UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the Month of March 2024
Commission File Number: 001-39997
Adagene Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
4F, Building C14, No. 218
Xinghu Street, Suzhou Industrial Park
Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215123
People’s Republic of China
+86-512-8777-3632
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F x Form 40-F ¨
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Entry into Sales Agreement
On March 29, 2024, Adagene Inc., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”) entered into a sales agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink Partners”), pursuant to which the Company may issue and sell, from time to time, American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”), each representing one and one quarter (1.25) ordinary shares of the Company, par value US$0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), through Leerink Partners, acting as agent and/or principal.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Sales Agreement, Leerink Partners will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to place all of the ADSs requested to be sold by the Company. The Company will pay Leerink Partners a commission rate of up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of ADSs sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement. The Company has provided Leerink Partners with customary representations, warranties, covenants, and indemnification rights.
Sales of the ADSs under the Sales Agreement may be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 of the Securities Act Regulations.
The ADSs will be offered and sold pursuant to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-264486) (the “Registration Statement”), which was originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on April 26, 2022, the base prospectus contained within the Registration Statement, and a prospectus supplement that was filed with the SEC on March 29, 2024 in connection with the offer and sale of the ADSs pursuant to the Sales Agreement (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The ADSs may only be offered and sold by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming part of the effective Registration Statement.
The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Sales Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 with this Current Report on Form 6-K.
This Current Report on Form 6-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the Shares or the ADSs in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
The opinion of the Company’s counsel regarding the validity of the Shares that will be issued pursuant to the Prospectus Supplement and certain tax matters is filed herewith as Exhibits 5.1, 8.1 and 8.2, respectively.
Incorporation by Reference
The Company hereby incorporates by reference the information contained in the body of this Report on Form 6-K and Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 6-K into the registration statement on Form F-3 of Adagene Inc. (File No. 333-264486) (including any prospectuses forming a part of such registration statement) and shall be a part thereof from the date on which this current report is furnished, to the extent not superseded by documents or reports subsequently filed or furnished.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Adagene Inc. | ||
| By: | /s/ Peter Luo | |
| Name: | Peter Luo | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| Date: March 29, 2024 | ||
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit 1.1
Adagene Inc.
American Depositary Shares
Each Representing 1.25 Ordinary Shares
($0.0001 par value per Ordinary Share)
SALES AGREEMENT
March 29, 2024
LEERINK PARTNERS LLC
1301 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10019
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Adagene Inc., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Leerink Partners LLC (the “Agent”), as follows:
1. Issuance and Sale of ADSs. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through the Agent American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”), each representing 1.25 ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per ordinary share, of the Company (the “Ordinary Shares”), subject to the limitations set forth in Section 5(c) (the “Placement ADSs”). The ADSs will be evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) to be issued pursuant to that certain deposit agreement, dated as of February 8, 2021 (the “Deposit Agreement”), among the Company, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as depositary (the “Depositary”), and holders and beneficial owners from time to time of ADRs evidencing ADSs issued thereunder. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this Section 1 on the aggregate gross sales price of Placement ADSs that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The issuance and sale of Placement ADSs through the Agent will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) originally filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on April 26, 2022 and declared effective by the Commission on May 26, 2022, although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to issue any Placement ADSs.
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 F-3 (File No. 333-264486), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the ADSs, 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 the registration statement became effective, which prospectus supplement specifically relates to the Placement ADSs to be issued from time to time pursuant to this Agreement (the “Prospectus Supplement”), and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act. The Company may file one or more additional registration statements from time to time that will contain a base prospectus and related prospectus or prospectus supplement, if applicable (which shall be a Prospectus Supplement), with respect to the Placement ADSs. The Company will furnish to the Agent, for use by the Agent, 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(s), including all amendments thereto and 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 Rule 462(b) under 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 used herein, as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”)), relating to the Placement ADSs 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, the Prospectus Supplement, the 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, the 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 respective dates 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”).
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2. Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to issue and sell any Placement ADSs through the Agent hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify the Agent by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (each such notice, a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires such Placement ADSs to be sold, which at a minimum shall include the maximum number or amount of Placement ADSs to be sold, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number or amount of Placement ADSs 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 must originate from one of the individuals authorized to act on behalf of the Company and set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such Schedule 2), and shall be addressed to each of the recipients from the Agent set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be updated by either party from time to time by sending a written notice containing a revised Schedule 2 to the other party in the manner provided in Section 12 (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). The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by the Agent unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Agent declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, within two Trading Days of the date the Agent receives the Placement Notice, (ii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in Section 4, the Agent suspends sales under the Placement Notice for any reason in its sole discretion, (iii) the entire amount of the Placement ADSs has been sold pursuant to this Agreement, (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 and explicitly indicates that its parameters supersede those contained in the earlier dated Placement Notice or (vi) this Agreement has been terminated pursuant to the provisions of Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to the Agent in connection with the sale of the Placement ADSs effected through the 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 the Agent will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement ADSs unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to the Agent and the Agent does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control with respect to the matters covered thereby.
3. Sale of Placement ADSs by the Agent. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, including Section 5(c), upon the Agent’s acceptance of the terms of a Placement Notice as provided in Section 2, and unless the sale of the Placement ADSs described therein has been declined, suspended or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Agent, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement ADSs up to the number or amount specified in, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of, such Placement Notice. The Agent 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 ADSs hereunder setting forth the number or amount of Placement ADSs sold on such Trading Day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement ADSs sold and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company. Unless otherwise specified by the Company in a Placement Notice, the Agent may sell Placement ADSs by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, including sales made directly on or through Nasdaq, on or through any other existing trading market for the Ordinary Shares or ADSs or to or through a market maker. If expressly authorized by the Company (including in a Placement Notice), the Agent may also sell Placement ADSs in negotiated transactions and block trades. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6(qq), except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent, the Agent shall not purchase Placement ADSs on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement unless the Company and the Agent enter into a separate written agreement setting forth the terms of such sale. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that the Agent will be successful in selling Placement ADSs, (ii) the Agent will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement ADSs for any reason other than a failure by the Agent to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of Nasdaq to sell such Placement ADSs as required under this Agreement and (iii) the Agent shall be under no obligation to purchase Placement ADSs on a principal basis pursuant to this Agreement unless the Company and the Agent enter into a separate written agreement setting forth the terms of such sale. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the ADSs are purchased and sold on Nasdaq.
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4. Suspension of Sales.
(a) The Company or the Agent may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 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 email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement ADSs; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement ADSs 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 party unless notice is sent by one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto 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).
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Company is, or could reasonably be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information, the Company and the Agent agree that (i) no sale of Placement ADSs will take place, (ii) the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement ADSs and shall suspend or cancel any effective Placement Notices instructing the Agent to make any sales and (iii) the Agent shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement ADSs.
5. Settlement and Delivery of the Placement ADSs.
(a) Settlement of Placement ADSs. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement ADSs will occur on the second 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 ADSs sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate gross sales price received by the Agent at which such Placement ADSs were sold, after deduction of (i) the Agent’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 the Agent hereunder pursuant to Section 7(g) hereof and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales.
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(b) Delivery of Placement ADSs. On or before each Settlement Date, subject to the delivery of the related Net Proceeds by the Agent to the Company, the Company will, or will cause the Depositary to, issue the Placement ADSs being sold on such date electronically transfer such Placement ADSs by crediting the Agent’s or its designee’s account (provided the Agent 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 duly authorized, freely tradeable, transferable, registered ADSs in good deliverable form. On each Settlement Date and in any event before the Company instructing the Depositary to issue and deliver the Placement ADSs being sold, the Agent will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on or prior to the Settlement Date. The Agent shall be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or other instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of the Placement ADSs being sold. In addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in Section 9(a) hereto, the Company agrees that, following receipt of the Net Proceeds, if the Company or the Depositary, defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized, freely tradeable, transferable, registered Placement ADSs in good deliverable form by 2:30 P.M., New York City time, on a Settlement Date (other than as a result of a failure by the Agent to provide instructions for delivery), the Company will (i) take all necessary action to cause the full amount of any Net Proceeds that were delivered to the Company’s account with respect to such settlement, together with any costs incurred by the Agent and/or its clearing firm in connection with recovering such Net Proceeds, to be immediately returned to the Agent or its clearing firm no later than 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on such Settlement Date, by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated by the Agent or its clearing firm, (ii) indemnify and hold the Agent 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 or the Depositary and (iii) pay to the Agent any commission, discount or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default. Certificates for the Placement ADSs, if any, shall be in such denominations and registered in such names as the Agent may request in writing one Business Day (as defined below) before the applicable Settlement Date.
(c) Limitations on Offering Size. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement ADSs if, after giving effect to the sale of such Placement ADSs, the aggregate number or gross sales proceeds of Placement ADSs sold pursuant to this Agreement would exceed the lesser of: (i) the number or dollar amount of ADSs registered pursuant to, and available for offer and sale under, the Registration Statement pursuant to which the offering of Placement ADSs is being made, (ii) the number of authorized but unissued Ordinary Shares of the Company (less Ordinary Shares, including any Ordinary Shares underlying ADSs, issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange of any outstanding securities of the Company or otherwise reserved from the Company’s authorized share capital), (iii) the number or dollar amount of securities permitted to be offered and sold by the Company under Form F-3 (including General Instruction I.B.5. thereof, if such instruction is applicable), (iv) the number or dollar amount of ADSs that the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) or a duly authorized committee thereof is authorized to issue and sell from time to time, and notified to the Agent in writing, or (v) the dollar amount of ADSs for which the Company has filed the Prospectus Supplement. Under no circumstances shall the Company cause or request the offer or sale of any Placement ADSs pursuant to this Agreement at a price lower than the minimum price authorized from time to time by the Company’s board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof, and notified to the Agent 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 ADSs that may be issued and sold under this Agreement from time to time shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and that the Agent shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance.
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6. Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Agent that as of the date of this Agreement (except for those representations and warranties 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 date and time of each sale of any Placement ADSs 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 Company and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement meet the requirements for and comply with the conditions for the use of Form F-3 (including General Instructions I.A and I.B.1.) under the Securities Act, and as of the date of this Agreement Company is an experienced issuer (as defined by FINRA (as defined below) Rule 5110(j)(6)). The Registration Statement has been filed with the Commission and has been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act prior to the issuance of any Placement Notices by the Company. At the time the Registration Statement originally became effective and at the time the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, was filed with the Commission, the Company met the then-applicable requirements for use of Form F-3 (including General Instructions I.A and I.B.1.) under the Securities Act. The Registration Statement meets, and the offering and sale of Placement ADSs as contemplated hereby comply with, the requirements of Rule 415(a)(1)(x) under the Securities Act. The Agent 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, and has no notice from the Commission of, 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 Placement ADSs 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, any such amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing 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 the Agent and its counsel.
(b) Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective, at each deemed effective date with respect to the Agent pursuant to Rule 430B(f)(2) under the Securities Act and as of each Applicable Time, complied, complies and will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and did not, does 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 and any amendment or supplement thereto, 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 Supplement, Prospectus or issuer free writing prospectus (or any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing) furnished to the Agent for use in connection with the offering of the Placement ADSs 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 made 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 were filed on a timely basis with the Commission, and any further Incorporated Documents so filed and incorporated after the date of this Agreement will be filed on a timely basis and, when so filed, will 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.
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(c) (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (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)) and (iii) as of the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or any other offering participating made a bona fide offer of the Placement ADSs within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 under the Securities Act that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer, and without limitation to the foregoing, the Company has at all relevant times met, meets and will at all relevant times meet the requirements of Rule 164 under the Securities Act for the use of a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) in connection with the offering contemplated hereby.
(d) Unless otherwise indicated in the Incorporated Documents, the Company is, and since the date of its initial public offering has been, an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
(e) The Company and the Depositary have prepared and filed with the Commission a registration statement relating to the ADSs on Form F-6 (No. 333-252543) (the “Form F-6”) and a related prospectus for registration under the Securities Act of the ADSs, have filed such amendments thereto and such amended prospectuses as may have been required to the date hereof, and will file such additional amendments thereto and such amended prospectuses as may hereinafter be required. The registration statement on Form F-6 for registration of the ADSs, as amended at the time it became effective (including by the filing of any post-effective amendments thereto), and the prospectus included therein, as then amended are hereinafter called the “ADS Registration Statement.” The Form F-6 was declared effective under the Securities Act on February 8, 2021, and (i) no stop order preventing or suspending the effectiveness of the ADS Registration Statement is in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose are pending before or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission, (ii) the ADS Registration Statement complies and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and the applicable rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, (iii) the ADS Registration Statement, when it became effective, did not contain and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and (iv) all of the Placement ADSs are registered pursuant to the ADS Registration Statement.
(f) The Company is a “foreign private issuer” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act.
(g) Each issuer free writing prospectus (if any), 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. 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.
(h) The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of each Settlement Date and completion of the Agent’s distribution of the Placement ADSs under this Agreement, will not distribute any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement ADSs other than the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined below).
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(i) The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus 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.
(j) 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 ADSs are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) 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 ADSs under the Exchange Act or delisting the ADSs 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.
(k) 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 ADSs hereunder, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the sale of the Placement ADSs as contemplated hereby or otherwise. Except for the Agent, 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.
(l) The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as an exempt company in good standing (to the extent such concept applies) under the laws of the Cayman Islands, with full 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 Statement and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Company is duly qualified to transact business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing (to the extent such concept applies) in each jurisdiction where the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business requires such qualification, except to the extent that 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 otherwise), earnings, results of operations, 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”).
(m) 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 incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and is validly existing in good standing (where such concept exists) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or organization, as applicable, and has full power and authority to acquire, 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) under the laws of each jurisdiction that requires such qualification, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except to the extent that 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. 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, has been issued in compliance with applicable laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and is owned by the Company, directly or through other wholly-owned Subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim. None of the outstanding share capital or equity interest in any Subsidiary was issued in violation of preemptive or similar rights of any security holder of such Subsidiary. The constitutive or organizational documents of each of the Subsidiaries comply in all material respects with the requirements of applicable laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and are in full force and effect. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity, other than the Subsidiaries listed in or included as an exhibit on the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Commission. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, no Subsidiary is prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution with respect to such Subsidiary’s equity securities, 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.
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(n) The Company has the authorized and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F for the most recent fiscal year, as of the dates referred to therein (subject to the issuance of Placement ADSs under this Agreement, the issuance of ADSs and Ordinary Shares upon exercise of share options disclosed as outstanding as of the date hereof 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 share capital of the Company, including the Ordinary Shares and the Placement ADSs, conforms in all material respects to each description thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares and all issued and outstanding ADSs have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable, will not be subject to any call for further capital and have been issued in compliance with all federal, state and local securities laws and is free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance or adverse claim. None of the outstanding Ordinary Shares or ADSs were issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. The form of certificates for the Ordinary Shares conform to the corporate law of the jurisdiction of the Company’s incorporation and to any requirements of the Company’s organizational documents. There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase or subscribe for, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any share capital of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them may be bound. The descriptions of the Company’s equity incentive plan, share option plans and other share plans or arrangements described in the Prospectus and in effect as of the date hereof (collectively, the “Stock Plans”) 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 Stock Plans and the options or other rights granted thereunder. The ADRs evidencing the Placement ADSs are in due and proper form.
(o) The Placement ADSs 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, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and will conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Prospectus. The issuance and sale of the Placement ADSs 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 ADSs. When issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, the purchasers of the Placement ADSs issued and sold hereunder will acquire good, marketable and valid title to such Placement ADSs, free and clear of all pledges, liens, security interests, charges, claims or encumbrances. The issuance and sale of the Placement ADSs 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. There are no restrictions upon the voting or transfer of the Placement ADSs or Ordinary Shares under the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or any agreement or other instrument to which the Company is a party or otherwise filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.
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(p) There is no statute, regulation, contract, agreement or other document required to be described in the Registration Statement, Prospectus or in 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. The statements set forth or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, insofar as they purport to constitute summaries of the terms of the statutes, regulations, contracts, agreements or other documents described and filed, constitute accurate summaries of the terms thereof in all material respects. The statements set forth or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus under the headings “Prospectus Supplement Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Dividend Policy,” “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities,” “Our Company,” “Description of Share Capital and Memorandum and Articles of Association,” “Description of American Depositary Shares,” “Taxation” and “Plan of Distribution,” 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 or render performance under, 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, except for such termination that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.
(q) This Agreement has been duly and validly 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.
(r) The Deposit Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming due authorization, execution and delivery by the Depositary, constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar laws relating to or affecting creditors’ rights generally or by general equitable principles. Upon due issuance by the Depositary of the ADRs evidencing the Placement ADSs against the deposit of the Ordinary Shares underlying the Placement ADSs in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement, such ADRs will be duly and validly issued and the persons in whose names the ADRs are registered will be entitled to the rights specified therein and in the Deposit Agreement. The issuance and sale of the Placement ADSs by the Company and the deposit of the Ordinary Shares with the Depositary and the issuance of the ADRs evidencing the Ordinary Shares as contemplated by this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement will neither (i) cause any holder of any Ordinary Shares or ADSs, securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares or ADSs or options, warrants or other rights to purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs or any other securities of the Company to have any right to acquire any preferred shares of the Company nor (ii) trigger any anti-dilution rights of any such holder with respect to such Ordinary Shares, ADSs, securities, options, warrants or rights, except as have been duly and reliably satisfied or waived as of the date hereof. The Deposit Agreement and the ADRs conform in all material respects to each description thereof in the Prospectus. Each holder of ADRs issued pursuant to the Deposit Agreement shall be entitled, subject to the Deposit Agreement, to seek enforcement of its rights through the Depositary or its nominee registered as a representative of the holders of the ADRs in a direct suit, action or proceeding against the Company.
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(s) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement ADSs 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.
(t) 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, 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 ADSs hereunder), except for the filing with the China Securities Regulatory Commission as disclosed under the header “Recent Regulatory Development” in the Prospectus and such as have been already obtained or made or as may be required under the Securities Act, applicable state securities or Blue Sky laws, applicable rules of Nasdaq, or Rule 5110 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).
(u) Neither the execution and delivery by the Company of, nor the performance of the Company of its obligations under, this Agreement, consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, by the Deposit Agreement and by the Registration Statement, the F-6 Registration Statement and the Prospectus and the issuance and sale of the Placement ADSs (including the use of proceeds from the sale of the Placement ADSs as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) will (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event (as defined below) under, or result in the imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries pursuant to, the charter or by-laws of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, any statute, rule, regulation or order of any governmental agency or body or any court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their properties, or any agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the properties of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is subject, or (ii) 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: (x) 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, (y) the terms of any indenture, contract, license, lease, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement, agreement or other instrument, obligation, condition, covenant or instrument to which it is a party or bound or to which its property or assets is subject or (z) any statute, law (including any applicable law concerning intellectual property rights and foreign investment in China), 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 (y) and (z) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition that gives, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give, the holder of any note, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
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(v) Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and except as set forth in the Registration Statement or 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), earnings, results of operations, 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; (ii) neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries has (A) incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, including without limitation any losses or 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, (B) entered into any material transactions not in the ordinary course of business or (C) issued or granted any shares of the Company’s capital stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or that represent the right to receive shares of the Company’s capital stock other than under the Stock Plans; 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 another Subsidiary, 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.
(w) 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 of the Company 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 in a writing previously furnished to the Agent.
(x) The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, together with the related notes and schedules, present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the consolidated results of operations, cash flows and changes in shareholders’ equity 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 (except as otherwise noted therein). To the extent applicable, any pro forma financial statements, information 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, fairly present the information set forth herein, 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 and fairly presented and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company. There are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that are not included or incorporated by reference therein as required. 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 were obtained or derived from sources which the Company reasonably and in good faith believes are reliable and accurate, such data agree with the sources from which they are derived, 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 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), has participated in or otherwise aided the preparation of, or audited, the financial statements, supporting schedules or other financial data filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.
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(y) There are no pending actions, suits or proceedings (including any inquiries or investigations by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign) against or affecting the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any executive officer or director of the Company and the Subsidiaries, or any of their respective properties that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries (or their respective officers or directors), would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect, or which are otherwise material in the context of the sale of the Placement ADSs; and no such actions, suits or proceedings (including any inquiries or investigations by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign) are threatened or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated. The Company’s directors and executive officers are not a party to any legal, governmental or regulatory proceedings that (i) would result in such director or officer to be unsuitable for his or her position on the Board or in the Company, as the case may be, (ii) would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect, or (iii) are required to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus but are not so described.
(z) The Company leases all such real properties as are necessary to the conduct of its operations as presently conducted in all material respects.
(aa) PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP (“PwC”), whose report on the consolidated financial statements of the Company is filed with the Commission as part of the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Commission and incorporated by reference 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 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. PwC has not been engaged by the Company to perform any “prohibited activities” or provided to the Company any “non-audit services” (as defined in Section 10A of the Exchange Act).
(bb) 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 ADSs.
(cc) Except, in each case, as would not have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and the Subsidiaries have paid all national, regional, local and other taxes (other than with respect to taxes that are being contested in good faith) and filed all tax returns required to be filed through the date hereof and (ii) there is no tax deficiency that has been, or could reasonably be expected to be, asserted against the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets. Any unpaid material income and corporation tax liability of the Company for any years not finally determined have been accrued on the Company’s financial statements in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. All material local and national PRC (as defined below) governmental tax holidays, exemptions, waivers, financial subsidies, and other local and national PRC tax relief, concessions and preferential treatment enjoyed by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are valid, binding and enforceable and do not violate any laws, regulations, rules, orders, decrees, guidelines, judicial interpretations, notices or other legislation of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”).
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(dd) No material labor dispute with the employees or third-party contractors of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened and the Company is not aware of any existing, threatened or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of the principal suppliers, service providers or business partners of the Company and the Subsidiaries that could have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and the Subsidiaries are and have been at all times in compliance with all applicable labor laws and regulations in all material respects, and no material governmental investigation or proceedings with respect to labor law compliance exists or, to the Company’s knowledge, is imminent.
(ee) The Company and the Subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses against such losses and risks and in such amounts as required by applicable laws and which the Company reasonably believes are prudent and customary for the businesses in which they are engaged; and neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business.
(ff) The Company and the Subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all properties and assets owned by them, in each case free from liens, charges, encumbrances and defects that would materially affect the value thereof or materially interfere with the use made or to be made thereof by them and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and the Subsidiaries hold their respective leased real or personal properties under valid and enforceable leases with no terms or provisions that would materially interfere with the use made or to be made thereof by them; and (ii) any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and the Subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made and to be made thereof by them.
(gg) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and the Subsidiaries possess, and are in compliance with the terms of, all licenses, sub-licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, permits, exemptions and other authorizations, including any supplements or amendments thereto (“Permits”) issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and China National Medical Product Administration (“NMPA”) and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration that are necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (ii) the Company and the Subsidiaries possess, and are in compliance with the terms of all other Permits required by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate national, regional, local or other governmental or regulatory authorities 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, except in the case of (ii) only for such failure to possess, comply, declare or file that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (iii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to or has any reason to believe that any government or regulatory authority is considering the revocation, suspension, rescission, avoidance, repudiation, withdrawal, non-renewal or modification, in whole or in part, of any Permits that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; (iv) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has any reason to believe that any such Permits will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except for such failure to renew that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect and (v) such Permits are valid and in full force and effect and contain no materially burdensome restrictions or conditions not described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus. The Company and the Subsidiaries (i) are in compliance in all material respects with all statutes, rules and regulations applicable to the ownership, testing, development, or disposal of any product in development by the Company or its Subsidiaries (“Applicable Laws”); (ii) have not received any FDA and NMPA notices or forms that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) have not received any written notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or written notice from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority alleging or asserting non-compliance with (x) any Applicable Laws or (y) any Permits required by any such Applicable Laws. 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 European Medicines Agency 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.
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(hh) Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company, the Subsidiaries and the Board are in compliance with (i) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or implementing the provisions thereof (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith, including Section 402 relating to loans, and (ii) all applicable rules of the Nasdaq Global Market (the “Exchange Rules”). The Company and the Subsidiaries as a group maintain a system of internal controls, including, but not limited to, disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act, internal controls over accounting matters and financial reporting, an internal audit function and legal and regulatory compliance controls (collectively, “Internal Controls”) that comply with the Securities Laws (as defined below) and are sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States 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 the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences, (v) material information relating to the Company and the Subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer by others within those entities, (vi) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and regulations applicable thereto, (vii) each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has made and kept books, records and accounts which, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions of such entity and provide a sufficient basis for the preparation of financial statements in conformity with the generally accepted accounting policies in the United States and (viii) the directors of the Company are able to make a proper assessment of the financial position and prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries, and such internal accounting and financial reporting controls are effective to perform the functions for which they were established, are documented properly and the implementation of such internal accounting and financial reporting controls are monitored by the responsible persons. The Internal Controls are overseen by the Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board in accordance with Exchange Rules. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus under the heading “Risk Factors,” the Company has not publicly disclosed or reported to the Audit Committee or the Board, and within the next 135 days the Company does not reasonably expect to publicly disclose or report to the Audit Committee or the Board, a material weakness, change in Internal Controls or fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in Internal Controls (each, an “Internal Control Event”), any violation of, or failure to comply with, the Securities Laws, or any matter which, if determined adversely, would have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s latest audited consolidated financial statements included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there has been (i) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (ii) 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 or fraud, whether or not material, involving management or other employees who have a role in the Company’s control over financial reporting. Each of the Company’s independent directors meets the criteria for “independence” under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the rules and regulations of the Commission and all applicable Exchange Rules. “Securities Laws” means, collectively, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations of the Commission (the “Rules and Regulations”), the auditing principles, rules, standards and practices applicable to auditors of “issuers” (as defined in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) promulgated or approved by the PCAOB and the Exchange Rules. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has not received any notice, oral or written, from the Board stating that it is reviewing or investigating, and neither have the Company’s independent auditors nor its internal auditors have recommended that the Board review or investigate, (i) adding to, deleting, changing the application of, or changing the Company’s disclosure with respect to, any of the Company’s material accounting policies; (ii) any matter which could result in a restatement of the Company’s financial statements for any annual or interim period during the current or prior fiscal years since inception; or (iii) any Internal Control Event.
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(ii) Neither the Company, nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor any of its or their respective affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the Securities Act) has taken, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to any actions taken by the Agent, (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 the Placement ADSs or of any “reference security” (as defined in Regulation M under the Exchange Act (“Regulation M”)) with respect to the Placement ADSs, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement ADSs or otherwise or (ii) any action designed to or that might constitute or reasonably be expected to cause or result in a violation of Regulation M.
(jj) (a)(i) Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is in violation of, or has any liability under, any applicable U.S. federal, state, local or non-U.S. statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, other requirement or rule of law (including common law), or decision or order of any domestic or foreign governmental agency, governmental body or court, relating to pollution, to the use, handling, transportation, treatment, storage, discharge, disposal or release of Hazardous Materials (as defined below), to the protection or restoration of the environment or natural resources (including biota), to health and safety including as such relates to exposure to Hazardous Materials, and to natural resource damages (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (ii) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries owns, occupies, operates or uses any real property contaminated with Hazardous Materials, (iii) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is conducting or funding any investigation, remediation, remedial action or monitoring of actual or suspected Hazardous Materials in the environment, (iv) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is liable or allegedly liable for any release or threatened release of Hazardous Materials, including at any off-site treatment, storage or disposal site, (v) neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is subject to any claim by any governmental agency or governmental body or person relating to Environmental Laws or Hazardous Materials, (vi) the Company and the Subsidiaries have received and are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all, and have no liability under any permits, licenses, authorizations, identification numbers or other approvals required under applicable Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses, except for such failure to comply or liability that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect and (vii) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws (including, without limitation, any capital or operating expenditures required for clean-up, closure of properties or compliance with Environmental Laws or any permit, license or approval, any related constraints on operating activities and any potential liabilities to third parties), except in each case covered by clauses (i) – (vi) such as would not individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; (b) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no facts or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to result in a violation of, liability under, or claim pursuant to any Environmental Law that would, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; (c) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no requirements proposed for adoption or implementation under any Environmental Law that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (d) in the ordinary course of its business, the Company periodically evaluates the effect, including associated costs and liabilities, of Environmental Laws on the business, properties, results of operations and financial condition of it and the Subsidiaries, and, on the basis of such evaluation, the Company has reasonably concluded that such Environmental Laws will not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. For purposes of this subsection, “Hazardous Substances” means (A) petroleum and petroleum products, by-products or breakdown products, radioactive materials, asbestos-containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls and mold, and (B) any other chemical, material or substance defined or regulated as toxic or hazardous or as a pollutant, contaminant or waste under Environmental Laws.
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(kk) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries or their respective affiliates, nor any director or officer, nor, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate, or representative of or other person acting for or on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or their respective affiliates, (i) has used any funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) has taken or will take any action in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of the payment or giving of money, property, gifts or anything else of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign or domestic “government official” (including any officer or employee of a government or government-owned or Subsidiary 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; (iii) has violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or has committed an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit; or (v) will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of this offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws; and the Company and its Subsidiaries and affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and have instituted and maintained and will continue to maintain policies and procedures designed to promote and achieve compliance with such laws and with the representation and warranty contained herein. No investigation, action, suit or proceedings by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of the Subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Corruption Laws is pending or threatened.
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(ll) The operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with all applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), and the applicable anti-money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions where the Company and its Subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental or regulatory agency (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”), and each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has instituted and maintained policies and procedures designed to ensure continued compliance therewith and with the representation and warranty contained herein, 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 Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, threatened.
(mm) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries, nor any director or officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, nor, to the best of the Company’s knowledge, any employee, agent, affiliate, representative or other person acting for or on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, is an individual or entity (“Person”) that is, or is owned or controlled by a Person that is: (i) the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. government, including but not limited to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the U.S. Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person,” the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union (“EU”), or His Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other applicable sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor (ii) located, organized or resident in a country, region or territory that is, or whose government is, the subject or the target of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Crimea region of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic or any other region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065). The Company represents and covenants that the Company and its Subsidiaries will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering of the Placement ADSs, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Person, including the Subsidiaries: (i) to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Person or in any country, region or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is, or whose government is, the subject or the target of Sanctions; or (ii) in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Person (including any Person participating in the offering of the Placement ADSs, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise). The Company represents and covenants that, for the past five years, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Person, or in any country, region or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was, or whose government was, the subject or the target of Sanctions. Each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has instituted and maintained policies and procedures designed to ensure continued compliance therewith and with the representation and warranty contained herein. None of the issue and sale of the Placement ADSs, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the consummation of any other transaction contemplated hereby, or the provision of services contemplated by this Agreement to the Company will result in a violation of any of the Sanctions.
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(nn) The Company and the Subsidiaries own or possess rights to use trademarks, trade names, patent rights, copyrights, domain names, licenses, approvals, trade secrets, inventions, technology, know-how and other intellectual property and similar rights, including registrations and applications for registration thereof (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) that are necessary or material to the conduct of the business now conducted or proposed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus to be conducted by them, and the expected expiration of any such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company is the sole owner of the Intellectual Property owned by it and has the valid and enforceable right to use the Intellectual Property without the obligation to obtain consent to sublicense and without a duty of accounting to the co-owner, as applicable. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no rights of third parties to any of the Intellectual Property owned by the Company or the Subsidiaries and the Company has taken reasonable steps necessary to secure assignments to its title, rights and interests in the Intellectual Property from its employees, consultants, agents and contractors; (ii) there is no infringement, misappropriation, breach, default or other violation, or the occurrence of any event that with notice or the passage of time would constitute any of the foregoing, by the Company, the Subsidiaries or to the knowledge of the Company, third parties of any of the Intellectual Property of the Company or the Subsidiaries; (iii) there is no pending, threatened or notice of action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s or any Subsidiary’s rights in or to, or the violation of any of the terms of, any of their Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (iv) there is no pending, threatened or notice of action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity, enforceability or scope of any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (v) there is no pending, threatened or notice of action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company or any Subsidiary infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates or conflicts with, or would, upon the manufacturing or commercialization of any product or service described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as under development, infringe, misappropriate or violate, any Intellectual Property or other proprietary rights of others and the Company is unaware of any other fact which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (vi) none of the Intellectual Property used by the Company or the Subsidiaries in their businesses has been obtained or is being used by the Company or the Subsidiaries in violation of any contractual obligation binding on the Company, or the Subsidiaries, or in violation of the rights of any persons; (vii) the Company is unaware of any facts which it believes would form a reasonable basis for a successful challenge that any of the employees it currently employs are in or have ever been in material violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, noncompetition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, nondisclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company or the Subsidiaries, or actions undertaken by the employee while employed with the Company or the Subsidiaries; (viii) except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries are under an obligation to assign any of their rights in their patents and patent applications to a third party; (ix) the Company and the Subsidiaries are not in breach of, and have complied in all respects with all terms of, any license or other agreement relating to Intellectual Property and all such agreements are in full force and effect; and (x) the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries are conducted in compliance with the applicable intellectual property laws and regulations in the PRC and all other applicable jurisdictions in all respects; except in each case of (i) to (x) as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect. The product candidates described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as under development by the Company fall within the scope of the claims of one or more patents or patent applications owned by, or exclusively licensed to, the Company. Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no government funding, facilities or resources of a university, college, other educational institution or research center was used in the development of any Intellectual Property that is owned or purported to be owned by the Company that would confer upon any governmental agency or body, university, college, other educational institution or research center any claim or right of ownership to any such Intellectual Property.
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(oo) The clinical and pre-clinical studies (as applicable) conducted by, on behalf of or sponsored by the Company or its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or in which the Company or its Subsidiaries or their product candidates, taken as a whole, have participated and that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as applicable, were, and if still pending are, being conducted in all material respects in accordance with standard medical and scientific research standards and procedures for product candidates comparable to those being developed by the Company and all Applicable Laws of the FDA, NMPA and comparable regulatory agencies to which they are subject (collectively, the “Regulatory Authorities”) and current Good Clinical Practices and Good Laboratory Practice; (ii) the descriptions in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus of the results of such studies and tests are accurate and complete descriptions in all material respects and fairly present the data derived therefrom; (iii) the Company has no knowledge of any other studies not described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the results of which are materially inconsistent with or call into question the results described or referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; (iv) the Company and its Subsidiaries have been and are currently in compliance in all material respects with all Applicable Laws of the Regulatory Authorities; and (v) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries have received any written notices, correspondence or other communications from the Regulatory Authorities or any other governmental agency requiring or threatening the termination, modification or suspension of any clinical or pre-clinical studies that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or the results of which are referred to in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. Except as otherwise described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the FDA nor any applicable foreign Regulatory Authorities has commenced or threatened to initiate, any action to place a hold order on, or otherwise terminate, delay or suspend, any proposed or ongoing pre-clinical studies or clinical investigations conducted or proposed to be conducted by or on behalf of the Company.
(pp) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries has operated and currently is in compliance with all applicable Health Care Laws (as defined below) in all material respects, including, without limitation, the rules and regulations of the FDA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Office for Civil Rights, the Department of Justice or any other governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its properties, and has not engaged in activities which are, as applicable, cause for false claims liability, civil penalties, or mandatory or permissive exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, or any other state or federal health care program. For purposes of this Agreement, “Health Care Laws” shall mean the federal Anti-kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b)), the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7h), the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq.), the criminal False Claims Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a)), all criminal laws relating to health care fraud and abuse, including but not limited to 18 U.S.C. Sections 286, 287, 1347 and 1349, and the health care fraud criminal provisions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. § 1320d et seq.) (“HIPAA”), the exclusion laws (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7), the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a), HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 17921 et seq.), the patient privacy, data security and breach notification provisions under HIPAA, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq.), Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq.) and the regulations promulgated thereunder, Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act), Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act), the regulations promulgated pursuant to such laws, and any other similar local, state or federal law and regulations. The Company and its subsidiaries have filed, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Health Care Laws, and all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and accurate on the date filed in all material respects (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission). The Company is not a party to nor has any ongoing reporting obligations pursuant to any corporate integrity agreements, deferred or non-prosecution agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, plans of correction or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority. Neither the Company, its Subsidiaries nor any of their respective employees, officers, directors, or to the Company’s knowledge, consultants or agents, has been excluded, suspended or debarred from participation in any U.S. state or federal health care program or human clinical research or is subject to a governmental inquiry, investigation, proceeding, or other similar action that could reasonably be expected to result in debarment, suspension, or exclusion.
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(qq) The Company acknowledges and agrees that the Agent has informed the Company that the Agent may, to the extent permitted under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, purchase and sell ADSs of the Company 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 the Agent may engage in sales of Placement ADSs purchased or deemed purchased from the Company as a “riskless principal” or in a similar capacity) and (ii) the Company shall not be deemed to have authorized or consented to any such purchases or sales by the Agent, except as may be otherwise agreed by the Company and the Agent.
(rr) The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market” or continuous equity transaction.
(ss) 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. All of the information (including, but not limited to, information regarding affiliations, security ownership and trading activity) provided to the Agent 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.
(tt) As of the date of this Agreement, 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 at least $75 million (calculated by multiplying (x) the price at which the ADSs of the Company was last sold on Nasdaq on a date within 60 days of March 29, 2024, as converted on a per Ordinary Share basis by (y) the number of Non-Affiliate Shares outstanding on a date within 60 days of March 29, 2024). 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.
(uu) Neither the issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement ADSs 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.
(vv) Neither the Company nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its affiliates (within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act) 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 ADSs hereunder.
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(ww) 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 or payment due 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. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Final Prospectus, no approvals are currently required in the Cayman Islands in order for the Company to pay dividends or other distributions declared by the Company to the holders of Ordinary Shares of the Company.
(xx) To the extent applicable, 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.
(yy) There are no relationships, direct or indirect, or related party transactions involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any other person (including any director, officer, shareholder, customer or supplier of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries) required to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that have not been described as required. There are no material outstanding loans, advances (except normal advances for business expenses in the ordinary course of business) or guarantees of indebtedness by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to or for the benefit of any of the officers or directors of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or any of the family members of any of such persons.
(zz) The Company is not in or subject to a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding in any jurisdiction.
(aaa) No director or officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer which could materially affect each director’s or officer’s ability to be and act in the capacity of a director or officer of the Company or a Subsidiary.
(bbb) All patents and patent applications owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or under which the Company has rights have, to the knowledge of the Company, been duly and properly filed and each issued patent is being diligently maintained and are valid and enforceable and the Company is unaware of any facts that would preclude the issuance of a valid and enforceable patent on any pending patent application included in the Intellectual Property Rights; and to the knowledge of the Company, the Company and the parties prosecuting such applications have complied with their duty of candor and disclosure to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in connection with such patents and patent applications for which it has filing, prosecution, and/or maintenance responsibilities. The Company is not aware of any prior art or public or commercial activity or other facts required to be disclosed to the USPTO or the patent authority of any other jurisdiction that were not disclosed to the applicable patent authority and which would preclude the grant of a patent in connection with any such application or would reasonably be expected to form the basis of a finding of invalidity or unenforceability with respect to any patents that have been issued with respect to such applications.
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(ccc) The Company and the Subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, the “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Company and the Subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (the “Personal Data”)) used in connection with their businesses, and there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same, except for those that would not have a Material Adverse Effect or have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same. The Company and the Subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.
(ddd) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, under current laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and any political subdivision thereof, all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Placement ADSs may be paid by the Company to the holder thereof in United States dollars that may be converted into foreign currency and freely transferred out of the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, and all such payments made to holders thereof or therein who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands or Hong Kong will not be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and will otherwise be free and clear of any other tax, duty, withholding or deduction in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and without the necessity of obtaining any governmental authorization in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein, and (ii) all dividends and other distributions out of accumulated profits determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations, declared and payable on the share capital of the Subsidiaries that are organized or resident in the PRC may under the current laws and regulations of the PRC be converted into foreign currency (including United States dollars) and may be freely transferred out of the PRC in any currency, provided that the payment and the remittance of such dividends and other distributions outside of the PRC complies with the procedures required by the relevant laws and regulations of the PRC relating to foreign exchange, and such dividends and other distributions are not subject to any taxes under the laws and regulations of the PRC.
(eee) Except as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, to the knowledge of the Company, each of the Company and the Subsidiaries has taken all reasonable steps to inform each of its shareholders, directors and officers that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen to comply with any applicable rules and regulations of the relevant PRC government agencies (including but not limited to the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the “SAFE”)) relating to overseas investment by PRC residents and citizens (the “PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations”), including, without limitation, requesting each such Person that is, or is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by, a PRC resident or citizen, to complete any registration and other procedures required under applicable PRC Overseas Investment and Listing Regulations (including any applicable rules and regulations of the SAFE), except where such non-compliance would not have a Material Adverse Effect.
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(fff) The Company is aware of and has been advised as to the content of the Rules on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors and any official clarifications, guidance, interpretations or implementation rules in connection with or related thereto (the “PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules”) jointly promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Tax Administration, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the CSRC and the SAFE on August 8, 2006, and as amended by the Ministry of Commerce on June 22, 2009, including the provisions thereof which purport to require offshore special purpose entities formed for listing purposes and controlled directly or indirectly by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The Company has received legal advice specifically with respect to the PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules from its PRC counsel, and the Company understands such legal advice. In addition, the Company has communicated such legal advice in full to each of its directors that signed the Registration Statement and each such director has confirmed that he or she understands such legal advice. The issuance and sale of the Securities, the listing and trading of the ADSs on the Nasdaq and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement (i) are not and will not be materially and adversely affected by the PRC Mergers and Acquisitions Rules and (ii) do not require the prior approval of the CSRC.
(ggg) Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is a party to any effective memorandum of understanding, letter of intent, definitive agreement or any similar agreements with respect to a merger or consolidation or an acquisition or disposition of assets, technologies, business units or businesses which is required to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and which is not so described.
(hhh) The legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence of any of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, this Agreement, the Deposit Agreement or the Placement ADSs in any jurisdiction in which the Company is organized or does business is not dependent upon such document being submitted into, filed or recorded with any court or other authority in any such jurisdiction on or before the date hereof or that any tax, imposition or charge be paid in any such jurisdiction on or in respect of any such document. Each of this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement is in proper form under the laws of the Cayman Islands for the enforcement thereof against the Company.
(iii) The choice of laws of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of the Cayman Islands and the PRC and will be honored by courts in the Cayman Islands and, to the extent permitted under the PRC civil law and rules of civil procedures, will be observed and given effect by the courts in the PRC. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to Section 16 and Section 17 of this Agreement and Section 20(b) of the Deposit 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 has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court, and the Company has the power to designate, appoint and authorize, and pursuant to Section 16 and Section 17 of this Agreement and Section 20(b) of the Deposit Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably designated, appointed an authorized agent for service of process in any action arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Deposit Agreement, the Registration Statement or the Placement ADSs 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 and Section 17 hereof.
(jjj) None of the Company, or the Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, assets or revenues has any right of immunity under Cayman Islands, PRC or U.S. federal or New York state law, 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 Cayman Islands, PRC, New York state or U.S. federal court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior to 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 or the Deposit Agreement; and, to the extent that the Company, or any subsidiaries or any of their 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, each of the Company and each of the subsidiaries 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 and Section 17 of this Agreement.
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(kkk) Any final judgment for a fixed or readily calculable sum of money rendered by a New York Court having jurisdiction under its own domestic laws in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement or the Deposit Agreement and any instruments or agreements entered into for the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein would be recognized and enforced against the Company in the courts of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and the PRC (as the case may be), without re-examination or review of the merits of the cause of action in respect of which the original judgment was given or re-litigation of the matters adjudicated upon, by the courts of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and PRC, provided that (i) with respect to courts of the Cayman Islands, such judgment (A) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (B) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (C) is final, (D) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, and (E) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands, and (ii) with respect to courts of the PRC, (A) adequate service of process has been effected and the defendant has had a reasonable opportunity to be heard, (B) such judgments or the enforcement thereof are not contrary to the law, public policy, security or sovereignty of the PRC, (C) such judgments were not obtained by fraudulent means and do not conflict with any other valid judgment in the same matter between the same parties and (D) an action between the same parties in the same matter is not pending in any PRC court at the time the lawsuit is instituted in a foreign court. The Company is not aware of any reason why the enforcement in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong or the PRC of such a New York Court judgment would be, as of the date hereof, contrary to public policy of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong or PRC.
(lll) Any third-party statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company in good faith believes to be reliable and accurate, and such data agree with the sources from which they are derived, and the Company has obtained the written consent for the use of such data from such sources to the extent required.
(mmm) The Company does not have any outstanding debt securities rated by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as such term is defined for purposes of Rule 436(g)(2) or under surveillance or review by any such organization, and the Company has not been placed on negative outlook by any such organization.
(nnn) Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, under the laws and regulations of each of the jurisdictions in which the Company and the Subsidiaries are incorporated or organized or otherwise resident for tax purposes, as applicable, or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein, no transaction, stamp or other issuance, registration, transfer or similar tax or duty is payable in any such jurisdiction by, or on behalf of, the Agent to any taxing authority in connection with (i) the issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement ADSs by the Company, the issuance of the Placement ADSs by the Depositary and the delivery of the Placement ADSs to, or for the account of, the Agent; (ii) the purchase from the Company, and the initial sale and delivery by the Agent, of the Placement ADSs to purchasers thereof in the manner contemplated in this Agreement; (iii) the deposit of the Ordinary Shares with the Depositary and the issuance and delivery of the ADRs evidencing the Placement ADSs; or (iv) the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Deposit Agreement.
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Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Agent or its counsel in connection with the offering of the Placement ADSs shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to the Agent.
7. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with the Agent that:
(a) Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which the Prospectus relating to any Placement ADSs is required to be delivered by the Agent 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 the Agent 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 (in each case, insofar as it relates to the transactions contemplated hereby); (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon the Agent’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in the Agent’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement ADSs by the Agent (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to make such filing (but without limiting the Agent’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 ADSs or a security convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for the Placement ADSs unless a copy thereof has been submitted to the Agent within a reasonable period of time before the filing and the Agent has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that the failure of the Agent to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect the Agent’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement and the Company shall have no obligation to provide the Agent any advance copy of such filing or to provide the Agent an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name the Agent or does not relate to the Placement ADSs or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and provided, further, that the only remedy the Agent shall have with respect to the Company’s making such filing notwithstanding the Agent’s objection (but without limiting the Agent’s rights under Section 9 hereof) will be to cease making sales under this Agreement) and the Company will furnish to the Agent at the time of filing thereof a copy of any 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 and, 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 the Agent, 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 ADSs for offering or sale in any jurisdiction or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued. The Company will advise the Agent promptly after it receives any request by the Commission for any amendments to the Registration Statement related to the Placement ADSs or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or any amendment or supplements to the Prospectus or for additional information related to the offering of the Placement ADSs or for additional information related to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.
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(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement ADSs is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement ADSs (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 will 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 required to be stated therein or necessary in order 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 the Agent to suspend the offering of Placement ADSs during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance. If the Company has omitted any information from the Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 430B under the Securities Act, it will use its best efforts to comply with the provisions thereof and make all requisite filings with the Commission pursuant to said Rule 430B and to notify the Agent promptly of all such filings if not available on EDGAR.
(d) Listing of Placement ADSs. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement ADSs is required to be delivered by the Agent under the Securities Act with respect to the offer and sale of the Placement ADSs (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 ADSs 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 the Agent 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 the Prospectus relating to the Placement ADSs is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all Incorporated Documents filed with the Commission during such period), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as the Agent may from time to time reasonably request and, at the Agent’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement ADSs may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to the Agent to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.
(f) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Agent as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal year or half-year, as applicable, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of and Rule 158 under the Securities Act, which requirement shall be satisfied by the timely filing with the Commission of the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F.
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(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 expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of the Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto and of this Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance or delivery of the Placement ADSs, (ii) the preparation, issuance, sale and delivery of the Placement ADSs and any taxes due or payable in connection therewith, (iii) the qualification of the Placement ADSs under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(z) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for the Agent in connection therewith shall be paid by the Agent except as set forth in clauses (vii) and (viii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to the Agent and its counsel 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 ADSs for trading on Nasdaq, if applicable, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, owed to the Commission or FINRA and the fees and expenses of the Depositary for the ADSs, (vii) the reasonable fees and associated expenses of the Agent’s outside legal counsel for filings with the FINRA Corporate Financing Department in an amount not to exceed $15,000 (excluding FINRA filing fees referred to in clause (vi) above and in addition to the fees and disbursements referred to in clause (viii) below), and (viii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of the Agent’s outside legal counsel (A) in an amount not to exceed $135,000 arising out of executing this Agreement and the Company’s delivery of the initial certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) and (B) in an amount not to exceed $25,000 in connection with a 20-F Filing Event and $15,000 in connection with any other Representation Date, in each case in which the Company is required to provide a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m).
(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. Without the prior written consent of the Agent, the Company will not, directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Ordinary Shares or ADSs (other than the Placement ADSs offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares or ADSs, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Ordinary Shares or ADSs during the period beginning on the third Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which any Placement Notice is delivered to Agent hereunder and ending on the second Trading Day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement ADSs sold pursuant to such Placement Notice (or, if the Placement Notice has been terminated or suspended prior to the sale of all Placement ADSs covered by a Placement Notice, the date of such suspension or termination); and will not directly or indirectly in any other “at the market offering” or continuous equity transaction offer to sell, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell or otherwise dispose of any Ordinary Shares or ADSs (other than the Placement ADSs offered pursuant to this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for Ordinary Shares or ADSs, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire, Ordinary Shares or ADSs prior to the later of the termination of this Agreement and the thirtieth day immediately following the final Settlement Date with respect to Placement ADSs sold pursuant to such Placement Notice; provided, however, that such restrictions will not be required in connection with the Company’s issuance or sale of (i) Ordinary Shares or ADSs, options to purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs, other securities under the Company’s existing equity incentive plans, or Ordinary Shares or ADSs issuable upon the exercise of options or vesting of other securities, pursuant to any employee or director stock option or benefits plan, stock ownership plan or dividend reinvestment plan (but not Ordinary Shares or ADSs subject to a waiver to exceed plan limits in its dividend reinvestment plan) of the Company whether now in effect or hereafter implemented, (ii) Ordinary Shares or ADSs issuable upon conversion of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, and disclosed in filings by the Company available on EDGAR or otherwise in writing to the Agent and (iii) Ordinary Shares or ADSs or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares or ADSs as consideration for mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations, joint ventures; collaborations; licensing arrangements; manufacturing, distribution, marketing, supply, sponsored research, technology transfer or development or third party service arrangements, or strategic alliances occurring after the date of this Agreement which are not issued for capital raising purposes.
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(j) Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during a six-month period in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement ADSs, advise the Agent promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided or required to be provided to the Agent 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 the Agent, its affiliates agents and counsel from time to time in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as the Agent may reasonably request.
(l) Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement ADSs. 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 or amount of Placement ADSs sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement ADSs, 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 next-furnished report on Form 20-F or Form 6-K containing its results of operations, as applicable, of the number or amount of Placement ADSs sold through the Agent, the Net Proceeds to the Company and the compensation payable by the Company to the Agent with respect to such Placement ADSs during 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 ADSs (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 into the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement ADSs;
(ii) files an annual report on Form 20-F under the Exchange Act (including any Form 20-F/A containing amended financial information or a material amendment to the previously filed Form 20-F) (a “20-F Filing Event”);
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(iii) furnishes a current report on Form 6-K filed by the Company in respect of any interim period containing financial information, which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus;
(iv) furnishes a report on Form 6-K under the Exchange Act containing its results of operations that is incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and Prospectus; or
(v) files a current report on Form 6-K containing amended financial information, which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (each date of filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Representation Date”),
the Company shall furnish the Agent (but in the case of clause (iv) above only if (1) a Placement Notice is pending or in effect and (2) the Agent requests such certificate within three Business Days after the furnishing of such Form 6-K with the Commission) with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) (modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented), within two Trading Days of any Representation Date. 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 or in effect, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of (1) the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such six months (or quarterly period, if the Company commences publicly reporting quarterly financial information, which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus) shall be considered a Representation Date) and (2) the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement ADSs following a Representation Date on which the Company relied on the waiver referred to in the previous sentence and did not provide the Agent with a certificate under this Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers a Placement Notice or the Agent sells any Placement ADSs pursuant thereto, the Company shall provide the Agent with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m), dated the date of such Placement Notice. Within two Trading Days of each Representation Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Agent such further information, certificates and documents as the Agent may reasonably request.
(n) U.S. Legal Opinions. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion and negative assurance letter of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, U.S. counsel to the Company, or such other counsel satisfactory to the Agent (“U.S. Company Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel (as defined below), dated the date that the opinion and negative assurance letter are 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 opinion and negative assurance letter for subsequent Representation Dates, U.S. Company Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion or negative assurance letter delivered by such counsel 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) Hong Kong Legal Opinion. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion of Davis, Polk & Wardwell LLP, Hong Kong counsel to the Company, or such other counsel satisfactory to the Agent (“Hong Kong Company Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel, dated the date that the opinion 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 opinion for subsequent Representation Dates, Hong Kong Company Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(o) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
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(p) Cayman Islands Legal Opinions. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion of Walkers (Hong Kong), Cayman Islands counsel to the Company, or such other counsel satisfactory to the Agent (“Cayman Company Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel, dated the date that the opinion 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 opinion for subsequent Representation Dates, Cayman Company Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(p) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(q) PRC Legal Opinions. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion of Jingtian & Gongcheng, PRC counsel to the Company, or such other counsel satisfactory to the Agent (“PRC Company Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel, dated the date that the opinion 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 opinion for subsequent Representation Dates, PRC Company Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(q) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Representation Date).
(r) Intellectual Property Opinion. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to the Agent the written opinion of Wu, Feng & Zhang, counsel for the Company with respect to intellectual property matters, or such other intellectual property counsel satisfactory to the Agent (collectively, the “Intellectual Property Counsel”), in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s 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 written opinion for subsequent Representation Dates, Intellectual Property Counsel may furnish the Agent with a letter to the effect that the Agent may rely on a prior opinion letter delivered by such counsel under this Section 7(r) 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).
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(s) Comfort Letter. On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date and on any date which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate pursuant to Section 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent registered public accounting firm (and any other independent accountants whose report is included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus) to furnish the Agent letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, which shall meet the requirements set forth in this Section 7(s); provided, that if requested by the Agent, the Company shall cause a Comfort Letter to be furnished to the Agent within 15 Trading Days of the occurrence of any material transaction or event that necessitates the filing of additional, pro forma, amended or revised financial statements (including any restatement of previously issued financial statements). Each Comfort Letter shall be in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel and each Comfort Letter from the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm shall (i) confirm that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) state, 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”, including customary negative assurance, to underwriters in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) update 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.
(t) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, and will cause its officers, directors and Subsidiaries not to (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of Ordinary Shares or ADSs or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs to be issued and sold pursuant to this Agreement in violation of Regulation M, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement ADSs other than the Agent; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase Ordinary Shares or ADSs in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.
(u) 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.
(v) Compliance with Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental certificates, authorizations or permits required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus (collectively, “Compliance Permits”), and the Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such Compliance Permits and with applicable Environmental Laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such Compliance Permits could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(w) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor any of its Subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act.
(x) 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 sales of, or dealings in, the Placement ADSs as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.
(y) 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 the Agent, neither the Agent nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Agent in its capacity as agent) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement ADSs hereunder.
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(z) Blue Sky and Other Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Agent, to qualify the Placement ADSs for offering and sale, or to obtain an exemption for the Placement ADSs to be offered and sold, under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Agent may designate and to maintain such qualifications and exemptions in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement ADSs (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 ADSs have been so qualified or exempt, the Company will file such statements and reports as may be required by the laws of such jurisdiction to continue such qualification or exemption, as the case may be, in effect for so long as required for the distribution of the Placement ADSs (but in no event for less than one year from the date of this Agreement).
(aa) Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company will maintain and keep accurate books and records reflecting its assets and maintain internal accounting controls in a manner designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and including those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the Company’s financial statements in accordance with GAAP, (iii) that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with management’s and the Company’s directors’ authorization, and (iv) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on its financial statements. The Company will maintain such controls and other procedures, including, without limitation, those required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the applicable regulations thereunder that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, including, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and to ensure that material information relating to the Company is made known to it by others within the Company, particularly during the period in which such periodic reports are being prepared.
(bb) Emerging Growth Company. The Company will promptly notify the Agent if the company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the completion of the Agent’s distribution of the Placement ADSs pursuant to this Agreement.
(cc) Renewal of Registration Statement. If, immediately prior to the third anniversary of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement (the “Renewal Date”), any of the Placement ADSs remain unsold and this Agreement has not been terminated, the Company may at its discretion, prior to the Renewal Date, file a new shelf registration statement or, if applicable, an automatic shelf registration statement relating to the Placement ADSs that may be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement (which shall include a prospectus reflecting the number or amount of Placement ADSs that may be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement), in a form satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel, and, if such registration statement is not an automatic shelf registration statement, use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 180 days after the Renewal Date. The Company may take all other reasonable actions necessary or appropriate to permit the public offer and sale of the Placement ADSs to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement and this Agreement. 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.
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(dd) General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3. If, from and after the date of this Agreement, the Company is no longer eligible to use Form F-3 (including pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5.) at the time it files with the Commission an annual report on Form 20-F or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, then it shall promptly notify the Agent and, within two Business Days after the date of filing of such annual report on Form 20-F or amendment to the Registration Statement, the Company shall file a new prospectus supplement with the Commission reflecting the number of ADSs available to be offered and sold by the Company under this Agreement pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any such prospectus supplement for up to 30 days 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. Until such time as the Company shall have corrected such misstatement or omission or effected such compliance, the Company shall not notify the Agent to resume the offering of Placement ADSs.
(ee) Tax Indemnity. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Agent against any documentary, stamp or similar issue tax, including any interest and penalties, on the issue and sale of the Placement ADSs.
(ff) Depositary. The Company has engaged and will maintain, at its sole expense, a depositary for the ADSs.
8. Conditions to the Agent’s Obligations. The obligations of the Agent hereunder with respect to a Placement will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, to the completion by the Agent of a due diligence review satisfactory to the Agent in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by the Agent in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:
(a) Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for all offers and sales of Placement ADSs (i) that have been issued pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) that will be issued pursuant to 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 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 ADSs 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 Incorporated Document untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or Incorporated 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, in the case of the Prospectus, so that 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.
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(d) No Misstatement or Material Omission. The Agent shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in the Agent’s opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in the Agent’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 capital stock 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 reasonable judgment of the Agent (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 ADSs on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.
(f) Company Counsel Legal Opinions. The Agent shall have received the opinions and negative assurance letters, as applicable, of U.S. Company Counsel, Hong Kong Company Counsel, Cayman Company Counsel, PRC Company Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(n), Section 7(o), Section 7(p), Section 7(q) and Section 7(r), 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), Section 7(o), Section 7(p), Section 7(q) and Section 7(r), as applicable.
(g) Agent’s Counsel Legal Opinion. The Agent shall have received from Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for the Agent (“Agent’s Counsel”), such opinion or opinions and negative assurance letters, on or before the date on which the delivery of the U.S. Company Counsel legal opinion is required pursuant to Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as the Agent may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they may request to enable them to pass upon such matters.
(h) [Reserved].
(i) Comfort Letter. The Agent shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(s) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to Section 7(s).
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(j) Representation Certificate. The Agent 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).
(k) CFO’s Certificates. (i) On or prior to the First Placement Notice Date, the Agent shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 8(k), dated as of such date and in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel, certifying as to (x) the applicable organizational documents of the Company, including its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, (y) the resolutions of the board of directors of the Company or duly authorized committee thereof authorizing the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the issuance and sale of the Placement ADSs and the issuance of the Ordinary Shares represented by such ADSs and (z) the incumbency of the officers of the Company duly authorized to execute this Agreement and the other documents contemplated by this Agreement (including each of the officers set forth on Schedule 2) and (ii) to the extent applicable, on any date which the Company is obligated to cause its independent registered public accounting firm (and any other independent accountants whose report is included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus) to furnish the Agent a Comfort Letter pursuant to Section 7(s), the Agent shall have received a certificate, dated such date and signed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company with respect to certain operating data and financial figures contained in the Registration Statement or Prospectus, in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent and Agent’s Counsel.
(l) Deposit Agreement. The Deposit Agreement shall be in full force and effect and the Company and the Depositary shall have taken all action necessary to permit the deposit of Ordinary Shares underlying the Placement ADSs and the issuance of the Placement ADSs in accordance with the Deposit Agreement.
(m) No Suspension. The ADSs shall be duly listed, and admitted and authorized for trading, subject to official notice of issuance, on Nasdaq. Trading in the ADSs shall not have been suspended on, and the ADSs shall not have been delisted from, Nasdaq.
(n) 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 the Agent such appropriate further information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may have reasonably requested. All such information, opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company shall have furnished the Agent with conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as the Agent may have reasonably requested.
(o) 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.
(p) Approval for Listing. The Placement ADSs shall have been approved for listing on Nasdaq.
(q) FINRA. FINRA shall have raised no objection to the terms of the offering contemplated hereby and the amount of compensation allowable or payable to the Agent as described in the Prospectus, or the offering shall be otherwise exempt from filing with FINRA under FINRA Rule 5110(h)(1).
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(r) No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit the Agent to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 11(a).
9. Indemnification and Contribution.
(a) Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent, its affiliates and their respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Agent 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 Agent, in each case from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any and all investigative, legal and other expenses documented and reasonably incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with this Section 9), any action, suit, investigation or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party (including any governmental or self-regulatory authority, or otherwise, or any claim asserted or threatened), as and when incurred, to which the Agent, or any such other 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 Placement ADSs under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission in connection with the sales of the Placement ADSs pursuant to this Agreement or (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein (solely with respect to the Prospectus, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading; 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 ADSs pursuant to this Agreement and is caused, directly or indirectly, by an untrue statement or omission, or alleged untrue statement 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) Agent Indemnification. The Agent agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (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 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.
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(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 other legal expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable and documented 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 reasonable and documented 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 and documented 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 and documented fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm (plus local counsel) admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly 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 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) Settlement Without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for reasonable and documented fees and expenses of counsel for which it is entitled to be reimbursed under this Section 9, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 9(a) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
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(e) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable or insufficient from the Company or the Agent, the Company and the Agent will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit, investigation or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than the Agent, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and the Agent may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Agent on the other hand shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement ADSs (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by the Agent from the sale of Placement ADSs on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action, suit, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Agent, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and the Agent agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this Section 9(e) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action, suit, investigation or proceeding in respect thereof, referred to above in this Section 9(e) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this Section 9(e), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action, suit, investigation, proceeding or claim to the extent consistent with this Section 9. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 9(e), the Agent shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of 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(e), any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, any affiliates of the Agent, any partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents of the Agent and each person that is controlled by or under common control with the Agent will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer and director 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(e), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this Section 9(e) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of Section 9(c) hereof or pursuant to Section 9(d) 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.
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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 the Agent, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement ADSs and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.
11. Termination.
(a) The Agent 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 judgment of the Agent, may materially impair the ability of the Agent to sell the Placement ADSs 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 Section 7(m), Section 7(n), Section 7(o), Section 7(p), Section 7(q), Section 7(r) or Section 7(s), the Agent’s right to terminate shall not arise unless such failure to deliver (or cause to be delivered) continues for more than 15 calendar days from the date such delivery was required, (iii) any other condition of the Agent’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, (iv) any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement ADSs or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred, (v) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by any of United States federal or New York 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 judgment of the Agent, may materially impair the ability of the Agent to sell the Placement ADSs 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), Section 9, Section 10, Section 16 and Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If the Agent elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 11(a), the Agent shall provide the required notice as specified in Section 12.
(b) The Company shall have the right, by giving 10 days’ prior 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) The Agent shall have the right, by giving 10 days’ prior 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 ADSs through the Agent 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.
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(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 the Agent or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement ADSs, such Placement ADSs shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Company shall not be required to pay to the Agent any discount or commission with respect to any Placement ADSs not otherwise sold by the Agent under this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company shall remain obligated to reimburse the Agent’s expenses pursuant to Section 7(g).
(g) If terminated pursuant to this Section 11, expenses reimbursable to the Agent pursuant to the provisions of Section 7(g) will be limited to documented accountable expenses actually incurred by the Agent; provided, however, that the Company shall not be responsible for such documented accountable expenses actually incurred by the Agent if this Agreement is terminated due to the Agent’s gross negligence, willful default or fraud.
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 the Agent, shall be delivered to:
Leerink Partners LLC
1301 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10019
Attention: Peter M. Fry
E-mail: [***]@leerink.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Leerink Partners LLC
1301 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10019
Attention: Legal Department
E-mail: [***]@leerink.com
and
Latham & Watkins LLP
12670 High Bluff Drive
San Diego, CA 92130
Telephone: (858) 523-5400
Attention: Michael E. Sullivan
E-mail: [***]@lw.com
and if to the Company, shall be delivered to:
Adagene Inc.
4F, Building C14, No.218
Xinghu Street, Suzhou Industrial Park
Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 25125
People’s Republic of China
Attention: Peter Luo, Raymond Tam
E-mail: [***]@adagene.com; [***]@adagene.com
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with copies (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Hong Kong Solicitors
The Hong Kong Club Building
3A Chater Road
Hong Kong
China
Attention: Steve Wang
E-mail: [***]@davispolk.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 on or before 4:30 P.M., New York City time, on a Business Day, or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) by Electronic Notice as set forth in the next paragraph, (iii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally-recognized overnight courier or (iv) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the 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 in Section 12. Electronic Notice shall be deemed received at the time the party sending Electronic Notice receives actual acknowledgment of receipt from the person whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply. 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 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 the Agent and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers, directors and other persons 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 each such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto, the persons referred to in the preceding sentence and their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that the Agent may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of the Agent 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 and any change in exchange ratio or similar event effected with respect to the ADSs.
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15. Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability; Waiver. This Agreement (including all schedules (as amended pursuant to this Agreement) and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and the Agent; 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 and, upon such amendment, all references herein to Schedule 2 shall automatically be deemed to refer to such amended Schedule 2. 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. GOVERNING LAW AND TIME; WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAWS. SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME. EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.
17. Consent to Jurisdiction. Each party hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, for the adjudication of any dispute hereunder or in connection with any of the transactions contemplated hereby, and hereby irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert in any suit, action or proceeding, any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of any such court, that such suit, action or proceeding is brought in an inconvenient forum, or that the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper. Each party hereby irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested) to such party at the address in effect for notices under Section 12 of this Agreement and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient notice of process and notice thereof. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit in any way any right to serve process in any manner permitted by law.
18. Waiver of Immunity. To the extent that the Company has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (sovereign or otherwise) from jurisdiction of any court of (i) the Cayman Islands or the PRC, or any political subdivision thereof, (ii) the United States or the State of New York, (iii) any jurisdiction in which it owns or leases property or assets or from any legal process (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution, execution, set-off or otherwise) with respect to themselves or their respective property and assets or this Agreement, the Company hereby irrevocably waives such immunity in respect of its obligations under this Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
43
19. Judgment Currency; Payments. The obligation of the Company in respect of any sum due to the Agent under this Agreement shall, notwithstanding any judgment in a currency other than U.S. dollars (the “Judgment Currency”), not be discharged until the first Business Day following receipt by the Agent of any sum adjudged to be so due in the Judgment Currency on which (and only to the extent that) the Agent may in accordance with normal banking procedures purchase U.S. dollars with the Judgment Currency; if the U.S. dollars so purchased are less than the sum originally due to the Agent hereunder, the Company agrees, as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment, to indemnify the Agent against such loss in respect of any sum due to the Agent from the Company. If the U.S. dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to the Agent hereunder, the Agent agrees to pay to the Company an amount equal to the excess of the U.S. dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to the Agent hereunder. All payments made or deemed to be made by the Company under this Agreement, if any, to the Agent, their respective affiliates, and their affiliates’ respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents or to any person controlling the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or that is controlled by or is under common control with the Agent, will be made without withholding or deduction for or on account of any present or future taxes, duties, assessments or governmental charges of whatever nature (other than taxes on net income or similar taxes) imposed or levied by or on behalf of the Cayman Islands or the PRC or any political subdivision or any taxing authority thereof or therein unless the Company is or becomes required by law to withhold or deduct such taxes, duties, assessments or other governmental charges. In such event, the Company will pay such additional amounts as will result, after such withholding or deduction, in the receipt by the Agent, their respective affiliates, and their affiliates’ respective partners, members, directors, officers, employees and agents or to any person controlling the Agent within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or that is controlled by or is under common control with the Agent, as the case may be, of the amounts that would otherwise have been receivable in respect thereof.
20. 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 regulations promulgated thereunder.
21. Permitted Free Writing Prospectuses. Each of the Company and the Agent represents, warrants and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the other party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Placement ADSs that would constitute an issuer free writing prospectus, or that would otherwise constitute a free writing prospectus (as defined in Rule 405), required to be filed with the Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Agent or by the Company, as the case may be, is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents and warrants that it has treated and agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an issuer free writing prospectus, and that it 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.
44
22. Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:
(a) the Agent has been retained to act as sales agent in connection with the sale of the Placement ADSs, the Agent has acted at arms’ length and no fiduciary or advisory relationship between the Company or any of its respective affiliates, shareholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees or any other party, on the one hand, and the Agent, on the other hand, has been or will be created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether the Agent has advised or is advising the Company on other matters and the Agent has no duties or obligations to the Company with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement except the obligations expressly set forth herein;
(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 the Agent nor its affiliates have provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and it has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate;
(d) the Company has been advised and is aware that the Agent and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Agent and its affiliates have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship or otherwise; and
(e) the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Agent or its affiliates for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and agrees that the Agent and its affiliates 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 shareholders (or other equity holders), creditors or employees of the Company.
23. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes. In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from the Agent of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
In the event that the Agent is a Covered Entity and the Agent or a BHC Act Affiliate of the Agent becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against the Agent are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
For purposes of this Agreement, (A) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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24. 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. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
25. Use of Information. The Agent may not provide any information gained in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including due diligence, to any third party other than its legal counsel advising it on this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement unless expressly approved by the Company in writing.
26. Agent’s Information. As used in this Agreement, “Agent’s Information” means solely the following information in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus: the name and address of the Agent and the last sentence of the seventh paragraph under the heading “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus Supplement.
All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR. All references in this Agreement to 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 any supplements, “wrappers” or similar materials prepared in connection with any offering, sale or private placement of any Placement ADSs by the Agent outside of the United States.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]
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If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and the Agent, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Agent.
| Very truly yours, | ||||
| ADAGENE INC. | ||||
| By: | /s/ Peter Luo | |||
| Name: | Peter Luo | |||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |||
| ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written: | ||||
| LEERINK PARTNERS LLC | ||||
| By: | /s/ Peter Fry | |||
| Name: | Peter Fry | |||
| Title: | Senior Managing Director | |||
[Signature Page to Sales Agreement]
Schedule 1
FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE
| From: | [ ] |
| [TITLE] | |
| Adagene Inc. | |
| Cc: | [ ] |
| To: | Leerink Partners LLC |
| Subject: | Leerink Partners —At the Market Offering—Placement Notice |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement, dated March 29, 2024 (the “Agreement”), by and between Adagene Inc., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”), and Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink Partners”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that Leerink Partners sell up to [ · ] American Depositary Shares, each representing 1.25 ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per ordinary share, of the Company (the “ADSs”), at a minimum market price of $ per ADS[; provided that no more than [ ] ADSs 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 Placement Notice] and end on [DATE] [until all ADSs that are the subject of this Placement Notice are sold].
Schedule 2
The Company
[***]
[***]
Leerink Partners
[***]
[***]
[***]
Schedule 3
Compensation
The Company shall pay Leerink Partners compensation in cash equal up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Placement ADSs pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement of which this Schedule 3 forms a part.
Exhibit 7(m)
OFFICER’S CERTIFICATE
Exhibit 8(k)
CFO’S CERTIFICATE
Exhibit 5.1
| Partners: | |||
| Brett Basdeo | *** | ||
| John Cartwright | * | ||
| Audrey Coker | * | ||
| John Crook | * | ||
| Mark Cummings | ***** | ||
| Natalie Curtis | **** | ||
| James Gaden | **** | ||
| Thomas Granger | ** |
||
| Kristen Kwok | ** | ||
| Wing Lam | * | ||
| William Lee | * | ||
| Thomas Pugh | ***** | ||
| Andrew Randall | ** | ||
| Victoria Raymond | * | ||
| Rupen Shah | ***** | ||
| Colette Wilkins KC | *** | ||
| Denise Wong | ** | ||
| 29 March 2024 | Our Ref: MRC/KH/A6545-H26452 |
Adagene Inc.
c/o Walkers Corporate Limited
190 Elgin Avenue, George Town
Grand Cayman KY1-9008
Cayman Islands
Dear Sir or Madam
ADAGENE INC.
We have acted as Cayman Islands legal advisers to Adagene Inc. (the "Company") in connection with the registration for issuance and sale, from time to time, by the Company, through Leerink Partners LLC, of up to US$100,000,000 of American depositary shares (the “ADSs”), each representing 1.25 ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 per ordinary share of the Company (“Shares”) as contemplated by (i) the Registration Statement (as defined below), (ii) the Base Prospectus (as defined below) and (iii) the Prospectus Supplement (as defined below) relating to the sale of such Ordinary Shares in the form of ADSs, from time to time, with an aggregate offering price of up to US$100 million pursuant to the Sales Agreement (as defined below) (the “Placement Shares”). We are furnishing this opinion as exhibit 5.1, 8.1 and 23.2 to the Registration Statement.
For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined and relied upon the originals, copies or translations of the documents listed in Schedule 1.
In giving this opinion we have relied upon the assumptions set out in Schedule 2, which we have not independently verified.
We are Cayman Islands Attorneys at Law and express no opinion as to any laws other than the laws of the Cayman Islands in force and as interpreted at the date of this opinion. We have not, for the purposes of this opinion, made any investigation of the laws, rules or regulations of any other jurisdiction. Except as explicitly stated herein, we express no opinion in relation to any representation or warranty contained in any of the documents cited in this opinion nor upon matters of fact or the commercial terms of the transactions the subject of this opinion.
Based upon the examinations and assumptions stated herein and upon such searches as we have conducted and having regard to legal considerations which we consider relevant, and subject to the qualifications set out in Schedule 3, and under the laws of the Cayman Islands, we give the following opinions in relation to the matters set out below.
Walkers (Hong Kong)
滙嘉律師事務所 (香港)
15th Floor, Alexandra House, 18 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong
T +852 2284 4566 F +852 2284 4560
Bermuda | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Dubai | Guernsey | Hong Kong | Ireland | Jersey | London | Singapore
*England and Wales; **BVI; ***Cayman Islands; ****New South Wales (Australia); *****Bermuda
| WALKERS | Page 2 |
| 1. | The Company is an exempted company duly incorporated with limited liability, validly existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands and is in good standing with the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands (the "Registrar"). |
| 2. | The authorised share capital of the Company is currently US$80,000 divided into 800,000,000 shares comprising (i) 640,000,000 ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, and (ii) 160,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each of such class or classes (however designated) as the Company’s board of directors may determine in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles (as defined in Schedule 1). |
| 3. | With respect to the Placement Shares when (a) the provisions of the Sales Agreement approved by the Company’s board of directors have been satisfied and payment of the consideration specified therein (being not less than their par value) has been made; and (b) in the case of Ordinary Shares only, valid book-entry notations are made in the register of members of the Company, then the Placement Shares, will have been duly authorised and validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable (meaning that no additional sums may be levied on the holder thereof by the Company). |
| 4. | The statements under the caption “Taxation” in the Prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement, to the extent that they constitute statements of Cayman Islands law, are accurate in all material respects. |
We hereby consent to the use of this opinion in, and the filing hereof, as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to all references to our name in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.
This opinion is limited to the matters referred to herein and shall not be construed as extending to any other matter or document not referred to herein. This opinion is given solely for your benefit and the benefit of your legal advisers acting in that capacity in relation to this transaction and may not be relied upon by any other person without our prior written consent.
This opinion shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.
Yours faithfully
| /s/ Walkers (hong kong) | |
| Walkers (hong kong) |
| WALKERS | Page 3 |
Schedule 1
LIST OF DOCUMENTS EXAMINED
| 1. | The Certificate of Incorporation dated 25 February 2011, the Seventh Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association as adopted by special resolutions passed on 19 January 2021 (the "Memorandum and Articles"), the Register of Members printed on 28 March 2024 (the "Register of Members"), Register of Directors and Officers of the Company provided to us on 21 January 2024, copies of which have been provided to us by the Company (together the "Company Records"). |
| 2. | The Cayman Online Registry Information System (CORIS), the Cayman Islands’ General Registry's online database, searched on 28 March 2024. |
| 3. | The Register of Writs and other Originating Process of the Grand Court kept at the Clerk of Court's Office, George Town, Grand Cayman (the "Court Register"), as at 9.00 a.m. Cayman Islands time on 27 March 2024 (the "Search Time"). |
| 4. | A Certificate of Good Standing dated 26 March 2024 in respect of the Company issued by the Registrar (the "Certificate of Good Standing"). |
| 5. | A copy of executed written resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company dated 29 February 2024 setting out the resolutions relating to the Prospectus and Sales Agreement (the "Resolutions"). |
| 6. | The Company's registration statement on Form F-3 (Registration No. 333-264486) initially filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on 26 April 2022 (the "Registration Statement"). |
| 7. | The base prospectus contained in the Registration Statement (the "Base Prospectus"). |
| 8. | The prospectus supplement dated 29 March 2024 relating to the offer and sale of the Ordinary Shares in the form of ADSs pursuant to the Sales Agreement (the "Prospectus Supplement"). |
| 9. | A copy of the sales agreement dated 29 March 2024 between the Company and Leerink Partners LLC (the "Sales Agreement"). |
| WALKERS | Page 4 |
Schedule 2
ASSUMPTIONS
| 1. | All authorisations, approvals, consents, licences and exemptions required by, and all filings and other steps required of each of the parties to the Registration Statement outside the Cayman Islands to ensure the legality, validity and enforceability of the Registration Statement have been or will be duly obtained, made or fulfilled and are and will remain in full force and effect and any conditions to which they are subject have been satisfied. |
| 2. | The Resolutions are and shall remain in full force and effect and have not been and will not be rescinded or amended. |
| 3. | The originals of all documents examined in connection with this opinion are authentic. The documents conform in every material respect to the latest draft of the same produced to us and, where provided in successive drafts, have been marked up to indicate all changes to such documents. |
| 4. | The Registration Statement and the documents or agreements referred to therein have been or will be duly authorised, executed and delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties prior to the issue and sale of the Securities and will be legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with their terms. |
| 5. | On the date of issue of the Ordinary Shares, the Company shall have sufficient authorised but unissued share capital available. |
| 6. | The Resolutions have been duly executed (and where by a corporate entity such execution has been duly authorised if so required) by or on behalf of each Director and the signatures and initials thereon are those of a person or persons in whose name the Resolutions have been expressed to be signed. |
| 7. | The Company will on issue of the relevant Ordinary Shares receive, consideration in money or money’s worth for each share when issued, such consideration in any event not being less than the stated par or nominal value of each share. |
| 8. | The Company will on issue of the relevant Ordinary Shares have, issued and sold the shares in the manner contemplated by the Registration Statement and the documents or agreements referred to therein and otherwise in compliance with all applicable laws. |
| 9. | There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect any of the opinions set forth herein. |
| 10. | Any power of attorney given to execute any document or Resolutions was duly executed, the named attorneys were duly appointed with full power granted to each of them and the power of attorney remains in full force and effect and have not been revoked or varied. |
| WALKERS | Page 5 |
Schedule 3
QUALIFICATION
| 1. | The term "enforceable" and its cognates as used in this opinion means that the obligations assumed by any party under the documents are of a type which the Courts enforce. This does not mean that those obligations will necessarily be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular: |
| (a) | enforcement of obligations and the priority of obligations may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, restructuring, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium and other laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors or by prescription or lapse of time; |
| (b) | enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity and, in particular, the availability of certain equitable remedies such as injunction or specific performance of an obligation may be limited where a Court considers damages to be an adequate remedy; |
| (c) | claims may become barred under statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set-off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences; |
| (d) | where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of, or contrary to the public policy of, that jurisdiction; |
| (e) | a judgment of a Court may be required to be made in Cayman Islands dollars; |
| (f) | to the extent that any provision of the documents is adjudicated to be penal in nature, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; in particular, the enforceability of any provision of the documents that is adjudicated to constitute a secondary obligation which imposes a detriment on the contract-breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interest of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation may be limited; |
| (g) | to the extent that the performance of any obligation arising under the documents would be fraudulent or contrary to public policy, it will not be enforceable in the Courts; |
| (h) | in the case of an insolvent liquidation of any of the companies, its liabilities are required to be translated into the functional currency of such Company (being the currency of the primary economic environment in which it operated as at the commencement of the liquidation) at the exchange rates prevailing on the date of commencement of the voluntary liquidation or the day on which the winding up order is made (as the case may be); |
| WALKERS | Page 6 |
| (i) | a Court will not necessarily award costs in litigation in accordance with contractual provisions in this regard; and |
| (j) | the effectiveness of terms in the documents excusing any party from a liability or duty otherwise owed or indemnifying that party from the consequences of incurring such liability or breaching such duty shall be construed in accordance with, and shall be limited by, applicable law, including generally applicable rules and principles of common law and equity. |
| 2. | Our opinion as to good standing is based solely upon receipt of the Certificate of Good Standing issued by the Registrar. The Company shall be deemed to be in good standing under section 200A of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands on the date of issue of the certificate if all fees and penalties under the Companies Act have been paid and the Registrar has no knowledge that the Company is in default under the Companies Act. |
| 3. | We express no opinion upon any provisions in the Memorandum and Articles or any document which contains a reference to any law or statute that is not a Cayman Islands law or statute. |
Exhibit 8.2
34/F, China Central Place, 77 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100025
Telephone: (86-10) 5809-1000 Facsimile: (86-10) 5809-1100
March 29, 2024
To:
Adagene Inc.
4F, Building C14, No. 218
Xinghu Street, Suzhou Industrial Park
Suzhou, Jiangsu Province,
People’s Republic of China
(as the “Company”)
Re: Legal Opinion Regarding Certain PRC Law Matters
We are qualified lawyers of the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) and are qualified to issue an opinion on the laws and regulations of the PRC (for the purposes of this opinion, excluding Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan).
We have acted as PRC counsel to Adagene Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Company”). With respect to the Company’s registration for issuance and sale, from time to time, by the Company of up to US$100 million of ordinary shares at par value of US$0.0001 per share (“Ordinary Shares”), including Ordinary Shares represented by American Depositary Shares (“ADS(s)”), each ADS representing 1.25 Ordinary Shares as contemplated by (i) the Form F-3 Registration Statement (“Registration Statement”) initially filed by the Company under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") on April 26, 2022, as amended, and was subsequently declared effective on May 26, 2022 by the Commission, (ii) the prospectus contained therein (the “Base Prospectus”) and (iii) the prospectus supplement dated [March 29], 2024 (the “Prospectus Supplement” together with the Base Prospectus, the “Prospectus”) relating to the sale of such Ordinary Shares in the form of ADSs, from time to time, with an aggregate offering price of up to US$100 million pursuant to the Sales Agreement (as defined below) (the “Placement Shares”), you have requested us to furnish an opinion to you as to the matters hereinafter set forth.
A. Documents Examined, Definition and Information Provided
In connection with the furnishing of this opinion, we have examined copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of documents provided by the Company, and such other documents, the Registration Statements, the Prospectus, the Sales Agreement, corporate records, certificates, approvals and other instruments as we have deemed necessary for the purpose of rendering this opinion, including, without limitation, originals or copies of the certificates issued by PRC government authorities and officers of the Company. All of these documents are hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Documents”.
Unless the context of this opinion otherwise provides, the following terms in this opinion shall have the meanings set forth below:
“Governmental Authorizations” mean all approvals, consents, permits, authorizations, filings, registrations, exemptions, certificates, permissions, waiver, endorsement, annual inspection, qualifications or license required by the applicable PRC Laws.
“PRC Company” means Adagene (Suzhou) Limited, which is a company incorporated in accordance with the PRC Laws.
“PRC Laws” mean the published and publicly available PRC laws, regulations, rules and judicial interpretations announced by the PRC Supreme People’s Court available on the date hereof.
“Sales Agreement” means the sales agreement dated March 29, 2024, between the Company and Leerink Partners LLC.
Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the Registration Statements.
B. Assumptions
In our examination of the aforesaid Documents, we have assumed, without independent investigation and inquiry that:
| 1. | all signatures, seals and chops are genuine and were made or affixed by representatives duly authorized by the respective parties, all natural persons have the necessary legal capacity, all Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic, and all Documents submitted to us as certified or photo static copies conform to the originals; |
| 2. | no amendments, revisions, modifications or other changes have been made with respect to any of the Documents after they were submitted to us for the purposes of this opinion and any Document submitted to us is effective and has not been varied, revoked, withheld, cancelled or superseded by some other documents or agreements or action of which we are not aware after due inquiry; |
| 3. | each of the parties to the Documents (except that we do not make such assumptions about the PRC Company) is duly organized and validly existing in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of organization and/or incorporation, and has been duly approved and authorized where applicable by the competent governmental authorities of the relevant jurisdiction to carry on its business and to perform its obligations under the Documents to which it is a party; |
| 4. | the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of all factual statements in the Documents submitted and made available to us up to the date of this opinion. Where certain facts were not independently verified by us in order to render this opinion, we have relied upon the Documents issued by the PRC government agencies and representatives of the Company and the PRC Company with proper authority, and also upon representations, oral or written, made in, or pursuant to, the Documents; |
| 5. | all facts and Documents which may affect this opinion herein have been disclosed to us, and there has not been or will not be any omission in respect of such disclosure; and |
| 6. | all Governmental Authorizations and other official documentations were obtained from the competent PRC government agencies by lawful means. |
In expressing the opinions set forth herein, we have relied upon the factual matters contained in the representations and warranties set forth in the Documents.
C. Opinion
Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that:
1. With Respect to the Corporate Structure
The description of the ownership structure described under the caption “Corporate History and Structure” in the Prospectus is true and accurate in all material respects and insofar as related to PRC Laws, nothing has been omitted from such description which would make the same misleading in any material respects. The ownership structures of the PRC Company as described in the Prospectus comply, and immediately after giving effect of the offering of securities described in the Registration Statements will comply, with all applicable PRC Laws, and do not violate, breach, or otherwise conflict with any applicable PRC Laws, except as disclosed in the Prospectus.
2. Taxation
The statements set forth under the caption “Taxation” in the Prospectus, insofar as they constitute statements of PRC tax law, are accurate in all material respects and that such statements constitute our opinion, and insofar as related to PRC Laws nothing has been omitted from such statements which would make the same misleading in all material respects.
We hereby consent to the use of this opinion in, and the filing hereof as an exhibit to, the Registration Statements, and to the use of our firm’s name under the captions “Recent Regulatory Developments”, “Risk Factors”, “Transfer of Funds and Other Assets”, “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities”, “Taxation” and “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statements and Prospectus, as applicable. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, or under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in each case, as amended, or the regulations promulgated thereunder.
Yours faithfully,
| /s/ Jingtian & Gongcheng | |
| Jingtian & Gongcheng |