsel by the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or warrants, options or rights to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the filing to be made and other supplemental information to be provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110 in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement is true, complete and correct.

 

(ww)                      As of the close of trading on Nasdaq on September 14, 2017, the aggregate market value of the outstanding voting and non-voting common equity (as defined in Rule 405) of the Company held by persons other than affiliates of the Company (pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act, those that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, control, or are controlled by, or are under common control with, the Company) (the “Non-Affiliate Shares”), was approximately $145,141,304 (calculated by multiplying (x) the price at which the common equity of the Company was last sold on Nasdaq on September 14, 2017 by (y) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares outstanding on September 14, 2017).  The Company is not a shell company (as defined in Rule 405) 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 General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-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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(xx)                          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.

 

(yy)                          Each of the independent directors (or independent director nominees, once appointed, if applicable) named in the Registration Statement and Prospectus satisfies the independence standards established by Nasdaq and, with respect to members of the Company’s audit committee, the enhanced independence standards contained in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) promulgated by the Commission under the Exchange Act.

 

(zz)                            Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its affiliates (within the meaning of Securities Act Rule 144) has, prior to the date hereof, made any offer or sale of any securities which could be “integrated” (within the meaning of the Securities Act) with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares hereunder.

 

(aaa)                   Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has (i) failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock or (ii) 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, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(bbb)                   Each financial or operational projection or other “forward-looking statement” (as defined by Section 27A of the Securities Act or Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus (i) was so included by the Company in good faith and with reasonable basis after due consideration by the Company of the underlying assumptions, estimates and other applicable facts and circumstances and (ii) as required, is accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying those factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statement.  No such statement was made with the knowledge of a director or senior manager of the Company that was false or misleading.

 

(ccc)                      There are no business relationships or related-party transactions involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that have not been described as required.

 

(ddd)                   The Company is not in or subject to a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding in the Netherlands or in any other jurisdiction.

 

(eee)                      The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 16 of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each United States federal court and New York state court located in the Borough of Manhattan, in the City of New York, New York, U.S.A. (each, a “New York Court”), and the Company has the power to designate, appoint and authorize, and pursuant to Section 16 of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably designated, appointed and authorized an agent for service of process in any action arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the Placement Shares in any New York Court, and service of process effected on such authorized agent will be effective to confer valid personal jurisdiction over the Company as provided in Section 16 hereof.

 

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(fff)                         Neither the Company nor any of its properties or assets has any immunity from the jurisdiction of any court or from any legal process (whether through service or notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution or otherwise) under the laws of the Netherlands, New York or the United States, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any such legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any Dutch, New York or United States federal court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior judgment, or attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of a judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of a judgment, in any such court, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection with this Agreement. To the extent that the Company or any of its respective properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, the Company waives or will waive such right to the extent permitted by law and has consented to such relief and enforcement as provided in Section 16 of this Agreement.

 

(ggg)                      Subject to the conditions and qualifications set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, a final and conclusive judgment against the Company for a definitive sum of money entered by any court in the United States may be enforced by a Dutch court.

 

(hhh)                   All dividends and other distributions declared (in accordance with Dutch law) and payable on the Placement Shares may be paid by the Company to the holders thereof in U.S. dollars or euros that may be converted into foreign currency and freely transferred out of the Netherlands and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, all such payments made to holders thereof who are non-residents of the Netherlands may be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under laws and regulations of the Netherlands as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus at the applicable rate.

 

Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to Leerink or its counsel in connection with the offering of the Placement Shares shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to Leerink.

 

7.                                      Covenants of the Company.  The Company covenants and agrees with Leerink 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 Leerink under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule); (i) the Company will notify Leerink promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than Incorporated Documents, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, 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 Leerink’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in Leerink’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by Leerink (provided, however, that the failure of Leerink to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability

 

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hereunder, or affect Leerink’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy Leerink shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing (but without limiting Leerink’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will 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, other than Incorporated Documents, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Leerink within a reasonable period of time before the filing and Leerink has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that the failure of Leerink to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Leerink’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy Leerink shall have with respect to the Company making such filing notwithstanding Leerink’s objection (but without limiting Leerink’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to Leerink at the time of filing thereof a copy of any Incorporated Document, except for those documents available via EDGAR; and (iv) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than Incorporated Documents, 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 Incorporated Document, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed.

 

(b)                                 Notice of Commission Stop Orders.  The Company will advise Leerink, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened 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 Leerink 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 for additional information related to the offering of the Placement Shares or for additional information related to the Registration Statement or the 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 Leerink 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 or a similar rule), 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 (taking into account any extensions available under the Exchange Act) 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 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 Leerink to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement

 

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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 Leerink under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act or a similar rule), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq. The Company will timely file with Nasdaq all material documents and notices required by Nasdaq of companies that have or will issue securities that are traded on Nasdaq.

 

(e)                                  Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus.  The Company will furnish to Leerink and its counsel (at the expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all Incorporated Documents) 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 Leerink may from time to time reasonably request and, at Leerink’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 Leerink to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

(f)                                   Earnings Statement.  The Company will make generally available to its security holders and to Leerink 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)                                  Expenses.  The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 hereunder, will pay all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares and any taxes payable in connection therewith, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(w) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for Leerink in connection therewith shall be paid by Leerink except as set forth in clauses (vii) and (viii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to Leerink of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission, (vii) the filing fees and associated expenses of Leerink’s outside legal counsel for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department in an amount not to exceed $10,000 (excluding FINRA filing fees and in addition to the fees and disbursements referred to in clause (viii) below), and (viii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of Leerink’s counsel in an amount not to exceed $50,000 (in addition to the fees and associated expenses referred to in clause (vii) above).

 

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

 

(i)                                     Notice of Other Sales.  During the pendency of any Placement Notice given hereunder, and for five (5) Trading Days following the termination of any Placement Notice given hereunder, the Company shall provide Leerink notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any Ordinary Shares (other than Placement Shares offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Ordinary Shares; provided, that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Ordinary Shares, options to purchase Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement described in the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets, (iii) the issuance or sale of Ordinary Shares pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time provided the implementation of such is disclosed to Leerink in advance, (iv) any Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, or (v) any Ordinary Shares, or securities convertible into or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, offered and sold in a privately negotiated transaction occurring after the date of this Agreement to vendors, customers, investors, strategic partners or potential strategic partners other than for capital raising purposes and otherwise conducted in a manner so as not to be integrated with the offering of Ordinary Shares hereby.

 

(j)                                    Change of Circumstances.  The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise Leerink 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 provided to Leerink pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(k)                                 Due Diligence Cooperation.  During the term of this Agreement, the Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by Leerink or its agents from time to time in connection with 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 Leerink may reasonably request.

 

(l)                                     Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares.  The Company agrees that on or prior to 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, which prospectus supplement will set forth, within the relevant period, the number of Placement Shares sold through Leerink, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to Leerink 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; provided, that, unless a prospectus supplement containing such information is required to be filed under the Securities Act, the requirement of this Section 7(l) may be satisfied by Company’s inclusion in the Company’s Form 10-K or Form 10-Q, as applicable, of the number of Placement Shares sold through

 

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Leerink, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to Leerink with respect to such Placement Shares within the relevant period.

 

(m)                             Representation Dates; Certificate.  On or prior to the date on which the Company first delivers a Placement Notice pursuant to this agreement (the “First Placement Notice Date”) and each time the Company:

 

(i)                                     amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares;

 

(ii)                                  files an annual report on Form 10-K under the Exchange Act;

 

(iii)                               files a quarterly report on Form 10-Q under the Exchange Act; or

 

(iv)                              files a current report on Form 8-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release) 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 Leerink (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if (1) a Placement Notice is pending, (2) Leerink reasonably determines that the information contained in such Form 8-K is material to a holder of Ordinary Shares and (3) Leerink requests such certificate within three (3) days after the filing of such Form 8-K with the Commission) with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), within three (3) Trading Days of any Representation Date if requested by Leerink.  The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(m) shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date; provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Representation Date on which the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Leerink with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Leerink sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide Leerink with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of the Placement Notice.

 

(n)                                 Legal Opinions.  On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Leerink (i) the written opinions and negative assurance letter of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP, U.S. counsel to the Company, and (ii) the written opinions of Rutgers Posch Visée Endedijk N.V., Dutch counsel to the Company, or in each case such other counsel satisfactory to Leerink (together, “Company Counsel”), in each case in form and substance satisfactory to Leerink and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion and negative assurance letter are required to be

 

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delivered, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions and negative assurance letters for subsequent Representation Dates, Company Counsel may furnish Leerink with a letter to the effect that Leerink may rely on a prior opinion or negative assurance letter delivered under this Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion or negative assurance letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).

 

(o)                                 Intellectual Property and Tax Opinions. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) and for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Leerink (i) the written opinions of NLO, counsel for the Company with respect to intellectual property matters, and the written opinions of Uexküll & Stolberg, counsel for the Company with respect to intellectual property matters, or in each case such other intellectual property counsel satisfactory to Leerink (together, “Intellectual Property Counsel”), and (ii) the written opinion of Van Campen Liem, Dutch tax counsel for the Company, or in each case such other tax counsel satisfactory to Leerink (“Tax Counsel”), in each case in form and substance satisfactory to Leerink and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion letter is required to be delivered, modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Representation Dates, Intellectual Property Counsel and Tax Counsel may furnish Leerink with a letter to the effect that Leerink may rely on a prior opinion letter delivered under this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such opinion letter (except that statements in such prior opinion letter shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).

 

(p)                                 Comfort Letter.  On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and within three (3) Trading Days of each Representation Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish Leerink letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(p); provided, that if requested by Leerink, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to Leerink within ten (10) Trading Days of the date of occurrence of any material transaction or event that necessitates the filing of additional or revised financial statements, including the restatement of the Company’s financial statements.  The Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm shall be in form and substance satisfactory to Leerink, (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 Leerink 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.

 

(q)                                 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

 

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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 in violation of Regulation M, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than Leerink; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase Ordinary Shares in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.

 

(r)                                    Insurance.  The Company and its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.

 

(s)                                   Compliance with Laws.  The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental Permits required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of its subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such Permits and with applicable environmental laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such Permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(t)                                    Investment Company Act.  The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor its subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.

 

(u)                                 Securities Act and Exchange Act.  The Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.

 

(v)                                 No Offer to Sell.  Other than a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) approved in advance by the Company and Leerink in its capacity as principal or agent hereunder, neither Leerink nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than Leerink 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 Ordinary Shares hereunder.

 

(w)                               Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with Leerink, 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 Leerink 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,

 

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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).

 

(x)                                 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  The Company and its Subsidiaries will use their best efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

(y)                                 Emerging Growth Company.  The Company will promptly notify Leerink if the company ceases to be an Emerging Growth company at any time prior to the completion of Leerink’s distribution of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(z)                                  Renewal of Registration Statement. If, immediately prior to the third (3rd) anniversary of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement (the “Renewal Date”), any of the Placement Shares remain unsold and this Agreement has not been terminated for any reason, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Date, file a new shelf registration statement or, if applicable, an automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Ordinary Shares that may be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement (which shall include a form of prospectus reflecting the number of Placement Shares that may be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement), in a form satisfactory to Leerink and its counsel, and, if such registration statement is not an automatic shelf registration statement, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Date. The Company will take all other reasonable actions necessary or appropriate to permit the public offer and sale of the Placement Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement. From and after the effective date thereof, references herein to the “Registration Statement” shall include such new shelf registration statement or such new automatic shelf registration statement, as the case may be.

 

(aa)                          General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3. If, from and after the date of this Agreement, the Company is no longer eligible to use Form S-3 pursuant to General Instruction I.B.1. of Form S-3 at the time it files with the Commission an annual report on Form 10-K or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, then it shall promptly notify Leerink and, within two (2) Business Days (as defined below) after the date of filing of such annual report on Form 10-K or amendment to the Registration Statement, file a new prospectus supplement with the Commission reflecting the number of Ordinary Shares available to be offered and sold by the Company under this Agreement pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3, provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any such prospectus supplement if, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company to do so, provided that no Placement Notice is in effect or pending during such time.

 

(bb)                          Tax Indemnity. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless Leerink against any documentary, stamp or similar issue tax, including any interest and penalties, on the creation, issue and sale of the Placement Shares and on the execution and delivery of this Agreement.

 

(cc)                            Transfer Agent. The Company agrees to maintain a transfer agent and, if necessary under the jurisdiction of organization of the Company, a registrar for the Ordinary Shares.

 

8.                                      Conditions to Leerink’s Obligations. The obligations of Leerink 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

 

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the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by Leerink of a due diligence review satisfactory to Leerink in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by Leerink in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:

 

(a)                                 Registration Statement Effective.  The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for (i) all sales of Placement Shares issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be issued by any Placement Notice.

 

(b)                                 Prospectus Supplement. The Company shall have filed with the Commission the Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second (2nd) Business Day following the date of this Agreement.

 

(c)                                  No Material Notices.  None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries 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 or any of its Subsidiaries 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 such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any 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 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.

 

(d)                                 No Misstatement or Material Omission.  Leerink 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 Leerink’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in Leerink’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(e)                                  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, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized share capital of the Company or any Material Adverse Effect or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset backed securities), if any, 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), if any, the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization

 

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described above, in the reasonable judgment of Leerink (without relieving the Company of any 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.

 

(f)                                   Company Counsel Legal Opinions.  Leerink shall have received the opinions and negative assurance letters, as applicable, of Company Counsel, Intellectual Property Counsel and Tax Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), as applicable, on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinions and negative assurance letters are required pursuant to Section 7(n) and Section 7(o), as applicable.

 

(g)                                  Leerink Counsel Legal Opinion.  Leerink shall have received from Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., counsel for Leerink, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the Company Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as Leerink may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

 

(h)                                 Comfort Letter.  Leerink shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(p).

 

(i)                                     Representation Certificate.  Leerink shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(m).

 

(j)                                    CFO’s Certificate.  On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date, Leerink shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its Chief Financial Officer, in form and substance satisfactory to Leerink and its counsel, certifying as to (i) the articles of association of the Company, (ii) the resolutions of the board of directors of the Company authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, and the issuance and sale hereunder of the number of Placement Shares that may be issued and sold under this Agreement pursuant to a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and applicable Dutch law, (iii) the resolution of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company referred to in clause (ii) above, and (iv) the incumbency of the officers of the Company duly authorized to execute this Agreement and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement.(1)

 

(k)                                 IP Certificate.  On each date on which opinions of Intellectual Property Counsel are required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(o), Leerink shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by the Company’s general counsel or another duly authorized officer of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to Leerink and its counsel, certifying as to such patent and other intellectual property matters as Leerink may reasonably request.

 

(l)                                     No Suspension.  Trading in the Ordinary Shares shall not have been suspended on, and the Ordinary Shares shall not have been delisted from, Nasdaq.

 

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

 

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conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as Leerink shall have reasonably requested.

 

(n)                                 Securities Act Filings Made.  All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 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(b) (without reliance on Rule 424(b)(8) of the Securities Act) or Rule 433, as applicable.

 

(o)                                 Approval for Listing.  The Placement Shares shall either have been (i) approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares on Nasdaq at, or prior to, the issuance of any Placement Notice and Nasdaq shall have reviewed such application and not provided any objections thereto.

 

(p)                                 FINRA.  FINRA shall have raised no objection to the terms of this offering and the amount of compensation allowable or payable to Leerink as described in the Prospectus.

 

(q)                                 No Termination Event.  There shall not have occurred any event that would permit Leerink to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).

 

9.                                      Indemnification and Contribution.

 

(a)                                 Company Indemnification.  The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Leerink, its affiliates and their respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who (i) controls Leerink within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with Leerink, from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including, but not limited to, any and all reasonable investigative, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with Section 9(c)) of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), as and when incurred, to which Leerink, or any such person, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any free writing prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Ordinary Shares under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it (solely with respect to the Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused, directly or indirectly, by an untrue statement or omission, or alleged untrue statement

 

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or omission, made in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.  This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.

 

(b)                                 Leerink Indemnification. Leerink agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company that signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company (a “Company Affiliate”) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in Section 9(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 the Agent’s Information.

 

(c)                                  Procedure.  Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this Section 9 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 9, 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 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this Section 9 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 legal or other 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 reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party 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

 

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fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly after the indemnifying party receives a written invoice relating to such fees, disbursements and other charges in reasonable detail. 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 9 (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, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding 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.

 

(d)                                 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 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or Leerink, the Company and Leerink 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 Leerink, 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 Leerink may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and Leerink on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and Leerink 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 Leerink (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 Leerink, on the other, 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 Leerink, 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 Leerink agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(d) 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 9(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(d), 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 9(c) hereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(d), Leerink shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this

 

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Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of 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 9(d), 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 Leerink, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, 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 9(d), 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 9(d) 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 9(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 9(c) hereof.

 

10.                               Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery.  The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in Section 9 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 Leerink, 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.

 

11.                               Termination.

 

(a)                                 Leerink shall have the right by giving notice as hereinafter specified at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Effect, or any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of Leerink, may materially impair the ability of Leerink to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder; provided, however, in the case of any failure of the Company to deliver (or cause another person to deliver) any certification, opinion, or letter required under Sections 7(m), 7(n), 7(o) or 7(p), Leerink’s right to terminate shall not arise unless such failure to deliver (or cause to be delivered) continues for more than thirty (30) days from the date such delivery was required, (iii) any other condition of Leerink’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, (iv) any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred, (v) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of United States federal, New York or Dutch authorities, or (vi) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States or international political, financial or economic conditions that, in the reasonable judgment of Leerink, may materially impair the ability of Leerink to sell the Placement Shares hereunder or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 7(g) (Expenses), Section 9 (Indemnification and Contribution), Section 10 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), Section 16 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction; Currency Provisions) and Section 17 (Waiver of

 

34

 

Jury Trial) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If Leerink elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), Leerink shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12 (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 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(c)                                  Leerink 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 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(d)                                 Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the issuance and sale of all of the Placement Shares through Leerink on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of Section 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(e)                                  This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to Sections 11(a), (b), (c), or (d) 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 7(g), Section 9, Section 10, Section 11(f), Section 16 and Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.

 

(f)                                   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 Leerink 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. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Company shall not have any liability to Leerink for any discount, commission or other compensation with respect to any Placement Shares not otherwise sold by Leerink under this Agreement, expect with respect to reimbursement of expenses pursuant to Section 7(g).

 

12.                               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 in this Agreement, and if sent to Leerink, shall be delivered to:

 

Leerink Partners LLC

One Federal Street, 37th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02110

Attention: John A. Civitarese

Facsimile: (617) 918-4914

 

with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

Leerink Partners LLC

 

35

 

299 Park Avenue, 29th Floor

New York, New York 10171

Attention: Stuart R. Nayman, Esq.

Facsimile: (646) 499-7011

E-mail: stuart.nayman@leerink.com

 

and

 

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

One Financial Center

Boston, Massachusetts 02111

Attention: William C. Hicks, Esq.

Facsimile: (617) 542-2241

E-mail: wchicks@mintz.com

 

and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:

 

uniQure N.V.

Paasheuvelweg 25a,

1105 BP Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Attention: Chief Accounting Officer

Facsimile: +31 (0) 20 240 6020

 

with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:

 

uniQure, Inc.

113 Hartwell Avenue

Lexington, MA 02421

Attention:  Chief Executive Officer

Facsimile:  (339) 970-7010

E-mail: m.kapusta@uniqure.com

 

and

 

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP

Condor House

5-10 St. Paul’s Churchyard

London EC4M 8AL

United Kingdom

Attention: Timothy J. Corbett, Esq.

Facsimile: +44 20 3201 5001

E-mail: timothy.corbett@morganlewis.com

 

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 (as defined below), 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

 

36

 

Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Nasdaq 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 12 if sent to the electronic mail address specified by the receiving party under separate cover. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives verification of receipt by the 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.

 

13.                               Successors and Assigns.  This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and Leerink and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in Section 9 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 Leerink may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of Leerink without obtaining the Company’s consent, so long as such affiliate is a registered broker-dealer.

 

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

 

15.                               Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability; Waiver.  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 Leerink; provided, however, that Schedule 2 of this Agreement may be amended by either party from time to time by sending a notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12.  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.

 

16.                               Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction; Currency Provisions. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in such state. Any

 

37

 

legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court (a “Related Judgment”), as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. The Company hereby irrevocably appoints uniQure, Inc., which currently maintains an office at 113 Hartwell Ave, Lexington, MA 02421, United States of America, as its agent to receive service of process or other legal summons for purposes of any such suit, action or proceeding that may be instituted in any state or federal court in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York, United States of America.

 

With respect to any Related Proceeding, each party irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all immunity (whether on the basis of sovereignty or otherwise) from jurisdiction, service of process, attachment (both before and after judgment) and execution to which it might otherwise be entitled in the Specified Courts, and with respect to any Related Judgment, each party waives any such immunity in the Specified Courts or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and will not raise or claim or cause to be pleaded any such immunity at or in respect of any such Related Proceeding or Related Judgment, including, without limitation, any immunity pursuant to the United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, as amended.

 

The obligations of the Company pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any sum due to Leerink shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than United States dollars, not be discharged until the first Business Day, following receipt by Leerink of any sum adjudged to be so due in such other currency, on which Leerink 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 Leerink in United States dollars hereunder, the Company agrees as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify Leerink against such loss. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to Leerink hereunder, Leerink agrees to pay to the Company an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to Leerink hereunder.

 

All payments made by the Company under this Agreement shall be made free and clear of any withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future taxes, duties, assessments or governmental charges of whatever nature (including any amounts that result from the payment of fees, compensation or reimbursement of costs contemplated by this Agreement) imposed or levied by or on behalf of the Netherlands or by any department, agency or other political subdivision or any taxing authority thereof or therein, and all interest, penalties or similar liabilities with respect thereto (collectively, “Dutch Taxes”), unless such deduction or withholding is required by law. If any Dutch Taxes are required by law to be deducted or withheld by the Company in connection with such payment or

 

38

 

repurchase, the Company will increase the amount to be paid to Leerink so that the full amount of such payment is received by Leerink, provided that the Company will not be required to pay any such additional amounts to the extent that the obligation to withhold or deduct any amounts arises as a result of any present or former connection between Leerink and the relevant jurisdiction other than any such connection arising solely as a result of the transaction described in this agreement.

 

17.                               Waiver of Jury Trial.  The Company and Leerink each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

18.                               Construction.

 

(a)                                 The section and exhibit headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

 

(b)                                 Words defined in the singular shall have a comparable meaning when used in the plural, and vice versa;

 

(c)                                  The words “hereof,” “hereto,” “herein” and “hereunder” and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement;

 

(d)                                 Wherever the word “include,” “includes” or “including” is used in this Agreement, it shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”;

 

(e)                                  References herein to any gender shall include each other gender;

 

(f)                                   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 regulation promulgated thereunder.

 

19.                               Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of Leerink, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, and Leerink represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Company, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, 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 Leerink 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.

 

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

 

39

 

(a)                                 Leerink has been retained solely to act as sales agent in connection with the sale of the Ordinary Shares and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and Leerink has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether Leerink has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

 

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

 

(c)                                  Neither Leerink 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)                                 the Company has been advised that Leerink and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that Leerink has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

 

(e)                                  the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against Leerink for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and agrees that Leerink shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.

 

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.                               Agent’s Information; Knowledge of the Company. As used in this Agreement, “Agent’s Information” means, solely the following information in the Prospectus: the fifth (5th) paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement. All references in this Agreement to the “knowledge of the Company” or the “Company’s knowledge” or similar qualifiers shall mean the actual knowledge of Matthew Kapusta, Christian Klemt, Jonathan Garen, Alex Kuta and Steven Kelenkofske, after due inquiry.

 

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 “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 Leerink outside of the United States.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]

 

40

 

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

 

	
 
    	
Very   truly yours,
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
UNIQURE   N.V.
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
By:
    	
/s/ Matthew Kapusta
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Name:   Matthew Kapusta
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Title:   Chief Executive Officer
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
ACCEPTED   as of the date
    
	
 
    	
first-above   written:
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
LEERINK   PARTNERS LLC
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
By:
    	
/s/ John I. Fitzgerald,   Esq.
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Name:   John I. Fitzgerald, Esq.
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Title:   Managing Director
    

 

 

SCHEDULE 1

 

FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE

 

	
From:
    	
[                                     ]
    
	
Cc:
    	
[                                     ]
    
	
To:
    	
[                                     ]
    
	
Subject:
    	
Leerink—At   The Market Offering—Placement Notice
    

 

Gentlemen:

 

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement, dated September 15, 2017 (the “Agreement”), by and between uniQure N.V., a Dutch public company with limited liability (the “Company”), and Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that Leerink sell up to [  ] ordinary shares, nominal value €0.05 per share, of the Company (the “Ordinary Shares”), at a minimum market price of $        per share[, provided that no more than [  ] Ordinary Shares shall be sold in any one Trading Day, as such term is defined in Section 3 of the Agreement].  Sales should begin on the date of this Notice and shall continue until [DATE] [all such shares are sold].

 

 

SCHEDULE 2

 

The Company

 

Matthew Kapusta

 

Christian Klemt

 

Leerink Partners LLC

 

Rahul Chaudhary

 

Patrick Morley

 

Stuart Nayman

 

Eric Olson

 

Dan Dubin

 

Jon Civitarese

 

 

SCHEDULE 3

 

Compensation

 

Leerink shall be paid compensation equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.

 

 

Exhibit 7(m)

 

OFFICER CERTIFICATE

 

The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of uniQure N.V., a Dutch public company with limited liability (the “Company”), does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement, dated September 15, 2017 (the “Sales Agreement”), by and between the Company and Leerink Partners LLC, that to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned:

 

(i)                                     The representations and warranties of the Company in Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Effect, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date;

 

(ii)                                  The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof;

 

(iii)                               As of the date hereof, (i) the Registration Statement does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) the Prospectus does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and (iii) no event has occurred as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not untrue or misleading for clauses (i) and (ii) above, respectively, to be true and correct;

 

(iv)                              There has been no material adverse change since the date as of which information is given in the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented;

 

(v)                                 The Company does not possess any material non-public information; and

 

(vi)                              The maximum number of Placement Shares that may be sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement has been duly authorized by the Company’s board of directors pursuant to a

 

 

resolution of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company in accordance with the Company’s articles of association and applicable Dutch law.

 

Terms used herein and not defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the Sales Agreement.

 

 

	
 
    	
 
    	
By:
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
Name:
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
Title:
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
Date:
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
						

 

2

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