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EXHIBIT 10.12

 

DEFERRED STOCK AWARD AGREEMENT 

UNDER THE HARVARD BIOSCIENCE, INC. THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED
2000 

STOCK OPTION AND INCENTIVE PLAN, AS AMENDED 

 

	Name of Grantee: 	 	 	(the “Grantee”) 

 

	Grant Date: 	 	 	(the “Grant
Date”)

 

Pursuant to the Harvard Bioscience, Inc. Third Amended and Restated
2000 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (as amended, the “Plan”), Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (the “Company”)
hereby grants a number of Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) to be determined in accordance herewith to
the Grantee named above (the “Award”), subject to the terms of the Plan and this Deferred Stock Award
Agreement (the “Agreement”). The Award represents a promise to pay to the Grantee certain shares of Common
Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Stock”) of the Company in an amount determined based on the attainment
of performance goals related to total shareholder return (“TSR”) and continued employment, subject to
the restrictions and conditions set forth herein and in the Plan.

 

1.    Grant and Restrictions.

 

(a)    Grant. The Company hereby awards
to the Grantee a target award of ________________ RSUs (hereinafter, as adjusted in accordance with Section 8, the “Target
Award”), subject to the vesting and other conditions set forth herein and in the Plan, with the final amount of the
Award to be the Final RSUs as determined in accordance with Section 2 below.

 

(b)       No Voting Rights
and Dividends. Until such time as the RSUs are paid to the Grantee in shares of Stock, the Grantee shall have no voting rights
and no rights to any dividends or other distributions with respect to the RSUs.

 

(c)    Restrictions on Transfer. The
RSUs granted pursuant to this Agreement may not be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise encumbered or disposed of
prior to vesting.

 

2.    Vesting of Restricted Stock Units.

 

(a)    General Vesting Terms. Except
as set forth in Paragraphs 2(b) and 2(c) below, to the extent the achieved Performance Factor is greater than 0% as of the end
of the Performance Period (as defined below), the Grantee shall vest in a number of RSUs (the “Final RSUs”)
based on the attainment of the TSR performance goals described on Schedule A as of the end of the Performance Period (as
defined below), such vesting to be as follows: (i) 1/3 of the aggregate amount of the Final RSUs shall vest on the last day of
the Performance Period (the “Initial Vesting Date”), (ii) 1/3 of the aggregate amount of the Final RSUs shall
vest on the first anniversary of the Initial Vesting Date, and (iii) the remaining 1/3 of the aggregate amount of the Final RSUs
shall vest on the second anniversary of the Initial Vesting Date, provided that with respect to each such 1/3 tranche, the Grantee
remains employed by the Company or any Subsidiaries through the respective vesting date (i.e., with respect to the initial 1/3,
the Grantee must remain so employed on the Initial Vesting Date). The Performance Period is the one year period beginning on the
Grant Date (the “Performance Period”). Your Final RSUs will be determined by multiplying the Target Award
by the percentage (from zero to 150%) (the “Performance Factor”) which is based on the Company’s
Total Shareholder Return during the Performance Period compared to the Index Constituent Companies, determined according to Schedule
A of this Agreement. Except as specifically provided below in this Section 2, no RSUs will vest for any reason prior to the Initial
Vesting Date. Except as provided in Paragraphs 2(b) and 2(c) below, if the TSR performance goals are not attained at the end of
the Performance Period, the RSUs will be immediately forfeited. Upon vesting in accordance herewith or Paragraph 2(c), the restrictions
and conditions in Paragraph 1 of this Agreement with respect to such RSU shall lapse and such RSU shall become payable to
the Grantee in shares of Stock on the relevant vesting date in the amount of the vested RSUs in accordance with this Paragraph
(a) and Schedule A. Any fractional RSU resulting from the vesting of the RSUs in accordance with this Agreement shall be rounded
down to the nearest whole number.

 

(b)    Except as noted in Paragraph 2(c) below,
and notwithstanding any provision of any other agreement or arrangement between the Grantee and the Company that provides accelerated
vesting of RSUs or all equity awards in general in the event of certain types of termination, the Grantee’s rights to all
RSUs granted herein and not yet vested in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs 2(a) or 2(c), and Schedule A, shall automatically
terminate upon the Grantee’s termination of employment, voluntarily or involuntarily, with the Company and its Subsidiaries
for any reason (including death).

 

     

     

    

 

(c)        Notwithstanding anything
to the contrary in this Agreement, if a Change of Control occurs during the Performance Period, the date of such Change of Control
shall be deemed the last day of the Performance Period, and the Performance Factor will be calculated as if the date of the Change
of Control is the last day of the Performance Period. In such event, (i) your Final RSUs will be determined by multiplying the
Target Award by the calculated Performance Factor and (ii) to the extent the achieved Performance Factor is greater than 0% as
of the end of such reduced Performance Period, your Final RSUs shall vest in full as of the date of such Change of Control.

 

3.    Receipt of Stock Upon Vesting.
Upon the vesting of the RSUs as provided in Paragraph 2, the Grantee shall receive one share of Stock for each RSU vested. Shares
of Stock acquired pursuant to this Award shall be issued and delivered to the Grantee either in actual stock certificates or by
electronic book entry, subject to tax withholding as provided in Paragraph 6 below.

 

4.    Incorporation of Plan. Notwithstanding
anything herein to the contrary, this Agreement shall be subject to and governed by all the terms and conditions of the Plan, including
the powers of the Administrator set forth in the Plan. Capitalized terms in this Agreement shall have the meaning specified in
the Plan, unless a different meaning is specified herein.

 

5.    Transferability. This Agreement
is personal to the Grantee, is non-assignable and is not transferable in any manner, by operation of law or otherwise, other than
by will or the laws of descent and distribution.

 

6.    Tax Withholding. Unless the Grantee
elects to satisfy the tax withholding obligation in a timely manner by making the payments or related arrangements in accordance
with Section 14(a) of the Plan (including, without limitation, payments made from such Grantee’s compensation or other cash
payments otherwise due him or her from the Company or by paying the Company directly by a separate check), the tax withholding
obligation shall be satisfied by the Company withholding, from shares of Stock to be issued to the Grantee hereunder, such number
of the Grantee’s shares having an aggregate fair market value equal to the required minimum amount of the tax withholding
then due with respect to such Grantee.

 

7.    No Obligation to Continue Employment.
Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary is obligated by or as a result of the Plan or this Agreement to continue the Grantee in
employment and neither the Plan nor this Agreement shall interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any Subsidiary to
terminate the employment of the Grantee at any time.

 

8.       Certain Corporate
Changes. If any change is made to the Common Stock (whether by reason of merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization,
stock dividend, stock split, combination of shares, or exchange of shares or any other change in capital structure made without
receipt of consideration), then unless such event or change results in the termination of all the RSUs granted under this Agreement,
the Administrator shall adjust, as provided in the Plan, the number and class of shares underlying the RSUs held by the Grantee,
the maximum number of shares for which the RSUs may vest, and the share price or class of Common Stock for purposes of the TSR
performance goals, as appropriate, to reflect the effect of such event or change in the Company’s capital structure in such
a way as to preserve the value of the RSUs. Any adjustment that occurs under the terms of this Section 8 or the Plan will not change
the timing or form of payment with respect to any RSUs except in accordance with section 409A of the Code.

 

9.    Notices. Notices hereunder shall
be mailed or delivered to the Company at its principal place of business and shall be mailed or delivered to the Grantee at the
address on file with the Company or, in either case, at such other address as one party may subsequently furnish to the other party
in writing.

 

	 	HARVARD BIOSCIENCE, INC.
	 	 	 
	 	By:	 
	 	 	Name:
	 	 	Title:

 

     

     

    

 

The foregoing Agreement is hereby accepted and the terms and conditions
thereof hereby agreed to by the undersigned.

 

	 	 
	Dated:	 
	 	Grantee’s Signature
	 	 
	 	Grantee’s name and address:
	 	 
	 	
 

	 	 
	 	
 

	 	 
	 	
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

     

    

 

Schedule A

 

Determination of Performance Factor

 

The Performance Factor shall be determined according to the following table:

 

	Relative TSR Percentile Rank*	Performance Factor**
	20th percentile or lower	0%
	21st to 32nd percentile	for each 1 percentile in range above 20th percentile, 4% 
	33rd percentile 	50%
	34th to 49th percentile	50%, plus for each 1 percentile in range above 33rd percentile, an additional 3% 
	50th percentile	100%
	51st to 74th percentile	100%, plus for each 1 percentile in range above 50th percentile, an additional 2% 
	75th percentile or higher	150%
	Examples:  If the Company’s Relative TSR Percentile Rank falls into the 43rd percentile (i.e., ten percentiles above the 33rd percentile), the Performance Factor will be 80% (calculated by multiplying eight by 3% and adding it to 50%).   If the Company’s Relative TSR Percentile Rank falls into the 65th percentile (i.e., fifteen percentiles above the 50th percentile), the Performance Factor will be 130% (calculated by multiplying fifteen by 2% and adding it to 100%), provided that if the Total Shareholder Return for the Company is negative, the Performance Factor in such instance would be 100%.  

 

*Total Shareholder Return for the Company shall be based on the
percentage increase/decrease from the Initial Price to the Final Price, and shall reflect the reinvestment of dividends paid (if
any) to shareholders of Common Stock during the Measurement Period.

** If the Total Shareholder Return is negative for the Performance
Period, the Performance Factor is subject to a cap of 100%.

 

For purposes of the foregoing calculation:

 

1.    “Total Shareholder Return”
mean the quotient (expressed as a percentage) obtained by dividing (i)(A) the Final Price, plus (B) the aggregate amount of dividends
paid in respect of a share of Common Stock during the Measurement Period (assuming reinvestment of the dividends), minus (C) the
Initial Price, by (ii) the Initial Price.

 

2.    “Initial Price” means
the average closing price of Common Stock over the twenty trading day period ending on the trading day immediately preceding the
first day of the Performance Period.

 

3.    “Final Price” means
the average closing price of Common Stock over the twenty trading day period ending on the last day of the Measurement Period,
provided that in connection with a Change of Control, the Final Price shall be the per share purchase price in the Change of Control.

 

4.    "Measurement Period"
means the Performance Period; provided that in the event of a Change of Control, Total Shareholder Return shall be calculated through
the date of the Change of Control as provided in the Agreement.

 

     

     

    

 

5.     “Relative TSR Percentile Rank”
means the percentile within the Index Constituent Companies (as defined below) that the Company’s Total Shareholder Return
would have for the Measurement Period.

 

6. If the Company’s Relative TSR Percentile Rank falls between
the measuring points, the Company’s Relative TSR Percentile Rank will be rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. With
respect to the Index Constituent Companies, such Initial Price and Final Price shall be determined on a component basis (assuming
dividend reinvestment) during the applicable twenty (20) trading day periods using an open approach).

 

7. The companies included from the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index for
purposes of the Relative TSR Percentile Rank calculation (the “Index Constituent Companies”) will be determined
on the first day of the Measurement Period and will be changed only in accordance with the following and no company shall be added
during the Measurement Period for purposes of the Relative TSR Percentile Rank calculation. The Index Constituent Companies for
purposes of the Relative TSR Percentile Rank calculation will be subject to change as follows:

 

(i) In the event of a merger, acquisition or business combination
transaction of a company in the Index Constituent Companies in which the company in the Index Constituent Companies is the surviving
entity and remains publicly traded, the surviving entity shall remain a company in the Index Constituent Companies. Any entity
involved in the transaction that is not the surviving company shall no longer be a company in the Index Constituent Companies.

 

(ii) In the event of a merger, acquisition or business combination
transaction of a company in the Index Constituent Companies, a “going private” transaction or other event involving
a company in the Index Constituent Companies or the liquidation of a company in the Index Constituent Companies, in each case where
the company in the Index Constituent Companies is not the surviving entity or is no longer publicly traded, the company shall no
longer be a company in the Index Constituent Companies.

 

(iii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of a bankruptcy
of a company in the Index Constituent Companies where the company in the Index Constituent Companies is not publicly traded at
the end of the Measurement Period, such company shall remain a company in the Index Constituent Companies but shall be deemed to
have a Total Shareholder Return of negative 100% (-100%).Exhibit 4.7

    

     

    

    DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

    REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

    SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

     

    The following description sets forth certain material terms and provisions of BioSpecifics Technologies Corp.’s (“BioSpecifics,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) securities that are registered under Section 12
      of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

     

    DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     

    The following description is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the Certificate of Incorporation of BioSpecifics (the
      “Certificate of Incorporation”) and the Amended and Restated Bylaws of BioSpecifics, as amended (the “Bylaws”), each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.7 is a part. The terms
      of these securities also may be affected by the Delaware General Corporation Law.

     

    Authorized Capital Stock

     

    We are authorized to issue a total of 10,700,000 shares of capital stock consisting of 10,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 700,000 shares of preferred stock, par value
      $0.50. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol “BSTC.”

     

    Common Stock

     

    Voting

     

    Each outstanding share of common stock is entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation. Holders of
      common stock do not have cumulative voting rights.

     

    Dividends; Liquidation and Dissolution

     

    Subject to the preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding shares of preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably on a per share basis such dividends and
      other distributions in cash, stock or property of BioSpecifics as may be declared by our Board of Directors (the “Board”) from time to time out of the legally available assets or funds of BioSpecifics. Upon our voluntary or involuntary liquidation,
      dissolution or winding up, holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably all assets of BioSpecifics available for distribution to its stockholders after payment of any amounts due to creditors and any amounts due to the holders of our
      preferred stock.

     

    Other Rights and Restrictions

     

    Holders of our common stock have no preemptive rights and no right to convert their common stock into any other securities. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common
      stock. Our Board may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting, conversion, dividend, liquidation and other rights that may adversely affect the rights of the holder of our common stock.

     

    
      As of the date of the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.7 is a part, 7,336,756 shares of common stock are issued and outstanding.

       

    

    
      
        

    

    Preferred Stock

     

    Under our Certificate of Incorporation, we are authorized to issue up to 700,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.50 par value, in one or more series with the designations and the relative voting,
      dividend, liquidation, conversion, redemption and other rights and preferences fixed by the Board. Of the 7,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized, 150,000 shares have been designated Series A Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock and 10,000
      shares have been designated Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock. The Board can issue preferred stock without any approval by our stockholders.

     

    
      As of the date of the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.7 is a part, no shares of Series A Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock
        or Series B Junior Participating Preferred Stock are issued and outstanding.

       

    

    Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Our Certificate Incorporation and Bylaws

     

    The following is a summary of certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws that may have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing hostile takeovers or changes in control
      or management of BioSpecifics. Such provisions could deprive our stockholders of opportunities to realize a premium on their stock. At the same time, these provisions may have the effect of inducing any persons seeking to acquire or control us to
      negotiate terms acceptable to our Board.

     

    Undesignated Preferred Stock

     

    Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes our Board to issue shares of preferred stock and set the voting powers, designations, preferences, and other rights related to that preferred stock without
      stockholder approval. Any such designation and issuance of shares of preferred stock could delay, defer or prevent any attempt to acquire or control us.

     

    Staggered Board

     

    Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide for the division of our Board into three classes as nearly equal in size as possible with staggered three-year terms. The classification of the
      Board could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of discouraging a third party from acquiring, control of us.

     

    Vacancies on the Board of Directors

     

    Our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws provide that, subject to any rights of holders of our preferred stock, any vacancies in our Board will be filled by a majority of our directors
      remaining in office, and directors so elected will hold office until the next election of directors; provided, however, that vacancies resulting from removal from office by a vote of the stockholders may be filled by the stockholders at the same
      meeting at which such removal occurs. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if, at any time of filling any vacancy or any newly created directorship, the directors then in office constitute less than a majority of the whole Board (as constituted immediately
      prior to any such increase), the Court of Chancery may, upon application of any stockholder or stockholders holding at least 10% of the total number of the shares at the time outstanding having the right to vote for such directors, summarily order an
      election to be held to fill any such vacancies or newly created directorships, or to replace the directors chosen by the directors then in office, consistent with Section 223(c) of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

     

    
      
        

    

    Cumulative Voting

     

    Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws do not provide for cumulative voting. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors
      may elect all of the directors standing for election. As a result, subject to the voting rights, of which there currently are none, of any outstanding preferred stock, persons who hold more than 50% of the outstanding common stock entitled to elect
      members of our Board can elect all of the directors who are up for election in a particular year.

     

    Action by Written Consent

     

    Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that no action required to be taken or which may be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders may be taken by written consent without a meeting,
      unless such action is taken upon the signing of a consent in writing by all stockholder of BioSpecifics entitled to vote thereon.

     

    Right to Call Special Meeting

     

    Our Bylaws provide that a special meeting may be called upon the written request of the holders of at least 75% of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of BioSpecifics entitled to vote
      at such meeting.

     

    Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals

     

    Our Bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before an annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at an annual meeting of stockholders, must
      meet specified procedural requirements. These provisions may preclude stockholders from bringing matters before an annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at an annual or special meeting of stockholders.

     

    Poison Pill

     

    On May 14, 2002, BioSpecifics adopted a shareholder rights plan (the “Poison Pill”) with a 15% trigger and an initial expiration date of May 31, 2012. In February 2011, the Poison Pill was amended to
      increase the threshold from 15% to 18%, and to extend the expiration date for an additional two years. Since then, BioSpecifics has amended the Poison Pill three times to extend the term; currently, the Poison Pill is set to expire on May 31, 2020.

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